There a number of things that people consider when looking to find a nursing home for their loved one, but most do not have a solid idea of the qualities that make up a great nursing home. Some people focus on the staff, while others focus on the living conditions in the nursing home to ensure that it is clean and safe for the residents. However anyone doing research on potential nursing homes for their loved one should take a more holistic approach to determine which facility is best. In order to make this process a bit easier, we have provided information below on the qualities that make a great nursing home and things that you should consider when conducting your search.

One of the first things to note when reviewing nursing homes is the overall well-being and happiness of the residents at the facility. Determine if they seem to be alert and happy, and see if they look to be clean dressed and properly groomed. If the residents do not look happy and well taken care of, then it may not be the right nursing home for your loved one. Additionally one should review the shared living space to ensure that it is clean, well lit, quiet, and set to a comfortable temperature for the residents. Another thing to note in the shared living area is the cleanliness of the hallways and doorways, as any obstacles in the way could be dangerous for a senior who is trying to move about in the nursing home. A great nursing home needs to be safe and do all it can to protect residents from getting injured.

There are other qualities to review when looking for a great nursing home for your loved one, like the food and menus offered at the facility. Not only do residents need a clean dining room to eat in, but they also need to have a choice of food items at each meal. Additionally, residents should be offered a menu which rotates, so that they have variety of the food in which they eat. Great nursing homes should also have the staff on hand to help residents as needed to drink or eat food. On top of good food, there should also be fun activities at the nursing home for residents to participate. This should include activities inside, outside, and in the community which are social, physical and educational. Some examples of activities that nursing home residents can participate in include taking classes, exercise, movie nights, games, and more.

Residents’ rooms are another area which you should review if you are searching for a nursing home for a loved one. Great nursing homes make sure that residents’ rooms are clean and have adequate storage. They also ensure that the rooms have nice windows to allow in light, and give seniors a way to look outside. When viewing a room, check to see that residents have beds that are set low to the ground, because this makes it easier for them to get in and also prevents falling. In addition to clean rooms, you should also pay close attention to the staff, as they can be key to making a nursing home shine. Nursing home staff should be well groomed with name tags, and have a respectful attitude towards each other and the residents. Staff should also have underwent a background check, to ensure that they do not have anything in their past that would prevent them from working with seniors. The staff should also include a full time Registered Nurse (RN) who is in the nursing home facility at all times. Additionally residents should have the same caregiver most of the time, as the caregiver can provide better help because they build a relationship with the resident. The last thing to look for in the staff of a great nursing home is that there is a licensed doctor on staff who visits regularly, and who can be reached at all times.

If the nursing home you’re reviewing is open, honest, and welcomes friends and family to visit, plus meets the criteria above, then you have likely found a great nursing home for your loved one.

About the Author: Ellen Geotz is a regular author for Guide to Nursing Homes, a website dedicated to helping seniors and their loved ones find nursing homes for retirement living.  Ellen grew up on the east coast and spent 10 years working in senior homes during her 20′s and 30′s before taking a break to raise her 3 children. Now that her children are in college, Ellen uses her knowledge of senior care to help her write about all of the latest industry news.

NASUA, which represents the nation’s 56 officially designated state and territorial agencies on aging, has announced a name change. Those in the professional aging community know this organization well, so don’t get confused when you start seeing “NASUAD” in place of NASUA. The name change is consistent with a national movement to bring disability resources into the umbrella of state agencies on aging. The thought process behind this push is that doing so more accurately represents long-term care services in its totality, that such services are not restricted to our elders. Their press release states:

In keeping with its mission to design, improve, and sustain state systems delivering home and community based services and supports for the elderly and individuals with disabilities, the NASUA membership voted overwhelmingly in support of a proposal to change the name of the association to the National Association of States United for Aging and Disabilities, NASUAD.

The change was made, in part, to accurately reflect the evolving role of state aging agencies in the delivery and administration of long term services and supports, and to streamline the coordination and provision of these services across the continuum of care.

When first established through the Older Americans Act (OAA), state units on aging were primarily responsible for the administration of OAA services within the aging network. Recently, federal legislation, increased reliance on additional funding sources, and the economic downturn have dramatically impacted and increased the scope of services states are called upon to provide, and their ability to do so. As the need for long-term services has expanded, so has the role of the state aging agency, with nearly 65 percent of the states serving both seniors and individuals with disabilities as of October, 2009. James Toews, NASUA Vice President and Assistant Director of the Oregon Department of Human Services, Seniors and People with Physical Disabilities, recognizes the significance of the name change, saying, “This is a pivotal time in our nation’s history. As an organization, we are looking forward to working with members of the aging and disability communities to emphasize the importance of a comprehensive long-term care system.” NASUA’s Executive Director, Martha Roherty, echoes these sentiments, “We welcome collaboration with our partners in the aging and disability communities as we work to further strengthen relationships at the national, state and local levels.”

This transition will be phased-in over the coming months. In the interim, please visit www.nasua.org for additional information.

Remaining cool and maintaining indoor air quality in summer’s heat is important for anyone, but particular important for elders. The following post is a guest post by Rosalind Dall.

Purdue University scientists show us 1 great approach to lower 50% of winter heating expenses. Researchers at Purdue University are working on a new research project that promises the possibility to cut heating bill in half for people who reside in very cold climates. The study, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, builds on previous work that began about five-years ago at Purdue’s Ray W. Herrick Laboratories.

Heat pumps provide heating in winter and cooling in summer but are not efficient in extreme cold climates. The study involves changes to the way heat pumps operate to make them more effective in extreme cold temperatures. The modern technology works by modifying the traditional vapor-compression cycle behind standard air-con and refrigeration.

The typical vapor-compression cycle has four stages:

1. Refrigerant is compressed as a vapor
2. Condenses into a liquid
3. Expands to a combination of liquid and vapor
4. Then evaporates

The project will investigate two cooling approaches during the compression process. In one approach, relatively considerable amounts of oil are injected into the compressor to absorb heat generated through the compression stage. In the second approach, a mixture of liquid and vapor refrigerant from the expansion stage is injected at various points during compression to provide cooling.

The brand new heat pumps can be half as expensive to operate as heating technologies now utilized in cold regions where natural gas is unavailable and residents make use of electric heaters and liquid propane.

In the meanwhile here some tips to improve you home air quality and save energy:

• Be sure your thermostat is located in a spot that isn’t too cold or hot.
• Install an automatic timer to keep the thermostat at 68 degrees during the day and 55 degrees at night.
• Use storm or thermal windows in colder areas. The layer of air between the windows acts as insulation helping to keep the heat inside the places you want it.
• If you haven’t already, insulate your attic and all outside walls.
• Insulate floors over unheated spaces such as your basement, any crawl spaces plus your garage.
• Close off the attic, garage, basement, spare bedrooms and storage areas. Heat just those rooms that you use.
• Seal gaps around any pipes, wires, vents or other openings that could transfer your heat to areas that aren’t heated.
• Dust is a wonderful insulator and tends to build up on radiators and baseboard heat vents.

Most people don’t know that common indoor air quality practices reduce home air heating costs too:

• Rain and high humidity can bring moisture indoors, creating dampness, mold and mildew — big problems for healthy indoor air. Look at your roof, foundation and basement or crawlspace one per year to catch leaks or moisture problems and route water away from your home’s foundation.
• Keep asthma triggers away from your house by fixing leaks and drips when they start. Standing water and high humidity encourage the development of dust mites, mold and mildew — some of the most common triggers that can worsen asthma. Make use of a dehumidifier or ac unit if needed, and clean both regularly.
• High levels of moisture in your house increase dampness and the growth of mold, which not only damage your home but threaten health. Install and run exhaust fans in bathrooms to remove unhealthy moisture and odors out of your home.
• Ventilate your kitchen stove directly outside or open a kitchen window when you cook. Keeping exhaust — including cooking odors and particles — outside of your home prevents dangerous fumes and particles from harming you or your family.

About the Author – Rosalind Dall writes for the ductless air conditioners blog, her personal hobby blog dedicated to suggestions to help people consume less energy and purify indoor air.

Here is a “Why didn’t I think of that?” idea for car manufacturers. The Renault Clio car has a newly designed swivel seat. Seriously – why hasn’t this been thought of before, especially for cars built with elder drivers in mind?

I own a Build Park Avenue, a car typically associated with older drivers. Our Park Avenue has a seat adjustment button that one can set for exiting the car. Say you’re an older driver that has difficulty getting out of the car. You just push that button and the seat drops down low and moves back – clearly a design feature for older drivers . . . but it has nothing on that swivel seat.

I want a swivel seat for myself, so why wouldn’t elders want them? Given the elder population wave, I suspect we’ll see more swivel seats on the horizon. Good job Renault!

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) is gaining increasing attention within long-term care, health care and aging in general. The Department of Health and Human services awarded a grant to create a LGBT aging resource center. A new documentary was made on LGBT discrimination in health and long-term care settings. Now the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute has issued their Outing Age 2010: Public Policy Issues Affecting Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Elders report (download below).

I’m not all that familiar with LGBT policy issues or concerns, but I’m familiar with aging policy, and from that angle the 165-page report at least seems thorough and well thought out. The report touches on a variety of topics including:

• Discrimination and Access to Services
• Financial and Family Security
• Health
• Caregiving, Social Isolation, and Housing
• Civic Engagement, Lifelong Learning and Elders in the Workplace

Under each topic listed above are sub-topics and corresponding policy recommendations to address problems or potential problems. The report recognizes from the outset that very little research on LGBT people at the state and federal level is almost non-existent. This makes writing a quality, quantifiable policy report difficult to do; but the report calls attention to that issue and adds to the body of LGBT policy literature.

Download the Outing Age 2010 Report (pdf)

Consumer Reports has recently issued a “guide to successful aging” that details healthful habits older adults can adopt to improve their physical and mental health in old age. Growing old is passive, but growing old gracefully is active – it requires action on your part. Following are the 9 points according to Consumer Reports Health.

1. Exercise your brain. This one shouldn’t come as a surprise to those involved with aging services. People have been advocating this for a while. Exercising your heart, limbs, etc. is important, but equally important is staying mentally sharp. Your brain is like other muscles in older age – use it or lose it! Exercising your brain isn’t as easy as doing crossword puzzles (learn more on that). Staying mentally fit may require working in an unfamiliar field that requires new knowledge; it could be learning a new language, learning to play an instrument for the first time, or all of the above. The trick is to keep your brain challenged. Be a lifelong learner.
2. Strong social ties can also help. I’ve seen this firsthand in elders I’ve served. The ones that volunteer, go out with friends and stay active with family have a more engaged, fulfilled lifestyle than those that don’t. Research indicates that older adults with strong social ties are less likely to show declines in memory tests. I think people that have strong social ties are generally more outgoing and active in nature, which contributes to being a lifelong learner.
3. Keep eyes and ears sharp. This item was added to their list, because vision and hearing are senses particularly subject to declining in older age. Whether it’s hearing loss, glaucoma, macular degeneration or cataracts, all are best addressed if caught early. Advice for keeping eyes and ears sharp: protect your hearing and eyes with earplugs and sunglasses when appropriate, maintain a healthy weight and get regular hearing and vision tests.
4. Stay young at heart. The Consumer Reports piece speaks to keeping your physical heart healthy through exercise, weight loss, etc. My view is that it’s equally important to stay spiritually young at heart. Everyone grows old, not everyone grows old and keeps their adventurous spirit fed.
5. Guard your gut. Watch weight gain – it’s critical to the rest of your body’s health.
6. Strengthen your back. According to the Washington Post piece on this subject, back pain is the nation’s second-leading cause of disability, trailing only arthritis. They recommend exercises that strengthen the back and abdomen and include Pilates and yoga for easing back pain.
7. Protect hips and knees. Exercise is again key. Perhaps the Consumer Reports guide should have just included one point – exercise.
8. Stay steady on your feet. Risk of falls is a major concern the older we get. Bones become brittle, so when balance becomes unstable and an individual falls, bones will often break and then complicate other areas of health.
9. Sleep well, age well. People may not sleep as deeply as they did in their youth, but sleep is still critical to healthy aging. So ready . .  set . . zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

The National Institute on Aging’s (NIA) Alzheimer’s Disease research program is responsible for Alzheimer’s clinical, behavioral, prevention, treatment and social research. The NIA is part of the National Institutes of Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Every year the NIA publishes a progress report on Alzheimer’s disease research that was either conducted or supported by the NIA. They recently published their 2008 findings (yes, 2008 findings published in 2010 – not atypical in research).

Contents of the 52-page document include:

• Genetics
• Epidemiology
• Neuroimaging
• Improving Our Basic Understanding of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)
• Normal Cognitive Decline and AD: What’s the Difference?
• Accelerating the Search for Genetic Causes and Risk Factors
• Understanding Nongenetic Risk and Protective Factors
• Exploring All Possibilities to Improve AD Diagnosis
• Boosting the Search for Effective AD Therapies
• Helping People Cope with AD
• AD Research Advances: A Look to the Future

The document is free and available for download.

Download NIA’s 2008 Progress Report on Alzheimer’s Disease here.

Doctors, either general practice or geriatricians, are increasingly being faced with the difficult task of determining an older driver’s ability to drive safely. Adult children may express concern to the physician, a spouse, or perhaps a police officer prompts the conversation.

Doctors have a reference for assessing and elder’s ability to drive safely. The American Medical Association published the Physician’s Guide to Assessing and Counseling Older Drivers, developed in cooperation with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The introduction reads:

The information in this guide is provided to assist physicians in evaluating the ability of their older patients to operate motor vehicles safely as part of their everyday, personal activities. Evaluating the ability of patients to operate commercial vehicles or to function as professional drivers involves more stringent criteria and is beyond the scope of this publication.

This guide is not intended as a standard of medical care, nor should it be used as a substitute for physicians’ clinical judgment. Rather, this guide reflects the scientific literature and views of experts as of December 2009, and is provided for informational and educational purposes only.

Download the 246 page pdf file here.

I was recently sent an advance proof copy of Feeding Mrs. Moskowitz and The Caregiver to review, a new publication by Syracuse University Press and part of a Library of Jewish Literature series.

I first read the title as Feeding Mrs. Moskowitz and the Caregiver and I thought perhaps “feeding” the caregiver would imply feeding her spirit, through some relationship the caregiver finds with Mrs. Moskowitz; but that’s not right. The title is read Feeding Mrs. Moskowitz and The Caregiver. It’s two stories in one book.

The descriptive text on the back of the book was difficult to read, black text on a greenish, almost camouflage background. I had to read it closely and at an angle.

The back of the book describes Feeding Mrs. Moskowitz as such:

In this pair of moving, gracefully poignant novellas, sisters Pokras and Yariv explore the world of the elderly with deft humor and heart-wrenching detail. Pokras Feeding Mrs. Moskowitz introduces us to the remarkable Golde Moskowitz, an elderly Russian widow living alone with her memories. In Golde’s world, “signs” are everywhere, the dead converse with the living and dreams are real. Natalie Holtzman, a thirty-six-yearold graphic artist longing for connection, fills her world with work and with Artie, her commitment-wary boyfriend. One sweltering summer morning, Golde decides to do some grocery shopping. Natalie, on her way to work, quite “literally runs” into her and the lives of both women are forever changed.

I should say from the outset that I’m not a big fan of most fictional books. That being said, I know that good fiction is also very hard to write. Needless to say, the writing Feeding Mrs. Moskowitz didn’t hold me, so I skimmed forward and it still didn’t hold me. I felt it was a bland and unoriginal style; however – see previous comment on not generally being a fan of fiction.

I moved to The Caregiver, which is described as such:

Yariv’s The Caregiver unfolds in a series of stories, revealing the inner workings of Sunset Hills, a fictional upscale assisted-living facility in Hollywood. Narrated by Ofelia Hernandez, a young Latina caregiver, the stories capture both the mundane routines and the absurdities of the residents lives. With deep empathy and subtle humor, Yariv crafts intimate portraits of characters whose passion, intensity, and intelligence are only magnified with age.

This story was better, more creative in style and delivery, worth reading, and it reads fast. The writer could even add more to the story to delve deeper into the characters. Because the story is so short, the reader may be left wanting to know more. The characters have potential for more.

The book has its own blog, check the blog out right here.

When seniors need to move…

Guest Post By: Katie Hustead, Owner and Senior Move Manager, Paper Moon Moves

Their stories are unique but share a common thread:

• A woman in her eighties loses her husband and needs to move immediately because she can’t drive and the house is in a rural area.
• A couple in their seventies finds that with increasing health problems, they should live closer to their grown children, who live three states away.
• An elderly gentleman who has lived alone his entire life finds he can no longer manage running a household, and decides to move into senior living.

Each one has thought about moving – perhaps for years – but has put it off until now.  “Now” has come and there’s nobody nearby to help them deal with the hassles of moving. They have three stories and rooms full of belongings that they have accumulated over a lifetime, and they are moving to places far smaller than their current homes.  They can’t imagine how to start the long process of figuring out what to move and how to get rid of things that won’t come with them.  And then, how do they pack and unpack the things that will be moved?

Because these stories are being played out more and more often, an industry has evolved to provide the solution.  Members of the National Association of Senior Move Managers – a countrywide organization with more than 500 members – fill in when there are no adult children or friends available to help with the long, often-tedious process of dismantling a home and moving a senior.

Most senior move managers start with a floor plan of the new residence.  They work with the senior to decide which of their things can fit comfortably in the new home.  Then they help decide what to do with the remaining possessions – selling, donating, recycling or shipping to the senior’s family and friends.

For most senior move managers, the best part of a job is the moment when the senior walks into their new home after the move, where the bed is made, pictures are on the walls and dishes are clean and put away.  The senior, having avoided the work and worry of doing all this alone, can plunk down in their favorite easy chair (which is sitting exactly where they asked the senior move manager to put it) and start focusing on their new life.  That’s why we all love what we do.

Paper Moon Moves, a member of the National Association of Senior Move Managers, http://www.papermoonmoves.com is a senior move management company serving seniors in the New York City area. To find a senior move manager in your location, go to www.nasmm.org