AGE-u-cate Training Institute Blog

No misspelling here.   Who needs  AGE-u-cation?  Our care teams, family members, elder care providers, hospitals,  business community, churches, non-profits need to be MUCH better AGE-u-cated®!

Topics: The Faith Community, The Family Caregiver, Senior Care Professionals, Elders, Aging in the Workplace, Training, elderly, AGE-u-cate®, education, hospitals, senior care providers

At least that's what they say here in Texas, when it's 80 degrees one day, and hitting the freezing mark the same night.  We've barely had a winter to speak of this year, so my recent trip to experience the Boston blizzard was an adventure and a treat.  So what does the weather have to do with aging and dementia you ask?

Topics: The Faith Community, The Family Caregiver, Senior Care Professionals, Memory Care, Senior Care, Aging in the Workplace, dementia, Person centered care, weather changes, person-centered thinking

Through the years I've had the great privilege to work with thousands of elders and families as my professional career in senior care began in educating families and faith communities.   I will never forget one of my earliest conversations with a couple who had attended a caregiver support group in which I was facilitating.  Emotionally, they shared how their parents had served faithfully in their church for over 40 years and now that they were homebound, the they felt as if they had been forgotten.  This tugged at my heart, as I remembered how vitally important the church was to my own aging parents and how much that care and compassion for our parents comforted us as adult children.

Topics: The Faith Community, The Family Caregiver, Senior Care Professionals, Elders, caregivers, faith communities, church, resources, support

We've almost made it through the 1st month of 2017.  I'm always amazed at how the world seems to stop in its track after Thanksgiving.   Then January rolls around, and  it's All Hands on Deck!  So if your January has hit you like a Nor' East wind,  remember the wise words of one of our greatest authors, Dr. Seuss.... FUN IS GOOD!

Topics: The Family Caregiver, Senior Care Professionals, Elders, Senior Care, fun, dopamine, laughter

Nature heals.  Being in nature, or even viewing scenes of nature, reduces anger, fear, and stress and increases pleasant feelings. Exposure to nature not only makes you feel better emotionally, it contributes to your physical wellbeing, reducing blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension, and the production of stress hormones. It may even reduce mortality, according to scientists such as public health researchers Stamatakis and Mitchell.

Topics: The Family Caregiver, Senior Care Professionals, Elders, Aging in the Workplace, Care Partners, Nature, Healing, Gardens

As we all know society is aging... fast.  Aging people travel- more than ever, as do aging people who are living with dementia.  Airlines listen up - this trend is not going to slow down.  The question is, how are you going to better serve your aging customers and improve the flying experience for all of your passengers?

Topics: The Family Caregiver, Senior Care Professionals, Airlines, Aging in the Workplace, Training, dementia, Customer Service

The dictionary describes a sphere a place or environment within which a person or thing exists;  a particular social world or stratum of society.  How does this relate to how we approach society's challenges on caring for our seniors?

Topics: The Family Caregiver, Senior Care Professionals, Aging in the Workplace

How Losing A Pet Is Much Like Losing a Loved One

Our pets are like members of the family. Meet Sadie - our vivacious, furry family member pictured here at 3 months old. Labrador Retrievers at this age are a non-stop ball of energy. Leave a sock on the floor and it instantly becomes a pile of thread, or a new game of hide and seek. Strangers? I don't think Sadie ever knew that word existed. Water? That's meant for swimming.. endlessly.

Topics: The Family Caregiver, Senior Care Professionals, Family Caregiver, Senior Care, Hospice, Pets, grieving

When visiting someone with dementia, be ready for anything. Things can change day- to- day, even moment- to- moment in dementia care. A little preparation can go a long way to help create a positive experience in dementia care. Have a “magic bag” ready that you can pull things out of that may reach through the dementia to the person inside.

Topics: dementia care, The Family Caregiver, Person-centered, Senior Care Professionals, Memory Care, culture change, care staff, Caregiver

Family members and professionals alike struggle with how to interact with a person living with the bewildering condition of dementia. As a caregiver, it’s easy to forget that this person can often answer and follow much more of a conversation than given credit for.

Topics: The Family Caregiver, senior caregiver, Caregiver