Care A Gram FEBRUARY 2017 A Special Monthly Newsletter for Caregivers Making the Most of Physician Office Visits! EDUCATION CORNER Face-to-face time with our physicians is often short. How can we make the most of these visits when securing care for our loved ones with Alzheimer s disease or related neurocognitive disorders? Inside this issue: Making the Most of Physician Office Visits! 1 Here are tips from the National Institutes of Health National Institute on Aging Division, and the Center for Advancing Health (CFAH): 1 Make a written list of the topics you wish to discuss with the physician and the questions you want to ask If your loved one can contribute, add his/her topics to the list Prioritize what you are concerned about so that you can plan to discuss the most important issues first Write a list of any recent changes in: health behavior medications or possible side effects of medications Making the Most of Physician Office Visits! Continued Support Group Schedule Family Nurse Consultants February Special Events 2 3 4 5 Creative Corner 6 Write a list of any new symptoms, such as changes in: sleep patterns toileting patterns eating/drinking anxieties ability to walk, get in and out of chairs and bed, etc. Do these symptoms worsen at a particular time or day, or shortly after a medication is given? 1 https://www.nia.nih.gov/, http://www.cfah.org At Alzheimer's Community Care Character Counts! The mission of Alzheimer s Community Care is to promote and provide specialized, quality, compassionate care within a community-based environment to patients and caregivers living with Alzheimer s disease and related disorders. Sponsored by Alzheimer s Community Care, Inc. and the State of Florida Department of Elder Affairs, State of Florida Agency for Health Care Administration and the Area Agency on Aging Palm Beach/Treasure Coast Inc.
Page 2 Care A Gram Bring all medication bottles to the visit - including any over-the-counter medications, vitamins and other supplements your loved one takes. Why is this better that a LIST? A list may be incomplete perhaps missing a medication, or missing the dosage or number of doses per day, etc. The actual LABEL has far more information for the physician to review, such as: prescription (serial) number date of initial dispensing directions for use name and strength of the drug - or active ingredient(s) name of the ordering physician name of dispensing pharmacist beyond-use date Many of our loved ones take multiple prescriptions. A thorough review should be part of every physician visit to ensure that all medications are still necessary. Does the benefit of the medication outweigh the possible side effects or possibly troublesome interactions with other necessary medications??? Ensure that the physician distinguishes symptoms from actual diseases. For example, dementia is a symptom, NOT a disease. Be prepared to ask Why does my loved one show symptoms of dementia?, or Why have the symptoms suddenly become worse? Neurocognitive disorders are slowly progressive. When your loved one s symptoms have suddenly worsened, there is often a treatable cause an illness, an early infection, a medication side effect, or pain! We do not want to assume that the new symptoms are just part of the Alzheimer s Use a notepad or your phone or other mobile device to record the answers to your questions and for noting any recommendations the physician provides. We acknowledge the National Institute on Aging and the Center for Advancing Health for providing these solid suggestions for getting the maximum benefit of physician office visits. While these recommendations go a long way to protect the health and well-being of our loved ones, they also apply to you, the caregiver! Safeguard your health by using these same tips when planning your physician visits. Alzheimer s Community Care s 20 th Annual Educational Conference is March 16/17! Plan to attend! New research initiatives and the latest theories on risk-reducing strategies will be front and center at the Conference! To register, call us at 561-683-2700 or register on our website: www.alzcare.org
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Care A Gram Page 4 Family Nurse Consultants Boca Raton & Highland Beach Lia Rinaldy, RN, 4800 Linton Blvd, Building D-502B Delray Beach, FL 33445 Phone: (561) 381-0231 Fax: (561) 381-1073 West Palm Beach Ingrid Navas, RN 800 Northpoint Parkway West Palm Beach, FL 33407 Phone: (561) 683-2700 Fax: (561) 683-7600 Belle Glade, Canal Point South Bay & Pahokee Jelena Curtis, LPN 470 Barack Obama Boulevard Pahokee, FL 33476 Phone: (561) 924-7283 Fax: (561) 924-6295 Delray & Boynton Beach Lia Rinaldy, RN, 4800 Linton Blvd, Building D-502B Delray Beach, FL 33445 Phone: (561) 381-0231 Fax: (561) 381-1073 Lake Worth Marcia Queres, RN 3680 Lake Worth Road Lake Worth, FL 33461 Phone: (561) 432-0668 Fax: (561) 357-7143 Palm Beach Gardens Diane McCarthy Greene, RN 800 Northpoint Parkway West Palm Beach, FL 33407 Phone: (561) 683-2700 Fax: (561) 683-7600 Wellington, Royal Palm Loxahatchee Eileen Pantoliano, RN, BSN 1925 Birkdale Drive Wellington, FL 33414 Phone: (561) 331-6576 Fax: (561) 508-6394 St. Lucie County TBD c/o St. Peter Lutheran Church 2900 South Jenkins Road Fort Pierce, FL 34981 Phone: (772) 460-9166 Fax: (772) 466-9562 West Lake Worth Marcia Queres, RN 3680 Lake Worth Road Lake Worth, FL 33461 Phone: (561) 432-0668 Fax: (561) 357-7143 Martin County Erika Turke, RN Towers Building 1111 South Federal Highway, Suite 116 Stuart, FL 34994 Phone: (772) 223-6351 Fax: (772) 219-2074 24 Hour Crisis Line - 1-800-394-1771
Care A Gram Page 5 Specialized Alzheimer s Care & Service Center Special Events Boca Raton 2/3 Rosa Park Tribute 2/9 Health Focus 2/14 Valentine s Day Party (Wear Red) 2/17 Pajamas Day 2/24 Wear Hat Day 2/27 Monthly Birthday Party Delray Beach 2 nd - Ground Hog Day 3 rd - Tail Gate Party 6 th - Sweetheart Week 10 th - Tu B Shevat 14th -Happy Valentine s Day Cruise to Paris, France on the Love Boat 16 th - Chicken Soup Day 20 th - President s Day 28 th - Mardi Gras Cruise Port of Call : New Orleans Lake Worth Friday Music Therapy w/ Tom Music Therapy w/ Elisha once a month 5th Health Focus with Joi 10th Hot Cocoa Social 14th Valentine s Day Party! 21st Celebrating Black History Month 28th Mardi Gras Celebration North Stuart Music Therapy w/ Josie Brown Music with Dana Mathews 2nd Special Heart Craft 5th Health Focus with Sizzley 13th Ferris Wheel Day! 14th Valentine s Day Party! 21st Celebrate Black History Month 23rd Grapefruit Snack 27th ALL ABOUT THE LEAP YEAR 28th Mardi Gras Celebration Wellington 2nd-Ground Hog Day 3rd- 1st Friday (Wear Red) 7th- Send a Card to A Friend Day 9th- Pizza Day 14th- Valentine s Day 17th- Monthly Birthday Party 20th- President s Day 24th- Health Focus Port St. Lucie 2nd- Groundhog Day 3rd- National Wear Red Day 7th- Send a card to a Friend 10th- National cream cheese Brownie day 14th- Valentine s Day 16th- National Almond Day 20th- U.S Presidents Day & Hoodie Hoo 24th- French Fry Day 28th- Fat Tuesday/Mardi Gras Leo & Anne Albert Center - Pahokee Black history trivia celebrated the month of February 9 th red & white day 10 th brown & pink day 13 th pink and white day 14 th fashion show 24 th national French fry Friday Palm Beach Gardens PIANO MUSIC AND SINGALONG WITH JOHN EVERY FRIDAY 1ST-SING-A-LONG WITH TINO 3RD-SUPER BOWL PARTY(WEAR YOUR FAVORITE FOOTBALL JERSEY) 8TH-CELEBRATE BIRDS(MAKE BIRD FEEDERS) 14TH-VALENTINES DAY PARTY 20TH-CELEBRATE PRESIDENTS DAY 27TH-HEALTH FOCUS 28TH-MONTHLY BIRTHDAY PARTY West Lake Worth 2/3 Wear Red Day 2/6 Super bowl Party Wear Sports Cap 2/14 Valentine s Day Party 2/20 President s Day 2/23 Spa Day 2/24 Health Focus 2/28 Mardi Gras Parade West Palm Beach 3rd Rep your favorite sports team 3rd super bowl party 14 th valentines party & wear red or pink 24 th Health Focus, Blue Jean Friday & National Chip Day Black History Throughout the Month Music with Tom & In Spirit TBA Fort Pierce 1 st Valentine s Decorations 3 rd Monthly Birthday Celebration 6th Easy poetry/origami Hearts 8th Mike & Nancy music band 13th Valentines around the globe 14th Valentines card exchange 16th Health focus 20th Family day cupcake social/ President s day history 27th Monthly Parlor Treatment
Care A Gram Creative Corner (Activities to do with loved ones at home) Valentine's see through jar As always, we encourage you to contact us with any feedback that you may have regarding our service. You can direct your comments to: Kris Riedell Chief Operating Officer 800 Northpoint Parkway Ste. 101-B West Palm Beach, FL 33407 Phone: 561-683-2700 Fax: 561-683-7600 E-mail: kriedell@alzcare.org We place a safety net around patients and caregivers every day. We re on the Web! www.alzcare.org Find us on Facebook http:// www.facebook.c om/alzcareorg & Join us on Twitter Supplies: 1 clean wide mouth quart jar Vinyl Vinyl cutting machine Paint Scrap fabric Bakers twin or ribbon Sand paper Gift tag Directions: To start out use a Silhouette cutting machine to cut out an X and an O. Each of the letters should measure 2.25 inches tall. Next tip the jar upside down and paint the whole thing. You can use chalk paint or spray paint. Also spray painted the lid ring red. After you finish painting remove the vinyl. The after all of the paint is dry fill the jar with some sweet treats and embellished it. Use a puncher to make a hole in the tag and thread the bakers twine or ribbon through it. Cut enough fabric to cover the top of the jar. Tie the ribbon with the tag round the jar lid. Submitted by: Paulo Borchani-Torres, CNA - Activity Coordinator Fort Pierce Specialized Day Center