Minding Our Elders®
Breaking the Isolation: Information, Support and Shared Experience for Caregivers and Seniors by Author, Columnist, Consultant, Speaker Carol Bradley Bursack
by Carol Bradley Bursack
5 Feb 2012 at 2:01am
The profession of geriatric care coordinator or manager - they go by various names - is a profession that has evolved out of an obvious need. There are legions of harried caregivers, social workers and nurses have a front row view into what a caregiver's life is like. Some of these professionals came to believe that maybe they could make a profession out of helping these caregivers. These entrepreneurs hung out their shingles and a profession was born.
by Carol Bradley Bursack
4 Feb 2012 at 2:01am
...That is something I still regret. I don't regret my vigilance. I do regret not going through proper channels. As it worked out, this man became one of the best aides in the home, and I can't tell you what his care for my mother meant to me after Dad died and I had to handle all of the logistics, plus the emotions, and my mother's upset.
by Carol Bradley Bursack
3 Feb 2012 at 2:01am
February is Heart Health Month. With this in mind, Dr. Travis Stork, co-host of the award winning talk show The Doctors, generously donated some time for a small conference call that allowed four writers to ask specific questions about heart health. Dr. Stork is a practicing ER doctor and faculty physician in the emergency department at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn.
by Carol Bradley Bursack
2 Feb 2012 at 2:01am
During their last years, my parents' special days would be considered by some to be a fiasco, if the celebrations were judged by traditional standards. Yet, I'll never regret trying my best to simulate the kind of celebration my parents had always had. Celebrations give life some texture. And if anyone needs something to make one day different than all of the others, it's people who are already coping with the indignities the aging process can bring.
by Carol Bradley Bursack
1 Feb 2012 at 2:01am
I've joked (actually, it's thinly veiled seriousness) with care agency people, and our city leaders, that every city needs one person available day and night to just sit and wait for a call to pick someone up off the floor. Caregivers have a dreadful time with this problem and often they don't know who to call for help.
by Carol Bradley Bursack
31 Jan 2012 at 2:01am
Smoking is bad for our health. Nothing has changed that often proven fact. Also, nicotine is part of the addictive element in smoking. However, nicotine as administered through a medical patch, rather than a tobacco product, was shown in a recent study to have some benefit for nonsmokers with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Not everyone with MCI goes on to develop Alzheimer?s disease, but many people do. Therefore, the interest in studying MCI is intense.
by Carol Bradley Bursack
30 Jan 2012 at 2:01am
Dear Carol: My dad died suddenly about a year ago. Mom is 73 and quite frail for her age. She?s also slipping cognitively. She can?t keep up the house they?ve lived in for decades. She seems afraid to live there alone, so I?d like to see her move to assisted living. She actually wants to make the move, but she seems frozen when it comes to getting rid of anything in the house so she can move. How can I get her going with this project? - Amanda