As seniors get to the point in their lives where they need daily help in order to live comfortably and safely, many families worry that assisted living will cost more than they can afford. The reality according to aPlaceforMom is that assisted living may actually be less expensive than the cost of cobbling together everything you need to support your parent. They state that after “dealing with the initial sticker shock and touring a community most families change their minds and realize assisted living is a great value.”
You may be asking yourself how this can be true. To start with, if your parent is living alone in the family home, they have on-going expenses such as mortgage payments or yearly taxes and insurance as well as routine maintenance and repair costs. If your parent is renting, costs continue to rise each year with increases in rent and utility bills. In addition many elderly adults no longer feel comfortable driving and are not getting out like they used to, which can lead to feelings of isolation. Studies show seniors who live alone often “experience social isolation and poor nutrition which contributes to cognitive decline, health problems, depression and a lower quality of life.” Furthermore, if they are unable to drive, they will require assistance with getting to and from doctor appointments, running errands and buying groceries. Another expense you may encounter when your parent is living in their own house is it may require modifications to allow them to move safely about the home. These types of changes can be expensive, and when it comes time to sell, may impact the worth of the home. The bottom line is that after you add up all of the services and amenities included in the cost of assisted living, aPlaceforMom concludes it may actually be less than half the cost of getting care for your elderly parent at home. Please visit MorningStar of Wheat Ridge’s website to check on pricing and availability as well as to set up a tour. The unique mission statement of MorningStar of Wheat Ridge, “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 our exceptional community. Source: aplaceformom.com/planning-and-advice/articles/assisted-living-in-home-care-compared
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At MorningStar at Mountain Shadows, we provide exemplary service to our residents to ensure their utmost comfort, wellbeing and safety. To achieve this, we recognize it could not be done without the help of our team members who we consider to be the very heartbeat of the Mountain Shadows community.
Our team consists of a unique group of individuals who have a felt calling to serve. They are the kind of people who do the right thing even when no one is watching, and have perfected the art of anticipating needs and going the extra mile. Mountain Shadows’ team members see seniors as heroes and feel privileged to have a rewarding career that offers both professional as well as personal growth. To guide us in our service, all team members, including our management team, are guided by Radiance, our exclusive brand standard of Service Excellence. The program’s precepts are introduced to every team members upon being hired, and then reiterated and strengthened every day during our daily Huddle. Radiance allows us to take service professionalism to the next level and offers a purposeful way for us to advance our mission of honoring, valuing and investing in others. As “Radiance” is like a beam of light, it epitomizes the ways we serve others – with warmth, sincerity, and depth and is reiterated through interpersonal communications and special touches throughout our home. We invite you to take a look at our website to learn more about our Radiance program as well as our assisted living and memory care. MorningStar at Mountain Shadows is honored to be named 2018’s “Best Of” Assisted Living by SeniorAdvisor.com. The designation is awarded to the top 1% of senior living providers in US and Canada, and is based on consistently high ratings and positive reviews from residents, families and visitors to SeniorAdvisor.com. At MorningStar at Mountain Shadows, we represent the very best in senior living with a unique mission statement of “to honor, to serve, to invest.” We have built a foundation on honoring God, valuing all seniors and selecting staff with a felt calling to serve to create a true “home” for residents at the foot of the majestic Rockies. Please schedule a visit to experience firsthand our beautiful senior living community. MorningStar at Jordan Creek is honored to provide the West Des Moines area with the finest assisted living and memory care. To achieve this, we not only serve our residents but serve our residents’ families as well as the wider community. From listening to problems or concerns family members may have, to lending support to those dealing with a loved one afflicted with Alzheimer’s, our team is here to help.
One example of our outreach into the Des Moines community is to host a Dementia Support Group. “It’s About Empathy…and a Whole Lot of Love,” is a caring conversation for families living with Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia, and we wholeheartedly encourage you to come and be encouraged! The group meets on the first Wednesday of each month from 1:30 to 3:30 PM. Light refreshments will be served, and as seating is limited, we ask that you RSVP. The group is in support of the Alzheimer’s Association. At MorningStar at Jordan Creek, we are dedicated to creating a true home for our residents and provide them with a lifestyle of comfort, wellness and community. And while we opened our doors in March of this year and may be a new name to the area, MorningStar Senior Living is highly experienced in providing exceptional care for seniors. We offer 56 bright suites for assisted living and our spacious, private suites are available in a wide variety of well-designed floor plans and loaded with features reflective of those found throughout our beautifully-appointed community. In addition we are dementia experts, and within our Reflections Neighborhood, we have 29 secure suites devoted to the individualized care of those with Alzheimer’s or other dementia-related diseases. Please visit our website for more information about our loving community. 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 discover the newest community in the West Des Moines area. Over the next fifteen years, the elderly population in the U.S. is expected to grow by 40 percent. With that growth, experts expect the rate of neurological diseases such as dementia, Parkinson’s, epilepsy, and strokes to grow at an unprecedented rate. In fact Alzheimer’s disease is expected to increase threefold and affect up to 16 million people.
To meet these challenges, researchers such those at the Cleveland Clinic, a world leader in the treatment of neurological diseases, have approached the fight with a combination of cutting-edge technology, multidisciplinary teamwork, and clinical research. For example, they are one of only a few centers in the world conducting the first-ever study of an immunotherapy that targets Parkinson’s disease. Dr. Hubert Fernandez, directory of the Center for Neurological Restoration at Cleveland Clinic, says, “It’s a treatment that works by stimulating the body’s natural defenses to help break down the abnormal clumps of protein found in the brains of Parkinson patients.” In terms of Alzheimer’s, research is focused on improved treatments for symptoms as well as ways to treat the disease itself. Dr. Leverenz, a director of the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Cleveland, explains that medications include “an antibody that attacks amyloid deposits, the sticky, neuron-destroying protein plaques found in the brains of people with disease.” Other advances include a FDA approved stent retriever for stroke victims. The device removes large clots from the blood vessels leading to the brain. Also there has been promising results using surgically implanted electrodes in the cerebellum of stroke survivors who suffer from long-term paralysis. Using a combination of the electrodes and therapy, patients have had restored movement. At MorningStar at Jordan Creek, we proudly serve the needs of our residents by providing the finest assisted living and memory care in the West Des Moines area. Our newly opened community offers 56 bright suites for assisted living and 29 secure suites devoted to the specialized care of residents with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia. Please visit our website to set up a tour of our beautiful community. 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 discover the newest community in the West Des Moines area. Source: washingtonpost.com/brand-studio/cleveland-clinic/keeping-your-mind/?noredirect=on MorningStar at Mountain Shadows offers assisted living and memory care to Colorado Springs’ senior and is committed to creating a true home for our residents. Although we think we are the area’s top option, don’t just take our word for it. Finding the best assisted living or memory care community for yourself or a loved one is a very important decision, and a tour allows you to experience a community firsthand.
When you tour Mountain Shadows, we know from the moment you walk through our door, you are sure to be impressed. Our community was designed from the ground up to accommodate our residents’ every need and is beautifully decorated throughout to provide an atmosphere of comfort, relaxation and serenity. In addition our stylish suites reflect the rest of the community. A Place for Mom has a few tips for you when visiting an assisted living community. Look around, does the community feel fresh and clean? Observe a community activity to get an idea if residents are enjoying themselves. Also they suggest you pay attention to the staff’s friendliness. In addition ask to see the outdoor space. If you can they recommend eating a meal as you will not only get a chance to sample the cuisine but will get to see residents in a relaxing setting. Be sure to ask questions about personal care, safety and security, housekeeping and laundry services, and move-in and move-out criteria. Above all, A Place for Mom advises that you trust your instincts. For your tour, MorningStar at Mountain Shadows ask that you allow at least 45 minutes in order for us to show off our community. If you would like to join us for a meal (just let us know when you are setting up your tour), please expect to be with us for at least 90 minutes for to allow for a leisurely meal. Visit our website and use our quick link to set up a personalized tour of our lovely community or give us a call. At MorningStar at Mountain Shadows, we represent the very best in senior living with a unique mission statement of “to honor, to serve, to invest.” We have built a foundation on honoring God, valuing all seniors and selecting staff with a felt calling to serve to create a true “home” for residents at the foot of the majestic Rockies. Please schedule a visit to experience firsthand our beautiful senior living community. The National Eye Institute states that age-related macular degeneration is the leading cause of visual loss in America. According to their statics, close to 2.1 million people 50 years and older had macular degeneration in 2010. That number is expected to more than double by 2050. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say approximately 6.5 percent of Americans age 40 and above have some degree of the disease.
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) occurs most often after age 60 and causes loss in the center of the field of vision. The two types of macular degeneration include dry macular degeneration that causes the center of the retina to begin to deteriorate. In wet macular degeneration, new blood vessels grow beneath the retina and leak blood and fluid. Unusually fuzzy or distorted vision is one symptom and the dry form (85 to 90 percent of AMD cases) is more common than the wet form. Wet macular degeneration typically leads to more serious vision loss. The degeneration of the macula affects our ability to read, recognize faces, drive, and many other visual tasks that requires us to see fine detail. As the condition progresses, the areas of blurred vision may increase and blank spots may appear. The good news is that patients with dry AMD are less likely to go blind than in the past with today’s treatment options that include a specific combination of high-dose vitamins and mineral. Dr. Peter Campbell, a retina specialist, says that “Prompt recognition of macular degeneration is important to avoid it advancing to the point where failing central vision means people can no longer recognize faces.” The most important advice he gives is for people over 60 to get regular eye exams. Risks for the disease include age, smoking and family history. At MorningStar at Jordan Creek, our community is designed to provide the utmost care to our residents. From healthy daily meals to wellness programs and activities, we have a whole range of services and resort-style amenities that ensure the comfort and wellbeing of residents. This blog is for informational purposes only. If you are experiencing any problems with your eyes sight, please consult an ophthalmologist or optometrist. 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 discover the newest community in the West Des Moines area. Source: health.usnews.com/health-care/patient-advice/articles/2018-02-23/macular-degeneration-managing-this-vision-condition It was not that long ago that seniors moving into an assisted living community had to leave behind an important companion, their pet. Today however, more and more retirement communities are recognizing the benefits of pets to the elderly, and many such as MorningStar of Wheat Ridge, allow residents to bring their pets with them.
There has been a lot of research that validates the benefits of pets in seniors’ lives. In fact, A Place for Mom website reports on a study that shows, “just 15 minutes bonding with an animal sets off a chemical chain reaction in the brain, lowering levels of the fight-or-flight hormone cortisol and increasing production of the feel-good hormone serotonin. The result: heart rate, blood pressure and stress levels immediately drop.” They go on to say that interactions between pets and humans can “lower cholesterol levels, fight depression and may even help protect against heart disease and stroke.” Another reason pets can be good for the elderly is that animals live in the here and now and do not think about tomorrow, which for some seniors, can be worrisome. In addition animals offer unconditional love, emotional support and affection. This is one reason why pet therapy programs are used in convalescent homes, hospitals, mental health centers and children centers. Many people participating in such programs experience an improvement in appetite as well as “more social interaction and tactile and cognitive stimulation after interactions with pets.” There is even research that indicates pet therapy is beneficial for those suffering from dementia diseases such as Sundowners Syndrome and Alzheimer’s. The animal’s complete acceptance and non-verbal communication has proven to be soothing for patients. Please contact us to learn more about MorningStar Assisted Living and Memory Care of Wheat Ridge. With welcoming common spaces and beautifully appointed suites, we are confident you will be impressed. The unique mission statement of MorningStar of Wheat Ridge, “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 our exceptional community. Sources: aplaceformom.com/senior-care-resources/articles/pet-friendly-assisted-living agingcare.com/Articles/benefits-of-elderly-owning-pets-113294.htm Now that Mother’s Day and Father’s Day has just past, you may have realized it can be difficult buying gifts for a parent, grandparent or a relative living in an assisted living community. Not only is mom, dad or grandma no longer running their own home but most likely they have a limited amount of space (they probably had to get rid of a lot before they moved). In addition they have already received a lifetime of gifts, so there is not much they haven’t gotten at one time or another.
One meaningful thing you can do is personalize a gift. For example if mom is always feeling chilly, you could give her a cozy throw with pictures of the grandkids or your family tree on it? Check the Internet as there are several companies that specialize in making them. Another thoughtful gift is a talking photo album that creates memories with both family pictures and voices. Giving your time is also something special your parent or grandparent is sure to appreciate. It can be as simple as taking them on a trip to the local park or an ice cream parlor. Even a scenic drive on a beautiful day provides the chance for a cozy, uninterrupted chat. Additionally if their eyesight is failing, they may enjoy being read to. A lap desk is also a nice gift as it doesn’t take up much space and makes it easy to write a letter or read a book from the comfort of a chair. Adult coloring books illustrated with places your loved one has traveled to or pictures of animals for animal lovers, flowers for gardeners, famous landmarks, etc., also make thoughtful gifts. Add to that a set of colored pencils and markers to complete the gift. Puzzles, crossword books are another option. Furthermore many elderly adults have trouble getting out so a personalized gift basket filled with their favorite soaps, hand creams and lotions or delicious edible treats such as chocolates or cookies are fun to get. Or fill a basket with grippy socks, slippers and new pajamas. Whatever gift you chose, you want your elderly parent or grandparent to know you are thinking of them. At MorningStar at Mountain Shadows, we represent the very best in senior living with a unique mission statement of “to honor, to serve, to invest.” We have built a foundation on honoring God, valuing all seniors and selecting staff with a felt calling to serve to create a true “home” for residents at the foot of the majestic Rockies. Please schedule a visit to experience firsthand our beautiful senior living community. We know that each year more than one-third of people age 65 or older suffer a fall and many of those incidents cause serious injuries or in some cases even death. This is why preventing falls is extremely important for the elderly, and balance as well as strength excises can help to prevent falls.
The National Institute of Health (NIH) recommends 5 simple exercises that do not require any special equipment other than a chair (and someone to assist you if needed) that can improve balance and increase lower body strength. The series of exercises include the following: standing on one foot; walking heel to toe; balance walk; back leg raises; and side leg raises. These easy-to-do exercises can be done throughout the day and only take a few minutes to do each of them. For further instructions on how they should be done, the NIH website offers a video on each exercise. In addition the NIH recommends that seniors try to do three other types of exercises that focus on improving endurance, strength and flexibility. At MorningStar of Wheat Ridge, we recognize the importance of exercising, and as such, provide our residents with a full calendar of daily activities that includes a variety of well-designed exercise programs. With our large range of classes, there is something that is sure to please everyone. Our calendar includes: noodle exercise, elastic band stretching, ball exercise, sit and be fit, Parkinson’s exercise, and afternoon stretch. Other opportunities for exercising include activities such as chair bowling. We encourage you to take a look at our fun-filled calendar to see all of the different activities and outings MorningStar residents participate in. This post is intended for informational purposes only. Please contact your health care provider with any questions or concerns you have regarding your health. The unique mission statement of MorningStar of Wheat Ridge, “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 our exceptional community. Source:nihseniorhealth.gov/exerciseandphysicalactivityexercisestotry/balanceexercises/01.html It is sometimes difficult for adult children to realize their parent needs more care in order to ensure their safety and wellbeing. This is why MorningStar at Mountain Shadows offers a Decision Guide to help families navigate through the process of making the move to senior living, especially assisted living, which is a new paradigm in wellness and engagement.
Some of the typical signs that indicate your parent needs more help include falling, driving mishaps, and forgetting significant things such as leaving the stove-top on. Also really take a look at how they are living. Does their home seem a lot more cluttered and less tidy? Is unopened mail piling up? Does your parent suffer from failing eyesight, poor balance or forgetfulness? Another sign your parent is not doing well on their own is if they look less groomed or appear to be wearing the same clothes for days at a time? When you put all of this together, it probably means your loved one is not able to care for themselves as they once did, and it is time to begin discussing alternatives to ensure their safety and wellbeing. Start by gathering your family together in a relaxed atmosphere and approach the conversation slowly. Remember your first conversation is just a starting point and the decision will most likely be make in stages. During the conversation it should be noted that getting the care your loved one needs will benefit the whole family. You may even be pleasantly surprised to learn your parent has started to think they need a change. We want you to know MorningStar at Mountain Shadows’ team is ready to help. Please give us a call or email us with questions or to set up a tour to see our gorgeous community in person. At MorningStar at Mountain Shadows, we represent the very best in senior living with a unique mission statement of “to honor, to serve, to invest.” We have built a foundation on honoring God, valuing all seniors and selecting staff with a felt calling to serve to create a true “home” for residents at the foot of the majestic Rockies. Please schedule a visit to experience firsthand our beautiful senior living 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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