Being able to stay in the home we've lived in as we've aged is a real blessing, and almost always preferred by elders.  But some homes are just not set up for aging in place -- too many stairs, bathrooms and bedrooms in the wrong part of the house to fit the elder's needs and mobility.  Home modification is an option, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts makes low- and no-interest loans to modify the homes of elders and individuals with disabilities where there is income qualification.

Monday, January 31 at 7PM at the Gleason Library in Carlisle, MA, there is a meeting about this program. I just noticed it in the Boston Globe, following a Facebook pointer from our State Representative, Cory Atkins (isn't life in 2011 strange??!) -- you can fit in this meeting before the next snow storm starts. Download a program brochure here.

(This message was just sent out via email to our caregivers, clients, and client families)

Winter is just not going to quit, is it?!  This time, it's not more snow (we've had "only" 3 storms this past week!), but extreme cold temperatures.  This is of particular concern with elders and people who are disabled due to their lower activity levels. If there is dementia, they might not be able to know how to keep safe.  The below alert from the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) contains important safety info about extreme cold weather.

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Old Man Winter is back at it again!  We are postponing the below panel discussion set for tonight to another date. More when that date is known. (Would it be more politically correct now to call him "Senior Citizen Winter?")

POSTPONED: Wayland, Ma, Tuesday, Janurary 18, 7 PM, Public Library: Part 1 of 2, "What's New in Aging?" Join a distinguished panel of elder experts speaking on navigating the new terrain or aging in the 21st century, followed by Q&A period.  Juergen H. Bludau, MD, Harvard Gerontologist, Carol Sneider Glick, Esq, elder law specialist, and Deborah Bier, PhD, mental health counselor and home care agency director. (more info here) REGISTER HERE TO BE INFORMED OF FUTURE DATE

At Caring Companion, we already do far more than the industry standard to reduce the costs of health care and improve the quality of life for elders and the disabled. We provide real-time information and reports to health care professionals and families via our unique online system -- we are the only agency in the country doing this.  We already place appropriate technology in homes to help reduce the number of care hours needed.   Our guiding model combines our outstanding on-site caregivers with with the appropriate technology to improve care and reduce its cost.

Throughout 2011, we will demonstrate this in a series of public pilots.  In partnership with some Massachusetts Aging Services Access Points (ASAPs) and Councils on Aging (COAs), we will pilot promising technologies that we have identified to help at-risk elders and the disabled.  Testing such technologies in elders' homes has not been done before in our region; in fact, it's seldom been done around the country. In these carefully crafted pilot studies, we will demonstrate that we can:

• significantly reduce care costs
• reduce hospitalizations
• reduce falls
• identify problem areas before they fully develop
• proactively intervene to prevent crises
• reduce stress, increase efficiency for care partners
• allow elders to live longer in their homes
• delay or prevent entry into higher levels of care
• increase elder safety
• maintain elder privacy

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(Email sent this evening to Clients, Families and Caregivers)

I hope you are having a lovely Christmas holiday today!

After yesterday's early storm"heads up", I'm back to encourage you in your plans to prepare households and our clients for what is now being talked about as a blizzard: up to 20" of snow and 50-60mph winds, beginning Sunday afternoon and into sometime Monday. This is being predicted to be "heart attack snow" -- meaning it's so heavy that people have heart attacks exerting themselves while clearing it. This kind of heavy snow might be hard to keep cleared from roads and driveways, and street plows when they pass by will deposit "cement-like" snow and ice at the ends of driveways.  High winds with heavy snow can also bring down power lines; power outages should be prepared for.

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Over the Thanksgiving weekend we received notice that Caring Companion Home Care is among the first home care agencies in the state to earn accreditation from the Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts (HCA). The alliance's accreditation protocol promotes quality service, caregiver training and competency, ethical business standards, and superior employment practices in an industry that lacks meaningful licensure in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

The accreditation was all the more rewarding because Caring Companion Connections is only the third west of Boston to be accredited among independently-owned, private-pay home care agencies -- i.e., we are not a franchise, and we are not affiliated with a hospital or other large organization. This is a family business.  My dad started in Florida in 1992 at his kitchen table, and now my two sisters and I have independent agencies in our home states. Being recognized within the industry is a point of pride for all of us.  Our recent mention by National Public Radio's Aging in America broadcast series was a big boost; this accreditation is another.

Our metro-west Boston area office is directed by Deborah Bier, PhD -- like me, a long-time Concord resident. We have just expanded with a new Boston office to better serve clients and families in the city.  We are proud to be in the initial group of agencies to promote accreditation standards, all of which are a part of Caring Companion’s commitment to a higher quality of care. These standards help consumers choose agencies worthy of trust, as they come to see the many advantages of keeping people independent in their homes and as part of the community.

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CCC is proud to say that we have been selected as part of Minuteman Senior Services' "Partners in Caring" provider network.  We were carefully vetted so they could ensure their elderly consumers that we provide high quality service.  MinuteMan is one of the five ASAP (Aging Services Access Point) agencies that covers our current service area of Boston and Metrowest Boston.

Minuteman has no financial interest in any of their vendors -- only that they can ensure we provide the highest level of excellence, and that we work completely in concert with their mission to help older people and those with disabilities remain independent and a part of the community. They monitor our work with them very closely. We have loved our contacts with Minuteman staff -- they are clearly highly dedicated, caring and hardworking people, whose values of service and integrity we share.

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With Thanksgiving coming up and the December holidays right afterward, this is a time when the family visits with our elder loved ones and finds -- often to our surprise and consternation -- that things have changed since they last time we were together.  Mom or dad might have deteriorated in ways the family hadn't understood until we were gathered in person.

When should you be alarmed? Jewish Family Service of Greater Boston makes this recommendation about things to look for when we visit our elders in their homes -- all of which are signs that their safety and well being may be at risk:

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On Thursday October 21, at the Concord MA Council on Aging, we will again present our popular talk 21^st Century Caregiving: Essentials for Caring for a Disabled or Aging Loved One.  Our comments will be followed by a question and answer period.

We have given this presentation several times and it is always well-attended.  Come and learn how the new challenges and opportunities of aging in the 21^st century can come together to benefit elders and those with disabilities. “21^st Century Caregiving: Essentials for Caring for a Disabled or Aging Loved One” is a free lecture and community service. The presentation starts at 7PM at the Harvey Wheeler Center, 1276 Main St, Concord (map).

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From Minuteman Senior Services

Minuteman is an active member of the Meal on Wheels Association of America and is proud to help promote Barilla's Share the Table campaign. By simply visiting www.ShareTheTable.com, you can help end senior hunger now!

Barilla will donate $1 to the Meals on Wheels Association of America (MOWAA), up to $150,000, to support MOW programs across the country every time someone participates. All you have to do is click "Yes! I Do!" in response to the question, "Do you Believe in Meaningful Meals?" Please click here and support MOW!

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The Center for Connected Health in Boston hosts the  Connected Health Blog, and recently Dr Joseph Kvedar discussed developments he expected, or was watching, over the next 10 years. His observations are telling for their omissions: he focuses on electronic medical records and on payment issues -- issues of enormous import, no doubt.  However, he was speaking of a world as-yet emerging: ubiquitous high-speed wireless works and (even) smaller, cheaper mobile technologies that will come.

But improvements in connected health do not need to await the day of universal 4G networks and RFID chips in our underwear. We could do more with what is available today. It requires more a change in thinking than the development of new technology.