Statistics show that depression in seniors is common; however, it is not a normal part of aging and should not be treated as such. Many of the challenges seniors go through in the later stages of their life including the death of love ones, retiring from the workplace, and having one or more serious health problems or disability can result in a person developing depression. While an estimated 6 million adults age 65 years and older have late-life depression, only 10% of those affected are treated for it.
Experts say there are several reasons why depression goes untreated in the elderly including the fact that symptoms are displayed differently from those in younger people. For example, many seniors do not show signs of sadness, the most common symptom of depression, and many are unwilling to share their feelings with anyone. Seniors with depression often complain of feeling tired, have trouble sleeping and may be grumpy and irritable. Depression can even cause symptoms associated with Alzheimer’s such as confusion and attention problems. In some cases symptoms of depression are misdiagnosed as being the result of medical conditions and/or from the side effects of medicines they take to treat the conditions. The National Institute on Aging says depression can “co-occur with other serious medical illnesses such as diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and Parkinson’s disease.” Furthermore, they explain that depression can make these conditions worse and treating the depression can help older adults better manage their other health conditions. If you think you have depression or that a loved one is suffering from the condition, you need to schedule an appointment with a healthcare provider. It can be treated but your doctor needs to rule out other medical conditions that may be causing the depression. Typical treatment for depression includes medication and psychotherapy. The unique mission statement of MorningStar at Jordan Creek, “to honor, to serve, to invest,” sets us apart from other senior living communities. Our foundation is built upon honoring God, valuing all seniors, and investing in staff with a felt calling to serve. Dedicated to creating a real home for residents within a beautiful setting, we encourage you to see for yourself the finest senior living Des Moines and the surrounding area has to offer. Source: nia.nih.gov/health/depression-and-older-adults
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As one of the top assisted living facilities in Colorado Springs, MorningStar at Mountain Shadows’ residents enjoy a lifestyle of comfort, wellness and community. At our all-inclusive community, we strive to meet seniors’ physical, emotional, spiritual and wellness needs within a comfortable, secure setting.
Assisted living is an excellent solution for older adults who are finding it increasingly difficult to live alone. MorningStar offers various levels of assistance with daily living activities and are tailored to meet individual needs. Our Wellness Director carefully assesses each person and then creates a care plan in agreement with the senior and their family. Also, as we offer 24/7 care, you know you or your loved one will get the attention they need. Memory care is another term for dementia care and is intended for those suffering from Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia-related diseases. MorningStar’s memory care is delivered with the utmost professionalism and respect for the individual. We use alternative natural therapies whenever possible, and try to replace medications with patience, attention and love. Our community offers seniors a safe place to socialize and make new friends as well as a place to learn new things or just have fun with our variety of meaningful activities. In addition, if you are someone who values their privacy, you will have that at MorningStar as our spacious suites are designed to give you your privacy while offering the comfort of knowing people are around. MorningStar at Mountain Shadows is located in Colorado Springs, at the foot of the majestic Rocky Mountains. We offer 45 assisted living suites in addition to our Reflections Neighborhood that has 19 suites devoted to the individualized care of those with memory impairment. Contact us to schedule a visit to see why our residents are happy to call MorningStar “home.” MorningStar at Mountain Shadows epitomizes the very best in senior living with a unique mission statement of “to honor, to serve, to invest.” Our foundation is built on honoring God, valuing all seniors and selecting staff with a felt calling to serve as we create a true home for residents at the foot of the majestic Rockies. We invite you to schedule a visit to discover why we are a step above ordinary assisted living facilities in Colorado Springs. Most seniors say that they actually prefer living in a senior community to that of living alone. In fact, there are many reasons why senior living communities such as MorningStar at Jordan Creek have become such a popular option among aging adults. One reason no doubt is that they specialize in providing seniors with a lifestyle designed around comfort, wellness, and community.
As seniors age many feel good about relinquishing tasks such as yardwork and home maintenance. Many no longer feel comfortable driving and may have given it up altogether. This may mean it is not as easy for many older folks to get out and about as in the past and makes grocery shopping and meal preparation more difficult. These problems are no longer an issue when you or a loved one moves into MorningStar’s assisted living. Older adults also report senior living communities make them feel safer and they no longer worry about home intrusions. They also get peace of mind knowing that 24/7 help is just a push of a button away with their emergency call system if the need arises. As A Place for Mom explains, “while many seniors living alone are fine, there are vast numbers of seniors living alone in unsafe or unhealthy situations who would benefit immensely from life in a senior community.” Another big problem with seniors living alone is they often do not eat well. Again, at senior living communities such as MorningStar at Jordan Creek, our residents are served food that is both healthy and tasty. Not only that but as meals are served restaurant-style in our attractive dining room, mealtime is not only about food but allows us to share the companionship of breaking bread together. If you are looking for the best senior living Des Moines and the surrounding area offers, we encourage you to take a look at MorningStar at Jordan Creek. We have a range of activities designed to keep seniors engaged physically, mentally, spiritually and socially. Please visit our website to discover the area’s finest assisted living and memory care. The unique mission statement of MorningStar at Jordan Creek, “to honor, to serve, to invest,” sets us apart from other senior living communities. Our foundation is built upon honoring God, valuing all seniors, and investing in staff with a felt calling to serve. Dedicated to creating a real home for residents within a beautiful setting, we encourage you to see for yourself the finest senior living Des Moines area has to offer. As a community that provides both assisted living and memory care, MorningStar at Mountain Shadows partners with the Alzheimer’s Association throughout the year in support of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. Our activities include raising awareness and funds as well as having a good time along the way with our residents, families and friends.
This year we will again celebrate the Summer Solstice with a day filled with activities on June 21st. In fact, we will not be alone as it is expected that thousands of people across the country and even the world will join together to raise funds and awareness for care, support and research efforts for Alzheimer’s disease. At Mountain Shadows, our “Uplifting Day” will start with a bake sale at 9:00am, which like the rest of the day’s events will benefit the Alzheimer’s Association. We will then have a Rubber Ducky Race event and the announcement of the auction winner at 1:00pm. Our day will also include Out to Lunch with Suzanne Chapple, Executive Director of our community and Shaving Andie’s Head. The fun-filled, meaningful day ends with a Purple Happy Hour from 2:30 until 4:00pm. The Alzheimer’s Association estimates that over 50 million people worldwide are living with Alzheimer's, and the team at MorningStar at Mountain Shadows feels honored to help care for our most tender residents within our Reflections Neighborhood. With 19 suites devoted to the individualized care of those with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, our compassionate team is committed to finding ways to connect with the essence of the person regardless of their level of impairment. Our community is equipped to provide care from the onset of the disease right through to the most advanced stages. Our community also offers 45 assisted living suites, with spacious studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom floor plans. Please visit our website to learn more, and while you are there, set up a tour or use our email form to find out about pricing and availability. MorningStar at Mountain Shadows represents the best in Colorado Springs senior living with a distinct mission statement - “to honor, to serve, to invest.” Our foundation is built on honoring God, valuing all seniors and selecting staff with a felt calling to serve. We are dedicated to providing a true home for residents amidst a beautiful, serene setting and invite you to visit our exceptional assisted living and memory care community. MorningStar at Mountain Shadows is a Colorado Springs senior living community offering assisted living for those who need help with the activities of daily living. In addition, our Reflections Neighborhood provides specialized memory care of those with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia.
MorningStar understands that often the move to assisted living is done because of a life changing event so not only is the person adjusting to a new home but may be mourning the loss of their old life. For some seniors, moving into an assisted living community can be stressful as they start to feel more and more of their independence is being taken away from them. Our job is to be ready to help smooth over any rough patches. Even before someone makes the move into assisted living there are some things families can do to help ease the coming change. We recommend that you let your parent take part in making the decision as it gives them meaning and purpose. Also while you may not want to put your loved one through taking tour after tour of assisted living communities, they can certainly help research places and narrow down the list to the most favorable ones. Once the family weighs considerations such as price, services, location, etc., and agrees on a couple of choices, your parent should take a tour as well as go back a few times to spend some time observing the community. Other ways to assist the transition include helping them get to know the staff in advance. Also future visits can be planned around an activity they would enjoy or eating a meal with the community. After a decision is made, let your parent decide what furniture they want to move with them and help them decorate their new home. Just remember your parent may go through an adjustment period so give them time and be ready to listen. Please visit our website for more information about our beautiful, loving community. MorningStar Assisted Living and Memory Care at Mountain Shadows represents the best in Colorado Springs senior living with a distinct mission statement - “to honor, to serve, to invest.” Our foundation is built on honoring God, valuing all seniors and selecting staff with a felt calling to serve. We are dedicated to providing a true home for residents amidst a beautiful, serene setting and invite you to visit our exceptional community. If you have started the search for assisted living in the Des Moines area, you may have already discovered that senior living communities are not all the same. At MorningStar at Jordan Creek, we feel that while we offer all of the luxury amenities, care services and wellness programs our residents need, the thing that sets us apart is our loving, professional team.
In order for us to deliver the Service Excellence our MorningStar brand demands, it requires a staff that has one thing in common – a big heart. Our hiring process starts by looking for individuals with virtues that include kindness, character and selflessness. We look for people who have a felt calling to serve, and feel like we do, that seniors are heroes and deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. Upon hiring, each team member takes our Radiance training, which is much more than a customer service program but rather an altitude of the heart. We use it to guide the way we deliver service - with depth of purpose and sincerity, and its percepts are reiterated each day during our daily huddle. Each team member also receives training in our Lavender Sky program that is designed to aid all of our employees, regardless of their positions, to better understand our memory care residents. It explains the disease and outlines our holistic approach to memory care that includes finding ways to connect with and nurture the essence of person despite the extent of their memory loss. Our MorningStar at Jordan Creek team feels privileged to serve seniors, and we all work together to provide our residents with a lifestyle of comfort, wellness and community. Our assisted living offers various levels of support, which is determined after a thorough assessment with our Wellness Director. As dementia care experts, we feel it is our calling to care for our most tender residents as well as offer support to their families. Please visit our website for more information and ask about our First Year Anniversary Special - $1 Moves You In ($1 community fee & $1 first month rent)! MorningStar at Jordan Creek proudly provides the very best in senior living with our unique mission statement of “to honor, to serve, to invest.” With a foundation built on honoring God, valuing all seniors and selecting staff with a felt calling to serve, we create a true home for residents amid a beautiful setting. Please schedule a tour to experience firsthand unparalleled assisted living in Des Moines. MorningStar at Mountain Shadows is committed to be one of the best assisted living facilities Colorado Springs offers, and we recognize pets offer seniors great companionship with their limitless affection and unconditional love. In fact multiple studies have found pets to be especially beneficial for the elderly and can even help to “reduce stress, lower blood pressure, and increase social interaction and physical activity.” Pet ownership can combat feelings of loneliness and offer solace from the loss of a spouse or another loved one.
In an article from AgingCare.com entitled, The Healing Power of Pets for Seniors, several experts weigh-in on the various benefits of pet ownership for seniors including a New Jersey psychotherapist. Dr. Jay P. Granat discusses some of the intangibles pets offer to the elderly such as the fact that “dogs—and other pets—live very much in the here and now.’ He explains that animals do not worry about tomorrow, which can be scary for the elderly and being around an animal with that sense of “now” can rub off on people. Along with providing companionship to seniors, studies have found that depression is less likely for older adults who own a pet and patients with heart problems can do better when they are responsible for a pet. Psychologist Penny B. Donnenfeld, who brings her golden retriever mix to her New York City office, relates how people with memory loss interact with her dog and access memories from long ago. She explains “having a pet helps the senior focus on something other than physical problems and negative preoccupations about loss or aging." MorningStar at Mountain Shadows knows it is a big decision for seniors to give up their family home and move into senior living. Furthermore, it would be very painful to be forced to leave a beloved pet behind, which is why we are proud to be a pet friendly community. Please visit our website to learn about the best assisted living and memory care in and around Colorado Springs. The unique mission statement of MorningStar at Mountain Shadows, “to honor, to serve, to invest, ” sets us apart from other assisted living facilities Colorado Springs offers. Our foundation is built upon honoring God, valuing all seniors, and investing in staff with a felt calling to serve. Dedicated to creating a real home for residents within a beautiful setting, we encourage you to see for yourself our exceptional community. Source:agingcare.com/Articles/benefits-of-elderly-owning-pets-113294.htm At MorningStar of Wheat Ridge, we understand that making the move to assisted living is a big step for a senior. This is why we encourage interested families to give us a call to discuss any questions you may have and/or to inquire about availability. In addition our website is filled with lots of pertinent information regarding amenities, services, floorplans, enrichment programs and more.
Our website even has a dedicated page for FAQs under our “Family Resources” tab. Here you will find answers to commonly asked questions such as age requirements (in our assisted living and memory care suites, you must be at least 62 years old). You will also discover important information on how a resident’s level of care is determined and our pricing structure. FAQs include practical queries such as, yes, we will help you find a physician if you need one whether it is a primary care doctor or a specialty health care provider like an Occupational Therapist or Physical Therapist. And yes, we do provide transportation to doctor appointments as needed, and our transportation vehicles can accommodate a walker or wheelchair. You and your family may also want to know about the type of training our staff receives, and we go over that too. Care Managers complete an orientation program (including a three-day shadow), Radiance culture training, 8-hour dementia training, and ongoing training in specific care needs. Each of our Medication Managers (QMAPs) is additionally trained in medication administration. FAQs go over senior housing options such as Companion Living that allows two unrelated adults of the same sex to share a suite, and of course, married couples are welcome! MorningStar of Wheat Ridge also offers short-term stays based on availability that allows someone to get an idea of whether senior living is right for them. MorningStar Assisted Living and Memory Care of Wheat Ridge, located in a northwest suburb of Denver, is proud to be part of Kipling Ridge, the city’s largest redevelopment project in almost 30 years. Please visit our website for contact information, to set up a tour, or to get answers to any other questions. We look forward to hearing from you. MorningStar of Wheat Ridge offers the very best in senior living with our distinct mission statement of “to honor, to serve, to invest.” Our foundation is built on honoring God, valuing all seniors and selecting staff with a felt calling to serve to create a true “home” for residents. We invite you to give us call or visit our website to learn more about the finest assisted living and memory care in the area. Our goal is to provide the best senior living Littleton offers, and one way we can do that is to help families navigate options to ensure their loved one gets the best care. On MorningStar’s website, you will find a variety of resources that offer answers to many of the questions seniors and their families have in regard to senior living communities.
Did you know that after all of the services and amenities provided to MorningStar’s assisted living residents are factored into the cost, our community is typically less expensive than trying to cobble together the same level of care at home? However we understand that for some seniors, the cost may be an obstacle. If it is something you and your family are struggling with, we encourage you to read through our Affordability guide on our website for recommendations to help make it more affordable. We want you to know there are a wide array of financial solutions available beyond the retirement savings and investments you have built up through the years. In addition to these traditional ways of financing assisted living, we discuss some innovative financial, and often under-used, benefits. One such benefit is long-term care insurance, which may be used to help pay for senior care that is not covered by Medicare. We advise that you read through your policy’s Benefits Summary to see what is eligible. MorningStar does not accept Medicaid. Another source of often untapped income is to leverage your life insurance policies. Whole life and universal life policies build a reserve of cash through interest-earning excess premiums (known as the policy’s “cash value”). Before you cash in a policy, we recommend seeking the advice of a financial consultant as there may be tax consequences. Please take a look at all of our suggestions online. Also we are happy to sit down with you and discuss financial options or any other questions you may have. MorningStar of Littleton has 65 bright suites for assisted living and 20 secure suites devoted to the specialized care of residents with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia. The unique mission statement of MorningStar of Littleton, “to honor, to serve, to invest,” sets us apart from other senior living communities. Our foundation is built upon honoring God, valuing all seniors, and investing in staff with a felt calling to serve. Dedicated to creating a real home for residents within a beautiful setting, we encourage you to schedule a visit to see firsthand the finest assisted living Littleton CO has to offer. MorningStar at Mountain Shadows proudly provides seniors a lifestyle of comfort, wellness and community. Along with lots of amenities and services, excellent food and beautiful surroundings, our residents benefit from WellStar, our signature wellness program.
Every day MorningStar’s Life Enrichment team presents our community with ways to stay active and productive for man’s good and God’s glory. Our programs are designed to enhance your health and wellness, stimulate your brain and encourage social connections that allow you to continue learning and contributing. The breath and scope of our wellness programs tap into a wide range of various interests, hobbies and talents and provide seniors with the chance to explore a range to topics. Furthermore, if our programs do not address a special interest, residents are invited to start a club themselves. Please visit our website to learn more about our beautiful Colorado Springs senior living community. To get an idea of what goes on around our community, take a look at our “In Touch Newsletter” or “Life Around our House.” You will find our community not only stays engaged with daily activities but supports and raises money for lots of good causes. In Fact, on June 21st our community will be joining the Alzheimer’s Association’s Longest Day event with a variety of fundraisers. In choosing the longest day of the year to raise awareness for the memory-impaired, the Alzheimer’s Association wants to emphasize the sunrise-to-sunset challenges for families living with dementia. MorningStar at Mountain Shadows offers 45 assisted living suites with a choice of spacious studio, one-bedroom or two-bedroom floor plans. In our Reflections Neighborhood we have 19 suites devoted to the specialized care of residents with memory impairment from Alzheimer’s Disease and other types of dementia. MorningStar Assisted Living and Memory Care at Mountain Shadows represents the best in Colorado Springs senior living with a distinct mission statement - “to honor, to serve, to invest.” Our foundation is built on honoring God, valuing all seniors and selecting staff with a felt calling to serve. We are dedicated to providing a true home for residents amidst a beautiful, serene setting and invite you to visit our exceptional community. |
Offering a lifestyle of comfort, wellness and community, MorningStar is committed to giving residents a quality of life surpassing that of other senior living communities. To experience firsthand the finest in senior living, contact us to schedule a tour. Archives
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