Seniors Tracking Health: There's an App for That

Medical tracking using the latest technology is growing stronger every day. We believe that your senior loved ones, while beginning to adopt technology, probably haven’t yet gotten familiar with some great technology apps that can help them track and improve their health and wellness.

Many of our seniors are using smartphones in a variety of platforms whether Android, iOS  or Windows 8. The platform they choose is not as important as making the most of the apps that are currently available, though the choice of platform will dictate the apps from which they can choose.

Research indicates that, even with the abundance of available health monitoring apps at our fingertips, our seniors (and even we ourselves) are still primarily using their heads or paper to track and trend their health data.

It has been estimated that about seven out of ten adults are tracking their health information such as weight, diet, symptoms, physical activity, or vital statistics including blood pressure, blood sugar and oxygenation for themselves or their senior loved ones. Instead of using technology, they are using only their heads.

Health Data You Can Track

• Weight
• Diet and food intake
• Activity programs and time spent exercising
• Blood pressure
• Symptoms such as headaches
• Sleep patterns

For more and link to original blog. 

Like to learn more about becoming an Activities Director: See our classes at WeCareOnline.

Time Management is Self Management

We look to tools and techniques to help us manage time.  And they can, to a certain extent – that being the degree to which we take a disciplined approach to their application.  The effectiveness of any time management tool is squarely in our hands.  To manage your time more effectively, you have to improve the way you manage your self.

If your time is mismanaged or wasted, you’re the one at fault.  In knowing that, you give yourself a chance to own your power to change the situation.  You can begin using your time more consistently to do what best serves your goals and helps you live a better, more satisfying life, now.
Here are two time management strategies that, applied regularly, will help you manage yourself and can have a ripple effect on your behavior as the owner and manager of your time.

Make the meaningful a priority.  Put time in your schedule, at least weekly, perhaps daily, to do something meaningful, in addition to your daily work.  This might include time with loved ones, time to meditate, to read for pleasure, time to exercise, time for volunteer activities.  Determine what adds meaning to your life then make sure you add it to your list of priorities.

Build flex time into your schedule.  By that I mean leave two to three hours each day unscheduled.  Block it off on your calendar as “Flex Time” or whatever you want to call it.  The point is, it’s scheduled time on your calendar.

For More and the Original Article.
Make some time to advance in your career. Check out our classes at WeCareOnline.

Are Women Aware of the Perils of Heart Disease?

The number of women aware that heart disease is the leading cause of death has nearly doubled in the last 15 years, but that knowledge still lags in minorities and younger women, according to a study.

Researchers comparing women’s views about heart disease in 1997 and today found that in 2012, 56% of women identified heart disease as the leading cause of death, up from 30% in 1997. Back then, women were more likely to cite cancer than heart disease (35% vs. 30%) as the leading killer; in 2012, only 24% cited cancer.

(In 2009, according to the the CDC, heart disease was the cause in 24% of women's deaths, followed by cancer in 22.2% of cases.) In 2012, 36% of black women and 34% of Hispanic women identified heart disease as the top killer. Those awareness levels were the same as white women had in ’97 (33%). Women ages 25 to 34 had the lowest awareness rate of any age group, 44%. The study, scheduled for publication in Circulation, an American Heart Association journal, showed barriers and motivators to engage in a heart healthy lifestyle are different for younger women, who also said their physicians were less likely to talk to them about heart disease.

"This is a missed opportunity," said Lori Mosca, MD, PhD, MPH, the study’s lead author and chair of an American Heart Association committee that produced the report, said in a news release. "Habits established in younger women can have lifelong rewards.

For the Original Article and to Read More.

Like to make a difference with a new career in the health industry?
See what we have at WeCareOnline.

We Care Online February Staff Highlight - Bonnie Henningson

This month we get to learn about Bonnie Henningson. 

Bonnie has been in the healthcare field for over 30 years.  Bonnie was attracted to healthcare by working as a volunteer EMT.  Bonnie’s mother was also a nurse.  She originally advised Bonnie not to become a nurse letting Bonnie know that the work was hard and the pay was low. 
 

Bonnie did not heed her mother’s advice and has gone on to possess multiple credentials in the healthcare field!  Bonnie has a Gerontological Nurse Certification through ANCC, and has is still CPHQ certified (Certified Professional of Healthcare Quality).  She has been licensed as a nursing home administrator and has taught CPR and EMT classes.  Bonnie has a master’s degree in Public Health with an emphasis on health care administration.  She has been a member of NAHQ (National Association of Healthcare Quality), NGNA (National Gerontological Nurse’s Association) and NNSDO (National Nursing Staff Development Organization).  Bonnie serves on a committee to revise the scope and standards for Gerontological nursing.   She has developed and delivered training for staff development coordinators and charge nurses and has presented training at national and state conventions on topics such as pain management. If there were a piece of advice Bonnie wishes someone had given her when she began her career she wishes they would have told her to get her BSN as soon as possible!

Bonnie is married and the Henningson’s have one son and one granddaughter.  They do not have any pets due to her husband’s allergies. When Bonnie is not working she likes to read, do crossword puzzles, garden, bake, take walks, do yoga, travel to parks and historic sites, play cards and do hospice volunteering.

Everyone at WeCareOnline plays an important role in helping students have the best online learning experience possible. Bonnie teaches Nursing Assistant and Medication Assistant for several states. Over the years Bonnie has witnessed many changes in the healthcare field.  Bonnie states that “Healthcare is a science and we need to be sure to recognize that the current standard of practice WILL change – new studies and research often prove what we once learned to be erroneous and one must do lots of reading to keep up with the changes.”

Keeping Your Heart Healthy - Finding a Routine That Works

The hardest part of an exercise routine is getting started. 

Once you've established a regular pattern of exercise, you'll find yourself following it. So, how do you get started? Well, first of all, consult your doctor. Your doctor can recommend the specific kinds of exercise for your own individual needs. Generally, however, these guidelines should get you going.
First of all, exercise will only become a habit if it's fun! Pick something you will enjoy doing. If you like being with a group of people, try a team sport like basketball or soccer.

You don't have to be a super athlete. Anyone can exercise. Social activities like dancing and mall-walking are also good. If you're more of a loner, try bicycling or swimming.

Don't kid yourself. Be honest about what you realistically think you can do. If you have always hated to climb stairs, step aerobics probably isn't for you. Maybe a walk around the neighborhood would be more pleasant. Many people today are walking toward fitness.

Consider your current state of physical fitness. If you haven't exercised in years, you'll definitely want to start with some modest activities. As you get adjusted, you can increase your activity.
Consider your schedule. Are you a morning person? Then plan to exercise in the morning. If you're addicted to your snooze button, plan to exercise in the evening. Start with just a small block of time, maybe fifteen minutes.

For More Tips and the Original Article.

Now is a great time to learn what it takes to be an Activity Director.
See what classes we have at WeCareOnline.

Spotting Eating Disorders in the ED

Eating Disorders can take months, even years, to treat effectively. But ED nurses who can identify patients with such a disorder can help get them on the right track to healing. A big challenge, however, is that patients with eating disorders often go to great lengths to conceal the problem.

Recognizing eating disorders in the ED, helping patients understand they are ill and steering them to ongoing mental and physical care requires preparation far in advance of the patient encounter, experts say. “For most eating disorders, recovery is a very long-term process,” said Bobbi O'Brien, RN, PhD, clinical psychologist at Eating Disorders Associates in Torrance, Calif. “You can get through the acute part, the medical part, pretty quick. But the rest — psychiatric issues, body image, self-esteem, co-occurring depression or anxiety disorders, family dynamics — that can take 10 years or more.”

Psychiatry’s diagnostic manual, the DSM-IV-TR, recognizes three main categories of eating disorders: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and eating disorders-not otherwise specified. Patients with anorexia have an obsessive fear of gaining weight, and so dangerously limit food intake. They might alternately “purge” nutrients by using laxatives or diuretics, or by inducing vomiting. Patients with bulimia, meanwhile, will eat in binges, followed by behaviors such as purging or fasting to compensate for the overeating.

 For more and link to original article.

Learn more about what it takes to be a Certified Nurse Aide (CNA).

Why We Need Age Friendly Communities

AARP is on the move, and they want age-friendly communities. This Huff/Post50 interview with Amy Levner (AARP’s manager of education on livable communities) may be from last spring, but the message is just as timely as ever — and Levner’s campaign is ongoing.
Fact: the population is aging rapidly.

Even those who aren’t savvy as a result of professional or personal senior care experiences are aware of this fact. As a result, the World Health Organization (WHO) and AARP’s nationwide Network of Age-Friendly Communities program have joined forces to “support communities with information on best practices gathered both nationally and globally.”

The following are the eight areas that WHO believes are essential to the “quality of life for older people:”

• outdoor space
• housing
• transportation
• health services
• community engagement
• social participation
• respect and social inclusion
• civic participation
• employment

Sounds like a livable community that truly would appeal to people of all ages, right?

To Read More and the Original Article.

Now is a great time to start a career in the health industry. See what we have at WeCareOnline.

Does Forgetting Words Signify the Beginning of Alzheimer's Disease?

Has your memory failed you today, such as struggling to recall a word that's "on the tip of your tongue?" If so, you're not alone.

Recent University of Michigan research indicates that "tip-of-the-tongue" errors happen often to adults ages 65 - 92. In a study of 105 healthy, highly educated older adults, 61 percent reported this memory memory mishap.

The study's participants completed a checklist of the memory errors they had experienced in the last 24 hours, as well as several other tests. About half of them reported making other errors that may be related to absent-mindedness, such as having to re-read a sentence because they forgot what it said, or forgetting where they placed an item.

The findings, which appeared in the journal Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition, may help brain-training programs target the memory problems people experience in daily life.

"Right now, many training programs focus on the age differences in memory and thinking that we see in laboratory studies," said Cindy Lustig, University of Michigan psychology professor and the study's senior author. "However, those may not translate to the performance failures that are most common in everyday life."

According to Lustig, when people are tested in the lab and have nothing to rely on but their own memories, young adults typically do better than older adults. "When we looked at how people performed on standard laboratory tests, we found the usual age differences," she said. "People in their 80s and 90s performed worse than those in their 60s and early 70s." 

However, when these studies are conducted in real-world settings, older adults might even outperform young adults at things like remembering appointments, because seniors are likely to use memory supports such as calendars, lists and alarms. The researchers found no increase in the "real-world" memory errors, based on age.
This research may help brain-training developers better target the errors that people make even if they are using memory supports. Said Lustig, “We wanted to identify which errors still occur despite changes people might be making in their environment and routine.”

To Read More and the Original Article. 

Learn more about how to find or post a job at WeCareOnline's forum.