posted on March 19, 2010
By Susan McDaniel - Speech Pathologist
Celebrating “Brain Awareness Week” sounds a bit funny to me, how about you? When was the last time you thought about your brain? We probably think more about other peoples’ brains than our own. When observing people while driving around town or waiting in line at the store, sometimes I wonder, “What are they thinking?” I remember marveling at my children’s rapid brain growth and development as they matured; witnessing how they apply newly-learned information. Now that my parents and in-laws are aging, I think about forgetfulness and “senior moments.” I’m concerned about their safety as their increasing age may affect their judgment.
Normal brain function is truly wonderful. Changes to this normal function could result from sudden events such as stroke or injury from an automobile accident… or slower processes such as the onset of dementia, a brain tumor, Parkinson’s disease, or multiple sclerosis. At times like these, we find ourselves depending on people who have spent a lot of time “thinking about the brain.” We turn to neurologists, physiatrists, nurses, physical and occupational therapists, and speech-language pathologists. These practitioners have studied the brain and how it affects daily life.
We are fortunate to live in a community with excellent health care providers who can diagnose and treat people who suffer from changes to their brain. So, we keep our fingers crossed that our brains stay in good working order, and know at any given moment there are many in our community who can lend a helping hand if things change. Happy “Brain Awareness” Week. May yours remain healthy!
posted on March 15, 2010
By Monal Patel – Assistant Outreach Coordinator
Did you know that last week (March 7-13) was National Sleep Awareness Week? Have you ever asked the question, How much sleep is enough for my body? According to the National Sleep Foundation, sleep needs vary among individuals. In general, most healthy adults need seven to nine hours of sleep a night. However, some individuals are able to function without sleepiness or drowsiness after as little as six hours of sleep. Others can’t perform at their peak unless they’ve slept ten hours. And, contrary to common myth, the need for sleep doesn’t decline with age (although the ability to get it all at one time may be reduced).
Sleep is vital to our health and well being and sleeping problems that are recurring could make our daily life more stressful. Stress is considered by most sleep experts to be the No. 1 cause of short-term sleeping difficulties. Common triggers include school-or job-related pressures, a family or marriage problem, and a serious illness or death in the family. Usually the sleep problem disappears when the stressful situation passes.
Here are some tips for sleeping smart:
1. Establish a regular bed and wake time
2. Avoid nicotine altogether and avoid caffeine close to bedtime
3. Avoid alcohol
4. Exercise regularly (but complete the workout at least 3 hours before bedtime)
5. Establish a consistent relaxing “wind-down” bedtime routine
6. Create a sleep-conducive environment that is dark, quiet and comfortable
7. Discuss the appropriate way to take any sleep aid with a healthcare professional
If your sleeping problem recurs or persists for longer than one week, you should consult with a physician. You might be suffering from sleep apnea, which is defined as sleeping without breath. Sleep apnea is very common, as common as adult diabetes, and affects more than twelve million Americans, according to the National Institute of Health. Some risk factors include being male, overweight, and over the age of forty, but sleep apnea can strike anyone at any age, even children. Fortunately, sleep apnea can be diagnosed and treated with the right help.
Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) is considered the “gold standard” of treatment for patients with sleep apnea and is usually the first choice prescribed by sleep centers. During this treatment, the patient must wear a specially designed mask that uses pressure to send air flowing through the nasal passages. The influx of air keeps the throat from collapsing during sleep and allows the patient to breathe freely without worry of episodes of nonbreathing. The CPAP unit must be prescribed to you by a physician, and the company that the CPAP unit is ordered from will provide the initial introduction. The CPAP unit is usually covered by most insurance because sleep apnea has been linked to serious problems. Thus, it is in your insurance company’s best interest to cover this preventative therapy. For any on-going assistance with the CPAP unit, you could contact a local home care agency and they will send a nurse to assist you. For instance, many nurses from Home Care of Rochester provide follow-up teaching and education on using the device, and can answer any questions that you may have.
posted on March 05, 2010
By Monal Patel - Assistant Outreach Coordinator
Obesity is a complex, multi-factorial chronic disease involving environmental, genetic, physiologic, metabolic, behavioral and psychological components. Obesity is a disease that affects nearly one-third, approximately 60 million of the adult American population. It is the second leading cause of preventable death in the United States.
By teaching healthy behaviors at a young age, we can help decrease the chance of children having obesity as an adult, which becomes more difficult to manage with age. According to James O. Hill, Director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado, says that while weight loss requires significant lifestyle changes, taking away extra calories through small steps can help slow and prevent weight gain. Behaviors involving physical activity and nutrition are the cornerstone of preventing obesity in children and adolescents. Parents are the most important role models for children.
Here are some ways that parents can establish a lifetime of healthy habits for their family:
Create an Active Environment:
• Make time for the entire family to participate in regular physical activities, such as walking, bicycling or rollerblading that everyone enjoys.
• Join together with other families for group activities like touch-football, basketball, tag or hide-and-seek.
• Assign active chores to every family member such as vacuuming, washing the car or mowing the lawn.
• Limit the amount of TV watching.
Create a Healthy Eating Environment:
• Implement a healthy diet, which is rich in fruits, vegetables, and grains for your entire family.
• Replace drinking soda with water.
• Avoid rushing to finish meals. Eating too quickly does not allow enough time to digest and to feel a sense of fullness.
• Avoid serving portions that are too large.
• Limit the frequency of fast-food eating to no more than once per week.
posted on February 26, 2010
By Monal Patel - Assistant Outreach Coordinator
The goal of American Heart Month is to raise awareness about heart disease and stroke. Heart disease is the Number 1 cause of death in the United States. Stroke is the Number 3 cause of death, and a leading cause of serious disability. It’s so important to reduce your risk factors, and to know the warning signs that can help you reduce the likelihood of serious complications.
Heart attacks can be sudden and intense, or start slowly, with mild pain or discomfort. Here are heart attack warning signs for men:
• Chest discomfort. Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain.
• Discomfort in other areas of the upper body. Symptoms can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.
• Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort.
• Other signs may include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness.
Women experience the same heart attack symptoms as men, most commonly chest pain or discomfort, but women are more likely than men to experience the other common symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting and back or jaw pain.
Here are signs that could indicate a potential stroke:
• Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
• Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
• Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
• Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
• Sudden, severe headache with no known cause
HCR’s Heart Failure and Stroke specialty programs could be of great help to you or your loved one. Our Heart Failure team is led by experienced cardiac nurses, physical and occupational therapists, and registered dieticians. In addition to providing expert care and education, we utilize state of the art technology to keep a close eye on patients to identify changes in health condition before they can become more serious problems. Our Stroke team maintains a specialized certification in stroke care known as the “Neuro-Development Treatment” that leverages normal, spontaneous responses involved in voluntary movement to improve the speed and extent of rehabilitation. We also provide patient and family education to reduce the likelihood of another stroke.
posted on February 15, 2010
By Monal Patel – Assistant Outreach Coordinator
How many of you drink a glass of orange juice every day? Do you how much difference one glass can make for comfier joints? Fresh-squeezed orange juice contains a substance called beta-cryptoxanthin that is helpful in reducing the risk of polyarthritis, a joint condition triggered by the autoimmune system. In a diet survey among older adults, people with the highest amounts of beta-cryptoxanthin in their diets were less likely to develop polyarthritis than the people with the lowest intakes. Therefore, having just one glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice a day could protect against the inflammatory joint condition.
In addition to comfier joints, orange juice is a great source for Vitamin C. Vitamin C may include protection against immune system deficiencies, cardiovascular disease, prenatal health problems, eye disease, and even skin wrinkling. According to researcher Mark Moyad, MD, MPH, of the University of Michigan, higher blood levels of Vitamin C may be the ideal nutrition marker for overall health. Therefore, make sure you’re drinking lots of orange juice to keep your immune system strong especially during this winter.
posted on February 05, 2010
By Monal Patel – Assistant Outreach Coordinator
The focus of World Salt Awareness Week 2010 (February 1st- 7th) is ‘Salt and Your Health.’ Many people are aware that salt can damage your health, but do not know it is linked to serious health conditions such as stroke and heart failure. If everyone consumed half a teaspoon less salt per day, there would be between 54,000 and 99,000 fewer heart attacks each year. There is also increasing evidence supporting links between current high salt diets and the onset of stomach cancer, osteoporosis, obesity and kidney stones and kidney disease. There are several key ways to cut back on salt usage to reduce your risk of serious health conditions.
Here are various ways in which salt can be cut back in your diet:
• In the kitchen - Stop adding salt to your cooking unless it is absolutely necessary. Halve the amounts that recipes suggest and keep halving. Add seasonings in place of salt.
• At the home table - Don’t reach for the salt shaker. When reducing, shake only once and gradually wean yourself off this habit.
• Eating out - Ask for the salt to be left off chips/fries and other fast foods. Avoid foods you know are salty. Order the salad or baked potato instead of the fries.
• Grocery shopping - Learn to read nutrition labels. In particular, look at the amount of sodium in what you eat.
posted on January 29, 2010
By Monal Patel – Assistant Outreach Coordinator
Do you know someone that is socially isolated and can’t figure out ways to stay engaged? Social isolation has been proven capable of being extremely harmful to older adults’ cognitive abilities, not to mention a major contributor to depression. A study published in The Journal of Gerontology tested a group of women who started volunteering at a school. After six months in the schools, the women underwent a round of cognitive testing. Their performance improved by over 40 percent when compared to a control group, and M.R.I. scans showed the women’s brain activity had positive changes.
There are many ways you can stay engaged. Normal, day-to-day activities such as attending lectures, volunteering, becoming active in political or other civic affairs, or working full or part-time at a job that offers you mental stimulation are all equally valid approaches. Losing executive function – the ability to focus on tasks and make sound judgments - is one of the major reasons people find themselves unable to maintain an independent household. Therefore, it’s very important that these cognitive skills be maintained on a day-to-day basis. As Dr. Michelle Carlson, leader of the study, says: “Our bodies are meant to move and our brains are built for novelty.”
posted on January 22, 2010
By Peggy Heerkens – Human Resources Associate
Last summer as I was heading out to lunch with my co-workers, we spotted a Red Cross truck near the parking lot, and I said nonchalantly, “You know, we should hold a blood drive at HCR!” One week later I received a call from the Red Cross, asking if our company would be interested in sponsoring a blood drive right here at work. I suspected that our company managers would support the idea, but would the employees take the time? We held our first blood drive on September 11, 2009, surely a significant date in history. Not surprising, we were filled to capacity with employees willing to roll up their sleeves for the one cause no money can buy. Not only our own employees, but our neighboring companies across the street and down the road stopped in to give the Gift of Life. 15 first-time donors mustered the courage to participate… not an insignificant number.
We recently held our second drive on Martin Luther King Day, January 28, 2010. And once again, we filled the “beds” (conference tables), and added 8 more first-time donors to the group. As Dustin Hilton, our American Red Cross rep, said, “75 lives were saved that day”. They all are Heroes. We’re grateful to our leadership in allowing us to open our doors to this opportunity, and to the dozens of employees who take the time to give, and give again. Truly, HCR cares.
posted on January 15, 2010
By Monal Patel – Assistant Outreach Coordinator
Have you ever wondered – is it normal that I can’t touch my toes? You probably answered “yes” and just assumed you’re not flexible enough. However, a study published this year in the journal “Heart and Circulatory Physiology” suggests there is a correlation between inflexible bodies and inflexible arteries in people older than 40. Adults who have trouble touching their toes tend to have relatively high readings of arterial stiffness. Stiff arteries require the heart to work much harder to force blood through the vessels, and over time could contribute to a greater risk of heart attack and stroke. Some degree of arterial stiffening is inevitable with age, but the stiffer your arteries are, the less efficient your heart.
A key component to touching your toes is stretching, which keeps your muscles flexible and healthy to help prevent certain kinds of muscular degeneration. Stretching helps limber up muscles and keeps them in good working conditions. This will also help reduce the stiffness that may occur following the performance of some physical activities. Please do remember, though, that stretching should be done gently and correctly.
posted on January 08, 2010
By Rob Chamberlin - Dir of Community Outreach
The increased vitality and activity of today’s older adults as compared to earlier generations is something that’s been discussed in this spot within the past few months. I know, and I apologize for not providing you with more varied reading, but this morning’s New York Times included such a great article that I just had to share it: “Seeing Old Age as a Never-Ending Adventure.”
Who can resist this? “When Charles Smith, 89, a retired engineer from Delray Beach, FL, was heading for the South Pole a few years ago, a woman got off the plane at base camp and started bragging about being 80. She was quickly put in her place. One of the fellows in the group tapped her on the shoulder and said, ‘I don’t want to prick your balloon, but there are three in our group who are older.’ ” Or the tale of the 90 year-old woman on a three month hiking trip in South Africa? Or the 89 year-old man who now needs a bit more of a boost up onto the wing of the plane when wing-walking since suffering a stroke?
When HCR first introduced its Lifelongevity program – “home care so you won’t need home care” – it was designed with people just like those described in this story in mind. People who wanted to go canyoning with their grandchildren, skiing far into retirement with their friends, or golfing 18 holes as often as they wished without having to worry about whether their bodies would keep up. Achieving and maintaining this kind of health and fitness at an older age is generally no easy task, and requires a serious commitment to ongoing aerobic and strength exercise, attention to nutrition and maintenance of a healthy BMI, and personal advocacy for one’s own health.
So although I’m a week late in doing so, I’d like to raise a New Year’s toast to the people in today’s article, and to all older adults who are living their lives to the fullest each and every day.
Read old HCR Blog posts
