Understanding
Senior Care

What Can Companion Care do for Your Loved Ones?

From our Care Blog

When you think of caregiving, what comes to mind first? While you may think of medical and personal assistance, caregiving does not always equate to nursing care. For many aging Americans or in-need adults, simply having a companion is all that’s required to maintain a comfortable level of independence. For moments like these, professional companion care can help. Rather than strictly medical assistance, this helpful service places a caregiver with your loved ones so they can enjoy life with a little extra help around the house or even out and about. Here’s what companion care can do for your loved...

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3 Benefits of Respite Care

From our Care Blog

In a matter of moments, your responsibilities in life can shift from those of a full-time employee, to an unpaid caregiver. Whether it’s for an aging parent or recovering sibling, voluntary family aid is estimated to be worth $375 billion a year and 29 percent of Americans provide some sort of care to ill, disabled or aging family members or friends. While there’s no doubt you care deeply for your loved ones, caregiving is often a full-time job that can impact your personal wellbeing and work performance. However, you may not feel comfortable signing away complete caregiving responsibilities to a...

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The $41 Billion Problem with Hospital Readmissions

From our Care Blog

Before the enactment of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), hospitals were not penalized for patient readmission within the first 30 days of a discharge. This led to the American healthcare system spending $41.3 billion dollars in just 11 months to treat readmitted individuals. Today, even with the ACA’s readmission penalty, hospitalization makes up nearly a third of the $2 trillion spent on healthcare. While some readmissions are unavoidable, a large number can be prevented. This means at-risk individuals such as seniors, adults with disabilities, those recovering from injuries and veterans should be safeguarded from hospitalizations. Here are a few ways...

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Does Life Insurance Pay for Home Care?

From our Care Blog

Will life insurance pay for home care? For many, life insurance can be used to help cover the costs of long-term care.

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Beat the Odds: Keep Your New Year's Resolutions

From our Care Blog

Did you know that only 8 percent of the people that set a New Year’s resolution actually achieve their goal*. Why is that? Research from Psychology Today has found that making your resolutions work will involve changing behaviors—and in order to change a behavior, you have to change your thinking (or "rewire" your brain). This takes work. We have to set specific, measurable, time-bound goals and keep them front and center. If you are one of the millions of people in the United States compelled to make a New Year’s resolution, here are some helpful tips from Ray Williams of...

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Family Finances: Coping With the Costs of Dementia

From our Care Blog

Money Magazine just released an article in a series of stories written by Donna Rosato on Coping with the Aging’s Costliest Challenge: The Costs of Dementia. If you have a family member living with dementia or Alzheimer’s and you’re caring for them, you know first-hand the financial challenges this uniquely devastating disease can bring. We are proud that our own Nurse Gina, our professional geriatric care manager and RN on staff, was quoted in this article. Nurse Gina has been a vital part of FirstLight Home Care’s team, dedicated to building caring and affordable services to help families with aging...

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Gift Giving Ideas for your Elderly Parents “Who Have Everything”

From our Care Blog

If you've still have holiday shopping to do and a few people on your list that are difficult to buy for, don't panic, we've put together a list of some great gifts ideas that might surprise the person who has everything. Tech-savvy gifts. If your parents enjoy technology, some electronic gift ideas include an e-reader loaded with a few good books. Or the iRobot Vacuum that cleans your floors every day with a push of a button. And finally, the Photo Cube – iPhone photo printer. This is a perfect gift for your parents who love to take photos of...

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5 Healthy Tips To Avoid Weight Gain During The Holidays

From our Care Blog

The holidays are here and no one wants to be around a killjoy at a Christmas party or a family get-together because they’re trying to avoid the temptations of the season’s high-calorie bounty and dodge the gift of a few additional pounds this season. Whether it’s one, three, or seven pounds, experience says that most of us will gain weight between now and New Year’s Day because of those darn frosted cookies, eggnog, chocolate, candies and more lurking around the office, at the neighbors, and in your own home. To make the most of the season and keep the holiday...

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Embracing Old Man Winter

From our Care Blog

The last few leaves on your tree are about to fall. Gray skies have taken over. Winter is approaching fast. Unless you plan on heading south for the next 5 months to avoid the cold, you need to get prepared. Winter can be a challenge, so you need to find the bright side. We’ve put together a list of things you can do to embrace old man winter and make the most of it. Make a bird/squirrel feeder. Snow, frozen ground, and lack of vegetation makes it hard for wildlife to find food. Make simple feeders out of peanut butter...

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The Art of Letter Writing

From our Care Blog

Letter writing is an almost lost skill and all of us living in our digital-centric world are missing out on the beauty of a handwritten letter and the joy of finding something personal in your mailbox. We can change that, December 7th is Letter Writing Day. We’re encouraging everyone to take a few minutes and send someone a hand written letter. By going through the process of writing a letter and physically committing words to a paper, it shows your investment of time and effort in a relationship. It can be a very meaningful experience for you – but you...

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