If your parent lives alone and you are worried that they need more personal daily care than you can provide, it may be time to look into other options. One of those is assisted living, which focuses on providing residents the daily care they need to help them retain their independence.
Especially now, you want to judiciously make the best, safest choice for your mom or dad. To help you do so, experts offer a few suggestions of things to think about before you begin your search (obviously you want to respect mom or dad’s preferences and wishes). They recommend that while you take into account your parent’s immediate needs, you also give some thought to their future needs. So, find out if the home you are considering will allow them to "age in place” and/or if there are limitations in terms of how much care the community provides. Your questions should include the level of care services they are licensed for as well as their limitations. For instance, at MorningStar of Wheat Ridge our licensing provides us with a range of available care services that makes it possible for us to extend the stay of residents even as health conditions change. Unless a resident requires round-the-clock nursing (including the management of acute pain), MorningStar is honored, with the partnership of a hospice agency, to care for a resident through end-of-life. In addition, as a licensed “Directed Level of Care” community, we care for residents within a secure environment (memory care) who, due to compromised cognitive ability, cannot recognize danger and, therefore, cannot respond appropriately and/or cannot express their needs. If you are considering assisted living in the Wheat Ridge, Colorado area, we encourage you to contact us or visit our website for more information about MorningStar of Wheat Ridge. We are a true home where the residents are heroes who deserve to be treated with dignity and respect; and MorningStar families know they can trust their loved ones to us. While we know there are worrisome stories in the news about COVID-19 among senior living communities, MorningStar of Wheat Ridge wants potential families to understand that the care of those beneath our roof is our utmost priority. To that end we are following protocols set forth by the CDC and other organizations in our fight against the virus. One tool we are using is electrostatic disinfecting technology. When finely misted over any surface, particles completely surround any 3D object, coating the top, sides and underside from every angle. The solution is harmless to you, but deadly against infectious disease. MorningStar of Wheat Ridge 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 contact us to learn more about our exceptional assisted living and memory care.
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Whenever we suffer from a bout of the flu or another illness for a couple of weeks, we quickly remember that good health is a blessing. So, consider how tough it is for some people forced to deal with the consequences of long-term medical conditions that impact their lives every day. Many of these debilitating, persistent conditions cause pain, fatigue and other life-altering symptoms.
Experts recommend if you are one of these people that you give yourself what you need whether it is food, sleep or down time and get into the habit of listening to your body and honoring its limitations. The MedlinePlus website explains it is important to support yourself as well as to let go of expectations, and if you need more support, know where to go to get it. Also, learn as much as you can about your condition as people typically cope better once they how to take care of themselves. In addition, they say let go of blame. Your medical condition may be a result of your family history or just something that happened. Another thing experts want people to know is over time, they will adapt; and that “you will feel like yourself again as you learn how to fit your illness into your life.” If you are dealing with anxiety, try taking a walk, reading a book, or watching a movie. Other coping mechanisms include yoga, tai chi, or mediation as well as learning to play an instrument or taking an art class. Moreover, don’t neglect family and friends, give them a call to see how they are doing. At MorningStar at Jordan Creek, we offer a lifestyle of comfort, wellbeing and security. If you are a senior who requires help with the activities of daily living, our care team will provide the assistance you need in order to maintain your independence. MorningStar’s care services include help with dressing, bathing, medication management by Certified Med Care Managers, transportation to medical appointments, pharmacy services and more. Please contact us for more information. Not only is our staff happy to answer any questions but our website provides information on our company’s history, vision, and mission as well as what sets us apart from other assisted living Des Moines offers. MorningStar at Jordan Creek 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. Please visit our website to learn more about the most trusted assisted living Des Moines – West Des Moines has to offer. Research has shown that having a pet can improve our mental health, cardiovascular health and PTSD symptoms. In fact, even if you do not own a pet but just spend some time interacting with animals, it can lift your spirits and decrease stress. Also, during times of isolation and uncertainty, many of us feel our pets are more important than ever.
The great thing about pets is they offer unconditional love and loyal companionship. Caring for an animal can be a welcome distraction from life’s other worries and can provide more meaning to our life. Moreover, how can you feel upset or angry when sitting with a cat on your lap and hearing the relaxing, melodious sound of their purr? Research has shown that an act as simple as petting a dog or cat has been shown to reduce stress and help regulate our mood. Many people believe their pet has the ability to pick up on their emotions and know when they are sad or stressed and need a little “extra love.” In addition, dogs need exercise so many dog owners are motivated to get outside and exercise, which is always a good thing. However, experts caution that before you rush out and adopt an animal that you think about how much time you have to care for one, and do you have the money to pay for the extra expenses. Also, if your choice is a dog, are you physically able to provide the animal with the daily exercise they need? For the area’s finest senior living, Colorado Springs area seniors are encouraged to consider MorningStar at Mountain Shadows, a true destination for successful aging. We understand how important our residents’ furry friends are to them, which is why we are pet friendly. Our gorgeous community has 45 assisted living suites, and another 19 secure suites devoted to the individualized care of seniors suffering from Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. We encourage you to visit our website to learn more about all of our services and amenities. MorningStar at Mountain Shadows represents the best in senior living with a unique 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 to create a true “home” for residents. If you are looking for exceptional memory care or assisted living, Colorado Springs’ MorningStar at Mountain Shadows may be your answer. If you are new to the name MorningStar allow us to introduce ourselves. MorningStar Senior Living was founded in 2003 by Ken Jaeger whose intention was to create senior housing that felt like the loving atmosphere of his grandmother’s Mid-west home. We now have 25+ senior living communities scattered throughout the Western US including MorningStar at Mountain Shadows, a Colorado Springs assisted living and memory care home.
We sincerely believe our astounding success is attributed to a mission statement of honoring God in our business practices and relationships; valuing all seniors as gifted and contributing individuals; and investing in our team’s ability to serve well. MorningStar communities are also deliberate in the type of culture we strive to create, which is why it is important for us to hire individuals that believe residents are to be treated with the dignity and respect they deserve. MorningStar at Mountain Shadows offers 45 bright suites for assisted living, and each of our stylish apartments is a true home designed to provide residents privacy, comfort, and security. We also have a whole range of resort-style amenities such as an onsite theatre, bistro, fitness room, library, salon and more. For residents’ convenience, we have scheduled transportation, and offer beautifully prepared meals under the direction of our Executive Chef. In addition, our Reflections Neighborhood has 19 secure suites dedicated to those with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. We have a deep understanding of the disease and feel it is our calling, and privilege to provide compassionate, loving care to our most tender residents. Please visit our website to see what sets MorningStar apart from other memory care and assisted living Colorado Springs offers. MorningStar at Mountain Shadows represents the best in senior living with a unique 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 to create a true “home” for residents. If you are looking for exceptional memory care or assisted living, Colorado Springs’ MorningStar at Mountain Shadows may be your answer. Do you celebrate Christmas each year with a large family get-together on Christmas Eve, host an annual family reunion with a barbeque and baseball game, or take yearly family vacations to new places? Most families have traditions that are unique to them, and experts say this is important as they help us feel connected and teach values. Traditions are rituals that can be big or small but are done with a sense of purpose and an awareness that something special is going on.
While forming the bonds of family togetherness can sometimes be hard to do in today’s busy world, the rewards are great. Family rituals provide a sense of home, security and identity that kids and the older generation need. They shape our holidays and birthday celebrations, bedtime routines, meals and more. As family expert, Meg Cox defines in her newly updated guide, The Book of New Family Traditions; family rituals are “any activity you purposefully repeat together as a family that includes heightened attentiveness and something extra that lifts it above the ordinary ruts.” If you wish to create new traditions for your family, start by thinking about the things you did that shaped your own childhood or that of your parents, and try to apply it to your own family’s rituals and celebrations. They can be things we do frequently or just at special times; but if they have value, they may still be around for future generations. The holidays are easy times to create family-oriented traditions and memories. At Christmas, have an annual ornament-making party, bake batches of Christmas cookies, or make and send out Christmas cards. Another idea is to bury a time capsule and have family members write a note and/or put in something that characterizes their interest at the time. If your family loves playing games, set up a weekly or monthly game night. At the same time, you can make it extra yummy by having everyone make their own sundaes, or cook up a big batch of popcorn or nachos. In the fall, organize a trip to a local orchard to pick apples and then bring them home and have everyone help make pies or sauces. Instead of buying Halloween pumpkins at the supermarket, make a day of it and take the family to a pumpkin patch. Remember to honor your family’s heritage by including traditional foods in your celebrations. And don’t forget about including religious and cultural traditions that shape our values, our memories and the very people we become. MorningStar at Jordan Creek offers the very best in senior living with our distinctmission statement of “to honor, to serve, to invest.” Our foundation is built onhonoring God, valuing all seniors and selecting staff with a felt calling to serve tocreate a true “home” for residents. Please visit our website for the most trustedsenior living Des Moines – West Des Moines has to offer. Source: artofmanliness.com/articles/creating-a-positive-family-culture-the-importance-of-establishing-family-traditions/ At MorningStar Assisted Living and Memory Care of Wheat Ridge, we compassionately and professionally provide memory care to seniors suffering from Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia. Our Reflections Neighborhood is meticulously designed to accommodate the special needs of memory care residents. As such, it means we can encourage and support independence as much as possible and let residents move freely about their environment. Our community has 19 secure suites in a range of floor plans.
MorningStar’s holistic approach to memory care involves treating each of our residents with the respect and dignity they deserve. Even before a resident joins our community, we meet with them and their family to find out as much as we can about their background and interests as well as personal preferences. From there, our Wellness Director creates an individualized care plan that takes all of this into consideration. MorningStar’s memory care includes leveraging the power of music, dance, art, aromatherapy and animals to heal and comfort residents. Our specially-trained care team understands that the essence of the person still exists despite the memory loss, and will strive every day to connect with and nurture that essence. We also proudly support the Alzheimer’s Association and partner with our local chapter to fundraise and participate in a variety of activities all throughout the year. In addition, MorningStar makes it a point to find ways to involve and engage family members as we recognize that our service is as important to them as to the residing senior. While we have had to make many changes due to the coronavirus pandemic, as the nation slowly reopens, MorningStar is carefully following suit with each state’s phasing and pacing where our communities are located. We continue to stay abreast of developments and evaluate best practices and innovations in our services to seniors. Please visit our website for a virtual tour of our beautiful community and use our email link to inquire about availability and pricing. MorningStar of Wheat Ridge’s mission statement of “to honor, to serve, to invest” sets us apart from other senior living communities. We have built a foundation on honoring God, valuing our seniors and selecting staff with a felt calling to serve. Set in a warm, loving atmosphere with beautiful surroundings and resort-style amenities, we provide outstanding assisted living and memory care. Many times, a move to assisted living is precipitated by a fall or a medical emergency that causes a family to realize mom or dad needs more care than they are presenting getting living alone. In these cases, it means there is not time for planned strategies for where or when the person will make the move. Instead, they quickly leave behind a beloved home, while coming to terms with a recent loss of mobility or needing assistance with personal daily care activities. This can be very traumatizing for many seniors, and experts offer tips to help families and the senior cope with the sudden change.
One of the first things they suggest when looking into the area’s senior communities is to make sure that the community is equipped to care for your loved one’s needs. Moreover, as today’s move is hard, another move in a few years will be at least as hard if not more so, which is why you must evaluate if the community is also able to provide for their future needs. Another thing senior living experts want you to know is that it typically takes around three to six months for a person to fully adjust to assisted living. While some people adjust much quicker, if your parent is not one of them, remember why the family decided to place mom or dad in a home in the first place. This includes providing a safer, healthier environment for them and giving everyone involved peace of mind. For exceptional assisted living, Des Moines area seniors are encouraged to consider MorningStar at Jordan Creek. We know families often go through a range of emotions when they realize a loved one needs more daily help in order to ensure their comfort and safety. This is why we put together a commonsense decision guide to help families navigate through the process. It also includes warning signs of a loved one who needs more help such as recent falls, balance problems, weight loss, and poor hygiene. We invite you to take a look at our website where you will find lots of information including our Decision Guide, FAQs, floor plans, list of amenities and more. Our beautiful community offers assisted living and memory care. MorningStar at Jordan Creek 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. Please visit our website for the most trusted assisted living Des Moines – West Des Moines has to offer. At MorningStar, our goal is to provide the best senior living Littleton, CO has to offer, which includes compassionate and loving care for those with memory impairment. Our Reflections Neighborhood is unique from many other senior communities as it is specifically designed to cater to the specialized needs of those suffering from Alzheimer’s and other dementia-related diseases. Starting with our physical design, which enhances residents’ freedom to explore our expansive surroundings safely and easily, we look for creative ways to connect with and nurture each individual, regardless of the level of memory loss.
To aid us in this endeavor, we are staffed by a dedicated team that feels it is their calling, their privilege, to serve our tender residents and to provide a level of care that affirms their dignity and value. Each team member is trained in Radiance, our Service Excellence Program, which is an attitude of the heart and is the way we deliver service – with warmth, sincerity and depth of purpose. Our team also goes out of their way to get to know our residents, to really listen to their stories, and in many cases, treat them like they would their own moms and dads. We encourage you to take a look at our touching Twice the Story video series that showcases these special relationships that develop between residents and our team members. At MorningStar, we believe these friendships testify to the fact that we need to support one another, and through these special connections, we come away changed for the better. Along with assisted living, MorningStar of Littleton offers 20 secure memory care suites in a variety of floor plans. Please visit our website to learn more about the area’s most trusted memory care as well as to inquire about availability and pricing. While major disruptions like COVID-19 cause many hardships and sorrows, often they give rise to innovation. While the MorningStar senior living communities have always been purpose-built to protect our residents and team members, we have stepped up our rigorous protocols with Electrostatic Disinfecting Technology. This emergent weapon in our fight to protect is harmless but it is deadly against infectious disease. MorningStar of Littleton offers the very best in assisted living and memory care 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. Visit our website to learn more about the finest senior living Littleton, CO offers. As the holidays quickly approach, many of us wonder what to get mom or dad or other beloved seniors on our gift list. Moreover, while this has been a tough year for most of us, many seniors have been isolated from their children and grandchildren due to the pandemic, making it especially difficult. This is why we want our senior loved ones to know they are very much loved and missed.
If you are buying a gift for a parent in an apartment or senior living community, remember they most likely do not have lots of space to store things so be circumspect about buying a large gift that will used only occasionally. Consider something like a wreath for outside their door to cheer up and personalize their space. Also keep in mind it doesn’t necessarily have to be holiday related but one that can be used all year long. If they have a window where they could see a bird feeder, check with management to see if you can hang one outside. You could also give them a book of birds in their area so they can identify their visitors, and be sure to bring bird seed to refill it. Even if they live in the Sunbelt without the severe winters of the northern states, they may still appreciate a warm throw, new sweater or a light jacket as many elderly adults tend to feel chilly. Cold feet are another common complaint among the elderly so a new pair of gripper slippers or socks with grips on the bottom to prevent falls would surely be appreciated. Pampering them with a basket full of luxury soaps, shampoos, conditioners, lotions and creams is another idea as many older adults suffer from very dry skin; or if they are crafters, put together a basket of new craft and art supplies. Other ideas include giving them a subscription for a large print magazine or a coffee table book that targets their interest. Moreover, how about a basket of personalized stationery, a selection of greeting cards and stamps to make it easy for them to send well wishes and greetings to friends and family? If dad or mom is a huge sports fan; consider updating their team merchandise to get them in the spirit. Check the Internet for other ideas and remember to keep the video calls, emails and photos of the family coming! MorningStar of Wheat Ridge’s mission statement of “to honor, to serve, to invest” sets us apart from other senior living communities. We have built a foundation on honoring God, valuing our seniors and selecting staff with a felt calling to serve. Set in a warm, loving atmosphere with beautiful surroundings and resort-style amenities, we provide outstanding assisted living and memory care. Medical experts say changing our daily habits to include a healthier diet and routine exercise can help fight off viruses and improve our overall health. They recommend starting our day with fiber such as eating a bowl of unsweetened bran cereal and then add a dark colored berry like blueberries, which are rich in antioxidants and flavonoids. Fiber feeds the good bacteria in our gut, and antioxidants and flavonoids “improve the health of macrophages and other virus-eating cells.”
Then they suggest you take a walk, ride a bike, swim or jog for about 30 minutes to an hour. Doctors say exercising helps to circulate our immune cells and that the benefit lasts for up to two to three hours after we are done. Lunch or your afternoon snack should include a salad or a veggie and fruit smoothie. Dietitians advise varying the fruits and veggies you eat and to try to get ten servings a day. Another tip to help ward off viruses include taking time each day to destress and relax. This could include listening to music, meditating, gardening, crafting, painting, drawing, working on a hobby, etc. Experts also say a healthy lifestyle habit is to connect with others whether you now have to do it virtually or meet outdoors. Social interactions are important to our wellbeing and even more so as we age as “emerging research indicates that loneliness and social isolation can increase inflammation throughout your body.” MorningStar at Jordan Creek’s goal is to provide the best senior living Des Moines offers, which includes delicious, nutritionally balanced meals. Our meals are prepared largely from scratch and include a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, many of which are locally sourced. Our friendly, loving community also ensures no one feels alone but rather are part of the MorningStar family. Please contact us to learn more and to ask about pricing and availability. MorningStar at Jordan Creek 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. Please visit our website for the most trusted senior living Des Moines – West Des Moines has to offer. Source: aarp.org/health/healthy-living/info-2020/daily-virus-prevention-tips.html |
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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