Let’s Get Connected

 Understanding technology and how it can be an asset to one’s life at any age is getting a lot attention. One expert said, “More of our elderly friends are being pushed online by their families who want to stay connected via email.  For folks 74 years of age and older, thirty percent are already online. Would you like to join them? A good way to introduce technology is to get  a device that will be easy to use like a digital photo frame.

 Email tablets and notebook-sized laptops  are easy to learn and travel well as is an E-reader or Kindle reading device which is also very portable.  Importantly, any device that will likely be embraced by this generation should follow these guidlines:  Simplicity of use,  easy to follow instructions, available phone support from the manufacturer and the enjoyment of use should always outweigh the effort. should always outweigh the effort. When used as instructed, electronic devices can improve brain activity and are proven to ease the negative feelings of isolation which can occur in our older generation. As we know, enjoyment matters in learning.

You can be part of the older American web generation. A new name has been attached to this movement. Some of these end users are referred to as, “Net-iors.”

Concierge Doctors – Returning to a new future of House Calls.

Imagine texting your physician with a question about a new medication or video conferencing when you become ill while traveling. How about just scheduling a time for your doctor to come by your house for a checkup. A local physician  offers two membership levels of service monthly or annual.

Monthly members get same-day or next-day appointments, little or no office wait time, leisurely visits, physical exams, adoption and sports physicals, travel medicine consultation and direct access  by cell, email, text and video chat. He also advocates house calls for those who are elderly, on bed rest or in hospice care.

Annual members get the same level of service as monthly members plus priority scheduling, coordination of hospital care and personal health advocacy. For example, if a patient is hospitalized, Marable goes to the hospital to work with doctors and translates to the patient details of their care

“There are a lot of misconceptions about direct, concierge care, and I would say most working folks could afford my care.”

It is a service Becci Bookner, CEO of Family Staffing Solutions, has wanted to provide her clients – average age of 80-100 – for some time now. “We have one woman who is 98, and by the time we take her to the doctor – she is in Nashville and he is in Murfreesboro – it takes four hours to get her dressed and get up there for 10 minutes with the doctor,” she says.

This is why Family Staffing Solutions is partnered with Dr. Jim Garner in Murfreesboro, TN who will be making house calls for clients in need of his services at home.  For more information on this new (old) idea, read more at www.nashvilleledger.com.

For most people especially over the age of 60, it’s best to stay inside during excessive heat. Air conditioning is the best way to protect yourself against heat-related illness and death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  If you are exerting yourself outside,  it’s safer to do it  before midday and stay hydrated and going more slowly.  Experts say that over time, your body can adjust, ”Humans have “an amazing ability to thermo-regulate during heat.”  According to  Southwestern Medical Center at Texas Presbyterian, ”We defend our temperature…  humans are actually well-adapted to deal with heat provided we can sweat, so our physiology is very cool.”  People over age 60 are most vulnerable to weather conditions. Medical conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, respiratory conditions or weight issues hamper the body’s ability to regulate its core temperatures in extreme cold or heat.

When people go outside into summer weather heat over 90 degrees, the body can sense this assault to itself and will begin to fight to keep the body temperature cool. ” It has be proven over and over that heat waves do more than make us cross and sluggish. Searing temperatures kill more people in the U.S. than hurricanes, lightning, tornadoes, floods and earthquakes combined.So go and make some icy cold lemonade and relax. The summer is almost over.

At Family Staffing Solutions, Inc. we care about your health.