How Occupational Therapy is Helping Those with MS

Create an Accessible Home Entrance

One of the first obstacles we encounter while visiting in home care patients in a place like Canon City, is the accessibility of the home. Creating an entrance that is easily accessibly makes not only the patient's life easier, but everyone else's as well. Some basic changes can make a huge difference in the quality of everyday life. 

Aging in Place: Making Your Home’s Main Entrance Accessible

One of the first areas to address when modifying your home in preparation to age in place is the main entrance and the exterior walkways leading to and from this door.

If you are looking to update your current home or relocate due to age-related concerns, take the entry specifications and features below into consideration.

Threshold Height

Doorways, especially the main entrance to your home, should be step-less and have no threshold or a minimal threshold of no more than half an inch tall.

Door Width

Doorways should be no less than 32 inches wide, but a minimum of 36 inches is ideal. A standard wheelchair is approximately 24 to 27 inches wide. A simple alternative to widening a doorway is installing offset or expandable door hinges that could add up to 2 inches of width to a doorway.

Door Swing

Exterior doors should open into the home. Inswing doors prevent a person from stepping backwards when opening the door to enter.

Door Handles

Replace round doorknobs with levered handles. A loss of fine motor skills, arthritis pain and joint stiffness, and changes in vision can make the actions of twisting a doorknob or inserting the right key into a lock and turning difficult. Levered handles and keyless locks and entry systems can make the entry process easier.

Front Steps

The front stairway must feature secure and accessible handrails on both sides. The treads of each step should be deep and wide enough to safely accommodate you and a mobility aid.

All steps should drain properly. Accumulated water, snow, ice, or fungal growth can pose a serious slip and fall hazard.

Each step should be clearly defined as well. Ensuring proper visual cues are present is crucial. Adequate lighting and contrasting colors can help distinguish where the edge of each step is located to prevent tripping. Recessed lighting designed specifically for stairs can be installed to the face of each step or along a side wall to the illuminate the entire area.

A covered landing of some kind at the main entrance is ideal. It provides a flat, stable surface that is protected from the elements on which you can manage the front door and enter the home. Adding a bench or a small shelf next to the door will provide a convenient place to set any items, allowing use of both hands to get inside. Sufficient lighting on the landing also allows you to more easily lock and unlock the door.

Read the full article here: Aging in Place: Making Your Home’s Main Entrance Accessible http://bit.ly/2wCqxfp

First Posted here: Create an Accessible Home Entrance

Watch the Solar Eclipse Live Online

With the solar eclipse happening Monday, many of our homecare patients in Denver are looking forward to the event. Though some may not be able to make it to Wyoming or the other surrounding areas, we hope many people are able to see it online. Technology has given many people the ability to experience this event, when without it they may not have been able to.

Watch Monday's Solar Eclipse From Your Home

There's a way to follow the historic event even if you're not in its path

Watch Monday's Solar Eclipse From Your Home There's a way to follow the historic event even if you're not in its path Excited about Monday's solar eclipse, but don't live in the path of full visibility that includes places like Redmond, Ore., or Knoxville, Tenn.? Not to worry! Technology has improved tremendously over the 38 years since the moon last completely obscured the sun over the contiguous United States. This means you'll be able to enjoy an immersive eclipse experience from your living room or online. Here are a few of your available options. The Weather Channel begins its coverage Monday at 6 a.m. ET with reporters around the country — and beyond. For example, the network will partner with Royal Caribbean to show the eclipse from a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean. It will also be aboard a chartered Alaska Airlines plane to film the event from 35,000 feet in the air. Online, the Weather Channel has teamed up with Twitter to live stream the event, which you can view at eclipse2017.twitter.com. You also can submit content by tweeting with the hashtag #Eclipse2017. CNN will start its coverage at 1 p.m. ET with a live show hosted by science correspondent Rachel Crane and former astronaut Mark Kelly. Online — at cnn.com/eclipse and on CNN's mobile apps and its Facebook Live page — you can view livestream broadcasts from five locations in stunning 4K high-definition. And if you have a virtual reality headset, you're in luck. You can view a 360-degree stream through your device. 

Read the full article here: How to Watch the Solar Eclipse Online - AARP http://bit.ly/2ibXUPU

Originally Posted on: Watch the Solar Eclipse Live Online

Glen Campbell’s Legacy Lives On

It was sad news for home health care patients in Canon City when they found out about the passing of country music legend Glen Campbell. His openness about his Alzheimer's diagnosis has influenced the way people talk about the disease.  

Glen Campbell's Final Gift

The country legend's legacy includes his bracing honesty (and enduring good humor) in facing Alzheimer's

As fellow musicians, actors and even former presidents reacted to the news of Glen Campbell’s death Tuesday, appreciation poured in for the gentlemanly, apple-cheeked singer and guitar picker, a session musician-turned-recording and film star whose ability to fuse genres helped give a later generation of performers a wider audience.

But Campbell’s final contribution — openly sharing his experience with a disease that affects 5.5 million Americans — spoke more to the strength of his character than it did to his wide-ranging musical talent. 

Officially diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2011, Campbell swiftly set off on a goodbye tour, with a five-week adieu turning into a 15-city marathon. Ronald Petersen, a neurologist who treated Campbell at the Mayo Clinic, says that as bold as it was of Campbell to go public with his diagnosis at the time (something that very few celebrities choose to do), it was “additionally courageous, and important, of him to allow a film crew to document what’s happening to him on the road as the disease progresses.” The resulting documentary, Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me, was released in 2014.

While the disease was “pretty well established” by the time Campbell was treating crowds to renditions of Rhinestone Cowboy or Southern Nights, he showed fans and the public alike “that people with this kind of impairment can still have quality of life, and that they can do the things they enjoy … with the appropriate supports,” says Petersen. The film also showed the very forgiving response of fans when Campbell, then struggling with tasks as simple as finding a hotel room bathroom, tripped up on lyrics or, say, made a nonsensical statement from the stage.

“They were endeared to him and cared so much,” Petersen says. “They weren’t judging him, or anything of the sort.” While some of that had to do with the fans’ love of Campbell — a nice guy even to the bitter end of his treatment, notes Petersen — the response isn’t that unlike what many patients encounter when they let others in on their disease, he says.

Read the full article here: Country Singer Glen Campbell Dies at Age 81 - AARP http://bit.ly/2hTiyo2

Article Source on: Glen Campbell’s Legacy Lives On

Do You Have a Hard Time Sleeping? These Might Be the Reasons Why.

Sleep is a vital part of not only recovery but general health and well being as well. We see patients struggle with sleep during in home physical rehabilitation in Denver sometimes. Creating a good routine and eating schedule can be a helpful way in improving someone's sleep habits.  

5 Reasons You Can't Sleep 
What you can do to reclaim the zzzs you need 

For the 70 million Americans who suffer from insomnia, nighttime can be endless and exhausting. If you're a chronic non-sleeper, you've no doubt followed expert advice to turn off the electronics, keep the bedroom dark and cool, and avoid alcohol and caffeine before bed. But we've found five surprising reasons why you might not be sleeping through the night. And they're all fixable.

1. You eat a lot of fast food

As if you really need another reason to give up sweetened beverages, consider this: Adults who drank a lot of soda were more likely to sleep just five hours a night or less, according to a 2016 study in the journal Sleep Health. Consuming large amounts of sugar may increase insulin resistance and produce inflammation. Add to the soda a fast-food meal like a burger and fries, and you've got the perfect recipe for poor snoozing. "When your body is constantly putting out fires from processing unhealthy foods, the result may be shallower sleep," says Michael Grandner, director of the Sleep & Health Research Program at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson.

Fix it

Go for greens and green tea. Older adults who followed a Mediterranean diet — with its emphasis on fruits and vegetables, fish, nuts, seeds and olive oil — were more likely to snag better-quality slumber, a 2017 study in the journal Sleep found. Also, a new Japanese study discovered that lowering the amount of salt in the diet can dramatically cut middle-of-the-night bathroom calls.

3. You take sleep meds

Here's an eye-opening statistic: Sleep medicines give you just an extra 15 minutes of sleep per night on average, Oexman says. And you may not feel that refreshed the next day, either. "They have an amnesia effect, where you're still waking up, you just don't remember it," he says. That's a big price to pay for dangerous side effects, including addiction, sleepwalking and falling. While the sleep hormone melatonin can be safer, most people take it incorrectly, Grandner says. Melatonin works to shift your body clock—not induce sleep.

Fix it

Sleep meds should be taken only as a short-term treatment for insomnia in response to a major life stressor, like divorce, death in the family or job loss, says Helena Schotland, M.D., sleep expert at the University of Michigan Sleep Disorders Center in Ann Arbor. If you want to try melatonin — for instance, if you're normally a night owl and want to get to sleep sooner — take a small dose two to three hours before bed.

5. You have undiagnosed sleep apnea

Think you don't have sleep apnea if you don't snore? Not true, Schotland says. Many of the 23 million Americans with obstructive sleep apnea have uncommon symptoms, including night sweating, morning headaches, dry mouth and, yes, insomnia. And not all sufferers are overweight, which is why it is frequently missed. One telltale sign: You're especially tired during the day. "Many people ignore this red flag," Schotland says.

Fix it

If you get a full night's sleep but are still dragging during the day, talk to your doctor. If you do have sleep apnea, treatments are effective and may include an oral device or CPAP machine. Even a little weight loss can help; one study found that losing just 20 pounds cut the number of apnea episodes per hour nearly in half.

Read the full article here: Insomnia And Reasons For Sleep Problems - AARP http://bit.ly/2weXEm3

First Seen right here: Do You Have a Hard Time Sleeping? These Might Be the Reasons Why.

Easing Depression using Occupational Therapy

No matter what the condition is, depression has a way of sneaking into many patients lives. Imagine a home heath care patient in Pueblo who is working on their physical strength, but then needs some help with their mental strength as well. Working on becoming happy and healthy during any kind of treatment means a good balance of physical and mental health. 

Occupational therapy eases depression in patients with age-related macular degeneration

With any type of medical condition, a loss of independence can lead to growing feelings of depression. People living with age-related macular degeneration experience a gradual erosion of their independence as failing eyesight makes simple tasks such as navigating their homes or reading medicine bottles quite di­fficult.

A study published in the journal Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science examined two therapeutic approaches to macular degeneration rehabilitation and how they affected patients' levels of depression. In the study, subjects were provided with the same baseline low-vision optometry evaluation and in-office patient training, and then split into two groups. The first group received six one-hour, in-home sessions with an occupational therapist, who helped the patients work on practical lifestyle tasks such as writing checks, measuring ingredients and pouring liquids. The second group received an equal amount of time with a counselor, who engaged in supportive talk therapy about their vision loss and disability, but offered no pragmatic advice on how to complete chores or navigate their environment.

After four months, researchers assessed the progress of both groups. The patients who received the occupational therapy showed greater improvement in their ability to perform daily activities than those who did not. (The talk therapy participants did experience some improvement, likely attributed to the initial low-vision optometry sessions and possibly from the encouragement they received from the in-home counselor.) The researchers also concluded that when patients improved in their functional ability, their level of depression decreased, according to AOA.

Read the full article here: Occupational therapy eases depression in patients with age-related macular degeneration http://bit.ly/2v19zGH

Original Post on: Easing Depression using Occupational Therapy

Technology is Changing the way Doctors Communicate with Home Care Patients

Technology is no doubt changing the way we communicate, it's even changing the way doctors communicate with their patients. Sometimes with home care in Denver, it is especially hard to get some patients to the doctor and back when they need to go on a frequent basis. This can be because of their specific condition and sometimes it is because of their physical location. When taking care of these patients, we want them to feel as comfortable as possible, and sometimes those trips to the hospital can really take the energy out of someone. New technologies have given some patients the ability to communicate with their doctors in an effective way. This concept has the potential to really change some people's lives. 

In Home Care Support Leads the Way for Healthcare into the Future

The healthcare system in the United States has gone through some major changes through the years. Even though it is renowned by the world as the leader, it continues to have challenges due to a wide range of reasons. Currently, the cost of healthcare in this country continues to skyrocket and it has led many to try and find cost saving solutions, and that has meant an increased focus on in home care support.

When people have struggles at home with their health, mobility, and other issues, in the past there have been few options. They could spend time in a hospital or nursing home or rely on loved ones. As the nuclear family has essentially disintegrated, it becomes more difficult to find support from family.

Home care has been an essential component for this aging population to avoid some of these alternatives that can be far costlier, but now it’s also beginning to pave the way for improved health care at home.

Technology is providing an opportunity for doctors and nurses to begin monitoring their patients remotely. This can save a tremendous amount of time and money and allow hospitals to allocate limited resources more efficiently. It also allows those seniors who would prefer to remain at home the opportunity to do so.

Read the full article here: In Home Care Support Leads the Way for Healthcare into the Future - Home Care Daily http://bit.ly/2uRgK4g

First Posted here: Technology is Changing the way Doctors Communicate with Home Care Patients