Family History of Colorectal Cancer? Don’t Skip Your Screening!

March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month and our assisted living team in Gloucester County, NJ is raising awareness about this dangerous health condition. Spotting this condition early is critical to early treatment, especially if you have a family history of the disease, ensuring the best chance for a full recovery, which makes regular screenings so important.

Who Should Be Screened for Colorectal Cancer?

• Everyone over the age of 50 (both men and women) or if you are African American and over the age of 45
• People with a family history of colorectal cancer or inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn’s Disease or polyps
• People experiencing any high-risk symptoms, including persistent stomach pains/cramps, blood in their stool or unexplained weight loss

What is the Screening Process? 

Screening allows doctors to pick up on early signs of colorectal cancer, allowing an effective treatment plan to be developed and implemented as soon as possible. This is critical to preventing polyps from becoming cancer and ensuring that treatment is as effective as possible, saving lives.
Your doctor can recommend several types of screening processes, including:

• Fecal Immunochemical Test (FIT or iFBOT). An inexpensive annual test that can be done at home. If blood is detected in the stool, a colonoscopy will be required for further evaluation.
• Guaiac Fecal Occult Blood Test (FOBT).This is similar to the above and will also require a colonoscopy if the test comes back positive for blood.
• Flexible Sigmoidoscopy.This test is done in a doctor’s office every five years to check for polyps. It is often combined with a stool test. It doesn’t require sedation, but a colonoscopy is required if any warning symptoms are detected.
• Virtual colonoscopy.Using x-rays and computer technology, doctors can create 2D and 3D colon scans to look for polyps. Although non-invasive and done every three years, it can be more expensive than a colonoscopy and is not covered by all healthcare insurers. A colonoscopy is required if any warning symptoms are detected.
• Double Contrast Barium Enema.In this procedure, air and barium are pumped into the rectum, causing polyps to show up on x-rays. It is recommended every 5 to 10 years and a colonoscopy is required if any polyps are detected.

Quality Care in an Independent Community with Assisted living in Gloucester County

Pitman is an assisted living community in Gloucester County, NJ, offering high quality, scalable assisted living services in a comfortable, well-supported and beautiful environment. As part of the United Methodist Communities network, we also offer rehabilitation, access to therapists, Bridges hospice care, respite care and Tapestries® memory care and support services. We welcome seniors from all faith backgrounds.

To find out more about our assisted living community, please visit our website at https://pitman.umcommunities.org/contact us today or book a personal tour.

Original content posted on https://umcommunities.org/blog/family-history-of-colorectal-cancer-dont-skip-your-screening/

Virtual Reality – Exploring a New Therapy for Dementia

When most people think of VR or virtual reality, they think of entertainment — but the truth is that this technology offers so much more. VR has useful applications helping people with dementia conditions. Our home health aide services team offers some supportive insight.

Using Memory to Engage and Connect with Dementia Patients 

One of the biggest challenges for caregivers, family and loved ones of dementia patients is finding ways to connect with their loved one and spend meaningful time together. Happily, VR technology helps make this easier and more rewarding.

Dementia conditions affect memory, causing short-term memory loss while mostly leaving long-term memories intact. Using virtual reality, patients are able to relive their past memories by “visiting” realistic periods of time, places, and locations that hold special meaning to them.

These kinds of memory exercises are key in therapeutically treating these conditions, helping to stimulate brain activity, reduce anxiety and confusion, stabilize mood and improve the quality of life for dementia patients. For families, it’s a wonderful way to engage with their loved ones and share positive, happy memories in a calm, safe environment. In this way, VR therapies form a method to help prolong essential human connections.

VR Technology as a Way to Understand Dementia Better 

Another interesting application of this technology is in helping caregivers, medical professionals, and families better understand the life of someone with dementia. Winners of The Caregiving for Dementia Innovation Challenge showcased their software offering, “Embodying a Person With Alzheimer’s in Virtual Reality,” as a way for caregivers to better understand the disease and the needs of their clients.

Through VR, caregivers can experience how neuro-cognitive conditions affect other parts of the body, not just their memory functions. It shows how the disease progresses in a way that helps all involved in care better understand and anticipate their client’s needs. In this way, VR builds empathy and understanding, as well as promotes caregivers’ thinking outside the box.

Full-Time, Part-Time and Respite Care from Home Health Aide Services in NJ 

As a caregiver, getting the assistance of a qualified and experienced home health aide can be the best way of getting the support and guidance you need to care for your loved one with dementia.
As part of United Methodist Communities, a non-profit organization in New Jersey, we offer home care for the elderly with trained, experienced nursing and health aide staff to help your loved one.

Our respite care and seniors home care services cover everything from companionship and help around the home to 24-hour live-in care, depending on exactly what you and your loved one requires. Our services are scalable and by-the-hour, allowing you to develop a custom care plan.

For more information on respite care and our home health aide services in New Jersey, please contact us today or visit our website at https://homeworks.umcommunities.org/Home-Heath-Aid-services

Original content posted on https://homeworks.umcommunities.org/blog/virtual-reality-exploring-a-new-therapy-for-dementia/

Is Assisted Living Suited to Seniors on Dialysis?

People often ask our assisted living team in Sussex County, if assisted living is the right place for seniors on dialysis. Since it’s American Diabetes Alert Month and National Kidney Month, we’d like to share some insight on this issue with our readers.

Dialysis is an Advanced Medical Treatment 

First of all, we’d like to talk a bit about what dialysis is and how this affects senior caregiving. Dialysis is a life-saving treatment for people with kidney disease or health issues like diabetes, which compromise kidney function. Without the kidneys filtering out dangerous waste products from the blood, these toxic substances quickly build up and make patients dangerously sick and — if left untreated — this is fatal.

Dialysis, a vital machine filtering process, drawing the blood out of a patient, circulating it through a filtering process, and restoring it to the body, is a medical treatment. This incredible medical technology saves lives and buys viable patients time before they can receive a kidney transplant.

Dialysis and Seniors 

In certain circumstances this process can be temporary, such as when the kidneys are expected to make a recovery, but in many cases, dialysis is permanent and will form part of regular care, including end-of life care. A qualified medical team and advanced equipment is required for this treatment, and for these reasons, few assisted living communities offer onsite facilities for seniors on dialysis.

Instead, dialysis can be accessed through scheduled hospital treatments on an out-patient basis (if the health condition is temporary and the patient is expected to recover enough not to require dialysis) while staying in an assisted living community (providing they meet the community’s additional requirements).

It can also be accessed through some hospice facilities as part of a palliative care program. This is only provided if the patient meets other hospice admission requirements and may involve visiting a hospital on an outpatient basis for dialysis if it is required as part of the patient care program. This decision is based on putting the needs of seniors on dialysis first and ensuring that they have access to a facility that offers the best possible care for their needs.

If you would like to find out more about what care options our CCRC and assisted living community can offer you and your loved one or would like more clarification on dialysis in an assisted living community, please don’t hesitate to speak to our friendly team.

Assisted Living and Independent Living for Seniors at Our CCRC in Sussex County New Jersey 

Bristol Glen is a CCRCwith assisted living in Sussex County that aims to provide seniors with comfortable, serviced living arrangements that free up your time to enjoy life. Different living styles under one roof allows residents to access care as needed and remain in their community.

Contact us to find out more about our CCRC and assisted living in Sussex County, New Jersey, please visit our website at https://bristolglen.umcommunities.org/and book your visit today.

Original content posted on https://umcommunities.org/blog/is-assisted-living-suited-to-seniors-on-dialysis/

A Guide to Adaptive Clothing and it’s Benefits for the Elderly

As the senior population grows, more and more retailers and designers are focusing on the clothing needs of older adults. Adaptive clothing is one option that makes dressing easier and more comfortable for different needs.

Here’s more about this type of clothing from the team at our assisted living community in Camden County, NJ.

What is Adaptive Clothing? 

These are clothing options that are adapted to senior use, making dressing and ambulation easier for older adults and their caregivers. This includes pants with Velcro rather than snap fasteners, shoes that slide on securely rather than laces or buckles, shirts that use Velcro or magnetic fasteners rather than buttons, and clothes that pull on with elasticated fasteners rather than zippers. To provide additional comfort, adaptive clothing is made of soft and gentle fabrics.

What are the Benefits of Using Adaptive Clothing? 

For older adults and people with physical limitations, the benefits of adaptive clothing are significant. Painful joints and health conditions like Parkinson’s Disease can make the simple daily task of getting dressed and undressed an emotionally frustrating experience.

Adaptive clothing solves this by removing common obstacles like buttons and laces, making this process much easier. For many seniors, this can mean that they no longer need a caregiver’s assistance for this task, which is incredibly empowering and goes a long way to supporting senior independence.

For seniors who still require assistance, adaptive clothing is easier for caregivers as well, making it less time-consuming and a far more simplified process.

Where Can I Find Adaptive Clothing? 

Many retailers are now stocking adaptive clothing, including Silvert’s, Buck and Buck, Amazon, Walmart, and Resident Essentials. If you are handy at sewing, there are also plenty of patterns and guides online to make this clothing yourself. As with all clothing for seniors, it’s important to find the right fit in terms of comfort, safety and fall prevention. Make sure that the shoes and slippers have good gripping soles, that pants are hemmed to the right length to prevent tripping, and that clothing can be easily layered for warmth as well as sun protection.

Assisted living Camden County NJ – A Community That Cares About Senior Independence 

Collingswood is part of the United Methodist Communities network of high-quality, non-profit assisted living communities specializing in independent living for seniors. With an experienced care and assistance team, scalable services customized to each resident’s needs, and a lively social calendar, we focus our community to provide essential resources that promote independence and quality of life.

To find out more about United Methodist Communities or our assisted living community in Camden County, NJ, please visit our website at http://collingswood.umcommunities.org/or contact us and book your visit today.

Original content posted on https://umcommunities.org/blog/a-guide-to-adaptive-clothing-and-its-benefits-for-the-elderly/

4 Ways to Show Some Love to Your Heart this Valentine’s Day!

February is American Heart Month and our in home respite care team is raising awareness of what this month is all about, what you can do to participate, and why it’s so important!

Why American Heart Month Matters 

Heart disease is the leading cause of all deaths in the USA, accounting for one in every four fatalities. It can strike at any age, whether you are a young adult or a senior citizen. Although this sounds scary, there is good news — heart disease is preventable! By making healthier choices and managing health conditions properly, you can significantly reduce risk, saving and extending your lifespan.

What Causes Heart Disease? 

Smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, being overweight, lack of physical activity and high alcohol intake are all lifestyle factors that increase your risk of heart disease. It is also important to take action if you are diabetic, have a family history of heart disease, or are older, as these also put you at risk.

What Can I Do to Support American Heart Month and My Heart Health? 

Have an annual health check-up that includes blood pressure and cholesterol level screenings.

1. If you have any of the above risk factors, speak to your doctor about developing a health strategy, including quitting smoking, reducing alcohol intake, starting a healthy diet and including exercise in your daily routine.
2. Take up an exercise you love. While you do not have to run a marathon, there are plenty of great ways to get your heart pumping. Dancing, walking, water aerobics, and yoga are exercises you can enjoy at any age.
3. Relax more. Stress and anxiety have a negative impact on your heart health, so find something that promotes calm and relaxation, like meditation, birdwatching, nature walks, or crafts.

Wellbeing Comes First with Expert In Home Respite Care 

Whether you need residential in-home respite care in NJ or need someone qualified and experienced to assist your loved one on a more permanent basis, we are here to help through our HomeWorks program. Our staff is fully certified in New Jersey, so please feel free to ask for formal certification and references.

For more information on our seniors home care services in NJ, please contact us today or visit our website at https://homeworks.umcommunities.org/Home-Care-Services-For-Seniors

Original content posted on https://homeworks.umcommunities.org/blog/4-ways-to-show-some-love-to-your-heart-this-valentines-day/

Hospice Insights: What is Coordinated Care?

If you’ve been researching hospice care, you’ve probably come across the term “coordinated care.” This isn’t a buzzword or marketing term — it’s a critical component of delivering effective care to hospice patients.

Here’s some insight into what coordinated care means and why it’s so important, from our hospice in South Jersey.

What is Coordinated Care and Why is it so Important to Hospice Patient Care? 

Hospice cases are not simple ones. When people come to us, they have gone or are presently going through a transition from curative to palliative care. They may be moving to our community from homecare, assisted living, or intensive care. Their needs are complex and our role is to deliver holistic care focusing not only on medication and nursing care, but also on wellness, quality of life, comfort, and spiritual care.

This requires bringing together a wide range of specialists from doctors and nurses to therapists and companions. Each person on that team needs to understand the patient’s needs in detail, build a comprehensive treatment plan that is unique to their healthcare and wellness needs, and work with the patient and their loved ones openly to provide support and clear communication. This is known as coordinated care.

What Happens in the Coordinated Care Process?

First, the team as a whole will spend time getting to know the patient, their family and caregivers, getting to know care preferences, and any religious or cultural wishes and preferences. The team will note the patient’s care needs, routines, and capabilities to help ease the transition and develop a care plan.

The team will make a diagnosis to ensure documentation of all health conditions and symptoms and develop a comprehensive care program that provides effective symptom management and comfort for the patient.

Additional therapists may assist with hospice care: holistic specialists, social workers, counsellors, spiritual care, and community support specialists as well as medical therapists. A bereavement specialist will also be part of the team.

By sharing patient information among every member of the team in real time and with specialist insight, patient care is kept at the highest quality and no issue is overlooked. It is the most effective way to ensure comprehensive, compassionate palliative care and support to patients and their loved ones.

Want to Find Out More About End-of-Life Care Services? Contact Our Hospice in South Jersey 

At The Shores, a part of the well-known United Methodist Communities non-profit organization in New Jersey, we offer a compassionate, professional hospice neighborhood in the Jersey Shore called Bridges. In this program, we focus on creating a nurturing and comforting environment for patients and their loved ones through customized care programs and compassionate support. To find out more about our hospice in Cape May County, please visit our website at https://theshores.umcommunities.org/hospice-care-nj/or contact us today and organize your visit.

Original content posted on https://umcommunities.org/blog/hospice-insights-what-is-coordinated-care/