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In this episode, Steve Barlam, LivHOME’s Chief Professional Officer, explores the importance of seniors achieving the proper balance in life, focusing on four key types of balance: physical, psychological, social and spiritual. He discusses how to recognize proper balance, the steps necessary for seniors to be able to develop this balance, whether it can be achieved alone or requires outside help, and how balance may vary for different people and change over the course of a lifetime.

In this episode, Steve Barlam, LivHOME’s Chief Professional Officer, explores the topic of communication between adult children as their senior parents begin to need assistance. Topics include: the perception that one child ends up with the lion’s share of responsibility for his or her aging parents, the question of whether this child really does need to go it alone, and how the child with this responsibility can go about discussing the issue with his or her siblings to get them involved in their parents’ care.

In this episode, Kirsten Goulde, LivHOME’s Vice President of Human Resources, explains California Assembly Bill 241 and its implications for seniors and their families. The law, effective Jan. 1, eliminates the existing overtime pay exemption for personal attendants – this includes caregivers – meeting certain criteria. Topics include: what this means in terms of increased costs for seniors in need of both hourly and 24-hour care, the options seniors and their families have for addressing this situation, and why this is also relevant for those living outside the state of California.

In this episode, Cheryl Kuba, Executive Director of LivHOME’s Chicago office, explores the difficulties seniors face trying to eat well during the holidays. Topics include difficulties caused by the holiday season’s sumptuous meals, abundant alcohol, snacks and deserts; holiday foods that are the biggest problems for seniors; how adult children can prepare an appropriate dining experience for their senior loved ones; and ways that exercise can factor into the holiday-meal picture for seniors.

In this episode, Steve Barlam, LivHOME’s Chief Professional Officer, explores the issue of seniors wandering from home and the prevention of this type of behavior, which can put seniors at great risk. Topics include warning signs that seniors may be prone to wandering, activity-based prevention based on the triggers of wandering, the role of caregivers and family members, and the use of technology and environmental factors to prevent wandering.

In this episode, Bunni Dybnis, LivHOME’s Director of Professional Services, discusses how caregivers and loved ones can help seniors attend important family events, such as weddings, graduations and religious milestones. She examines the challenges seniors face in attending even local events, situations where seniors need to travel long distances in order to participate, and the ways in which technology – such as LivHOME CareMonitor – can be used to attend these events remotely.

In this episode, Bunni Dybnis, LivHOME’s Director of Professional Services, explores the danger that falling poses to seniors and looks at ways to prevent fall-related injuries. Specifically, she discusses the reasons why seniors fall, the consequences not only of actual falls but of the fear of falling, steps family members and caregivers can take to prevent falls, and some things that should be avoided when looking to reduce the likelihood of falls.

In this episode, Steve Barlam, LivHOME’s Chief Professional Officer, explores the technology available in senior care today, how it’s changing the senior care model, and the importance of technology-enhanced care for seniors, family members, physicians, elder care attorneys and other professionals. He also discusses LivHOME’s new LivHOME CareMonitor® service, which enables Care Managers to look after seniors remotely, and examines just how this cutting-edge service can help seniors stay independent longer.

In this episode, Steve Barlam, LivHOME’s Chief Professional Officer, explores the importance of holiday traditions, which are some of the most meaningful interactions families can have. He explains just why the holidays are so important for seniors, provides some great examples of seniors’ holiday traditions, and offers advice on how family members and caregivers can help seniors overcome limitations and carry on with their holiday traditions.

In this episode, Randi Israel, a LivHOME Care Manager in Skokie, Ill., examines a common but unfortunate issue that arises as married seniors age – the death of one spouse. She explores a number of aspects of the grieving process including: what to expect with normal, or healthy, grieving; times of year or events that can be particularly difficult for a surviving spouse; and signs that grief has turned to something more dangerous, such as depression.

In this episode, Steve Barlam, LivHOME’s Chief Professional Officer, examines home safety, a particularly important issue given that one in three seniors age 65 and older suffers falls each year. He addresses topics including: the most common reasons for falls and ways to avoid them, the importance of home security for seniors, the value of having an emergency supply kit in the home, and home safety issues for seniors suffering from dementia.

In this episode, Steve Barlam, LivHOME’s Chief Professional Officer, explores the issue of hospital readmissions, which has drawn increased focus from the federal government. Topics include: how hospital readmissions have become a major health issue, the reasons people are readmitted to the hospital after discharge, the importance of this issue for seniors, and what seniors and their families and caregivers can do to reduce the likelihood of readmissions.

In this episode, Steve Barlam, LivHOME’s Chief Professional Officer, discusses how to work with a senior loved one to decide between assisted living and home care when the senior can no longer function independently. He addresses a number of topics including: how families might begin this discussion, the pros and cons of assisted living, the value of home care as an option, and the natural inclination of families to rush through this sometimes difficult process.

In this episode, Steve Barlam, LivHOME’s Chief Professional Officer, addresses the topic of anticipatory grief, which can occur, for example, when a senior is suffering from a terminal illness. He addresses topics including: how families can handle such situations and keep their sadness from impacting the last days with their senior loved one; what family members can do to help seniors in hospice care; ways to deal with holidays and birthdays, which can be difficult for seniors in these situations; and ideas for helping still-healthy seniors deal with sadness during holidays.

In this episode, Steve Barlam, LivHOME’s Chief Professional Officer, discusses the challenges facing those who care for seniors suffering from dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease. He suggests finding ways to balance caregiving efforts with the caregiver’s own needs in areas such as self care vs. care for the senior, safety vs. dignity, holding on vs. letting go, and doing it all vs. having others help out.

In this episode, Steve Barlam, LivHOME’s Chief Professional Officer, walks us through some summertime travel destinations that are particularly well suited to seniors. He discusses the attributes that make travel destinations a good choice for seniors, issues to watch out for when planning trips, specific travel ideas for seniors such as national parks, cruises and resorts, and major cities that are worth a visit.

In this episode, Steve Barlam, LivHOME’s Chief Professional Officer, discusses the importance of aftercare following a hospitalization and how to organize an aftercare program to make sure nothing falls through the cracks. Topics include dividing the aftercare effort into two components – pre-discharge and post-discharge – how daily caregiving tasks can be impacted by aftercare needs, and ways that families can deal with the pressures of providing aftercare to their loved ones.

In this episode, Mary Beth Hardy, LivHOME’s Midwest Regional Director, discusses the importance of fitness for seniors. She addresses a number of topics including how to incorporate an exercise program into a senior’s overall care, the types exercises recommended for improving fitness, how an exercise program helped one senior achieve an important personal goal, and tips for sticking with a new fitness program over the long term.

In this episode, Darlene Mann, a LivHOME Care Manager in Southern California, discusses the issue of advance directives. She addresses a number of topics including the difference between a living will and a durable power of attorney, what caregivers and care managers can do to assure that advance directives are in place and accurately reflect the senior’s wishes, and tips on raising the issue of advance directives with seniors.

In this episode, Steve Barlam, Chief Professional Officer of LivHOME, speaks to the important topic of protecting vulnerable seniors. He breaks down the vulnerabilities likely to strike seniors into four specific areas: physical, emotional, financial and cognitive. Importantly, Steve addresses these from the point of view of protecting seniors before their vulnerabilities lead to serious problems.