Home health or a memory care community?
If your Mom, Dad, or loved one is struggling with dementia, you might feel torn between the two choices.
On one hand, keeping your loved one at home may be appealing. On the other hand, it’s hard to ignore that voice in your head that says Mom or Dad needs more care.
If you’re unsure whether a memory care community or home health services are best for your loved one, here’s what you need to realize.
Periodic home health visits might have been helpful back when Mom or Dad was only a bit forgetful.
But if you suspect your loved one has progressive dementia symptoms, there’s a good chance your loved one can benefit from the comprehensive services of a memory care community.
Here are 5 reasons why…
1. Built-In Services and Easier Access to Resources
As a general rule, if you’re paying for hourly home health services, don’t count on the worker to see that Mom is lonely…and decide to spend an extra 15 minutes.
You’re paying the home health agency for a block of time—nothing more and nothing less.
If your loved one needs round-the-clock supervision and constant prompts for tasks, a few home health visits a week won’t provide the needed support for ever-changing needs.
In contrast, a memory care community has built-in caregiving services from morning until evening. For instance, at The Grove, our personal care assistants support our residents 24/7 every day of the year. It doesn’t matter if your loved one wants to have a snack at 11 p.m. or a conversation at 5:00 a.m. A caregiver is there to provide the needed support.
What’s more, your loved one has easy access to nursing staff as well.
At a memory care community, there will always be trained caregivers nearby to help, other residents to talk to, and medical assistance if needed.
2. Opportunities for Social Engagement
Socialization is important for loved ones dealing with memory loss.
But the reality is if you opt for periodic home health appointments…your loved one will receive only periodic socialization.
Compare that to a memory care community where there’s constant social interaction and engagement.
Don’t simply take our word on the benefits of socialization. Check out this research—Study on Social Isolation as a Risk Factor in Development of Alzheimer’s Disease in Rats.
In this experiment, researchers studied four groups of rats. Significantly, they designated one group of rats as a socially isolated Alzheimer’s disease (AD) group. For another group of rats, researchers designated these rodents as a socialized Alzheimer’s disease (AD) group.
Here’s just a small sample of what researchers found…
The Alzheimer’s disease rats (which were isolated for a lengthy amount of time) experienced statistically significant signs of cognitive trouble with their IL-1β and TNF-α.
Specifically, IL-1β and TNF-α are associated with brain inflammation, something the researchers linked to Alzheimer’s disease development.
The study found the socially isolated rats “showed significant elevation in brain IL-1β and TNF-α to 105.9% and 109.04% respectively” in contrast to the socialized Alzheimer’s disease (AD) group.
While the socialized group had IL-1β and TNF-α over 100% as well, they didn’t equal the levels of the socially isolated rats.
These findings and others led researchers to conclude…
“[Social isolation] can be identified as a risk factor in AD development. Consequently, socialization is advised especially with AD to avoid severe progression of the disease.”
Bottom line: socialization is something you can’t ignore when it comes to comparing a memory care community against periodic home health services.
3. Less Caregiver Stress—More Quality Family Time
When your loved one has dementia, you’ll find that constant care is increasingly needed.
And—unless you plan on increasing the number of home health visits or requesting expensive live-in care, you’ll probably find yourself more and more involved in caregiving.
However, in one meta-review of scholarly literature, researchers found…
“being a caregiver for people with dementia is associated with psychological stress and physical ill-health.”
This comes as no surprise. Watching your loved one suffer dementia is difficult.
It’s even more difficult to realize you’re spending less quality time as a daughter or son…and more time with the tasks of caregiving.
A memory care community lightens the burden of physically and emotionally demanding tasks. You’ll have more time to eat a meal with Mom, play a game with Dad, or attend to the needs of your other family members.
4. Specially Trained Team Members
When you hire home health to help your parent, you may…or may not…receive a worker who is specifically trained in dementia care.
While you’ll find home health agencies offering dementia support, do your research. According to a New York Times article only written last year, the typical home health worker has “little if any training.”
However, when you choose the right memory care community, such as The Grove, you can gain team members trained in helping seniors with age-related dementias. For example, at The Grove, caregivers must complete 40 hours of onboarding in their first week, including the CARES® online dementia training and the essentiALZ® online certification exam.
5. An Improved Balance of Freedom and Safety
Let’s face it—you need to weigh the benefits of keeping Mom or Dad in a familiar environment against the risks of his or her safety.
Helping your parent stay at home—without 24/7 supervision—is detrimental if Mom has easy access to the stove or Dad can still grab the ladder.
For safety, you may find yourself restricting your parent’s freedom—for instance, locking rooms containing safety hazards.
However, at a memory care community, your loved one can enjoy an environment that’s uniquely suited for Alzheimer’s and related dementias. It’s the right balance of both freedom and safety.
For instance, at The Grove, our neighborhood has eliminated many safety hazards…but still gives your loved one freedom with an open layout environment. We even provide a natural wayfinding system so your loved one can safely wander in a natural pattern…instead of pacing up and down a hall.
Don’t simply assume that home health is your only option…or your best option.
Carefully weigh the benefits of a memory care community, and then make the best decision for your mom, dad, or spouse.
If you’re searching for a community that redefines memory care, check out The Grove’s communities. At The Grove, your loved one will enjoy a freestanding community comprised of neighborhoods that replicate the feeling of home and contain less than 15 residents.
Schedule your tour of The Grove Toledo in Toledo, Ohio. Or plan your visit to The Grove Columbus—opening soon in the north Columbus area.
Foods for Dementia: Finding Memory Care with a Brain-Healthy Cuisine
Making sure Mom is hydrated…ensuring Dad isn’t overwhelmed…helping your spouse deal with sundowning…
When it comes to dementia, providing proper care is more than ensuring your loved one takes a pill. In fact, one important nonpharmacological intervention is proper nutrition…backed by beneficial foods for dementia.
Given the important link between diet and health, it’s important to find a memory care community with cognitively healthy cuisine options for your loved one.
At The Grove, brain-healthy foods are near and dear to our mission. For every meal, our goal is to have one brain-boosting option on menu.
In this article, we’re covering some foods for dementia that we’ve featured in our menu—giving you an idea of what you can expect for Mom or Dad’s mealtime.
Let’s dive in…
#1. Foods for Dementia: Eggs
Do some cursory research, and you’ll find eggs are a source of choline for your Mom or Dad.
What’s the connection between choline and brain health?
As one scholarly resource notes…
That’s a big chunk of information, but here’s the bottom line—choline appears to support healthy brain function.
And since eggs contain this important compound, that makes them a tasty food for dementia.
At The Grove, our breakfast menu has featured an egg sandwich with spinach and tomatoes, and an apple on the side—a great way to start your loved one’s day
#2. Foods for Dementia: Avocados
Research indicates there’s link between lutein and brain health. According to this article, “greater lutein status is positively associated with better cognitive function in older adults.”
If you’re wondering how your loved one can enjoy a natural source of lutein, check out this research. This article states that study participants who ate avocados experienced the following results:
Since avocados join the group of brain-healthy foods for dementia, you might be happy to know that The Grove has featured Shrimp & Avocado Citrus Salad on its menu.
In addition to spicy shrimp and tangy oranges, this dish contains delicious creamy avocado.
#3. Foods for Dementia: Lentils
Scholars writing in the Annals of the New York Academy of the Sciences point out, “The brain represents only 2% of body mass, but it uses 20% of the glucose.”
They also write that while “[t]hiamine‐dependent enzymes are critical components of glucose metabolism,” Alzheimer’s patients have a ⅓ reduction of thiamine in plasma.
See how we’ve incorporated a natural source of thiamine into residents’ diets when you check out this Lentil Soup. Lentils are a known source of thiamine (vitamin B-1), and we’ve served this soup at The Grove…along with warm cornbread.
Going Beyond a Brain-Healthy Cuisine
Finding a memory care community in Ohio that provides foods for dementia is important.
But your loved one’s well-being involves more than what’s on the menu…it also includes the atmosphere during mealtime.
When you visit The Grove, you’ll find we’ve designed mealtime to replicate the feeling of home.
At The Grove, we’ve ditched the big dining room model. Instead, in each neighborhood, we provide a central table for Mom or Dad to gather around. This table is close to an open kitchen that allows tasty aromas to float through the air.
It’s an experience that can bring back pleasant memories and signal to your loved one that it’s time to eat.
Discover a community that backs its brain-healthy cuisine with a homelike eating environment.
Schedule a visit to The Grove Toledo in Toledo, Ohio. Or plan to swing by The Grove Columbus—which will open soon in the north Columbus area.
5 Benefits of Making the Move to a Memory Care Community
Home health or a memory care community?
If your Mom, Dad, or loved one is struggling with dementia, you might feel torn between the two choices.
On one hand, keeping your loved one at home may be appealing. On the other hand, it’s hard to ignore that voice in your head that says Mom or Dad needs more care.
If you’re unsure whether a memory care community or home health services are best for your loved one, here’s what you need to realize.
Periodic home health visits might have been helpful back when Mom or Dad was only a bit forgetful.
But if you suspect your loved one has progressive dementia symptoms, there’s a good chance your loved one can benefit from the comprehensive services of a memory care community.
Here are 5 reasons why…
1. Built-In Services and Easier Access to Resources
As a general rule, if you’re paying for hourly home health services, don’t count on the worker to see that Mom is lonely…and decide to spend an extra 15 minutes.
You’re paying the home health agency for a block of time—nothing more and nothing less.
If your loved one needs round-the-clock supervision and constant prompts for tasks, a few home health visits a week won’t provide the needed support for ever-changing needs.
In contrast, a memory care community has built-in caregiving services from morning until evening. For instance, at The Grove, our personal care assistants support our residents 24/7 every day of the year. It doesn’t matter if your loved one wants to have a snack at 11 p.m. or a conversation at 5:00 a.m. A caregiver is there to provide the needed support.
What’s more, your loved one has easy access to nursing staff as well.
At a memory care community, there will always be trained caregivers nearby to help, other residents to talk to, and medical assistance if needed.
2. Opportunities for Social Engagement
Socialization is important for loved ones dealing with memory loss.
But the reality is if you opt for periodic home health appointments…your loved one will receive only periodic socialization.
Compare that to a memory care community where there’s constant social interaction and engagement.
Don’t simply take our word on the benefits of socialization. Check out this research—Study on Social Isolation as a Risk Factor in Development of Alzheimer’s Disease in Rats.
In this experiment, researchers studied four groups of rats. Significantly, they designated one group of rats as a socially isolated Alzheimer’s disease (AD) group. For another group of rats, researchers designated these rodents as a socialized Alzheimer’s disease (AD) group.
Here’s just a small sample of what researchers found…
The Alzheimer’s disease rats (which were isolated for a lengthy amount of time) experienced statistically significant signs of cognitive trouble with their IL-1β and TNF-α.
Specifically, IL-1β and TNF-α are associated with brain inflammation, something the researchers linked to Alzheimer’s disease development.
The study found the socially isolated rats “showed significant elevation in brain IL-1β and TNF-α to 105.9% and 109.04% respectively” in contrast to the socialized Alzheimer’s disease (AD) group.
While the socialized group had IL-1β and TNF-α over 100% as well, they didn’t equal the levels of the socially isolated rats.
These findings and others led researchers to conclude…
Bottom line: socialization is something you can’t ignore when it comes to comparing a memory care community against periodic home health services.
3. Less Caregiver Stress—More Quality Family Time
When your loved one has dementia, you’ll find that constant care is increasingly needed.
And—unless you plan on increasing the number of home health visits or requesting expensive live-in care, you’ll probably find yourself more and more involved in caregiving.
However, in one meta-review of scholarly literature, researchers found…
This comes as no surprise. Watching your loved one suffer dementia is difficult.
It’s even more difficult to realize you’re spending less quality time as a daughter or son…and more time with the tasks of caregiving.
A memory care community lightens the burden of physically and emotionally demanding tasks. You’ll have more time to eat a meal with Mom, play a game with Dad, or attend to the needs of your other family members.
4. Specially Trained Team Members
When you hire home health to help your parent, you may…or may not…receive a worker who is specifically trained in dementia care.
While you’ll find home health agencies offering dementia support, do your research. According to a New York Times article only written last year, the typical home health worker has “little if any training.”
However, when you choose the right memory care community, such as The Grove, you can gain team members trained in helping seniors with age-related dementias. For example, at The Grove, caregivers must complete 40 hours of onboarding in their first week, including the CARES® online dementia training and the essentiALZ® online certification exam.
5. An Improved Balance of Freedom and Safety
Let’s face it—you need to weigh the benefits of keeping Mom or Dad in a familiar environment against the risks of his or her safety.
Helping your parent stay at home—without 24/7 supervision—is detrimental if Mom has easy access to the stove or Dad can still grab the ladder.
For safety, you may find yourself restricting your parent’s freedom—for instance, locking rooms containing safety hazards.
However, at a memory care community, your loved one can enjoy an environment that’s uniquely suited for Alzheimer’s and related dementias. It’s the right balance of both freedom and safety.
For instance, at The Grove, our neighborhood has eliminated many safety hazards…but still gives your loved one freedom with an open layout environment. We even provide a natural wayfinding system so your loved one can safely wander in a natural pattern…instead of pacing up and down a hall.
Don’t simply assume that home health is your only option…or your best option.
Carefully weigh the benefits of a memory care community, and then make the best decision for your mom, dad, or spouse.
If you’re searching for a community that redefines memory care, check out The Grove’s communities. At The Grove, your loved one will enjoy a freestanding community comprised of neighborhoods that replicate the feeling of home and contain less than 15 residents.
Schedule your tour of The Grove Toledo in Toledo, Ohio. Or plan your visit to The Grove Columbus—opening soon in the north Columbus area.
4 Indicators That It’s Time for Memory Care
When it comes to caring for our loved ones, making care decisions isn’t so simple.
From medications to doctors and transportation to caregiving, there are a lot of options—and knowing what’s right for your parents takes some research and analysis.
When it comes to parents living with dementia or Alzheimer’s, there comes a time when the question, “Is it time for memory care?” becomes far too important to leave unanswered.
Fortunately, there are common indicators that often signal and help family members decide that memory care is the best possible option for their aging parent.
Here are four signs to watch for if your mother or father has received a dementia or Alzheimer’s diagnosis…
1. Unsafe Living Conditions
(Source)
Maybe you’ve noticed water damage in your mother’s bathroom.
Or scorch marks on your father’s dishtowel.
Signs of damage in your parent’s home might be indicators that memory loss has led to her forgetting that she’s running a bath, or him accidentally leaving a burner on.
Situations like these put your parent in danger. Whether it be starting a house fire or slipping on a wet bathroom floor, you don’t want to wait until your parent has an accident to finally decide it’s time for memory care.
Keep an eye open for signs of damage in the home—even spills that haven’t been cleaned up are signs of a decrease in attention.
2. Lapses in Self-Care
Let’s say that your consistently clean-shaven and impeccably dressed father suddenly begins to show up to family dinners looking scraggly and unkempt, with shirts on inside out.
Or you begin to pick up on a strong smell of body odor every time you visit your mother.
Letting go of self-care is a major indicator that your parent requires extra assistance in activities of daily living.
From wearing the same clothes every day to forgetting to shower, these signs shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Memory care communities provide compassionate caregivers that ensure your parents continue to practice self-care—even when their mental abilities begin to decline.
3. Caregiver Burnout
Upon receiving a dementia or Alzheimer’s diagnosis, many families’ initial solution is attempting to provide care to their loved one at home.
Whether it’s you, your sister, your brother, or even your parent’s spouse providing care—oftentimes, caregiving is a bigger and more stressful task than originally imagined.
Not only is it mentally exhausting—but there are also various physical and financial consequences of attempting to provide care to a loved one.
You may realize ultimately that the situation isn’t sustainable—and in the worst of cases, even dangerous.
As Grandparents.com explains, “Dealing with irrational demands and being yelled at is stressful for family caregivers, while memory care professionals have the training and patience for handling these situations.”
Avoid caregiver burnout altogether—there are various exemplary memory care communities that enable families to spend quality time with each other without the stressful aspects of caregiving.
4. Falls and Other Accidents
(Source)
This point isn’t to be taken lightly. According to the National Council on Aging, “falls are the leading cause of fatal injury and the most common cause of nonfatal trauma-related hospital admissions among older adults.”
People who have memory loss can often become confused and wander.
Additionally, they can become frustrated and even physically violent very easily. All of these situations increase the risk of falls.
That said, this is a risk factor that extends beyond dementia and Alzheimer’s. One’s physical ability naturally begins to decline with age—and it’s not worth waiting for an accident to occur before making the move to memory care.
Preserve your loved one’s quality of life, and take proactive steps to explore memory care options that will help him or her.
At The Grove at Oakleaf Village, we provide families and their loved ones with a greater sense of safety and elevated quality of life.
Visit our communities in person—schedule a tour at our Toledo community, or plan a visit to our Columbus community (opening soon) in advance.
4 Key Dementia Symptoms Every Adult Child Should Watch For in a Parent
As we age, it’s only natural that our mental abilities begin to change. We may…
Forget where we’ve misplaced our glasses.
Double-book appointments.
Have trouble recalling a neighbor’s name.
With a lifetime full of memories that span several decades, it’s no wonder that our minds eventually lose their sharpness.
However, at what point are these occurrences part of a bigger, more serious picture?
The older we get, the more important it is to be aware of dementia symptoms.
If you’re the son or daughter of an aging parent, it’s advisable to study up on these symptoms in order to watch for and identify them.
The sooner a diagnosis is provided, the sooner you can make plans for the care your parent will require.
Here are four common dementia symptoms to watch for…
#1: Difficulty finding the right words
Perhaps your mother was once a writer or English teacher and has always had a way with words.
One day you realize that she’s experiencing difficulty choosing or recalling the right word to adequately express a thought.
If you notice that having a conversation with your loved one has become increasingly difficult, it could be a sign that dementia has affected her ability to communicate.
Pay attention to changes in linguistic ability, and schedule an appointment with a doctor sooner rather than later.
#2: Mood changes
Imagine the following scenario.
Your father has always been on the quieter and shyer side.
You know he’d rather play chess online than attend the local neighborhood chess club.
However, you notice that he’s recently become animated, talkative, and outgoing.
You may think this shift in personality is odd, but rationalize that his newfound confidence and extroverted nature could only be a good thing.
Of course, it’s never too late to come out of one’s shell, but oftentimes, a rapid change can be cause for concern.
Changes in mood are common with dementia–and making the transition from shy to outgoing is one of the more common indicators as dementia brings about a diminished sense of judgment.
Additionally, depression is also a common early symptom of dementia.
Therefore, if you notice these personality changes in your parent, it may mean a visit to the doctor is in order.
#3: Difficulty accomplishing normal tasks
From remembering what order to put on clothes to recalling how to operate a stove, there are certain daily tasks that we rarely have to think twice about.
However, people living with dementia often experience difficulty completing everyday tasks that once came easy to them.
Specifically, the difficulty lies in remembering the sequence and order of steps involved in these tasks.
Even before your mother or father begins to struggle with simple tasks, you may notice that he or she experiences difficulty completing more advanced tasks, such as balancing a checkbook or learning to follow new routines.
#4: A diminished sense of direction
Let’s say that your father fails to recognize the building for the doctor’s office he’s visited regularly for over 30 years.
Or your mother forgets the route she’s always walked to visit her best friend who lives only a few blocks away.
As Healthline describes, with the onset of dementia, one’s sense of direction and spatial orientation begins to deteriorate.
Recognizing these symptoms and others is important in order to get a diagnosis and subsequent appropriate care for your mother or father.
When it comes to selecting appropriate care, many families find that making the move to a memory care community sooner rather than later improves the quality of life and safety for their loved one.
When it comes to memory care, The Grove at Oakleaf Village is in a league of our own.
Discover the difference today–contact us to schedule a tour of our Toledo community…or explore our Columbus location opening in the summer of 2018.
Discover what we can provide for your loved one living with dementia today!