Have you ever tried to finish a home improvement project without using the right tools? How did it turn out? As a new homeowner, I’ve learned the results aren’t pretty.

Along the same lines, using the right equipment can enable people with certain physical limitations to safely accomplish every-day tasks in the home. If you use any of these common household items for these (or similar) reasons, allow me to share with you a few safer options.

1) Avoid holding onto the towel rack to enter and exit the bathtub or shower.…

For families that care for an ill child at home the work is 24/7, and the stress of daily care can take a toll on everyone. But much research on home care in children supports that these children often do so much better at home. They continue to maintain their role within the family. Surround yourself with those that love you, and you love and anything is possible. Here is a thought:

H — Happiness lives there;
O — Overwhelming love and safety;
M — Me and my family, strong together;
E — Everyone I care…

As 2011 is winding down my gut instinct is to make a few of the familiar resolutions for the coming year. Does starting a new exercise plan or eating healthier ring a bell?

However, before I make any of those resolutions I took time to reflect on my experiences providing care in the greatest city on earth and here’s what I came up with.

The Value of Home Care

Having choices is good. Having choices when it comes to caring for the older adults in our lives is invaluable. Everyday I witness how home health care improves the quality of life…

Settling in after a family friendly weekend of turkey feasts and home-made cooking, it has been a wonderful long weekend. We have a rule in my house, there is no talk of Christmas or holiday wants until Thanksgiving is over. So we do not decorate, shop or spend hours finding the perfect gift. There is time for that, and to me Christmas is way more than the commercialism it has become. December is also the end of the year and many of us reflect and maybe make some New Year’s…

Random acts of kindness are nice. Regular acts of kindness provided to elderly members of the community are even better.

This past summer was a time of change for my family as we moved to a new home in an unfamiliar neighborhood. I’m often asked how I like living in my new area. I usually respond that I’m thankful for my neighbors.

Our area’s recent winter storm was eye opening for me, once I got past my own annoyance of shoveling snow and leaves out of my driveway in the middle of…

No caregiver should face Alzheimer’s disease alone. I’ve witnessed the emotional and physical strain that caregivers endure when helping those with the disease the National Institute of Aging estimates affects between 2.4 million and 5.1 million Americans.

I have also seen caregivers connect to a supportive community that enables them to provide better care for their loved ones and themselves. If you are caring for someone with Alzheimer’s, here are some steps you can take to receive the support you need:

Connect with a support group

• A local Alzheimer’s support group is a…

Working with sick children can often be a tremendous challenge, but it can also be a great joy. I remember many patients over the years and although some are no longer with us, they all had incredible lessons to teach.

The sadness of loosing a child is very difficult for all involved — the family, medical staff, nurses, and others who are involved in their care. As professionals, we try with all our skill to provide these children comfort and final days which are pain free, but for some it is…

A recent New York Times headline caught my attention: “Tennessee’s Summit Reveals Dementia Diagnosis”.

If you are not familiar with Pat Summit, she is widely considered the most successful college basketball coach of all time. Her recognition is well deserved after coaching Tennessee University’s women’s basketball team to a record eight national championships and more than 1,000 wins.

Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post writes:

“Denial was followed by anger. For the first few weeks, Summitt would barely even discuss the subject. She told her doctors, ‘You don’t know me. You don’t know what I’m capable…

Working in health care means learning to work very closely with families of all sizes and varieties. Some small, some large. Some close-knit, some spread out across the country. As the world has changed in the last century, so has the dynamic of family life. Each relationship within a family plays a different role, and each family copes with illness in their own way.

Many years ago I worked with a child who had been diagnosed with a terminal leukemia. He was the oldest of four children, an incredibly bright and…

“Palliative care (from Latin palliare, to cloak) is a specialized area of healthcare that focuses on relieving and preventing the suffering of patients. Unlike hospice care, palliative medicine is appropriate for patients in all disease stages, including those undergoing treatment for curable illnesses and those living with chronic diseases, as well as patients who are nearing the end of life. Palliative medicine utilizes a multidisciplinary approach to patient care, relying on input from physicians, pharmacists, nurses, chaplains, social workers, psychologists, and other allied health professionals in formulating a plan of care to relieve suffering…