Burnaby/New Westminster

Our commitment to exceptional personal care ensures that you or your loved one will be able to enjoy a quality life with the home support needed.

Our care team provides quality nursing and in home care services in the Burnaby and New Westminster area. Karp Homecare services can transport you to and from your medical or dental appointments as well as accompany you to any of Burnaby or New Westminster’s shopping attractions. In Burnaby, these may include Metrotown Centre, Lougheed Mall or Brentwood Mall and in New Westminster; Royal City Centre Mall or Westminster Quay Public Market. For those wanting to participate in community based activities, our care team will take you to any of Burnaby’s eight community centres or your chosen senior’s activity centre. In New Westminster, perhaps you would like to visit Centennial and Queensborough Community Centres, Canada Games Pool, or Century House Senior’s Centre. If it is fresh air that you’re after, let your personal care companion take you to your favourite park or walking trail. Whether you or your loved one requires senior care, personal care, transportation, housekeeping, or grocery shopping, our care team will provide companionship while assisting individuals to maintain independence and enhance daily living.

Please feel free to contact us with any personal care questions or inquiries you may have:

Vancouver

Our home support team provides quality nursing and in home care services in the Vancouver area. Whether you or your loved one requires senior care, personal care, transportation, housekeeping, or grocery shopping, our care team will provide companionship while assisting individuals to maintain independence and enhance daily living. For those residing in Vancouver, Karp Homecare services can transport you to and from your medical or dental appointments as well as accompany you to any of Vancouver’s shopping attractions. These may include Oakridge Centre, Pacific Centre, South Granville Street, Kerrisdale, Granville Island plus many more. For those that like to take part in community based activities, our care team will take you to any of Vancouver’s 23 community centres or to your favourite senior’s activity centre. If it is fresh air that you’re after, let your personal care companion take you to Stanley Park, Queen Elizabeth Park, Kits Beach or wherever your favourite walking trail may be. Our commitment to exceptional personal care ensures that you or your loved one will be able to enjoy a quality life with the home support needed.

Please feel free to contact us with any personal care questions or inquiries you may have:

Memory Loss & Maintaining a Sharp Mind as We Age

In many cultures, society’s most respected individuals are seniors—for the years of experience and wisdom they’ve garnered.

It is no wonder, then, that seniors find memory loss a daunting, frustrating and frequently depressing inevitability of aging. Everyone experiences memory loss as they age—regardless of whether or not one suffers from dementia. Fortunately, studies have shown that engagement in social and intellectual activities can slow the onset or development of dementia.

There are several types of dementia: Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, Pick’s disease, Huntington’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, among others. Quite often, the symptoms of depression in seniors may be perceived by others as symptoms of dementia. In The Vanishing Mind, authors Leonard L. Heston and June White explain how to differentiate between dementia and depression in seniors. Seniors suffering from depression may complain of memory loss and frequently talk about their disability, whereas those suffering from the onset of dementia may try to hide their memory loss, be averse to speaking about it, or not even realize they have dementia at all.

According to the Canadian Study of Health and Aging (CSHA), approximately eight percent of those 65 or over in Canada have some form of dementia. As Canadians age, the diseases are far more common. Thirty-five percent of Canadians 85 or over suffer from dementia.

To preserve a sharp mind, it is beneficial to stay stimulated. If seniors can maintain healthy social relationships—with partners, friends, family members and caregivers—and engage in stimulating activities such as reading and completing puzzles, they can prolong the onset of dementia, which often takes years. A 2002 study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology revealed that “elderly subjects who participated in mental, social or productive activity had a lower incidence of dementia.”

There are products for entertaining and mentally engaging seniors—including the soon to be released Dakim Brain Fitness (www.dakim.com)—though such products are not necessities. It is just as beneficial for seniors to chat over a coffee with a friend, create a painting, work on a crossword puzzle from a newspaper or read a good book.

Getting It Right: Tips For Taking Medications Safely

Take one tablet, once daily.

It sounds straightforward, but it can often be just the opposite for elderly patients. Taking the right medications at the right dosages, and ensuring no drug interactions occur are frequently problematic for home care patients. Nevertheless, there are simple solutions home care professionals and families of elderly patients can use both to avoid related hazards—including falling—and to improve communication between nurses, physicians, patients and their families.

“Family members can take an interest, ask their grandmother or father for a list of medications, and check it out,” said Maeve Hiscock, a registered nurse in the Vancouver area. She suggests patients or family members should keep a current list of all medications, updated every three months, to give to nurses and physicians. It is also helpful to include a brief medical history and known allergies in this list.

Another important practice is to follow up with family physicians after hospital visits. Many patients who stay in the hospital either don’t have a family physician, or their physician doesn’t do hospital visits. During their stay, their physician is called a hospitalist. Hospitalists will send discharge reports—including a list of medications prescribed in hospital—to a patient’s physician. Following up with the family physician can ensure there is no confusion over changes in prescriptions or dosages.

Simplicity is key. “Use one pharmacy only,” insisted Hiscock. If patients haven’t told their home care nurses or their physician about all of their current medications, their pharmacist may be the one to notice a dangerous drug combination, or missing or duplicate medications.

There are also online resources to check for drug interactions, including www.drugdigest.org. The process is easy, though Hiscock points out that many elderly patients do not have internet access. Such websites may be better resources for family or health-care professionals wanting to ensure the safety of their loved one or patient.

Ultimately, communication is essential in senior care. “Home care workers are one of the best sources of education, providing information and encouragement… a lot of the time the community health workers become like family members,” said Hiscock. While physicians may only see a patient sporadically, home care workers are often involved in the everyday well-being of seniors, and can ensure patients and family members exercise caution with medications.

Home Support & Personal Care

Home Support and Personal Care Services

No matter the service being provided, having a compassionate caregiver appear every week will provide a welcome change of pace and will ensure you or your loved one is safe and well. Karp Home Care’s caregivers are trained to watch for and act quickly on what is called a “change in condition”, which means anything that appears out of the ordinary for that particular person.

Maintain a Safe Environment

Safety is a number one concern for both our clients and our caregivers. One main mission for the caregivers is to ensure that the home is safe for their clients and for anyone else who enters it. They can clear walkways and pathways, check electrical cords and wires, and observe for other safety hazards.

Companionship

Conversation and Companionship – Engage in conversation and company, playing cards, reading to each other, or just eating a meal together, having someone to sit by your side and visit with can help make for a happier, healthier life.

Arrange appointments - Coordinating medical and other needed appointments can be time consuming and challenging for seniors. Our caregivers can arrange and track these appointments for you.

Prepare grocery list - Caregivers not only prepare nutritious meals, they help prepare grocery lists as well. This includes clipping coupons, shopping through the grocery advertisements for the best deals, checking on the food supplies in the home, and disposing of old or spoiled food.

Plan activities - Everyone has a hobby they love, activity they enjoy, or an important routine they must follow. Caregivers can help by planning and assisting with these activities so you or your loved one can maintain independence, keep their minds active, and have a little fun! Caregivers can arrange for friend and family visits, shopping outings and other activities.

Personal Care Services

Bathing and showering - Bathing is essential to an individual’s sense of well being. Whether it is preparing the room for a bath, assisting with the transfer into the tub, staying nearby in case of an emergency, helping with a partial bath, or providing a full bed bath—our caregivers are trained and sensitive to this need.

Hair care - Our caregivers can help their clients shampoo their hair in a bath, shower, or sink and also help dry and style it to their preference.

Medication reminders - Our caregivers cannot administer medications but they can be an “alarm clock” for you or your loved one to take medications at the right time.

Help with morning wake-up - If you or your loved one needs help getting up and around in the morning, our caregivers can help with getting out of bed, getting dressed, and preparing breakfast.

Bedtime assistance - Just like the morning wake-up, our caregivers can assist with getting you prepared for bed, help with getting into bed and making sure there is an ample amount of fluids by the night stand.

Ask A Question

Have a question Answered by one of our Vancouver Senior In Home care professionals:

Fall Prevention Exercises

Keeping your leg muscles strong and having good balance helps prevent falls. Before you start any exercise program be sure to consult your doctor.

Try to do these exercises everyday for best results.

 

CHAIR SQUATS

Stand in front of a sturdy chair. In a controlled and steady motion, sit into the chair, then stand up. Work towards not using the arms on the chair and standing back up without resting. Remember to breathe throughout.

Start with: 10 repetitions Goal: Two times a day

  LEG EXTENSIONS

Sitting up straight in a supportive chair, slowly straighten out your leg and lower it back down. Work towards holding your leg out for ten seconds, while breathing normally.

Start with: 10 repetitions Goal: Three times a day

 

HAMSTRING CURLS

Hold on to a sturdy chair back or grab bar. Stand up tall with your eyes forward. Keeping your knees together, bend one knee so that your heel comes up toward your back. If this is difficult, only lift your foot up as high as is comfortable.

Start with: 10 repetitions Goal: Three times a day

Karp Home Care Vancouver is committed to providing premium in home care to the elderly, ill or injured. For more information call 604-420-7800

What is the difference between an at-home nurse, and a home care aide?

Q: What is the difference between an at-home nurse, and a home care aide?

A: The difference between an at-home nurse and a home care aide lies in the difference in the services they provide. An at-home nurse is a registered nurse who is licensed to administer medicine, manage IV pumps or ventilators, and to help manage clients’ medical issues and/or diseases.

In contrast, a home care aide is a professional, who is also educated on the needs of a senior, but who is not licensed to provide medical care. A home care aide can assist with toileting, and with preparing meals, and essentially all non-medically related challenges a senior faces.

Karp Home Care Vancouver is committed to providing premium in home care to the elderly, ill or injured. For more information call 604-420-7800

How do I know if long-term care, or home care, is the right option for me?

Q.How do I know if long-term care, or home care, is the right option for me?

A.The difference between long-term residential care and home care comes down to your specific needs; if you have health issues, and need assistance in managing your medical issues, long-term care may be the right option. However, if you are just in need of assistance with learning how to live on your own as an older adult, and need assistance with personal care, home care may be the appropriate option for you.

A simple gauge to determine if home care is right for you may be to ask yourself these questions: How do you fair with brushing your hair, or bathing? Do you have difficulty with using the bathroom? How do you manage eating on your own, or preparing your own meals? If your answer to any of these questions leaves you feeling uncertain about your abilities to manage these activities independently, you may want to consider home care. Home care services are an alternative to long-term care, which allow you to continue to live independently, yet provide the assistance of a qualified home care worker coming to your home a couple hours a day to aid you with mealtimes, general hygiene, or to even lend a hand with grocery shopping.

Karp Home Care Vancouver is committed to providing premium in home care to the elderly, ill or injured. For more information call 604-420-7800

Water Provides a Low-Impact Workout

If you are looking for a great way to improve your physical fitness and well-being try exercising in the pool. Water exercises are great because they are low impact and a lot of fun. There are many exercises that can be performed in a pool. Aqua running with a water belt, exercises with a pool noodle and pool dumbbells are just some of the tools available for exercising in a pool. You can also swim lengths and your local pool may even have weekly water aerobic classes that you can participate in.

The benefits of swimming have been recognized for many years. Swimming is an excellent form of aerobic exercise. If performed three times a week for a minimum of 20 minutes you will improve your cardiovascular endurance and, coupled with good nutritional habits, you will burn off some of that excess body-fat! Besides the aerobic benefit, it is one of the few aerobic sports that emphasizes upper body conditioning while also improving flexibility. The other benefit is that, because gravity is eliminated, there is less potential for injury to the lower extremity joints, muscles and tendons.

If swimming lengths is not your thing try a water belt used for aqua running. A water belt fits around your waist and helps you to partially float so that you can perform a running motion in the water. This form of running closely patterns the form used on land. Water provides a resistance that is proportional to the effort exerted, much like running into a stiff wind. For variation, this exercise can also be performed in a cross-country skiing motion. The benefit of pool exercises is that the water allows you to move freely. Also, the water provides added resistance without the stress or impact on your joints and soft tissues.

Water aerobic classes often use pool tools such as water dumbbells, pool noodles or even empty capped milk jugs. These devices are great for performing strengthening exercises as they provide resistance from being submerged into the water. Milk jugs are especially great for pool exercises because they are effective and very inexpensive. A good aquatic class will provide an aerobic workout and it will also effectively strengthen the major muscle groups of the body.

For people with lower back pain or with injuries to their lower extremities exercising in a pool is often the best way to restore muscle strength, endurance, and joint range of motion. Exercising in the water is also great for sport-specific rehabilitation. Many athletes have returned to their pre-injury form ahead of schedule due to the effectiveness of water rehabilitation.

If you are just starting out on an exercise program remember that all programs can be tailored to your individual needs based on your age and fitness level. Always start with a program that is comfortable for you and slowly progress from there.

Karp Home Care Vancouver is committed to providing premium in home care to the elderly, ill or injured. For more information call 604-420-7800

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