Helping Older Adults Navigate Holiday Depression and Isolation
The holiday season is often a time for family, friends, and festivities. However, for many older adults, it can also bring heightened feelings of loneliness, depression, and stress. Whether due to health issues, the loss of loved ones, or simply the challenges of aging, the holidays may amplify feelings of isolation. At Overture Home care, we realize that It's important to recognize the signs of holiday depression and isolation and take proactive steps to support older adults during this time.
Older Adults and the Holidays
The holidays are a cherished time for family activities, thoughtful gifts, and essential visits for your older loved ones. Please join us now in embracing the season's joy while ensuring the well-being and independence of your senior family members by reviewing a few suggestions from your friends at Overture Home Care.
Honoring Caregivers in November
November is National Family Caregivers Month. According to a National Alliance for Caregiving / AARP study, about 34.2 million Americans provide unpaid care to a senior adult every year. At Overture Home Care, it is our mission to provide support for those family caregivers as they work tirelessly on behalf of their senior loved ones.
Combating Senior Isolation with Denise Helms and Paige Wolk
In recognition of this month’s triple whammy of National Depression Screening Day (10/5), World Mental Health Day (10/10) and Mental Illness Awareness Week (10/1–10/7), we want to share with you an important podcast appearance that our CEO Denise Helms, RN, BSN and Senior Vice President Paige Wolk, LBSW, CDP made on the Parent Projects Podcast with Tony Siebers.
Does it feel like stories about scams and cyber frauds are everywhere this summer?
Our older loved ones are particularly at risk from the scams and frauds initiated by those emails, as many seniors control readily available funds, trust institutions that appear legitimate, and have little knowledge of technology and current scams. According to the FBI Elder Fraud information page our elderly population suffers more than $3 billion in losses to fraud annually.
FDA greenlights Leqembi® for the treatment of early Alzheimer’s disease.
This month we are thrilled to join the Alzheimer’s Association in celebrating the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) action to grant traditional approval of Leqembi® (lecanemab) for the treatment of early Alzheimer's disease with confirmation of elevated amyloid beta.
Getting to Know You, Dallas!
Since opening our second office in Dallas, Texas earlier this year, Overture Home Care has been out and about in our new neighborhood, getting to know the community through the wonderful senior-friendly and caregiver assistance organizations that call this vibrant city home.
This Parkinson’s Awareness Month we’re strengthening our commitment to Parkinson’s dementia patients and their families through Dementia Live® training.
The theme for this year’s Parkinson’s Awareness Month is #Take6forPD. According to the Parkinson’s Foundation, someone in the U.S. is diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease every six minutes. To fight back against that grim statistic, the foundation has created checklists of six-minute actions that anyone can take to help advance research, improve access to care, or empower and educate in the fight against the disease.
March 28 is American Diabetes Association Alert Day®
In 2023, the American Diabetes Association Alert Day falls on March 28. We encourage you to recognize this day by taking the National Institutes of Health Online Diabetes Risk Test — and by making sure that your senior loved ones take the test as well.
Recognize the Signs of Malnutrition During National Healthy Weight Week
During this year’s National Healthy Weight Week (January 15-21) we encourage you to check in with your senior loved one to make sure that they are eating regularly, eating healthy food and showing no signs of malnutrition. We have included a link below to a downloadable document that will help you recognize those signs, understand the risks involved, and talk to your loved one’s medical team about possible drug interactions or fasting issues.
Holiday Gift Guide for Seniors
With the holidays approaching, are you having trouble finding meaningful gifts for the seniors in your life? At Overture, we've got you covered with a Gift Guide full of thoughtful and unique items that will bring a smile to their faces — and enjoyment long after the holidays are over!
A Blue Zone Message of Holiday Hope from our CEO, Denise Helms, RN, BSN
Blue Zones are a handful of areas around the world where people enjoy quantifiably longer and more independent lives. In some of those areas — such as the Greek island of Ikaria — those long-lived folks also show near-zero rates for conditions like Alzheimer's disease and dementia.
Join Overture and Dementia CARES for Caregiver Education and Support
As we recognize National Family Caregivers Month this November, we must also recognize National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month — and the connection between the two through the family members devastated by the demands of caring for loved ones with Alzheimer’s and dementia.
November is National Family Caregivers Month
According to a National Alliance for Caregiving / AARP study, about 34.2 million Americans just like you provide unpaid care to a senior adult every year. Some of those Americans have created organizations and non-profit groups dedicated to providing their peers with needed guidance, support and human connection.
With Overture Home Care (and TAGS) you are never Home Alone!
On July 19, Overture Home Care participated in the Tarrant Area Gerontological Society (TAGS) Summer Forum. Our SVP Paige Wolk is currently the Membership Chair and past president of the TAGS board, and we enthusiastically support the TAGS mission to provide education, recognition and scholarship support to healthcare professionals who work with the elderly in our area.
The Second Annual Vivian Y. McNary Caregiver of the Year Award goes to Sylvia Minze.
In July 2021, we presented longtime Overture Home Care caregiver Vivian Y. McNary with our First Annual Vivian Y. McNary Caregiver of the Year Award.
A Very Special Women’s History Month
Every March since 1987, Women’s History Month has shined a light on the achievements and contributions of women throughout history. This year, that light is shining on YOU with the theme “Women Providing Healing, Promoting Hope: a tribute to the ceaseless work of caregivers…”
Did you know that approximately 66% of family caregivers are female, that the average female caregiver provides 20 hours per week of unpaid care while also working outside the home, and that up to 20% of all female workers in the United States find themselves providing care for a family member?
As a company of caregivers, founded by caregivers, serving caregivers and dedicated to providing healing and hope for those in need of care, Overture Home Care understands the goals and challenges faced by family caregivers, and we are here to help you carry the burden. Please call us 24/7 at (817) 887-9401 for a free consultation.