Senior Care – St. Louis, MO Senior Helpers header image
St. Louis  | St. Charles County  | Warren County  | Franklin County  | Lincoln County

Spring Cleaning Help for Seniors Checklist

Mar 28th, 2011
by Senior Helpers.
No comments yet

Spring is a great time of year to think about taking stock of the overall safety of your loved one’s home. Here is a task checklist of Spring-cleaning help for seniors in your life that will enable your senior, or disabled loved ones, to maintain their independence better and ensure safety in their own home or apartment.

Spring Cleaning Help Checklist for Seniors and Caregivers

  • Take stock of the medicine cabinet, as suggested by Medical News Today. Check all items for expiration dates. Are the medications stored in their own containers? Are they stored in a cool, dry place? Discard any unused medications.
  • Replace the batteries in all smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors. Run a test to ensure they are working properly.
  • Check to make sure the home has a fire extinguisher that has been inspected within the past year. Offer a brief instruction on using the device. Even if you think your loved one might not remember, it’s wise to keep a fire extinguisher in an obvious location easily accessible to friends, relatives or neighbors.
  • Clean up clutter. Clutter increases the risk for falls, fire and other problems such as insects or rodents. Remove unnecessary furniture that obstructs the traffic flow, organize cabinets so that the most frequently used items are easily accessible, and throw away any old items from the pantry, refrigerator, closets, basement, or attic that are out of date or never used.
  • Create an emergency plan. Set the speed dial on the phone for emergency contacts. Appoint a neighbor as an emergency backup. If your loved one lives in a senior apartment complex, find a friendly neighbor and implement the buddy system; they should each keep an eye out for problems and have contact information for one another’s emergency contacts.

Spring Cleaning Means Repetitive Lifting – Get Help for Your Seniors

Spring house cleaning for seniors often means lifting heavy items, repetitive movements, and stress on the upper body, which leads to injuries for one-third of all seniors in the United States, according to the Home Safety Council. If you or your loved ones need help with cleaning services for the elderly, contact Senior Helpers STL. We have experienced Home Helpers and Caregivers who can easily help the elderly with their spring-cleaning chores.

Call Senior Helpers STL Locally at: 636-695-3140
www.seniorcare-stl.com

Posted in: Aging Parents at Home, Caregivers, Fall Prevention, Help for Seniors with Disabilities, House Cleaning, Senior Care, St. Louis Caregiver Support.

St. Louis Errand Service for Seniors

Mar 16th, 2011
by Senior Helpers.
No comments yet

When seniors cannot or do not drive their own automobiles any longer, they do not have to give up their independence and freedom to get out and about. Our St. Louis errand service for seniors provides a host of senior errand services, such as:

  • Grocery, hardware and personal shopping
  • Gift shopping
  • Prescription pick-up/drop-off
  • Meal delivery from your favorite restaurants
  • Going to the bank/post office/courthouse/utility office
  • Checking in after storms, heat waves and cold snaps
  • Transportation to doctor/dentist appointments, hairdresser appointments, church/synagogue and social activities
  • And more

Transportation Help for Seniors and Home Caregivers

With our errand service for seniors in St. Louis, there is no more worrying about how you will get your shopping done, keeping an appointment or having to get out in bad weather. Seniors can have all their daily errands taken care of promptly by our trust-worthy, fully insured drivers. Additionally, seniors are not relegated to the confines of their home either, once they give up driving, but by using our elderly errand services, they, themselves, can take part in the errands that keep them mobile and socially active.

Our door-to-door senior errand services at Senior Helpers STL are insured, affordable, personal, convenient, reliable and safe. The customized errand services for seniors we provide will bring what you need to you or take you where you need to go, and do not forget, Senior Helpers also provides in-home caregiver services for your seniors and loved ones that need help at-home.  We can assist with medical transportation, companionship, or even with some medical care services.  Contact us about your family’s needs.

Contact Senior Helpers STL for Our St. Louis Errand Service for Seniors
Call Senior Helpers Locally at: 636-695-3140

Posted in: Caregivers, Help for Seniors with Disabilities, Medical Transportation Services, Senior Care, Senior Nutrition, St. Louis Caregiver Support, senior transportation.

Home Companion for Seniors with Disabilities

Mar 2nd, 2011
by Senior Helpers.
2 comments

When nursing home or full home health care is not needed, a home companion for seniors with disabilities – whether the disabilities are temporary or permanent – helps to minimize the effects of the illness or disability by removing the senior’s isolation and enhancing their overall well-being. Our home companions are specially trained in communicating with persons who have Alzheimer’s and related Dementia, Hearing Loss, Aphasia, and other senior disabilities that ensure a higher level of care for our clients.

Companion services for disabled seniors include helping the senior with everyday tasks such as going to the store and other shopping, running errands, taking out the trash, medication reminders, preparing a simple meal, basic housekeeping chores, or provide transportation to doctor’s appointments or social activities.

To improve the quality of their of life, keep their minds sharp, and their bodies physically active as is possible, home companions at Senior Helpers engage frail and disabled seniors in recreational activities such as board games, card games, puzzles and more. They also provide daily life activities such as reading to seniors or watching TV with them. And our companions to seniors are great listeners if the senior just wants to talk.

Our home companions provide compassionate, caring and professional elderly care for the disabled that enables our clients to remain living independently in the comfort of their own home for the rest of their days, or for as long as possible. The easiest way for you or your family to hire a professional, non-medical, home companion for a senior with disabilities, is by using our professional full-service Senior Helpers agency that can help consult on the type of care needed and match the right companion to assist with your senior’s needs.

Contact Senior Helpers STL Today for Our Home Companion Service for Seniors with Disabilities

Call Senior Helpers STL in the St. Louis Metropolitan Area – 636-695-3140
www.seniorcare-stl.com

Posted in: Caregivers, Help for Seniors with Disabilities, Senior Care, St. Louis Caregiver Support, St. Louis Senior Care News.

Guidelines for Healthy Cooking for the Elderly

Feb 10th, 2011
by Senior Helpers.
No comments yet

As a person ages their nutritional requirements change which influences the role of healthy cooking for the elderly. Here are some healthy cooking guidelines for providing healthy food for the elderly, or elderly parents and other seniors in your life, so they may enjoy more nutritious and healthy meals, as well as, help them avoid diet-related problems.

  1. Choose organic foods over non-organic. A large percentage of pesticides and herbicides used in growing foods are considered carcinogenic which may compromise a senior’s already more fragile health with potentially poisonous chemicals.
  2. As a general rule, portion sizes should be smaller for seniors. Seniors do not need as much food as they did in their 30’s.
  3. Include plenty of foods rich in fiber to help seniors stay regular, as constipation often afflicts the elderly. Leafy green veggies, whole grains, and sprouted grain products are especially good.
  4. Serve cultured and fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kefir, and yogurt, which will aid in digestion and promote a healthy gut. The digestive processes slow with age and a healthy digestive tract is important for optimal assimilation of nutrients.
  5. Cook dishes full of flavor and aroma. Serving a wide variety of flavorful, aromatic foods throughout the week can keep an elderly person interested in eating.
  6. Be especially careful when handling raw chicken and meat to avoid cross-contamination as elderly people are more susceptible to food-borne illness. Wear gloves and sanitize cutting boards, knives, and countertops with a mild bleach solution.
  7. Encourage healthy snacking by having easy to grab pre-cut snacks ready to eat: carrot and celery sticks, cucumber slices, bell pepper strips, snow peas, broccoli, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, nuts, dried fruits, bananas, grapes, yogurt, cottage cheese, pitted olives, leftover cooked meats, cheese chunks, and grain crackers, for instance.

Following these practical tips for healthy cooking for the elderly should go a long way toward helping your aging loved ones stay healthy and active in their golden years.  And, if you need assistance, our senior caregivers in St. Louis and surrounding suburbs can assist you with cooking, grocery shopping, errands, and general care for elderly parents or seniors.

Call Senior Helpers STL Locally at: 636-695-3140

www.seniorcare-stl.com

Posted in: Senior Care, Senior Health, Senior Nutrition.

Home Cleaning Help for Seniors

Feb 8th, 2011
by Senior Helpers.
No comments yet

We know it’s hard to ask for help, but often older adults need just a little living assistance to aid in keeping their home clean and tidy. Our home cleaning help for seniors in the St. Louis area enables the elderly to remain independent in their own home for the present, and as long as possible in the future. The professional, thorough housekeeping services we offer ensure that your senior loved one is living in a safe, healthy environment where everything is in its place.

Housekeeping Services for Seniors Include:

  • Light Housekeeping
  • Meal Preparation and Cleanup
  • Changing Linens and Bed Making
  • Organizing Closets and Pantries
  • Laundry
  • Ironing

Our home services for seniors also includes bathing, dressing and walking assistance, errands and shopping help, transportation to medical appointments, medication reminders, providing care for pets and plants, and other home cleaning help for seniors.

Companionship, Care and Home Cleaning Help for Seniors

We employ in-home care assistants who are fully experienced, reliable, flexible and competent at what they do. They provide non-medical, in-home care giving, and companionship to seniors who need assistance with everyday homemaking chores – and daily life activities – in the comfort of their own home. Our caring helpers are dedicated to providing comprehensive, personalized cleaning services and other in-home support services with the highest standard of excellence.

We are committed to improving quality of life through our home services for seniors while respecting their dignity and independence. What we have discovered is that the people who use our in-home help for seniors come to love the people who provide our services. And the feeling is mutual on our end. It’s about getting the help and so much more – it’s about adding joy and independence back into the senior’s life.

Call Senior Helpers in St. Louis, Locally, at: 636-695-3140

www.seniorcare-stl.com

Posted in: Senior Care, Senior Health, St. Louis Caregiver Support.

We Provide Transportation for Medical Appointments for Seniors in the St. Louis Area

Feb 4th, 2011
by Senior Helpers.
2 comments

At Senior Helpers, we provide compassionate, personalized, transportation for medical appointments in the St. Louis metropolitan area (and St. Louis County and St. Charles County) as part of our senior assistance services. Our helpers will transport our clients to a doctor’s office, dentist’s office, optometrist’s office, audiologist’s office, health clinics, a rehabilitation facility, a dialysis center, pharmacies, etc., for non-emergency medical services by appointment. We can remain with the senior for the duration of the medical services appointment. Our medical transport service attendants will then drive them back to their residence once they are finished.

Senior Helpers medical transportation service eliminates the worry and stress associated with getting to and from your medical providers’ office. Our many senior customers appreciate the extra care and assistance they receive from our drivers, which is often needed after a procedure. Our drivers are experts in gentle driving procedures ensuring a safe, comfortable ride to and from medical appointments in the St. Louis area.

Senior transportation for medical appointments is a service in St. Louis available direct from Senior Helpers.  We do need to schedule transportation for visits to doctors, clinics or for laboratory testing a minimum of 24 hours in advance. When calling for medical appointments’ transportation, please have the following information ready: your pickup address, date, time and address of appointment.

Additionally, once authorized, we can pick up medications for seniors from your local St. Louis area pharmacies.  Besides picking up prescriptions, we can pick up medical supplies, devices and other equipment from you local medical supply store. Transportation is available upon request for our clients. And, we can arrange for a home health care aide to assist in the home following more serious procedures. Our nurses can also visit seniors and distribute medications for daily dosing so that your loved one will have the correct dosage of medications ready every day.

At Senior Helpers St. Louis, we are dedicated to providing exceptional service for all of your medical needs. All drivers have excellent driving records, are fully insured, licensed and are happy to assist seniors with local transportation.

Contact Senior Helpers to Learn About Our Senior Transportation Services

Call Senior Helpers in Saint Louis, Missouri, at: 636-695-3140

Posted in: Medical Transportation Services, Senior Care, Senior Health, St. Louis Caregiver Support, senior transportation.

Tips for Taking Care of an Aging Parent

Jan 26th, 2011
by Senior Helpers.
1 comment

If you are taking care of an aging parent in your home or at their home, you may want to consider following a few of these helpful tips. Being a caretaker for someone who is elderly, especially a parent can almost feel unnatural. The tables are turned and you can easily fall into the trap of treating your aging parent like a child. And they are not children! They have their dignity and they deserve your full respect. So please remember to make them feel important.

Aging Parent Care Tips

1. Ask what your parent wants to eat. Don’t just serve whatever you feel like serving. Ask for a grocery list and buy the foods that he or she wants.

2. Ask your parent how he or she feels. Listen to them complain about their aches and pains. Let them complain all they want. You don’t need to cure them, you just need to listen.

3. Play games with your elderly parent–card games, dice games, board games…keep them thinking!

4. Take them on rides on nice days. Ask them where they would like to go. A trip to the cemetery, visiting acquaintances or a ride in the country is actually both comforting and exhilarating for your aging parent.

5. Give them their own space as much as possible. Give them their own room with a TV, phone, etc. If you can’t do that, at least make sure they have a chair that belongs to them–and only them–and put it near a window with a little table that holds their books, sewing, glasses, or other personal items. Just give them some space that is their own.

6. Offer to read to them. Or get them some books on tape. Or let them listen to the radio. Or get your kids to sing to them.

7. Ask for their advice! They love knowing that you care about their opinion. Ask for their advice and listen to what they say! They are usually right!

And don’t forget, taking care of an aging parent can be rewarding in so many ways that you may not fully appreciate the task until later in your own life.

Contact Senior Helpers in Saint Louis, Missouri, to Learn About Our Local Senior Companion Services

Call Senior Helpers in Saint Louis, MO, at: (636) 695-3140

Posted in: Aging Parents at Home, Caregivers, Senior Care, St. Louis Caregiver Support.

Grocery Shopping for Seniors Guide

Jan 14th, 2011
by Senior Helpers.
No comments yet

Grocery shopping for seniors is different from grocery shopping for a family. Many seniors live alone and have no one to help them lift heavy food or housecleaning products; or to help with difficult-to-open containers or cans. When assisting with grocery shopping for seniors, careful consideration should be given to the items that are purchased for them. The products must be easy to handle, easy to open, easy to store, and smaller in size than bulk family products.

Easy to Handle Products

The elderly do not have the strength in their hands or arms as they once did when they were younger. Lifting bottles of detergent, cleaning supplies, milk, juice, coffee and other products found in large containers can be cumbersome or just plain difficult. It may cost more for the smaller containers, but it’s easier for them to lift. Buy milk and juice in quart bottles, coffee in 1 lb cans, laundry detergent and cleaning supplies in the smallest size, ketchup and mustard in small bottles, as well as mayonnaise and salad dressings in easy-to-open bottles.

Easy to Open Items

Make sure aspirin and over the counter medications are in easy-to-open bottles instead of childproof bottles. When purchasing canned products, such as soup, vegetables, fruit or meat, look for the pop-top cans so the senior does not have to use a hand can opener. Look for cereal and frozen products, such as frozen veggies, in easy to open bags.

Smaller Size Portions

When it comes to perishable food, think small portions. Ask the butcher to package just chicken breasts individually, pork chops, and 1/2 pound packages of hamburger and fish instead of larger packages. Look for tuna, vegetables, and fruit in small cans. Try buying the fruit in the individual containers. The individual containers are great for puddings and other snacks as well. Buy ice cream in pints and look for individually packaged novelties. For bread, consider Pepperidge Farm or specialty breads. They have smaller slice sizes frequently.

It’s a different approach to shopping for groceries for the elderly than for a family. It’s not so much about saving money by buying large quantities in bulk as it is shopping for the senior’s convenience and ease. With a little practice, you can learn to effectively shop for the elderly. They will appreciate your assistance; and they will let you know when a grocery item doesn’t work for them.

Senior Helpers in St. Louis provides shopping for seniors or transportation assistance for seniors capable of shopping for themselves.

Contact Senior Helpers in St. Louis for Assistance with Grocery Shopping for Seniors or for Transportation Assistance

Call Senior Helpers Locally at: 636-695-3140

Posted in: Caregivers, Planning Ahead, Senior Care, Senior Health, Senior Nutrition.

What Is the Purpose of a Living Will?

Nov 9th, 2010
by Senior Helpers.
No comments yet

Purpose of a Living Will

A living will gives a person some say in the medical decisions that must be made while they can’t respond.  If Terry Sciavo (from our last post) had a Living Will that stated in the proper legal fashion, she wanted all life-saving and life-sustaining measures used to prolong her life, the results may have been very different for her.  But, who thinks of this stuff when they’re 25?

If someone is looking at the last years of their life, as their abilities are diminishing, their living will could say something entirely different.  Let’s say a person is in a situation where a stroke has left their 70 year old body in a “persistent vegetative state”.  After the experts have said there’s little hope and they’ve waited an appropriate amount of time for a miracle, would a person want to be kept hooked up to a feeding tube, charging their family $5,000 – $10,000 per month, for the years it may take for their heart to stop?  If a person’s heart does stop in this situation, does that person want others to take all heroic measures to restart it?

These are the kinds of issues that need to be answered in a living will so their loved ones won’t have to guess, or worse, so they won’t have to sue to get verbal wishes followed.  No one can answer these questions for a person…everyone is different.  A person’s answers will probably be very different at age 60 than at age 75, so, make the decisions for now and look at the document every couple years to make sure the situation and desires haven’t changed.

Posted in: Planning Ahead, Senior Care.

Senior Care: The Living Will

Nov 5th, 2010
by Senior Helpers.
No comments yet

Is a Living Will Important?

Of all the senior issues, this seems to be the most emotional, complex and controversial.  It’s a problem born of our great medical success.  Our medical understanding and technological ability enables us to keep a person’s body alive long after they’re done with it.  As recently as 100 years ago, we couldn’t keep someone’s heart and lungs working without the help of the brain.  Now, we can feed a person for decades after they’re unable to feed themselves.  These medical marvels are wonderful for saving lives.  Unfortunately, these breakthroughs have a frightening down side.  They can be used to prolong death from a process that takes a few days at most to months and even years.  People who will not get well, who have lived their lives and are ready to go are being kept alive by grieving loved ones and by medical laws that lean toward doing everything to prolong life even when there is no hope of healing.  So, what do we do?  Enter the Living Will, or Advance Directive.

Why Have A Living Will?

In 2004, there was a great debate over this issue that left both sides with a sinking feeling that they needed a document directing those in the health care profession in the event they couldn’t speak for themselves.  Terry Sciavo had a medical problem at around age 25 that landed her on a feeding tube for more than a decade.  Her husband and parents disagreed whether she should continue or have the tube removed.  Because she left no directive to state her wishes, the fight went to the courts, to Congress and, eventually, after many millions of dollars had been spent, they directed her feeding tube be removed.  She died within a couple weeks.  This isn’t to take one side or another, just to stress the importance of a living will.  A person must place directions for what to do when they can’t speak for themselves or they could put their loved ones into a decade long struggle with each other and with the health care establishment.

Posted in: Planning Ahead, Senior Care.

← Earlier Posts
Newer Posts →