Everything Elderly is on Saturday mornings at 8:30, on 1290 am WLBY, sponsored by Senior Helpers. We learned a lot from two wonderful guests this weekend. Gloria Brooks was our first guest. Gloria is the President and CEO of Arbor Hospice, a non-profit organization serving the area since 1984. Their mission is to provide comfort, care and assistance to those with terminal illness and their families, and to educate the community on hospice care.

Arbor Hospice has a 26-bed facility on Oak Valley Drive, although the majority of their current 240 to 250 patients receive care in their own homes or in another facility.

Arbor Hospice, along with Evangelical Homes, is sponsoring caregiver training, “Accepting the Challenge, Building Hands-On Skills for Middle Stages of Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Related Dementias”. This is Tuesday, September 21st , with three different sessions offered, each 2 ½ hours (start times of 9:00 am, 1:30 pm, and 6:00 pm). The presenter is Teepa Snow, a well respected master trainer in Alzheimer’s Disease.These sessions are at the Washtenaw Community College, in the Morris Lawrence Building. The training is free, please pre-register at arborhospice.org.

Gloria provided useful tips for those taking care of a loved one at end of life. It’s not uncommon for someone in their late stages of life to not want to eat. It’s okay if your loved one is not eating very much, you are not starving them or depriving them.

Arbor Hospice also provides grief support services, to help families after a loved one passes away. They offer various support groups for adults, families, and children, as well as special programs to help people cope with the holidays. To contact Gloria or Arbor Hospice, you can call 1-800-997-9266. You can also visit their website at arborhospice.org. To listen to the full 12-minute conversation, click on Everything Elderly 0911 Gloria Brooks.mp3.

Our second guest was Jada Johnson, the Clinical Marketing Liaison for the Glacier Hills Care and Rehabilitation Center. Glacier Hills is a non-profit that offers the full continuum of care. This includes independent living, assisted living, short-term rehabilitation, long-term skilled nursing care, dementia care, as well as in-home skilled and non-skilled care.

Jada gets involved with many activities in her job! She visits hospitals and helps people that will be transitioning to a short-term rehab stay at Glacier Hills. They may have reservations about coming because they don’t understand what the center offers. And they may have basic questions, like what they need to bring to wear. Jada also talks with doctors to educate on their clinical outcomes (results) at their center.

Glacier Hills also promotes lots of fun activities. They presently have a spirited initiative to raise funds for the humane society.

Jada talked about the importance of reducing fall risk. One third of those over 65 will have a fall each year, and fully half of those over 75 have a fall each year. Falls are a major reason for hospital admissions for older adults, at a rate five times greater than any other cause! Tips to mitigate fall risk include ensuring that walkways and hallways are free of clutter and are well illuminated. Don’t carry loads that block your vision (don’t carry too much laundry!). And it’s a good idea to keep a cell phone or cordless phone with you, so if you do fall, you can quickly call for help.

To contact Jada or the Glacier Hills CRC, call 734-769-0177, and you can visit their website at glacierhills.org. To listen to the full 12-minute discussion, click on Everything Elderly 0911 Jada Johnson.mp3.

Alan Caldwell is the owner of Senior Helpers, providing in-home care services, primarily to the elderly. He can be contacted at acaldwell@seniorhelpers.com, or at 734-927-3111.