Village at Belmar

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12 Important Facts About Strokes That Everyone Should Know

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Strokes are exceedingly common in older adults and yet, very few people actually understand what a stroke actually is. A stroke is described as a ‘brain attack’ and it occurs when the blood supply to an area of the brain is cut off. Blood carries oxygen and essential nutrients around your body, including to your brain, and when this supply is cut off, brain cells can become damaged or can die.

A stroke can impact how your mind and bodywork, impacting both your physical and mental health. There’s a common misconception that strokes only affect seniors when that isn’t the case – strokes are more likely in older people as our arteries narrow as we age and can get blocked more easily but a younger person’s arteries can still get blocked.

There’s a lot more to strokes than people realize, and CLH Healthcare has put together a handy guide to 12 facts about strokes that everyone should know. After all, the key to effectively dealing with any health problem is building awareness.

To view the 12 important stroke facts, CLICK HERE.

Learning To Live Well With Dementia

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Imagine your doctor telling you have Alzheimer’s disease or some other type of dementia. Then, imagine being told, “I’m sorry, there’s nothing we can do. You might want to start getting your affairs in order.”

Time and again, people newly diagnosed with these conditions describe feeling subsequently overcome by hopelessness.

In their new book, “Better Living With Dementia,” Laura Gitlin and Nancy Hodgson — two of the nation’s leading experts on care for people with cognitive impairment — argue forcefully that it’s time for this “cycle of despair” to be broken.

To learn more about this book and the author’s suggestions, as shared by California Healthline, CLICK HERE.

When It’s Time to Leave Home

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Adult Daughter Talking To Depressed Father At Home

The decision about whether your parents should move is often tricky and emotional. Each family will have its own reasons for wanting (or not wanting) to take such a step.

One family may decide a move is right because the parents can no longer manage the home. For another family, the need for hands-on care in a long-term care facility motivates a change.

In the case of long-distance caregivers, the notion of moving can seem like a solution to the problem of not being close enough to help. For some caregivers, moving a sick or aging parent to their own home or community can be a viable alternative. Some families decide to have an adult child move back to the parent’s home to become the primary caregiver.

To learn more about how to make the decision on when it’s time for a loved one to move to a senior living community, from the National Institute on Aging, CLICK HERE.

COVID-19 Update – August 31, 2021

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Dear Village at Belmar Community,

We are delighted to inform you that we have had no new positive COVID tests with our most recent round of testing conducted on 8/26/2021.  September 3, 2021 will be the 14th day and final day of quarantine and daily rapid testing for the previously known exposed residents in our Assisted Living.  Effective September 4, 2021 we will resume dining room, activities, and indoor visitation for all residents.  There has been no known exposure within Monarch House, indoor visitation may resume immediately for our residents in memory care.

In following the regulations set forth by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment this allows us to enter Outbreak Exit Testing, which means that we will be PCR testing all residents and associates once this week and again next week. Daily rapid testing of exposed residents and associates will continue until Sept 4th.   

The Delta variant of COVID has been found to be highly transmissible and is dramatically increasing cases across the country and in Colorado. For this reason, we encourage all residents, again, to wear a mask when outside of their apartments just as our associates are continuing to do. This is a simple thing which has shown to be very effective in protection from COVID.

As always, we continue to be in close communication with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) and Jefferson County Health Department and are following their guidelines, direction, and protocols around COVID-19.

We urge all residents to continue to limit contact with any individuals who are not fully vaccinated, and any groups, or large crowds.

If you have any further questions, please reach out to Village at Belmar’s Executive Director, Rebecca Norris, at (303) 351-5455.

Sincerely,

Tom & Susie Finley – Founder & Principal

COVID-19 Update – August 23, 2021

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Dear Village at Belmar Community,

We are writing to inform you that we have had two additional associates test positive for COVID-19. Both associates are symptomatic and recovering at home.  Based on the nature of their positions, residents in Assisted Living have been exposed. According to guidance from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), any residents who have been exposed must quarantine for 14 days regardless of vaccination status.  This means that these residents must remain in their apartment, and refrain from having visitors or going out into the community.  

According to guidance from the state, we will continue with outbreak testing which means we will be testing all residents and associates twice weekly. In addition, we will be testing exposed residents and associates using the rapid, antigen test on a daily basis. Thank you so much for your cooperation with this process. 

The Delta variant of COVID has been found to be highly transmissible and is dramatically increasing cases across the country and in Colorado. For this reason, we encourage all residents, again, to wear a mask when outside of their apartments just as our associates are continuing to do. This is a simple thing which has shown to be very effective in protection from COVID.

As always, we continue to be in close communication with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) and Jefferson County Health Department and are following their guidelines, direction, and protocols around COVID-19.

We urge all residents to continue to limit contact with any individuals, groups, or large crowds, of those who have not received their full COVID-19 vaccine.

If you have any further questions, please reach out to Village at Belmar’s Executive Director, Rebecca Norris, at (303) 351-5455.

Sincerely,

Tom Finley and Susie Finley – Founders and Principals

Surprising Things Your Fingernails Can Reveal About Your Health

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Your fingernails are good for more than scratching the occasional itch and untangling a tight knot. They can also provide hints to the status of your overall health, through their color, shape and texture.

That’s one reason why Jeffrey Linder, M.D., chief of general internal medicine and geriatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, always begins an exam by looking at a patient’s hands. “[It] gives you a sense of a person’s general health and might give you a hint about what kind of work they do,” he says. “And then looking at the nails, occasionally there are clues to conditions or diseases.”

Before you whip out a magnifying glass and start studying your fingers, know that not all changes to the nail are bad. Some are completely harmless, and others are a normal part of aging or may be a side effect of a medication.

To find out what you should check for the next time you look at your nails, according to this resource from the AARP, CLICK HERE.