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Hello! Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there, and the many fathers who we hold dear in our memories! I hope you each have had a joyous day. Our younger son is having a Father's Day to remember. He and his wife are in the hospital in the late stage of labor with their first baby.
On to our ezine....
If you live in the mid-west, you are likely cleaning up from the vicious Friday night storm. There are still so many without power. If you're in such an area, be sure to check on elderly neighbors. Food can spoil quickly in this heat. Be sure to offer water, food and a big box fan!
One last shout out to vote for Carrie Gallahan's video for her own talk show. Carrie is director of an assisted living community in Peru, IN with an incredible passion to do all she can for the elderly and their families. She wants to break down the barriers and help people meet the later years with strategies and a positive attitude.
To check out Carrie's audition video for Oprah's network and vote, click here. (The contest ends in 2 weeks.)
Other news: We've got 2 wonderful interviews left in June on my BlogTalkRadio show. And, I've already booked July & August! Details below.
Our featured article today is about two well-designed, simple-to-use services that will help you and your aging parent.
The first service I cover helps your parent know when to take each of their medications. Medication non-adherence is a widespread, costly and dangerous problem. The good news is there is a low-cost, flexible service that is easy to set up and will give you and your aging parent peace of mind.
"Do you worry about your parent falling and lying there for hours or days, or being found too late? There is relatively new service out there that offers a daily automated call to ensure your aging parent is OK. It is a very well thought-out service.
I am very excited to share that my book is published and now available (click here). I hope you will find my new ADAPT framework a helpful tool as you guide your parent through the many changes inherent in their later years. A team of 15 colleagues from around the country helped tremendously with their feedback during the edit process to ensure the book is complete and accurate.
Want to listen to me share how this book will help you and your parent?
As always, my
best wishes to
you and your parent(s) as you journey together,
Dale
Carter...
PS:Welcome to all my new
subscribers!
I am so very grateful to have you as part of our Transition Aging
Parents
community.I think you'll love the
information, tips, and inspiration you'll be receiving!
"Yesterday
is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us
begin." ~Mother Teresa
(Note:If there is a topic, resource or person
that
you would like me to highlight in future issues, please write to me at dale.carter@transitionagingparents.com)
Featured Article
"Two Automated Services for Your Aging Parent's Safety Health"
Both solutions I'm highlighting today include the following benefits.
They are:
simple to set up and use
well-designed and tested
automated
flexible
support an aging parent's independence and desire to age-in-place
The first product is OnTimeRX ("timely email, phone, SMS reminders") with reminder call (or message) for each medication a person takes. This product has been in use since 2000, and was developed by Long-Term care pharmacist Susan Torrico.
How many of our aging parents take every one of their medications on schedule every time? It is indeed a challenge for the elderly.
With the growing desire to age in place, and with the growing number of medications needed as we age, this service meets a critical daily need.
There's an added bonus to the service! Calls can also be scheduled for other reasons, such as monitoring blood sugar, meal times, etc.
The concept is simple with the reminder calls/messages being offered to a land line, cell phone, computer email, Blackberry, Palm, Windows Mobile smart phone, or PDA.
Here's how it works. You and your aging parent:
Tell the service how your aging parent wishes to receive the reminder calls and/or messages
Set up the reminder schedule
Record a personalized message for each call
Benefits? It's simple to set up, flexible to any care plan needs, and is reliable, stress-free and non-judgmental. It certainly does support aging-in-place.
As OnTimeRX says, "Think of OnTimeRX as a personal assistance or automated 'To Do list that keeps people on track and happily involved in their own daily care routines."
The second product is FineThanx ("make every day independence day") offering a daily automated call.
How many of our parents forget to wear their PERS (personal emergency alert systems)? I venture to say, quite a few.
We've heard the statistics. One in every 3 persons aged 65+ falls each year.
With the growing desire to age in place and the risk of falling at home alone, wouldn't it be great to have an automated system that checks on your loved one every 24 hours and communicates their status to their whole Circle of Care (including children that live far away)?
Peter Sharff, founder of FineThanx, developed this automated call system as a result of a person experience with his grandmother who fell, did not use her alert button and was not found for 2 days.
The service is simple but definitely meets the need!
A call is made once or twice a day to the home of the elderly person. The automated message tells the person to press "1" if they are ok, press "2" if they need help.
If "2" is pressed or if the call goes unanswered after 3 attempts, an second automated call sequence commences, calling one person at a time within the Circle of Care (established by the family)
Members of the family's Circle of Care receives email notification of calls each day so they can rest assured their loved one is ok.
As FineThanx site says, "Use FineThanx alone or as the perfect companion to the 'panic button' device, and get a moment of assurance each and every day."
June 22nd: The Daughter Trap - An Author Speaks Out about Eldercare
Laurel Kennedy, author and authority on multi-generational issues, is my guest. Laurel experienced the "daughter trap" firsthand. Through extensive research and her new book, she is going to tell us what we can do about the "daughter trap. Click here.
June 29th:Elder Mediation - How It Can Help Your Family
Shon Ingram, founder and owner of Eldercare Life Solutions, joins me to discuss how elder mediation can help your aging parent and your family. Click here.
July17th: Taking the "Hospital" Out of Hospital Beds
Gary Owens, inventor and co-founder of TenderCare Beds, a revolutionary product that literally takes the "hospital" out of hospital beds, will be my guest. Learn about how Gary's suite of products can help your aging parent or anyone who must use a hospital bed. The aesthetics are so important that Gary just didn't stop at transforming the hospital bed. Click here.
August 10th: Parent with Alzheimer's? Learn how the Validation Technique Can Help You Communicate
Carrie Gallahan, Executive Director of Blair Ridge Assisted Living and certified Validation Technique trainer, will be my guest. Carrie is passionate about the Validation Technique, helping families and professionals to reach through to those in any stage of Alzheimer's. The exciting part is that if this technique is used in early stages of Alzheimer's, the late stage can be avoided. Show to be posted.
August 17th:Generational Conflict with Your Aging Parent - Why and What Now?
Barbara Friesner (founder of AgeWiseLiving) will be my guest. She will tell us what generational conflicts are and why they happen. Barbara will draw upon her own personal experience and coaching practice, to share tips, strategies and resources for families. Click here.
August 24th - "Happiness is Growing Old at Home"
Maria Tadd, author of the book, "Happiness is Growing Old at Home", will be my guest. Show to be posted.
Where's Dale?
July 7th - I will be presenting "Transitioning Your Aging Parent: The ADAPT method" at The Waterford at Edison Lakes, Mishawaka, IN
July 12th - I am the featured guest on Patricia Grace's Aging with Grace radio show.
September 15, 22, 29th - I will be presenting a 3 part series workshop, "Transitioning Your Aging Parent: The ADAPT method" at the Alzheimer's and Dementia Foundation, South Bend, Indiana.
If you know of any organizations seeking a speaker about aging parents, please email me at dale.carter@transitionagingparents.com
"Transitioning Your Aging Parent: A 5 Step Guide Through Crisis & Change" (my new book)
"Transitioning Your Aging Parent: A 5 Step Guide Through Crisis & Change" is published and now available.
I wrote this book to help adult children and families navigate the many changes their aging parents will face. In the book, I share a new framework, ADAPT, developed from my personal experience, my background as an educator and project manager, and a sincere desire to help families and their aging parents. In reading this book, you will learn how to use the framework, apply specific strategies, and seek out appropriate resources that are right for your their situation. Personal stories are woven throughout to illustrate the concepts.
Join me as I share what I learned in helping my own mother navigate crisis and change to renewed health and happiness.
Discover how to approach any change or crisis in your parent's life with clarity and confidence.
Discover how this new framework will guide you in making the right decisions for your parent while balancing your own personal needs and family responsibilities.
Advance Praise
It's
almost as though you took all my years of training and managed to put order to
it. The ADAPT method of caregiving will decrease stress and give great
comfort to families in the eldercare world. My fear is that we can't
get it out to people fast enough.
~ P.K. Beville,
M.S.
Founder, Second
Wind Dreams & Geriatric Specialists
Author, Virtual Dementia Tour Series
This deceptively small book is one that every adult
with a parent should read. It skillfully guides you step by step through the
process of helping your parent's transition. It's full of helpful resources for
you and your parent. It will be a lifesaver in a time of crisis, but I
recommend you don't wait until then. Get the book now and follow Dale Carter's
ADAPT method to prepare you and your parent for the inevitable changes ahead.
~ Debra Joy, CEO, Bcelebrated
For those entering the
unchartered waters as a caregiver, Transitioning Your Aging Parent: A 5 Step
Guide Through Crisis & Change is an
invaluable life raft. Dale Carter provides readers with a framework to help
create solutions for the most complex family challenges. The book outlines
countless resources and creative ideas to help the most frazzled caregiver
reduce guilt and offer the freedom to help spend more quality time with their
loved ones.
~ Steve Gurney, Publisher,
Guide to
Retirement Living SourceBook
Whether you are a business
professional trying to help your aging parents, a long distance caregiver or a
stay-at-home caregiver, you need Transitioning Your Aging Parent:
A 5 Step Guide Through Crisis & Change. Dale's
ADAPT Method provides a step-by-step plan which changes overwhelming situations
into manageable ones. My favorite part of the ADAPT Method is that
it balances respecting our aging parent while understanding the needs of the
caregiver. Thank you Dale for creating a straightforward, quick-to-read
guidebook for helping our parents transition through the aging process.
~ Viki Kind, MA
Author, The Caregiver's Path to
Compassionate Decision Making -
Making Choices for Those Who Can't
To preview the book or purchase your copy, click here.
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Note
about Dale
Dale
Carter is
wife, mother of 3 grown children, and long-distance caregiver to her
elderly
mother. She is a former educator and university IT consultant. In
the spring of 2008, a major life experience (helping her elderly mother
through
a major health/life crisis) changed the course of Dale's life work.
Dale
created
"Transition Aging Parents" as a way to share her experience and reach
out to other adult children of aging parents. She provides insight and
shares information to help adult daughters and sons ensure their aging
parents
"thrive and find joy" in every stage of life.
Her
goal is
two-fold: to serve as a resource for adult children as they help their
aging
parents through the many transitions in aging AND to highlight this time
in
their journey together as one of joy, renewed bonds and reflection of
lives
well-lived.
If you wish to use this
article on
your website or in your own ezine, you must include the following: Dale Carter, founder of Transition Aging Parents, is dedicated to
providing
insight and information to adult children of aging parents so their
parents may
"thrive and find joy" in every stage of life. To get your
F.R.E.E. 5-Part E-Course and
receive her bi-weekly articles on resources, options, and new
innovations for
aging parents, visit http://www.transitionagingparents.com
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