Ensure Your Pets Have a Safe Trip

If you are going to travel with your companion animal, whether a cat, dog, or perhaps a reptile or other creature, you need to ensure it will be kept safe from harm and injury. Here are a few tips from the Canada Food Inspection Agency for making your pet’s journey a safe one.

Health Check
It is always a good idea to check the health of your pet before any long trip to make sure it is fit to travel. Health certificates or other documentation may be required when taking your pet on an airplane or to another country, including the United States. Find out in advance what will be required.

 In Your Vehicle
Contain your pet. Animals that could distract the driver should be contained. Some animals, such as cats, are more comfortable in a vehicle when they are in a carrier. Pets should not be allowed to roam freely in the back of pick-up trucks or be exposed in any way to flying debris.

Watch the weather
 Animals should not be kept in parked vehicles for long periods of time, especially in hot or cold weather. Temperatures inside a vehicle can quickly rise or fall to levels that could cause your pet to suffer or even die. If you must leave your pet in a vehicle for a short period of time in hot weather, ensure it has fresh water and leave windows open a little on either side of the vehicle to create a cross-breeze.

Provide food, water and rest. On long trips, make sure your pet has food and water, and make sure that you make regular stops so it can rest or get out and walk around.

The Ultimate Human Freedom

"Every human has four endowments - self awareness, conscience, independent will and creative imagination. These give us the ultimate human freedom...The power to choose, to respond, to change."

Stephen R. Covey 

My Mother Refuses to Discuss Finances With Me; Doesn’t She Trust Me?

A - Financial matters are often the last bastion of control, so you must reassure your mom that knowing doesn’t mean taking over:

Remind her that all decisions she has made about her care and well-being will be respected, but they must be documented – are Powers of Attorney and a Will in place?

Explain that to carry out her wishes, you need to know the relevant players now, not when a crisis occurs.

Meet her banker, accountant, financial advisor, insurance agent and lawyer before they need to contact you in a crisis.

Help simplify her banking arrangements by using electronic payments, direct deposits and consolidating accounts into one branch.
Try not to take her attitude personally; your mom may be trying to spare you time and effort. As you work together on a solution, your mother may feel comfortable sharing more information and, ultimately, more responsibility.

This information was provided by, Pat M. Irwin, BA, AICB, CPCA, is founder and president of ElderCareCanada, a single-source consulting firm for adult children and their families, addressing all aspects of elder care - www.eldercarecanada.ca

Playing it Safe

As summer beckons us to spend more time outdoors gardening, exercising or relaxing in the yard, it also beckons other creatures - insects, bees and yellow jackets. Most of the time, they leave us alone if we leave them alone. But, occasionally, they bite and sting, ruining an otherwise perfect day. Most people get over bites and stings in time to weed the sweet peas or go for a stroll by afternoon, reacting only mildly. A mild allergic reaction - including swelling, redness, pain and itching - can cause an undue share of misery.

But a small percentage of the population reacts violently to insect bites and stings. Recognizing the difference between an ordinary immune response and a severe allergic reaction can mean the difference between life and death.

Severe Reactions - Within minutes from the time an insect bite or bee sting occurs, toxic effects follow. A severe allergic reaction, or anaphylaxis, occurs when any of these symptoms are present, for which immediate emergency care is required:

• swelling of the lips, tongue, or throat
• trouble breathing
• hives
• dizziness
• nausea, cramping, diarrhea or vomiting
• loss of consciousness

Large skin infections and reactions to a bite or sting also call for immediate care. According to HealthLinkBC, shock may occur if the vital organs are not supplied with an adequate amount of blood.

Pest Prevention
Avoiding severe reactions is key to outdoor safety, and managing your surroundings helps prevent this from occurring. In addition to staying alert outdoors and using insect repellant according to directions, other steps also help. Keeping drinks covered, especially sweet drinks like juice and pop, is one way to help keep insects away. The yellow jacket, a common name for a predatory wasp, seems particularly attracted to sugary liquid, but its behaviour is somewhat predictable. “Yellow jackets tend to only be aggressive if provoked or if they feel their nest is threatened,” says Bill Melville, quality assurance director in the pest management industry. Homeowners should monitor their homes frequently for hives and nests. When food is brought outdoors, special precautions should be taken. “When picnicking outdoors,” says Melville, “keep food in tightly sealed containers and cover pop cans, as yellow jackets often enter cans unseen.”
Treatment Tips
If all precaution fails, and a bee sting or yellow jacket sting occurs, panicking could worsen the outcome. Move as calmly as possible away from the area, brushing away the pest. Although yellow jackets can sting repeatedly and fly away to sting another day, bees leave their stingers in the skin. If stung by a bee, remove the stinger quickly by scraping it with a fingernail: squeezing the area surrounding the stinger forces more venom into the skin. Insect bites can be treated with a cold, moist cloth three to four times a day for 15 minutes at a time. Hydrocortisone cream or calamine lotion helps reduce itching and swelling. Finally, resting the affected area on a pillow above the level of the heart helps prevent further swelling. And after a run-in with yellow jackets, bees, or any other outdoor insect out to get you, there may be no better remedy than a good, long rest - indoors, of course!

Article by, Jim Tipton, Reprinted with permission from Senior Living Magazine

Know the signs of coronary heart disease…

…from an article by the World Health Organization Worldwide, a substantial number of men and women who have coronary artery disease die within 28 days after experiencing symptoms; of these, two-thirds die before reaching a hospital. It is critical that everyone recognizes the warning signs of a heart attack, which may include: Chest discomfort.  Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts for more than a few minutes, or goes away and comes back. The discomfort can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness, or pain. Discomfort in other areas of the upper body. Can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw, or stomach. Shortness of breath.  Often comes along with chest discomfort. But it also can occur before chest discomfort. Other symptoms.  May include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea, or light-headedness. Women account for nearly half of all heart attack deaths.  As with men, women's most common heart attack symptom is chest pain or discomfort. But women are somewhat more likely than men to experience some of the other common symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting, and back or jaw pain. If you feel that you are experiencing heart attack symptoms, do not delay. Minutes matter!  Call 9-1-1 immediately.  While waiting for an ambulance, chew one adult-strength (325 mg) aspirin tablet:  Aspirin reduces the risk of death by up to 23% if administered when a heart attack is suspected, and for 30 days thereafter. The use of aspirin as a heart attack first aid could potentially save 10,000 lives each year. “3.8 million men and 3.4 million women worldwide die each year from coronary heart disease.” — World Health Organization

Heart attack risk rises after loss of loved one

…an article from the National Institute of Health and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, an affiliate of Harvard University A person's risk of suffering a heart attack increases by approximately 21 times in the first 24 hours after losing a loved one, according to a study lead by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. The study published Jan. 9 online in the journal Circulation found the risk of heart attack remained eight times above normal during the first week after the death of a loved one, slowly declining, but remaining elevated for at least a month. Researchers interviewed approximately 2,000 patients who suffered myocardial infarctions, or heart attacks, over a five-year period. Patients were asked a series of questions about potentially triggering events, including losing someone close to them in the past year. While there is widespread anecdotal evidence that the death of a loved one can lead to declining health in survivors, few studies have looked at the acute effect of bereavement and grief on myocardial infarction. "Bereavement and grief are associated with increased feelings of depression, anxiety and anger, and those have been shown to be associated with increases in heart rate and blood pressure, and changes in the blood that make it more likely to clot, all of which can lead to a heart attack," says lead author Elizabeth Mostofsky, MPH, ScD, a post-doctoral fellow in the cardiovascular epidemiological unit at BIDMC. "Some people would say a 'broken heart' related to the grief response is what leads to these physiologic changes," says senior author Murray Mittleman, MD, DrPH, a physician in the Cardiovascular Institute at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of BIDMC's cardiovascular epidemiological research program.  "So that emotional sense of the broken heart may actually lead to damage leading to a heart attack and a physical broken heart of a sort." Mostofsky and Mittleman think that being aware of the heightened risk can go a long way toward "breaking the link between the loss of someone close and the heart attack." "Physicians, patients and families should to be aware of this risk and make sure that someone experiencing grief is getting their physical and medical needs met," says Mittleman. "And if an individual develops symptoms that we're concerned might reflect the beginnings of heart attack, we really need to take it very seriously and make sure that that patient gets appropriate evaluation and care." Providing appropriate psychological interventions for someone who is grieving is also important. Mostofsky says, "We do think it's plausible that social support during that increased time of vulnerability would help mitigate the risk of heart attack."

Five tips for boomer-friendly retail design…

…an article found on an American website, but very useable in Canada While many retailers are focusing on young, technology savvy shoppers these days, they can’t afford to ignore older baby boomers who account for roughly one in every four consumers and possess much of America’s personal wealth and spending power. What does that mean when it comes to designing your store? Appealing to this generation of 48 to 66-year-old shoppers takes some finesse. You don’t want to make boomers feel old. Nor do you want to shut out the younger generations. The key is figuring out “those hidden things boomers respond to that everyone benefits from,” says Seanette Corkill a Vancouver, Wash., retail design consultant. Here are five strategies to help make your stores boomer-friendly: 1. Adjust your lighting Getting lighting right is critical for any store and any customer, but it’s especially important for older shoppers. Jenny Wall, owner of Moose Mountain Trading Company, a Steamboat Springs, Colo., store that specializes in women’s sweaters, added spotlights and sconces to the overhead ambient lighting to make sure older shoppers didn’t have to strain their eyes. “The aging eye perceives color differently,” says Corkill.  “It tends to see more yellow.” Corkill suggests avoiding lighting with too high a temperature, which could increase the yellowness of your store and make it look less attractive. She also cautions against angling spotlights too much, causing them to point across and into shoppers’ eyes rather than down at objects. While such invasive light can be blinding to more sensitive, older eyes, it makes the shopping experience less pleasant for shoppers of any age. 2. Keep merchandise uncluttered and accessible Think carefully about how you organize your merchandise. Younger customers may not mind walking into a store crammed with stuff, but a boomer might be repelled by too much inventory on display, says Corkill. “It’s not a garage sale.” Where you place merchandise matters to boomers, too, of course. Linda Cahan, a West Linn, Ore., retail design consultant, recommends that retailers always place products targeted to boomers at least two feet above the floor. “Younger people will bend, whereas older people will not want to,” she says. “Don’t put extra-larges on the bottom.” 3. Tidy up your space You always want to keep a clean store, but tidiness is especially important to older customers. Alice Cunningham, who owns the Olympic Hot Tub Co. makes sure the hot tubs in her five Seattle area showrooms are carefully wiped down and that customers have clean, warm towels to dry their hands after dipping them in the water. “Women boomers, especially, are crazy about cleanliness,” she says. Wall, a 57-year-old boomer herself, agrees that her older shoppers value the polished look of her clothing store. “Quality is important,” she says. “We try to fold and straighten and have things together.” 4. Avoid fine print on signs and price tags Boomers naturally appreciate large, easy-to-read type on price tags and signs. If your customer has to pull out her glasses to read a tag, that doesn’t bode well, Corkill says. “They’ll just skip over what they can’t read, and that means lost opportunity to influence a sale.” But you don’t want to go too far and put giant fonts on everything. That might offend older customers, as well as signal to younger people that your store is for their parents’ generation. “You’ve got to make it workable for everybody,” Corkill says. “You don’t want to delineate yourself so specifically that you alienate others.” You might be tempted to get fancy with swirling, elaborate fonts, but it’s safer to go with a simple font for price tags and signage. That way, customers won’t struggle to make out prices or words, and your store will have an overall cleaner look. 5. Greet customers when they walk in the door The older the customer, Cahan says, the more personal interaction they usually want when they go shopping. “When somebody 45 or up walks into a store, they don’t just want to be acknowledged; they need to be acknowledged,” she adds. “Otherwise, they will get annoyed.” Making that personal connection can go a long way toward building long-term relationships with boomer customers.  At Moose Mountain Trading Company, Wall and her sales staff offer older customers tips on how to accessorize or wear certain items. “We do it in a way that’s not pushy, but that’s more educational and fun,” she says.

Baby boomers put pension plans under pressure

The leading edge of Canada’s baby boom is turning 65. Just don’t expect their pension plans to blow out the candles. Wheezing and winded from years of volatile stock markets, historically low interest rates and staggering billion-dollar deficits, traditional pension plans have been struggling to catch their breath from the 2008 financial crisis. There’s a growing sense in the pension industry that the days of hoping for higher interest rates and stronger market returns are at an end, said Laura Lynch, a senior retirement consultant at Towers Watson. “Many of the Canadian pension plans are getting close to their retirement years,” Lynch said. “Like the members of the plans, who as they get close to retirement cannot stomach the same levels of volatility, companies are finding that they also cannot stomach the volatility.” The first of the baby boom generation reached 65 in 2011, while those aged 60 to 64 proved the fastest growing of all age groups, expanding at a rate of 29.1 per cent from 2006 to 2011, the latest census figures released Tuesday by Statistics Canada indicate. For the first time, the census found, there were more people age 55 to 64 — an age at which people typically start leaving the workforce — than were age 15 to 24, an age when people typically start their working careers. That’s a scary omen for pension funds that are dependent on workers to help fill the coffers. And that ratio will continue to decline, said Laurent Martel, a senior demographer at Statistics Canada. “The number of those leaving the labour force will be even more important in the forthcoming years as this large cohort of baby boomers will leave the working-age population,” Martel said.

The onset of cognitive decline begins at age 45

The onset of cognitive decline begins at age 45…an article from the Department of Society, Human Development and Health – Harvard School of Public Health, Boston MA Increased life expectancy implies fundamental changes in the composition of populations, with a significant rise in the number of elderly people. These changes are likely to have a massive influence on the life of individuals and on society in general. Abundant evidence has clearly established an inverse association between age and cognitive performance, but the age at which cognitive decline begins is much debated. Recent studies concluded that there was little evidence of cognitive decline before the age of 60. However, clinical studies demonstrate a correlation between the presence of amyloid plaques in the brain and the severity of cognitive decline. It would seem that these amyloid plaques are found in the brains of young adults. Few assessments of the effect of age on cognitive decline use data that spans over several years. This was the specific objective of the study led by researchers from Inserm and the University College London. As part of the Whitehall II cohort study, medical data was extracted for 5,198 men and 2,192 women, aged between 45 and 70 at the beginning of the study, monitored over a 10-year period. The cognitive functions of the participants were evaluated three times over this time. Individual tests were used to assess memory, vocabulary, reasoning and verbal fluency. The results show that cognitive performance (apart from the vocabulary tests) declines with age and more rapidly so as the individual's age increases. The decline is significant in each age group. For example, during the period studied, reasoning scores decreased by 3.6 % for men aged between 45 and 49, and 9.6 % for those aged between 65 and 70. The corresponding figures for women stood at 3.6% and 7.4% respectively. The authors underline that evidence pointing to cognitive decline before the age of 60 has significant consequences. "Determining the age at which cognitive decline begins is important since behavioural or pharmacological interventions designed to change cognitive aging trajectories are likely to be more effective if they are applied from the onset of decline." underlines Archana Singh-Manoux. "As life expectancy continues to increase, understanding the correlation between cognitive decline and age is one of the challenges of the 21st Century" she adds. This research is part of the Whitehall II cohort study and focused on more than 7,000 people over a ten-year period.

Health & Nutrition…Chow Down on These 5 Foods

Eating well is important at all stages in life, but healthy eating for seniors is especially important in maintaining strength and giving the body the vitamins and nutrients it needs. A healthy diet for an older adult may not include as many calories as a diet for a younger person, but it’s still important for seniors to eat plenty of nutritious foods packed with essential minerals.  Medical knowledge about healthy eating for seniors has come a long way recently, and nutritionists are now able to recommend specific foods that will help keep older adults strong and healthy for many years to come. So the next time you’re at the grocery store, throw a few of these items in your cart: 1. Milk Milk is perhaps the easiest way to get calcium, a mineral that’s vital for strong bones and healthy bone growth. It’s especially important for older women to get enough calcium, so don’t skip the milk. If you’re looking for a low-fat option in your diet, go with skim milk or 1% milk rather than whole. Use milk in your cereal, in recipes, and in baking, or simply enjoy a couple of plain tall glasses every day. 2. Salmon Salmon is prized as a food in healthy eating for seniors because it’s high in protein, vitamin D, and healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Some research has also shown that eating salmon several times per week could be beneficial for older adults with arthritis, as salmon can help reduce joint inflammation. If you don’t live in an area where fresh salmon is readily available, try sardines for a similar anti-inflammatory effect. 3. Blueberries Blueberries are packed with antioxidants, which fight damage to cells in the body and may even fight diseases such as cancer. Specifically, blueberries can help keep your vision sharp and pump up your daily dose of dietary fiber. As part of a diet of healthy eating for seniors, sprinkle fresh blueberries on cereal or use them in a yogurt parfait for a blast of protein and vitamin C. They can also be used in smoothies or just eaten raw as a snack. 4. Oatmeal Whole grains are important for seniors who want to stay healthy—many food guides recommend 5-12 servings of whole grains per day for elderly adults. Oatmeal is a powerful food that can keep the heart strong and help reduce cholesterol. It also slows digestion and is high in fiber, so if you’re trying to lose weight, it will cause you to feel fuller for longer. 5. Kale (or other leafy greens) Don’t pass by that produce aisle in the supermarket! Leafy greens are a great choice for healthy seniors, and the more color they have, the more nutrition they provide. Most seniors don’t get enough servings of fruits and vegetables every day and don’t have the variety of these foods that they need in their diets. Along with salmon,kale can help reduce inflammation,and its high calcium and beta carotene content also make it a wholr food for building bone strength and keeping vision sharp.

Wills and Powers of Attorney

Everyone should have a properly drawn Last Will and Testament, Power of Attorney for Personal Care and a Power of Attorney for Property. These should be reviewed at least every 5 years and especially when you retire, they should be reviewed and updated as necessary every year.

Can you explain what these documents are and what they should contain?

Let us start with the Will.  The first thing is to make sure that it is properly drawn, preferably by a lawyer who specializes in wills and estates. You must name the executor(s) for the Will.
They are the people who will do whatever is set down by you, your final wishes and your bequests to individuals or gifts to charities. The executors take physical possession of all your assets, bank accounts, investment accounts and even safety deposit box keys. The executors are obliged to follow your instructions and it is their responsibility to also pay any outstanding debts that you have owing at the time of your demise.

You can name anyone as your executor and my preference is to name three with your spouse or significant other being one of them. They vote with majority ruling but you should make sure that your spouse or significant other is part of the majority; but if your marriage is shaky or it is a 2^nd or 3^rd marriage, I would seek legal counsel before going forward.

Your executors together with the estate lawyer then draw up the application for probate, pay the necessary probate fees and file the forms. All beneficiaries are notified of their entitlement and then the FUN BEGINS. There too often seems to be greedy or resentful relatives who have nasty lawyers to contest the Will.

One way that this may be overcome is to insert a clause in the will that states that anyone who commences an action with respect to the will is automatically cut out of their share of the estate. As I say, it sometimes works but you had best check with an estate lawyer.

Executors are entitled to be paid fees for their services and the amount of these fees is set down by regulation. The usual amount in Ontario is 5% of the total asset value of the estate. There are also fees based upon the work done administering those assets while under the custody and control of the executors.

The Power of Attorney for Personal Care must have a trustee to act on your behalf. This person can be same person whom you named as the executor of your will. suggest that you appoint a person who is intimately connected with you and knows your health and personal concerns. I suggest that you appoint a person who is intimately connected with you and knows your health and personal concerns..

You may wish to appoint a substitute decision maker to carry out your wishes contained in this document in the event the first party is unable or unwilling to act. Your wife or significant other may be your substitute. YOU CANNOT APPOINT YOUR PERSONAL PHYSICIAN.

  This Power of Attorney for Personal Care comes into force when you are declared incapable of looking after your own health care needs.

In the document – or it can be on tape or through verbal communication -You should state your wishes clearly for example, if your condition is critical or terminal, outline whether you wish to be resuscitated or not; or if you wish hospice care. , DO NOT USE ‘No heroics to be done by doctors or nurses. These words are too vague to be helpful.

You can go so far as to name those you do not wish to visit you in hospital or home, even those you do not wish to attend your funeral.

Either in this document or in your will, you can set out your wishes for a funeral and all its attendant matters.

The Power of Attorney for Property comes into force when you and your chosen POA sign the document or when you become unable to look after your financial affairs yourself.  You may appoint one or more trustees; you need have only one, a second person can be named as an alternative. Your POA will have signing authority on all documents because that person is acting as if they are you in every capacity. They have complete control over those of your assets you designate once this document comes into force. So be very careful as to whom you appoint. The wrong person could bankrupt you.

 As in the other two documents previously mentioned these trustees are entitled to be paid but that decision is up to you.

additional health care costs

The government covers basic costs but you should buy Supplemental Coverage, which will pay for many other costs including medical care prescriptions and eye care over and above the government basic plan. Just two short notes here, eye care is the second most prevalent problem affecting seniors with hearing loss being number one.

If you intend to travel as part of your retirement plans or even now prior to retirement, I strongly suggest that you purchase Travel Insurance. Make certain that you answer all questions fully and accurately because the insurance company will check on your medical history for a period of three years prior to the date of your claim. They pay a claim only if you have been honest about all your medical history.

BE HONEST,do not try to save a few dollars by answering the questions incompletely.

Don't Waste Your Holiday Being Sick

Vacation time is here and many of us are thinking about booking flights, arranging accommodation, renewing passports and picking out wardrobes for travel this summer.
However, if you're like the majority of travellers caught up in the excitement of taking a long-awaited trip, you may not be thinking about one very important step – protecting your health while you're away.
There are ways to protect yourself from these illnesses and by following a few simple tips, you can ensure a healthy and happy trip:

• Plan ahead. At least four to six weeks before travelling, make an appointment to visit your doctor or a travel health clinic for an assessment to determine necessary vaccinations and regional health risks. Keep in mind that most vaccinations need at least two weeks to take full effect.

• Take preventative measures. Talk to your doctor about how to protect yourself against food and waterborne diseases. Dukoral is the only oral vaccine available to help prevent against Travellers' Diarrhea and for prevention against both Hepatitis A and Typhoid Fever, Vivaxim offers dual protection with a single shot.

• Boil it, Cook it, Peel it or Forget it. Avoid eating foods from street vendors. Unpasteurized dairy products, and raw or uncooked food, especially seafood, can cause an unwanted illness. Drink only commercially prepared bottled water and carbonated beverages. Avoid ice and use bottled water for brushing your teeth.

• Practise good sanitation. Good sanitation is important wherever you are. Always make sure to wash your hands with hot soapy water for at least 20 seconds before eating or drinking.

Source: www.seniorsgotravel.com

Mythbuster - Vitamins Part 1

Myth: Organic vitamins are better than synthetic ones.
Fact: Despite common speculation, your body actually can't tell the difference between synthetic and organic foods. Organic food does, however, provide other nutrients such as fiber which synthetics lack.

Myth: The more vitamins you take, the better for you.
Fact: In a perfect world, this would be the case but alas, it is possible to get too much of a good thing. Overdosing on vitamins can actually harm your body, creating the opposite effect that you intended. Always read the WARNING and DIRECTIONS section on the label!

Myth: By taking vitamins regularly, we don't need to exercise.
Fact: Wrong. Doing any type of exercise for half an hour a day will work more magic than any supplement can do for you including decreasing blood pressure and loosing weight.
Myth: If vitamins and supplements are taken, then you can eat whatever you want.
Fact: Nothing can replace eating healthy and pills do not give you everything your body needs for substance.

Always be sure to contact a health professional before taking any health product, including vitamins or supplement, as it may be harmful to your health or conflict with previously prescribed treatments. We will have Part 2 of Mythbuster: Vitamins in our next issue of Maturity Matters in May 2012.

Source: By Steffany Gundling All information was provided and is directly sourced from: VitaFaq at http://www.vitafaq.com/facts-and-myths.

"Our lives improve only when we take chances ... and the first and most difficult risk we can take is to be honest with ourselves."

Walter Anderson


"Adventure can be an end in itself. Self-discovery is the secret ingredient that fuels daring."

Grace Lichtenstein


"It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere."

Agnes Repplier

Communicating Effectively With Healthcare Providers

Family caregivers play a major role in ensuring that their loved ones receive the healthcare that they need. This role may include initiating care, accompanying them to appointments, asking necessary questions or coordinating the many healthcare practitioners involved.

As the primary caregiver, your experience and knowledge is invaluable to healthcare practitioners, many of who will not know the person and his or her needs as well as you do. Therefore, it is important to know how to communicate effectively with the healthcare team. Below are some tips to help you in this role:

* Ensure you are familiar with each member of the healthcare team involved in your family member's care, and their responsibilities.
 
* Be sure they understand your role. If the care recipient is not willing or able to take instruction, ensure they give permission for you to be kept informed.

* Before an office visit or telephone call or prior to the home support worker arriving, prepare a list of questions to ask or information you want to give them. You will save time and you won't be distracted trying to remember what you want to ask. Be concise and focus on the issues.

* If you need information or have questions, don't wait for the healthcare provider to contact you. Be proactive and give them a call, then follow-up if you don't hear back from them. Keep in mind that although the person you are caring for may be your number 1 priority, the case manager, doctor or home support worker has many other clients.

* Clarify instructions. If you are not sure you understand or don't know the meaning of technical terms, ask again until you are satisfied.

* Some doctors have specific hours when they take calls. Find out when this is and call during those times or leave a message with the secretary in the morning for the doctor to return your call.

* When communicating with healthcare providers, being clear and direct is important. Hinting or hoping they read your mind does not make good use of anybody's time.
* Appoint one family member as the main contact with healthcare professionals when possible. The appointed person can clearly communicate with the rest of the family.

* Keep records of your loved one's behaviours, such as sleeping, eating, emotions, symptoms, medication habits, etc. The more detailed information you have, the easier it is for your doctor or home support worker to give your family member the best treatment.

* Separate your anger and sense of frustration about your inability to help your family member from your feelings about the healthcare practitioners. Remember, you are on the same side.

Article By Barbara Small - Family Caregivers' Network Society

Laugh More and Cry Less

A wise man once sat in the audience and cracked a joke. All laughed like crazy. After a moment he cracked the same joke again and a little less people laughed this time.
He cracked the same joke again & again, when there was no laughter in the crowd, he smiled and said “When you can't laugh at the same joke again & again, then why do you keep crying over the same thing over and over again.”

Aging baby boomers may be less of a threat than thought

We’ve heard a lot about our aging population and how the ratio of people over 65 is increasing compared to those between 20 and 64. This is usually associated with extra burdens on our society since older people tend to draw more out of the system than working individuals.  However, people under 20 also draw more from the system than they put in, and the percentage of people in this demographic has declined. According to the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development, the percentage of the population between 20 and 64 was 55% in 1950, rose to 63% in 2010 and is projected to decline to 54% by 2050. In 1950, 8% of the population was over 65. That rose to 14% in 2010 and is expected to climb to 26% in 2050. The ratio of young people has been dropping off a cliff. In 1950, 38% of Canada was under 20 years old. This declined to 23% in 2010 and is expected to drop more to 21% by 2050. So what’s this mean? After 100 years, there likely won’t be a whole lot of change to the ratio of people defined as working age in Canada (and certainly there will be more working women than there were in 1950). Plus, who knows what the working age will be in 2050.

Disability Tax Credits – Do you or anyone you know suffer from a disability?

Many Canadians are unaware that the Canadian government offers disability tax benefits and grants for anyone who has a physical or mental disability. Unfortunately collecting these benefits can be complicated and stressful. People with one of nine long-term disabilities can collect as much as $1,100.00 a year and more if they seek retroactive credits. Anyone who has problems with seeing; speaking, hearing, walking, bowel or bladder functions, feeding, dressing or performing mental functions necessary for everyday life may be eligible for the credit. For example, if someone isn't able to walk the length of let's say a football field unassisted they are likely eligible for the credit.  Your doctor may think that you need to be in a wheelchair to be eligible for this credit, but that is not the case. Anyone who can't fill out the forms because of bad vision or can't articulate their thoughts will also likely qualify. Anyone who needs life sustaining therapy to support a vital function, such as dialysis, can also apply. To be considered, the impairment must have lasted, or be expected to last for at least 12 months. Doctors. Optometrists, Audiologists, Occupational Therapists, Psychiatrists, Speech Language Pathologists, and other medical professionals can sign the required forms. The doctor only has to sign for one condition in order for you to get the credit. The tax credit has been around since 1988 and estimates are that two million taxpayers may be eligible for it.  Since doctors, who are required to sign forms, aren't experts on tax laws and accountants can't make medical diagnoses, the tax credit program can fall through the cracks. For more information about the tax credit and to see if you or anyone you know is eligible, please visit,  CRA Disability Website and search for T2201.

Nursing homes in Canada

Choosing the right nursing home for your loved one is a difficult task, and you will want to obtain as much information as possible before you make a final decision. Reading your province’s evaluation of the home is an important first step, but the reports can be wordy and hard to understand. Organizations that manage nursing home waiting lists, and government representatives who evaluate homes, cannot give their opinions or make recommendations. Going on a tour is highly recommended, and very helpful, however it is hard to determine if the quality of medical and nursing care meets your high standards. Those who know the home best, and can give insight into the multiple facets of the home are the family members of residents themselves. Because these individuals spend so much time in the home and are in constant contact with staff, they, more than anybody, know if: the facility is well kept; the programs and services are suitable and accessible; staff is consistently courteous and respectful; and, most importantly, if the medical and nursing care is outstanding. At Nursing Home Ratings you can read nursing homes’ average ratings on a series of questions, and read comments and opinions of the home. Read about, and compare, all the homes you are considering so that you can be confident about your decision.