28 THE COURIER SUN • HEALTH • APRIL 7, 2016 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com health CAREGIVING AND AGING: Part I BY DR. SHELDON ORNSTEIN According to recent statistics concerning the disease identifi ed as Alzheimer’s, one in ten individuals over the age of 65 and nearly half of those age 85 have shown evidence of this condition. It is also estimated that half of all nursing home residents suffer from this problem LOOKING FOR CARE FOR YOU OR YOUR LOVED ONE? CARING IS OUR BUSINESS Licensed by New York State Department of Health Accreditation MEDICAID ACCEPTED 188 Montague Street 10% OFF with this ad OUR EXPERIENCED PROFESSIONALS WILL DEVELOP AN APPROPRIATE PLAN OF CARE FOR EACH CLIENT. THE PLAN WILL OUTLINE SPECIFIC TASKS TO MEET THE CLIENT’S NEEDS. WE SERVE THOSE WHO ARE: • Disabled or Elderly • In Need of Assistance with Daily Activities • Recently Discharged From the Hospital • Terminally ill • New Patients With Well Baby Care Needs • In Need of Housekeeping Services SERVICES OFFERED: • Registered Nurses • Licensed Practical Nurses • Home Health Aides • Personal Care Aides • Companions • Live In Aides • Physical Therapy • Occupational Therapy ALL STAFF MEMBERS ARE INSURED, BONDED & FINGERPRINTED BY NYS-DEPT. OF HEALTH Brooklyn NY T: 718-488-8300 Employment Opportunities Available Please Contact Us 25 South Tyson Avenue Floral Park, NY T: 516-358-1999 Email: carelink1@hotmail.com www.carelinkhomecareny.com Need to see your GYN and can't get an appointment? Can't get off from work? Choices can help because our specialty is you. Extended Evening Hours Walk-ins Welcome Same-day or Next-day Appointments OUR SPECIALTY IS YOU! 718 534 3800 Text “CHOICES” to 27126 choicesmedical.com 147-32 Jamaica Avenue Jamaica NY 11435 which will remain with us for the foreseeable future. Progressive cognitive impairment is expected to affl ict 15 million Americans by the year 2050 or sooner unless a cure or signifi cant breakthrough can be found. How we care for individuals with this disease is dependent on a hands on approach and the use of technical skills that we are able to instill in the caregiver who either works in the patient’s home or in our nation’s nursing facilities. With formal training the caregiver becomes empowered via mandated State health laws. With this training, the caregiver has an enhanced opportunity to create a more habitable comfort zone for the individual living with this condition. As a Registered Professional Nurse who has been involved for numerous years with care of the aged, I have come to appreciate working with administrative and Nursing staff who have the power to set a positive tone, atmosphere and spirit related to the case of the impaired individual. Much of a child’s world is about overcoming the fears of being alone, of being hungry and satisfying basic needs. Also the nuances of social conversation are diffi cult to learn and decipher as a child. For the Alzheimer patient, the diffi culties become more pronounced when they are unable to share their feelings or comments with others. Caring for this individual may at times exhibit behavioral issues, which can be diffi cult and stressful. Issues such as aimless motor activity, inappropriate language and spontaneous physical aggression are but a few. Having worked with the confused geriatric patient for many years, I have had numerous opportunities to employ a clinically based technique which the caregiver can also carry out by utilizing specifi c cognitive and functional activities. These activities are self-rewarding whereby the patient is able to initiate several relevant activities. Here are just three examples: • performing activities of daily living such as dressing, feeding, toileting, grooming, bathing, etc.; • deciding to independently choose the clothes he/she may wish to wear that day; • offering family and friends constructive insights about the patient’s daily progress as a means of encouraging greater family participation. All of these, however require an overhaul of unacceptable facility policies and practices. The providers of care must be willing and able to offer relevant patient care outcomes, and reject authoritarian governing and outmoded medical models of care that are not part of the culture we seek. In next month’s article entitled Caregiving and Aging, Part II, I plan to focus on caregiving either as a form of paid employment or as a choice of the loved one. Sheldon Ornstein Ed.D, RN Dr. Sheldon Ornstein is a registered professional nurse with a doctoral degree in nursing organization. He has specialized in the care of older adults and has published many articles on the subject. He has done post-graduate work in gerontology and has taught at several universities. In 2013, he was inducted into the Nursing Hall of Fame at Teachers College, Columbia University.
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