Cabin Fever Anyone?

Holidays can always be such a fun time of year, especially if you have school-age kids.

But let's be honest somewhere around the middle of the vacation it seems like the symptoms of cabin fever start to set in. Usually a little exercise, fresh air, and creativity are all the doctor would order.  Here's some ways to follow "doctor's orders":

1. Google: "Things to do in (fill in your city)" and see what you find.
You may be surprised at what there is to do right in your own back yard.

2. Go to the zoo.
Most areas have a zoo or aquarium or some kind of wildlife rescue area. (Ever wonder where they take celebrity tigers when they've gotten too old?)

3. Use where you live to your advantage.
If there is snow on the ground, get out in it! Bundle up and have an old-fashion snow ball fight with the forts and all! Or if your weather is mild, find a local park and organize a flag football game or a neighborhood Capture the Flag competition.

Whatever you choose to do, getting the energy out goes a long way to cure cabin fever.

Looking for a way to improve or change your career?
Check out the classes at We Care Online.

How To Show Support to a Sick Loved One

Tragedy can strike a family at any time. Whether expected or unexpected, families have a difficult time when a loved one gets admitted to the hospital. The uncertainty creates a lot of stress and can become very toiling on a family. However, even in the midst of all this, they must remain focused on the person that is suffering with the sickness.

Finding ways to show support aren’t always easy. But the more a family supports the loved one–and one another–during this difficult time, the easier it may seem. One of the best things you can do for your loved one is be there for them as much as possible. If you aren’t able to stay at the hospital around the clock, come as often as you can. They need you to help comfort and encourage them during this difficult time. While your loved one will understand that you have responsibilities and things to do, she will greatly appreciate all the effort that you give to making sure you’re there as much as possible

For the Rest of the Article.

Feeling inspired to start a career in healthcare? Learn more about becoming a Restorative Aide.

Come Check Out WCO's Forum!

Have you heard the news?

We Care Online's Forum  is available to all students and facilities.  It only takes a moment to register.

The forum is the perfect place to find current listings from companies and individuals who are seeking employees and jobs.

If you or your facility know of any job openings in the Long Term Care, Assisted Living or Pharmacy fields, this is the place to announce it. If you're looking or a job or want to find the next step in your career, be sure to check out the forum.

You can also check for the latest news about classes and events, and talk with your fellow students about your coursework, your job, or anything else that strikes your fancy.

 Let's talk!

Check out the forum

To Learn More about Online Classes at We Care Online.

We Care Online Staff Highlight - Melanie Fischer

This month we meet Melanie Fischer.

Melanie Fischer has worked in healthcare for the past 19 years.  She originally needed a summer job when she was in high school and applied for a housekeeping position at Ellis Good Sam.  Melanie enjoyed the position, but wanted to do more to help the residents she served. Her love for helping others is what attracted her to healthcare and made the healthcare field a perfect fit.  Melanie is now an RN.

Melanie and her husband have been married for 14 years and have a farm in the Ellis area where they have cattle running about. Melanie and her husband have 4 beautiful children.  They have three sons; Lane 11; Coby 10; and Jacy 9; and a 4 year old daughter, Kennedi.

When she is not working, Melanie likes spending time with her children.  Her boys are in 4-H and the entire family is very involved in the club. 4-H is the Fischer family’s biggest activity and involves all family members in raising and caring for the animals they show at the fair. The family has raised and shown different types of livestock.  They have raised and shown bucket calves, and are now currently raising show pigs and flocks of show chickens and ducks.

Melanie’s advice to anyone seeking to enter healthcare is to have patience with those you work with, including residents and workers. Melanie’s mantra is to always put first those you are serving, and to put your own wants and needs last. Melanie believes in working as a team player no matter what personal conflicts you may have with another co-worker, and to always show respect for those you work with and to be professional when you are working.

Everyone at WeCareOnline plays an important role in helping students have the best online learning experience possible. Melanie answers phone calls that come into her office for all CNA and CMA questions. She also assists in the set up process for classes; helping the clinical instructors in the set up process.  She helps students to enroll in classes, and provides support and assistance to advertise upcoming classes. While Melanie supports WCO mission in numerous ways, she views her most important role at WCO is the work she does educating the students in the classroom, monitoring grades, and answering emails from students/instructors or individuals interested in the WCO program.

6 Ways to Love Your Job . . . Even if You Hate It

Hate your job? You're not alone. 

But with the job market the way it is, finding a new one might be a lot easier said than done. In the meantime, there are things you can do to learn to love your job. Even while you're on the hunt for a better gig, finding ways to love, or at least like, the job you have will help make the day go by faster.
Here are a few things you can do to love your job even if you really do hate it.

Make friends— You have to spend a lot of time at work. In fact, it's probably more time than you spend with your family. Nothing makes the day go faster than having a good laugh or sharing a cute story about your kids with your work friends. While you may not have a lot in common with all of your co-workers, odds are you can find something  to talk about with at least some of them.

Make it homey— Even the most generic cubicle could benefit from a little makeover. Whether it's photos of your kids or a little memento from your last vacation, personalizing your work space can really make being there a lot more tolerable.

For More Tips and the Rest of the Article.

Interested in learning more about online healthcare classes? Visit: We Care Online.

IPads and Memory Care Residents

iPads are not only hip; they’re also helpful in memory care. That’s right—iPads have actually proven to help with cognitive skills, mobility and communication for those who suffer from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

We all knew Steve Jobs was a brilliant man of his time, but we’re not sure that even he knew how smart the iPad technology was for the elderly population. But the easy to use iPad has enhanced many a seniors lives—and especially those suffering from dementia.

According to Health Central Park Nursing Home’s director, Judy Skilton, “It came to us as a happy accident. What started out as one resident’s curiosity turned into something that is helping them spell, track items, make choices and read words. It’s amazing.”

Residents in assisted living and memory care communities love iPads because they’re easy to use with the touch-pad technology and swipe of a finger. They don’t require a mouse or control device which can sometimes be difficult for some elders. They’re also easy to navigate.

But how, exactly, is the iPad benefiting those in memory care? Here are 9 reasons why iPad’s enhance the lives of many seniors:

1. They’re lightweight and carry like a book.
2. They interact with residents, provide excitement and open-up a new means of communication to those who can’t express themselves in the way they desire.
3. They can monitor an elderly person’s movements, habits, temperature in their home and remind them when to take their pills.

For the Rest of the Blog.

Why not learn more about becoming an Activity Director in the Senior Care industry? Find out a class schedule at We Care Online.

How to Help Seasonal Depression

Seasonal affective disorder (also called SAD) is a type of depression that occurs at the same time every year.

If you're like most people with seasonal affective disorder, your symptoms start in the fall and may continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and making you feel moody. Less often, seasonal affective disorder causes depression in the spring or early summer.

Treatment for seasonal affective disorder includes light therapy (phototherapy), psychotherapy and medications.

Don't brush off that yearly feeling as simply a case of the "winter blues" or a seasonal funk that you have to tough out on your own. Take steps to keep your mood and motivation steady throughout the year.

For More Tips and To Read More about this condition.

Find out more about becoming a Restorative Aide.

Assisted Living vs. Hospice Dilemma

When hospice services are brought into assisted living facilities for older residents with terminal illnesses, problems can arise. Good communication between families, hospice staff, assisted living staff and paid caregivers (if they’re part of the picture) can make all the difference and minimize the potential for conflict. How can you make sure this happens?

Educate yourself. Ask the people who run your assisted living center if they have worked with hospice providers before, said Dr. David Koets, chief medical officer of The Denver Hospice. Are there one or more hospice organizations that they prefer? If so, why? How many residents have used the providers, and how have things worked out?

You may want to ask how often residents die at your assisted living center, suggested Judi Lund Person, vice president of compliance for the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. Are staff members comfortable with helping out when a resident is nearing the end of life? Does the center offer any special services for residents in this situation? What about other residents; is the center comfortable letting a hospice organization provide them with bereavement services?

Be clear about expectations. Exactly how much care and what kind of care is the assisted living facility able to provide you or your relative? Do residents have the ability to purchase extra services? If so, what is the cost? What tasks will the assisted living center not do, and in what circumstances will leadership at the center require other caregivers to help out?

Ask similar questions of the hospice organization you are considering signing up with.

Click Here to Read the Rest of Judith Graham's New York Times' Blog.

Now is the time to check on a career in healthcare. For info on online classes: Click Here.

3 Steps to Better Nurse-Patient Communication

Nurses are busier than ever with both the routine tasks and the increasing roles of facilitating medical teams and fostering better communications. Coordinating tasks and relationships is a challenge, so to that point, what are three best practices for making your life easier and your service more satisfying?

I (Margery Pabst) like to find easy ways to remember tools that work. When I think of communications, remembering the tools as the “3 C’s” is a great way to be mindful of what works. The “3 C’s” are:

• Confirm feelings and thoughts.
   
• Clarify information.
   
• Collaborate to evaluate healing.

What is so profound about the “3 C’s” is that, when one “C” is missing, effectiveness diminishes. For example, if I forget to confirm a patient’s current state (feelings and thoughts), and jump to the clarifying of information, I may come across as unfeeling or disinterested to that person. If I skip clarify, the person may find me a great, collaborative person but may have the wrong information. And if I skip collaborate, then I won’t have the ongoing picture of how the patient is doing and how to best improve our medical practice and treatment.

All of us intuitively know when communication has gone well or when it hasn’t. The “3 C’s” are an assessment for what was left out.

To Read More at Nursetogether.com. 

Learn more about online classes starting soon at We Care Online.

What Mental Health Practitioners Need to Know about the Elder Justice Act

Mental Health Practitioners should take note of two realities about elder abuse: a large majority of elder abuse is perpetrated by family members, and the average victim of elder abuse is an older women between 75 and 80 who is living alone, and as a result of isolation and loneliness can entrust the wrong individuals with responsibility for their finances or care. When that trust is violated, elder abuse occurs.

The landmark Elder Justice Act of 2010 (EJA, an amendment to the Affordable Care Act) provides America an opportunity to engage the federal government’s resources and resourcefulness in the fight against elder abuse, neglect and exploitation. The law’s premise is that only a coordinated and comprehensive federal commitment, working with existing state and local entities, will allow us to promote elder justice by reducing elder abuse.

To Read More.
 
Learn about becoming a Social Service Designee through online classes.

Stay Fit This Season

The holidays are a chance for you to kick back, relax and spend time with your loved ones, laughing and just enjoying each other’s company. It can also be a time that you indulge just a little too much when it comes to eating. Don’t let food and drink temptations ruin all of the progress you’ve made towards your health. There are little things you can do to make sure you are staying on track while still enjoying yourself.

You shouldn’t be so focused on staying fit and healthy that you don’t have a good holiday, but you can incorporate small things that will help make a difference on the way you feel after all of the festivities are done.

Try signing up for a 5K that takes place on the holiday. There are “Turkey Trots” all over the country on Thanksgiving day. Ask your friends and family if they want to join you, chances are someone will think it’s a great idea.

To Read More.

Like a health career where the location always changes?  Find out more about becoming a Home Health Aide. 

Stuff the Bird, Not Yourself

According to research from the Calorie Control Council, the average American may consume more than 4,500 calories and a whopping 229 grams of fat from snacking and eating a traditional holiday dinner with turkey and all the trimmings. And these figures don't even include breakfast or the late evening munching on leftovers!

The average holiday dinner alone can carry a load of 3,000 calories. And most of us nibble our way through more than another 1,500 calories downing dips and chips and drinks before and after the big meal. Combined, that's the equivalent of more than 2 1/4 times the average daily calorie intake and almost 3 1/2 times the fat. The typical holiday dinner can be loaded with 45 percent of calories from fat. In fact, the average person may consume enough fat at a holiday meal to equal three sticks of butter.

Many of us will figure that we've blown our diet and the holidays are to be enjoyed, so why worry about weight? But even if you start the holiday season off with gastronomical excess, you can quickly get back on the right track.

Reducing the amount of fat and calories in your snacking and main holiday meals can help prevent the average weight a person will gain over the holidays (from Thanksgiving through New Year's Day). And instead of crashing on the couch after eating, you can lessen or ward off weight gain by burning off that eggnog or pie.

Also, try these "Low-Fat Holiday" tips from the American Heart Association:

• Eat lower-fat and reduced-calorie foods for days in advance of the holiday feast, and for days after.
• Prepare for handling your worst temptations; if you want both pecan and pumpkin pie, take a tiny slice of each, instead of an average serving.

To Read the Rest of this Article.

Interested in how We Care Online assists facilities and individuals to obtain the training required to work in the healthcare industry? Click Here.

We Care Online Staff Highlight - Patsy Cline

This month we meet Patsy Cline

Patsy Cline has been in the healthcare field for 25 years.  She was originally attracted to the field by her love of working with patients and her desire to make a difference in people's lives.

Patsy lives in Wichita, Kansas with Jack, her husband of 51 years.  The Clines have 3 adult boys and many grandchildren.

Patsy and her husband attend church on a regular basis.  Patsy also enjoys making cards, scrapbooking, sewing, and home decorating.

Everyone at WeCareOnline plays an important role in helping students have the best online learning experience possible.  Patsy works in the business office and is responsible for making deposits and receiving payments from students and facilities.   

Patsy also approves Hardship Grants and states that “WeCareOnline offers between   $5,000.00 to $6,000.00 per month at no cost to the student except for the price of the textbook.  This is so rewarding.”  

Since WeCareOnline is an online company, Patsy knows that people don’t get to see her face to face or to see her workspace. She has a wall plaque that hangs in front of her desk and reads:
 

        If you can talk...You can SING!

        If you can walk...You can DANCE!

Patsy comments that this message “… inspires me to be the best I can be, and maintain a positive attitude.”

Top 10 Reasons to Shop at a Farmers Market

Why shop at a farmers market?

10. Farmers markets are easy to find.
Use the USDA Farmers Markets Search to find one near you. Due to their flexible locations, some community farmers markets provide fresh, healthy foods when other sources aren't as easily accessed. Learn more about how the USDA helps to expand healthy food access through the development of local food systems.


9. SNAP and WIC cards are accepted at most farmers markets.
Click here for more information on food assistance programs.


8. You can try a new fruit or vegetable!
Have you ever tasted gooseberries or rhubarb? Many farmers markets offer lesser known fruits and vegetables, providing a variety that can be both tasty and nutritious. Learn how to select the best quality, how to store, and about the nutritional values of these rarer fruits and vegetables (and some common ones, too) in the Fruit Nutrition Database and Vegetable Nutrition Database.


7. Farmers often have good recommendations on ways to prepare their products.
For more inspiration, visit Fruits and Veggies More Matters to see recipes using fresh fruits and vegetables.



To Read More of this article at Nutrition.gov.
 
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Why Sharing Meals in Senior Living is Key to Wellness

Food is more than fuel. The enjoyment of dining with friends and family offers social benefits that are essential for holistic health. Sharing meals is an especially important aspect of wellness for seniors, because loneliness is “one of the most serious obstacles to good nutrition,” according to this press release from Home Instead Senior Care.

Though not all senior living communities are the same in terms of what dining options are available to residents — some may have different meal plans and menu offerings available, others may have multiple venues from which to choose for daily meals — all should be based on this foundation of fostering social engagement in the dining room. Whether the dining areas are formal or informal, whether they use tablecloths and fine china or place mats and paper plates, whether you can order from a menu or partake in meals served family style doesn’t matter… as long as residents can interact with friends or invite family members to join them as guests.

 Read More Here.

Like to learn more ways to help improve the social lives of seniors?
Get more info about a career as an Activities Director.

What Going Back to School Can Give Moms

Women with kids are often such great students because of their life experience. They enhance the college environment more than they know. Moms also have a lot to gain from going back to school.

Sense of Identity
We moms spend so much time giving to our families, to our jobs and to our friends. It's very easy to lose ourselves and forget who we are as individual women. Going back to school is often something that women do for themselves, for a sense of fulfillment that learning something new can bring. Pursuing a passion that may ultimately be for the betterment of your family, but for now is just your own, is so empowering. Choosing a course of study and exploring various venues brings women a sense of identity that helps shape who they are.

Independence and Critical Thinking
Just as college can add to a woman's sense of identity, it can also foster an independent spirit that may have been lacking. So often, women begin to fall into a routine that fails to challenge them. This everyday rut may offer little opportunity for critical thinking or independent choices. Going back to school shakes things up a bit. It exposes you to new circumstances that may challenge your thinking and push you to make independent choices you ordinarily wouldn't be in a position to consider.

Friends and Networking
College also exposes women to a whole new group of people.

To read the rest of Working Mother Blog.

Have you been thinking about going back to school. We Care Online offers classes in several career in the health care industry. Click here for more information.

Low on Fuel? Three Ways to Fill Up Your Tank

Feeling tired, nurses, even after you’ve had your coffee? Wish the weekends were three or four days long so you could catch up? Resenting time spent at work?

Fill up your nurse health tank!

If your low fuel indicator is illuminated, then try a RenewalSHIFT™.

Here are three steps to boost your energy at home and work. Start today and see results immediately! That’s the great thing about a SHIFT- you increase your energy and get better results right away!

1.   Breathe deeply

• Each deep breath sends oxygen to your brain and forces you to slow down. 
• Try breathing in through your nose and out through pursed lips right now. Close your eyes to really focus on how good this feels.
  
• As you breath in, think of something good (i.e., a loving child) and as you breath out, let go of something annoying (i.e., the difficult patient).
• Enjoy the calm feeling that has taken over.
   

2.   Do something nice for someone else

• When you see someone who needs a hand, offer to help.
• Do it with a smile and say “you’re welcome” when they thank you.

Read the rest of the Nursetogether.com article.

Interested in a CNA career? Find out more about online classes at We Care Online.

Senior Care Trend Watch: Opportunties, Penalties and Profits

Home care is the next big thing. Nursing homes are fading from view, boosting the popularity and availability of assisted living and Alzheimer’s care options. Consumers are spending the most for care at the end of life.

The Center for Medicare Services (CMS) goes after hospitals with high re-admission rates; patients who are most often readmitted are largely seniors with multiple health issues. The government allocates nearly one billion in grant funding for care innovations.

Great opportunity for growth in the senior care industry still exists, whether it’s technology related or not. Though difficult to calculate in exact terms, longevity is on the rise: people are living longer and (mostly) better.

These are the six major trends Laurie Orlov of Aging in Place Technology Watch breaks down in a recent post entitled, “Six trends that signal change in all things aging and health.”

Find the rest of this article: Here.

Like to find out more about a career as a Home Health Aide?
Check out the classes at We Care Online.

7 Tips to Stay Awake on Night Shifts

Many nurses and other professionals have difficulty staying awake on a night shift. This is completely understandable, and quite honestly, by mother nature’s design. Your body releases chemicals based upon the time of day that encourage you to go to sleep. So if you find you’re having trouble staying awake at night, it’s just because you’re human.

While you can’t re-engineer how your body is designed, you may be able to change your practices to make night shift a little easier. There are some tips and tricks you can use that will help you stay alert and useful during a night shift. Without further delay, the following are helpful ways to keep you awake during a night shift.

1. Drink Plenty of Water. 
Drinking water is helpful for multiple reasons. First and foremost, it’s difficult to get too sleepy if you have to go to bathroom. So staying very hydrated will let your bladder serve as your personal sleep deterrent. Also, drinking water can help increase the oxygenation of your blood level which can help to increases alertness and help you stay awake more easily during a long night shift.

To Read the Rest of the Article.
Ready to start a career in the health care industry? Try classes at We Care Online.

High-carb Diet is Linked to Alzheimer's

Older people who load up their plates with carbohydrates have nearly four times the risk of developing mild cognitive impairment, a study out last Tuesday finds.

Sugars also played a role in the development of MCI, often a precursor to Alzheimer’s disease, according to the report in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. Eating more proteins and fats offer some protection from MCI.

Mayo Clinic researchers tracked 1,230 people ages 70 to 89 and asked them to provide information on what they ate the previous year. Among that group only the 940 people who showed no signs of cognitive impairment were asked to return for 15-month follow-ups. By the study’s fourth year, 200 of the 940 were beginning to show mild cognitive impairment, problems with memory, language, thinking and judgment.

Not everyone with MCI goes on to develop Alzheimer’s disease, but many do, says lead author Rosebud Roberts,, a professor in the department of epidemiology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. Alzheimer’s affects 5.2 million adults in the nation, numbers that are expected to triple by 2050 as the Baby Boomers age.

 To Read the Rest of the Article.

We Care Online  offers online classes for a career in the health industry. Find out what you need to get started today!

Why the Economy Might be Good for Assisted Living

An article from AssistedLivingFacilities.org suggests that the slowly recovering economy has helped fuel growth in assisted living.

Per the piece, a report from earlier this year showed a decrease in profits and an increase in the number of closings or buy-outs for most assisted living communities. However, recent economic growth, minimal as it may be, has seeped into the assisted living sector in the form of increased profits, more state and federal grants, and an uptick in other types of support (such as an increase in approved Medicare and Medicaid  claims for assisted living costs).

Other benefits of expansion in assisted living include job growth, as each new and currently operating facility must recruit and maintain a large staff complement, and a boost in the local economy thanks to the trend towards “green” construction. According to the article, “green building helps the local environment, and the government subsidizes green efforts. These subsidies are often spent on local workers or goods, which, again help the economy.”

To read more of the Seniors for Living article.  Looking for a career in the health industry working with seniors? Check out We Care Online's classes: http://wecareonlineclasses.com/

Coming Soon at We Care Online

We are excited to announce the upcoming launch of our new registration and database system!

Be watching for this change coming in November. This system will make the registration process a lot easier for students and facilities.

Some changes will include:

• All registrations on the new system will be available to students and facilities. 
• You can look up your account, print receipts, print list of classes, etc.
• And so much more!  

All the past and current students and facilities using our website will be getting an email outlining the changes and asking them to create an account at some point.

We are excited to have this change make it so much easier for you here at We Care Online!

We Care Online Staff Highlight - Lynn Cline

This month you get to meet Lynn Cline. 

Lynn has worked in the healthcare field for 30 years. As a child and growing up, she always enjoyed being a caregiver and knew that being a nurse is what she wanted to do for her career. Lynn began working LTC as a teenager, worked for a period of time as a CNA, then continued her education and became an RN.

The majority of Lynn’s work in the healthcare field has been in acute care, working as a Registered Nurse. She has also worked as Director of Nursing in LTC and in Home Care. Lynn is a certified Risk Manager and certified CQI manager for both acute and LTC.  Lynn has a KDADS approval to teach the following courses:   Certified Nurse Aide, Social Service Designee, Activity Director,  Home Health Aide,  Medication Aide and also teaches continuing education for these positions. Lynn’s specialty is in adult education for health care workers in LTC.

Lynn is married and lives with her husband in Tucson, AZ.  The Clines have 2 adult children and 5 grandchildren.  Lynn also has a miniature Border Collie, named Baby Girl that she loves to spoil.

When she is not working Lynn loves to travel every chance she gets. She loves to just get out, drive and find beautiful new places.  She enjoys taking walks with her dog.  She also admits that she is a closet NCIS fan.

Lynn has learned that working in healthcare is a lot of hard work, sadness, and joy but states, “the work satisfaction you get is worth it all.” Lynn notes that there have been many, many changes over her years in the healthcare profession.  In spite of these changes, Lynn states one goal has remained a constant.  That goal is one of being an advocate for patients and the desire to give them the best care physically, mentally and spiritually possible.

Everyone at WeCareOnline plays an important role in helping students have the best online learning experience possible.   Lynn is the founder and owner of WeCareOnline.  She loves teaching and teaches several WCO classes. Since WeCareOnline is an online company, Lynn knows that people don’t get to see her face to face or to see her workspace.  She says that you would see her with a coffee cup in her hand and  seated in her recliner with laptop in hand talking to staff and students. Lynn states:  “It's a blast working from home!”

"Fall" into Healthy Foods

Autumn once again has come around with all the splendor of the changing leaves, the cooler sleeping nights, and the unique smells of dry leaves and fall flowers. Of course, not without the price tag of shorter days, frosts and the end of the light summer veggies and fruits. In this series of eating seasonally, what should we be looking for as the days get shorter and cooler, and the growing season slows? 

Leafy greens once again color the farm lands, as well as a few of the brassica vegetables - cabbage and broccoli, for example. The nightshade vegetables are closing out their stay in the garden as well; this is the family of the tomatoes, peppers and eggplants. Carrots are popping up with the beets, the garlic and onions have dried and cured, and the fresh herbs are seeing their last days too. How do our bodies use these foods in relationship to the coming cooler weather, and how do we hang on to the foods before the scarcity of winter? As always, the answer lies in “nature will provide” and “you are what you eat.”

As the temperatures slowly inch their way downward, our bodies - through instinct - notice that it is time to prepare to hibernate. Think that humans don’t hibernate? Guess again! We stay inside more, exercise less, eat more, and begin to 'nest'. All of these instincts lead us into a behavior of storing our food. Have you found yourself shopping for items that are on sale and stock piling a bit more? How does this work with the garden? With our bodies?

To read the rest of this article: Nursetogether.com
Interested in a career in healthcare? Why not start an online class this fall?
For more info: We Care Online

Budgeting - Starting from Scratch

As soon as you start spending your own money, it’s time to start tracking your spending so that you can create and follow a personal budget. 

Tracking your spending, while sometimes tedious, is the best way to find out exactly where your money is going.

The simplest way to track your spending, especially your cash, is the low-tech way, with a notebook and a pen. By carrying around the notebook with you, you can track exactly where every dollar is going–from a small coffee on your way to work to a spending splurge at the mall.

If you’d prefer, on a daily or weekly basis, you can transfer your handwritten notes to a computer spreadsheet.

Once you have collected information for about a month, you’ll have a good baseline of information to use to create your personal budget.

Some major categories that you’ll want to include are housing, utilities, insurance, food (groceries and dining out), gasoline, clothing, entertainment, and “other".

Using a spreadsheet program (such as Excel), online service, or other personal finance program, add up the expenses that you’ve been tracking, and then calculate what you’d like to budget for each category. Keep in mind that you’ll need to budget for some items, like gifts and automobile repairs, which will be necessary but won’t occur every month.


To read the rest of this money management article.

Interested in a career in the health industry but concerned about your budget?
Learn more about a Hardship Grant with We Care Online.

Alzheimer's - Finding New Ways to Communicate

Different types of dementia, Alzheimer's, a stroke, a brain injury: these all have an impact on a person’s ability to communicate, making conversation with others extremely difficult. 

As time is often limited for assisted living staff who provide care, this obstacle is particularly upsetting and challenging. 

Visiting family members and friends may also find that the limited communication with their loved ones is frustrating and at times painful.

You cannot change what happened to cause the impaired communication, but you can change how you approach it. Here are a few ideas to help you bridge the gaps:

1. Talking isn’t always necessary. You can enjoy each other’s company and don’t have to talk at all. Non-verbal communication is just as important to a relationship as verbal communication. Hold your mother’s hand. Put your arm around your grandfather’s shoulders. Maintain eye contact. Smile. Cry together. Laugh together.


To read the rest of this article Click Here. 
Learn more about becoming a Mental Health Aide.

Is there a Connection? Sleep Patterns & Nursing Home Placement

Older women with disturbed and fragmented sleep were three times more likely to be placed in a long-term care facility than elderly women with healthier sleep patterns.

Publishing results in The Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, investigators studied data of older women who wore devices that monitored sleeping patterns for three days. Five years later, they observed that participants who spent the smallest proportion of their time in bed actually sleeping had about three times the odds of being placed in a nursing home.

I'm getting the association here. If you get up during the night and are disoriented, you may have a higher likelihood to fall. And falling in the elderly can lead to broken hips, etc. And that can lead to nursing home stays.

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How to Ask for a Raise

Asking for a raise can be a daunting task. How do you get the boss to see it your way? Preparation is key - don't talk to your supervisor until you've planned your approach. Asking for a raise is much like a sales presentation, and sales is not a skill that many healthcare professionals have perfected.

Here are a few tips:  

Timing is everything.
Studies have shown that on Fridays, workers are in the best mood, and therefore more agreeable. Sure, it sounds obvious, but it’s best to approach your boss at the end of the week, rather than the beginning of the week, and especially not on a Monday!


Performance pays.
Definitely ask for the raise when your performance is at a peak. For example, if your patient encounters are higher than ever, or you were recently recognized for an accomplishment, award, or completing a major project – now is the time to strike while the iron is hot.

Do your homework.
Know your value in the market. There are several websites which will provide compensation information such as Absolutely Healthcare.com.

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Day Care: Choosing a Good Center

What should I look for in a day care center?

Whether you are considering a commercial day care center or one in someone's home, you should check it out carefully. Ask questions of the staff. Talk to parents of other children at the day care center. Look over the center carefully. 

Ask about the child to staff ratio.

• How many children are there for each staff member? The fewer children each staff member is responsible for, the better. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a ratio of one staff person for 3 to 5 small children and one staff member for 7 to 10 older children.

Ask how the center cares for sick children.

• How is medicine given?
• How are parents told about illness among the children?
• When must children stay home because of illness?
• Does the center have a "sick room" for children with minor illnesses?

What are some signs that would tell me if there are problems?

• The staff fails to answer your questions and address your concerns.
• There is no way for parents to be involved in the day care practices.
• Your child tells you about problems or is not happy with his or her day care experience.
• Unexplained accidents happen more than once.

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