The Loss of a Spouse May be Bad for Our Brains

We all understand how heartbreaking it is when a senior loses a beloved life partner but recent research now suggests that a surviving spouse may also be at a higher risk for cognitive decline. The study reports that individuals who were widowed with high levels of beta-amyloid plaque ( a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease), were found to decline cognitively three times faster than their counterparts who had not suffered the loss of a spouse. Dr. Nancy Donovan, the study’s lead researcher and chief of the Division of Geriatric Psychiatry at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, says, "The associations of widowhood and amyloid were compounded, not simply additive, indicating that widowhood is a specific risk factor for cognitive decline due to Alzheimer's disease."

While the Alzheimer’s Associations cautions that the study was a small one, practicing geriatrician and internist, Dr. Marzena Gieniusz, of the Northwell Health in Manhasset, N.Y., said she often sees signs of cognitive decline in surviving spouses in her practice. Experts say it could be that mild memory loss was already present beforehand but was not obvious when the person had the support of a loving spouse. Another reason may be the surviving spouse had day-to-day, steady companionship and socialization that helped them stay emotionally engaged. 

Not only is it easier for many of us to face the world as a couple, but when a spouse dies, the survivor may be more socially isolated, which in itself puts a person more at risk for cognitive decline. The Alzheimer’s Association recommends that surviving spouses make an effort to follow the guidelines for decreasing their risk for Alzheimer’s by exercising, engaging in cognitively stimulating activities, eating a healthy diet, managing stress levels and reducing cardiovascular risk factors. Also even if you are avoiding in-person contact due to COVID 19, it is important to stay socially engaged. Remember to make the effort to call a friend, do facetime calls with grandkids and family, write emails and snail mail letters, or join an online support group. 

If a loved one is suffering from Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia, please contact one of the area’s most loving, professional Alzheimer’s care homes. The compassionate team at MorningStar at Englefield Green takes a holistic approach to memory care that is both specialized and individualized. Please visit our website for pricing and availability. 

MorningStar at Englefield Green embodies the very best in senior living with a distinct mission statement of “to honor, to serve, to invest” that sets us apart from other senior living communities. With a foundation built on honoring God, valuing seniors and investing in a staff with a felt calling to serve, we offer loving, compassionate care within a beautiful home-like setting. Visit our website to learn more about one of Boise’s finest Alzheimer’s care homes.

Looking for Assisted Living in the Fountain Hills AZ Area?

If you are looking for exceptional assisted living, MorningStar of Fountain Hills may be the place for you.  For seniors who wish to maintain their independence but require assistance with ADLs (activities of daily living), our 63 assisted living suites are equipped with all of the modern conveniences and safety features.  Available in a variety of well-designed floor plans, suites have wall-to-wall carpeting, high ceilings, lots of windows, ceiling lights, and mini-blinds.  

In assisted living, we offer various levels of support with the ADLs (we have 5 levels in all), and your care plan is determined after a thorough assessment with our Wellness Director, and in agreement with you and your family. Various auxiliary services, both medical and non-medical, are priced a la carte.  However, regardless of your level of care, all assisted living residents have access to around-the-clock Care Managers to ensure your safety as they compassionately meet your expressed (and even unexpressed) needs.   

Why we believe our assisted living to be different from that of other communities is by the type of individuals who make up our team.  When we set out to hire a new staff member, we look for virtues such as character, kindness and selflessness as we believe these are more important than education or experience.  Moreover, many of our “Great Hearts” come to us for a job as they love the idea of working for a company with core values that include Love, Respect, Honesty, Fairness, Goodness, and Kindness! 

Currently we are safely accepting new residents, and are confident in our protocols and procedures in fighting the coronavirus. We are closely following—in many cases, exceeding—guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), American Senior Housing Association and Federal government.  Visit our website for contact information and to learn more about MorningStar’s commitment to delivering service with sincerity, warmth and depth of purpose.    

MorningStar of Fountain Hills’ mission statement of “to honor, to serve, to invest” sets us apart from other senior living communities. We have built a foundation on honoring God, valuing our seniors and selecting staff with a felt calling to serve. Set in a warm, loving atmosphere with beautiful surroundings and resort-style amenities, we provide outstanding assisted living and memory care. 

Learn More About MorningStar of Fountain Hills

At MorningStar of Fountain Hills, our whole team is committed to being one of the finest senior living communities in the area and to live up to our unique mission statements as follows:

• Honor God in our business practices and relationships — a commitment to strong moral values and ethics
• Value all seniors as gifted and contributing individuals — a commitment to creating a community that promotes a healthy, engaged lifestyle, while providing security and independence
• Invest generously in our team’s ability to serve well — a commitment to hiring and retaining employees who use creative minds and compassionate hearts to serve residents     

MorningStar Senior Living’s founder and CEO, Ken Jaeger, began the company out of his desire to create senior living that was defined by the human touch.  He said his intention was to “re-create my grandmother’s house, a place where one can go and feel a sense of family.”  Seventeen years later, MorningStar has continued to grow and prosper with over 30 communities in 10 states open or under construction.

Our team is made up of a group of individuals who do the right thing even when no one is watching and feel privileged to serve seniors.  Our compassionate community is filled with love and laughter as we aspire to and nurture our core value of Love, Respect, Honesty, Fairness, Goodness, and Kindness.  These are the ways by which we want to offer care and build Family for Life. 

While we have had to make many changes due to the coronavirus pandemic, as the nation slowly reopens, MorningStar is carefully following suit with each state’s phasing and pacing where our communities are located. We continue to stay abreast of developments and evaluate best practices and innovations in our services to seniors.  Please visit our website for a virtual tour of our beautiful community and use our email link to inquire about availability and pricing.

MorningStar of Fountain Hills’ mission statement of “to honor, to serve, to invest” sets us apart from other senior living communities. We have built a foundation on honoring God, valuing our seniors and selecting staff with a felt calling to serve. Set in a warm, loving atmosphere with beautiful surroundings and resort-style amenities, we provide outstanding assisted living and memory care. 

MorningStar of Fountain Hills’ Culture of “Radiance”

At MorningStar of Fountain Hills, we provide exemplary service to our residents to ensure their utmost comfort, wellbeing and safety.  To achieve this, we recognize it could not be done without the help of our team members who we consider to be the very heartbeat of our community.  

Our team consists of a unique group of individuals who have a felt calling to serve.  They are the kind of people who do the right thing even when no one is watching, and have perfected the art of anticipating needs and going the extra mile.  MorningStar’s team members see seniors as heroes and feel privileged to have a rewarding career that offers both professional as well as personal growth.  

To direct us in our service, all team members, including our management team, are guided by Radiance, our exclusive brand standard of Service Excellence.  The program’s precepts are introduced to every team member upon being hired, and then reiterated and strengthened every day during our daily Huddle.        

Radiance allows us to take service professionalism to the next level and offers a purposeful way for us to advance our mission of honoring, valuing and investing in others.  As “Radiance” is like a beam of light, it epitomizes the ways we serve others – with warmth, sincerity, and depth and is reiterated through interpersonal communications and special touches throughout our community.   

We invite you to take a look at our website to learn more about our Radiance program and MorningStar of Fountain Hills.  We offer 63 assisted living suites in addition to our Reflections Neighborhood that has 28 suites devoted to the individualized care of those with memory impairment. We are certain MorningStar’s well-designed suites and welcoming common areas will impress you from the first but it is our dedicated, loving care team that makes our community a true home.

MorningStar of Fountain Hills’ mission statement of “to honor, to serve, to invest” sets us apart from other senior living communities. We have built a foundation on honoring God, valuing our seniors and selecting staff with a felt calling to serve. Set in a warm, loving atmosphere with beautiful surroundings and resort-style amenities, we provide outstanding assisted living and memory care. 

See Our Website for a Virtual Tour of MorningStar of Fountain Hills

If you are looking for exceptional assisted living or memory care, MorningStar of Fountain Hills may be your answer.  We want you to know that we are accepting new residents, and that we have every confidence in the safety protocols we are taking in our aggressive defense against the coronavirus (COVID-19).  Please visit our website for lots of information about Morning Senior Living and the Fountain Hills community, including a virtual tour.

The virtual tour will give you a good look at some of our open common areas including our atrium with a water feature, dining rooms, fitness room, theater, salon, patios and more.  You will also get a chance to see our well-appointed suites.  In addition, we share background on some of the guiding principles of MorningStar Senior Living including our mission statement and core values consisting of Love, Respect, Honesty, Fairness, Goodness, and Kindness.  

We think it is important for families to know that we have been very deliberate in putting into place a coordinated defense against the coronavirus in every aspect of our operations and have built layer upon layer of protocols as information evolves.  MorningStar is following closely—in many cases, exceeding—guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), American Senior Housing Association and Federal government to ensure the health and well-being of both residents and team members.

To give you comfort regarding our care during these unusual times, we would like to share just one of the letters MorningStar has received from our families.  They write, “Although, it is difficult not being able to visit our loved ones, I am so grateful for the proactive stand you are taking. Our parents could not be in a better place.”  

MorningStar of Fountain Hills’ mission statement of “to honor, to serve, to invest” sets us apart from other senior living communities. We have built a foundation on honoring God, valuing our seniors and selecting staff with a felt calling to serve. Set in a warm, loving atmosphere with beautiful surroundings and resort-style amenities, we provide outstanding assisted living and memory care. 

Seek Medical Advice if You Are Having Memory Problems

Experts say it is important to seek the advice of your doctor if memory problems are seriously affecting your life.  To determine if you or a loved one has Alzheimer's disease, the Mayo Clinic explains, “doctors conduct tests to assess memory impairment and other thinking skills, judge functional abilities, and identify behavior changes. They also perform a series of tests to rule out other possible causes of impairment.”  

During your appointment, the Mayo Clinic says expect to be evaluated on:

• Whether you have impaired memory or thinking (cognitive) skills
• Whether you exhibit changes in personality or behaviors
• The degree of your memory or thinking impairment or changes
• How your thinking problems affect your ability to function in daily life
• The cause of your symptoms

Tests include neuropsychological tests that are used to access your abstract thinking, problem-solving skills, memory, language usage and other related skills.  Your doctor may also schedule braining-imaging tests.  While these brain scans are not used to diagnose Alzheimer’s, they can detect other conditions such as hemorrhages, brain tumors or damage from a past stroke.  They are also used to establish a baseline in terms of the amount of degeneration seen on the scans.  

Your doctor may also talk with your family to learn more about the types of changes they have noticed and how they have affected who you are now.  All of the information is then used to rule out other conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, strokes, or depression that may be causing your symptoms.

It is understandable that people are often afraid to go to a doctor once they suspect Alzheimer’s.  Furthermore, many feel that since there is no cure, what is the point?  However, doctors stress once you are diagnosed with the disease, you can start getting the proper treatment as well as consider your care options and plans for the future.

This post is intended for informational purposes only.  Please contact your health care provider with any questions or concerns you have regarding your health. 

MorningStar of Fountain Hills’ mission statement of “to honor, to serve, to invest” sets us apart from other senior living communities. We have built a foundation on honoring God, valuing our seniors and selecting staff with a felt calling to serve. Set in a warm, loving atmosphere with beautiful surroundings and resort-style amenities, we provide outstanding assisted living and memory care. 

Source: mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/alzheimers-disease/in-depth/alzheimers/art-20048075

Common Foot Problems in the Elderly

As we age, many seniors suffer from chronic foot pain that includes stress fractures, tendonitis, fat pad atrophy, plantar fasciitis, acute and chronic osteoarthritis and more. Sometimes the problem can be the result of old injuries, or in the case of women, wearing high heels or shoes with too small of a toe box. Other foot problems may be caused by systemic diseases like diabetes, lupus, gout, and rheumatoid arthritis.

In the case of stress fractures, they are more commonly found in post-menopausal women with osteoporosis but men can also suffer from them. If you are at risk, experts recommend strengthening your bones by exercising, and if you are overweight, by dieting. They also say to talk to your doctor to ask if you should be on a medication. 

While osteoarthritis (OA) is caused by the mechanical wear and tear on joints and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that attacks the joints, both can cause tenderness, pain, or stiffness and swelling in the feet, and make mobility more difficult. Sometimes RA even causes alignment changes that result in foot deformities. 

Another common problem especially for seniors is fat pad atrophy. Even if you have put on a few extra pounds with age, the one place you do not want to lose fat or a cushioned padding is on the bottom of your feet. Fat pad atrophy causes pain in the ball of your foot and heel and can be eased by extra cushioning or custom-made foam shoe inserts. In the most extreme cases, filler injections are used to replace the fat pad. 

Also the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons report that approximately 2 million patients each year are treated for plantar fasciitis that occurs when the strong band of tissue that supports the arch of your foot becomes irritated and inflamed. Plantar fasciitis is typically the result of repetitive strain to the ligament of the sole of the foot and is caused by walking, running, jumping, or poor footwear. Treatments include icing to reduce pain and inflammation, stretching exercises, and shoe inserts. 

MorningStar at Englefield Green’s memory care embodies the very best in senior living with a distinct mission statement of “to honor, to serve, to invest” that sets us apart from other senior living communities. With a foundation built on honoring God, valuing seniors and investing in a staff with a felt calling to serve, we offer loving, compassionate care within a beautiful home-like setting. Looking for one of the area’s top Alzheimer’s care homes? Visit our website.