Dental Care Important for People with Dementia

REPRINTED FROM PennLive.com


When you’re living with dementia, simple tasks such as brushing teeth or visiting the dentist can become monumental roadblocks. 


Read the entire article here...

Coping with Holiday Stress When a Loved One Has Dementia

Reprinted from Dementiacarecentral.com

While the holidays are a joyful time for many, they can be stressful for caregivers as well as people with dementia. This page discusses some of the challenges of the holidays.

U.S. Department of the Treasury announces the Go Direct campaign

Go Direct is the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s public education campaign regarding their announcement to go electronic. As you may have heard, the Treasury announced that all federal benefit and non-tax payments will be paid electronically by March 1, 2013. This change will impact people who are about to apply for federal benefits (like Social Security retirement) and the more than 10 million people who are already receiving benefits by paper check.

• People applying for federal benefits on or after May 1, 2011, need to choose their preferred electronic payment option when they enroll in federal benefits.

• People already receiving federal benefits by check will need to make the switch to electronic payments by March 1, 2013.

• People already receiving benefit payments electronically do not need to take action. They will continue to receive their payments as usual on payment day.

Recognizing the Differences Between the Normal Effects of Aging and Dementia

Reprinted from EldercareABCBlog

We all forget things, especially if we are low on sleep or high on stress, but we start to worry when aging loved ones exhibit forgetfulness when life is good. Is it Alzheimer’s, we ask ourselves, or dementia? By becoming familiar with the varying forms and symptoms of dementia, we can understand the differences between normal and abnormal brain function in aging friends and loved ones.

Read more...

Medicare Part D Enrollment Assistance

The Beaver County Office on Aging APPRISE Program (Pennsylvania's state health insurance assistanct program) will conduct a Medicare Part D Enrollment Center:

When: Saturdays (except holidays) beginning October 15 through December 7, 2011

Time: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. (appointments are suggested)

Where: Center At The Mall, 284 Beaver Valley Mall Blvd., Monaca, PA 15061

Please bring with you the following items:

• Medicare card
• Other insurance cards (i.e., VA, PACE, ACCESS, etc.)
• Complete list of your medications and dosages

Great effort is made to ensure that quality time is offered to those who need assistance in comparing, switching, or joining a Part D plan.

Call 724-847-2262 or toll free 1-888-548-2262 for more information or to schedule your appointment.

Moon Township Adult Day Center Patio and Garden in the News!

Check out the story about our new patio and garden in the July 14th edition of the Sewickley Herald!

Exercise Class Video

From time to time, we're going to be posting videos of activities that take place at our adult day services centers for you to see how much fun we're having.

You can check out a video of our Ambridge clients during an exercise class led by Marie on our Facebook page.

Smoke Detector Safety

POSTED ON BEHALF OF JOHN SEITZ

Well, here it is early April and we are enjoying the longer days now that Daylight Savings Time is here. Of cours,e we all should know by now that the change to Daylight Savings Time is also the time to change the batteries in our smoke detectors. We hear it on the news every Spring and Fall and that’s a good reminder to take a look at our fire safety.

Here are a few other things to consider about smoke detectors that you might find helpful.

· Ionization Smoke detectors are best at detecting a “flaming” fire and are the most common type of smoke detector. They are also usually the least expensive.

· A Photoelectric detector is very good at detecting a “smoldering” fire. They are often used in the kitchen area.

· It’s a good idea to have both types in your home.

· If you’re doing remodeling or building a new home, it’s easy to have wired-in smoke detectors installed.

· There should be at least one detector on each level of the home and one outside each bedroom.

· If you hear the detector “chirping,” then the battery is low and it’s time to change it.

· A final hint: battery-powered smoke detectors should be replaced with new ones every 10 years. They don’t last forever!

To learn more, visit www.firesafetycouncil.com or search for Smoke Detectors on Google. There’s a wealth of good fire safety information on the web.

Encouraging an Older Loved One to Stay Active

REPRINTED FROM ELDERCAREABCBLOG

By Steven Watson, Ph.D.

The quality of life for many seniors suffers because they don’t remain active. While it’s true that the elderly do slow down and have limitations to what they can do, it is inaccurate to think that they can’t continue to exercise and take part in the world around them. There are many activities for the elderly that can help them remain active and interested in life.

Here are 5 tips for motivating seniors to remain as active as possible.

Check out our St. Patrick's Day Videos!

We had a fabulous St. Patrick's Day celebration at our Ambridge adult day services center - and you can check out how much fun we had!

Visit our YouTube channel to see clients and guests dancing to the wonderful sounds of the Pittsburgh Doo Wop Combo.

Study Finds Alzheimer's Disease May Be Frequently Misdiagnosed

REPRINTED FROM AOL HEALTH

By Catherine Donaldson-Evans

Alzheimer's disease is often and easily misdiagnosed in the elderly, a new study shows -- raising new doubts about existing detection methods for the traumatic, memory-loss illness.

Read more about the study.

Art Therapy Program in the News!

Our art therapy program and its wonderful benefits for older adults was featured in the Feb. 17th edition of the Sewickley Herald. You can read the article online.

Healthy Life Style

How you can take brain health to heart:

• Adopt a long-term, heart-healthy “food lifestyle” rather than a short-term diet and eat in moderation. A long-term study of 1,500 adults found that those who were obese in middle age were twice as likely to develop dementia in later life. Those who also had high cholesterol and high blood pressure had six times the risk of dementia.
  
• Reduce your intake of fat and cholesterol.Studies have shown that high intake of saturated fat and cholesterol clogs the arteries and is associated with higher risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Use mono- and polyunsaturated fats, such as olive oil, for example. Try baking or grilling food instead of frying.
  
• Exercise. Walking or other moderate exercise for 30 minutes each day gets the body moving and the heart pumping.
  
• Don’t smoke.Smoking interferes with blood flow and oxygen to the brain and is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke.

• Manage your numbers. Controlling your body weight, blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar helps reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke

A Fun-Filled February in Ambridge

POSTED ON BEHALF OF TAMMY TACKAC

Hello! I hope everyone is keeping warm! Keeping busy at the Ambridge center is helping us to be warm. In January, we had a visit from KDKA weatherman Dennis Bowman. He came with 3 puppets and put on a very entertaining show for us. He also simulated a tornado for us which was very educational. He mentioned his visit here twice the next day on the morning news broadcast. Everyone enjoyed his visit.

Thank you to everyone who submitted recipes for National Cookbook Day. We had a nice variety of recipes to exchange and take home. One day we made homemade wedding soup and served it for lunch with an Italian ham and provolone cheese sandwich for National Soup day. Our service project in January was making homemade cat treats for the Beaver County Humane Society.

February will prove to be just as eventful. In honor of all the presidents' birthdays in February, we will be baking Mrs. Truman’s recipe for coconut balls and playing a game of “What First Lady am I?” We are celebrating Chinese New Year by making a good fortune hanging craft and having a Chinese scavenger hunt. On Thursdays, we are happy to have 2 Pitt occupational therapy students at the center from 10am – 4pm. They will be here for a few months as part of their schooling and will assist us with various tasks. We are welcoming Frank Lavelle back to the center for an entertaining afternoon. Please make sure you look at the February activity calendar for all the other programs that are offered this month.

We are in need of BINGO prizes. If you have any knick-knacks lying around the house that you want to get rid of, we will take them here at the Ambridge center. This would be greatly appreciated!

Volunteers are always needed. If you are interested, please contact Tammy Tackac at 724-266-9626.