Senior volunteers are making a difference each day in local churches, community organizations, neighborhoods, senior centers and health care organizations. In total, these unsung heroes are making a bigger impact than ever as local budgets evaporate and community needs escalate. For many of these seniors, helping others defines who they are in their retirement years.

In response, Home Instead Senior Care has announced the launch of Salute to Senior Service(SM) program (www.SalutetoSeniorService.com) to honor the many volunteer contributions that older adults make to this nation. This program, which launched on January 15, 2012, includes a search for the country’s most outstanding Senior Hero(SM) in each state and culminates with the selection of a national Salute to Senior Service winner during Older Americans Month in May. State Senior Hero(SM) winners will receive plaques and their stories on the www.SalutetoSeniorService.com site. In addition, $5,000 will be donated to the national winner’s nonprofit charity of choice.

Between January 15 and March 12, 2012, entries can be submitted to nominate seniors 65 and older who volunteer at least 15 hours a month, making a positive impact on their communities through volunteerism. Stories can be submitted online at www.SalutetoSeniorService.com.

“Not only are senior volunteers changing their communities, but they are also changing the face of aging,” said Jeff Huber, President and Chief Operating Officer of Home Instead Senior Care. “Volunteer opportunities for older adults should not diminish because of age and, by all accounts, don’t. Home Instead is thrilled to be able to take this opportunity to recognize and showcase their important contributions.”

About half of U.S. seniors (52 percent) volunteer their time through unpaid community service, according to research conducted by the Home Instead Senior Care network. Nearly 20 percent (one in five) of senior volunteers surveyed started volunteering when they reached the traditional age of retirement – 65 or older. Furthermore, 20 percent of seniors who volunteer say that their community service is the most important thing they do. Seniors who volunteer give an average of 15 hours a month in unpaid service.

Seven in 10 seniors (70 percent) who volunteer indicate they plan on volunteering “forever.” This percentage is slightly higher for senior volunteers who suffer from chronic health problems. In fact, managing chronic conditions and maintaining health are important motivations. Three-fourths of senior volunteers surveyed (75 percent) who have chronic conditions say that staying active through volunteering helps them manage these conditions. But the benefits go much deeper. According to Home Instead Senior Care network research, 95 percent of senior volunteers feel that seniors who volunteer are healthier and happier than seniors who do not. Volunteering enables seniors to develop and maintain important social connections, learn more skills, and pursue new interests.

“We know from our work with seniors that the more active an individual the more likely that he or she will continue to remain independent while aging. Those who find a way to give back, even if they have their own aches and pains and need help, realize many benefits,” shared Huber.

Home Care San Marcos, New Braunfels, Schertz, Canyon Lake, Seguin. Call 830-624-8380.

Seniors who stay healthy live longer. But how can you help seniors maintain good health when the odds of developing dementia, diabetes, heart disease, some form of cancer, or a host of other ailments are against them? Some answers might come from the Greek island of Ikaria where a remarkable one in three natives reach 90 years of age.

According to an AARP The Magazine article called “Live More Good Years,” researchers discovered that, compared to Americans over 90, Ikaria’s 90-plus population experienced 20 percent fewer incidents of cancer, half the rate of heart disease, one-ninth the rate of diabetes and virtually no Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia.

To encourage similar habits to help North American older adults add years to their life. Advise seniors to eat meals incorporating whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, olive oil, fish, and herbal teas to add important vitamins, antioxidants and complex carbohydrates to their diets. Seniors will also benefit from scheduling walks or daily exercises, naps, and opportunities for social interaction and religious practices into their day.

Another approach to increasing lifespan takes into consideration not only the good behaviors to adopt, but also which behaviors to avoid. A recent CDC report boils the secret to longevity down into four key habits:

•Do exercise regularly
•Do eat a healthy diet
•Don’t smoke
•Don’t drink alcohol excessively

If your loved one needs help and assistance in maintaining a healthy lifestyle, call New Braunfels Home Instead Senior Care at 830-624-8380. Our CAREGivers are available to help your senior stay healthy.

Visit Caregiverstress.com for more information on healthy aging.

Home Care San Marcos, New Braunfels, Schertz, Canyon Lake, Seguin. Call 830-624-8380.

Home Instead Senior Care® network research reveals that volunteering is a magic bullet of sorts to keep seniors mentally and physically engaged in the world around them, making a difference in the lives of others as well as benefiting their own Salute to Senior Service.

Other benefits that the senior volunteer survey respondents identified include:

I want to help others – 99 percent

I want to make a difference in my community – 99 percent

I want to provide assistance to causes I care about – 99 percent

I feel like my volunteer contributions are appreciated – 98 percent

I enjoy volunteering with my friends – 93 percent I want to socialize and meet new people – 92 percent

I want to share my talents, skills and experience – 90 percent

I enjoy learning new skills – 89 percent I have more time now – 86 percent I want to occupy my free time – 84 percent

Home Instead CAREGivers in New Braunfels are available to help your senior loved ones continue to pursue their passions by providing non-medical assistance at home – call us for more information 830-624-8380.

Home Care San Marcos, New Braunfels, Schertz, Canyon Lake, Seguin. Call 830-624-8380.

Seniors and middle-aged men who are physically active but do not lose weight might be in better shape than they think, according to a recent study. There is less worry about body mass index being a little high if the men are physically fit, researchers have said. Read the full study at Livelonger.

If the men maintain or improve their fitness level – even if their body weight has not changed or increased – they can reduce the risk of death, according to research reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. The study was only of men but the researchers say it is likely to apply to women, too.

This is good news for people who are physically active but can’t seem to lose weight, said Duck-chul Lee, Ph.D., the study’s lead researcher and physical activity epidemiologist in the department of exercise science at the University of South Carolina.

Results of the study underscore the importance of physical inactivity as a risk factor for death from heart disease and stroke, researchers said.

Researchers also found no association between changes in body fat percentage or body weight and death risk.

It’s unclear whether these results would apply to severely obese people, Lee said.

Our CAREGivers at Home Instead Senior Care in the New Braunfels TX area can be there to walk with your senior loved ones on a regular basis. A CAREGiver, of course, can provide plenty of other support, such as food preparation, light housekeeping and medication reminders. Call our New Braunfels office at 830-624-8380.

Home Care San Marcos, New Braunfels, Schertz, Canyon Lake, Seguin. Call 830-624-8380.

Roles that senior volunteers play have evolved over the years, according to Dr. Erwin Tan, director of Senior Corps, who serves as the expert U.S. source for the Home Instead Senior Care® network’s Salute to Senior Service program. The program, which kicked off in January 2012, includes a search for the most outstanding senior volunteer in each state and Canadian province (except Quebec) and culminates with the selection of a national Salute to Senior Service winner in May in the U.S. and in June in Canada.

• As seniors’ lifestyles and longevity have evolved over time so, too, is the desire for new kinds of volunteer activities, Dr. Tan said. In a highly technological world, the “new senior” has different interests than those of the past. Seniors are being encouraged to volunteer for a cause or an activity in which they are interested or for which they feel passionate.

• According to Home Instead Senior Care network research, 95 percent of senior volunteers feel that seniors who volunteer are healthier and happier than those seniors who do not.

• Check out more benefits from volunteering opportunities as well as information about how to make a deserving senior 65 and older who volunteers at least 15 hours a month a Senior Hero – SalutetoSeniorService.com.

• State and Canadian provincial (except Quebec) winners will receive plaques and their story on the SalutetoSeniorService.com website. A gift of $5,000 will be donated to the national winner’s favorite nonprofit charity.

Help us recognize outstanding senior volunteers who make a difference in their community. Nominees have a chance to win $5,000 for their favorite volunteer organization. Please share volunteer stories from your community and nominate a senior for Salute to Senior Service.

Home Care San Marcos, New Braunfels, Schertz, Canyon Lake, Seguin. Call 830-624-8380.

A recent study has shown that heart failure patients who don’t consume enough vitamin C-rich foods have more inflammation and a higher risk of cardiac complications and death.

The study was presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2011 – See the AHA study.

Study Highlights:

Heart failure patients who don’t eat enough vitamin C-rich foods have higher levels of inflammation and a higher risk of cardiac complications and death.

This is the first study to demonstrate that low vitamin C intake is associated with worse outcomes in heart failure patients.

Compared with those with high vitamin C intake from food, heart failure patients in the study who had low vitamin C intake were 2.4 times more likely to have higher levels of a certain protein, which served as a marker for inflammation and a risk factor for heart disease.

Adequate intake of vitamin C was associated with longer survival in patients with heart failure, said Eun Kyeung Song, Ph.D., R.N., lead study author and assistant professor at the department of nursing, University of Ulsan in Korea.

The use of diuretics also may play a role because vitamin C is water soluble, and diuretics increase the amount of water excreted from the kidneys, according to research.

Diet is the best source of vitamin C, researchers say. Eating the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables a day provides an adequate amount.

Call Home Instead Senior Care in New Braunfels TX to help with meal preparation and medication reminders as your senior loved one recovers from a health problem – we can be reached at 830-624-8380.

Home Care San Marcos, New Braunfels, Schertz, Canyon Lake, Seguin. Call 830-624-8380.

People who have had a stroke have an increased risk of another stroke, especially during the first year after the original stroke. The risk of another stroke goes up with older age, high blood pressure (hypertension), high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, having had a transient ischemic attack (TIA), heart disease, cigarette smoking, heavy alcohol use, and drug abuse.

While some risk factors for stroke (such as age) cannot be changed, the risk factors for the others can be reduced through use of medicines or changes in lifestyle.

Patients and families should ask for guidance from their doctor or nurse about preventing another stroke. They need to work together to make healthy changes in the patient’s lifestyle.

Patients and families should also learn the warning signs of a TIA (such as weakness on one side of the body and slurred speech) and see a doctor immediately if these happen.

Stroke survivors and family members may find the hospital experience confusing. Hospital staff are there to help, and it is important to ask questions and talk about concerns.

• Make sure the patient’s condition is caused by a stroke and not by some other medical problem.

• Determine the type and location of the stroke and how serious it is.

• Prevent or treat complications such as bowel or bladder problems or pressure ulcers (bed sores).

• Prevent another stroke.

• Encourage the patient to move and perform self-care tasks, such as eating and getting out of bed, as early as medically possible. This is the first step in rehabilitation.

Get more information on Strokes.

Home Care San Marcos, New Braunfels, Schertz, Canyon Lake, Seguin. Call 830-624-8380.

Q: My parents live far away and my mother has Alzheimer’s. I want to help but I have a young son and we’re struggling in this economy. I feel guilty and depressed. Please help!

My parents are 87 and 84. After my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, my father moved them downstate. I already lived thousands of miles away. None of the family there seems to want to help. I have never been very close to my father who is an alcoholic, but was very close to my mother. I feel I am in a state of constant grief and it’s getting worse. No alcohol, no medication, nothing helps. I feel guilty because I have a one year old son, I have a husband, and we are in debt ourselves with this economy. I just don’t know what to do.  I don’t have any family who want to help. I hate calling my parents as all I hear is how my mother is failing and my father refuses to put her in a stimulating safe facility which at this point the doctors have recommended. I feel helpless and deeply depressed. I would like to enjoy life and enjoy my baby but I can’t because I feel selfish. What do I do? I have collected dozens of elder care lawyers, home help, etc. from their new area but to be honest I am clueless to it. And there are no Geriatric Care managers for 100 miles. Please help me.

Dr. Amy:  You are in a difficult situation. I strongly recommend that you seek professional counseling and/or a caregiver support group. You need support for the grief and the stress that you are feeling and a counselor and/or a caregiver support group can help you through this very hard time.  I also suggest that you call the Alzheimer’s Association and talk to them about the options that are open to your mother and father. They should also be able to lead you to a caregiver support group in your area. They will be able to make sense of your parent’s situation and help you figure out what you can do.

Home Care San Marcos, New Braunfels, Schertz, Canyon Lake, Seguin. Call 830-624-8380.

When a senior reaches the point of needing additional assistance at home, there are two avenues that can be traveled. The senior will either receive at home care or go into a nursing home. Each has its own benefits, but it is important to consider what will help the senior in the best way. Nursing homes are generally for those that cannot take care of themselves while at home care is for those who can still function at home and have the help of a spouse or family members. This is a tough decision to make and the information below helps to point out the differences between at home care and nursing homes.

1.  Home care can consist of different services. Some seniors will only require one while other may need a combination of services. The most common at home care services include home health aides, physical therapy, speech therapy, nursing care and occupational therapy.

2.  While these same services are available in a nursing home, seniors who are in a nursing home will lose their independence. This is an important thing to consider when making a decision regarding the right form of car for a senior loved one.

3.  The services offered at many nursing homes, aside from the senior being watched around the clock, include wellness programs, meals, assisted living and activities.

4.  While it may seem a nursing home is the easier choice, it does depend on the functioning of the senior. If they are able to care for themselves and just need some additional assistance, there is really no need to place them in a nursing home.

Home Care San Marcos, New Braunfels, Schertz, Canyon Lake, Seguin. Call 830-624-8380.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

You’ve just returned to your childhood home for the holidays, but things don’t look the same. Are the conditions of aging jeopardizing your senior’s health and safety at home? Complete this checklist provided by Home Instead Senior Care®, the international caregiving company. If you see any of these situations, your senior may need extra help.

The “look-and-see signs” that can tell whether your loved ones need help at home:

1.    Look in the refrigerator, freezer and pantry. Has food spoiled because Mom can’t get to the grocery store? Does she have difficulty cleaning tight, cluttered places?

2.    Look over the grocery list. Has Dad’s declining health prompted him to purchase more convenience and junk foods, and neglect proper nutrition? Is he losing weight?

3.    Look on top of furniture and countertops. Accumulated dust and dirt may be a sign that household cleaning is becoming too difficult for your parents.

4.    Look up at fans and ceilings. Has the inability to lift her arms and climb stepstools prevented your loved one from cleaning soot and grime from high places? Caution seniors not to climb.

5.    Look to your parents’ neighbors and other close friends to find out about their daily routine. Are your seniors at home more, watching television and avoiding stimulating conversation and companionship?

Consider contacting Home Instead Senior Care. Our CAREGivers are screened, trained, bonded and insured, and equipped to help seniors with their home care and companionship needs such as meal preparation, light housekeeping, medication reminders, errands and shopping. Call (830)624-8380.

For more tips go to Look and See Signs of Aging

Home Care San Marcos, New Braunfels, Schertz, Canyon Lake, Seguin. Call (830)624-8380.