Page 3 - Senior Times South Central Michigan - June 2020 - 27-06

Senior Times - June 2020 Page 3
PREVENTION IS KEY
By: Anne Clark, Senior Health Partners
One of the groups I work with is the Michigan Dementia Coalition. Within that group, I am on the Elder Abuse Prevention group and the Adult Protective Services sub- group. We are fortunate in Michigan to have groups working hard to make sure those who are vulnerable and at risk are protected from harm and danger to the best of our abilities. The question then becomes, who are those people?
There is no cost, it is free if you or the per- son you are caring for is 60 years of age or older; live in Calhoun County; and want to participate.
When defining vulnerable, do we look
at age, do we look at condition, do we look at how you live your life (even if you have always lived your life that way); the “vulner- able person” definition is the million-dollar question. Through education and working with family caregivers, I have learned that although we may be vulnerable (based on many different factors) – we do not want to be told we are or treated in that manner. For many, that makes us feel as though we are no longer in control of our lives and/or that we do not have a say in what is occurring in our life. As a family caregiver, it is hard because we want to be protective of the person we are caring for and sometimes do not take the time to think about how we may be coming across.
Last month, the topic I discussed was patience. As the stay-at-home order con- tinues, we have to look at other aspects of providing care for someone else as well.
This month, we will talk about Prevention, preventing abuse from occurring, especially when all of our emotions are running high and we tend to be a little short-tempered.
in ways that you have never reacted before; your temper might be short; you might not take care of your person's personal care needs like you once may have; instead of talking, you might yell; and the list goes on. I have even worked with people who have physically touched their person, yet; they have never touched another human being in their lives. We can all say, that would never happen to me but I will tell you the calls for possible neglect and abuse have been on the rise since we have all been quarantined (not just for adults but children as well). Why is that? Because we are not taking care of our- selves, we have no outlet to let off steam; we have no time for just us and our frustration is high.
Another way you can help yourself is by making yourself a priority. If you have ever flown, they instruct us to put our oxygen mask on first and then help the other person put theirs on. That is so that we are ABLE to help the other person. For family caregivers, there are many different “oxygen masks.” One may like art, music, exercise, medi- tation, reading, or watching a good movie (without interruption) – whatever can help you to recharge that battery of yours and have a better perspective about the job at hand. The important step is taking the time to take care of you. We can all find the time because to start it does not have to be a lot of time; it can be as little as five minutes to get going. Once you start to realize the benefit to you and your person, it can then grow from there. Just taking that first step is crucial to helping yourself!
During this time of crisis, I ask you
all to step back and take a little time for yourself. Please help prevent a crisis from occurring by putting yourself first. It will help you to breathe easier and get some of the load off of you.
What happens when you do not take care of yourself is crisis? The crisis can come in many forms; you can find yourself reacting
For family caregivers, one way is reaching out for help. Through Senior Health Partners, we have a Family Caregiver Coach. Her name is Alice and she works one-on-one with Family Caregivers to help in the growth of self-care; self-empowerment, finding solu- tions to issues – just all areas of caregiving.
You can reach out to Senior Health Partners by calling (269) 441-0948; Alice by calling (269) 986-0773; or myself at (269) 986-3135. We are here to help you or get you in touch with someone who can help!
Happy June and we continue to pray for you all!
Providing services for veterans and their families.
Federal Benefits Emergency County Burial and Programs Assistance Benefits Benefits
(269) 969-6735 • 190 East Michigan Avenue, Third Floor, Battle Creek, Michigan calhouncountymi.gov/departments/veterans_affairs/index.php