If you have any questions, please call us at 414-395-4287.

Three Part Series
When: Thursday, March 8th, 15th & 22nd
Time: 2-3pm
Where: Wauwatosa Library, 7635 West North Avenue
Cost: ABSOLUTLY FREE!!!

This is an educational event open to all those in the community.

Part One
Staying in Your Home: How to Remain Safe, Comfortable, Independent and Active
Now more than ever there are numerous new resources and products that make it easier to remain in your home.  BILD’s accessibility experts Rob Horkheimer and Joe Caravella (from the Morning Blend) will discuss many options to make your home more beautiful, comfortable, and safe.  They will answer questions and additionally offer financial resources that can help pay for home modifications as well.  They will share many options to make your home an easier and safer place to live.  

Part Two
Taking the Heart Healthy Attitude to the Kitchen – March 15th, 2-3pm
Did you know that eating healthy can also decrease your stress? Join us March 15th to learn how to cook a heart healthy meal that is simple and delicious. Our chef, Brenda Buchanan, RN will also discuss how stress affects the body in different ways.

Part Three
Advance Directives Workshop – March 8th, 2-3pm
National Healthcare Decision Day is April 16th, have you declared your Power of Attorney for Healthcare?  Join us for an educational discussion about the importance of having an Advanced Directive.  Have the opportunity to ask questions about and complete a document with a Licensed Social Worker from Vitas Innovative Hospice. 

Click Here to Download the Flyer
Presentation in Wauwatosa

- when they forget where local places are, such as the grocery store or library
- making slow decisions regarding traffic signals or confusing the gas pedal with the brake pedal
- driving at a dangerously slow speeds
- reacting with anger or confusion while driving

These are just a few areas to consider when addressing whether or not a parent or loved one should no longer be driving for safety concern.

Part of facing OCD is understanding that repetitive tasks are balancing the anxiety for the person. Such as cleaning the same part of the kitchen over and over, while ignoring the huge pile of garbage in the corner. Or in other cases making sure the garbage is taken out several times per day. OCD can be a number of different situations for a person.

When caring for someone with OCD it is good to remember that what they are repetitively doing is an action that is somehow making them feel at peace. Working with them through the process can help or talking to them about what they are doing and why they are doing it can also help them understand why they feel such an urge to complete a task.

Acceptance of these behaviors as a caregiver will make the process much easier to handle, as you can’t change a person.

The first and one of the most important steps to take is putting aside time each day to honor your grief. Set up a sanctuary in your home or in nature, a protected place where you can open fully to your grief for ten to twenty minutes every day. Using the sanctuary, gradually you will find a rhythm of entering the grief for a period each day, then letting it go and attending to daily tasks.

To learn more about this topic click on Ten Steps to Grieving the Loss of a Parent.

Education of at-risk patients and their families is the most productive way to prevent pressure ulcers. Steps toward prevention include:

Identifying individuals at high risk for pressure ulcers.
Ensuring that immobile patients change their position at least every two hours to relieve pressure.
Using items that can help reduce pressure caused by bed sheets and wheelchairs (e.g., low air-loss mattress system, pillows, cushions, foam padding ).
Making sure patients eat healthy, well-balanced meals.
Encouraging daily exercise, including range-of-motion exercises for immobile patients.
Following good skin care, including inspecting the skin every day and keeping skin clean and dry. Incontinent people need to take extra steps to limit areas of moisture.
Children who are destined to spend years in a chair should be taught at an early age to do push-ups while in the chair and shift their weight often.

For more information click here.
Resource – (PHC-Online.com)

Here are a few helpful tools:
 Get Your Support Group Ready. As you deal with the symptoms of dementia, make sure you get the emotional support you need. Turn to close family members and friends, join a dementia support group, or talk to a therapist, counselor, or clergyman.
 Don’t Put Off the Important Decisions. Avoid future medical, financial, and legal confusion by communicating your wishes and creating a plan. Designate a Power of Attorney for money and legal matters. Discuss and document treatment and end-of-life preferences with your doctors and family members. Create a Living Will and appoint someone you trust to make decisions for you in case you can no longer make them for yourself. Although these conversations may be difficult, making your wishes known is empowering.
 Watch for Changes in Medications. Depression, sleep disturbances, and medication interactions can make the symptoms of dementia worse and limit independence. Treating them may require some experimentation with lifestyle changes and medication, but can be well worth the effort.
 Stay Positive. When you sense the mind is half-gone, try to see it as half-present. With appropriate support and understanding, people with dementia are capable of experiencing and providing enjoyment and connection – even through the final stages of the disease.

Resource – (http://helpguide.org/)

Incontinence might be one of the most difficult issues you will face when caring for an aging parent or loved one. Being understandable and acceptable of the situation will make the loved one that is encountering the issue feel more at peace with the situation. Many people with incontinence issues withdraw from public activities because they worry about accidents. Incontinence has an emotional effect and we want to ensure that while our elders are facing loss of control that we are doing everything in our power to make them understand that they have not lost their dignity.

It is estimated to affect one out of every three Americans over the age of 65, women twice as often as men (due to loosening of the urethra through childbirth).

Helpful facts to help with incontinence:
Provide fluids. Make sure your elder drinks plenty of fluids, at least six and a half cups a day. Strange as it may sound, limiting fluid intake can actually make the problem worse as it results in more concentrated urine which can cause irritation and lead to serious illness.

Plan ahead. Schedule trips to the bathroom, particularly before going to bed.

Encourage exercise. However light, exercise stimulates circulation and keeps the body from becoming too sluggish.

Dietary changes. Some foods and beverages are known to make incontinence worse. Avoid caffeine, spicy foods, alcohol and tomatoes.

Check medications. Some medications can encourage or even cause incontinence.

Urinary incontinence can be coped with by using adult absorbency pads.

Covering the pads with regular underwear helps a person feel less childlike. Be sure to change incontinence underwear often, keep skin clean and use lotions and powders (or cornstarch) to protect the skin.

If you are able to work together as a team, incontinence should provide little disruption to a normal day.
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Preventing Falls
Taking these steps will help to avoid falls in your home or in the home of your loved one. Taking these steps will provide a level of confidence in your home.

Let’s discuss the most common risk factors in falling they are: inaccurate perceptions, medication side affects, memory loss/impaired judgment, diminished control of body, prior falls, environment hazards, flooring problems, poorly maintained equipment, and social isolation.

Steps to take to avoid falls:

-Remove Environmental Hazards: any rugs on the floor and furniture on wheels—remove;

-Footwear: Avoid shoes with slippery or rubber sole; avoid too much cushioning;

-Obtain Needed Equipment: Install grab bars, raised toilet seats, toilet seat handrails and stair handrails. Make sure the rails are adjusted to the proper height and comfortable to use;

-Have a professional review all drugs to identify any potential interactions and side effects; take as few drugs as possible; avoid having multiple physicians order medications without consultations with each other;

-Have regular eye and hearing exams;

-Have a daily exercise regimen to keep muscles and joints flexible and moving;

-Have lighting without too much glare or shadows; use night lights; keep stairways well-lit; use higher-wattage bulbs;

-Store items at a convenient height; move frequently used kitchen items to lower shelves and cabinets; if necessary, use a stepladder with extra-wide treads and easy to grab supports;

-Raise dish washers, microwave ovens and clothes dryers a few inches to make it easier to load and unload items;

-Obtain bells for pets to prevent them for getting underfoot without your awareness;

-Keep nighttime temperatures greater than 65 degrees to prevent joint stiffness and grogginess;