Seasons’s team finds the best caregiver and senior news, tips and advice from around the web, and boils it down into what you need to know each day.
Go small!
The story
There’s a new movement among senior living facilities in the United States to go small. Instead of building huge units with endless rooms, winding halls and hundreds of residents, some are opting for small home-like settings with only 10-12 residents.
Tell me more…
The model is inspired by the Green House Project, which has helped develop more than 300 of these small scale nursing homes across the US. Each home is said to be self-sufficient, self-contained and small-scale. They include private rooms and bathrooms for each resident, a living room, kitchen and several outdoor spaces to enjoy. The thesis is that this home-like setting provides a better quality of care than traditional large-scale nursing homes.
What’s the benefit?
According to research done by the Green House project, there are several benefits:
- Designed to reinforce identity of residents and provide a better quality of life
- $1,300 to $2,300 less in annual Medicare and Medicaid spending
- Less staff turnover and greater staff engagement with residents
- Lower COVID-19 rates during the pandemic
Where can I find one near me?
The Green House project has a directory for current homes, and resources to build your own if there isn’t one in your community.
Cocoa, coffee and wine may help prevent dementia
The story
A new multi-year study of French residents found that a plant-based diet reduces the risk of cognitive impairment and dementia in the elderly.
Tell me about the study
It was just published in the ‘Molecular Nutrition and Food Research Journal’ and conducted by the University of Barcelona and CIBER on Frailty and Healthy Aging. It looked at 843 people 65+ in the Bordeaux and Dijon areas of France. It found specifically that certain polyphenol-rich foods helped to protect against dementia. These foods include cocoa, coffee, mushrooms, apple, green tea, blueberries, and yes, red wine!
The conclusion
Introducing polyphenol-rich foods early in life may create a protective link in the brain to help keep cognitive decline and dementia at bay.
Amazon to the rescue
Amazon is entering the elderly home safety and monitoring space with the launch of the new Alexa Together. Get the low-down here…
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