Arcadia's Blog | Helping people stay at home and healthier longer

May 15, 2013
by Clayton
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ArcadiaHomeCare.com Goes Mobile

Arcadia is excited to launch the beta version of its mobile optimized corporate website!

Screen-cap of the new mobile site

Now accessing care from anywhere is faster and more efficient than ever with any smartphone. Arcadia’s new platform offers quicker access to contact information, faster page rendering, and condensed content for an easier overview of our services.

Our IT team has put together this new site with ease and convenience in mind. This beta version of the site will make contacting an Arcadia representative for care a touch away. If the moment that a you access the site isn’t ideal for calling, you can easily email the site to yourself or a friend for future reference.

The mobile site houses five essential functions that are straight forward and simplified for on-the-go access. The accessibility includes single touch contacting, a location search tool with an integrated ability to call directly to our offices, a request for services form, general information, and the ability to search and apply for jobs from any smartphone.

We’re intent on increasing access to our services as swiftly and effectively as possible for anyone who stumbles upon our site from a smartphone.

May 10, 2013
by Clayton
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Arcadia Home Care & Staffing is celebrating 35 years of trusted home care

Arcadia Home Care & Staffing, providing trusted quality home care since 1978

This May marks Arcadia’s 35th year in business as a home care provider and health services’ staffing resource. Founded in 1978, Arcadia has transferred ownership and varied monikers over the past few decades but has continually provided our clients with compassionate home care and staffing professionals.

As a Michigan owned and headquartered company, Arcadia is proud of its continued expansion and national presence while maintaining significant focus on excellence. From our initial credentialing process, through ongoing continuing education and training, Arcadia upholds extreme attention to compliance and consistent quality care.

Arcadia’s expansion began in 1986, when it introduced an affiliate model of business that allowed for close community-based operations and interaction. Through an affiliate model, Arcadia has been able to maintain a higher level of integrity and quality control as opposed to that of an average franchise model. Arcadia’s affiliate model has allowed for quicker growth in new markets aiding the efforts of our existing company managed locations.

Near the end of the ‘90s Arcadia underwent several changes in executive ownership until a team lead by John Elliott purchased the company in 2004, going public shortly after. During its period as a public company, Elliott stepped down to pursue other ambitions and Arcadia broadened its focus to multiple business lines.

With no investment in growing the home care and staffing segment, the subsidiaries outside of home care began to outspend the company’s original core business, leading to the breakdown and fracturing of parent company, Arcadia Resources.

In May 2012, John Elliott, having thorough knowledge and experience with Arcadia’s home care and staffing potential for success, set about purchasing the home care and staffing subsidiary back from the distressed parent public company that had largely neglected it. Together with Aaron Goldstein, also a Metro Detroit native and current CFO, Elliott repurchased the subsidiary, creating Arcadia Home Care and Staffing. Once again, Arcadia became a private Michigan based company, saving and creating jobs in Metro Detroit as well as in all other states of operation.

Elliott and Goldstein have reinvested in a new Metro Detroit headquarters and have pushed several new initiatives into play within the past year, including a paperless policy, stronger marketing presence through radio and print, as well as introducing and developing new more efficient communications technologies. Under their leadership, Arcadia has introduced additional services to our clients and recruited a new sales and marketing force across the country to increase the company’s presence and customer service.

While the name and ownership of the company have changed over the years, Arcadia’s senior management has always been predominantly comprised of nurses and healthcare professionals who have had years of experience at all levels of providing customer service in the home care and staffing industry. One such tenured member of management is COO, Cathy Sparling, a RN who has experience in clinical management for over 25 years and has been in management with Arcadia for 22 years. Sparling has extensive knowledge and involvement in all of our operations and has been pivotal in business development, having comprehensive insight of the home health industry, including her continued involvement as an active member of NAHC’s Private Duty Advisory Board.

The compassion and thorough understanding of caregiving that our management has for this industry, has always been in the forefront of the direction that Arcadia has pursued as a private company. Now in 18 states, and providing care throughout all 50, Arcadia Home Care & Staffing is flourishing again. And now, this May, Arcadia has the pleasure of celebrating its 35 year of helping loved ones stay at home, healthier, longer.

April 25, 2013
by Clayton
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Social media may keep older adults healthier

Senior happy from Arcadia Home Care's Facebook

Social media can provide seniors answers instantly

New research out of the University of Luxembourg has begun to identify the positive effects of using social media as a resource for investigating ailments and promoting overall health in seniors. This new study has identified new user-friendly technology, such as tablets and touchscreens, coupled with increased availability to the Internet as a catalyst for new opportunities for seniors to obtain information quicker.

As we have mentioned before, seniors who actively engage in social media, such as Facebook, have exhibited higher cognitive ability then seniors that haven’t been exposed to the social media site. Study researcher, Dr. Anja Leist explains that “older adults can use social media to access health-related information and engage in patient-to-patient or patient-doctor conversations.” With the advent of social media and the myriad of healthy living websites available, anyone can pose a health related question and have it reach thousands of people in seconds. In some cases, seniors could even reach out directly to a doctor’s Facebook page and have their question answered directly from a reliable source.

Outside of obtaining direct information on a physical ailment, seniors have begun to find emotional support. As Dr. Leist points out, “there are many online forums where people in difficult life situations, such as informal caregivers of a spouse with dementia or individuals with depression, can exchange thoughts as well as receive and provide social support.”

The benefits of social media, to an aging loved one, has potential that is only now beginning to be understood. The dynamics of the Internet are in constant change and there is a lot of potential danger for the spread of misinformation and identity security for seniors, so caution needs to be stressed. But the future of seniors’ interactions online seems overwhelmingly promising. Follow Arcadia Home Care on our social media sites today, for more information.

March 28, 2013
by Clayton
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Aging mind able to make better decisions on common Parkinson’s drug

Decision making naturally becomes more difficult as we age.

A new study from the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging has explored the effects of dopamine manipulation on seniors’ decision making. The researchers set out to develop a way to strengthen dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens, an area of the brain that processes and weighs the risk-reward in making decision making.

As adults age the levels of dopamine release in the brain associated with decision making diminishes and often it is more difficult for seniors to interpret the repercussions of a situation. Dr. Rumana Chowdhury, lead researcher, claims that “(w)e know that dopamine decline is part of the normal aging process so we wanted to see whether it had any effect on reward-based decision making.” He and his team studied a group of 32 volunteers, all in their seventies, and a group of 22 volunteers, in their twenties. The two groups were compared as they underwent behavioral studies and engaged in cognitive games. The older group was then administrated Levodopa, a common Parkinson’s drug, and observed with Functional MRI.

“We found that when we treated older people who were particularly bad at making decisions with a drug that increases dopamine in the brain, their ability to learn from rewards improved to a level comparable to somebody in their twenties and enabled them to make better decisions”, Dr. Chowdhury says. The drugs ability to effectively deliver dopamine to the brain may have some powerful implications, as Dr. John Williams, Head of Neuroscience and Mental Health at Wellcome Trust notes, “the hope of therapeutic approaches that could allow older people to function more effectively in the wider community.”

At Arcadia Home Care & Staffing, we want to help you make the best decisions for your aging loved ones. If you believe that your aging loved one is experiencing less cognitive strength, call Arcadia and see how we can help.

March 26, 2013
by Clayton
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Not taking high blood pressure seriously could increase your risk for Alzheimer’s disease

High blood pressure and Alzheimer's Arcadia Home Care

Maintaining healthy blood pressure could stave off Alzheimer’s

A new study, funded by the National Institute on Aging, has been examining the correlation between untreated hypertension and an earlier onset of Alzheimer’s. Researchers have been testing and observing 147 adult participants, with an age range of 30-89.

The participants have been split into several groups based on diagnosed hypertension, genetic inclination to Alzheimer’s, a combination of the two, and a healthy control group. With new brain-imaging technologies, scientists have been able to determine which participants have a genetic risk for Alzheimer’s by identifying harmful amyloid plaques that deteriorate the brains function, years before the symptoms take hold.

The most pertinent information to come from this new data seems to point to a correlation of untreated high blood pressure and increased levels of harmful plaque in participants who had genetic risk to Alzheimer’s. Dr. Karen Rodrigue, assistant professor at the UT Dallas Center for Vital Longevity and lead author of this study, asserts, “Identifying the most significant risk factors for amyloid deposition in seemingly healthy adults will be critical in advancing medical efforts aimed at prevention and early detection.”

Participants who had been taking medication to manage their hypertension showed no difference in amyloid plaque levels compared to the healthy control group, even if they had genetic risk. While this study is ongoing, it’s findings are clearly illustrating the negative effects of not treating high blood pressure, with a possibility that the higher blood pressure may cause the plaque to be deposited more easily through the blood-brain barrier.

At Arcadia Home Care & Staffing, we can help your loved ones avoid issues like this by monitoring medication and managing a healthy diet. If you have loved one that could benefit from our services, please reach out, we want to help you and your loved ones stay at home and healthier, longer.

March 19, 2013
by Clayton
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Having a caregiver to help dementia patients eat well may not only improve their physical state, but overall well-being

Arcadia can help your loved struggling with dementia to eat and live healthier, longer

A new analysis, published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing, found that helping patients with dementia to remember to eat can improve their overall well-being. Dementia patients often struggle with keeping up healthy nutrition, and it is commonly reflected in negative moods or depression.

Li-Chan Lin, RN, PhD, of the National Yang-Ming University in Taipei, Taiwan, observed three groups of dementia patients that had poor nutrition and administrated a combination of methods for encouraging healthy eating routines in two groups while having the third group remain under care without any change in routine.

The two variable groups underwent two memory exercises, spaced retrieval and Montessori-Based Dementia Programming (MBDP), to various degrees. The spaced retrieval exercise had patients remember some information and then have the patient recall the information at increasing time intervals. Coupled with spaced retrieval, MBDP, had patients perform repetitious tasks that get increasingly complex.

One of the variable groups, consisting of 25 participants, had 24 fixed group sessions where they performed the mental exercises. The other variable group, consisting of 38 participants, had the same amount of sessions but they were tailored to the response of each participant.

Throughout the study, all the dementia patients involved were tested for their physical and mental well-being. After 6 months, the dementia patients that had gone through some intervention of mental exercise had an improved in body mass index and nutrition. In addition to this, the group with sessions tailored to their learning levels also achieved a significantly lower depression score. Dr. Lin concludes, “In our research, besides improving eating ability, improved nutrition, increased body mass index, and a moderating effect on depressive symptoms are produced”.

If you have an aging loved one who is showing early signs of malnutrition or dementia, don’t hesitate to contact Arcadia Home Care & Staffing for a free consultation. Arcadia has a number of programs specialized to help your aging loved one eat well and stay at home, healthier longer.

March 14, 2013
by Clayton
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Facebook could improve the cognitive ability of aging seniors

Social media may be useful for seniors

A recent study out of the University of Arizona has found a boost in cognitive ability in seniors, aging 65 or older, from the introduction and continued use of Facebook. The social media site’s constant information flow may aid in keeping the mind active and build on new skills, increasing cognitive ability in seniors.

Researcher, Janelle Wohltmann, took a group of 28 seniors, aged 68-91, who had never had experience with social media sites , and split them into two groups randomly. The first group was introduced to Facebook and then continually observed as they learned how the social media site worked and their role in it. The second group was informed that they were to learn how to use a private online diary site, without social interaction, before moving on to Facebook (a goal which would never materialize).

Wohltmann had the subjects answer surveys on various aspects of their well-being, moods, and eventually their cognitive ability. The study concluded that those who had been introduced to the social media site had performed 25% better on the cognitive questionnaires then they had before their introduction into social media. The control group, who only dealt with a stagnant diary site had shown virtually no improvement.

Wohltmann concludes, “One of the take-home messages could be that learning how to use Facebook is a way to build what we call cognitive reserve, to help protect against and stave off cognitive decline due to normal age-related changes in brain function.” While also stressing, “But there certainly are other ways to do this as well”.

If you have an aging loved one that you believe could use a boost in social interaction and cognitive ability, perhaps you could introduce them, with caution, to social media. If you would prefer real societal interaction for your aging loved one, call Arcadia Home Care & Staffing.

March 12, 2013
by Clayton
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Alzheimer’s and sleep loss, the compounding effects.

Sleep loss and Alzheimer’s may directly influence eachother

A new study from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis looks at the relationship between sleep loss and Alzheimer’s. The study consisted of 145 unimpaired volunteers, ranging in age from 45-75, that were screened for inclination to Alzheimer’s and then studied to observe sleeping habits. Each volunteer was screened for inclination to Alzheimer’s disease by having their spinal fluid analyzed for amyloid plaques, the plaque that disrupts the brain’s function.

32 of the 145 volunteers tested positive for the biomarker, amyloid plaque, in their spinal fluid but still had no sign of cognitive impairment. The researches then observed the entire sample’s sleeping habits by using a device that monitors motion on a sleeping subject. The amount of movement throughout the time spent trying to sleep reflected the quality and quantity of sleep achieved.

First author of the study, Yo-El Ju, MD, concludes “when we looked specifically at the worst sleepers, those with sleep efficiency lower than 75 percent, they were more than five times more likely to have preclinical Alzheimer’s disease than good sleepers”. The average sleep efficiency of the 32 volunteers who tested positive for Alzheimer’s plaque was around 80 percent, while the remaining control group achieved around 84 percent sleep efficiency.

While it has been known that sleep loss is common among those inflicted with Alzheimer’s, Dr. Ju notes “this may help us get a better feel for the way this connection flows — does sleep loss drive Alzheimer’s, does Alzheimer’s lead to sleep loss, or is it a combination?” The study will hopefully shed light on the causality of each and may help monitor the effectiveness of treatments on a case-by-case level by monitoring treatments effect on an individual’s sleep.

If you have a loved one that seems to becoming more irritated and complains of less sleep you may want to reach out for more information. If you are unsure how to go about approaching the situation of your loved one growing older and have questions, do not hesitate to call Arcadia Home Care. We’ll help you make informed decisions, suggest local resources, or whatever else it takes to keep your family stay home and healthier, longer.

March 7, 2013
by Clayton
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Seniors found to be in better spirits from playing video games

Many computer games are readily available online for free.
Image source: http://www.stockfreeimages.com/

A new study from North Carolina State University finds improved emotional well-being from senior ‘gamers’. The study group consisted of 140 independent-living seniors, from age 63 and older, with the group’s average age around 77. The researchers surveyed the group for the amount of video games they played regularly and split the group into three categories for the purpose of the study: those that play video games regularly, those that play occasionally and those that did not engage in video games.

Of the 140 participants, 35% claimed to play video games regularly (at least once a week), with 39% saying that they never played. The researchers ran various surveys to determine the group’s over-all well-being, negative effects, inclination to depression, and social functions. The research’s results uncovered that the 61% of seniors who played video games regularly to occasionally had more positive results on well-being and emotional state on average.

Lead author of the study, Dr. Jason Allaire confirms, “The research published here suggests that there a link between gaming and better well-being and emotional functioning”. The study sheds light on possible new techniques to help our seniors maintain a positive attitude as physical abilities naturally decline. The researchers have expressed further interest in the effects of video games in hope of finding a correlation with ‘gaming’ and improved mental health.

Video games are available on a large variety of platforms and come in varying degrees of difficulty with a myriad of themes. If you have an aging loved one that is becoming more perplexed or irritable, perhaps introduce them to some video games or consult Arcadia caregiver for fun ideas to keep your loved one happier at home and healthier longer.

February 19, 2013
by Clayton
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Gardening may improve the attitudes of dementia patients

Seniors with dementia may enjoy the serenity of gardening

Enjoying fresh air, smelling flowers and feeding or watching birds may sound good to anyone who needs to take a step back from the stresses in their lives, however, at one community center in Roanoke, Virginia, this setting is helping seniors with Alzheimer’s cope, WDBJ7.com reports.

Here, creators of the park have pulled out all the stops to ensure visitors are able to fully enjoy their time – there is ample seating, tables for picnics and a walking path. Beyond that, there are also other amenities in place set to cater to those with dementia.

The source reports that the paths of the walking trails are level and wide to prevent falls, all the plants in the area are non-toxic and the cement on the trails has a tint to it to reduce glare when the sun hits it. Those who come are able to plant flowers in planters, pull up weeds and even fill bird feeders to pass the time. The calming sanctuary does wonders for those with Alzheimer’s, many times improving sufferer’s moods altogether.

“They get outside,” Cheyenne Barton, director of activities at the center told the publication. “They get the wind and the sunshine. Those things are so important to their care and how they feel. It just does them a world of good.”

Those providing elder care to a loved one suffering from Alzheimer’s may want to create an oasis in their own yards to allow their parent to get fresh air and a chance at peace this spring.