Archives for Freedom Home Care

How technology is shaping the field of health care

In today’s technology age, there are so many new advancements and services to tune into. Driving a car is made easier with the help of navigation systems and voice-activated controls. Getting in touch with loved ones who live out of state is made all the more personal through video chatting with programs like Skype. And as it turns out, the health care industry is benefiting, as well. credit card debt relief Telehealth, which is defined as the delivery of health-related services and information with the help of telecommunication technologies, is paving the way for the future of health care. According
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Making the transition from hospital to home a pill that's easy to swallow

Bringing a caregiver into the home can be a necessity at various times in one’s life. And a typical time of need is the period following a hospital stay. So to make the transition from hospital to home a smooth one, Medicare can be a great resource. Medicare understands that a lot of instruction is relayed in the discharge process, and often times, it can literally be too many pills for one person to swallow. The explanations surrounding new medications or treatments can be lost in translation, leaving an individual confused and scared. Therefore, the tips and links provided below
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Sit and be fit with Mary Ann Wilson

Yesterday, we here at Freedom Home Care reported on the importance of maintaining healthy bones, joints and muscles in order to increase coordination and balance. In our post, we talked about the benefits that come from weight-bearing activities like taking a walk. Understanding that all older individuals might not have the mobility to get out of the home, we are happy to take advantage of the exercises suggested by the PBS series, Sit and be Fit. In it, Mary Ann Wilson focuses on healthy activities that can take place while sitting in any household chair. For the video that we’ve
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Combating old age from the inside out

As individuals get older, retire and settle into their later years, there are a lot of positive changes to embrace. Free time is opened up to spend with loved ones and to devote to hobbies that were always put on the backburner. In that same breath, however, there are also changes that happen in old age that might not be as welcomed. The aging process can bring about wrinkles and gray hair, and although these changes are expected, old age can also usher in other harder-to-spot changes. Just as wrinkle cream and hair dye can improve what happens to the
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Making the bedroom a safer place for your aging loved one

This week, we here at Freedom Home Care have dedicated our blogging to in-home safety for sufferers of Alzheimer’s and dementia. Our caregivers, based in Oak Brook, Buffalo Grove, Grayslake, Highland Park, Hinsdale and Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood, understand that sometimes it’s necessary to place himself or herself in the position of the patient to anticipate potential dangers in the home. “Caregivers will find that such approaches will be dependent upon the person for whom care is being provided,” say the editors at AgingCare.com. “The most important aspect of caregiving in a home is safety and security, for both the patient
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Six tips for delivering safety in the bathroom

In yesterday’s post, we here at Freedom Home Care discussed the importance of creating a safe at-home living environment for patients with Alzheimer’s and dementia. And we started with the kitchen, one of the home’s top locations for accidents to occur. Bathrooms, however, can also provide special challenges for caregivers. Therefore, we’re delivering some of AgingCare.com’s best tips for how to create an enhanced level of safety in the bathroom. Here they are: 1. Whenever possible, bathtub and toilet areas should supply adequately anchored grab bars in both bathtub area and around the toilet. 2. Products such as raised toilet
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Four tips for creating a safe kitchen environment

Providing a safe home environment for a loved one suffering with Alzheimer's is a top priority. And the caregivers at Freedom Home Care understand how important it is for a patient with Alzheimer’s or dementia to be safe and comfortable in their own homes. Therefore, over the course of the next few days, we here at FHC will dedicate our blog posts to providing helpful tips and methods to ensure the utmost level of in-home safety. According to the editors at AgingCare.com, “in the long run, adapting the home environment is much easier than trying to adapt behaviors that may
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Asking the right questions regarding in-home care

Communication is truly the key to a successful in-home-care environment. As we mentioned in yesterday’s post, developing a plan before the need arises can ease the stress involved with transitioning into one’s twilight years. Therefore, creating an open forum for discussion within the family is essential when it comes to the specifics of everyday care. According to the Family Caregiver Alliance, the first step in exploring care options is identifying what is most important to your aging loved one. “Projecting into the future is difficult, but it is important to educate yourself about choices and communicate how you feel about
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Creating a twilight plan

Although planning for our twilight years should be on the top of our list of priorities, often times it’s not. For starters, most of us don’t want to think about getting old and potentially needing assistance. Compounding that is the fact that many individuals don’t even know where to start. One way to bring twilight planning to the top of the list is with the help of the National Clearinghouse for Long-Term Care Information website. Founded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the website provides information and resources to help a family or an individual plan for future
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FHC serves as a preferred provider for Ravinia Associates

To celebrate our staff and their professional development, we here at Freedom Home Care hosted an annual caregiver appreciation day on Aug. 3 and then followed it up with a company outing at Ravinia Park in Highland Park. Spending the day at America’s oldest outdoor music festival, we were reminded of our relationship with the Ravinia Associates in Internal Medicine Ltd. as a preferred provider. Ravinia Associates, which was recently brought into the North Shore University Health System family, serves the North Shore community by providing up-to-date quality medical care and by imparting their expertise on service providers like the ones at
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