Caregiving and Co-dependency: How Guilt and Shame Develop

This is a short explanation of the caregiving process and how one goes from a caring helper to a guilt laden and often shamed caregiver filled with anger and even resentment.

See more at http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1693591/caregiving_and_codependency_how_guilt.html

Interactive Caregiving for Seniors: Our Elders Deserve to Be Treated with Respect and Dignity
Brief description of interactive caregiving and why it might be the best way to provide care to our seniors.
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/1013156/interactive_caregiving_for_seniors.html

Caregiver Stress: Increasing Frustration with an Elderly Loved One
Review of how seniors often exhibit behaviors that are difficult to deal with including being irrational and uncooperative in regards to their safety needs. Suggestions are given how to decrease caregiver stress.
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/891505/caregiver_stress_increasing_frustration.html

Have you seen this duck? Not-to-be-Forgotten ntbf duck

Sitting a cool 12 foot tall, this ntbf duck is on the corner of Sproul Rd andTownship Line Rd in Springfield, PA. The mascot of the Duck Derby for ntbf, the duck represents all the little ducks that can be adopted for $5 each and then raced in the derby. The donation goes to the Not-To-Be-Forgotten foundation that helps to grant wishes for elderly in Delaware County, Pa and also assists with such things at heating for seniors who cannot afford to pay. If interested in learning more, go to www.ntbff.org

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Business Expo Morton PA

2nd Annual OLPH Business Expo – The Ultimate Networking Opportunity

Morton, PA, April 2009  The Business Persons Network of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, Morton is hosting its second annual Business Expo Thursday evening, April 23 from 7:00  9:00 in the parish hall, 2130 Franklin Ave. The Expo is free and open to the public. There will be refreshments and door prizes Parishioners, representing dozens of companies, trades, and fields, invite guests to enjoy an evening of networking, information, and prospecting. Exhibitors include but are not limited to: 1. ACN 2. Alayne Bell Design 3. Albert Cippoloni Jr. & Sons Inc. 4. All State Insurance Company 5. American Picture Framing 6. Arbonne International 7. C-21 Adele Shaw & Associates 8. Compliance Consultants Inc. 9. Delco Chamber of Commerce 10. EZ Living Concepts 11. Golf Ball Man 12. Keller Williams Real Estate 13. Knights of Columbus 14. McGuire Green Grass Service 15. Northwestern Mutual 16. Oliver Heating & Cooling 17. PRCoordinates 18. Respect Life Committee 19. Silpada Designer Jewelry 20. Sovereign Bank 21. Comfort Keepers
Lorraine Ranalli, author of Gravy Wars | South Philly Foods, Feuds & Attytudes, will sign copies of her book and donate a portion of each sale to the parish. Please direct inquiries to PR Coordinates, 610-338-0229 or info@PRCoordinates.com. The OLPH Business Persons Network comprises a diverse group of Christian business people who hold strong moral values in business practice and a desire to improve the parish community by sharing ideas, networking, and supporting the parish in its daily mission.

Unsung hero: Guitar with Gloria she plays songs to cheer up the elderly in nursing homes and other venues

This is an unsung hero:
Gloria Hoffner’s by-line was familiar through the years to readers of Town Talk, the Delaware County Daily Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer. But her love of music has taken her down a far different path from that of the printed word.Hoffner, 53, of Upper Providence, left her career in journalism about two years ago when newspapers began to downsize. Instead of pad and pen, she picked up a guitar and now performs at nursing homes and senior citizen centers throughout the region and as far northeast as the Pocono Mountains.

“I do sing-a-longs,” Hoffner said. “My whole focus is to get the audience to sing along. I bring all the old favorites and ‘jingle sticks’ and song books for everyone. If I make people happy, that’s my goal.”

As a student at Temple University, Hoffner majored in journalism with a minor in music. Her first writing job out of college was as a part-time reporter for Town Talk in 1976. From there she went to the Daily Times as a community correspondent and then to the Inquirer, writing for the old Neighbors section.

Hoffner covered suburban education, the police blotter, wrote feature stories, business page and state page stories. “And one sports story on the Flyers,” she recalled.

“It was a great run,” Hoffner said of her 21 years with the Philadelphia newspaper. “I wanted to be a reporter since I was in seventh grade, that’s because I could not be an astronaut.”

Hoffner is serious about her space ambitions. When she was growing up in Ridley Park she wrote to NASA and said she wanted to be an astronaut.

“I got a form letter from NASA telling me what courses to take in college and at the bottom of the letter was a handwritten note that said ‘we don’t accept women’,” Hoffner said.

Along her career path Hoffner met and married Jim McCall and gave birth to two sons, Richard, 27, and Stephen, 23. The couple has been together 31 years. McCall is with the Sherwin Williams Paint Company. Richard graduated from the Delaware County Municipal Police Academy and is in private security work and Stephen will graduate in May from Delaware County Community College with a degree in business.

“I loved being a reporter and I met fabulous, interesting people,”

Hoffner said. “The part of being a reporter I really liked was meeting people who made a difference. I always thought a reporter was a small cog in a big machine that was able to connect people who needed other people. I like to be able to know I made a difference.”

Hoffner said meeting Eunice Shriver, sister of President John F. Kennedy and founder of the Special Olympics, and Mother Theresa, the nun from India who enriched the lives of so many people, as the highlights of her newspaper career as was winning a Sigma Delta Chi journalism award.

Hoffner never lost sight of her love of music through the years. She joined the Chichester Alumni Community Band, playing baritone horn, which she hadn’t played for 30 years.

“I went out and bought a horn and I said to Jim ‘if this doesn’t work out, Cardinal O’Hara (high school band) will get a horn donation,” she joked.

The baritone horn and Hoffner went well together and she is still with the alumni band.

On the lookout for a new and different career while she was still writing, Hoffner got a part-time job in the administration office of Broomall Presbyterian Village in Marple Township. She liked the work but continued writing. “I thought this was a good way to test the waters,” she explained.

On her resume for the nursing home job. Hoffner noted that she played the guitar. She taught that instrument while she was a student at Temple and played at weddings to help pay her college tuition.

“I was asked to play my guitar for the nursing home residents at dinner time and it was so much fun. The residents loved it,” Hoffner remembered.

That incident led Hoffner to the realization that it wasn’t too late for a new career path. In late 2006 she got her activities director certification in Pennsylvania and she now calls Jan. 2, 2007 – the day she was laid off – “independence day.”

Five months later Guitar With Gloria was born. Since then Hoffner has played at more than 150 different locations in the five county Philadelphia area and in Lehigh County. Some gigs are one-shot deals but many are regular commitments. She works five days a week and sometimes six. But she said it is not a full-day’s work.

“I am an extremely blessed person,” she said. “I’ve had two wonderful careers.” http://guitarwithgloria.com/

this article appeared in the Town Talk and County Press newspapers of allaroundphilly.com.

tips for fall prevention: have a senior or elderly loved one that may fall, unsteady gait, tips to help for mainline, Wayne PA, King of Prussia, Media, PA and delaware county

20 Tips for Fall Prevention for
Comfort Keepers® Clients and their Families

According to the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
• In the United States, one of every three people 65 years and older falls each year.
• 60 percent of seniors fall in their own homes
• Older adults are hospitalized for fall-related injuries five times more often than they are for injuries from other causes.
• Of those who fall, 20-30% suffer moderate to severe injuries that reduce mobility and independence, and increase the risk of premature death.

The client’s family can help our clients by remembering to follow these 10 fall prevention tips:
1. Make sure they have an annual medical check-up.
2. Make sure they have an eye examination at least once a year.
3. Have a pharmacist or physician review their medications to reduce interactions or side effects that might impede alertness and balance.
4. Install rails in appropriate places. (Towel racks may not be strong enough)
5. Replace the toilet with a higher toilet and/or install handrails.
6. Store eyeglasses within easy reach of the bed.
7. Arrange furniture so that outlets are available without the use of extension cords.
8. Wear proper footwear. Shoes, boots and slippers should provide good support and have good soles. Avoid loose slippers or stocking feet.
9. Add a strip along the edge of each step in a contrasting color to make it easier to see or use reflective anti-skid treads.
10. Keep often used items in cabinets you can reach easily without using a step stool.

Page 2

Comfort Keepers® can help our clients by remembering to follow these 10 fall prevention tips:
1. Involve them in regular physical exercise to increase their lower body strength and improve their balance.
2. Eliminate tripping hazards in the home such as throw rugs and clutter.
3. Improve lighting in all rooms, including night-lights along walkways.
4. After a shower or bath, wipe up water immediately to prevent slipping. Suggest non-slip mats in the bathtub and on the shower floor.
5. Suggest a shower seat. It will allow the client to shower without getting tired.
6. Make sure the hand rails of all stairs are sturdy and encourage the client to use them.
7. Suggest a portable commode near the bed to eliminate nighttime trips to the bathroom.
8. Use walking aids and other safety devices for extra safety.
9. Keep a telephone near your bed.
10. Store heavy items in lower cupboards.

There are many tools and materials available for teaching your clients and their families how to prevent a fall. Checkout the following websites for ideas:

- http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/duip/fallsmaterial.htm
- http://www.nsc.org/issues/fallstop.htm
– http://www.gethealthyclarkcounty.org/injury_prev/senior.html

Tea Party for the Elderly and loved ones, awareness of kind acts

Our Conscientious Acts of Kindness Campaign will kick off with a Tea Party in October of 2009. Our special guests will be members of the senior population in Delaware County who are invited to bring family members and friends. All groups in attendance must have a senior citizen (60+ years of age) as a member of their party. The Tea Party will act as an outreach program focused on connecting the generations, bringing awareness to senior issues and challenging the younger generations and the community at large to take a daily interest in those seniors whose lives cross paths with their own by making conscientious choices to assist seniors in their neighborhoods, in their communities and in their families with purposeful acts of kindness. For instance, bringing trash cans up from the curb on trash day, assisting in unloading a grocery cart at the grocery store, making sure their walkways are safe by shoveling their snow or raking leaves. Bring your daughters, sons and your seniors to the Tea Party on October 24, 2009 at Villanova Conference Center, Villanova, PA. To read more about ntbf, go to http://www.ntbff.org/. To see more about Tea Party, go to website and click on events. Cost of Tea Party is $12 per person.

PA Veterans Museum in Media, PA take your kids and your grandparents!

PA Veterans Museum

If you live in the southeastern part of PA or are visiting, I strongly encourage you to vist the PA Veterans Museum located in downtown Media right underneath Trader Joe’s on State Street. I had the privilege of going over there yesterday to meet a few veterans and I was just amazed at how professionally decorated and educational this museum is. Prior to going into the museum I assumed it might be glass cases with some artifacts but I never dreamed it would have large exhibits as shown in the picture above, video screens that show movies from the war and then has personalized accounts from veterans who live right there in the Delaware Valley area. It has many many things to see and read. What a great surprise to enter into this world of history about veterans who live and work right near my home. Recently the museum completed a movie on the Women in the Military so I encourage everyone to take their kids and grandparents to see these great displays of women valor and contributions to our nation. Thank you to all the Veterans who have served our country. Don’t miss this terrific museum and the best part is it is FREE. To see more about it go to:http://www.paveteransmuseum.org/

Networking Event for Women, Free Delaware County/Mainline Team Women Group

Springfield, PA – April 6, 2009 – The Mainline/ Delaware County Chapter of Team Women, a women only leads based networking group is hosting a FREE networking event on Tuesday, May 12, 2009 from 11:30 am to 1pm at Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union’s Brand New Springfield Branch located at 375 Baltimore Pike, Springfield, PA 19064 (next to Chuck E Cheese). Team Women (www.teamwomen.com) is an international networking group that has local chapters limited to one woman per core profession. Each group is open to 30 women maximum and the Mainline/Delaware County Chapter is looking for women who want an opportunity to promote their business while ensuring the business has exclusivity for leads generated. To rsvp for this FREE informational session and networking event, call Melody at 610-996-6550 or send e-mail: melodymchugh@comcast.net.