Month: November 2020

Pennsylvania lawmakers greatly affected Caregivers across the state when they voted to use the Cares Act funds that were earmarked to support industries to help balance PA’s budget.

Published by Ann Short on November 29, 2020

As we were shopping local businesses in our area yesterday I was reminded that our adult day care center isn’t the type of service that can be supported by “Small Business Saturday” and it made me realize how much our local lawmakers can really affect your business and ultimately your life and the lives of those that use your services.

Pennsylvania lawmakers made sure they disappointed small businesses across Pennsylvania by voting to use the remaining $1.3 billion from the Cares Act to help balance its budget. This move by the lawmakers makes me wonder if the politicians really understand the impact they have on their constituents with each vote they cast. We were hopeful that more funding would be allocated from the government to small businesses-like Ashley’s Chocolates the candy store we visited this morning. When I spoke to the owner she explained that due to Covid-19 and the limited number of customers allowed in its store at one time, they will rely on curb side pickup and online sales to maintain their existence. Restaurants like Piazza Presto and Giavanni’s Pizza and Restraurant and other establishments that we like in our neighborhood will continue to rely on take out orders since inside seating is limited due to covid-19. These businesses would have really benefited from additional Cares Act funds allocated for small businesses.

Find where Sweet Ashley’s is located and store hours at sweetashleys.com.

Find where Piazza Presto is located and hours of operation at Piazza-Presto.com.

Find where Giovanni’s Pizza and Restaurant is located and hours of operation at Pizzagio.net/home.

Retail businesses are not the only businesses feeling the pinch by the lawmakers vote, small businesses that provide services like our Adult Day Center that support people with dementia, autism, and intellectual disabilities also are scrambling to survive.

Voting to use those funds to balance the budget has forced us (Bon Homie Adult Day Center) to make tough decisions for our center. We have struggled with the options to ensure the future of Bon Homie and have decided that in order to give our center the best opportunity to re-open in the Spring we would have to close after the New Year’s Holiday. We have decided to remain closed through the end of February 2021 at least. We hope to re-open in the Spring but that will most likely be based on the availability of the vaccine.

The closure has significant impacts on our caregivers and clients. Many caregivers work and will need to find alternative care for the loved ones while working. For the clients that have been able to return to our program and thrive from the interaction and socialization, they will feel the isolation once again. Our clients that live with Alzheimer’s and dementia will be more affected because their routine and structure to their day will change, which will impact their behavior at home and will most likely make the change very difficult on both clients and caregivers.

The impact on our staff as we close again is vast. We were able to bring most of our staff back to work since July 2020 and off unemployment. Now they will be forced to go back to collecting once we close again in late December 2020. Many individuals working for small businesses, like our employees, need to make a tough decision, do they find new employment or do they try to wait it out to return to the job they love and are dedicated to?

We have learned many lessons as we continue to maneuver through this pandemic, one of the most important lessons is how important our vote is. We have all witnessed how important it is to vote in the presidential race but electing our state senators and representatives has a significant impact on all of us as well. Today many small business owners should be asking if their representatives are voting with their best interests in mind and if their representative is really the right person for the job. I am happy to report that the district our center is located in has a State Representative and a Senator that are incredibly supportive of small businesses. Thank you to State Representative Joe Ciresi and Senator Katie Muth for their continued support that they show the small businesses in their district.

Our center wants to survive this hurdle and be able to reopen in 2021 stronger than ever. We are working hard to provide alternative care options to our caregivers to support them while the center is closed and are hopeful that we will all come out on the winning side. Providing services outside our normal operations will also give our staff some opportunities to work in a limited capacity.

Every small business owner has experienced the ups and downs of their business and the effects of the pandemic on our business has been an overwhelming experience. I recently received an email from one of our caregivers and she shared a quote with me that I continue to reflect on as we make all these difficult decisions.

The quote one of our caregivers shared with me.

This quote is really the basis for all small businesses, you have to believe in what your doing in order to work your way through the ups and downs of being a small business owner and find success.

I hope in the Spring of 2021 we (caregivers, staff and owners) can say we believed we would survive this pandemic, and we did it together.

“Shop local businesses in your area, your support can make a difference.”

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Six simple activities for caregivers to have on hand for the holidays.

Published by Ann Short on November 19, 2020

The holidays are stressful on all of us. If you are caring for someone that has dementia, or a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, holiday gatherings can be difficult. Confusion and anxiety are most likely to increase when the structure and routine of someone with dementia is disrupted, especially during holiday get togethers. Adding masks and practicing social distancing just adds to the anxiety and confusion.

Having activities on hand that may help reduce stress, ease anxiety, and reduce confusion could make for a better experience for all involved. Remember when setting up these activities utilize an area away from the immediate gathering to improve your loved one’s participation and focus on the activity. Another suggestion would be to introduce the activity before everyone arrives. Individuals with dementia are typically more willing and cooperative to get involved an activity when they are in an environment that doesn’t overwhelm them.

Introducing our Six Simple Actiivities..

1. Coloring is the first of the six activities I would like to introduce. This is one of our “go to” activities in my household. Coloring can be enjoyed by friends and family of all ages; many people find this activity calming and relaxing. When we color we are focused as we participate in the activity; being focused helps us relax and reduce stress. Depending on your loved one’s capabilities, you can offer them simple pictures to color or more elaborate pictures if they can manage it. This is a wonderful activity that children can participate in along with loved ones with dementia or Alzheimer’s.

Adult Coloring books are available in a variety of topics, Superhero’s have always been a favorite in our house.

2. Puzzles are a great activity because you can purchase them in different quantities of pieces and difficulty. I would recommend a puzzle with 24 pieces or even wooden puzzles for individuals with dementia: although difficulty depends on the level of your loved one’s disease or diagnosis. We all need to achieve some success while participating in an activity to stay engaged, individuals with dementia aren’t any different. If the pieces are too small or there are too many it can add to their stress and confusion and they will lose interest in the activity. You may also find that you need to remind your loved one how to put the puzzle pieces together to get them started, depending on their clarity that day.

Wooden puzzles are much easier for indiivduals with fine motor difficulties and short attention spans. Many of these puzzles play music or make animal or instrument sounds when the puzzle piece is placed in the correct spot.

3. Holiday Sensory Bin is something that can be a lot of fun, spark memories and initiate conversation. You can put anything in a sensory bin that reminds you of the holidays your family celebrated, traditions passed on for years or just seasonal items. Some suggestions include cookie cutters, stockings, candy canes, ornaments, cinnamon sticks, Christmas pajamas, a star, angel, Christmas music box, ribbon, Christmas cards (cards with texture man be a nice addition as well), elves, Nutcracker and bells are a few options.

A few examples of items that you can put in your holiday sensory bin.

4. Lacing cards come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and themes. This type of activity is a much simpler one and promotes eye-hand coordination, and focus while keeping your loved one active and engaged. If your love one sewed, it is a similar activity and may spark some memories they could share with you.

Lacing cards come in a variety of themes to keep the individual’s interest and promote conversation. You can also look for wooden puzzle pieces to lace together such as the houses, boat and star seen above.

5. Listening to music is another great activity, that appeals to everyone regardless of their diagnosis. If your loved one has dementia, and you can play music from their childhood or young adulthood, they usually recall the music and words much more easily. Music from their past is very comforting to them and many times you can get them to sing along. I recall two songs that really stirred memories in some of the clients we cared for with dementia. I still hum along to them when I hear them.

Hymns are also a great option to listen to. Many individuals with dementia recall hymns that they sang as a young child and adult while at church or in their home and find this music very soothing.

6. Folding items such as dish towels or matching socks is also a task that many individuals with dementia find comforting and are willing to participate in. Folding clothes gives individuals a sense of normalcy and helps them feel they are being productive and contributing members of the household. These tasks are chores they most likely did for years and most individuals with dementia remember how to complete these tasks with little oversight depending on the level of forgetfulness they are experiencing. At the center we purchased a bunch of toddler socks, put them in a laundry basket and many of our clients would match and fold them. To initiate this activity, tell your loved one you could use their help with folding clothes, most of them are eager to help and will not hesitate to get started.

A few thoughts to consider:

You may find that you need to introduce an activity to your loved one with dementia. Many of these individuals do not remember how to initiate activity for themselves and wouldn’t realize the basket of clothes sitting in front of them needs folding.
You may have to show them how to participate in the activity when you first sit the activity in from of them. You may also find that you need to support them throughout the activity to keep them engaged. For example: if they are going to color, open the coloring book and help them select a page to color. Once a page is selected, hand them a colored pencil and see how they progress with the activity.
It may be helpful to switch activities throughout the timeframe depending on your loved one’s attention span and cooperation.

These activities would also be great to introduce while you are getting ready for your holiday dinner and gatherings too.

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Coronavirus forces Caregivers to adjust.

Published by Ann Short on November 11, 2020

When the pandemic hit our area, it forced our center and centers all over Pennsylvania to close. The effect it had on our caregivers and our clients was extraordinary. We received the e-mail on a Thursday afternoon in March 2020 that our Adult Day Care Center and centers like ours were mandated to close end of business that day. We scrambled to write e-mails and make phone calls to all the caregivers and clients we supported as well as the agencies that relied on our services. When we closed that day, my staff along with the caregivers that use our services believed we would return to normal in two weeks.

Caregivers were incredibly supportive of the close of the center and for the first two weeks many families could work together and support their individual. As March turned to April, we realized our center wasn’t going to be able to open for a while and we needed to figure out a way we could support our caregivers and clients that no longer had the option of attending our program every day. Many of our caregivers needed to work and even though they were able to work from home at this time due to the Coronavirus it was difficult to care for their loved one and work at the same time. Caregivers also had their normal responsibilities like running errands, taking care of their households, cooking and raising kids. Routine and stability are two things that caregivers rely on greatly to keep their households running, and not knowing what the future held was very stressful on all of us.

Sidewalk Chalk Art is a great activity for everyone to enjoy outside.

In late March one of the first programs we began offering was “Operation Sunshine”. We reached out to all our caregivers to ask if they would like to participate in “Operation Sunshine”. We had 8-10 staff that were interested in corresponding with clients through e-mail. Everyone could share pictures, stories, videos, and activities with each other. We had over thirty caregivers and staff interacting through this program. This was a great way for us to stay connected and see how everyone was doing. Many of the caregivers and staff shared what they were doing at home which gave us all ideas of things we could do with our individuals at home. Activities ranged from baking, to virtual trips to zoo’s and Long Wood Gardens. One staff along with her children used their creativity and decorated their sidewalks with chalk art. Another shared her chicks that she is raising on her property while my son Rory set up his painting studio on our deck. Each week we would meet as a group on zoom, it was great to see everyone and to see how each client was doing. The zoom program was beneficial to clients that thrived on the social aspects of our program, you could see it in their faces once they heard familiar voices and saw their faces.

Our staff sharing her chicks with the clients .

At the end of March beginning of April, we began a program where our staff worked remotely with our clients that live at home with their families. Staff and caregivers have learned how to use zoom so that they are able to interact with each other. Cooking demonstrations, reading stories, science projects, and music are just a few activities that are taking place.

Rory and Larry participating in activity prior to our center closing.

Our staff met with clients virtually every day for an hour or several times a week for 30 minutes to an hour. They also ran small group virtual programs, 2-3 clients meet with 1-2 staff for an hour and they play games, socialize, make a craft, etc. This program has been well received and our clients are excited to interact with their friends. Those receiving this service range in supports needs. A few of our clients require total hand over hand support from their caregiver to participate where others once they are logged into zoom can participate independently.

Our staff Toni, on a zoom program with one of our clients at home.

These services do not give caregivers total relief of caregiving responsibilities like the day program did but it does offer their loved one a connection with friend’s, the opportunity to participate in a variety of programs which promotes a sense of community and helps with each client’s overall wellbeing.

Many of our clients have not been able to return to our center once we re-opened in July 2020 because they are medically fragile. Our remote program continues to be offered today and has grown since we began offering the services in March 2020.

Like I stated in my first blog I am not a typical caregiver, but my husband and I are struggling with raising a 5-year-old during a pandemic. Firstly, we have other adult children and thought we were soon to be empty nesters when I found out that I was pregnant. Although, we were happy and excited, we were also concerned because I was 44 at the time. We have experienced firsthand the effects of the pandemic on our son and how difficult it has been to lose the social outlets that he had in place for engaging with others. He loved interacting with the seniors and young adults at our center as well as attending pre-school and being around kids his own age. He also uses zoom to participate in his preschool class. His moods change often, his constant struggle for control of his environment is evident daily, as is his gift of pushing the limits with his caretakers (mom and dad). As older parents who have been raising kids for over 30 years, we struggle to meet his emotional needs as well as our own during this stressful time.

Remote programming will never replace the value of in person, face to face activity and interaction that we all crave and thrive on. However, all of these programs that are being utilized via zoom are wonderful tools for us to use as we need to keep everyone safe until the Coronavirus is under control.

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My First Scoop!

Published by Ann Short on November 2, 2020

Welcome to my new blog “A Scoop of Caregivers Wisdom!” I am not a traditional caregiver, I have operated an adult day care center for 28 years and cared for seniors, disabled adults, and young adults with intellectual disabilities. In the early 90’s we opened our program to serve senior citizens and within the second year of being opened we expanded our services to include disabled adults and those with intellectual disabilities because of the need for services for these individuals and their families in our community. Through this blog I will share my “caregiving” story.

Our activity shed that sits right on our property.

individuals, volunteers and staff working in the activity shed.

I have had the opportunity to interact and support many caregivers over the years and see firsthand the struggles that they face in caring for someone they love. Caregiving can occur abruptly in someone’s life or if can occur in stages as they watch their loved one decline over years. Many people never expect to become a caregiver and often are overwhelmed with the new responsibilities and are unaware of how to find supports and assistance to be successful. Caregiving along with other obligations such as their full-time job and taking care of their family can place additional stress and pressure on them and effect their quality of life.

I graduated with a degree in Long Term Care Administration in 1992 and opened an Adult Day Care Center soon after. Through this blog I hope to share my stories, experiences and knowledge that I have gained through the center that I have operated over the last 28 years and my relationships with caregivers, local and state agencies, and professionals in the field.

A mother and her daughter volunteering at the center.

I look to touch on topics that every caregiver can relate to such as supports that assist caregivers in caring for their loved ones, stress, juggling responsibilities, etc. as well as specific areas such as diagnosis, funding for services, special diets, etc. I would also like to highlight a caregiver’s story each month. Through someone else’s story caregivers will be able to gain some insight into another caregiver’s experiences, see how they handled situations, managed setbacks and celebrate their successes.

Get ready for “A Scoop of Caregivers Wisdom!”

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