Home Care Mississauga helping older adults and elderly live independently and safely at home. Home Instead Senior Care in Mississauga knows the stress that our public home care system is under and we can provide the professional care that our aging seniors need. Please call 905- 276-2273.

Nutritious meals are important, but many seniors want to relive a time around the dinner table when they are sharing their lives with the people they love most. Home Instead Senior Care in Mississauga has developed the Craving Companionship program to help older adults who live alone. About 37 per cent of the population 75+ lives alone* according to a Canadian study.

The study reveals:

• An overwhelming majority of seniors (88%) say that having someone to share their meals makes those times more satisfying.
• More than one-half (53%) say their mealtimes are more satisfying if they have someone prepare their meals for them.

Nearly one-half of seniors who live alone have at least four warning signs of poor nutritional health, according to Home Instead Senior Care® network research. The signs and their incidence rates:

• Eating alone most of the time (76%)
• Taking three or more different medications a day (67%)
• Having an illness/condition that prompted a diet change (39%)
• Eating few fruits, vegetables or milk products (36%)
• Having a tooth or mouth problems that make it hard to eat (29%)
• Having lost of gained 10 pounds in the last 6 months without wanting to (28%)

Lack of companionship is the biggest mealtime challenge for seniors and the Craving Companionship program offers tips and practical advice to encourage companionship and easy, healthy meals. The program also encourages family caregivers to revive mealtimes for isolated and lonely seniors.

*2006 Canadian Census

Nearly one-half (46 percent) of Canadian seniors who live alone have at least four warning signs of poor nutritional health such as eating alone, taking multiple medications and illness, according to research conducted for the Home Instead Senior Care® network.

Following, from the Home Instead Senior Care network are warning indicators that a senior could be in trouble.

1.    The loneliness. More than three-fourths (76 percent) of seniors who live alone eat alone most of the time, according to Home Instead Senior Care network research. Suggestion: Try to make sure your older loved one has companionship at home or in a congregate meal site.

2.    The multiple meds. About two-thirds (67 percent) of seniors take three or more different medications a day, according to research. Suggestion: Talk to your senior’s health care team about how medications might be impacting your older adult’s appetite and discuss with them what to do about it.

3.    The illness. Many older adults are struggling with conditions of aging. Some don’t feel like eating as a result. Suggestion: Discovering favourite recipes from the recipe box and making mealtime a social event may help.

4.    The lack of healthy staples. About one-third (36 percent) of seniors who live alone consume few fruits, vegetables or milk products, the survey revealed. Suggestion: In season, why not find an affordable, local farmer’s market. Talk with your older loved one about their favourite recipes – or yours – that incorporate healthy products.

5.    The physical problems. Nearly one-half (46 percent) of seniors who live alone receive outside help with mealtime activities such as grocery shopping. Suggestion: If your senior can’t get to the store, contact your local Home Instead Senior Care office to arrange for a CAREGiverSM. Try, also, to tap into neighbours and compassionate friends. If you know of older adults who live alone, cook extra at mealtimes and take it to them.

6.    That smelly fridge. Check out expiration dates of food in the refrigerator when you’re visiting a loved one. Suggestion: Help a senior by packaging food in small portions and labeling in big letters with the date.

7.    The suspicious grocery list. If you go to the store for Mom, and the list is mostly sweets, then she may be headed in the wrong direction with her diet. Suggestion: Help her put together a grocery list, reminding her of all the wonderful foods she used to cook for you. Why not buy the ingredients and make that recipe together.

8.    Those important details. When you’re visiting a senior, check out things like skin tone – it should be healthy looking and well-hydrated – as well as any weight fluctuations. Suggestion: A visit to the doctor can help ensure your senior is healthy.

9.    The empty cupboard. An emergency could trap a loved one home for days. Suggestion: Prepare by stocking back-up food, water and high-nutrition products such as Ensure® in case a trip to the store isn’t possible.

10.    The support. Isolation is one of the biggest threats to an older adult. Suggestion: If you can’t be there, call your local Home Instead Senior Care office to enlist the services of a professional CAREGiverSM.

Learn about the Home Instead Senior Care Craving CompanionshipSM program at www.mealsandcompanionship.com.

Home Care Mississauga helping older adults and elderly live independently and safely at home. Home Instead Senior Care in Mississauga knows the stress that our public home care system is under and we can provide the professional care that our aging seniors need. Please call 905- 276-2273.

It’s dinnertime. Do you know what’s on the menu at your mom or dad’s house? If a senior is home alone, chances are he or she might not be eating a healthy meal at all.

According to research conducted for the Home Instead Senior Care^® network, lack of companionship is the biggest mealtime challenge for seniors.*

That’s why the local Home Instead Senior Care office in Mississauga has launched the Craving Companionship ^SM program. The program offers family caregivers tips and practical advice to encourage companionship and easy healthy meals.

Craving Companionship also features a recipe contest promote if speech is given during contest entry period of July 15 to September 15, 2011 that encourages family caregivers to dig into the family recipe box to find that favourite dish, and prepare and share a meal with their senior loved one.

Selected contest recipes and stories will be posted online as well as in the Homemade Memories^SM Cookbook, which will be available for purchase in time for the 2011 holiday season. Proceeds will go to the non-profit Home Instead Senior Care Foundation to benefit North American seniors.

For more details about the program including recipe contest guidelines and prizes, visit www.mealsandcompanionship.com.

Home Care Mississauga helping older adults and elderly live independently and safely at home. Home Instead Senior Care in Mississauga knows the stress that our public home care system is under and we can provide the professional care that our aging seniors need. Please call 905- 276-2273.

Loneliness — it’s one of the most serious obstacles to good nutrition that your senior loved one could face. Approximately 37 percent of Canada’s 75-plus population – 1.8 million people – lives alone, according to the 2006 Canadian Census. These seniors face significant socialization challenges, particularly when it comes to lack of shared mealtime experiences.

“There is no question that having meals with other people in a group setting is preferable to eating alone,” said Carol Greenwood, Ph.D., Professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto, and Senior Scientist at Baycrest. “Seniors who eat alone often have an underlying isolation and depression and lack of social engagement. This leads to low quality of life and a more rapid decline as they age.”

The far-reaching impact of loneliness prompted the Home Instead Senior Care^® network to conduct a first-of-its-kind study to measure mealtime routines, challenges and preferences of seniors age 75 plus who live by themselves in their own homes or apartments.

This comprehensive study, which involved 400 interviews, provides evidence that increased opportunities for seniors to share meals with others will promote nutritional and emotional well-being. Key findings include:

• Nearly one-half of seniors who live alone have at least four warning signs of poor nutritional health.
• One in five seniors says he or she sometimes or most of the time feels lonely when eating alone.
• Seventy-six percent of these seniors eat alone most of the time.
• One of the biggest mealtime challenges for older people who live alone is lack of the shared family experience, including lack of companionship.
• Mealtimes last two-and-a-half times longer when seniors who live alone share meals with others compared with when they eat alone.
• A majority of seniors who live alone say they eat more nutritiously and the food actually tastes better when eating with others.
• Eighty-six percent of seniors who live alone say they wish their families shared more meals together.
• The most common obstacles preventing these seniors from sharing more meals with others are that they don’t drive and that their family and friends don’t have enough time.

As a result of this study, the Home Instead Senior Care network has launched the Craving Companionship public education program to encourage extended families to bring back the family meal for the benefit of their seniors, especially those who live alone.

For more information, visit www.mealsandcompanionship.com. The program includes a variety of resources including recipes and tips to help family caregivers make the most of mealtimes.

Home Care Mississauga helping older adults and elderly live independently and safely at home. Home Instead Senior Care in Mississauga knows the stress that our public home care system is under and we can provide the professional care that our aging seniors need. Please call 905- 276-2273.

Home Care Mississauga helping older adults and elderly live independently and safely at home. Home Instead Senior Care in Mississauga knows the stress that our public home care system is under and we can provide the professional care that our aging seniors need. Please call 905- 276-2273.

Research conducted for Home Instead Senior Care reveals 10 mealtime challenges for older adults. The following percentages refer to the number of seniors who believe these are challenges for older people living alone. We have noted tips for how to make the most of mealtimes after each issue.

1. Grocery Shopping (79%) – Transportation can be a big issues for seniors. Contact Home Instead Senior Care in Mississauga or encourage your loved one to participate in neighbourhood support systems when possible.

2. Lack  of companionship during mealtimes (75%). If you can’t be there to dine with a loved one regularly, look for alternatives such as friends or neighbours.

3. Cooking for one (74%). Freeze most any type of leftovers including sliced and seeded fruit by placing it in plastic containers or freezer bags.

4. Eating nutritious meals (65%). Buy fresh when possible including fruits and vegetables.

5. Eating three meals a day (65%) . So many seniors are on prescription medications that must be taken with or without food. Coordinate the food plan with the medication plan.

6. High expense of cooking for one (64%). Encourage shared meals when possible.

7. Loss of appetite (60%). Help older adults make mealtimes an event, which can make dining more appealing.

8. Relying too much on convenience food (57%). Encourage your older adult to meet with a nutritionist or talk with the doctor to learn how to read labels.

9. Eating too little food (47%). Plan a trip to a favourite restaurant for a special dish. If lack of food is an ongoing problem, check with your senior’s doctor.

10 Eating too much food (38%). The bigger issue is eating too much of the wrong types of food. If you’re helping an older loved one with a shopping list or with grocery shopping, encourage healthier choices.

New research sheds light on seniors’ eating habits

Canadian seniors like taking part in family meals, but they often eat alone. That is according to a research study conducted for the Home Instead Senior Care^® network, which showed that lack of the shared family experience, including companionship, is the biggest mealtime challenge for seniors.

The Home Instead Senior Care network, a leading provider of non-medical care services for seniors in their own homes and in care facilities, surveyed Canadian seniors age 75 and older who live alone in their own home, to measure mealtime routines, challenges and preferences.

According to the 2006 Canada Census, about 37 per cent of the population age 75 and older – 1.8 million people – lives alone, and new research findings from the Home Instead Senior Care network show that almost half (46 per cent) of them have at least four warning signs of poor nutritional health.

According to the research, the most common of these warning signs and their incidence rates are:

• Eating alone most of the time (76 per cent)
• Taking three or more different medications a day (67 per cent)
• Eating few fruits, vegetables or milk products (36 per cent)
• Tooth or mouth problems that make it hard to eat (29 per cent)

“We know from experience that many families live too far away or don’t have the time to help their aging parents,” said Greg Bechard, owner of the local Home Instead Senior Care office in Mississauga, ON. “But our research shows that seniors eat more nutritiously when family and friends are around. They really enjoy having that connection with someone, whether it’s a family caregiver or a professional CAREGiver^SM.”

Home Care Mississauga helping older adults and elderly live independently and safely at home. Home Instead Senior Care in Mississauga knows the stress that our public home care system is under and we can provide the professional care that our aging seniors need. Please call 905- 276-2273.

Working and Being a Caregiver

Caregivers who are still employed may face some challenges. Since caring for an elderly family member will require some flexibility, many individuals will have a hard time finding a balance between being a caregiver and maintaining their job. This can be a challenge for many adults. The following list contains some useful information about caregivers in the workplace.

1.    Caregiving employees are the reason for an eight percent differential in health-care costs for most companies.

2.    Currently, one out of three working adults are also taking on the role of caregiver, providing unpaid services and care to elderly relatives or friends.

3.    Caregivers have different needs in the workplace. Many will require a flexible schedule, the ability to telecommute and unpaid eldercare leave. All of these things increase the cost for the company.

4.    Some employers are trying to work with caregivers by offering support services in the workplace. One of the most common forms of this is providing a community resource list. Many employees have stated that these lists are helpful when they are available.

5.    As seniors continue to require extra care at home, the number of people in the workforce who are also a caregiver will be on the rise.

Source: http://www.aarp.org/relationships/caregiving/info-09-2010/caregivers_in_the_nh.html

Home Care Mississauga helping older adults and elderly live independently and safely at home. Home Instead Senior Care in Mississauga knows the stress that our public home care system is under and we can provide the professional care that our aging seniors need. Please call 905- 276-2273.

The family caregiver non refundable tax credit is becoming more prevalent in today’s tax returns because many of adult children are taking care of aging parents. There are a few conditions of the tax credit - here are a few of the them: 

• The dependant person has to be living with you at sometime during the year and cannot be just visiting.
• The dependant needs to be a resident of Canada.
• The dependant can be a child, a parent, grandparent, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew.
• The dependant must be 18 years and older.
• The dependant’s net income from line 236 of their tax return cannot exceed $18,645.
• The person you are claiming needs to have been dependent on you for support due to a physical or mental impairment.
• There are three places in the income tax return where this claim needs to be recorded.
• The first is on Schedule 5 where the details of the dependant are entered as well as the nature of the infirmity.
• The next spot is line 306 for dependants that are 18 and older.

Read the full list at Kelowna Capital News.

As a family caregiver you may be eligible for benefits such as compassionate care benefits from employment insurance if you need to take time off work to care for someone that is terminally ill or near death. If you are self employed, you can elect to register for EI and may be eligible for compassionate care benefits. Sometimes you may need a break from taking care of a physically or mentally infirm dependant for a day or a few hours. You may opt to have someone come in and live at the home to provide the care giving services. If so, please give us a call at 905- 276-2273.

Home Care Mississauga helping older adults and elderly live independently and safely at home. Home Instead Senior Care in Mississauga knows the stress that our public home care system is under and we can provide the professional care that our aging seniors need. Please call 905- 276-2273.