This morning on WPR (Wisconsin Public Radio), there was a fascinating discussion about how we can make the most of our remaining days, weeks, or years of life. Joy Cardin spoke with Dr. David Casarett, associate professor of medicine, Division of Geriatric Medicine, and Director of research and education Wissahickon Hospice, University of Pennsylvania, who is the author of "Last Acts: Discovering Possibility and Opportunity at the End of Life."
Dr. Casarett shares stories about the terminally ill patients he works with and how they discovered possibility and opportunity at the end of life. The conversation was primarily focused on patients who had received news that their remaining time on earth was limited; however, as one caller pointed out, in essence, everyone's time on earth is limited. It got me to wondering why we might only consider all of the things we love and desire to do when faced with a terminal diagnosis, why more people don't live their life this way regularly? We get so caught up in our day-to-day lives that we often take for granted that life is short.
The discussion also turned to the issue of the importance of advance directives and making our wishes known while we are still able. Why not do all that we can to "go out" on our own terms? This can often be difficult to think about, but very important. Just as we mentioned in a previous entry, we all want to remain in control and continue having our independence as we age; making our wishes known in advance is a great means of ensuring control, even when we may not have much (physically/mentally) when the time comes.
And I'm not just talking about the elderly or those who are terminally ill. We should all take the time to evaluate our values, our priorities, our passions and our purposes in life and take every possible step we can to ensure that these things are woven throughout every facet of our lives, from beginning to end. What do you think?
We've all heard those sayings - "Home is where the heart is" and the like. Judy Garland even proclaimed this sentiment in the classic movie The Wizard of Oz ("There's no place like..." well, you know the rest). Despite these common adages, when something goes wrong with our health, there is something about hospitals that seems to make us feel safe and secure (and for good reason). Hospitals are often necessary when we face challenges with our health, but what does homecare potentially have on hospital stays?
According to a Wall Street Journal article, a recently published study indicates that sepsis and pneumonia, two infections that can often be prevented with tight infection control practices in hospitals, killed 48,000 patients and added $8.1 billion to heath care costs in 2006 alone. The article goes on to say that researchers analyzed 69 million discharge records from hospitals in 40 states between 1998 and 2006; the length of stay and mortality rates for the infections didn't change substantially over time, the study found, and high infection rates persist. Click here to read more.
BrightStar Co-Founder and CEO Shelly Sun received one of the franchising industry's highest honors by the International Franchise Association as its Entrepreneur of the Year during its 50th Annual Convention on Sunday, February 7, 2010 in San Antonio, TX. In accepting this award, Shelly joins the ranks of J. Willard Marriott of Marriott Corporation and Frederick DeLuca of Subway, among others, as recipients of this prestigious award. Mrs. Sun is only the second female to receive this impressive award.
As she reflected on her successes, Shelly was quick to pay tribute to BrightStar locations providing the utmost in quality care each and everyday: "This award is a result of our franchisees' relentless daily efforts in providing our clients quality of life, and providing peace of mind to families across the country."
Sun thanked her mentors, peers and staff and went on to say, "We are blessed to be in the business of providing peace of mind to our clients by providing the highest quality, compassionate care and service; and we look forward to entering new cities and new markets where we'll be able to bring that service to families giving them dependability and comfort knowing their family is well cared for."
Congratulations, Shelly!
When families face the challenge of obtaining care for a loved one, or even when family members assume the caregiver role themselves, aside from ensuring the person providing care is qualified, there is nothing more important than compatibility. Especially as the patient's condition progresses and more time must be spent with a caregiver. See how it impacted Marilyn's mother, Carol:
In case you missed them, or maybe you're not even on Twitter yet, we wanted to re-cap all of @brightstarcare's Tweets for the month of DJanuary. We strive to share helpful articles, tools and Websites and hope the following will be of value to you. Enjoy!
Changing the traditional care model http://ow.ly/10XLW 12:05 PM Jan 27th
What do you do to incorporate activity throughout your day? http://ow.ly/10XKU 8:53 AM Jan 27th
RT @shellyasun A New Year's resolution for all families with aging loved ones http://ow.ly/10dX7 9:00 AM Jan 26th
What are you doing today, big or small, to stay active? http://ow.ly/10dWg 4:20 PM Jan 25th
Improving care by strengthening caregivers http://ow.ly/10dRG 3:10 PM Jan 25th
Doctor-Patient-Caregiver: (Finally) Three's Company for Family Caregivers http://ow.ly/10dFu 10:59 AM Jan 25th
Hiring prospects for 2010 good for healthcare http://ow.ly/10asY 9:14 AM Jan 25th
Thx for sharing! RT @caregiving Coping With Memory Loss As It Spans Generations (NPR): http://ow.ly/Zxrt 4:52 PM Jan 22nd
RT @brightfran Will there be a shortage of "livable communities" with the impending "Silver Tsunami?" http://ow.ly/Zv2y 4:00 PM Jan 22nd
@mike_gamble @dhorgan1000 @momlogic @caregiving @ElderCareRN @NursingNews #followfriday 2:59 PM Jan 22nd
Downsizing, less maintenance on the home "wish list" of aging Boomers http://ow.ly/Zv0e 2:55 PM Jan 22nd
Poison, car accidents and... sitting? Studies show sitting can be deadly. http://ow.ly/ZneN 9:49 AM Jan 22nd
Nothing can ever prepare even the most seasoned caregivers for this. RT @InsideElderCare Giving Back to Caregivers http://ow.ly/Z9sT 4:35 PM Jan 21st
RT @NursingNews FDA Approves New Drug for Rheumatoid Arthritis http://ow.ly/YMEp 5:36 PM Jan 20th
Your Opinion: Are relationships the fountain of youth? http://ow.ly/YC0o 2:10 PM Jan 20th
More on the "aging app" http://ow.ly/YBUW 9:58 AM Jan 20th
Do you think doctors and patients ready for virtual visits? http://ow.ly/YfZC 3:50 PM Jan 19th
How to Help when Both Elderly Parents are Ill and Declining: Happening today http://ow.ly/YfOT 12:00 PM Jan 19th
Thanks for the RT @dhorgan1000! 11:40 AM Jan 19th
We like to err on the side of the PAN principle: Plan Ahead Now http://ow.ly/Yff2 11:18 AM Jan 19th
Caring for Finances of Elderly and Aging Parents http://ow.ly/WWHn 2:24 PM Jan 15th
Very important issue! RT @mike_gamble Program Note: Dying Right: How to make end-of-life wishes known http://ow.ly/WWlQ 2:08 PM Jan 15th
Overmedication in the Nursing Home http://ow.ly/Vgks 3:05 PM Jan 11th
Caregivers, were you able to rest this holiday season? http://ow.ly/OYDN 4:06 PM Jan 8th
Best indicator of the future is the past: re-capping the month of December in Tweets: http://ow.ly/UiZ8 12:46 PM Jan 8th
It would be very helpful to more easily distinguish b/t Alzheimer's and normal aging http://ow.ly/THnX 10:02 AM Jan 7th
How can technology help us as we age? RT @caregiving Old Age, New Gizmos (NY Times) http://ow.ly/TpAy 1:42 PM Jan 6th
Beware post-quitting weight gain; turn old habits to healthy ones RT @HealthSociety Quitting smoking raises diabetes risk http://ow.ly/SKx9 5:29 PM Jan 4th
In case you missed them, we're re-capping the month of December in Tweets: http://ow.ly/SDdB 11:00 AM Jan 4th