Village at Belmar

Senior Living Blog & Events

Respite Care: Create a Plan to Give Yourself a Caregiving Break

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Taking care of an aging or ill family member can be enormously rewarding but also exhausting and emotionally draining.

More than a third of family caregivers rate their job as highly stressful emotionally, and nearly 1 in 5 reports a high level of physical strain, according to the “Caregiving in the U.S. 2020” report from AARP Public Policy Institute and the National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC).

Plowing through might feel doable in the short term, but too much time without a break can lead to caregiver burnout, depression and health problems. Every caregiver needs a caregiver — someone who will tend to your loved one for a few hours, days or weeks so you can take care of yourself.

Respite care can help you make it through the long haul, and that’s good for both you and your loved one. But only 14 percent of family caregivers avail themselves of respite services, even though 38 percent believe doing so would help them, the AARP/NAC study found.

Respite can come in many forms: from family and friends; volunteer groups; faith-based organizations; local, state and federal agencies; or paid respite workers. It can take place in the home, or at an outside facility such as an adult day care center.

Some long-term care insurance plans cover part of the cost of respite care.

To learn more about respite care from AARP, as well as how to develop a family care plan, CLICK HERE.

COVID-19 Update – November 18, 2021

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Dear Village at Belmar Community,

As many of you may have heard, the entire state of Colorado is now considered a high transmission area for COVID-19. For this reason, The Colorado State Department of Health and Environment (CDPHE) has modified the mitigation guidance for all residential care facilities including assisted living and memory care once again. The purpose of this letter is to inform you of those changes that will affect you and your family. 

  • All visitors, regardless of vaccination status, must keep their facemasks on at all times while in the community. Unfortunately, this means that visitors may not eat with their loved one as this requires removal of their mask. We realize this comes at a difficult time when families have asked to come to the Village at Belmar to enjoy a holiday meal, however, visitors may not remove their masks even for meals.
  • No food or drink will be served at group activities, happy hours, or other events.
  • Unvaccinated visitors no longer need to schedule visits. 
  • Unvaccinated visitors may not participate in group activities.
  • All associates, residents and visitors should socially distance whenever possible. If both the resident and the visitor are vaccinated, they may have physical contact.
  • We will no longer be asking visitors for proof of vaccination unless they desire to participate in group activities.
  • We will continue to ask for documentation of vaccination for other providers who will be working with residents.
  • All associates and visitors will continue to be screened at the front desk including taking temperatures and asked not to visit if they have had a recent exposure or are having any symptoms for COVID-19.
  • Caregivers will be monitoring Assisted Living/Memory Care residents daily for fever and symptoms of COVID-19.
  • Please notify an associate right away if you have any signs or symptoms of COVID-19 including fever, malaise, sore throat, cough, congestion, nausea and vomiting, or diarrhea.
  • Please continue to wash and sanitize your hands frequently throughout the day.

Residents may visit with families and friends outside of the community as always. Please be mindful of the high transmission rates in Colorado as you do. This means avoiding large crowds, masking when in groups, generally limiting your contact with others, using good handwashing, and physically distancing.

We strongly encourage all family members and friends to be vaccinated for COVID-19. Vaccines are highly effective in preventing the spread of this infection that continues to cause deaths. They have also been found to be very safe. Vaccinations are readily available at most pharmacies. If you would like assistance in arranging for a vaccination, we are happy to help you.

We will continue to stay in close communication with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and specialists at Jefferson County and to follow their direction and protocols. We will notify you as any changes are made. Please understand that our license to operate is dependent on following these guidelines.

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

Sincerely,

Tom Finley and Susie Finley, Founders and Principals

Boost Your Brain Health

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Do you have the power to prevent Alzheimer’s disease? Keeping your brain fit can reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

Do you have the power to prevent Alzheimer’s disease? Although some risk factors — age and family history — are beyond your control, increasing evidence from research indicates that you aren’t helpless.

Researchers from the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center and around the world have found that certain lifestyle choices can protect your brain against the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

To learn about activities you can incorporate into your life that may benefit your brain, from Rush University System for Health, CLICK HERE.

How Feeling Young At Heart May Help You Live Longer

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Is Age Really Just a Number?

When it comes to longevity, birthdays might be a quantitative occurrence but not always a qualitative determinate on how people feel. And for those who feel younger than each flip of the year, evidence shows they may be living longer.

A research letter published in JAMA Internal Medicine found people who felt three or more years younger than their actual (or chronological) age had a lower death rate compared to those who felt their age, or more than one year older their actual age in particular.

To learn more about this study, and tips for staying younger than your age from Silver Cuisine, CLICK HERE.

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.

COVID-19 Update – September 17, 2021

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Dear Village at Belmar Community,

We are so excited to tell you that we are officially out of outbreak.  We had no new positive COVID results with our final round of testing conducted on 9/9/2021.   We want to thank you for your continued support.

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, all residents & associates continue to be required to wear a mask when outside of their apartments.  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 Finley and Susie Finley, Founders and Principals