The Importance of Providing Person-Centered Care

Person-centered care is a way of giving care that honors the individual who is receiving the care. It speaks to who that person is, their abilities, unique preferences, experiences, and life history, and uses these things to guide how care is given.

The Glass Half Full: Focusing on What has Not Been Lost and the Positives of Aging

When an elder and their loved one is faced with a challenging diagnosis or if they are simply on the journey of aging, it can be very easy to focus on what has been lost. They begin to feel a loss of control and independence and often pine for “the good old days.” It is so important to bring back those good old days and provide elders with positive experiences in ways in which they can still be set up for success.

How to help seniors who are hoarders?

Hoarding is the compulsive need to find and keep objects, animals, or trash regardless of their value. In order to help an older adult with hoarding, one first needs to understand what hoarding is and what it looks like. Hoarding is not having a few collectibles within the home. Hoarding is when individuals, in this case seniors, have a compulsive need to find and keep objects, animals, or trash regardless of their value.

The temperatures are heating up in Northern Virginia. Is your loved one prepared? Here are some helpful tips and tricks to help stay cool and hydrated this summer:

If an elder is unable to track fluid consumption, it can be tricky to monitor. Having support with caregiver services, community settings or frequent visitors can make a big difference. Water bottles and pitchers are a great way to track how much water is being consumed each day. Some water bottles might have lines or motivational reminders to show how many fluid ounces one has drank so far. It may also be helpful to track how many water bottles one goes through per day/week.

The Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force defines elder fraud as an act of targeting older adults in attempts to deceive them with promises of goods, services, or financial benefits that do not exist, were never intended to be provided, or were misrepresented. According to the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, older adults lose around $2.9 billion per year in financial fraud and scams. Scammers use very convincing stories that sound legitimate, making it easy for anyone to become a target of their scam.

Music is one of the only activities that uses and stimulates the entire brain at the same time. There are numerous benefits through engagement in music therapy services by a board-certified music therapist.

Although many of us have received some of these vaccinations as children, it’s important to know that they can wear off and that we are more susceptible to other diseases as adults.

Occupational therapists work with individuals from all stages of life to promote independence and safety while engaging in activities that occupy their time.

Oral care should be a priority for everyone and especially for older adults. It is often overlooked and, in many cases, the last doctor on the list for many seniors. Here's what you need to know about oral health in seniors and why it is so vital to see the dentist a minimum of twice a year.

COVID-19 has shown us the sad truth of what happens when humans lose this opportunity for contact. All of us have experienced some type of grief throughout the global pandemic, but elders seem to have been hit the hardest.

With additional restrictions coming daily from the COVID-19 pandemic, we are continually trying to reassess how to help our clients and loved ones that live in senior living communities. If…