Wishing Peggy Mueller a Wonderful Retirement from Gloria Dei Communities
After 25 years, our own Peggy Mueller has decided to retire from the Gloria Dei Communities family. Peggy[Read More]
Posted on June 23, 2016 | Posted Under: Helpful Articles
Unfortunately, our senses can degrade as we age. It’s not uncommon for older adults to require a pair of glasses to read a book or ask someone to repeat what they said due to hearing loss. These are quite familiar problems. However when it comes to your vision, if you’re experiencing cloudiness or colors seem to be faded, you may be experiencing a cataract. Don’t ignore the problem. June is known as Cataracts Awareness Month, and it’s the perfect reason why you should head to go see your eye doctor.
Cataracts are a common occurrence in older adults. As of right now, over 3 million people are being treated for cataracts, and research has shown that by the age of 80, over half of all adults will experience the development of one. However, what exactly is a cataract?
To understand a cataract you have to understand the eye. It’s a complicated organ. It is made up of many tiny parts that allow you to see the world. The main parts include the iris, cornea, pupil, retina, and lens. Cataracts are formed in the lens of your eye. The lens is the clear part that allows light to shine through and hit your retina. The retina will then take that light and focus it, so your brain can process all of the information around you.
For a person with cataracts, their lens is not clear. Proteins within it become clumped up and form a cloud that directly affects their vision. It may start small, but over time the cataract will grow. At first it may seem like you have no vision problems at all. However, as it does grow, one’s vision becomes blurred and colors begin to fade. Your eyes will be like a camera that needs to be properly focused in order to see the subject more clearly. Unfortunately, our eyes do not have a manual focus override. The best way to fix your vision if you have a cataract is through surgery.
Luckily, cataract surgery is an easy procedure. As stated previously, cataracts affect over 3 million people, so it’s very common and practiced everywhere. It’s also quite effective. Ninety percent of the people who go in for cataract surgery walk out with better vision. The surgery entails the removal of the clouded part of the lens, and its replacement using an artificial lens. It usually lasts less than an hour, and people choose to be awake the whole time. It’s a relatively painless procedure. That being said, surgery is only required if it’s affecting your day-to-day life. If you can still drive, read, or watch TV without forcibly squinting, it’s not required.
All in all it’s up to your doctor to detect if you have any cataracts, and if you need to get them removed. You may think your vision is fine, but you may have undetected issues. Don’t let them go unnoticed! That’s why it’s important to see your doctor. He or she will be able to tell you if you have cataracts or anything other disorder affecting your eyes. Of course, it’s always smart to wear sunglasses when it’s bright and a brimmed hat in order to reduce the amount of UV rays hitting your lens and other parts of your eye. This can help reduce your chances of eye disorders, but it won’t be able to reverse any damage. Therefore, make sure you celebrate Cataract Awareness month the right way and go see your doctor!
Posted on June 8, 2016 | Posted Under: Helpful Articles
The month of June has several important awareness issues featured within its 30 days. One of those important issues is aphasia. This is a speech or language disorder that is caused from complications in the brain. Often times, the symptoms of aphasia can be confused with that of dementia. However, there are differences between the two disorders.
Language Vs. Concept
A person suffering from aphasia has trouble with finding the right words in conversation, much like someone who has dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. However, there are subtle variances when it comes to communication issues while searching for the right words. Someone with aphasia knows what they’re trying to say. The concept or main idea of their conversation stays with them. What they struggle with is being able to communicate it.
However, a person with dementia may lose sight on what they are trying to say. Both individuals are reaching deep into their brain in order to find meaning or purpose in what they want or what they want to say. A person with aphasia will be able to work around the word with it on the tip of their tongue. However, those with dementia will not. As they begin searching for ways to say the same thing, they lose concept of what they want to say. It causes them to be sidetracked. For a person with aphasia, finding a synonym within their lexicon is helpful. For a person with dementia it is not. It can divert their attention away from what they wanted to some other thought. This is troublesome, because a person who has dementia may get sidetracked and forget to inform their loved one that they are hungry, thirsty, etc.
Behavior
To understand the difference between behaviors in a person with dementia versus someone who has aphasia, it’s important to understand the meaning of each word. Dementia is Latin for “madness.” This implies a state of serious memory loss to a point where normal actions such as eating or drinking are incredibly difficult. The term aphasia means “speechlessness” in Greek. Therefore, a person with aphasia can still operate functionally when it comes to day-to-day activity. They do not need help getting dressed, bathing, or eating. People with aphasia only have difficulty when it comes to speech and conversation.
The brain is an interesting organ. Almost every other organ in our body has one specific job. Our heart pumps blood through our body. Our stomach digests food we eat. Our pancreas produces insulin to absorb sugars in our body. The brain, however, is completely sectioned off. Each tiny part of our brain has a different job. For people who have aphasia, their section of the brain that controls speech is damaged. This is usually due to a stroke or traumatic brain injury. Dementia is much different. Although it can be caused by a stroke or brain injury, more often then not, it is caused by a buildup of amyloid plaque. This occurs in the most common form of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease.
Alzheimer’s makes up about 60 to 70% of all dementia cases. You may be wondering, what does a buildup of amyloid plaque do to the brain? In almost every case, it cuts off your neurons, and your neurons are very important because they help relay messages from one part of your brain to another. When neurons get cut off this results in atrophy to the brain. As a result, it’s not simply the speech section of the brain that gets affected; the whole brain does.
Here is where differences in behavior occur. A person with Alzheimer’s disease cannot function properly due to deceased neurons in their brain. Their memories are unable to be accessed, and these memories can include faces they used to recognize, how to hold a fork, and even meanings behind specific words. It causes significant problems to their speech and everyday life. In contrast, a person with aphasia just has problems accessing the part of their brain that deals with speech. They can still recognize familiar faces and remember past events. They can still properly hold a fork and eat on their own.
Diagnosing the Issue
These subtle differences can help you when it comes to diagnosing you or a loved one. By understanding the signs and symptoms of both disorders, you or your loved one, with help from a doctor, can begin to narrow down the issues. Are you simply having trouble with conversation? Or is your daily life being affected? By being able to answer these questions, you might be able to recognize the main cause of your concerns.
Posted on May 25, 2016 | Posted Under: Helpful Articles
When it comes to our vision, the process is quite complicated. It’s a multi-tier system that allows us to see and perceive simultaneously. And yes, there is a difference between those two things. When we see something, it’s merely an electrical impulse being sent to the brain. However, in order to perceive it, the brain has to take those electrical impulses and make sense of the raw data. Seeing only requires our eyes taking in light. Perceiving something requires our brains to be fully functioning and making sense of what our eyes pick up.
As we age, it’s normal for our vision to decrease. Some older adults require the use of glasses even though they did not need them for the majority of their life. It just helps them see things more clearly. On the other hand, losing our ability to perceive things should not be a normal part of aging. Unfortunately, for those living with dementia, this is the case. Below are some signs of vision problems when dealing with normal aging issues versus perceptual problems when aging with dementia.
Normal Aging
Much like any other part of our body, as we get older our eyes begin to wear down. Our vision is reduced when compared to what it was when we were younger. And that’s okay. As stated, it’s a normal part of aging. You may experience reduced sharpness. All this means is that things become a little blurry. Reading road signs or even a book when it’s right in front of your face may become a little difficult. However, a pair of prescription glasses or contact lenses can easily fix this problem.
Another normal sign of aging deals with change in light. You may need some extra time to adjust to changes in light levels. For example, when going from a dark room into sunlight, you may become temporarily sensitive to the light. This is because your pupils expand and contract when dealing with these different levels of light. They contract when there are high levels of light to take in less and expand when there are low levels of light to take in more. Their reaction time tends to be reduced, as you get older. As a result, your pupils are fully dilated when moving from low levels of light to high levels of light. And they’re fully contracted when moving from high levels of light to an area of low levels of light. This can cause vision problems, but it’s only temporary as your pupils eventually adjust accordingly.
Aging with Dementia
On top of the potential vision problems that occur when adults age, someone with dementia may also have perceptual difficulties. This means that the information picked up by the eyes and transported to the brain does not get interpreted correctly. For instance, people with dementia may have trouble detecting movement. As a result, they may be unaware to the fact that you left or entered the room. They may even have a reduced ability to detect different colors. It has nothing to do with color blindness, but when they see one color, the brain interprets it as another.
Another major problem for a person with dementia is recognition of objects and faces. Again, they can see what’s right in front of them. Their ability to see may not be affected that much through normal aging deficiencies. It’s just when they see something that should be familiar, the neurons that transport that information to the right parts of the brain are blocked. As a result, if a person with dementia is looking to eat something specific or say hi to a familiar loved one, the right name of something or someone may not come right away. It can be disheartening when a loved one cannot remember your name. But just know that the memories you shared with this person are still with them. Their ability to access them is just a little bit blocked.
Understanding the Differences
By understanding the differences between vision and perception and aging versus aging with dementia, it may help you interact with a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease or some form of dementia. It requires a lot of patience. However, you must understand how frustrating it is for them, too. It’s tough to imagine at every instance of the day that you have the name of someone or something on the tip of your tongue, but you’re unable to access it. Be sensitive to this matter and offer suggestions whenever you can.
Posted on May 9, 2016 | Posted Under: Helpful Articles
May begins that lovely time of year when the sun shines longer and brighter, bringing on those wonderful summer days. Unfortunately as the sun gets hotter, our chance of skin cancer increases. For this reason, the month of May is dedicated to spreading awareness on this issue in order to lower our risk of getting skin cancer. There are plenty of ways to enjoy the weather while preventing skin cancer. We should not skip out on getting some sun because we fear its repercussions. Some things to try to include:
Diet
What you eat factors heavily into the overall health of your skin. Your diet is a good preventative measure when it comes to caring for your skin. The more antioxidants that you eat, the better it is for your skin as well as your overall health. You can get a healthy dose of them, such as Vitamin C, E, and A from fruits and vegetables. The brighter and more colorful the fruit or vegetable is, the more nutrients it contains. Bright blueberries, crisp kale, and vibrant peppers are all wonderful, nutritious foods to help keep your skin elastic and healthy.
Omega 3 fatty acids also aid in skin health. You can find them in salmon and walnuts. They help keep your top layer of skin tough. As a result, external toxins and other pollutants have a hard time irritating your skin or causing other kinds of complications. They help your skin stay strong and remain healthy. They’re very vital to its health. That why if you keep a wall balanced diet that includes the proper amount of antioxidants and omega 3 fatty acids, your skin can maintain its own health by supplying it with the appropriate nutrients. So make sure you’re watching what you eat!
Sunscreen
An incredibly useful means of skin protection is sunscreen. If you’re going to be outside and exposed to the sun for longer than 30 minutes, it’s best to apply sunscreen to your extremities that are not covered up. A simple coat of sunscreen on your arms, legs, or neck can protect you from the harmful UV rays of the sun. Make sure when purchasing some sunscreen that the SPF (sun protection factor) is 30 or above. This will provide you the perfect level of protection. It’s also a good idea to apply it 15 to 30 minutes before you go outside. This gives your skin enough time to absorb the UV filters and form a protective layer. If you’ll be swimming or sweating make sure you’re reapplying every 2 hours. This assures you that you’re completely covered without having to fear of certain patches being wiped off.
Protective Clothing
Sometimes the clothes that you wear can protect you well enough when dealing with the sun. A large brimmed hat can protect your nose, ears, eyes, neck, and scalp. If it’s not too terribly warm, you can wear long pants or a long sleeved t-shirt to protect your skin from the UV rays. It’s also important to wear sunglasses that block 99 to 100% of the sun’s rays. This protects your vision and prevents damage from looking to directly into the sun.
Keep a Lookout
If you are worried about the chance of skin cancer, make sure you’re checking your skin for new growths every month. Unfortunately, skin cancer requires careful inspection in order to detect. Very rarely is it painful. Some things to lookout for are:
- Asymmetrical mole
- Color changes or multiple colors in a mole
- The diameter of the mole is larger than a pencil eraser
- The size or shape of the mole changes over time
If you notice any of these symptoms it might be best to contact your doctor to get the growth checked out. If skin cancer is caught early, before it spreads to any other parts of the body, it’s much easier to treat. As with most cases of any illness, the quicker it gets discovered the easier it is to cure. That’s why this May, make sure you’re celebrating Skin Cancer Awareness Month the proper way. Eat plenty of foods that are rich in antioxidants and omega 3 fatty acids, protect your skin with sunscreen or the proper clothing, and inspect your skin for new growths every month. If you do these things, your skin will thank you in the long run!
Posted on April 21, 2016 | Posted Under: Gloria Dei Activity
The Gloria Dei Farms’ 25th anniversary celebration was an absolute success! We can’t thank our residents and community enough for making it such an enjoyable evening, especially those who put a lot of time and effort into making it such an accomplishment.
This was all made possible due to the visionary direction of Reverend Ernie Schmidt and Frank Johnson. Their passion to create a community where older adults can call home has resulted in this wonderful creation where everyone now has the opportunity to receive the proper individual care they require, while maintaining their dignity and independence. There was much to celebrate that night!
To view some candid shots and highlights, scroll through the photo gallery below!
Posted on April 20, 2016 | Posted Under: Helpful Articles
All too often, older adults are stricken by a disease that is largely preventable. Various forms of heart disease and even the flu, when receiving the proper vaccination, can be avoided. The same goes for diabetes. By ways of diet and exercise, type 2 diabetes does not have to be an inevitable result of aging.
In fact as we age, more and more research shows how crucial it is for us to avoid this metabolic disease due to its connection with another one: Dementia. Diabetes affects the production of insulin and the effectiveness of the insulin produced. This important hormone helps us absorb glucose in our blood. If it cannot properly absorb glucose our blood sugar drops severely. Since our brain uses glucose and other sugars for cognitive activity, a major drop in our levels can cause cognitive impairment and a prolonged drop in our blood sugar levels can actually cause neural damage. Therefore, it’s important to always monitor our diet, our weight, and our blood sugar levels.
Know Your Carbohydrates
In order to properly monitor your blood sugar levels, it’s crucial to understand the different chemicals and proteins that interact with your body that determine our blood sugar levels. Carbohydrates are the main source for elevating our blood sugar. However, there are three different types of carbohydrates, and they’re all good for you in moderation. The three types are: Sugar, starch, and fiber.
Sugar
Sugar is the simplest form of carbohydrates. There’s nothing wrong with eating a little bit of it here and there. It provides with quick bursts of energy when we need it. However, a lot of food products these days oversaturate their foods with simple sugars. It’s quickly absorbed within the intestine and produces a lot of insulin quickly. Eating too much of this simple sugars can be harmful. Obviously it greatly increases our blood sugar content, which leads to more dire complications, but it can come in handy if you’re experiencing low blood sugar.
Recognize the Symptoms
Some symptoms of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) include dizziness, tiredness, shaking, sweating, and increased heartbeat. These symptoms can come on quickly and it can be quite frightening. However, if you know what to do in these situations, you can quickly reduce your stress and alleviate any anxiety that comes with a low blood sugar attack. As stated previously, the right amount of sugar can be quite helpful when dealing with hypoglycemia.
It’s best to ingest 15 to 20 grams of sugar to prevent any further symptoms. You may even have small glucose packets just in case something like this happens. Make sure you read the package to take the proper amount. Raisins are also a good alternative in order for your body to receive more sugar. You can even drink 8 ounces of non-fat milk to help restore your blood sugar levels. By knowing what to do in times of an emergency, you can prevent any further damage.
Prevention is Best
The connection between diabetes and dementia resides in low blood sugar. In order to prevent any form of cognitive damage from diabetes related complications, make sure you’re exercising consistently, watching your diet, and monitoring your blood sugar levels. Type 2 diabetes is completely preventable and not a normal part of aging. You can eliminate the link between dementia and diabetes two by eliminating your chances of diabetes through your healthy lifestyle choices.
Unfortunately, you cannot completely eliminate your chances of getting dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. Everyone is at risk for developing some form of dementia based on their genes and other predisposed conditions. But by maintaining an active, healthy lifestyle we can reduce our chances and increase our quality of life as we get older!
Posted on April 19, 2016 | Posted Under: Gloria Dei Activity
On April 15th, the residents, the community and the corporate leaders Gloria Dei The Farms came together in Hatboro, Pa in order to celebrate the 25th anniversary of its original opening.
This was all made possible due to the visionary direction of Reverend Ernie Schmidt and Frank Johnson. Their passion to create a community where older adults can call home has resulted in this wonderful creation where everyone now has the opportunity to receive the proper individual care they require, while maintaining their dignity and independence. There was much to celebrate that night!
It began with a lovely social hour, where residents and staff enjoyed a buffet spread and drinks, including background music of live piano. Nancy Williams, the Chief of Staff for Representative Thomas P. Murt, was in attendance and had some very nice words to say about the entire Gloria Dei community, congratulating those involved for 25 years of success. As her speech concluded, everyone made their way into the newly renovated dining hall for the main event.
Vincent Dattilo
Vincent Dattilo, CEO of Gloria Dei Communities, began the dinner ceremony by introducing the first few speakers. These speakers included Gloria Dei community leaders such as James Davis (Administrator of Farms’ Independent Community) and Michele DiVincenzo (Administrator of Personal Care and Memory Care at The Park Communities). Their touching speeches reflected the joy they experience each day, knowing that they get to come to work and spend it with the wonderful people of this community. They even spent most of their speeches specifically thanking each person they work side-by-side with, letting them know how much their hard work and wonderful personalities mean to them.
Senator Greenleaf
Frank Johnson
Frank Johnson, proprietor of this dream, delivered the keynote address. He detailed every piece of the process that has allowed this community to become a campus. Everyone was a witness to the determination this man had in order to provide older adults the best facility for when they retired. However, it did not end there. Once his speech was completed, Susan Wright, President of Gloria Dei communities and Frank Johnson’s daughter, congratulated him for all of his work by revealing his honorary portrait to be displayed proudly in The Farms brand new reception area.
Susan Wright presents portrait to her father, Frank Johnson
With the conclusion of Frank Johnson’s dedication, Jack Travers, President of the Farms’ Resident’s Association, began his toast to initiate the beginning of dinner. However, before food was served there was a ceremonial cake cutting by two residents who have been living at The Farms since its conception. These two women, Mabel Clark and Emma Fetzer, gleefully cut each cake. One cake represented the original Farms community from 1991 and the other had the newly renovated Farms on its 25th anniversary.
Jack Travers
Gloria Dei would like to thank everyone for making such an event and celebration possible.
Posted on April 5, 2016 | Posted Under: Helpful Articles
World Health Day is a global awareness day celebrated every April 7th and organized by the World Health Organization (WHO). In a continued effort to curb various health issues throughout the entire globe, this organization has been raising awareness for various issues since the 1950’s. These issues include: mental health, active aging, heart health, and this year they’ll be raising awareness for diabetes.
This disease is a collective group of metabolic diseases that results in high blood sugar due to the pancreas not creating enough insulin or the cells of the body not responding correctly to the insulin. As a result, those who suffer this disease can have frequent urination, increased thirst, and increased hunger. However, if left untreated the symptoms become much worse such as kidney failure, foot ulcers, and cardiovascular disease.
Types of Diabetes
As mentioned previously, diabetes is a group of diseases. There are 3 types.
- Type 1 DM – This occurs mostly in children. Unfortunately, there is no means of prevention. The only factors that play into Type 1 are genetics and exposure to specific viruses when young. If someone has Type 1 Diabetes, their pancreas produces little to no insulin, and the body is unable to absorb glucose in the blood, resulting in high blood sugar.
- Type 2 DM – This occurs mostly in people who are overweight and do not receive enough exercise. It makes up about 90% of all cases of diabetes. The body still produces insulin, but the cells do not interact with it efficiently. As a result, the pancreas continues to produce more and more insulin, but it can’t keep up, as sugar builds up in the blood.
- Gestational diabetes – This occurs in pregnant women. It’s a condition where women with no previous history of diabetes exhibit high levels of glucose in their blood during pregnancy. Much like type 2, it’s because of the cells reacting poorly with the insulin produced in their body due to complications during their pregnancy.
Preventing Type 2 Diabetes
The World Health Organization is mainly interested in reducing the amount of Type 2 Diabetes in the world. This type is largely preventable even though people do have predispositions to the disease. If you happen to have a high level of susceptibility to diabetes there are steps you can take to ensure you do not get it later in life.
Stay Physical
Inactivity increases your chances of getting Type 2 Diabetes. However, the more you work your muscles the more they can improve their ability of absorbing glucose. This is good as it places less stress on your insulin making cells. The good news is it doesn’t take extreme amounts of exercising to see results. According to studies, walking briskly for 30 minutes everyday reduces your chances by 30%. And some people view this as the bare minimum amount of activity, so if you’re able to do more, you can reduce your chances by an even higher percentage.
Watch Your Sugars
Sugar is merely a type of carbohydrate. There are 3 types. They are:
- Sugar
- Starch
- Fiber
Unfortunately, sugar is by far the worst type of carbohydrate for you. It is quickly absorbed by the intestine and transported into the bloodstream. As a result, the pancreas reacts quickly and produces the most amount of insulin. In order to curb your sugar intake, make sure to read the label on your food products. Some companies like to add sucrose, dextrose, fructose-enriched corn syrup, or glucose-fructose. If you notice any of these incredibly hard to pronounce ingredients, sugar has been added.
That being said, the other 2 types of carbohydrates are pretty good for you. Starches are digested slower than sugars, however it depends on what type. Potatoes, for example, turn into sugars very quickly, while legumes are much more resistant to being broken down. All in all, fibers are the healthiest for you. These fibers are so complex that your stomach cannot digest them and only the bacteria present in our intestines can extract the small amount of their sugar content.
That doesn’t mean you should only eat fibers and starches. Each carbohydrate is important to our nutrition and health but with moderation. Fibers need to be placed ahead of sugars and starches, which can be difficult because everything has sugar added to it these days.
Nevertheless, if you can remain active, limit the amount of sugar you ingest, and watch more carefully what goes into your body, you can prevent the onset of Type 2 Diabetes as you age!
