SYNERGYHomeCare.com Fall 2015
FALL PREVENTION Six Steps to Reduce Risks “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.” The line from a classic television commercial about a senior safety device has been the butt of jokes for years. The reality is falls among seniors are a serious danger and the consequences can be life-threatening. The statistics on falls among older Americans is staggering. According to the Centers for Disease Control, one in every three adults over age 65 has suffered a fall. Falls are the number one cause of injury among seniors - injuries can range from cuts and bruises, to hip fractures, to head trauma. With a few simple steps, you can reduce a senior’s risk of falling.
Step 1 – Home Safe Home Paint or place bright tape on the edge of steps so seniors can see where one step ends and another begins Provide handrails on BOTH sides of stairs and grab bars in bathrooms Provide light at the top and bottom of stairs and throughout halls Paint the bottom basement step white to make it more visible Secure rugs to the floor to prevent tripping Attach non–slip strips to the bottom of slippers
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On the outside, check steps and walkways for loose bricks, cement or stone
Step 2 – Safety Shoe-in Fall prevention research has demonstrated that wearing the right type of footwear can reduce the risk of a fall. Slippers may be comfortable and convenient, but they do not provide proper support to the foot. Slippers are often loose fitting and can easily slip off, causing the senior to fall. A sock with a non-slip bottom is a better option.
Step 3 – The Eyes have it Seniors should know their visual limitations and have their vision checked at least once a year. A good tip: consider getting a pair with single vision distance lenses for activities such as walking outside.
Step 4 – Medication Medications can contribute to falling since many of them cause drowsiness and dizziness as a side effect. Let healthcare providers know if you notice a senior experiencing either of these symptoms after taking their medications.
Step 5 – Exercise Exercise is necessary to increase strength and balance; simple chair exercises are a good and safe way to achieve these for those with limitations. Seniors can do ankle circles while watching TV, toe raises and heel raises while waiting for dinner.
Step 6 – Nutrition Appetite often decreases as we age, but the body still needs the nutrients that food and fluids provide. A lack of good nutrition can cause a person to become faint.
AFTER THE FALL
Getting a Senior Standing Again One-third of adults aged 65 and older experience a fall each year. While there are plenty of precautions you can take to try and prevent your loved one from taking a tumble, chances are, they will fall down sometime. So when that happens, what should you do? Here are some expert steps to safely assist a fallen loved one.
10 STEPS 1. Stay calm and keep your loved one calm by 2. 3. 4. 5.
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encouraging them to take slow, deep breaths. Examine them for injuries—bruises, possible sprains, or broken bones. If they have a severe injury (e.g., a broken bone), don’t move them. Call 9-1-1, and keep your loved one as comfortable as possible until help arrives. If they aren’t badly hurt and they want to get up, proceed slowly and stop at any point if they become stuck or too tired to get all the way up. Find two sturdy chairs. Place one next to your loved one’s head and the other down by their feet. (Keep in mind, your loved one needs to be the one doing the physical work of getting up. You’re just there to help guide them and keep them steady, not lift their weight.) Help your loved one roll over onto their side,
assist them into a kneeling position. If they suffer from sore knees, a place a towel underneath the knees. 7. Move the chair closest to their head directly in front of where they are kneeling so that they can place their hands on the seat, evenly. 8. Ask your loved one to lean on the seat as they bring one leg forward and place that foot on the floor. 9. Move the second chair directly behind your loved one, then ask them to use their arms and legs to push themselves up, then sit back into the second chair. You can use your hands to keep your loved one steady, but keep your back upright and make sure they are doing the physical work to lift themselves. 10. Notify their doctor that they’ve had a fall.
If your loved one seems to be falling more frequently, you might also want to consider investing in an emergency alert device. Your local SYNERGY HomeCare office can help you determine the right device. They can also do a free in-home safety assessment to identify any potential falls risks around the house.
TAKE ACTION TO PREVENT FALLS Contact your local SYNERGY HomeCare office to schedule a free home safety assessment. A trusted representative will do a walk-through of the home to identify potential fall hazards and potential solutions. For a limited time, participating* SYNERGY HomeCare offices will be giving away free nonslip socks** to those seniors who schedule a home safety assessment. To schedule a free appointment, call us toll-free at 1-877-432-2692. *Free socks may not be available in certain areas
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**While supplies last
HOW ADULT CHILDREN CAN COMMUNICATE WITH THEIR AGING PARENTS
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here is a certain inevitability that at some point you will need to assist an older family member with planning and decisions. It is best to explore goals and options prior to a crisis.
about a friend you have that has found themselves in a similar situation and gauge their reaction. Don’t say things like, “You need to, or have to,” as this will immediately put then on the defensive.
Before starting a conversation, you may want to consider some of the tips below:
In addition the following may help family talk with older adults:
Who is the best person to be the spokesperson for the family in the discussion? This may be the one who is the eldest child and holds a little different position in the sibling group. It may be the adult child who holds a professional degree or title most closely related to the topic on hand. It may be the adult child who is least impacted by a defensive response and can more easily roll with the punches. Are you asking something of the older adult that you yourself have completed or would be willing to participate in?
Hold discussions in a quite setting at a time of day that is best for all. Listen to the older adult. Effective communication requires listening and acknowledging the other person’s opinions and feelings. Stay positive; Offer constructive suggestions. Provide accurate information to the older adult - do not try to spare them by telling half-truths and by making promises. Allow time to process the information. Involve other care providers. If you are discussing a legal matter
it may be useful to involve an attorney who can provide the information in a more emotionally detached manner. Don’t be afraid to share your own feelings. Communicating with persons having memory loss or dementia: Use simple words and sentences. Speak slowly; use a calm voice. Supplement your words with nonverbal cues. If you are giving directions, don’t assume that they are being understood. When communication is difficult, listen for words that are repeated or seem especially meaningful. Don’t provide excessive information or detail if the elder can’t process it, and don’t provide it too soon if it will only trigger weeks of disturbing thoughts.
Don’t for example ask your parents to sign documents that you do not have as a part of your own Estate Plan. Everyone needs a Health Care Directive, not just the elderly. If you want your parents to complete one, include yourself in the process and show them that this in not about age and infirmity but sound estate and legal planning. Use generic examples to begin the conversation? If you want to understand how your parents may react to a topic, start it off in a way that is not personal to them. Talk to them Fall 2015 | SYNERGYHomeCare.com
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SCAMS AGAINST SENIORS
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n 89-year-old Atlanta woman who suffers from shortterm memory loss falls victim to dishonest roofers who charge her over and over for the same work. She pays $40,000 for a job that should have cost about $1,500. The same roofers swindle $72,000 from an 85-year-old man for repairs they said he needed even though his roof was new. Con artists love to prey on older adults. Seniors are seen as vulnerable because they are often isolated and alone. The elderly also tend to be more trusting. It doesn’t help that many older people suffer from dementia or memory loss. Here are some simple ways scammers can get access to seniors’ information. Mailing It In - Identity thieves steal seniors’ mail, which may include credit card and bank statements. Sometimes ID thieves will even send mail to a senior to get them to give up valuable financial information. The mailings appear to come from the senior’s bank or charitable organizations. A current scam showing up in mailboxes is a tax scam. Targets receive an official-looking letter from the IRS claiming the person owes money and threatening arrest if they don’t call a phone number and pay up. The IRS will never require someone to pay a debt over the phone nor will it threaten someone with arrest if they don’t pay.
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Trouble Calling - Scammers will also reach out to elderly on the phone and may represent themselves as being from the bank or charity. They will try to trick the elderly person into giving them bank account numbers or other vital financial information. One recent example - telemarketers who allegedly told consumers they were working on behalf of Medicare and needed their bank accounts in order to order a new card. Going Phishing - Online phishing is another concern. Seniors may fall for an email that appears to be from a trusted source asking for a social security number to verify an account. Never respond to an email or phone call asking for financial passwords or other personal information, no matter how urgent or credible the request appears. Contact your bank or the business that made the request to verify it is legitimate. Never click on hyperlinks in suspicious email messages and keep your computer’s antivirus and antiphishing software up to date. The number of scams against the elderly keeps growing. “A lonely senior is susceptible to romance scams. A senior who needs home repairs is vulnerable to a home repair scam,” says Rob Dunn, owner of SYNERGY HomeCare of Yuma. “Some of the scams are initiated in the door-to-door fashion, most are done on the internet or via ‘cold’ phone call”. Caregivers from SYNERGY HomeCare are trained to spot the signs that their elderly clients are being scammed. Once a caregiver noticed a
female client withdrawing large sums of money from her bank account. Upon further investigation, the client had been the target of a “romance scam.” The lonely woman thought she was sending money to a man she met online after he convinced her he was going to move from overseas to be with her. According to Dunn, it can be hard to convince a senior to admit they are a victim. He says monitoring a senior’s activity and educating them is the best option in most cases. “As with anything, preventative conversations are ideal if you can educate a senior before they are exposed to the possibility of being scammed.”
CONSIDER
NEEDS
WHEN
TRAVELING With the holidays fast approaching it is never to soon to begin planning for your next travel destination. While those of all ages can enjoy traveling, the itinerary should take into account a senior’s physical and cognitive abilities, and other special needs. • Those with Alzheimer’s or memory loss - even in the early stages - can become easily disoriented when removed from familiar surroundings and routines. You may want to design a vacation using the senior’s residence as a home base. Day outings can provide the adventure. • While most U.S. destinations are equipped to manage and accommodate seniors with physical limitations, foreign destinations may not be accessible. Check with your agent or hotel reservationists to ensure that the room and grounds will be able to accommodate your needs. • Plan for the unexpected. While no one wants to think about the “what if”, it is prudent to plan ahead and have a contingency plan. Call your
medical insurer to clarify your coverage while traveling. • Ask your doctor about medicines that can treat the symptoms of “traveler’s diarrhea” and other common travel illnesses. • Take an extra supply of medication in case you are delayed beyond your anticipated return date. • Ask your doctor for duplicate prescriptions - in case your medicines are lost or stolen. • Pack your medication in your carry-on luggage. • Keep an emergency medical form with your travel documents. Include a list of medications, medical conditions, physician’s name and number, insurance information, and an emergency contact (other than traveling companion). • Consider purchasing travel insurance. This provides a refund or allows re-booking if a medical or family crisis occurs that would alter your traveling plans.
• If you require oxygen, talk with the airline carrier at the same time you are booking your ticket, as many carriers have very specific oxygen rules and limited number of seats they can sell to oxygendependent travelers. • Talk with your telephone representative to determine the easiest way for you to keep in touch with home. Consider a phone card. Ask for detailed instructions for dialing from the country you are traveling to. • Complete an Advance Health Care Directive and make sure it is applicable to the state you are traveling to. • Check with your health care provider to ensure your loved one is healthy enough to travel. • Make sure that family and friends have a current itinerary if they need to contact you.
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