This is the fifth of an eight part series on common myths of Alzheimer's Disease. These myths were originally provided by the Alzheimer's Association. Senior Solutions has memory care services available at three of our locations and we are committed to being an active part of the Alzheimer's community. We look forward to your feedback on this series.
Myth 5: Aspartame causes memory loss.
Reality: This artificial sweetener, marketed under such brand names as Nutrasweet and Equal, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in all foods and beverages in 1996. Since approval, concerns about aspartame's health effects have been raised.
According to the FDA, as of May 2006, the agency had not been presented with any scientific evidence that would lead to change its conclusions on the safety of aspartame for most people. The agency says its conclusions are based on more than 100 laboratory and clinical studies. Read the May 2006 FDA statement about aspartame.
This is the fourth of an eight part series on common myths of Alzheimer's Disease. These myths were originally provided by the Alzheimer's Association. Senior Solutions has memory care services available at three of our locations and we are committed to being an active part of the Alzheimer's community. We look forward to your feedback on this series.
Myth 4: Drinking out of aluminum cans or cooking in aluminum pots and pans can lead to Alzheimer's disease.
Reality: During the 1960s and 1970s, aluminum emerged as a possible suspect in Alzheimer's. This suspicion led to concern about exposure to aluminum through everyday sources such as pots and pans, beverage cans, antacids and antiperspirants. Since then, studies have failed to confirm any role for aluminum in causing Alzheimer's. Experts today focus on other areas of research, and few believe that everyday sources of aluminum pose any threat.
This is the third of an eight part series on common myths of Alzheimer's Disease. These myths were originally provided by the Alzheimer's Association. Senior Solutions has memory care services available at three of our locations and we are committed to being an active part of the Alzheimer's community. We look forward to your feedback on this series.
Myth 3: Only older people can get Alzheimer's
Reality: Alzheimer's can strike people in their 30s, 40s and even 50s. This is called younger-onset Alzheimer's. In 2009, it is estimated that there are as many as 5.3 million people living with Alzheimer's disease in the United States. This includes 5.1 million people age 65 and over and 200,000 people under age 65 with younger-onset Alzheimer's disease.
This is the second of an eight part series on common myths of Alzheimer's Disease. These myths were originally provided by the Alzheimer's Association. Senior Solutions has memory care services available at three of our locations and we are committed to being an active part of the Alzheimer's community. We look forward to your feedback on this series.
Myth 2: Alzheimer's disease is not fatal.
Reality: Alzheimer's disease has no survivors. It destroys brain cells and causes memory changes, erratic behaviors and loss of body functions. It slowly and painfully takes away a person's identity, ability to connect with others, think, eat, talk, walk and find his or her way home.
We recently held our annual meeting for our Executive Directors and one area that we focused on was qualifying potential residents. We identified three areas that needed to be evaluated, those were clinical, financial and social aspects of the prospects life. This is the first part of three part series in which the areas of qualification will be discussed.
The first area we will look at is the financial qualification. As one would guess this area is of particular concern in this economic climate. We know that Independent Living is a “Lifestyle” that seniors are choosing not to live for the time being. With Assisted Living being a “need” driven product the choice was fairly straight forward.
We have begun to notice that perhaps assisted living was becoming a choice that families were no longer choosing in order to conserve their funds. We attempt to qualify someone financially to make sure they can afford to live with us. We informally look at the monthly income, is long term care insurance in place and may they qualify for VA benefits such as aid and attendance?
Most all assisted living communities are private pay unless you live in Oregon. We recently had a couple visit one of our communities, they appeared to be financially qualified, filled out the paperwork selected a room and left a deposit. Upon visiting the doctor to obtain the necessary documents the doctor inquired how they intended to pay for living at the community. They quickly responded that Medicare would be paying for it. Thankfully the physician knew us and called to let us know of the confusion. We also are getting more and more calls from prospective families looking for government assistance in the form of Medicaid and Medicare.
At all Senior Solutions Management Communities we have stayed with the “all in” rate structure choosing to sacrifice revenue in order to keep rooms filled. One thing I would suggest to prospects is to break rent down to a daily rate. That is easiest done by the following formula (monthly rate X12 then divided by 365) At Senior Solutions our average daily rate is around $78 to $85 per day for assisted living. That includes meals, housekeeping, laundry, scheduled transportation and assistance with basic ADL’s and all utilities.
Anyway you break it down that rate is very competitive with what it cost to stay at home. Do the math and then look at all your options. Most communities should have tools and forms to help you decide if assisted living is affordable for you.
In the last post we discussed the aspects of qualifying residents from the financial perspective. Today we will discuss the second area that we use to qualify a prospect which is from a clinical aspect. In the states in which we operate all residents coming into assisted living have to be deemed appropriate by a physician.
Often the physician can or will consult with the admitting community about what the prospective resident may need for proper care. Many times our nurses and or Directors will speak with the doctor directly to properly understand the residents clinical needs.
In many cases a diagnosis of some form of dementia is present. The key is the severity
of the dementia mild, moderate or severe. This is many times a difficult component to plan for. Everyone is different and we have discovered that some individuals with mild to moderate dementia function quite well in assisted living. On the other hand we have had individuals with mild to moderate dementia who have a difficult time functioning in the same environment.
If the resident and the family agree for those that are having difficulty, many times the use of temporary sitters and interventions programs available through home health prove to be very successful. At times families or loved ones don’t fully understand Mom or Dad’s condition until examination and admission forms are starting to be put together. This will be discussed further when we discuss the social aspect of resident admission with our next post.
This day and time medication management is probably the most important area that has to be manage. Many residents are on multiple prescriptions sometimes numbering a dozen or more medications a day. Managing this medication is critical to both the care and safety of the resident. It is important for the family and or responsible party to realize that medication packaging is the key to successful medication management. Be sure and speak with whatever community you choose to thoroughly understand how the community packages and distributes their medications.
It is good to note that medication management programs often cost slightly more than you traditional pharmacy however it well worth the cost. The care of your loved ones should not be negotiable. Ask a lot of questions and thoroughly understand what the community has to offer the care of the resident. It is also a good time to become more involved with your loved ones physicians and practitioners.
Every one realizes that this is a difficult time for all parties involved, emotions can run unbridled and many times families are pushed to the limit even with each other. Build a relationship of trust with your provider of choice and then work together for the best outcome.
This is the first of an eight part series on common myths of Alzheimer's Disease. These myths were originally provided by the Alzheimer's Association. Senior Solutions has memory care services available at three of our locations and we are committed to being an active part of the Alzheimer's community. We look forward to your feedback on this series.
Myth
1: Memory loss is a natural part of aging.
Reality:
In the past people believed memory loss was a normal part of aging,
often regarding even Alzheimer’s as natural age-related decline. Experts
now recognize severe memory loss as a symptom of serious illness.
Whether
memory naturally declines to some extent remains an open question. Many
people feel that their memory becomes less sharp as they grow older,
but determining whether there is any scientific basis for this belief
is a research challenge still being addressed.