Rehab Select Blog

Caring for a family member with dementia, whether in a care facility or at home, may seem like a daunting challenge. Dementia changes the way the person remembers, communicates, and behaves. The personality and abilities of the person you once knew may change.

When your family is impacted by Alzheimer’s, you may feel tremendous responsibility to care for your loved one and feel as though a nursing home is the last resort. However, modern improvements in technology and standards of care make Alzheimer’s care centers one of the most respected resources available to you and your family.  

According to the Alzheimer's Association, at least 15 million family members care for a loved one with Alzheimer's disease or another kind of dementia. These unpaid individuals provide most memory care in the United States, at times jeopardizing their careers, finances, and mental and physical well-being in the process. 

When looking for comprehensive care for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia, a memory care community can offer the right support. Clinicians and therapists understand the needs of those with memory conditions, and many aspects of the environment are structured to provide the right level of assistance and security. 

Living with Alzheimer’s or dementia is challenging, and caring for a loved one struggling with these conditions can be stressful. But you don't have to do this alone.

Many people outside of healthcare mistakenly confuse dementia with Alzheimer’s, yet the two are very different conditions. While both can affect memory, there are clear distinctions. What follows is a look at what these differences can mean for patient symptoms, long-term outlook and patient memory care need. 

A fall can be an unpleasant situation for anyone. For a senior citizen or someone with a physical injury or disability, however, this type of situation can be a disastrous one that leads to significant damage. The bathroom is a particularly dangerous area in which falls can happen, for two main reasons: surfaces in bathrooms, including floors, are usually hard and slick; and people generally use water in bathrooms, which can make these slick surfaces even more slippery. Luckily, there are a few fall prevention tips that can be followed to minimize the risk of falling while in the bathroom.

If you’ve been told––or suspect––you need an occupational therapy evaluation, the next steps can sometimes feel a bit overwhelming. How do you select the right provider? What should you expect during the evaluation, and what questions should you ask?

Although you may think of occupational therapists working mainly with people with chronic conditions over considerable time, they also can work in hospitals as part of acute care teams. In fact, over 27% of occupational therapists work in a hospital setting, largely supporting teams in emergency medicine, intensive care, critical care, urgent care, and trauma care.

Falling is the number one cause of injuries – and injury death – among older Americans. It is somewhat shocking to discover that roughly one third of seniors in the United States experience a fall of some type every year that results in a trip to a hospital emergency room. In fact, fall related injuries have become so common for seniors that many physicians think of it as an epidemic, annually damaging the health of millions of otherwise healthy Americans.