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CBS News recently highlighted Tender Tidings as a new Internet based solution for caregivers of the elderly. With this Website, family members can access video from any computer with a high speed Internet connection.
Besides the high-quality wireless camera, TenderTidingsSeniors.com offers a collaborative, on-line calendar so family members can keep up with important appointments and events. They also have access to convenient notepads and reminder tools for communicating with in-home caregivers.
“With the cost of one year in a nursing home being over $50,000 and assisted living costs approximately $3,000 per month,” says Elaine Osteen a founder of TenderTidingsSeniors.com, “we feel that TenderTidingsSeniors.com is an inexpensive way to balance the desire of seniors to stay at home and the concern of children and grandchildren to check in on their elderly loved ones.”
For more information, visit tendertidingsseniors.com
LivHOME, the nation’s largest provider of professionally led at-home care for seniors, has released a new episode of The Senior Care Podcast by LivHOME that discusses the challenges of long-distance caregiving and practical ways to close the gap.
In Episode 5, LivHOME Care Manager Sharon Rosenfield discusses the challenges of providing care to senior family members who live apart from their grown children. Long-distance caregiving has become a necessity for many seniors as families find themselves living at greater distances.
During the interview, Rosenfield emphasizes the importance of noticing the little things, such as whether a senior is taking his or her medicine and paying attention to personal hygiene, as a clue to understanding whether it is time to begin providing long-distance care. She discusses ways to make the experience less lonely for seniors and explores the roles a long-distance caregiver must play in emergencies.
For more information, visit livehome.com
The idea of the service came to the developers, a mother and daughter team, while working in the Human Services industry. They recognized a need for more frequent and consistent contact with elderly or disabled persons living alone. Together they created, developed and offer their business, Caring Calls, to the public.
The service uses a plan of your choice to make calls to the individual of concern and check on their safety and well being. They notify you or another designated person if they encounter a problem. The Director of Caring Calls said, “People have been very receptive of our service and have quickly welcomed and become very comfortable with us.”
They are developing another area in the business called, “Memories through Time,” which is a collection of memories and stories of an elderly or aging person in your family. The business gathers the information through interviews and puts them together in a Memories through Time album that can be passed down from generation to generation.
For more information, visit familycaringcalls.com
Time takes a toll on the organs and systems in the body. People are likely to notice a number of changes as they get older.
How and when these changes occur is unique to each person. A healthy aging feature on MayoClinic.com outlines the typical changes individuals can expect as they age. Here are a few changes highlighted in the feature:
Cardiovascular system
As people age, the heart muscle becomes a less efficient pump, working harder to pump the same amount of blood through the body. Also, blood vessels become less elastic.
Bones, muscles and joints
Bones reach their maximum mass between ages 25 and 35. As people age, their bones’ size and density shrink. Some people might become shorter. Gradual loss of density weakens bones and makes people more susceptible to fracture.
Digestive system
Swallowing and the motions that automatically move digested food through the intestines slow down as people get older. The amount of surface area within the intestines diminishes slightly.
Weight
As men and women age, maintaining a healthy weight may be more difficult. Metabolism generally slows, meaning that the body burns fewer calories.
For more information, visit mayoclinic.org
