Sharon Burack, founder of Freedom Home Care and resident of Highland Park, saw the need to provide seniors in the Chicagoland area with an opportunity to live happy and healthy lives within their own homes. During the time, Burack had not known there was such a demand for in-home care services but 20 years later, she and the rest of the staff at Freedom Home Care are celebrating the company’s 20th anniversary. Within these 20 successful years, Freedom Home Care opened their first location in Highland Park and now serve clients all over from Chicago’s lakeshore through Cook and Lake
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Posts by Freedom Home Care
Does Your Loved One Need a Caregiver?
There comes a time in all of our lives when we’ll need assistance from the ones we care about. Health and mobility are usually the first things to decline as we age. But how do you know exactly when a parent or older family member needs help? Keeping in mind that your senior has probably lived a full, independent life will work to everyone’s benefit when thinking about how to approach care giving for a loved one. But that also makes it difficult for them to admit they can no longer take care of themselves. The fear of losing
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Is Laughter the Best Medicine?
Who knew that a good laugh was a lot like a moderate workout? Well, according to psychologist and laugh therapist, Steve Wilson, MA, CSP we change our physiological state when we laugh. Our muscles stretch, the pulse and blood pressure go up, breathing increases sending more oxygen to the tissues. Wilson says when you combine laughter and movement it boosts the heart rate. And researchers say that 10-15 minutes of laughter can burn almost 50 calories. Other ways that laughter can be beneficial to the health of your older loved one is that it helps boost the immune system. A
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Winter Safety Tips for Seniors
Slips, trips and falls become even more common for seniors during the winter months. But problems associated with balance and mobility aren’t the only dangers that older loved ones face when the temperature drops. With everything from emotional issues to physical risks – family members should take care to ensure the health and safety of their senior loved ones by taking some extra precautions this holiday season. Below are a several things FHC came up with that could help make the winter months a joyful and risk-free time for your family. Hypothermia is a dangerous condition that is the result
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Top Gifts for Seniors
Still trying to decide what to get your senior loved one for Christmas this holiday season? Well, you’re not alone. Because we realize that it can sometimes seem like an impossible task to shop for a person who has everything, FHC came up with a few creative gift ideas that are sure to make the yuletide gay this holiday. For the senior who no longer has full use of their hands, wrist, and fingers due to arthritis, the Hickies No Tie Lacing System is the perfect gift. Your loved one never has to worry about the cumbersome and sometimes uncomfortable
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GPS Devices to Help with Dementia and Aging
Wandering is becoming an increasing problem in the U.S. Statistics say that between 60 and 70 percent of loved ones with Alzheimer’s will wander off at some point in their illness. In dementia patients, changes in the brain occur that cause the urge to wander. As, they begin to roam about, Alzheimer’s sufferers look for people, places or things that might be familiar to them – behavior that has a tendency to increase the longer they suffer from cognitive decline. Sadly, many older adults with the disease who wander off become disoriented, can’t remember their name or address and never
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Exercise Offers Tremendous Benefits for Seniors
As we get older, we tend to take more stock of the things that benefit us our lives the most – like the relationships we’ve built, the memories we’ve created, and the personal experiences we’ve been afforded along the way. Exercise, believe it not, is one of those things that should be recognized for its numerous benefits at all stages of life. Unfortunately, there are a lot of misconceptions about the advantages that exercise offers seniors. Many older adults believe it’s too late – at their age – to start an exercise routine. But nothing could be further from the
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Those with Chronic Pain are Turning to Alternative Therapy
Pain is a major issue for many people in this country. One in five people experience chronic pain on a regular basis, while more than 54 percent of adults in the U.S. suffer from arthritis, lower back pain, sciatica and other musculoskeletal” pain disorders. When an injury occurs, the body sends a message to the nervous system signaling that something is wrong. This is called acute pain. With chronic pain, a patient may have suffered from arthritis, a sprained back or ear infection in the past, but the body still continues to send signals that something is wrong –
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Researchers Find First Step at Preventative Alzheimer's Pill
Scientists are working to determine why the build-up of abnormal proteins in the brain are shown to lead to diseases like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and dementia. Once these foreign proteins begin to accumulate, they become toxic, increasing the risk of brain degeneration in patients. Tau – twisted fibers of protein that form inside of dying cells – is one of the proteins scientists say cause Alzheimer’s and dementia. To help us understand exactly how the tau protein plays a part in the onset of the disease, alz.org describes how tau or tangles form in the brain. Our bodies contain a cell
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How to Find Newborn Care You Can Trust
Finding the right person to care for your baby while you’re away, is probably one of the hardest things that a parent has to do. You worry about whether the person will meet your baby’s needs. Will this person provide your baby with enough attention? Is he/she in a safe environment? What is the person’s hygiene habits? Will your baby be left alone at all? Does this person have enough experience? Are they trustworthy? How will your baby be treated? There are a myriad of questions that new parents ask themselves when it comes to the person who is tasked
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