Home Instead Senior Care Austin - Providing home care for elders and seniors. Call (512) 347-9207.

Winter can be a dangerous season for older adults. Some of the risks they face are injuries due to falls in ice and snow, difficulty driving in inclement weather and other seasonal dangers.

Here’s what you need to know to protect your older loved ones from falls this winter. It’s very easy to slip and fall in the winter. To lower the odds of a fall:

• Carefully shovel steps and walkways to your home or hire someone to shovel for you
• Do not walk on icy or snowy sidewalks; look for sidewalks that are dry and have been cleared
• Wear boots with non-skid soles so you do not slip when you walk
• If you use a cane, replace the rubber tip before it is worn smooth. You might also buy an ice pick-like attachment that fits onto the end of the cane to help keep you from slipping when you walk with the cane. (You can find these at medical supply stores)

Injury while shoveling snow: When it’s cold outside, your heart works extra hard to keep you warm. Working hard by shoveling snow, for example, may put too much strain on your heart, especially if you have heart disease. Shoveling can also be dangerous if you have problems with balance, or “thin bones” (osteoporosis).

You should:

Ask your healthcare provider whether it is safe for you to shovel snow or do other hard work in the cold. More Senior Tips.

Prevalence of Elder Abuse

Unfortunately many seniors in Austin and the United States have been victimized by elder abuse. The abuse may be physical, emotional, or sexual and can include exploitation, abandonment and neglect.

The National Elder Abuse Incidence Study suggested that more than 500,000 to 1,000,000 Americans aged 60 and older are subject to elder abuse each year and 84% of these cases remain unreported. Often even seniors who are able to report the abuse they’re experiencing do not, either because they’re afraid of retaliation from their abuser; nervous that no one else will want to care for them; and often they are ashamed or feel like they are partially to blame.

Seniors who do choose to come forward have many resources that are available to them and their families. The Eldercare Locator and Administration on Aging can assist with finding people and organizations to seek justice for the senior; which may include setting them up with an ombudsman or legal council. Seniors who are experienced elder abuse can also benefit from attending relevant support groups that will help them understand that while others experience it too; they are not to blame.

Elder abuse is a prevalent issue in the senior community; seniors and their families need to take advantage of available resources and inform themselves so that abuse can be detected and rectified.

Source: http://www.helpguide.org/mental/elder_abuse_physical_emotional_sexual_neglect.htm

Home Instead Senior Care in Austin helps elders stay home longer. Please call us when seeking non-medical, companionship, and professional caregvers in Austin.

Home Safety Checklist for Seniors in Austin - LIsten to our offer to check for safety hazards in your home.

Click here to listen…

Safety for Austin Seniors and Family Caregivers

Unfortunately, the elderly are sometimes victims of robbery and other violent crimes. The number of crimes committed against older people is rising sharply, with assaults against the elderly doubling in the past eight years. Here are some helpful tips to guide you if you are ever facing a potentially dangerous situation.

How you can avoid danger

1. Trust yourself. Paying close attention to your instincts is crucial. Your senses can pick up on danger so always listen to yourself.

2. Be aware of your surroundings. It is never a good idea to leave the front door open, your valuables in the car, your purse on top of your office desk, or to flaunt your valuable jewelry. These actions can provide temptation and opportunity for offenders.

3. Pay attention to the people around you. It is important to pay attention to this advice so you will listen to your instincts and also be aware of what is happening around you. You can often sense what someone’s intentions are by the way they are looking at you.

4. Act confident and focused. Just like you can sense someone else’s feelings, they can sense yours. What a predators looks for are people who are meek, mild, weak, unfocused, and distracted.  Try to present yourself in an assertive manner. When walking down the street, make eye contact with people who look at you. Give out signals to the would-be offender that you are in charge and aware that they are there.

 How to Defend Yourself

1. Have an escape plan. Know the layout of your surroundings .In the senior’s home, know where the power switch is, and know your way in the dark. This can give you an advantage over intruders

2. Train your body. Get in shape. Being healthy is important, and could make a big difference in your ability to protect yourself.

3. React quickly to danger. The time in which you react is critical to how you are able to come through without being hurt.  

Hopefully you will never be put in this situation, but it is always good to be prepared and be cautious.

Home Instead Senior Care in Austin helps elders stay home longer. Please call us when seeking non-medical, companionship, and professional caregvers in Austin.

Home Safety Checklist for Seniors in Austin - LIsten to our offer to check for safety hazards in your home.

Click here to listen…

This week our focus is on “Safety in the Home”. Home Instead Senior Care has put together this helpful list, so that all caregivers can check the senior’s home to make sure that it is safe for everyone. Also, make a note of the fantastic “special offer” we have going currently. All you have to do is submit your e-mail address and Home Instead Senior Care will provide a 15 minute home safety check, free of charge! There are no strings attached, and we promise you won’t be receiving a bunch of spam mail. This is a service that we are more than happy to provide to show you just how much you are valued by us.

Things to check when doing a home safety inspection:

· Keep the entrance well lit, and the railing is secure. Make sure that visitors are visible and the lock is in working order.

· Keep the living area uncluttered, rugs safe for movement, and electric cords safely attached.

· Check in the kitchen to make sure the faucets, stove burners, and oven is working.

· In the bedroom, make sure the nightstand is available for personal items.

· Bathrooms should have safety mats in the tub and fixtures in working condition.

These and many other safety features will be evaluated in your home, at your leisure, if you sign up today!

If your company’s Human Resource department is researching options for back-up care for employees taking care of their families, you will want to know how do these programs work. If you are a working mother caring for children and older adults, you might be struggling to get through the days. Call us if you could use some help at 512-347-9207.      

You join thousands of others in this nation caring for seniors as well as young children.  Many employers like yours are investigating back-up care programs for their employees as a way to reduce employee stress and improve absenteeism and productivity.  These programs provide lists of providers that employees can access and contact quickly when they need back-up care.

Work Options Group, a Colorado-based company that specializes in the provision of corporate-sponsored back-up care, shares some feedback from employees who use back-up care. Survey results indicate that the employee benefit does in fact reduce stress and unscheduled absenteeism as well as improve productivity and loyalty among employees. Below are key findings from the 2008 Back-up Care Survey conducted by Work Options Group.  More than 1,200 employees who used back-up care through Work Options Group between March 1 and May 31, 2008 completed the survey.

Visit our blog in a day to view the full survey.

For more information about Home Instead Senior Care Austin, contact us at 512-347-9207.  For more information about the survey, log on to http://www.workoptionsgroup.com/press_release_survey.html.

Older adults in Austin are vulnerable victims when disasters strike in Texas. The summer and early fall is when Mother Nature unleashes floods, hurricanes, tornadoes and fires. These present prime times for trouble.

Home Instead Senior CAREGivers encourage families of elders in Austin to talk with their aging loved ones and begin preparing for any kind of emergency that could threaten their health or safety. One thing to do right away is assess what your loved one needs in the event of a disaster like a tornado, flood, or fire.  If your believe they need additional help and assistance, you need to hellp them identify a team. A personal support network like neighbors, friends, relatives and professional caregivers who are available and near them to help in case of an emergency.

Family caregivers need to organize a plan around every place they might be during the day or week. If your aging parents visits the a senior center or the public library, if a disaster should strike while they are there, a plan should be in place for them.

Communication after a disaster is a vital component of your disaster plan.  Local telephone lines are usually overloaded in a disaster, but the long-distance lines may be working, and possibly cell sights may be down.  Make sure your aging relative has an out-of-town contact number available to call after a disaster to let someone know they are safe and sound.

If you have a private question for our elder care expert, Catherine Kohl, please send her your confidential question about Alzheimer’s or Assisted Living at home in Austin - HISC.Kohl@yahoo.com.

Home Instead Senior Care Austin, helping your elder stay at home safely. Call us today - 512-347-9207.