Their new landmark Alzheimer’s film is heartbreaking, inspiring, funny and true
“At first, Blythe Danner and Hilary Swank seem utterly different as you watch them chatting together in a vast white room in Manhattan on a fine summer morning.
“Swank, 44, a buff former high school gymnastics champ who grew up in a trailer park in Washington state, is direct, peppy, coachlike. ‘Make a choice about the optimism you want to bring into your life!’ she exhorts us at one point.
“The imperially slim Danner, 75, a Philadelphia banker’s daughter, is reserved and self-deprecating, even after a half-century of acting triumphs. Though she introduced her daughter, Gwyneth Paltrow, to acting, she says Gwynnie is the genius in the family. ‘She has such self-esteem and self-awareness, all the things I never had,’ Danner notes.”
Continue reading this article at AARP Magazine, click here.
“Constance wants to help you care for your aging loved one. We will partner with you by offering you peace of mind and the assurance that you — and they — are not alone.
“We are offering a trial subscription to our basic ‘One Call’ service. One of our friendly, qualified Family Coordinators will call your loved one regularly, asking them basic questions about their mood, diet, and schedule.”
To participate in this free trial of this service, sign up today.
There’s No Place Like Home | New support for those caring for aging loved ones.
As time passes and technology advances, trends come and go, but we think one is here to stay: Aging in place. As the population ages, more and more people are choosing to stay in their own homes longer, or permanently. For some, it’s not a choice: “There is no place like home. Home is where the heart is.”
A study by AARP revealed most seniors share that belief: 90% of seniors stated they plan to live in their own homes for at least the next 5 to 10 years. While the desire to remain at home might be driven by sentimentalities, or by the wish to remain independent and in control, the cost of retirement communities isn’t convincing anyone to pack their bags. Entrance fees to these communities can cost upwards of $100,000, and additional monthly living expenses typically range from $2,000 to $4,000.
New Challenges | Remaining at home doesn’t come without its challenges, and this is especially true as those aging in place begin to require more care and assistance to stay safely at home.
The seniors’ children often fill the caregiver role, assisting their parents in various ways to ensure they are safe and have everything they need while alone at home. This can be difficult, however, as they often have their own nuclear family responsibilities and work commitments to attend to. Two challenges are overwhelmingly present across varying caregiver situations: 1) 24 hours a day is not enough time to manage their loved one’s care, and 2) there is almost constant stress and worry as they think about their loved one’s well-being at home. A majority of caregivers wish they had more help in managing their loved one’s care, and often, they don’t have anyone to help them. That’s why we created Constance.
A New Solution | Constance brings peace of mind to families caring for seniors. With Constance, families know there is always someone looking after their loved one. And when they need help, things will get done with little hassle. Constance calls several seniors every day, to talk about what they’ve eaten, what their plans are, and to make sure they have everything they need. Family members receive a report after the conversation, to let them know how their loved one is doing that day.
It’s Time | If you or someone you know is grappling with the challenges of caring for an aging loved one, there is an opportunity to participate in the support Constance has to offer.
Let us help!
717-500-1386
hello@constance.one
SOURCE: submitted
Lititz, PA – Landis Communities is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement with Friends Life Care to launch a Continuing Care at Home (CCaH) program in Lancaster and Lebanon counties. This arrangement will allow both organizations to expand their missions through the innovative Friends Life Care service and exceptional senior care. This new offering is a membership-based program designed to help people remain in their home as they age and can be utilized for care at home, if and when needed, and even residence-based care as those needs may evolve. The program, launching in October 2018, will therefore give older adults another option to remain living where they choose for as long as possible.
“Friends Life Care offers the first and largest continuing care at home program in the country,” explained Evon Bergey, VP of Community Initiatives at Landis Communities. “The Friends Life Care program provides a truly unique combination of care coordination and financial benefit needed to help ensure older adults have the resources and support that they will need to remain in their own homes as they age. If care is ever needed, it will be coordinated by Friends Life Care and provided by our trusted network of caregivers.”
“We are delighted to join resources with Landis Communities and bring our distinctive services to Lancaster and Lebanon Counties,” said Carol A. Barbour, president of Friends Life Care. “Friends Life Care’s philosophy is centered upon vitality, independence, growth and resilience and enables us to launch and maintain a strong partnership with Landis Communities.”
The composition of America’s aging population is changing greatly, mainly due to the very important baby boomer generation. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that 8.7 million people will be 85 or older by 2030 — the year when all baby boomers join the 65 and older population. According to research, nearly 90% of people want to stay in their own home as they age. This partnership with Friends Life Care to expand the time-tested Continuing Care at Home program provides people with more options to age in place.
Landis Communities and Friends Life Care will begin holding informational seminars in October 2018. These seminars will provide additional detailed information regarding membership in the Continuing Care at Home program. Online webinars will also be made available.
Landis Communities owns and operates Landis Homes, a Continuing Care Retirement Community/ Life Plan Community serving nearly 900 residents, in addition to a number of living options and services for seniors in the area. Friends Life Care is a not-for-profit, mission-focused Quaker-Based organization known for its expertise, integrity and product strength, all vital components for a successful partnership with Landis Communities. More information about Friends Life Care and Landis Communities and dates for seminars and webinars can be found at www.FriendsLifeCare.org/Landis or by calling 1-844-2Landis (1-844-252-6347)
Landis Communities delivers an array of services and housing options throughout the Lancaster County area. Known for enriching lives, they provide caring, high quality service to persons helping them live full lives with access to the services they need. Landis Communities began in the early 1960s when Eastern Mennonite Board of Missions and Charities (now EMM) started exploring how they might develop a community for retired mission workers, pastors and others. The organization now operates across a widening spectrum of services based on personal preferences, physical needs and financial resources. Landis Communities is a conference related ministry of LMC: A Fellowship of Anabaptist Churches and Atlantic Coast Conference of Mennonite Church USA.
Friends Life Care offers long-term care protection by providing wellness programs, home health care, related personal care services and facility care to enrolled members in the Philadelphia and Delaware areas. Individuals and couples become members of Friends Life Care in order to protect their independence, guard their financial security and gain peace of mind. All member care is coordinated by a team of credentialed and selected professionals and provided by carefully screened aides.
The Secretary opens this week’s Wrap-Up with discussion about grandparents coping with children affected by the opioid crisis … their grandchildren.
She and the Governor the governor met with “several area grandparents who have, quite unexpectedly and very unceremoniously, found themselves parenting for the second time around as a direct result of the opioid epidemic. An estimated 82,000 grandparents are the sole caregivers for nearly 89,000 grandchildren in Pennsylvania, and that number is increasing across the commonwealth due to the opioid crisis.”
Each week the Office of the Secretary of Pennsylvania’s Department of Aging releases a Friday newsletter with information relevant to activities, issues and events for older Pennsylvanians and persons with disabilities across the Commonwealth.
Click here download the newsletter as a .pdf file.
“The elderly are particularly vulnerable to ‘post-hospital syndrome,’ some experts believe, and that may be why so many patients return.”
“Bernadine Lewandowski and Dona Jones collaborating on a crossword. Ms. Lewandowski’s condition has improved, but she is too frail to live alone. – Credit: Madeline Gray for The New York Times”
by Paula Spahn
“When she moved from Michigan to be near her daughter in Cary, N.C., Bernadine Lewandowski insisted on renting an apartment five minutes away.
“Her daughter, Dona Jones, would have welcomed her mother into her own home, but ‘she’s always been very independent,’ Ms. Jones said.
“Like most people in their 80s, Ms. Lewandowski contended with several chronic illnesses and took medication for osteoporosis, heart failure and pulmonary disease. Increasingly forgetful, she had been diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment. She used a cane for support as she walked around her apartment complex.
Read this New York Times article in its entirety, click here.
Tang Yau Hoong/Ikon Images/Getty Images
by Blake Farmer
“Vicki Bartholomew started a support group for wives who are caring for a husband with Alzheimer’s disease because she needed that sort of group herself.
“They meet every month in a conference room at a new memory care facility in Nashville, Tenn., called Abe’s Garden, where Bartholomew’s husband was one of the first residents — a Vietnam veteran and prominent attorney in Nashville.
“‘My husband’s still living, and now I’m in an even more difficult situation — I’m married, but I’m a widow,’ she says.
“These women draw the shades and open up to each other in ways they can’t with their lifelong friends.”
“Falls are the leading cause of fatal and non-fatal injuries for older Americans, but most falls can be prevented. This resource highlights fall risk factors and ways that caregivers can work with loved ones to develop a falls prevention action plan.
“The National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC) has partnered with the National Council on Aging (NCOA) to create this resource highlighting fall risk factors and ways that caregivers can work with loved ones to develop a falls prevention action plan. This resource provides a guide for starting conversations about falls with loved ones. It also outlines specific falls prevention action steps and highlights additional resources which may helpful.”
Click here to download the Falls Prevention Conversation Guide.
by Jason Resendez
“While Alzheimer’s disease is most common among peopled aged 65 and older, its effects are being felt more and more by young people. In fact, 1 in 6 millennial caregivers—at an average age of 27—is caring for someone living with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia, according to a recent report from UsAgainstAlzheimer’s and the USC Roybal Institute on Aging.
Lisette Carbajal was in her 20s when she noticed her father’s symptoms. According to Lisette, ‘One of the reasons why I’m so vocal about my dad’s disease is because I hope that no one else my age, 20 or 30 years from now, has to take care of their dad beginning at 20 years old.’”
Each week the Office of the Secretary of Pennsylvania’s Department of Aging releases a Friday newsletter with information relevant to activities, issues and events for older Pennsylvanians and persons with disabilities across the Commonwealth. Click here download the newsletter as a .pdf file.
“The CARE Act is ‘more than just a law.’ It’s a change in the practice of health care.”
WASHINGTON — “For today, there are no doctor’s visits. No long afternoons with nothing to do. No struggles over bathing — or not.
“At the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., a group of older adults — some in wheelchairs, some with Alzheimer’s — and their caregivers sit in a semicircle around a haunting portrait of a woman in white.
“’Take a deep breath,’ said Lorena Bradford, head of accessible programs at the National Gallery, standing before The Repentant Magdalen by Georges de La Tour.
“’Now, let your eyes wander all over the painting. Take it all in. What do you think is going on?’
“’I think she looks sad,’ said Marie Fanning, 75, of Alexandria, Va., an Alzheimer’s patient.”
“Marie Fanning (left) sits next to her husband, Bill, during the Just Us program at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., on March 5. Marie, who has Alzheimer’s disease, and Bill are regular attendees at the program. (Lynne Shallcross/KHN)”
Click here to read this article in its entirety.
Pennsylvania’s CARE Act was sponsored by State Representative Hal English; the Pennsylvania CARE Act was based on model legislation developed by AARP. With its unanimous passage in the State Senate and House, Pennsylvania became the 25th state to enact a version of the CARE Act. The law was unanimously approved by state General Assembly and signed by Governor Wolf in April of 2016 and became law on April 20, 2017.
Berks-Lancaster-Lebanon County Link partners were briefed on the Pennsylvania’s CARE Act at separate Link cross-training meeting in each county in 2017 and 2018.
