Dementia patients require more hospice care, according to nursing home records. Most people don’t realize that dementia is not only a life altering condition, but it’s also a terminal illness that patients end up utilizing hospice for a longer period of time.
Read more about how dementia patients are utilizing hospice.
Why end of life planning is not only smart, but necessary. As we get older, the reality of our own mortality tends to come into clearer focus; this doesn’t make talking about death or life-sustaining treatments any less frightening though. With new legislature Medicare will be encouraging physicans to discuss end-of-life planning with senior patients.
Read more on changes to Medicare and end of life planning.
The Annual United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) Health and Retirement Funds Christmas Luncheon, the “Coal Miner’s Buddy” Award and plaque were presented to Linda Beal and Community Nursing Services by Juanita Elliott, UMWA Funds Field Service Office Nurse/Community Health Nurse.
The family of a young mother, who was diagnosed with cancer about two weeks after having a baby daughter, was selected as our CNS Sub-For-Santa Family. On December 21 Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus delivered the lovingly wrapped packages donated by our employees and volunteers, to the family. The young mother spent much of the year traveling for chemotherapy and radiation treatments. The family has 3 children, 2 boys ages 3 and 6, and a 9-month old girl. This has helped bring the true spirit of Christmas to us in our office this Christmas.
From the CNS Price office cns-cares.org.
Community Nursing Services hospice patient, Wayne had an unfulfilled life wish…He always wanted to take his daughter to see the Nutcracker Ballet. His wish came true thanks to the CNS Senior Wish Program and Ballet West, who donated the Nutcracker tickets. Wayne and his family really enjoyed the performance on Monday, December 20th and said it was, “just wonderful!”.
Senior Wish
This time of year people are generally happy and cheerful, full of the holiday spirit. But what about those who have experienced a loss this holiday season? They are often conflicted about how to feel, do they grieve or do they put it aside and be filled with holiday cheer? Well, holidays or not, it’s important for those who are grieving to be allowed to do so, and to find ways to take care of themselves.
Below are some tips on how to deal with grief during the holiday season:
• Plan ahead. What parts of the holiday are going to be difficult for you to handle? Think about what is going to be the toughest and create a personal plan to help you cope with that aspect of the holidays.
• Redefine the holidays. Change things up a bit, maybe start some new holiday traditions. Keep some of the old to honor those you’ve lost but make some new ones to help you get by.
• Devote something to the person who is gone. Come up with something special to help you remember the one you lost. Perhaps light a candle daily and spend a few minutes in quiet reflection.
• Find an ornament for the tree that reminds you of your loved one. Hang it on the tree so they are still part of the season.
• Be with people. Don’t stay away from friends and family. When you are feeling particularly sad and missing your loved one, call friends and family to share your feelings. Chances are good that they are missing your loved one too.
• Don’t try to do it all. Grief is hard work and takes up a lot of your energy. If you can’t do everything you usually do for the holidays don’t feel guilty. Give yourself a break. Don’t compare yourself to others who are grieving – everyone’s grief is different and everyone handles it their own way.
Do you have a few people on your shopping list for whom you just can’t come up with a good gift? Are any of those people who have you stumped senior citizens or home bound? Senior citizens are often thought of as hard to buy for, because they won’t tell you what they want. They are the first to say they have everything they need, but you still want to show that you care and give them something. We wanted to help you out with some suggestions.
First, if one of those people is living with Alzheimer’s you can find some great gifts here Alzheimer’s Association gift ideas, this has some great suggestions for gifts, not to mention that shopping here donates money to Alzheimer research, and that is a gift that keeps on giving!
Here are some ideas for those who are home bound, or just older and sometimes tough to shop for, gift ideas for seniors.
We hope this helps in your search for the perfect gift. Remember, that just because they say they don’t want or need anything doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t make a gesture. They will appreciate a thoughtful and useful gift. Mostly they will just love that you thought of them.
Our family read this story recently and what a gentle reminder to each of us at this Christmas season to express our gratitude and appreciation for the bounties we receive. Let us take a moment of silence over the next few days and reflect on the goodness and blessings we receive.
December 1914 was grim for thousands of soldiers. The German army had marched across Belgium before being stopped at Flanders Field. Some sixty yards away, British, French, and Belgian troops languished in trenches infested with rats and lice; pelted with freezing rain and shrapnel. Disease took hold. Each side was losing thousands a day both to bullets and the silent common enemy, influenza.
Between the opposing trenches was an area about the width of a football field; No Man’s Land. Littered with barbed wire and decaying corpses, it was a sobering reminder of what the future might bring. Most of the soldiers were religious; and many were Christian. On Sundays, communion was passed in trenches on both sides, often to the sound of church bells ringing in nearby villages.
Amidst the fear and anger, a miracle occurred. As Christmas Day approached, the weapons of war fell silent, a few Christmas trees began to appear with candles flickering in the night, two British officers, against orders, ventured over to the German line and arranged a Christmas truce. Men ventured out of the trenches, gifts were exchanged, a German violinist played the beautiful song of Handel’s Largo, and the sober duty of remembering the dead commenced. For two days, the spirit of Christmas filled the air, and a remarkable “Christmas Truce” brightened spirits.
As the Christmas of 1914 drew to a close, soldiers who had sung together, played together, and prayed together, returned to their trenches. They must have felt reluctant to let the common ground between them become No Man’s Land again. When night fell, and that memorable Christmas slipped into the past, one last sound broke the silence: a chorus from either side, singing in native tongue, “Silent Night.” (Excerpts of the story taken from Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce by Stanley Weintraub).
We are truly blessed to live with the freedoms and opportunities given to us. One of those opportunities is working in a great company. You all contribute individually and collectively to making CNS a great company and place to work. It is an honor to work with you.
May you all have a wonderful holiday season.
Brent Jones
This is a review of the events that CNS Logan has been involved in this month as written by Jackie Foltynowicz
“The non-profit company Community Nursing Services Home Health and Hospice has chosen to complete 2010 with a flurry of activities that help spread holiday cheer and bring hope to Cache Valley families. This goal fits right in with CNS’s new mission statement; which is to create moments and experiences that heal individuals and families, by providing compassionate care, and by putting health, dignity, comfort and well-being first. CNS’s employees feel it is a privilege to serve the communities in which they live and go about their jobs with this attitude.
The Senior Centers in Logan, Brigham and Hyrum had the opportunity to experience Community Nursing sponsored holiday fun when they were offered complimentary gift wrapping services, and a holiday sing-a-long. Lowe’s, Home Depot and Six Star Party Outlet generously donated wrapping supplies, which made this event a tremendous success.
A recent article in the Herald Journal highlighting an urgent need for food donations at the local Cache Community Food Pantry prompted a great response from CNS’s staff with many bags and boxes of donations to this great cause.
The local female quartet “Lilium” joined forces with Community Home Health and Hospice, gathering donations for the Senior Wish program while performing at Wal-Mart. The Senior Wish program has been a wonderful way for CNS to show appreciation to a generation of hard-working, independent seniors that now may be suffering with illness and debility. Since the programs initiation in June of 2010, a total of seventeen wishes have been granted with five pending! There is much anticipation of expanding this program in 2011.
The entire staff of Community Nursing Services Home Health and Hospice wish to thank all the organizations and individuals that have made our “blitz of holiday cheer” a huge success!
We wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!”
Many doctors believe that individuals who recover at home have significantly better outcomes than those
who recover in an inpatient facility.
After a serious injury, illness or surgery, around the clock aid is often required. Home health should be
considered when the patient reaches a point when they don’t need full time care.
Home health care refers to medical care given in the patient’s home provided by Healthcare
professionals such as nurses or therapists, is often referred to as skilled care. While home care is done
by caregivers such as friends and family. These volunteers serve on a more informal basis, helping with
the activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing, toileting and going from room to room.
CNS can coordinate all aspects of in home patient support with our cadre of nurses, therapists, aides
and volunteers as well as working with the patient’s family. Call or click if you or a loved one requires
care at home cns-cares.org/refer
Palliative care approaches an individual patient and their family with a team of doctors, nurses, social workers and clergy with a cope with pain and symptoms as well as the emotional and spiritual components of the patients diagnosis. Anytime a patient is diagnosed with a life-limiting illness we think this important aspect of health care should be introduced. The benefits of palliative care is outlined in this article. Patients Live Longer with Palliative Care
If you are interesting in palliative care or hospice we can help go to cns-cares.org.
CNS - Community Nursing Services 