All 4 Seniors LLC

Technorati Tags: Assisted Living, caregiving, eldercare, independent living, retirement community, retirement living, senior housing

If you are a senior you may be resigned to the fact that the busiest years of your life are over, but you can still do many things to ensure active senior living. Just because you’re over 65, doesn’t mean that life has to be boring or dull. There are so many ways to contribute to society, or just have fun. Active senior living means you make the choice on what you want, and then go get it.

There are many options to keep you busy. You can dig up a few hobbies from the past that you used to do. Go back and get your dancing shoes on, or if you never danced, learn how to. A fun part of active senior living can include dancing.

Sewing is another mentally stimulating challenge, and you could make a few outfits to head out on the town, and look great. Many community centers recognize that active senior living is important and they offer sewing classes to both men and women who are retired.

Ask your church or local synagogue, if you can start up a study group just for the other seniors. Another way to be active physically and mentally is to home visit others, and bring a little companionship to them. People who are confined to their homes love having company. Active senior living means that you can visit others in Nursing Homes too.

The point is to stay physically invigorated and mentally active. However, that doesn’t mean that you take on more that you don’t need, or your doctor advises you not to. Active senior living doesn’t mean becoming exhausted, and it should be a relaxing time of your life. If you feel that it’s too much, cut back on some activities, and take a few moments for yourself. There’s nothing wrong with sitting on a garden patio, or curled up by a warm fireplace with a good book in hand. You’ll still be getting needed mental stimulation, but a way to relax your body at the same time. Active Senior Living is a choice now that you’re older.

Perhaps you’d enjoy a small part-time job. A lot of seniors love the routine even after they’ve retried of getting up and going to a job. It makes them feel useful again, and this might fit your personality to a tee. If it is, consult with your doctor about taking on a job, if you have any serious medical conditions that might limit what you do. You don’t need any other serious complications to develop from any health issue you might have, so it’s best to ask. Active senior living is the way to live once you’re older, but remember to always make it a pleasant experience for your mind and body.

Hans Hasselfors
http://www.articlesbase.com/self-help-articles/active-senior-living-50709.html

Bedsores seem as though they are a natural part of being confined to a bed, especially in the elderly. The truth is that bedsores should not develop if the bedridden individual is rotated often enough. Bedsores can be as small as a red spot on the hip or thigh, or can be as severe as an open wound that goes all the way through to the bone. Bedsores are a sign of nursing home neglect.

Neglect can be difficult to detect, and with a smiling and friendly staff there to answer all of your questions and put on a happy face during your visit, neglect can seem like an impossibility in some situations. However, nursing home neglect is often much more prevalent than most of us are willing to believe.

At the first sign of bedsores, the situation should be handled immediately. The area should be treated and the patient should be elevated to a rotation schedule that is much more frequent, nor more than two hours between rotations. It is possible that bed sores may initially begin to develop if the patient is newly bedridden, has recently lost quite a bit of weight, or has had a recent procedure done such as surgery.

However, if the bedsores are not treated immediately with an aggressive response, then it is time to contact a lawyer. Lawyers are often able to uncover unseen and previously unnoticed neglect. Nursing home abuse lawyers are able to determine abuse and neglect often more quickly and efficiently than an emotionally involved family member.

Lawyers have a greater power of investigative skills, more experience, know the questions to ask and the questions to avoid, and how to involve law enforcement if necessary without blowing an entire case.

Lawsuits are steadily increasing around the country, which is a testimony to the sad state of affairs we as a society tend to leave our elderly in. The filing of a lawsuit does not necessarily mean that the abuse or the neglect will immediately cease.

There are occasions where poor training, a lack of educational requirements and low pay simply attract employees who mean well but do not necessarily even understand that some of their behaviors qualify as nursing home abuse.


Many people believe that bedsores are inevitable. Many professionals and even some hospital staff believe that bedsores are a natural part of adjusting to being suddenly or increasingly bedridden. This is an unfortunate misconception, however over the past ten years, abuse and rights advocates have made great strides in educating nursing home staff about the dangers of bedsores and the basic misconception that they are natural.

A high quality facility will not allow for bedsores. Abuse can happen regardless of the price tag associated with any particular facility. Quality comes in the people who work inside the home, not the amount the administration is paid.

Lawsuits can be difficult to prove, as often the victims are either unable or unwilling to speak up for themselves. It can be difficult to prosecute a Nursing Home abuse lawsuit when the victim is too afraid to speak up about the abuse.

After all, where else are they going to go, and complying with a lawsuit is only likely to complicate their current living situation. Regardless, a quality lawyer can proceed with a lawsuit provided the evidence is there. A victim is much more likely to be compliant and testify in a nursing home abuse lawsuit if they are made to feel safe, which in many cases means moving them to another facility.

This is not easy, nor is it inexpensive. However, without any guarantee of safety, nursing home abuse victims rarely testify or even file a complaint.

The elderly are not property, a waste of life, or material which requires warehousing. The elderly are the generation which fought to give us freedoms and opportunities we wouldn’t have had otherwise. The elderly are in fact, our future. We should be ashamed as country at the high rate of lawsuits that are filed in this country annually.

It’s not easy to be brave in the face of a lawsuit, but someone needs to step up and be the voice of the victim.

Nick Johnson
http://www.articlesbase.com/law-articles/nursing-home-neglect-bedsores-132982.html

I thought we had a contract. I look after you and when the time came for reciprocation, you would look after me. For some, it may appear to be selfish to expect my children to care for me in their homes instead of placing me in a nursing home because of my stroke. The contract, my children’s and mine was formed at their birth. Their precious lives belonged to me. Their fate entrusted with me until they reached maturity and could fend for themselves.

As they grew our dependence on one another was unquestionable, our silent contract now melded together. I looked after them at the most vulnerable times of their lives and at some point I trusted they would do the same for me, their protector, their confidante, loving friend and mother.  Once I began to age and couldn’t fend for myself, my hope was that my children would honor our contract initiated at their birth.

I am now dependent on my children, trusting their judgment and compassion as they now control my life, where I live, what I wear and even my finances. A role reversal of sorts, that has begrudgingly taken place without my input or consent. My mental state, despite the stroke that paralyzed the left side of my body, was left intact without any effect on my speech.

I suffer a deep denial of my plight as I stare down unbelieving at my lifeless left arm and leg unable to move or feel the touch of another human being. I can’t walk and therefore, I am confined to a wheelchair. However, my will to walk, to be back in control of my life still prevails despite the choices my children have made for me.

My life once filled with joy and excitement with the ability to dictate my actions from one minute to the next is now one that is dependent on strangers and family members as I long to have my life back again.  I want to go home.

Most of my days are spent either sitting or lying expressionless in a silent display as I reflect over my life now stifled by consequence. I will tell anyone who will listen.  I want to go home. I pray daily and eagerly solicit prayers from my visitors to ask God to be merciful and restore me back to my prior self. I want to go home.

I suppose the easy thing to do would be to give up, to succumb to this existence. My life now consists of waiting. I wait for time as my life slowly slips from my grasp with each passing sunset and sunrise. I sob deeply and behind the tears is the sadness and the pain as I struggle to comprehend why I have been left in this place.

I’ve had to conform to a way of life that I have never known or thought would ever live. I have asked my children to take me to their homes, can’t we work something out? With each explanation of why it can’t be, their words bitingly remind me and it’s as if they don’t know . . . that we had a contract.

My children seem oblivious to my situation. They are comfortable with their obligatory visits. However, the fact still remains, I want to go home.  For living here for me is not living. My time is spent disconnected and suspended by emptiness which gives one ample time to ponder life as it is and what it was.

So, I wait. I fill the empty moments with memories of days gone by as I slowly come to terms with my plight.  I wish to discuss the terms of this contract, which appears to be binding and for me, one sided. With each passing day I realize that a negotiation is not possible. So, I wait and wish I could go home.

Although, some residents find it hard to come to terms with their disability, their family would serve them well to consider an Assisted Living facility.  The resident may respond better to an assistant living situation where they are still able to maintain some independence.

Depending on the circumstances, sometimes a nursing home is not the best choice. As caregivers we have to understand how the resident may have to mentally digest the change in their living status from being able to protect their privacy to now having to live in an environment that is more public and structured.

Additionally, some nursing home residents are often apprehensive about having to interact with care givers because they are strangers providing them care. Because some of the personal care nursing home personnel provide at times creates a sense of familiarity which the resident may not be accustomed to receiving from strangers, especially when it’s not by choice.

Further, it’s important that residents are able to maintain their family relationships. If the resident doesn’t feel alone or abandoned, but still part of their family, residents tend to be able to handle living in a nursing home or assisted living facility better.

It’s not easy having a parent living in a Nursing Home. Sometimes there is a need for emotional support and daily affirmations can be a great pick me up for caregivers when necessary.

It’s not easy having a parent living in a nursing home. Sometimes there is a need for emotional support and daily affirmations can be a great pick me up for caregivers when necessary.  If your loved one is living out of state in a nursing home, traveling to their location shows the importance of staying connected as a family.

Janice Willingham
http://www.articlesbase.com/elderly-care-articles/elder-care-i-thought-we-had-a-contract-532267.html

Nursing home neglect and lawsuits often get quite a bit of media attention when the subject matter revolves around violence or death. We derive so much from the media that often we forget to take the facts of nursing home neglect one step further and examine such issues as dehydration. Dehydration can be caused by numerous variant factors, such as diarrhea, illness, vomiting, and of course a lack of fluid intake, especially water. Discovering dehydration may also mean discovering neglect.

It may be difficult to find a nursing home abuse lawyer to take a lawsuit based on dehydration. You will need to find a skilled lawyer in order to find one that is interested in bringing the responsible parties to justice. In the elderly, dehydration can be just as dangerous as malnutrition or over sedation. Neglect cases that are based solely on dehydration certainly don’t get the same media attention as other lawsuits, but they are equally as valid.

There are qualified and capable nursing home abuse lawyers out there who are ready and willing to file a lawsuit based on dehydration. Since dehydration can have devastating effects over time, it is one of the responsibilities of the staff to make sure that fluids are being taken and that there is no threat of dehydration due to diarrhea or other causative factors.

Dehydration is typically a signal that there are other forms of abuse or neglect that haven’t yet been discovered. In many instances, dehydration is a warning sign. The long term effects of dehydration can include an impact on the clarity of thinking, which can prevent a victim from presenting their complaints to be filed as a lawsuit.

This means another responsible party must be willing to speak to a nursing home abuse lawyer in behalf of the victim. This is true with most lawsuits, as victims are rarely able to reach out for help even if they want to.

There are often financial concerns that prevent people from speaking up on behalf of the victim. Retaining a nursing home abuse lawyer on behalf of someone who may or may not be able to afford an attorney seems like a huge risk. It is easier to believe that the neglect has been corrected, the victim received fluids and will be okay, and there is no harm done.

This is not true. For every case of neglect that ends up being filed as a lawsuit, there are at least five victims who didn’t have their day in court. Either there simply wasn’t quite enough evidence or they couldn’t tell someone before it was too late or the assumption was made that the victim didn’t have sound faculties. Nursing Home neglect cases are difficult to prove.

Unfortunately, lawsuits are easier to file and prove of the victim perished from neglect rather than those who fought to stay alive and then fought to be heard. Autopsies can determine the length and depth of the dehydration more accurately in many cases than medical tests performed on someone who has recovered from severe dehydration.

The financial concerns that prevent people from retaining a nursing home abuse lawyer are typically able to dealt with in professional and reasonable manners. These concerns should never stop a consultation with a professional and capable lawyer, nor should they ever stop someone from reporting suspected neglect.

These issues are far too important to be left for someone else to deal with. Leaving these issues for someone else to deal with can leave a loved one or family member without a voice, and without help. A consultation with a nursing home abuse lawyer doesn’t necessarily mean that a lawsuit has to be filed, but it will help to clarify the options in the wake of neglect.

Nursing home neglect victims are often completely dependant upon someone else to stand up for them, to help them find a reputable lawyer, and to help them use their voice and file a lawsuit to bring the responsible parties to justice. This is a validating and important step in helping the elderly retain their dignity, even if it doesn’t seem as though they are aware that they have. No one should ever have to face neglect, and no one should ever have to face the road back to empowerment alone.

Nick Johnson
http://www.articlesbase.com/law-articles/nursing-home-neglect-dehydration-132988.html

Nursing home abuse becomes the three scariest words to an individual seeking an assisted living facility. Moving into an assisted living facility means giving up a certain amount of independence and freedom as well as leaving behind a home that is loved and filled with memories.

Nobody wants to leave their home and enter a nursing home. Facing the possibility of nursing home abuse makes the entire process an even scarier ordeal.

Selecting an assisted living facility based on reputation is a place to start. Talking with professionals such as geriatric nurses and doctors, physicians and even psychologists can help in determining whether or not a particular nursing home or assisted living facility carries a low risk of abuse.

Selecting the facility that is appropriate for the individual is also a preventative measure. Nursing homes are different from assisted living facilities, and often placing someone in an assisted living facility when they actual belong in a nursing home can set them up for a certain amount of abuse.

Assisted living staff does not meet the same training requirements in many states as staff and are more likely to lose their patience with someone who is unable to care at least partially for themselves.

Nursing home abuse victims are often seen in hospitals, and often speaking with the nursing staff of the local hospital about a particular assisted living facility can give some indication about whether or not the facility of choice is a high or low risk for abuse.

Of course, searching public records online can also benefit, as lawsuits are public record. Thoroughly investigating a facility prior to undergoing placement is crucial in avoiding abuse.

Lawyers can also be a valuable reference, as they are typically well aware which nursing homes or assisted living facilities are receiving a high number of complaints and which ones are receiving no complaints at all.

Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that even with the greatest amount of due diligence that a loved one won’t fall victim to Nursing Home abuse, as it is a horribly rampant problem in our society. In fact, America is rated one of the worst first world societies to grow old in. A general lack of respect for the elderly has contributed greatly to the downfall of our elder care.

We, as a society, are happy to warehouse the elderly simply so that we do not have to be reminded of what we may become as our youth escapes us. This is an unacceptable attitude considering these are the people who laid the foundation in one way or another for our very lives to be as they are.

Abuse is simply a statement of society’s ill concern for the aging. Picking a nursing home or an assisted living facility that combats this general attitude is a huge plus in combating abuse.

The local office of the aging and social service programs can also report on the suitability of an assisted living facility. These governmental agencies are able to do this because they have the insider information that allows them to determine whether or not there are open or pending cases of nursing home abuse.

They can also testify whether any old cases of abuse were handled well internally. Nursing homes and Assisted Living facilities that have a good clean record usually come with a higher price tag. It’s unfortunate that our elder care is based on assets and income, however, most assisted living facilities that are higher priced are more careful about their reputation.

It is not uncommon for people to find the need for an assisted living facility to be urgent in nature, and all too often people are willing to place their loved one in a less than par facility because it was the first available bed.

Without due diligence, you have no idea whether or not your loved one is at risk for falling victim to nursing home abuse. Choosing an assisted living facility based entirely on availability is often the one way to ensure that your loved one will be at a higher level of risk for nursing home abuse. Check out assisted living facilities carefully before signing any type of contractual agreement.

Nick Johnson
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/how-to-select-a-nursing-home-or-an-assisted-living-home-137399.html

Nursing home abuse is a growing problem in the United States, but one that is increasingly difficult to detect. Lawyers testify to the growing number of concerned family members who sit in their offices, unsure of whether or not their suspicions are correct or justified, and very afraid to make an accusation that is wrong.

Those who are fearful of wrongfully accusing a nursing home of abuse are more afraid of damaging the reputation of their loved one than they are of damaging the reputation of the nursing home or the staff. Nursing Home abuse lawyers recommend that any evidence of abuse should be forwarded both to a lawyer as well as the District Attorney’s office of that jurisdiction.

Hip fractures are one of the most obvious signs of abuse. Hip fractures often happen from falls, falls which are preventable with proper supervision. Improper supervision, or more respectfully, refraining from physical requests that the patient is incapable of completing, is a form of abuse. Any nursing home with three or more instances of hip fractures within a 30 day period is likely to be suspect of abuse. Hip fractures can also happen as a result of physical abuse.

Anytime abuse is suspected, documentation in the form of photographs, written observations, and any other evidence can in fact be very valuable, but it is always best if this evidence can be collected by either law enforcement or a lawyer.

Lawyers obviously specialize in presenting cases in lawsuits, and thus their ample experience and understanding of the law is necessary in order to proceed without making mistakes that can ultimately lose the case on behalf of the victim.

Family members of victims tend to be rather emotional, understandably so, as we have handed over a great deal of money to ensure our loved one received the very best care possible. To find out that they have become a victim of nursing home abuse is enraging. Struggling with the decision to place them in a nursing home was hard enough, and we trusted our own judgment and tried to make the right decision. This emotional connection can interfere with the progression of a lawsuit, which is why it is best to leave the investigations in the hands of a competent lawyer.

Lawsuits can be very difficult on the victims, and it is always recommended that nursing home abuse lawsuits be built around evidence that can avoid the victim’s testimony. While this may not always be possible, it is not uncommon for family members and even other nursing home staff to be able to offer valuable testimony in a lawsuit.

Lawsuits have brought much needed attention to the state of nursing homes over the past ten years. Nursing homes are held to a higher standard than they were even just a decade ago, but still their standards do not need to be even as high as subsidized child care standards. Lawyers are likely going to need to speak at least at one point to the victim.

Victims often resist even talking to a lawyer, either out of a misplaced feeling of guilt or a feeling of fear of retribution. Victims have been known to lie to the lawyer in order to prevent a lawsuit from continuing. This is normal, and by all means can be worked around. Most of us may not understand why the victim is so resistant to the notion of receiving justice. Yet anyone who lives with their abuser is not likely to speak out even when given the chance.

The important thing for family members, and even sometimes the lawyer, to remind the victim as the lawsuit moves forward, is that the victim did nothing wrong and they have nothing to feel guilty about. It is likely to take constant reminders for the victim of abuse to truly believe that at least those around him or her don’t believe that they are culpable. Any type of abuse, whether physical or neglectful in nature, is likely to also have a psychological effect.

Nick Johnson
http://www.articlesbase.com/law-articles/nursing-home-abuse-hip-fractures-132987.html