Happy
4th of July! This is the time of year that we celebrate
our freedom, and reflect on what freedom means to us. We
are lucky enough to live in a country where we have the
opportunity to create our destiny, and pursue our
dreams.
With that in mind, I would like to
present our July Newsletter to you. Our focus this month
is Fall Prevention. This is a hot topic these days as we
are becoming more aware of how a fall in the elderly can have
such a wide range of negative impacts on their lives, with the
most critical being death.
Take a look, and
educate yourself on how to prevent falls, and keep your loved
one, patient or client safe so they have the freedom to enjoy
all that life has to offer. Also, remember that by
calling Aunt Ann's Home Care when someone you care about needs
help after a fall, you will benefit from 50 years of home care
experience! Our caregivers are carefully screened,
covered by all insurances and payroll related expenses.
Our Nurse is here to customize a care plan for the best
possible outcome!
This month's recipe is
meatloaf. This is as American as apple pie, and brings
to the table feelings of comfort and family. This is a
recipe that I created and I hope you will enjoy it too!
From our family to yours...
Kind
Regards,
Marla Zelko
Community Relations
Manager
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Each year, U.S. hospitals have 300,000 admissions
for broken hips, and falling is often the cause of those
fractures
Balance exercises help avoid the disability
- often permanent - that may result from falling. There is a
lot of overlap between strength and balance exercises; very
often, one exercise serves both purposes.
Any of the
lower-body exercises for strength are also balance exercises.
They include plantar flexion, hip flexion, hip extension, knee
flexion, and side leg raise. Just doing regularly scheduled
strength exercises will improve balance at the same time.
However, doing strength exercises too often can do more harm
than good. Simply do strength exercises, and incorporate
balance techniques slowly.
Read
more.
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"Non-compliant" patients lead to advense
outcomes
Recent studies show that more than 70% of patients do not
receive recommended preventative care, while over 50% of
chronic disease patients do not receive the follow-up care
indicated by evidence-based guidelines. According to
results from the 2006 DOQ-IT Study and the 2005 HEDIS Study,
patients who are "non-compliant" with preventative and
follow-up care recommendations often fall off the radar
screen, leading to adverse outcomes for the patients. New
software is now available to physicians' offices that tracks
recommended care from annual physicals, to diabetics getting
their HbA1c checked, to vaccinations, immunizations, and
health screenings. See www.phytel.com for more information
on the software that automatically notifies patients of needed
health care actions and tracks patients for compliance, while
measuring quality. The study referenced can be found
here: http://www.mass.gov/ |
The National Committee for the Prevention of Elder
Abuse estimates that more than a million elderly are abused or
neglected in the U.S. each year
Most often, the culprit is a
blood relative. It's estimated that 90 percent of elderly
abuse is committed by family members -- with adult children
making up 40% of that total and spouses comprising 27%. In
Indiana, the Elder Crimes Task Force, in collaboration with
the Monroe County prosecutor's office, Indiana Legal Services,
and Bloomington Hospital, produced a DVD video called "Power
of Attorney: What You Need to Know." It educates people on how
to protect themselves when signing a power of attorney
document, and on other matters, such as how to appoint a
health care representative to make decisions regarding their
health care should they become incapacitated.
The DVD
can be purchased at www.savingourparents.com for
$29.95. |
Shingles vaccine recommended by the
CDC
Officials at the
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say
people over age 60 should get the Zostavax vaccine to protect
themselves from shingles. Researchers have found the vaccine
cuts the occurrence of shingles by about 50% in people age 60
and older, and it reduces the risk by 64% in people ages 60 to
69. The CDC says people ages 60 years and older should get the
single dose of Zostavax even if they have already suffered a
bout of shingles.
Read
more. |
Women with vitamin D deficiency are nearly twice as
likely to have back pain
Scientists at the University of Delaware
have found that older women who have low levels of vitamin D
may have a higher risk of suffering back pain. The researchers
looked at blood levels of vitamin D in 958 people 65 and
older. 58% of the women in the study, and 27% of the men, had
at least moderate pain in some part of their body. For men,
there was no relationship between vitamin D levels and pain.
But the researchers found that women with vitamin D deficiency
were nearly twice as likely to have back pain that was
moderate or worse.
Read
more.
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Balance exercises improve stability, and help
prevent falls
Studies suggest that
tai chi may improve balance and help prevent falls in older
adults. Tai chi is a noncompetitive, self-paced system of
gentle physical exercise. Tai chi is performed standing with a
defined series of postures or movements in a slow, graceful
manner. Each movement or posture flows into the next without
pausing. Long-term tai chi practitioners have improved knee
joint stability, which aids in balance.
To review
simple exercises that help in maintaining balance as one ages,
visit:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/balance-exercises/SM00049
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Just say "no" to those calories and reduce dementia
risk
A recent study showed that
obese people with a large waist size were the most likely to
develop Alzheimer's. This new study found that keeping that
fat on in your 40s could double or even triple your risk of
Alzheimer's disease. Researchers looked at 6,583 people and
followed their progress over 30 years. They found that those
who had larger waists during middle age were in some cases
270% more likely to develop dementia than the people who had
smaller waists. This remained true even if people did not have
a body mass index (BMI) that qualified them as obese.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7314458.stm
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Tradition of Caring
Aunt Ann's has had a tradition of caring since 1958. We
would like to share one of our favorite recipes - from our
family to yours.
Meatloaf
2 shallots chopped
3
cloves of garlic chopped
2 T olive oil
1 lb of ground
beef
1 lb of ground pork
1 pack onion soup mix
1
egg
1.5 cups bread crumbs
1 t Worcestershire
sauce
dash of salt and pepper
12 slices pepper jack
cheese
Topping
1 small can tomato paste
2 T
brown sugar
ð c. water
Heat the olive oil in a
pan. Saute shallots and garlic in olive oil until
translucent. Put the beef, pork, soup mix, egg, bread
crumbs, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper in a bowl and
mix until everything is incorporated. Add the shallots
and garlic. Mix well. Put half the mixture in a
loaf pan. Layer 6 slices of the pepper jack cheese on
the half filled loaf pan. Add the rest of the meat
mixture into the loaf pan and layer the rest of the cheese on
top.
In a separate bowl mix the tomato
paste, brown sugar and water together. Spread on top of
meatloaf.
Bake at 400 for 45 minutes. Let
set for 10 minutes before serving.
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