Conserving Energy with COPD
One of the best ways for your elderly family member to manage COPD is to conserve her energy. But what are the best ways for her to do that? There’s a lot that goes into that process, honestly.
Homecare Oakmont CA – Conserving Energy with COPD
Get Familiar with Your Senior’s Breathing Triggers
When you’re familiar with your senior’s breathing triggers, it’s a lot easier to help her to avoid situations that are going to immediately sap her energy. Things like smoke, from cooking or from other sources like candles, can take a lot out of your elderly family member. By avoiding cooking things that create a lot of smoke or lighting candles, that’s going to help her to breathe easier and therefore expend less energy trying to breathe.
Help Her to Manage Stress
Stress and anxiety are also big problems for someone with COPD. Both can cause your elderly family member to start to breathe much more shallowly, which can create a situation in which she’s not getting enough oxygen into her system. When her stress levels are lower and when she’s managing her stress more efficiently, she’s less likely to run into that issue.
Learn Your Senior’s Limits
Everyone has their limits, especially a senior who has COPD. When both you and your elderly family member have a better understanding of her limits, you can help her to stop before she has pushed herself too far. This is true with exercise and it’s true with activities she enjoys every day. The more that your elderly family member respects her own limits, the easier it will be for her to avoid pushing herself too far.
Outsource More of the Routine Daily Tasks on Her Plate
The long and short of it is that your senior can’t keep doing it all if she has COPD. There comes a point when she has to pick and choose the activities that she’ll handle herself and which ones she’ll outsource. Leaving some things up to homecare providers is a great way to do just that, because that frees up your senior’s energy to be spent in the best ways for her personally.
Part of your job as your senior’s caregiver is to figure out how to help her to manage her energy in the best ways for her own needs. When she can conserve energy by eliminating unnecessary tasks or by handing them over to someone else, that allows her to be a lot pickier about how she spends her personal energy.
If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring Homecare Services in Oakmont CA, call At Your Service Home Care. Call today! (707) 573-1003
She became a discharge planner and immediately fell in love with the concept of home care and the autonomous clinical practice it affords nurses. Dr. Lucy was hooked and has been a strong supporter of home care ever since.Believing people need advocates in healthcare systems, she has championed that cause across the acute care and post-acute care setting.
Dr. Lucy has worked in every aspect of home care from Medicare Certified, DME, Infusion, Hospice and finally Private Duty/Private Pay services. She also works as a home care consultant across the country and as a legal nurse consultant for the home care industry.
Having worked in all areas of home care, Dr. Lucy has a well-rounded perspective of the challenges facing patients, families and the home care industry, and as a provider she advocates for patients through the maze of health care services. Dr. Lucy celebrated over 37 years as a nurse and patient advocate.
Dr. Lucy has a Baccalaureate Degree in Nursing from Lewis University, Romeoville, Illinois.In 1994, she received her Masters of Science in Health Service Administration from St. Mary's University, Moraga, California. Dr. Lucy received her Doctor of Nursing Practice awarded in 2016, graduating with Distinction and a 4.0 GPA.
She did her doctoral work on the global dementia crisis, aging and prevention strategies for healthy living. Developed dementia and Alzheimer's disease plans for aging patients leaving the hospital setting or entering long-term care or home health and hospice environments. She also developed a specialized program for those at risk for dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
In 1992, Dr. Lucy was designated CAHSAH Certified Home Care Administrator in the inaugural offering of this designation through the California Association for Health Services at Home (CAHSAH).
She is the founder and CEO of Creative Solutions Home Care Consulting Services and At Your Service Nursing & Home Care, a concierge nursing & home care agency that provides the services she believes are essential for seniors to age in place.She offers a higher level of care allowing people to be in their own homes with an emphasis on independence, safety, and quality of life.
Dr. Lucy is the Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for the National Association for Home Care and Hospice (NAHC) and sits on the Board of Directors for California Association for Health Services at Home (CAHSAH).
She has served on the boards for both state and national board associations, and is currently on the following boards and committees: Board of Directors, California State Association for Health Services at Home (CAHSAH), 2002-present, National Association for Home Care and Hospice (NAHC's) Private Duty Home Care Association Director, and multiple state and national home care committees.
Dr. Lucy goes to Washington, DC, several times a year to advocate for senior services and home care issues. She was past Commissioner for the Sonoma Commission on Human Rights.She is past chair of the local Senior Advocacy Services.
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