Ten Ideas for Interacting with Aging Parents and Grandparents

1. Read religious or inspirational articles, magazines or books

2. Read letters from family and friends

3. Bring recorded messages from family and friends 

4. Bring a video taped greeting from family and friends

5. Help your older adult write or tape letters or send greeting cards

6. Find a pen pal and help your older adult correspond with this new friend…

7. Create a poster or mobile from pictures cut from magazines

8. Bring items related to the season or upcoming holiday to enjoy and discuss

9. Have an indoor picnic with your older adult's favorite picnic food

10. Enjoy a cup of a favorite beverage that you've brought along in your thermos

Submitted by Nancy Ludin,

Executive Director of The Jewish Pavilion

http://www.jewishpavilion.org/

Four Ways to Choose a Rehabilitation Program

Criteria for Choosing a Rehabilitation Program

(Prepared by Dr. Bob Kaplan)

1.       Personnel- (Physical Therapy, - Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy)Dedicated rehab manager for all questions and concerns

• Stable permanent full time therapy staff providing the highest quality of care

• Staff experience and turnover
• In-house vs. contracted rehab company
• Areas of expertise: neuro, ortho, cardiac, dementia,etc.
• Bedside mannerisms
• Week-end therapy coverage
• Flexible clinic  coverage hours: 7AM to 7PM

2.       Facility

• Dedicated rehab space to accommodate client/resident needs
• Cleanliness
• Organization of gym
• Cheerful/upbeat ambiance

3.       Equipment

• Parallel bars for standing/gait training
• High/Low mat for bed motility, functional transfers and static/dynamic sitting balance
• Availability of ADL (Activities of Daily Living) treatment areas: devices to trial the client/resident’s specific goals to maximize independence (Kitchenette to address home management skills such as cooking, cleaning, problem solving, etc.)
• Vital Stim for treating dysphagia
• Exercise bike
• Cuff weights
• Therapy bands
• Electrical stimulation
• Ultrasound
• Moist heat

4.       Services offered/ Programming

• Falls and balance
• Dining
• Seating and positioning
• Low vision
• Incontinence
• Dementia
• Pain management
• Dysphagia (Vital stim)
• Short stay return to home program

For additional ideas Visit: www.jewishpavilion.org/community-resources/criteria-for-choosing-a-rehabilitation-program/

Ten Questions To Ask When Selecting a Hospice Provider

Choosing a Hospice Provider

Questions to consider in choosing a Hospice provider

1. Is the provider Medicare certified or covered by your personal insurance plan?
2. Do they provide the services you need?
3. Are the nurses Hospice certified?
4. Do they have an in-patient unit
5. Do they provide nurse directed 24 hour care, especially after hours?
6. Do they provide care in multiple settings-Home, Assisted Living, and Skilled Nursing Facilities?
7. How often do the nurses visit the patient and family?
8. Do they have Hospice affiliated physicians who visit the patient, and if so, how often?
9. Do they provide Crisis care, and if so, for how long, and for what qualifying criteria?
10. Do they follow accepted guidelines for pain and symptom management?
11. Do they have expertise in aggressive management for the high acuity patient, and offer treatment for other medical problems, exclusive of the patient’s primary qualifying diagnosis?
12. Do they provide grief and bereavement counseling, especially if the relatives are not located in the area?
13. Do they provide and deliver medications? If so, what is the turn-around time?
14. Do they provide and deliver durable medical equipment and supplies? If so, what is the turn-around time?
15. Is the Hospice a “For-Profit” or “Not-For-Profit” provider?

Vist the Jewish Pavilion website for information pertaining to the aged of all faiths.
http://www.jewishpavilion.org/
Nancy Ludin, Executive Director

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How To Make Visits with the Elderly Enjoyable

Simple opening questions

-          Tell me about yourself

-          Where are you from?

-          Look around the room to see if there are any photos and if so ask them to

tell you about them

-          What hobbies do you/did you enjoy?

-          What are your favorite books or movies?

-          What is your family like, do you have brothers and sisters, tell me about them?

-          What is/was your husband/wife like ?

-          What legacy would you like to leave?

-          What do you wish you knew at my age that you know now?

-          What role does Judaism fill in your life?

-          How did you celebrate the holidays growing up?

-          (insert holiday) is coming up, how did you celebrate growing up ?

From Nancy Ludin, Executive Director of the Jewish Pavilion

http://www.jewishpavilion.org/

Interviewing our Elders- Ten questions to start with:

Potential Interview Questions for gathering Histories of Older Adults

1.              What is your name? Why did your parents select this name for you? Did you have a nickname?

2.              When and where were you born?

3.              How did your family come to live there?

4.              What was your life like as a child (rural, city), what kind of games did you play?

5.              What was your favorite toy and why?

6.              What was your favorite thing to do for fun (movies, beach, etc.)?

7.              What was school like for you as a child? What subjects did you like best/least?  Where did you attend grade school? High school? College?

8.              Who were your childhood heroes?

9.              What were your favorite songs and music?

10.          Did you have any pets? If so, what kind and what were their names?

From Nancy Ludin, Executive Director, Jewish Pavilion
http://www.jewishpavilion.org/