Month: April 2019

Communicating With Elderly Patients

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Many elderly patients have hearing loss and cognitive issues that make communication more challenging. Care givers working in health care in Silver Spring Maryland can adopt several strategies to help.

Slow Down and Simplify

Both hearing loss and cognitive issues make it more difficult for elderly people to understand rapid and complex speech. Slow down, and simplify your sentence structure. Pause in between main ideas. Do not talk to the senior as if she is a child, but avoid using difficult vocabulary words. If a senior does not understand something, try rephrasing or adding gestures. Give the senior cues about what you’re discussing, such as a picture. Face the person so that she can read lips. When you change the subject, let the senior know that you are changing the topic. If you are talking in a group, slow down the transitions in between people. Give the senior time to shift attention between individuals.

Change the Environment

Background noise makes it hard for seniors to hear and process sounds. Turn down the television, reduce hallway noise, and minimize machine sounds. Make the room lighting natural, not harsh, so that the senior can read lips. Avoid standing in front of windows, which casts a shadow on your face. Invest in carpeting and wall treatments to reduce reverberation.

Hearing Help

There are numerous programs available to help senior citizens get hearing aids, including Starkey Hear Now and Lions Club programs. Veterans should contact the nearest Veterans’ Administration hospital to see if they qualify. If the senior cannot or will not wear hearing aids, consider using a Pocket Talker. The Pocket Talker is a set of earphones that deliver amplified sound to the ears. Seniors with good vision may benefit from automatic captioning applications. There are special captioning telephones available.

Some simple tactics …

The Road To Recovery Through Counseling and Rehab

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There’s no question that the issue of addiction and substance abuse is a serious and rapidly escalating one in modern society. Due to this, more and more inpatient drug rehab centers are being established across the US, to provide treatment and counseling for those in need of help with addiction. In many communities today, the problem of addiction is spiraling out of control, cutting a swath across whole cities and leaving many families to deal with the destruction that out-of-control substance abuse brings. All of this is why there is a crucial need for quality treatment centers to help deal with the crisis.

Dealing With The Addict And Bringing in Healing

When a person’s life starts spinning out of control due to addiction, they may still stay in denial for a long time before seeking help. Denial is part of the psychology of addiction and it often takes an addict a long time to get to a place where they can humble themselves enough to seek help. When the moment comes that they are able to ask for help, it’s wise for them to enter a reputable treatment center and start healing.

Making a Treatment Plan

Upon entering rehab, the client will be examined so that a rehab counselor can being to work on an individualized treatment plan. This plan will take into consideration what kind of treatment the client needs, depending on the drug they are addicted to and whether there are any other underlying mental health problems (like Bi-Polar Disorder) that may be driving the addiction. Once a treatment plan has been established, the client will undergo a detoxification process.

Going Through Detox

Detox is the first part of the rehab process, as the client needs to have their body cleared of intoxicants before they can begin the …