In light of recent winter weather, national and local dementia specialists encourage caretakers to reinforce safety precautions for loved ones who are prone to wandering.
As another West Virginia winter roars on, state and national specialists remind residents to reinforce safety precautions for their loved ones with dementia.
Individuals with dementia face more safety risks in periods of inclement weather, like the snowstorms that swept the Midwest and East Coast this weekend. Wandering away from home without preparing for low temperatures and icy conditions can increase the risk of falling, getting lost or becoming seriously injured outside.
The AFA underscored the importance of keeping watch over home exit ways and developing a customized safety plan for each individual. These plans should take into account the makeup of a person’s home, the times of day when their condition worsens and the locations they might visit while wandering.
Taking advance precautions during spells of intense weather helps protect West Virginia residents with dementia, according to Joanie Maloney, family caregiver program manager for Kanawha Valley Senior Services.
Maloney explained that wandering can occur year-round, but that “it’s just a lot more on the dangerous side if the weather is extremely cold or extremely hot.”
Dressing loved ones with dementia appropriately for the weather — regardless of whether they plan to go outside — is another way family caretakers can reduce the risks of unexpected wandering, she said.
By providing these individuals cold-weather clothing and foot coverings, Maloney said that caretakers safeguard their loved ones from frostbite and other weather-related risks associated with cold-weather wandering.
“Definitely go ahead and dress them for the occasion,” she said.
Maloney added that the winter months are a good time to reinforce house locks and at-home safety features, ensuring that precautions are in place to support loved ones during the winter months and beyond.
“Safety is key,” she said. “ No one ever wants their loved one to be exposed to any kind of harsh weather, especially the cold.”
This is the fourth story in News Director Eric Douglas’ series of interviews called “Getting Into Their Reality: Caring For Aging Parents.” Douglas spoke with Vicky Foster, the CEO of Kanawha Valley Senior Services.
Many West Virginians have found themselves caring for an aging parent. News Director Eric Douglas found himself in that position with his mom and he didn’t know where to turn for help.
This is the fourth story in his series of interviews called “Getting Into Their Reality: Caring For Aging Parents.” Douglas spoke with Vicky Foster, the CEO of Kanawha Valley Senior Services.
Douglas: I’m sure I’m not the only person in this situation trying to figure this stuff out, trying to care for an aging parent. So that’s what led me to you. I assume most of what you do is available throughout the state.
Foster: Yes, there are senior service agencies in every county in West Virginia.
Douglas: Tell me, what’s the big picture? Tell me all the stuff you do.
Foster: The biggest thing for us is our nutrition program. We take home-delivered meals to people who are homebound — can’t cook for themselves. And we do about 600 of those a day. And that’s just the home-delivered part. Then we also have nine centers across Kanawha County where we do congregate meals where people can come and sit down, and socialize with other seniors and eat a nutritious meal.
COVID brought what is known as Grab and Go meals, where they can come and pick up a meal and take it and leave. We also have in-home services. We have what’s called the lighthouse program. Basically, we have caregivers that go into the home, and they’ll provide light housekeeping duties. Sometimes they cook a small meal, they do bathing, it just depends. We develop a plan of care for each client based on what their individualized needs are.
Douglas: I know there are private pay services, but are your services free, reduced cost? How does that work?
Foster: Most of our services, like our nutrition program, are totally free. Donations are accepted but not required. The other programs like the lighthouse program is what’s called a sliding scale fee based on someone’s ability to pay.
Douglas: Yeah, so tell me a little bit more about that. How does somebody get signed up for that or get involved in that?
Foster: They just call our office and they would let our receptionist know what they were looking for. And she would connect them to one of our registered nurses on staff. And they will do an assessment of the client and what their needs are and then best determine how we can help them, what program they fit under. And then we connect them with one of our caregivers and get that going. Most of the senior service centers offer the same services. Some may offer one but not another. But for the most part, they all offer the same services.
Douglas: What’s the scale? How many people are we talking about in your program?
Foster: For the month of October, all across the county, it was almost 15,000 meals.
Douglas: During the pandemic, with everybody separated, how did you cope with that?
Foster: It changed everything for senior centers in general, because we used to have a lot of people that would come in and sit down and it was like a group of friends. And now we still have a lot of people that are still afraid. And so the number of people that come in and stay has dropped, especially for the senior center here in Charleston. Now some of the outlying areas, you know, they’ve come back and they’re in full swing. But for us here in Charleston, the number of people that stay has decreased. It’s worrisome because it’s a socialization for these people. A lot of these people, their children who moved out of state, they don’t have any family and their family is the people at the senior center.
Douglas: But what do you need for them to keep moving? More money, more volunteers?
Foster: We were just working this morning on a certain delivery route where we had someone get hurt, not at work, but on the weekend. We’ve been struggling to cover that route and keep it going, because we’re a nonprofit and so we operate with a lean staff and when one person goes down you’re really racing around trying to figure it out. And we lost most of our volunteers when COVID hit.
Douglas: If a route doesn’t get covered, that means senior citizens are not getting food, they’re not getting a home cooked or warm cooked meal.
Foster: Yes, if we couldn’t get somebody to do it. But if it takes myself or somebody else, we’re going to make sure that they get those meals and if the administrative stuff has to fall by the wayside so that we can go out and deliver the meals, we’re going to make sure they get a meal, whatever it takes.
The West Virginia Department of Transportation announced Monday that six agencies serving seniors around the state will receive handicapped-accessible minivans.
Seniors in some of the state’s rural areas will soon have more transportation options.
The West Virginia Department of Transportation announced Monday that six agencies serving seniors around the state will receive handicapped-accessible minivans.
The vans, which will be able to pick up riders at their homes, will each hold one wheelchair and three passengers.
The state’s Division of Public Transit procured the vehicles through the federal 5310 Program, which is designed to enhance mobility for seniors and individuals with disabilities.
Local community groups receiving a minivan are required to contribute a 20 percent match of the $64,000 cost of each vehicle, according to the WVDOT press release.
“Unfortunately, some folks don’t have people to take them places. They need to go to the grocery store. They need to go to their doctor. They need to get their medications,” said John Caldwell, a procurement officer with the Division of Public Transportation. “The 5310 Program helps them with that.”
Local agencies receiving the minivans include:
Central West Virginia Community Action
Family Service – Upper Ohio Valley
Pocahontas County Senior Citizens
Kanawha Valley Senior Services
Braxton County Senior Citizens Center
Council of Senior Tyler Countians
Several of the communities receiving the minivans don’t have access to public transportation or ride-sharing services.
A new study finds weight training might be better than cardio for older adults who are trying to slim down.
Researchers at Wake Forest University found that for adults in their 60s, combining weight training with a low-calorie diet better preserves necessary lean muscle mass that can often be lost through aerobic workouts.
The 18-month study looked at 250 overweight or obese adults over 60 years-old. Participants lost about 20 pounds when they combined diet and weight training, while retaining more muscle mass.
Meanwhile, those who combined diet and walking lost a lot of muscle mass – nearly 4 pounds.
The Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation reported this year that West Virginia holds the highest obesity rate in the nation – at nearly 40 percent.
Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Marshall Health, Charleston Area Medical Center and WVU Medicine.
Most Americans say they want to die at home when the time comes. But a new study suggests that the more obese someone is, the less likely they are to achieve that goal.
The study was published this month in the Annals of Internal Medicine and looked at the records of more than 5,600 senior citizens taking part in a long-term health study. The researchers looked at how body mass index – a measure of obesity – impacted use of and access to end-of-life services like hospice. hospice provides support to people in their final months of life – usually in their own home.
The researchers found that the more overweight someone was, the less likely they were to enter hospice at all. If the overweight seniors did enter hospice, they spent fewer days using the service than their less-heavy peers.
The study also found that the more obese someone was, the greater the cost to the Medicare system in their final days of life – despite the fact that they are using hospice less. The study’s authors say that may be because it can require more staff to take care of obese hospice patients. However, they note that Medicare hospice reimbursement is capped no matter a person’s BMI.
West Virginia has the second oldest population in the nation behind Florida. And more than a third of the population is obese.
Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation, Charleston Area Medical Center and WVU Medicine.
More than 160 health leaders met in Charleston today to talk about public health concerns and current efforts to improve health outcomes for West Virginians.
The conference sessions covered topics from childhood obesity and trauma, to the housing crisis and aging population. Presenters talked about where West Virginia can improve – for instance ensuring that children have access to healthy food and safe places to exercise. They also discussed new initiatives that show some promise, such as senior housing cooperatives.
Many of the presenters emphasized that improving the state’s health outcomes will have to come from both a grassroots and policy level. West Virginia currently sits at the bottom of many health statistics nationwide.
The conference was organized by a number of groups, including the Federal Reserve Banks of Richmond and Cleveland and the Benedum Foundation.
Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation.
