On February 4, independent and assisted living residents of MorseLife Health System celebrated National Hemp Day, participating in interactive hemp displays and enjoying hemp-infused foods like mini hemp nut butter “uncrustables,” hemp seed oil vinaigrette salads and hemp milk.

Since 2019, MorseLife has led the way in senior care innovation by offering cannabinoid-based therapies when they became Florida’s first senior living provider to introduce medical marijuana and CBD treatments. These therapies have significantly helped residents manage chronic pain, anxiety, depression and sleep disturbances.

Led by Melanie Bone, M.D., FACOG, Director of Cannabinoid-Based Therapies at MorseLife Health System, the medical team is at the forefront of this groundbreaking approach. Dr. Bone consults with patients to determine the proper dosage, tolerance level and best method for administering the treatment. This varies patient-to-patient and is reevaluated and adjusted as necessary.

Prior to beginning cannabinoid-based therapy, the education component is essential so patients, their families and doctors can assess the pros and cons to make an informed decision. That’s why events such as National Hemp Day are important to showcase options and benefits. Residents can explore their curiosities and overcome the stigmas and fears associated with using medical cannabis.

Dr. Bone has been a Certified Cannabis Physician in Florida since 2016 and joined the Florida Atlantic University (FAU) faculty as a clinical affiliate assistant professor in 2021, where she teaches medical students about cannabis.

“Cannabis doesn’t provide a cure. It doesn’t make a diagnosis go away after taking the medication for a period of time. Cannabis provides a treatment to alleviate and reduce symptoms of conditions such as insomnia, chronic pain and anxiety,” Dr. Bone said. “Cannabis offers a fantastic alternative to addictive opioids and antidepressants, all while increasing our residents’ quality of life.”

MorseLife’s cannabinoid therapies are just one example of how the health system is redefining senior care, helping residents live with comfort, dignity and improved quality of life.

June is National Safety Month:

Tips to Keep Homes Safe for Aging Loved Ones

June is National Safety Month and an opportunity for everyone to identify and minimize potential risks at home and in daily life.  Seniors, in particular, are at significant risk of falls, medication mismanagement, and accidents related to delayed household repairs.

Among the many home health and community support services offered to seniors, MorseLife Health System provides subsidized safety inspections and home upgrades to seniors in need.

Here are a few helpful tips to keep seniors safe at home.

1. Remove fall hazards like throw rugs and declutter spaces allowing for ample room to move freely.

2. Invest in non-slip strips that can be added to bathtubs and stairs, consider using non-slip wax on floors and buy rubber-backed bathmats. A pair of sturdy shoes to wear around the house will also help to prevent falls.

3. Replace standard toilets with high-profile, raised models (17-19 inches) and replace traditional doorknobs with easier-to-use lever handles.

4. Install grab bars by the toilet and shower and reduce the water heater thermostat to prevent burns. Also, handheld showerheads and bathing chairs in the tub can help to keep seniors safe during bathing.

5. Ensure that seniors clearly understand how to access numbers on their mobile phones without confusion by using a larger keypad display and making key contact numbers easily accessible.

6. Label medications in large font and sort pills daily, weekly, and monthly to prevent errors.

7. Change the batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide detectors seasonally and examine household electrical cords for signs of damage.

8. Install night lights or consider a motion detection lighting system inside and outside the home.

9. Encourage your loved one to wear an alert necklace to call emergency services in the event of a fall and check in with them often.

It’s always best to consult with qualified people that understand the challenges that aging adults face.  MorseLife offers lower-income individuals assistance with home safety, including grab bars and 24/7 LifeAlert safety monitoring. For more extensive home remodeling, certified aging-in-place specialists (CAPS) can be identified through the National Association of Home Builders.

MorseLife Offers New Leading-Edge Parkinson’s Therapy Treatment

Carolyn Carter, OTR/L, Has Been Promoted to Chair of the Program

Someone in the U.S. is diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease every nine minutes. Fortunately, with the right treatment, patients’ quality of life can be greatly enhanced and symptoms such as tremors, slowed movement, rigidity and trouble with balance can be reduced. To help residents and those in our community who suffer from this debilitating disease, MorseLife has introduced a new Parkinson’s Therapy program that will provide the highly specialized and personalized therapy that patients who suffer from movement disorders need to live a fuller life.

Carolyn Carter, OTR/L, has been promoted to chair of the new Parkinson’s disease therapy program. A lead therapist at MorseLife Short-term Rehabilitation since 2005, Carolyn has more than 25 years of occupational therapy experience treating patients in multiple care settings including skilled nursing facilities, outpatient therapy, sub-acute rehab and pediatric school-based therapy. Her clinical experience includes a wide range of practice areas with a specific interest in neurological rehab and she has advanced training in neuro-developmental treatment.

Carolyn will work to incorporate music-based movement (MbM) therapy into individualized treatment plans, which help to improve gait and gait-related activities in Parkinson’s disease patients. It naturally combines cognitive movement strategies, cuing techniques, balance exercises and physical activity while focusing on the enjoyment of moving to music instead of the mobility limitations of the patient.

Carolyn will see patients in all areas of MorseLife including the nursing home, short-term rehabilitation, PACE, independent and assisted living, and memory care. In addition to caring for those on campus, the therapist will see clients from the Kramer Senior Services Agency, a subsidiary of MorseLife that specializes in the care of seniors in their own homes.

June Is Men’s Health Month

MorseLife Resident, Norman Berlant, Shares Tips on Living a Long Healthy Life

June is Men’s Health Month and a time to heighten awareness of preventable health problems and encourage early detection and treatment of disease among men. To mark this important cause, we sat down with one of MorseLife’s residents, Norman Berlant, who is 90 years young and full of life, to hear his words of wisdom on longevity.

“The last time I spent the night in a hospital was 60 years ago,” said Berlant. “I attribute my health to good luck and good genes,” Berlant said.

While luck certainly does play its role, there is more to it. Berlant also believes that living a consistently moderate lifestyle has kept him healthy throughout the years.  “I am a retired CPA, and CPA’s are generally moderate people,” he joked. “I don’t drink more than one drink a day, and I’ve never smoked. I’ve never been one to do anything in excess.”

In terms of diet and exercise, Berlant said that he lived a sedentary lifestyle up until retirement with little exercise. “I have never been a particularly healthy eater either,” he added.

A resident at the Levin Palace independent living community, Berlant now enjoys daily walks around the campus and tries to work out at the gym 45 minutes each day. Since the COVID-19 crisis erupted, Berlant has been participating in MorseLife-sponsored virtual workout classes, offered daily on his television.

“I do go to all of my regular checkups and follow my doctor’s orders closely,” he added. “They are the experts and I listen to what they tell me to do, because I know it is for my own good.”

When asked if he had any advice for younger generations, he said, “Don’t be careless with your health. I see all these young people on the news disregarding COVID-19 safety measures put in place to protect them and they are putting themselves and others in jeopardy. It’s very shortsighted thinking.”

10 Warning Signs of Memory Loss

You’re talking to someone you know well and all of a sudden you can’t remember their name. Or you walk into a room purposefully, and then forget why you did it in the first place. You draw a complete blank, and your mind immediately defaults to “Alzheimer’s.”

Don’t worry; these are just normal signs of aging, or typical of a brain that is on information overload. More seriously, it may be a symptom of depression, side effects of medication, stress from retirement, or the death of a loved one or even having an underactive thyroid.

After a certain age, almost all of us are concerned about our mental acuity and progressive memory disease, whether in ourselves or our loved ones? When should we begin to worry?

According to the Alzheimer’s Association https://www.alz.org there are ten warning signs that you should not ignore.

1. Disruptive memory loss

As the term indicates, disruptive memory loss is persistent, progressive memory degeneration. Typically, it negatively impacts daily life and includes forgetting recently learned information, important dates or events, asking the same questions repeatedly, and increasingly relying on reminder notes on the refrigerator, medicine cabinet, or family members for everyday things.

2. Difficulty planning or solving problems

While it’s normal to make occasional errors, working with numbers, following recipes and cooking, keeping track of monthly bills, or taking much longer to do things may become significant challenges that impede quality of life and even present potential hazards.

3. Struggling with familiar tasks

With today’s complex technology, recording your favorite TV shows may be confounding, but not necessarily a sign of memory disease. However, forgetting the way to familiar locations, trouble writing a grocery list, or remembering the rules of a favorite card game could be cause for concern.

4. Confusion with time or place

Forgetting the day momentarily but figuring it out later is normal. We all do it.  But losing track of dates, seasons, or the passage of time is common in those with early Alzheimer’s. They may also forget where they are or how they got there, or have trouble understanding something if it is not happening in the present or immediately.

5. Trouble with visual images and spatial relationships

Problems judging distance, determining color or contrast are common cataract problems, but when present with other symptoms could also be an indication of Alzheimer’s. Vision problems that lead to difficulty with balance or reading may also be a sign of Alzheimer’s.

6. New problems with words in speaking or writing

Often, those in the early stages of Alzheimer’s may want to avoid other people or lose interest in socializing because they begin to have trouble following a conversation, or they regularly struggle for the right words when speaking with others or have difficulty naming a familiar object. If this is new behavior, it could be a sign of the disease.

7. Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps

We all have trouble finding our car keys from time to time, but usually, just retrace our steps to find them. A person with Alzheimer’s may put things in unusual places, e.g., car keys in the freezer or oven, and are unable to go back over their steps to find them again. As the disease progresses, they may suspect others of stealing their missing items.

8. Decreasing or poor judgment

Who hasn’t made a bad decision or mistake? On it’s own, its unlikely to be a symptom of Alzheimer’s. Still, those with progressive memory loss may experience uncharacteristic changes in judgment or decision-making, such as when dealing with money or neglecting grooming and personal hygiene.

9. Withdrawal from work or social activities

As mentioned in #6, a person living with Alzheimer’s disease may lose the ability to hold or follow a conversation, causing them to withdraw from hobbies and social activities. Or, they may have trouble with things that once gave them pleasure, like keeping up with a favorite team or activity.

10. Changes in mood and personality

It is often said that as we get older, we become more “set in our ways.” But individuals with Alzheimer’s may demonstrate profound mood and personality changes, or become confused, suspicious, depressed, fearful, or anxious at home, with friends or when out of their comfort zone.

MorseLife Health System is a not-for-profit national leader transforming perspectives on aging by designing a dynamic integrated model of residences, healthcare, and services to optimize and reaffirm life for older adults at every stage.

 MORSELIFE HOSPICE AND PALLIATIVE CARE SURVEY FINDINGS REVEAL ATTITUDES ABOUT MEDICAL MARIJUANA, RELIGION AND END-OF-LIFE CARE

MorseLife Hospice and Palliative Care recently conducted an online survey to find out more about people’s beliefs and attitudes towards end-of-life care. The top three insights included overwhelming support of medical marijuana, opinions on religion when dealing with a life-limiting illness and overall understanding of hospice care. 

The results of the survey will help MorseLife determine which aspects of hospice care need the most public attention and identify opportunities to raise awareness throughout the greater community. 

The survey found that 87% of Americans support the use of medical marijuana as a treatment option for terminally ill patients, with nearly three in five Americans (58%) expressing strong support. 

Interestingly, the hospice care study also revealed that if they were terminally ill and enrolled in hospice care, nearly three quarters of Americans (72%) feel it would be important to have access to a religious leader of their faith for spiritual guidance during their hospice care.

MorseLife was recently selected to participate in a pilot study on the use of medical marijuana as an alternative treatment to manage pain. Its hospice program is the only program in Palm Beach County offered by an organization with a history of serving the Jewish community.

Findings show that many Americans are unsure or incorrect about key aspects of hospice care including purpose, length of care and costs. For example, nearly half of Americans (48%) are not aware that hospice is covered by insurance, while 40% of Americans incorrectly believe that the sole purpose of hospice is to sedate terminally ill patients to provide pain/anxiety relief. 

 

The survey also found that 58% of Americans have not discussed their end-of-life care preferences with anyone in the event they become terminally ill, including almost half (45%) of those aged 65 and older who say they have not discussed it. 

While hospice care is a difficult subject for many, there are many innovative services available through hospice, like palliative care, and art, music and massage therapy, that can improve lives. People need to know that these services are within their reach.

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