The Aging Revolution Event, targeting boomers and seniors, will be held on June 11 at Park Royal

MEDIA ADVISORY

“THE AGING REVOLUTION” EVENT

Shifting the aging mindset means aging gracefully, purposefully and independently

Vancouver (May 26, 2011) – The Aging Revolution is a free community event designed to inspire seniors and boomers to age well and to increase their quality of life and health on all levels by igniting passion and purpose.   Participants at this full-day event will receive valuable information on aging and future care planning and can listen to key experts in the field speak on a variety of aging issues.  The event also provides valuable information on resources and features over 30 exhibitors.  Copeman Healthcare Centre is the presenting sponsor.  Other major sponsors include London Drugs, Home Care Assistance, Park Royal, North Shore Credit Union, Laz Boy, North Shore News, AM 650, Nognz and Investors Group.

When:  Saturday, June 11, 2011, 10:00 am – 4:30 pm

Where:  Park Royal South

Speakers:

Dr. Art Hister – media health analyst and author http://drart.ca/

“Taking Control of Your Life: A Simple Guide to a Longer and Better Life”   

Don Copeman – founder and CEO of Copeman Health Centre http://www.copemanhealthcare.com/

“Choose the Brain You Want”

Patty Randall – Expert, writer, speaker and media commentator on the topic of care in Canada http://www.longtermcarecanada.com/

“No Surprises Please…Aging Successfully in Today’s Canada = Having Care-Years Plans in Place!”

The event was co-founded by Jay and Carolina Orosa, owners of Home Care Assistance, a non-medical home care agency,and Christine Monaghan, an author and consultant who mentors entrepreneurs to build a lifestyle around career passion. The co-founders are on a mission to inspire boomers and seniors to re-write the inevitable aging process with grace, purpose and independence.  “We’re aging from the day we’re born and can choose to not just survive, but thrive well into our elder years”, says Ms. Monaghan. “The mindset of boomers is shifting as they dictate a very different aging experience for themselves.  There is a revolution taking place in the business of the aging and organizations are rising up to meet the challenge”.

“This event was created because of the existing perception that aging is something to be feared and there was little to look forward to past a certain age.  Nothing could be further from the truth”, says Carolina.  “We wanted to create a paradigm shift and indeed, revolutionize the aging mindset.  Aging should be embraced and yes, it is possible to lead full, independent, purposeful lives past retirement.”

For more information visit www.theagingrevolution.com.

Media contact:

Madelaine Hatch

Granville Communications

604 720-5185

mhatch@granvillecommunications.com

Dementia symptoms could be caused by sleep disorders

Seeing memory loss and mood degeneration happen to your loved one doesn’t necessarily mean the beginnings of dementia. Sleep deprivation could be the culprit. If that’s the case, relief could come as easily as a doctor’s visit.

Sleep apnea is one of the most prevalent sleep disorders today, and quite possibly is the greatest reason for why 50 percent of adults over 65 are experiencing sleep disorders. While the likelihood of Alzheimer’s development can never be ruled out, eliminating the effects of sleep disorders could prevent your elderly loved one from receiving improper medication.

It cases of sleep disorders, it is essential to pay attention to your loved one’s daytime behavior. Depression, being “in a daze”, taking an excessive number of naps during the day, poor memory, or general moodiness could signal a sleep disorder. Snoring may not necessarily mean sleep apnea, rather ask how many hours your loved one spends in bed at night. Sleep apnea involves an obstruction of the airways, meaning your loved one could be waking up dozens of times a night when they unconsciously awaken when their breathing is halted, and thus may have no memory of their interrupted sleep session. If your loved one claims to be getting an excess of sleep hours each night but is still waking up to grogginess and headaches, a sleep specialist may need to be brought in for a proper evaluation

Read the article here.

Home Care Assistance Vancouver featured in The Province

Home Care Assistance Vancouver is the featured business in this week’s Minding Your Own Business column in The Province, with Carolina Orosa’s interview given front and center exposure. In the interview she discusses her motivation behind her involvement in the home care business, and what she considers to be her biggest success. Click on the image below to read the interview:

Helping loved ones find their voice again

There are few things in this world that are more frustrating than the loss of the ability to communicate. Communication is our way of relating our feelings or needs. Babies can’t communicate very well, so many of them cry as their means of getting attention or to show their frustration, and it’s not very different with elderly people who have lost their speech due to strokes and other age-related conditions.

Adults who lose their ability to speak not only find themselves at a loss, but those who care for them are often faced with the dilemma of not only helping them get back their original speech skills, but finding a way for them to communicate in the meantime. But many doubt if this is even the right thing to do for their ailing loved one, that getting them to communicate with pictures or devices will hinder them from regaining their ability to speak.

An article posted on CNN suggests that compensatory strategies can indeed help with restorative methods. The article states:

For example, combining speech recovery and compensatory methods can help people with the brain disorder aphasia have more meaningful conversations with others. Often the compensatory strategy is one that we all use for communication already, but now must be relied on more often and in different situations.

The article relates using written notes to passing notes in a classroom. Both are effective means of communication, with note passing being a perfectly adequate means when speaking out loud isn’t possible.

Those who opt for live-in or home care can often rely on their caregiver to keep their ward engaged with both restorative and compensatory methods to help their recovery. Like with most skills, all it takes is repetition, tenacity, and lots of positivity, and the hope is that with love and encouragement from you and the daily attention from a caregiver, eventually your loved one will find a way to let their thoughts be known again.

Read the article here.

New genes linked to Alzheimer’s found

If the saying “every little bit counts” is to be believed, then a recent discovery of five new genetic links to Alzheimer’s disease is indeed a cause for celebration. The discovery stems from analysis of 50,000 individuals, which has corroborated earlier observations that cholesterol and inflammation are part of the process of developing Alzheimer’s.

For years, there have been unproven but persistent hints that cholesterol and inflammation are part of the disease process. People with high cholesterol are more likely to get the disease. Strokes and head injuries, which make Alzheimer’s more likely, also cause brain inflammation. Now, some of the newly discovered genes appear to bolster this line of thought, because some are involved with cholesterol and others are linked to inflammation or the transport of molecules inside cells.

While the discovery of these five new genes (which brings the total tally of linked genes to 10) aren’t game changers in their own right and therefore not significant enough to detect if a person will develop Alzheimer’s, they are still five more steps towards the day when the causes for Alzheimer’s can finally be tracked.

Read the article here.

10 things that make incontinence worse

Incontinence can happen to anyone young or old, and occurs in both men and women (although women seem to be affected by it more commonly). The condition is more bothersome and embarrassing than life-threatening, however the fact that it occurs–and far more frequently in the aged–has made it a concern for many, if only to help alleviate its causes. CNN and Health.com have put together a list of ten things we consume that can worsen incontinence, and avoiding or limiting these substances should help keep the condition from further aggravation.

We’ve listed the ten things you should watch out for below along with a quick description for why each is on the list:

1. Fluid intake – overhydrating can make things worse; hydrate in moderation instead
2. Alcohol – liquor and beer are diuretics, which make you urinate more frequently
3. Coffee and tea – Caffeine, another diuretic, is the main culprit here
4. Chocolate – Sad to say, but caffeine is present here as well
5. Sugar – Some studies suggest that sugar aggravates your bladder
6. Fizzy drinks – Soda, regular or diet, contain carbonation and caffeine
7. Spicy food – Some may find spicy food serves as an irritant, so be mindful of how it affects you
8. Citrus fruits – Another bladder irritant, the acidic nature of this food can make your condition worse
9. Cranberry juice – The biggest surprise, but the liquid is acidic and therefore can be an irritant
10. Medication – Some drugs have a diuretic effect; consult the side effects with your doctor

Read the article here.

50 ways to boost your brain power

The AARP has compiled a massive list comprising 50 ways your aging loved one can improve their brain functions. And since keeping your brain active is one of the best ways to help stave off the onset of Alzheimer’s and dementia, it would definitely benefit anyone to go through this list and heed the advice it doles out.

We’ve picked out some of the more interesting revelations presented by the list below:

• Leave your comfort zone – Once a favorite task or activity becomes too easy, move on to something else. The challenge of learning a new skill can do wonders for stimulating the brain.
• Sip red wine, judiciously – The minerals in red wine not only aid in cardiovascular functions, but could also prevent free radicals from damaging brain cells. This only works if it’s consumed in moderation however, which equates to no more than two glasses for women and three for men in a week.
• Pick up an instrument – Music stimulates our brains, but playing an instrument can also aid greatly in brain stimulation. So shut off that TV and get to making music!
• Switch hands – Using your non-dominant hand to perform common tasks can get the mind out of automatic mode and create new brain cells.

Read the whole article here.

Protect your loved ones from scams

Scammers have taken on many forms throughout history, and they still exist today. And just like their forebears, they prey routinely on people’s trust and goodwill. The elderly often find themselves victims of scammers’ fast talk and get-rich-quick schemes, and it doesn’t help matters when they’re all too often armed with trusting hearts and bank accounts filled with their life savings.

You can take the first steps towards protecting your aging loved one by educating yourself on the most common scams in operation, as well as keeping yourself in the loop on your parents or grandparents financial activities. Some of the more perpetrated scams include:

• Grandparent scams – A stranger calls a grandparent up and says that their grandchild has an emergency and needs money fast. The grandparent is then instructed to hand the money to an accomplice who will deliver the money to the “grandchild”.
• Pet scams – Would-be pet owners are swindled into putting large amounts of money into adopting pets from abroad.
• “Free lunch” scams – Offers of a free lunch are then followed by high-pressure pitches on bogus investment plans.

Teaching your elderly loved ones of scams is just the start; tell your loved one that anytime they feel unsure or suspicious of an offer being presented to them, that they should approach you and get your feedback on the situation. But be prepared as well to take over the management of your loved one’s finances in case they find themselves frequent victims of fraud.

Read the article here.

April is Stress Awareness Month

This April is Stress Awareness Month at the Heart and Stroke Foundation, and if there’s one thing everyone can use a lot less of in their lives, it’s STRESS.

It’s easy to forget to take care of ourselves when we’re busy, or if we’re taking care of loved ones who can’t take care of themselves. And many times we don’t even know that what we’re doing is contributing to our stress levels. The goal of the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s Five-Minute Stress Management Test is to help people recognize what the most common causes of stress is, and possibly also enlighten many on how they can reduce it from their lives.

Here’s a few sample questions that will help give you an idea of what’s in store:

• I tried not to notice that I was experiencing signs of stress such as an increase in heart rate, problems sleeping, etc.
• I looked at the humorous side of the situation
• I ignored the fact that something was bothering me and tried to carry on as usual.

Take the test!

Social interaction cuts dementia risk, dogs reveal

Yes, you read that headline right; a study recently showed that dogs have large brains in relation to their size due to their ability to socialize within a group, which in turn arguably makes them smarter than most other domesticated pets, including cats. This level of sociability and interaction has had an undeniable positive effect on the comprehension of dogs everywhere, and even more significantly, other studies have also shown that sociability among humans cuts the risk of dementia by a whopping 26 percent.

What’s the take-away of this revelation? Having scheduled get-togethers with friends and family won’t just bring everyone closer together, but it could give you a better chance at living dementia-free for longer.

Read the article here.