Checking In: Is Mom or Dad Ok on Their Own?
How Do You Decide if Your Aging Parents Are Safe? Whether you live 5 minutes or 50 miles away from your aging parents, it can be difficult to assess how they are doing on their own as they get on in years. You may worry about whether they are able to handle the day-to-day domestic chores […]
Healthy Living and Successful Aging
Article Courtesy of the National Care Planning Council The United States is experiencing a remarkable increase in the number of people who live to an old age. Our older population (people 65 years or older) numbered nearly 40 million in 2009 (latest year of available data). These folks represent one in every eight Americans, or 13% […]
Chik-a what? A New Mosquito-Borne Virus Strikes Mainland U.S.
Chikungunya is a virus transmitted to humans by mosquitoes. While the disease has been prevalent in other countries such as Africa, Asia and Europe for some time, the first suspected case of mosquito to human transmission occurred last week in Florida according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Symptoms of the virus include fever, […]
Aiming High: 1 Million Fewer Heart Attacks and Strokes
In 2011, the Department of Health and Human Serviceslaunched the Million HeartsTM initiative with the aim of preventing 1 million heart attacks and strokes by 2017. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cardiovascular disease kills one in three Americans, and the main risk factors for the disease—smoking, being overweight, high blood pressure and cholesterol—are within a […]
Why Choose Home Care Plus?
Maybe it happened unexpectedly—a fall led to a hospital stay and suddenly your mom requires constant help once she is discharged—or perhaps you and your parents have discussed it all along and hiring a professional in home care provider was the natural next step to maintaining their independence and keeping them safe in their home […]
Celebrating Older Americans Month: Safe Today. Healthy Tomorrow.
Home Care Plus is celebrating Older Americans Month this May! This year’s theme, “Safe Today. Healthy Tomorrow.” is focused on educating older adults on how they can stay safe from unintended injuries. Older Americans Month, sponsored each May by the U.S. Administration for Community Living (ACL), is placing emphasis on injury prevention, including fire, motor vehicle, and […]
Practice Sun Safety to Prevent Skin Cancer
With long, sunny summer days ahead of us, most people are daydreaming about the pool, the beach and barbeques, with little thought going to sun safety. May is Skin Cancer/Melanoma Detection and Prevention Month, and it couldn’t come at a better time—rates of skin cancers have increased over 300 percent since 1994! The statistics surrounding skin cancer are scary: […]
Walk Your Way to Better Health
What better way to enjoy the warmer temperatures and longer days that come with spring than going for a walk? Walking has numerous health benefits and is a low impact exercise that you can do almost anywhere. According to the American Heart Association, moderate physical exercise such as walking offers the following health perks:< Reduce the […]
Spring Isn’t the Only Thing in the Air–Watch Out for Pollen!
Spring isn’t the only thing in the air this time of year—for some 35 million Americans, the pollen from trees, flowers, grasses and other plants promises misery in the form of seasonal allergies. How do you know if you have allergies? Itchy, watery eyes, sneezing, and a runny nose are the most common symptoms of seasonal […]
Timing the “Talk:” Long Term Care Planning
Most people agree it isn’t an easy topic to broach—“Hey ma, you’re getting old and I’m worried you might get hurt while home alone.” And as much as you don’t want to say it, chances are your aging parents are reluctant to hear it. No one wants to face the possibility of losing his or […]