With all that is going on in the world, Mother’s Day is going to look different this year.

Usually Mother’s Day is celebrated with brunch, spas or family get-togethers in homes. But as the COVID-19 pandemic restricts where we can go, and makes social distancing a new norm, many of these traditions will have to be postponed.

This doesn’t mean though that the day has to be cancelled this year. On the contrary:
-Younger children will have probably been seeing more of their moms than usual, as school closures have added home schooling to mothers’ (and fathers’) list of duties.
-Many young adult children who left the big cities to shelter in place back home may find themselves unexpectedly celebrating at mom’s house.
-For older adult children whose parents are in independent or assisted living communities, spending time with mom in person—or bringing the grandkids for a Mother’s Day visit—may be completely out of the question, due to community restrictions.

Whatever the situation, there are still plenty of opportunities to make this Mother’s Day one she’ll always remember. Here are a few examples from Forbes on how families can show their appreciation and gratitude to mom this year, in ways that are both safe and affordable.

Don’t gift a face mask. That is, if your mom already has a few of her own. Designer face masks have popped up recently, especially online, but try to avoid gifting pandemic-related items on mom’s special day. Use this opportunity to think outside the box and give her something that will not only show her your appreciation but also will put a sense of normalcy back into her life (even if it’s just for a day).

Consider house plants. Flowers are great, but they usually don’t last much more than a week (if we’re lucky). Now that we’re all spending more time in our homes, consider gifting a house plant—it’ll last much longer.

Support her hobbies—or help cultivate new ones. Since it will be a while until life goes back to any version of normal, we all could use a few hobbies to keep us occupied indoors. When thinking of a gift this year, consider sending something to mom that will support her current hobbies or help her develop new ones. Perhaps it’s something that has to do with collecting items, painting, cooking, reading—think about what she likes to do, and go from there.

Put together a memory keepsake. When was the last time you actually gifted something that you made with your own hands? Consider gathering your favorite family photos and putting them together in a scrapbook of some kind as a gift. If that’s not an option, have family members send you a short video of them sharing a Mother’s Day greeting and edit them together. It’s the effort here that really counts.

Keep Delivery Delays and Restrictions in Mind 
With stay-at-home orders still in place across the country, some families may need to send a gift to mom instead of getting together. That’s a great idea, but it’ll help to do some research on what may or may not be able to arrive on time right now.
Flowers, for example, are a Mother’s Day staple. The National Retail Federation’s annual Mother’s Day survey finds that 64% of respondents are planning on purchasing flowers, the second-highest category behind greeting cards.

Many national flower delivery services are still accepting and delivering orders, but some of their websites warn of possible delivery delays. FTD, a national flower delivery service, is advertising Mother’s Day bouquets but notes on its website that one delivery window could spread across two days.

Spend Virtual Time Together 
For families that are separated during quarantine, a video call could be the answer to spending time together, even if it’s not in person. Since the pandemic began, multiple aspects of daily life have transitioned to online video meetings, like happy hours or workout sessions on Zoom or Google Hangouts.

Shop Local
Small businesses are undeniably bearing the brunt of day-to-day life being essentially shut down since the coronavirus pandemic was declared a national emergency in March. If you’re opting to purchase something for mom, consider shopping local to help support your favorite small businesses near you. 
Don’t forget to look for your favorite local or small business online. Just because they’ve had to close the doors of their physical store temporarily doesn’t mean they may not still be actively selling online. If you’d usually visit your local independent bookstore, get online to see if they ship directly, or offer curbside pickup.

Since taking mom out for brunch or dinner is not likely to happen this Mother’s Day, see what you can pick up or have delivered. You’ll be saving mom from cooking and helping your local business community at the same time. If you have a favorite restaurant or meal in mind, you may want to check in with them in advance to see if they have special delivery or timing requirements specific to the Mother’s Day weekend. Burlington have put together a list of local restaurant offerings for Sunday: tasteofburlington.ca/mothers-day-meal-ideas/

Write an Actual Letter
Thomas Farley, an etiquette expert, speaker and author, recommends going old school and sending a handwritten letter.
“This kind of gift is worth its weight in gold,” Farley says. “In a regular year, we might not think we have the time to do this—but, as of now, we have time. An actual letter will be much more meaningful than an email or a text.”

Not sure what to say? Farley recommends starting off by acknowledging that things are different this year and then expressing how it gives you the opportunity to sit down and really think about the meaningful times you have spent together with your mom. If that doesn’t feel natural, try writing about one or two memories you have together and what you remember the most or appreciate the most about them.

Bottom Line? Share the Love
Mother’s Day this year won’t look like it usually does, but the feelings can be just as strong. The coronavirus pandemic has forced us all to readjust and rethink how we usually do things. Instead of letting that discourage us, we all have an opportunity to be creative and make holidays and family occasions more memorable during this time, and perhaps even more special, than they were in previous years.

​April 13th 2020
 
Update on what we are doing to prevent the spread of COVID- 19
 
We have been struggling like every other company in our industry to come up with a common sense strategy to prevent the spread of this deadly virus.
 
What are we doing as a company?
 
We are sending staff to care for our clients and providing them with enough work so that they do not have to work another job to work enough hours to survive.  Regular staff means that no other people will be introduced to care for these clients and that staff are not working elsewhere where they might come in contact with the virus.
 
Our facility contacts need to be aware of the same precautions.  Part time staff are working elsewhere to make a living.  This is a huge risk. 
 
At this time we cannot provide occasional shift work.
We are trying to provide continuity and one-off shifts are no longer doable.
 
Our goal is to dedicate staff to facilities, and of course, to enable us to do this we must be guaranteed full time hours for our staff.
Our rates have to increase during the course of the Pandemic.
Due to staff shortages, staff are not will willing to risk their lives for the same rate of pay. Sounds dramatic, but this is a fact.  This is the law of supply and demand.
 
Providing living quarters makes sense.  The movement of people and interactions with others is how this disease spreads.
The less movement the better.  Seeing as hotels and RV rentals are down, check with local companies to see if they will provide accommodation for staff.  Those that are able to work with this type of arrangement will.
 
We are trying to think out of the box to make our services work for everyone.  There is no simple solution, but we are here to help.
 
We are in this together.
 
Yours truly,
 
Yvonne Griggs

Have you ever wondered how some people manage to look ageless? Well into their 80s, they have a youthfulness that belies their age, and still participate in activities that younger adults enjoy. There are many factors affecting how we age, including financial security, but aging well, without mental and physical stress on our bodies, is within the reach of us all. Through a few simple daily practices and preventive measures, we can experience our senior years with a quality of life, rather than simply clinging to life.
 
Tips for aging successfully:
· Prevention: Many diseases in later life are preventable through even minor lifestyle changes, even for people with chronic disabilities.

·Nutrition: Nutrition is an important component of aging well, since it improves physical well-being while regulating stress and promotes social inclusion and participation.

·Physical activity: Physical activity reduces by about 50% the risk of many disorders related to inactivity, such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

·Mental health: Total health is not merely about the absence of infirmity or disease but a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being.

· Join a program: In Canada, the New Horizons for Seniors Program is designed to empower seniors, encouraging them to share their knowledge, skills and experience with others in the community and enhance their social well-being.
 

March 20th marks world oral health day! Thank you again to Julie from Gleam Smile Centre for sharing with us!

Got diabetes? Improve your oral health!
A new study shows that inflamed gums increase A1Cs in Type 2 diabetics. And similarly, getting your gums healthy, will significantly reduce this important marker.  In fact, improving your oral health is equivalent to taking another medication for your diabetes. 

Healthy gums in diabetics have other benefits, including feeling better. Kidney function improves and overall inflammation drops. This can be important to managing high blood pressure, to your heart health, and to the risks of stroke and pre-dementia. 

So what causes sore and bleeding gums? 
It is a medical condition called “oral dysbiosis” – a fancy term which means an imbalance of bacteria in the plaque at your gum line and under your gums. When your gums are pink and firm, the bacteria in your plaque are behaving themselves and living in harmony with all of the other kinds of bacteria. But then, for some reason, several bacteria start to dominate the plaque and begin to misbehave. They enter the blood stream and they produce nasty chemicals.   
A new painless and affordable treatment is now available to turn sore and bleeding gums back to healthy gums. Gleam Smile Centre in Hamilton has been using this treatment for years and with consistently good results with diabetics. This treatment is a safe, high-strength antiseptic which is applied painlessly and quickly by our hygienists. 

For a consultation about your oral health, and how to improve it along with your diabetes, call Julie at the Gleam Smile Centre.
678 Upper James Street, Hamilton 
Tel: (905)-387-6453

Today we are happy to have a guest blog from the "Have Your Will Team"

A will is one of the most critical documents you can have for yourself and your family. A will can legally protect your spouse, children and assets. It is a legal document that allows you to decide when and how your assets are distributed, designate a guardian for any minor children, avoid lengthy probate process and minimize estate taxes.


One common reason for not completing a will is because we believe everything will automatically go to our spouse when we die. In reality, there is not a single Province in Canada that will guarantee this will actually happen. Without a will the distribution of your estate is determined by “intestate law”, which can be rather complicated depending on your family situation. This can also be very time consuming and costly, not to mention the stress on your loved ones that often causes unnecessary fighting and family division.


It can be to late to write a will, there might come a time when you no longer have the mental capacity to write a will. With that in mind it is never to early to write a will. If you already have a will you should review and update your will based on life changes such as marriage, cohabitation, children or divorce. It is also important to review and/or update your will if you have any financial changes like buying a house and acquiring assets.


We often overlook what happens if we are not well enough to care for ourselves in the event of mental incapacity. Who will make or medical and financial decisions on our behalf? What if the wrong person is in charge of making those decisions?  Having completed your power of Attorney for personal care and Continuing Power of attorney for Property will allow you to decide who will be able to make those choices for you.


Have Your Will’s package is broken down in 3 separate legal documents. Last Will and Testament, Power of Attorney for Personal Care and Continuing Power of Attorney for Property.


Our process is simple, go to www.haveyourwill.com, fill out a request form, we will call you to set up an appointment to sit with you and your spouse to help set up your personalized will and Power of Attorney’s. This process is all done at no cost to you! If there is any other estate planning areas in which you need help with we will be more then happy to assist you as well.

February 20th is Love Your Pet Day so we thought we would talk about some of the benefits of service and therapy animals.  
 
If you have been in to visit a Long Term Care facility, hospital or rehab centre recently, you may have noticed a cat on the unit, some birds, a new fish tank or perhaps a therapy dog in for a visit.
Animal assisted therapy is performed with a trained, certified animal and their handler in which the resident or patient interacts with the animal based on treatment needs, whether playing with, caring for, cuddling or simply petting the animal. Pet therapy is used to help improve mental, social, emotional, and physical functions.

There are 3 types of support animals: service dogs, therapy dogs, and emotional support animals (ESA). The training of these animals varies, as does who they help and where they are allowed to go or live. While ESAs are not trained in the same way as service dogs, they are more than pets and must be prescribed.
 
Who should consider pet therapy?
There are many ways that pet therapy can be useful:

• For people undergoing chemotherapy
• For residents in long-term care facilities
• For people hospitalized with chronic heart failure
• For veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder
• For children having physical or dental procedures
• For stroke victims and people undergoing physical therapy to regain motor skills
• For people with mental health disorders
• For people diagnosed with Alzheimer's/Dementia

During a medical procedure, people may have less anxiety if a pet is present. In rehabilitation, people may be more motivated to recover and practice their therapy when working with a pet.

Pet Therapy can also help with:
 
1) Physical activity – Pets such as a dog or a cat help motivate seniors get involved with physical activity. Petting, walking and playing with them provide a fun, soothing activity that seniors can enjoy. For people who have suffered from a stroke,  they may have mobility issues, problems with memory and fine motor difficulties. Service dogs can be trained to help— large dogs can steady the person who is wobbly; or the service dog can encourage the person to get up and walk — it's hard to turn down a dog who wants to go outside. Service dogs can be trained to get things that have been dropped and bring them to the person, and they can be used as a part of a fine-motor physical rehab program. For example, the person with a stroke can squeeze an exercise ball, which is a boring task. They could also have a daily goal of brushing the dog, and this becomes functional rehab. Sometimes, after a stroke, the person tends to stay in the house. A service dog can provide companionship.

2) Communication – For those who have difficulty communicating, it can become easily frustrating not being able to convey their thoughts. People who have sensory disabilities can sometimes communicate more easily with an animal. This encourages more interaction with healthcare providers and other people.

3) Emotional support – Pets form a very special bond with humans and that bond can be very fruitful. It has been also seen that people with dementia see pets as being non-threatening and they also tend to display more interactive behaviours. Pet therapy also helps in lessening symptoms of depression and anxiety because of its calming effects. They produce a chemical chain reaction in the brain that helps to lower down the levels of stress inducing hormones; cortisol and helps in increasing the production of feel good hormones serotonin.

4) Enjoyment – They also help with boredom and provide a distraction from a normal daily routine.

5) Sense of purpose – Being or planning to be a pet caregiver and nurturer at an older age gives a sense of being wanted and needed. It gives your loved one a reason to get up in the morning and being greeted with a feline face has the power to make anyone's day bright and full of laughter. It's just impossible to not be happy when your day starts with a dog wagging his tail or a purring cat waiting for your attention. A pet can help bring routine to your loved one's life and also gives them a sense of responsibility.

6) Reminiscence – Pets can also help invoke feelings of joy, happiness, playfulness and old memories to a person with a dementia who may feel that his/her world is changing into something unknowable. Being involved with a pet also helps to reminiscence of the pets they once had.

For more information on Therapy Dog Services, please see the below link for St. John's Ambulance:
www.sja.ca/English/Community-Services/Pages/Therapy%20Dog%20Services/default.aspx
 

We are thrilled to have guest blogger Julie DiNardo, RDH, from Gleam Smile Centre share with us today! 

When memory scores start to decline, and confusion sets in, we are told to exercise more, follow the Mediterranean diet, join a club, and do puzzles. In other words, there are no medical treatments for this condition.

But, encouragingly, studies are showing those with good oral health (no bleeding gums, no ongoing dental decay) are better able to arrest memory decline. Likewise, it is now evident that oral inflammation is significantly predictive of cognitive decline.

One oral bacteria is highly implicated in dementia (Figure 1). It is found in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients where it is believed to trigger inflammation.  Studies in mice show infecting the animal with this bacteria, leads to impaired learning and memory problems. Human clinical trials of new drugs to treat this bacteria are underway.

But today, chronic oral inflammation and its associated bacteria can be managed effectively and painlessly with a topical antiseptic medication applied by a hygienist quickly along the gum line. 

Figure 1 An illustration of Porphyromonas gingivalis bacteria which originates at the gum line and is found in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. 

 The hygienists at a Hamilton clinic have years of observing inflamed gums turning pink and healthy after using this medication. In fact, two patients on this treatment have markedly improved their cognitive abilities for several years.

Warding off or slowing dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease require changes to your lifestyle and it now increasingly appears to also require you managing bacteria in your mouth.

For more information on improving your oral health, call Julie at Gleam:
678 Upper James Street, Hamilton
Tel: (905)-387-6453

What is this medication?
They're officially called beta-adrenergic blocking agents. But most people call them beta-blockers.

Beta-blockers include:

• Acebutolol (Sectral®)
• Atenolol (Tenormin®)
• Bisoprolol (Monocor®)
• Carvedilol (Coreg®)
• Labetalol (Trandate®)
• Metoprolol (Lopressor®, Betaloc®)
• Nadolol (Corgard®)
• Pindolol (Viskazide®)
• Propranolol (Inderal®)
• Timolol (Blocadren®)

Be aware:

• Generic names are listed first.
• Canadian brand names are in brackets.
• This list doesn't include every brand name.
• If your prescription isn't listed, your pharmacist is the best source for more information.

What does it do?
Beta-blockers make your heart work less hard. This lowers your heart rate (pulse) and blood pressures. If your heart is weakened, certain beta-blockers can protect your heart and help it get stronger.

• They are used to treat many conditions:
  • Heart attacks
  • Angina
  • High blood pressure
  • Heart failure
  • Arrhythmia
• They protect the heart from stress and abnormal heartbeats.

Key facts about beta-blockers:

• Lower your heart rate.
• Lower your blood pressure.
• If your heart has been weakened, may protect it and help it get stronger.

Be aware:  If you take a beta-blocker, keep a written log of your heart rate and blood pressure.

• Track your heart rate by taking your pulse daily.
• Write down your blood pressure numbers every time you take your blood pressure. It could be from your healthcare provider, the automated blood pressure machine at the drugstore, or your home blood pressure monitor.

How do I take it?
Take your beta-blocker exactly as prescribed.

• Try to take it at the same time(s) every day.
• If you take it more than once each day, space it out through the day.
• If you miss a dose, take it as soon as you remember unless it's almost time for the next dose.
• Never double-up your dose or take extra medication to make up for the missed dose.
• Do not stop taking it unless directed by your healthcare provider.

Are there any interactions?
Some medications can stop your heart medicine from working properly. They may even cause other health problems.
Tell your healthcare provider and pharmacist about all the medications you are taking. These include:

• Prescriptions
• Non-prescription drugs
• Inhalers
• Creams or ointments
• Over-the-counter or natural health products
• Alternative therapies
• Vitamins, minerals or supplements
• Herbal remedies
• Homeopathic medicines
• Traditional remedies, such as Chinese medicines

Are there any side effects?
Beta-blockers can cause some side effects.

• Dizziness, lightheadedness, feeling faint.
  • Beta-blockers will slow your heart rate (pulse) and lower your blood pressure.
  • If you are dizzy or feel like you might faint, sit or lie down right away.
  • Get up slowly to give your blood vessels time to adjust.
• Drowsiness or fatigue
• Unusual swelling of the feet and ankles
• Wheezing, trouble breathing
• Depression
• Nightmares
• Cold hands and feet
• Decreased sexual ability.

Be aware: If you have diabetes and take a beta-blocker, watch your blood sugars closely. It may be harder to notice the effects of low blood sugar:

• Trembling
• Fast heart rate (pulse)

Beta-blockers don't affect dizziness or sweating caused by low blood sugar.
If you have side effects, talk to your pharmacist or healthcare provider.
Lifestyle changes that can also help
There are two ways to control and manage your heart health: medication and lifestyle.
Medication can help you control heart disease and high blood pressure, but it cannot cure it.
A healthy lifestyle can help you keep medication to a minimum.
Visit heartandstroke.ca/get-healthy. Learn how to keep your heart healthy with current information and advice from Heart and Stroke experts.
Talk to your healthcare provider about the most beneficial lifestyle goals for you.
Related information
Your healthcare provider or pharmacist are your best sources of information. You can also learn more about medications at any of these trusted sites.
Health Canada - Drugs and Health Products
Provides health and medical information for Canadians to maintain and improve their health.
Learn more about:

• Safe Use of Medicines
• Safety and Effectiveness of Generic Drugs
• Buying drugs over the Internet
• Drug Product Database
• MedEffect Canada
  Provides safety alerts, public health advisories, warnings and recalls.

Your ministry of health also offers health resources in your province or territory. For example, Ontario's MedsCheck program provides free pharmacist consultations. And British Columbia's Senior Healthcare web page provides information about important health programs.
Drug coverage.