A telephone reassurance service daily check-in call or calls can be valuable. The service is a safety tool which provides a degree of peace of mind for the call recipient and the people who care for that person.
BUT, the reassurance call is necessarily efficient
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Pure Joy – A Meditation Reply
Snowshoeing with Gail on a brilliant spring day in the Rocky Mountain foothills was so profoundly joyous that to recall the experience is to feel the joy once again.
As a youngster of eight or nine visiting the “farm” and on the first morning rising with the sun, walking down the road by myself to a slough to pick cattails for my Aunt, was so full of joy that the visual, the smells, the sounds are fully and intensely available to me today, many decades later. More…
Telephone Reassurance Call Service – NEW Service Reply
Telephone Reassurance Call Service – NEW Service
We have changed horses, or more accurately now represent a different Telephone Reassurance Call service. The change resulted because of the unreliable delivery of our daily check-in calls by our previously outsourced service provider. While that was an unfortunate outcome after years of effort, the closed-door opened a new opportunity. It is amazing how those silver linings are there to be found if you just look hard enough! More…
You’re a Little Weird; and So Am I Reply
“We are a little weird and Life’s a little weird, and when we find someone whose Weirdness is compatible with ours, We join up with them and fall in Weirdness and call it Love”. – Dr. Seuss More…
Movember – Prostate Awareness Month
Last year I participated in the Movember movement by growing a mustache I even raised some money in aid of prostate cancer research. I did not grow one this year. Whereas at one time, not too many years ago, I produced a decent mustache (see picture with Jack the Lab), the Movember 2011 product was visible, but only if you were up close. In support of awareness this Blog is the messenger for 2012. More…
Latch-Key Kids are at Home Alone
Today the definition of the family unit, with children, includes single parents, couples, divorced or separated couples, and other less common arrangements. Regardless of the makeup of the family unit the need to understand and deal with young children at home alone may arise. More specifically, the problem presented by children coming home from school to an empty home may need to be addressed. These home alone children are often referred to as latch-key kids. More…
What Can Happen Instantly? Becoming a Caregiver. 1
All of a sudden you are a caregiver; or you realize that you have been a caregiver for some time.
The person for whom you have become a caregiver is a loved one or acquaintance, or even a new caregiver that needs your help.
As quickly as possible learn about being a caregiver. Bring your own special touch to the situation, but do not think you must re-invent how to be effective in your new role. More…
Survival in the World of Living Alone 1
Falls in the Home (and more)
“Some people believe that falls are a normal part of aging, and as such are not preventable. But this is false. Falls usually are caused by certain health conditions (due to normal physical changes of aging or from illness) and/or environmental hazards in the home interfering with safety.” (Dr. Rein Tideiksaar Ph.D.). More…
Vitamin D May Matter – Read Why!
This is likely to be my last Vitamin D blog and I’m not even going to write it.
In an earlier offering I tried to make the case that we should all make sure our Vitamin D tank is always topped up; because we need it and it isn’t likely to be just about bones.
Well today in the New York Times Health section, Jane E. Brody drove the nail home More…
PAIN – Don’t Lash Out, Get Help Now
Pain, particularly chronic pain is no joke! Fortunately my experience with pain does not include the chronic variety. You might ask, “Why are you Blogging about it then”? The answer is I came across an article printed by the American Geriatrics Society – Dealing with “Persistent” Pain in Later Life and believe that a lot of people could benefit from the information in the article. More…
Get Your Vitamin D – on the Sunny Side of the Street
It annoys me when I read a headline like this: “Vitamin D Does Not Prevent Cancer”; or substitute “Heart Disease”, or any other affliction. From my point of view such headlines are irrelevant. Making sure that your body has enough vitamin D is the point, regardless of the benefits. Our bodies need Vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin. It is essential to good health. Essential!!! When possible, I like to examine topics from … More…
Protect Your Pet with a “Pet Trust” and/or a “Pet Protection Agreement”
Serendipity is great happenstance. Only a few days after posting “Living Alone with Pets and Telecare Service” I stumbled upon a US based website and associated service that informs you about how to create a legally enforceable plan to protect your beloved pet … a nationally renowned expert in estate planning and the preeminent authority on continuing protection of all animals … More…
Living Alone With Pets and Telecare Service
“Harvie, I am curious about why you subscribed to our Personal Telecare Service”, I asked.
“Well Jon, I own a dog. I’m not concerned about myself, but if a personal health issue arises, I want to make sure my pet is looked after”. It turned out that Harvie is more than a dog owner; he is also a pet rescuer. The foregoing is not a transcript but rather an accurate representation of my conversation … More…
24 Critical Hours – Personal Telecare Service can bring help!
George S. has been a subscriber to our Personal Telecare Service since 2004. In no uncertain terms his unsolicited testimonial describes the value of the Sentry Telecare daily check in service. The value resides in the fact that the service is PROACTIVE. It can be scheduled to call one, two, or three times each day to determine the status of the person receiving the call. Whether that person is absolutely fine, conscious but not able to move, disoriented, or unconscious the status of the check-in call recipient will be determined and as necessary, action will be taken. More…
Living Alone with Pets 1
First let’s acknowledge that pets can be great companions. They bring happiness, comfort, and humor to their companions. Unfortunately pets are not for everyone and careful consideration should be included in the decision before inviting a pet into your home. Estimates by Statistics Canada and the American Veterinary Medical Association … show that there are more than 160 million dog and cat pets in the United States and Canada. More…
Thank You to All of You Caregivers
I was a caregiver. Unfortunately it was for too short a period before our father passed away. The term “caregiver” (or “carer”) was not in my vocabulary, at least not in the way the term is defined today. So how is caregiver defined? From Wikipedia, a widely accepted official definition of a carer/caregiver is someone whose life is in some way restricted by the need to be responsible … More…
Live Independently … Recognize the Risks
Even though I lived alone for several years, I hadn’t given a great deal of thought to what that could mean until I came across an article in the New England Journal of Medicine. Following is an Abstract of the article: “Persons Found In Their Homes Helpless Or Dead” … the authors actually stated that the need for a telephone check-in service to check on people living alone was clear. More…
R.U.O.K.?
Are you okay? What a great question to ask. How can it ever be wrong to enquire after another person’s health, state of mind, or status? The question is not always well received, as you likely know, despite the good intentions. But it is worth asking regardless! … If your community does not offer this service, it could be worth your while … More…
It’s All About Your Health – isn’t it?
What does being proactive about your health mean? Of course it can mean a lot of things. How about “avoiding medical errors” for starters? After all, it is your good health, quality of life, and well-being that you should be concerned about. General advice: when dealing with any part of the medical or caregiving community, do not be timid, afraid to ask, or … More…
