2010 brings high hopes for Carebuzz and WorkingCaregiver.. high hopes along with lots of work in order to fulfill the high hopes!

The past few weeks have been filled with planning, building strategy, and revising the business plan. Well, we are still working on the business plan even after 2 months! Does it ever end? I hear promises that it can end.

As for fulfilling our goals - here’s a couple of items that I use to help me achieve my dreams and wishes, and goals:

1. Write out your goals - for me it was easier (not easy) for me to write out my business plan and list out our goals for 2010

2. Try to read them every day

3. Flip Chart or White Board - The daily tasks are written there - what needs to be done everyday

4. Calendar that sits on your desk and glares at you everyday… not to irritate you but to send friendly reminders on what’s next - this can be electronic too - I need friendly reminders to stay on task

5. Get clear on what you are trying to achieve and WHY - this helps me understand the importance of my accomplishments

6. Schedule times to check email throughout the day- helps eliminate my distractions and believe me I have quite a few of them

7. Share your goals with a business buddy - this holds me accountable

8. Do one thing at a time - then you won’t feel overwhelmed - my biggest obstacle!!!

9. Be receptive to doing tasks differently - being receptive to new solutions

10. Take action on your best ideas!

Happy New Year!

Wishing the best for 2010!

It is the season when our hearts are drawn together to experience Christmas, and many of us across this nation gather with family and friends to celebrate the birth of Christ among us. Some traditions start celebrating this eve by attending church and then having a special home cooked meal prepared for them as they await Santa Claus’s arrival for the children and young at heart. Others celebrate the Festival of Lights or the Winter Solaces. As we each celebrate, something stirs deep within us that I call an awakening of the Spirit that often creates a new season of hope in our lives.

Our traditions have been passed down from our family or religions. We can find solace in knowing, that there in lies a deep mystical truth for each of us to rediscover from one generation to another.

This Christmas, like many other people around the world, I will be celebrating the holiday season without someone I love. Many of our loved ones have passed into the Glorious Light of Heaven. It can be a very raw and painful experience. Personally, I am helped through this process by warm memories of Christmas past, a time of pure love and joy in my life. Sometimes I would trade anything for one more embrace, one special word, a glance or kiss. When the holiday songs begin to play I can’t help but recall childhood memories of family gatherings with grandparents, aunts, uncles or cousins who helped create more beautiful memories of my life time.

Merry Christmas from Celebrating Life Ministries - by Rev Paul Funfsinn

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to All!

Like Rev Paul Funfsinn and many of you, I too am celebrating this special season of joy and hope with my loved ones… even the loved ones who are in heaven. I miss them terribly; my Mom, Dad, and sweet Hanna. Merry Christmas to you! May you be safe, warm, happy and loved well. Know that you remain in my heart forever and are sorely missed.

Like you, I must live and be happy with my loved ones who share my side. Together we celebrate peace on earth.

Happy Holidays to you!

Carol

Are you going home for the holidays this season? Has it been several months since your last visit? Are you nervous about what you might find?

If you are an adult child or baby boomer and have an older relative that lives in another city or state, you may be going home for the holidays. This is an exciting time… maybe. You may also be a little leery of what you’ll find.. like a messy house, unkempt aging relative, food less refrigerator, disorganized meds, or maybe a very cold home.

That’s what happened to me several years ago when visiting my Dad. It was 33 degrees outside and Dad’s home must have been down to 50! burrrr.., I thought! “Dad, why is it so cold in here?” His answer was that he couldn’t get the pilot light to come on. I think he just couldn’t get down on the floor any longer to light it. Well, thank goodness that I came home. We quickly remedied that situation. And made additional plans to have someone check in on him regularly.

But if you are going home for the holidays consider taking this list along, it is very simple but a good place to start and may help you determine if your aging relative needs some help at home. Besides, it will help you find a bit of peace of mind too.

Senior Home Checklist

Happy Holidays!

Carol

If you have an elderly loved one living with Alzheimer’s disease and fear they may wander off without you knowing about it, consider giving an EmFinder, a wearable tracking device. Emfinder is reliable, secure — and nationwide.  The EmFinder takes advantage of existing, reliable network-based, cellular telephone location technology.

This technology uses advanced triangulation techniques to determine the precise location of a mobile phone, or, as in the case of EmFinders, the location of a specially designed wearable device. The target user segment are the impaired individuals at risk of wandering in the U.S. Those affected are:

Alzheimer’s — 5.2 million affected
Autism — 1.5 million affected
Down syndrome — 400,000 affected
Mental Illness — 57 million affected
Intellectual Disability — 2.5 million affected

What is EmFinders?

EmFinders is an emergency locating system that is triggered by the caregiver (not the missing person), and provides critical information for the recovery of a missing person.

Who benefits from EmFinders?

EmFinders is designed to help persons with medical impairments (like Alzheimer’s disease, Down syndrome or Autism) who are at risk of becoming disoriented and lost. The EmFinders device provides caregivers with peace of mind, knowing that law enforcement can quickly locate and recover their loved one should that
person wander and become lost.

Law enforcement benefits from the EmFinders device by simplifying and expediting the process of locating a missing person. Senior communities benefit because they can protect their residents and reduce their liability risks, while providing residents with maximum personal freedom.

To get more information on Emfinders, please visit MissingPatient.com.

Medicare Part D — We know many caregivers are playing an active role managing their aging parents’ medications and need to know what their plan covers. What caregivers may not know about Medicare Part D is that your loved one must enroll each year, even if they re-enroll in the same plan that they are currently enrolled in.  It’s a good idea to understand that the plan can change frequently, so please review your loved ones’ coverage to make sure their prescribed medications are still covered.

Medicare can be confusing. Most older adults that I speak with are confused about Part D. It is advised that caregivers learn and understand Medicare Part D so you can help those you are caring for. Open Enrollment ends Dec. 31st and Caring.com has resources to help caregivers understand Part D as well as select a plan that works best.