MorningStar

Retirement options are greater and more widely available than ever before. A simple google search of senior living facilities can quickly become overwhelming. How can you make sure you’re choosing the right one? To find an ideal senior living community for a loved one struggling with dementia, you should identify your loved one’s top needs and evaluate how those needs may change within the next 5-10 years as well as find a community that prides themselves in understanding the full life of your loved one, not just their disease. It is important to find a memory care facility that can meet the needs of a loved one with dementia not only at their present capacity, but with how their needs may change in the future. As part of your move-in process at MorningStar of Littleton, our Wellness Director will assess your loved one’s current health and review their medical history to ascertain how we can best meet their needs. At that time, we will also learn your own preferences, as well as normal...

Coming to the realization that your loved one may need support beyond what you can provide comes with difficult decisions to make regarding assisted living . Caregivers of family members and loved ones that have special needs or require extra help often experience their own hardships. Anxiety, depression, negative eating habits, financial strain and poor health are not rare when it comes to caring for an elderly parent or family member. Children of senior parents may feel shame in assessing senior living and assisted care, but these facilities can lessen that guilt and offer a peace of mind that your loved one is healthy, safe, and happy. You know your parent better than anyone and have developed a care routine that allows your parent to be close by or living in similar circumstances of their younger years. Sadly, this may not always be sustainable. Perhaps you have welcomed a new child, taken a new job where you will be around less often, or maybe have decided to move. If you are unab...

Older adults may have grown up with a skewed image of what senior living looks like. Media, such as television and movies, often portray assisted living and retirement homes as drab, outdated communities with sterile walls and decoration. There is often a stigma associated with moving to assisted living, but MorningStar at Jordan Creek is changing the narrative and strives to empower future residents with their decision making to live in assisted care and build individualized care plans based on their needs. MorningStar at Jordan Creek’s assisted living in Des Moines is modern and lively as we encourage our residents to participate in community involvement and hobby exploration. Residents in assisted living are typically independent but may need help with meal preparation, medication scheduling, personal hygiene assistance, or upkeep with chores and errands. While staying in assisted living at MorningStar, these worries can be handled while you enjoy our resort-style amenities and mean...

When an individual starts portraying symptoms of memory loss or Alzheimer’s, often communication is a noticeable change that caretakers and family members first notice. When typical forms of communication diminish, such as speech, people may wonder how their loved one will be able to communicate with the world around them. Seniors with Alzheimer’s or dementia often enjoy and benefit from creative activities like art that give the opportunity for non-verbal expression and communication. Art therapy is a common activity in senior living and Alzheimer’s care as this holistic method of care has been seen to boost mood, stimulate the brain, and help with overall quality of life. Art therapy encourages personal passion and helps to activate memory and familiarity. The idea of art therapy is to not overwhelm the individual struggling with dementia, but to encourage their independence and free creativity. Safe art projects that are on an adult level can create a sense of accomplishment and pu...

Supporting and caring for a person with Alzheimer’s can be positive and rewarding, but it also comes with unique challenges. Guilty feelings, anger, and stress are emotions that children of parents with dementia and caretakers of seniors with Alzheimer’s often experience. MorningStar of Littleton, Co specializes in Alzheimer’s care as well as senior living and offers advice on how you can make sure you're taking care of yourself, as well as the person you're supporting. Here are some situations in which someone might experience guilt when caring for someone with Alzheimer’s, along with some advice on managing your feelings to better support your loved one. Adult children often feel guilt over how they behaved when they were younger towards their parent before they were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Petty arguments and growing pains are common in every family. It can be hard to accept an Alzheimer’s diagnosis, especially in strained relationships. However, you didn't know you...

Exercise doesn’t have to be intense to be beneficial. In fact, regular walks, and the incorporation of extra steps into your daily routine, hosts an array of health benefits both for your body and your mind. Sedimentary living can be one concern when residing in a senior living facility. However, MorningStar’s amenities at Jordan Creek offers intellectual, spiritual, and social engagement with creative ways to stay active and productive as we believe the human capacity to learn and grow is ageless. Walking is considered low intensity exercise and is just as valuable as running or high intensity workouts when done regularly. Walking every day, even just for 15 minutes, has been found to greatly improve the lives of individuals. Seniors aged 55 and up who exercise regularly are more likely to participate in everyday activities without assistance and be more independent in household chores and upkeep. Daily walks while living in senior living communities encourages healthy lifestyles. Thi...

For many seniors, there comes a time when they feel they are not living life on their own terms, and routine, day-to-day activities start becoming more difficult. To determine if assisted living is the right choice for a parent or spouse, experts say you need to consider the amount of care they require on a daily basis. If it is more personal care than he/she can get (or afford) with in-home services or in an independent living community , yet they don’t need 24-hour medical care and supervision, assisted living is the ideal option. People often confuse assisted living with nursing homes; however, they are not the same thing. Nursing homes provide around-the-clock skilled nursing care while assisted living provides help with the ADLs (activities of daily living) to enhance residents’ quality of life within a residential setting. While some families may experience sticker shock when first learning the cost of assisted living, you need to consider everything it includes. For example, Mor...

There are many things we can do to improve our overall health and prevent or mitigate our chances of getting certain diseases and scientists say the same is true with our brain health. Doctors report it goes beyond Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative conditions and all of our brains “naturally age with us, leading to effects such as patchy memory and reduced brain mass.” Over the last several decades, research has discovered a strong connection between heart health and brain health and links damage to the heart and vascular system to damage to the brain. This has led to the American Heart Association to put together a list of seven key factors to look out for when it comes to cardiovascular health. These include blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, level of exercise, diet, body weight and smoking status. Most of these factors can be addressed by changes in our habits and lifestyle and the earlier a person does it the better the outcome is as we age. Dr. Ronald M. Lazar...

Growing up most of our mothers told us it wasn’t healthy to skip breakfast. While we listened, many of us still went off to school without eating anything. Based on current research, it turns out our mother’s advice was right again, and eating breakfast is good for us for several reasons. Registered Dietician Erin Palinski-Wade explains when we eat a healthy breakfast upon rising in the morning; it helps regulate our appetite for the rest of the day. If we break our nightly fast with a good meal, we are less likely to indulge in sugary or fat-laden food later in the morning. A healthy breakfast also helps to prevent blood sugar highs and lows and Palinski-Wade says this is important for diabetics as well as the rest of us. While many breakfast foods such as cereal, baked goods, and granola bars are high in sugar and refined grains, experts say we should refuel our body each morning with protein, fiber, and vitamins and minerals. Protein makes us feel fuller and keeps us from snacking l...

At MorningStar of Wheat Ridge, our first and foremost priority is to give residents the finest quality of life possible by offering a lifestyle of comfort, wellness and security. Recognizing seniors as heroes, we acknowledge all of the triumphs and challenges they have faced throughout their lives and consider serving them to be our life’s calling – our privilege. Thus we feel honored to receive praise regarding our home and our care from residents and their families. The following are a few examples. One daughter of a resident recently wrote in a Google review that she cannot speak more highly of the care her mother is receiving at MorningStar of Wheat Ridge. She adds, “The staff is coordinating continuous care. They are loving and conscientious. They are responsive to my Mom’s needs and requests from our family. MorningStar WR is going far beyond providing care. They are doing whatever it takes to keep Mom safe, comfortable, and happy. Our family is most appreciative.” In another Goo...

In an article in the US News & World Report, experts say forgetfulness is not an inevitable part of growing older and there are things we can do to help maintain and enhance our memory function and overall brain health. Furthermore, they also benefit whole body health. One of the first things they recommend is to never stop making “physical activity a priority as it optimizes blood flow to the entire body, including the brain. An adequate supply of blood and oxygen to the brain helps to keep our memories sharp.” Researchers explain that the type of exercise is also important and recommend a minimum of 30 minutes a day of cardio exercise such as running, power walking, biking, or swimming. However, before beginning any new exercise regime, be sure to check with your healthcare provider. In addition, continuing to learn new things can improve our memory as studies have found a correlation between challenging our brain and maintaining brain health. This could include activit...

Some people think a move to an assisted living community signals an end to their independence but nothing could be further from the truth. At MorningStar at Mountain Shadows, we respect the fact that seniors have spent a lifetime living independently, raising families, working jobs, and making their own decisions, and consider it our job to continue to help them lead full, purposeful lives. We know many of the challenges that come all too often with aging. Worsening medical conditions, failing eyesight, hearing impairments and mobility problems as well as the death of a spouse or friends can make it tough for seniors to live on their own. Isolation and loneliness can bring on feelings of hopelessness and depression; have a negative impact on mental health, and even affect quality of life. As one of MorningStar’s assisted living residents, you will receive the personal daily care you need to help maintain your independence. Our services include help with the ADLs ( activities of daily ...

As we grow older, many of us find ourselves becoming forgetful and worry it could be a sign of Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia. Researchers say it is true that the older we get we are more forgetful as the following reports: “At least half of those over age 65 say that they are more forgetful than they were when they were younger, experiencing ‘senior moments’ about things like where they put things or recalling somebody’s name.” The question then becomes when what is the difference between “normal” age-related memory loss and Alzheimer’s disease. Studies find the brain shows warning signs of Alzheimer’s approximately fifteen years before someone experiences symptoms of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and quite a while before the first real signs of dementia start. Concerning signs of memory loss include not just forgetting an appointment or someone’s name, but repeatedly forgetting it. Another sign that something more serious is going on is if family members start to notice a...