San Luis Obispo Assisted Living Professionals Releases Guidelines for Finding the Right Assisted Living During the COVID-19 Crisis

On July 4, 2020   /   Elder Placement  
San Luis Obispo Assisted Living Professionals Releases Guidelines for Finding the Right Assisted Living During the COVID-19 Crisis

-Sadly, senior citizens are among the first to suffer from exposure to COVID-19. Living in close quarters is one of the highest contributing factors to exposure but the team from San Luis Obispo’s Elder Placement Professionals has prepared some guidelines to help ease concerns when it comes to choosing an assisted living facility.

The guidelines include:

  • Questions to ask about the facility and COVID-19
  • Questions to ask about the facility and its programs in general
  • How to get the best service from professional resources

Questions about COVID-19

  • How many residents and employees have tested positive for COVID-19? Ask about everyone: residents, staff, vendors, even visitors.
  • Who is being tested and how often?
  • What measures are being taken to prevent infection? Ask about sanitation practices, availability and use of PPE, including masks.
  • How and when does the facility notify family when someone tests positive?
  • Is the facility following the applicable Centers for Disease Control guidelines?
  • What are the visitation policies? Many states and counties have lifted, or modified, the visitation ban. In the event of an outbreak, what alternatives to visiting in person are provided?
  • What kind of COVID-19 prevention and care training has the staff received?
  • Is the facility capable of providing adequate care for infected residents?
  • What is the policy for allowing a resident who has been hospitalized with COVID-19 to return?
  • Socializing is important to senior citizen’s mental and emotional health. How are important socializing programs being conducted? How is social distancing handled for meals and other activities such as exercise, entertainment and socializing?
  • Is the staffing adequate?

The San Luis Obispo assisted living professionals have made it a point to be thoroughly familiar with the guidelines, regulations and best practices for COVID-19 safety and can help you prepare questions. The company works with assisted living facilities nationwide.

General questions about the facility and its programs

There are many important things to consider when selecting the right assisted living home. Along with the comforts of home such as good quality beds and furniture, healthy meals, staffing and medical concerns, activity programs rank high on the importance list.

Test the bed and furniture. Ask if you can have a meal before making up your mind. Prepare a list of questions related to your, or your family member’s medical conditions. Take a close look at the activity programs. Exercise, mental stimulation and socializing are important for a good quality of life.

  • Are pets allowed and is there staff to help with pets if necessary?
  • What social activities are available?
  • Are faith-based activities available?
  • Which meals are communal?
  • Are field trips available?
  • What kinds of exercise programs are available?

Getting the best from professional resources

Choosing the best assisted living home can be challenging in normal circumstances and even more so in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. The professional services provided by the San Luis Obispo assisted living professionals are comprehensive, covering every aspect of settling contentedly into a new home.

The company works with facilities all across the United States and takes special efforts to match elders to the best living situation.

Elder Placement Professional’s free services include finding the best options and helping negotiate cost that fit your budget for:

  • Home Care
  • Residential Care Homes
  • Retirement Communities
  • Alzheimer’s, Dementia, Parkinson’s Care
  • Assisted living nationwide

Elder Placement Professionals
1119 Palm St.
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
(805) 546-8777

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Ways to stay connected during Quartantine

On June 5, 2020   /   Uncategorized  

Looking for a way to stay connected to Grandma during these uncertain times? The Echo Show is a great way to drop in on your loved ones that are currently under quarantine/Covid 19 restrictions and unable to host a visitor. Grandma and Grandpa can listen to News updates, watch Youtube videos, listen to Amazon Music, even watch HULU!

Grandma can navigate Echo Show using both her voice and or the touch screen. Here’s how: Go to the home screen: Say, “Alexa, go home.” Featuring adaptive brightness, the Show can detect the ambient light in the room and dial the screen brightness up or down automatically which is perfect for seniors aging eyes and or light sensitivity. What a perfect way for loved ones to stay connected, but keep grandma in the know with current events and feel like she has a visitor no matter the distance between.  Stay connected, and be able to drop in on Grandma and see what she is up to with the Show.

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The Alinker walking bike enables older adults and people with a range of disabilities to get around faster and easier

On May 29, 2020   /   Uncategorized  

Alinker Walking Bike

What has changed the lives of all these people and many more around the world? The Alinker walking bike is designed for how people want to live. The yellow bike allows users, including amputees, to use their legs to move. With a “footprint” smaller than a wheelchair, the Alinker is welcome in grocery stores, museums and malls, as well as outdoors. The user sits upright at a level nearly as tall as standing height, allowing for easy social interaction.
“Over my dead body will I use one of those!” Barbara Alink’s mother was expressing her distaste for that all-too-common device used by older adults to get around: the walker. She didn’t like the stigma associated with the device; she wanted to stay more active. Luckily, her daughter is an engineer and took heed of the need for a walking assist that would allow movement and be perceived as cool.

Who Is It For?

Now, it’s not just older adults who are using the bike. Landmine victims, amputees, people with multiple sclerosis and other degenerative diseases, those with back pain, and many for whom walking is painful use the Alinker. More than 60% of people who use a wheelchair can still move their legs and potentially ride the Alinker. Users like that it doesn’t look like a medical device.
“You’re perceived completely differently. You’re standing up. You’re at eye level,” says Ceilidh Corcoran, 40. Diagnosed with a hip condition four years ago, after two surgeries she started limping. Soon after, the pain of walking drove her to a wheelchair. She negotiated life with a scooter, wheelchair and crutches, then saw an Instagram post from actor Selma Blair, who has MS. It featured a photo of Blair on her Alinker, and text that read, “I got places to go! Sometimes I can’t do it on my own two feet.” Blair enthused about her bike, and Corcoran longed for one for herself.
After a crowdfunding campaign and some financial help from Blair, Corcoran is loving her new bike. “I used to get sympathy smiles. Now I get genuine smiles,” she says. “I’m really hurting this week because I did so much last week. You totally overdo it (at first), but it’s such a great feeling.”

Advantages

The Alinker has five distinct advantages:
  • Users sit upright, at about the same eye level as those standing.
  • Lower body stress is minimal because the seat takes the user’s weight.
  • Feet are on the ground, not pedals, for stability and safety.
  • Handlebars provide support and stability.
  • It is perceived as a bike, not a disability device.
Users also give it kudos for its portability. The 26-pound bike folds up easily for transport in the smallest car. “I always have a smile on my face when I’m on it, and it’s such a great feeling!” enthuses one Vancouver user. “Instead of sitting in the wheelchair and feeling a lot more disabled, this makes me feel like I’m on my way to becoming healthy again. I can just take it anywhere.”
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Greatness doesn’t stop with Age…

On March 10, 2020   /   Uncategorized  

 

We would like to take a moment to honor Great Women in History, Did you know that Julia Morgan, whom designed our local “Monday Club” here in San Luis Obispo, was hand-picked by William Randolph Hearst as the Architect for Hearst Castle, for his sprawling million plus acre ranch in Chihuahua, Mexico, but that she single handedly designed over 700 structures in California? Julia Morgan attended Berkeley University where she was the only female engineering student. Not only was Julia raised by a strong and influential woman, she proved that that everything is possible. Julia became the first woman to earn a certificate at the prestigious Ecole de Beaux-Arts.

There have also been women to who have paved the way for others in out Armed Forces; that also have amazing stories to tell. General Ann Dunwoody ,65, was the first woman to command a Battallion, she was also the first woman General Officer at Fort Bragg. Later, she was the fist woman in Us History to be promoted to the rank of four-star general. Way to go!

Brigadier General Wilma Vaught,88, was the first woman who was part of the Strategic Air Command unit when she became temporary executive office of the Management Analysis Division in Guam. Wilma was the first women to be promoted to Brigadier General in the Comptroller Field.

Acknowledging these amazing women blazing trails for our future proves that anything is possible. Thank you to our Armed Forces that dedicated a memorial to all these great women and more, telling their stories serving our Country.

Cheers to these amazing Women, and the many that will follow!

 

“My buildings will be my legacy… they will speak for me long after I’m gone.” –Julia Morgan

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New Cognitive “Sniff” Test

On February 28, 2020   /   Uncategorized  

 

We wanted to remind you to “Stop and smell the Roses” once in a while… Did you know, that researchers have discovered that a simple sniff test, when combined with a brief cognitive exam, can help predict the likelihood of developing Dementia and or Alzheimer’s? Researchers have administered smell tests with as little as five odors. In that test of nearly 3,000 adults, participants had to identify the odors of peppermint (easiest), fish, orange, rose and leather (hardest). Five years later, the results found that older adults with “olfactory dysfunction” (those unable to correctly identify at least 4 out of 5 odors at baseline) had double the chance of developing dementia within the five years following the test. “We think a decline in the ability to smell, specifically, but also sensory function more broadly, may be an important early sign, marking people at greater risk for dementia,” says senior author Jayant M. Pinto, professor of surgery at the University of Chicago.

Fact: Scent cells are renewed every 30/60 days.

Fact: Women have a better sense of smell versus Men.

 

#elderplacementprofessionals #slolife #nationwide #experts #alzheimers #seniors #sniff #scent #women #men #dementia #research #findacure

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At home tips to keep Seniors Safe

On February 27, 2020   /   Uncategorized  

Safety tips for Seniors:

  1. keep areas de-cluttered
  2. Cover sharp edges of furniture
  3. be mindful of appropriate lighting
  4. rugs have no slip mats underneath to prevent movement
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Benefits of Caffeine and Coffee on the Brain

On February 21, 2020   /   Uncategorized  

Happy Fun Fact from Elder Placement Professionals!

Studies show that caffeine and coffee can delay the onset of Alzheimer’s, even in seniors who already have some form of mild dementia. Research shows that caffeine blocks inflammation in the brain, specifically adenosine receptors, which can start a chain reaction that begins the mind’s cognitive decline.

Fact: Hypoxia, is what happens when the brain is starved of oxygen (Alzheimer’s/Dementia) Caffeine can affect the brains response; reducing the extent of inflammation.

Fact:  Research has shown that caffeinated coffee increases production of granulocyte-colony stimulating factor, which helps the brain in several ways.

Fact: Hawaii is the only American state that grows coffee.

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Heart Disease and Health Tips

On February 6, 2020   /   Uncategorized  

February 7th is “Go Red for Women” day.

Wear red and show your support and awareness of this dangerous killer. Heart Disease is the number one killer of Women over all forms of Cancer combined. Heart Disease affects all ages of men and women; women face a higher risk  up to 20% higher if they smoke and or use birth control. Heart Disease is responsible for 1 in 4 deaths. (2019 statistics) 610,000 people die a year of Heart Disease. 735,000 will have a heart attack. Staying active and eating healthy always lower your chances of developing Heart Disease.

Include a diet of whole grains and leafy grains in conjunction with  regular activity to decrease your chances.

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Home Safety tips for Seniors

On February 4, 2020   /   Uncategorized  

For those seniors that are adamant about staying at home, here are some tips to make sure that they can do so safely!

  1. DE-clutter walk ways. Less clutter means less chance of falling.
  2. Add non slip pads underneath area rugs
  3. Make sure each room is properly lit. Nightlights, and over head lighting.
  4. Install grab bars in bathrooms for safety.
  5. Use non slip rubber mats in the bottom of the shower to prevent slipping.
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