Monthly Archives: January 2020

Creating a safe environment for a loved one with Alzheimer’s

I have a friend whose husband developed a form of cognitive illness in his mid-70s. From caring for him to making sure he took his medications, got to physician appointments and ate adequately, she had her hands full.

And evening, which sometimes precipitates what is called sundowning (or “late-day confusion”), brings its own challenges.

Her situation is precisely why creating a safe environment for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease or similar cognitive illness is absolutely necessary, especially as care needs and disease progress.

The changes that cognitive illnesses precipitate can greatly affect the safety of those with the disease, notes the Alzheimer’s Association. These changes are often seen most in judgment, sense of time and place, behavior, physical ability and senses.

If a loved one is beginning to spend money foolishly or forgets daily tasks; gets lost on a familiar street; is easily confused, suspicious or fearful; or is experiencing changes in vision or hearing, you may need to add safety to your list of things to manage.

Here are several tips to help ensure safety:

● Consider the environment. Is the garage easy for your loved one with Alzheimer’s to access? Can the person get into the basement or other workspace where you place cleaners and other chemicals? These are among the most dangerous for those with Alzheimer’s because use of tools and cleaners requires close and careful supervision. In addition, be sure to watch your loved one closely outdoors, as wandering can become common.

Click here to read more helpful tips to ensure safety.

43 years? Today, more like 43 months …

In a little more than two months, I will begin my 43rd year with this organization.

Tell that to young people today and their eyes grow wide. Very few people work for an organization that long any longer.

In fact, as just one example, my son-in-law, 31, is in his third corporate position—he’s an expert in UX (user experience; that is, how we interact with and use software), a role entirely unheard of when I began my career. I suspect other positions will eventually follow.

That’s simply the way of the world now.

While that change can present stellar opportunities for employees, it brings challenges to employers.

Diakon is fortunate that we have a number of longer-term employees. You might suspect that with an organization that is more than 150 years old, with long-established locations.

And yet we face the same concerns most health-care providers are experiencing: an increasing need for nursing staff and lots of competition for those potential staff members.

Addressing those concerns requires creative solutions. Diakon has adopted a number of them, including new-employee bonuses, referral bonuses, flexible scheduling, a comprehensive range of benefits and such concepts as “Stay Interviews.”

Recently, the organization has made two additional changes. The first is the provision of certain Day 1 benefits such as paid health-care insurance. No longer do you need to wait through a probationary period to receive this important coverage.

The second is a new, tiered approach to tuition assistance, with increased financial assistance for Diakon staff members interested in furthering their education in nursing.

TAP is a great benefit—I used it myself some years ago to gain my master’s degree in strategic communication—and, in fact, was not one offered when I joined a predecessor of Diakon decades ago, one more example of how organizations adapt to changing times.

—William Swanger, MA, APR, Fellow PRSA
Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications

‘Pre-Hab’ 101: Maximizing your short-term rehabilitation

Last month I wrote about the value of short-term rehabilitation for people who experience a health emergency, a hospitalization or injury or who just otherwise need help in transitioning to safe living at home.

While short-term rehab features a specially trained team of professionals to help you, it’s particularly helpful—if possible—to know what to do beforehand, to prepare for rehabilitation. Doing so can help you make the most of your short-term stay.

To help you, we’ve compiled a number of ways to prepare. While accidents and emergencies can happen, if you have surgery planned, you may want to consider these questions:

● What program will meet your needs? Do you need to be close to home, or want to be close to family? You are likely to get the most out of short-term rehab if it meets such needs.

● What services will you need? From on-site physical therapy, in-home visits from doctors, special diets and more, a senior living community must offer the services you need.

● How will you pay? Savings, insurance and Medicare Part A can help to pay for short stays, through which you receive care for hospital-related medical conditions, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Plus, before choosing a short-term rehabilitation facility, click here to read more to be sure you know what to look for: 

Cultivating gratitude to stay motivated

New Year’s means resolutions, right?

Not this year, at least for me.

Because of a recent trip, I’ve been focused on something better that I think may be more successful than making lofty (and sometimes unreachable) resolutions that focus on my own well-being and, essentially, boil down to a tiresome to-do list.

What if, instead of resolutions, I adopt a mindset of “getting” to do things instead of “having” to do things? That approach may make it easier to see challenges as possibilities and problems as opportunities.

Yes, I know that sounds a little cheesy, but I tested this theory recently when I joined my daughter in India. She is a little past the halfway mark on The World Race, an 11-countries-in-11-months missions trip and the week was the only one parents are invited to participate—bucket showers and all!

The trip was demanding. I think the only times in my life I was so physically exhausted were during childbirth! From the time I left my house to when I arrived at the Hyderabad airport, more than 32 hours had passed. The long journey was not the only obstacle; the 10.5-hour time change proved a hurdle as well.

But it was worth it all to see my daughter’s smile after having been separated so long, lately with no Wi-Fi on her end to talk or text.

Almost immediately, the work began, with long rides into villages, differences in food and sanitation and a language barrier. Each time I was driven out of my comfort zone, I prayed for strength and gained a sense that I didn’t have to do any of this, I had the opportunity to do it; that is, I got to do it. My prayers were answered time and again—and I was able to focus on why we were there in the first place, to show love to orphaned children and offer support to the missionaries and World Racers who would not be coming back to the comforts of America, as I was a week later.

The plane ride home allowed plenty of time to think about how I could take what I had learned and apply it to other areas of my life, especially the ones usually at the top of my New Year’s resolution list:

  • I don’t have to exercise more; I get to because I have the ability to do so.
  • I don’t have to give more; I get to because I have opportunities and resources to bless others.
  • I don’t have to eat healthier; I get to because I have so many healthy options to fuel my body.
  • I don’t have to clean out the spare room; I get to because I have been blessed with a home and a family (who can also help to clean it out!).

Basically, I realized that a mindset of gratitude is what can prompt me to act.

I won’t use resolutions this New Year to start a diet or kick a bad habit. Instead, I am starting the year with a heart overflowing with gratitude, so that when it comes time to tackle a goal or a challenge, I get to embrace it rather than have to do it.

By Melissa Kindall
Manager, Social Media and Digital Communications Manager
Corporate Communications & Public Relations

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