Personalized Home Care for Alzheimer’s and Dementia
Finding the right Alzheimer’s home care or Dementia home care can be very complex
Alzheimer’s and Dementia are cognitive conditions where the brain often loses the ability to effectively connect between short term and long-term memory.
It may start with not remembering an appointment, or where keys were placed to eventually not remembering even the face of a loved one. This can cause frustration and depression which can even lead to behavioral issues.
If we understand the root of these cognitive impairments, we learn that the seemingly abnormal responses of clients with Alzheimer’s and Dementia are actually genuine.
This understanding, combined with training techniques including “acknowledging and redirecting”, along with things as simple as a warm smile and gentle touch, can help manage the frustration of these difficult symptoms.
- Safety and security at home – Prevent wandering or falls
- Activities of daily living Including nutrition and exercise
- Stimulation Focus on core interests including music, art, nature, etc.
- Active engagement with family and friends
- Focus on dignity and respect See the individual, not the disease
- Peace of mind for the family
- Relieve stress
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Quality Home Support provides specialized Alzheimer’s or Dementia care support, that is specifically designed for your unique situation.
Quality Home Support Develops Our Alzheimer’s Or Dementia Specialty Care Beyond Just Personal Care And Companionship
As with all specializations, we start with education and training.
Care in the Home with Alzheimer’s and Dementia
Lewy Body Dementia
Dementia-related to Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Dementia-related to Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
(Dementia with Lewy Bodies) Often related to Parkinson’s Disease and Dementia, it frequently coincides with movement disorder symptoms including stiffness and rigidity. Home care services in addition to supporting dementia also need to ensure safety and fall prevention. This form of dementia often includes visual hallucinations. It is im
(Dementia with Lewy Bodies) Often related to Parkinson’s Disease and Dementia, it frequently coincides with movement disorder symptoms including stiffness and rigidity. Home care services in addition to supporting dementia also need to ensure safety and fall prevention. This form of dementia often includes visual hallucinations. It is important not to dismiss or worse fight these symptoms. This can lead to frustration and depression. Instead, caregivers and personal assistants need to patiently work through these hallucinations and calm the effects.
Dementia-related to Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Dementia-related to Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Dementia-related to Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Dementia related to traumatic brain injury can vary dramatically and exhibit symptoms related to Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. Similar to Vascular dementia, specific symptoms depend on which part of the brain was injured. Home care services supporting this type of dementia need to work closely with the Neurologist and other he
Dementia related to traumatic brain injury can vary dramatically and exhibit symptoms related to Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. Similar to Vascular dementia, specific symptoms depend on which part of the brain was injured. Home care services supporting this type of dementia need to work closely with the Neurologist and other healthcare professionals to understand the specific symptoms in determining client-specific support.
Sundowning
Dementia-related to Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Sundowning
Also known as “Late-day confusion”, sundowning is not a form of dementia, but rather a symptom. As the name implies, it occurs later in the day and into the evening and can be present with Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia. It is usually associated with increased confusion, anxiety, and even agitation. Home care services that can su
Also known as “Late-day confusion”, sundowning is not a form of dementia, but rather a symptom. As the name implies, it occurs later in the day and into the evening and can be present with Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia. It is usually associated with increased confusion, anxiety, and even agitation. Home care services that can support sundowning include creating more structure so that night time activities are more routine and familiar and introducing activities that promote nighttime sleepiness.
Vascular Dementia
Frontotemporal Dementia
Frontotemporal Dementia
Often caused by Stroke and even referred to as Post Stroke Dementia, this is actually the result of brain damage or brain injury. Symptoms can vary significantly with vascular dementia as it depends on what parts of the brain have been affected. It could be impact thinking and reasoning as well as personality, or even movement disorders. It is also important for home care services supporting vascular dementia to monitor any changes as medication and medication management can often help in preventing further brain damage.
Frontotemporal Dementia
Frontotemporal Dementia
Frontotemporal Dementia
This form of dementia impacts the front lobe of the brain which often impacts cognitive and emotional processes. The Homecare services designed to support vascular dementia include patiently helping with thinking or reasoning or other executive functions. Proper support also requires deep understanding and empathy, as seniors experiencing frontotemporal dementia can lose inhibitions causing socially unusual behavior.
Diabetes Care
Diabetes: Personalized Home Care Services
Diabetes management includes not only proper nutrition, but also routine testing of blood sugar and the corresponding medication management. Without proper support, there are significant dangers associated with high blood sugar. Or worse, by accidentally overdosing on insulin. This can be particularly challenging if there are other health conditions that interfere. For example, dementia can make testing and self-injections very difficult.
With a trained Home Care Professional in place, clients can be reminded to routinely test their blood sugar and make any necessary adjustments. We can even help document blood sugar levels which can be communicated to physicians and endocrinologists to help establish the best long-term plans for Diabetes management.
How we develop our Diabetes Care beyond just Personal Care
Effective management of Diabetes starts with our Plan of Service
Our nurse supervisors familiarize themselves with your specific Diabetes home care plan and how that fits into your daily routine. This may also involve direct interaction with your physician to determine the appropriate range of blood sugar levels to monitor.
- From there, we determine what other support would be helpful before identifying the best candidates to provide the direct caregiver support. It is important that we not only provide support with Diabetes but also create an enjoyable experience for everyone involved.
- Preparation of healthy nutritious meals designed around a Diabetes care plan is essential in the body’s ability to help manage blood sugar and in reducing any spike in levels.
- Most importantly, we structure this plan around a daily routine that fits your desired lifestyle. It is not just about health but about healthy living.
How our Diabetes Care can make a difference
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Oftentimes, we need to consider other health conditions to effectively provide support. This is where our nurse supervision can be invaluable. Through caregiver documentation and by viewing the Diabetes Care in the context of an overall home care solution, we can be more proactive in terms of changing needs. This includes changes to how the Diabetes Care is specifically provided, through different medications and delivery systems, as well as how nutrition and exercise are factored into the support. With the care professionals and nurse supervisors working closely together, you get the support with Diabetes Care you need, while also maintaining an active and enjoyable lifestyle.
If you or a family member is struggling with the risks imposed by Diabetes, it’s time to arrange for the support you need. Quality Home Support offers a wide range of services from personal care and companionship to Diabetes care.
Fall Prevention and Mobility Assist
Our Strategy
Falls are the leading cause of injuries among seniors. These injuries often lead to hospitalization, followed by rehabilitation, and in the worst case can lead to a wheelchair. Yet at the same time, mobility is an important part of life, a cornerstone of independence. Ironically, seniors living at home who have experienced a fall or are concerned they are at risk will often withdraw from activities, choosing to remain seated and immobile. With a lack of exercise and activity, this can lead to muscle atrophy and further weakness and loss of balance actually increasing risk of falls.
At Quality Home Support, our Care Professionals encourage mobility but using techniques that are safe. With greater exercise leading to greater strength and balance, not only can our senior home care clients remain physically active, but it promotes an overall healthier lifestyle and greater engagement. In effect, with some mobility assistance and support by Quality Home Support, our senior clients can remain in their homes for longer and experience a greater level of independence.
How to Prevent Falls and How we can help
The first step in avoiding falls is to assess what risk factors you may be exposed to
- Have you fallen before – Not surprisingly, this is the biggest risk factor. But it is not just about whether you have fallen but may include whether you almost fell and what you did to prevent it. Did you fall backwards or forwards, or to the side? Were you caught by someone, or did you manage to grab onto something? These are all factors to be discussed in order to determine the best strategy to avoid falls.
- What medications are you taking – Different medications can have a significant impact on balance, causing dizziness or changes in blood pressure including orthostatic hypertension. It is important to be aware of these medications and their potential impacts, particularly when going from a seated position to standing.
- Fall hazards in the home – Loose rugs, uneven flooring, electrical cords and even spills can all create fall risk. It is important to keep a clean, well-lit and even walking environment to avoid trip hazards. It may also make sense to install rails particularly in critical areas where falls can be more common, like showers and bathrooms.
How quality home support can help prevent falls
Home Care Assessment
The first step in preventing falls is to assess the situation. Our nurse supervisors can help by getting a better understanding of the following to determine the risk of falls and what action to consider:
- Underlying health conditions
- List of medications and when they are taken during the day
- Household environment and any hazards
- History of falls, and any associated injuries
- Understanding your daily routine and how you want to live
Plan of Service – After conducting an assessment in the home, the nurse supervisor can then develop a plan, which could be in coordination with your physician and any other health specialist. This plan would take any of the following into account:
- Instruction for a Home Care Professional on the best way to support your daily routine and your continued mobility while also reducing the risk of falls
- Timing of medication and necessary precaution
- Maintaining a clean household and removing any trip hazards, along with potential home modification to make the home more accessible
- Daily exercise routine to improve strength and balance
- Understanding your daily routine and how you want to live
How We Teach Fall Prevention and Mobility Assistance
There are a number of techniques that care professionals, providing home care, can utilize. What is most important is first understanding the level of mobility and then making sure that, if necessary, the seniors and their care professionals are using the proper equipment. It is about treating seniors with respect and dignity, to provide the support needed, but not in an overbearing way. Some of these techniques and related equipment include:
- Stand by assist – Walking next to the client and providing support when needed
- Contact assist – Maintaining contact with the client in order to sense shifts in weight and balance
- Gait Belt – a specially designed belt used to help in transferring the client from a seated position
- Hoyer Lift or Sara Lift – An assistive device used to help transfer senior clients through electric or hydraulic power
How does Fall Prevention and Mobility Assistance fit into our Home Care Service
Quality Home Support focuses on customized home care support designed for our senior client’s unique needs. With the prevalence of falls among seniors, it is often an area of focus when developing our plan of service. With safety and security providing the foundation, Quality Home Support care professionals can support our senior clients in continuing to live independently in their homes. Furthermore, if there has been fall resulting in a hospitalization, Quality Home Support personalized home care can support seniors returning to home through continued rehabilitation and a return to independence.
Home Care for CHF
CHF: Personalized Home Care Services
In order to manage CHF effectively in the home, it often requires significant lifestyle changes including breaking old habits. This can be very challenging not only for the individuals with Congestive Heart Failure but for their families. However, with the encouragement of a Home Care Professional and an established routine, symptoms of Congestive Heart Failure can not only be managed but seniors can continue to lead healthy, active lives.
This includes an improved diet low in sodium along with exercise, which can significantly reduce the progression of CHF. It also involves monitoring CHF symptoms to know when hospitalization may be necessary or even when there is a remedy that can prevent an unnecessary hospitalization.
All CHF home care is supervised by a Quality Home Support Nurse who is in frequent communication with a trained Home Care Professional to make sure they are minoring and communicating the symptoms so they can effectively help support Congestive Heart Failure in a home care setting.
Quality Home Support support is specifically designed for clients with CHF, focusing not only on how to monitor and manage the symptoms and stage of CHF but also the unique characteristics and lifestyle goals of our client. The objective is to promote and support our client’s effort to continue to live an active life
How quality home support develops our CHF Care
Effective management of CHF starts with our Plan of Service
Our nurse supervisors develop a specific home care plan that supports your daily routine.
- This may include working with a dietician to create a low sodium diet that is not only nutritious but also tastes good. Food can be prepared and served by a Care Professional. It would also include an exercise routine, again supported by the Care Professional and depending on the fitness level of the client.
- Diet and exercise are the two biggest factors in managing Congestive Heart Failure. Monitoring the symptoms then becomes paramount which includes weight gain, swelling, shortness of breath and overall fatigue.
While the plan of service is primarily designed to support the health and safety of our client, it is also about quality of life. This includes promoting active engagement in the activities and experiences our clients enjoy. It is important that we not only provide support with Congestive Heart Failure and the symptoms but also create an enjoyable experience for everyone involved.
CHF: Personalized Home Care Services
In order to manage CHF effectively in the home, it often requires significant lifestyle changes including breaking old habits. This can be very challenging not only for the individuals with Congestive Heart Failure but for their families. However, with the encouragement of a Home Care Professional and an established routine, symptoms of Congestive Heart Failure can not only be managed but seniors can continue to lead healthy, active lives.
This includes an improved diet low in sodium along with exercise, which can significantly reduce the progression of CHF. It also involves monitoring CHF symptoms to know when hospitalization may be necessary or even when there is a remedy that can prevent an unnecessary hospitalization.
All CHF home care is supervised by a Quality Home Support Street Nurse who is in frequent communication with a trained Home Care Professional to make sure they are minoring and communicating the symptoms so they can effectively help support Congestive Heart Failure in a home care setting.
Quality Home Support support is specifically designed for clients with CHF, focusing not only on how to monitor and manage the symptoms and stage of CHF but also the unique characteristics and lifestyle goals of our client. The objective is to promote and support our client’s effort to continue to live an active life.
Home Care for COPD
Home Care Services for COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder)
If you or a family member has COPD you understand that managing the symptoms of COPD can be challenging. With the appropriate home care solution in place, designed to help manage the COPD symptom, there are many steps that can be taken to relieve the symptoms and improve quality of life.
The goal is to improve lung function and decrease the number of acute events that can result from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (“COPD exacerbations”). Once these symptoms are under control, it is about focusing on quality of life which becomes more achievable as clients start to feel better and experience the value of a healthier lifestyle.
COPD home care is managed by a Home Care Professional under the supervision of a Quality Home Support Nurse. Together they communicate frequently to make sure COPD symptoms are in check.
Not only does COPD care help to monitor and manage the symptoms and stage of COPD but also the unique characteristics and lifestyle goals of our client. The objective is to promote and support our client’s efforts to continue to live an active life.
How we develop our COPD Care beyond just Personal Care and Companionship
As with all care provided by Quality Home Support, COPD home care starts with our Plan of Service.
- Our nurse supervisors develop a specific home care plan that supports your daily routine.
- This may include working with a dietician to create a low sodium diet that is not only nutritious but also tastes good. Food can be prepared and served by a Care Professional. It would also include an exercise routine, again supported by the Care Professional and depending on the fitness level of the client.
- Diet and exercise are the two biggest factors in managing Congestive Heart Failure. Monitoring the symptoms then becomes paramount which includes weight gain, swelling, shortness of breath and overall fatigue.
While the plan of service is primarily designed to support the health and safety of our client, it is also about quality of life. This includes promoting active engagement in the activities and experiences our clients enjoy. It is important that we not only provide support with Congestive Heart Failure and the symptoms but also create an enjoyable experience for everyone involved.
