Seniors' Economic Struggles Continue This Holiday; Santa Program Provides Assistance The Santa Fe and Los Alamos office of the Home Instead Senior Care® network, the world's largest provider of non-medical in-home care and companionship services for older adults, has partnered with the Betty Ehart Senior Center and Wal-Mart for the Be a Santa to a Senior program, which provides gifts and companionship to seniors who otherwise might not receive either this holiday season. Read more Craving Companionship: Recipe contest helps revive family mealtimes for local seniors According to research conducted for the Home Instead Senior Care® network, lack of companionship is the biggest mealtime challenge for seniors. The local Home Instead Senior Care office is encouraging family caregivers to dig into the family recipe box to find that favorite dish, and prepare and share a meal with their elderly loved one. Enter that recipe and the story about what makes the dish so special to your family in the Homemade MemoriesSM Recipe Contest between July 15 and September 15, 2011. Read more Answering the Call: Local Program Helps Family Caregivers Prepare for Senior Emergencies If you're an adult son or daughter who lives in fear of getting "the call" – the one that tells you "Mom has suffered a stroke," or "Dad accidentally overdosed on his medications" – do you have the information you need to help your loved one? Many don't, according to research conducted for the Home Instead Senior Care® network. The organization conducted research with family caregivers to find out how much they know and developed a public education program with resources that can help family caregivers keep important information at their fingertips. Read moreBattle of the Ages
Just when you thought that a family caregiver’s job couldn’t get more difficult, consider this: Many of the estimated 18,500 households caring for a senior in the Santa Fe area are trying to help an aging relative who’d rather not have help. Read moreBe a Santa to a Senior Continues Popular Holiday Senior Gift Giveaway The popular campaign that last year delivered more than 400,000 gifts to needy seniors throughout North America is being planned again this holiday season. Area retailers, along with agencies that serve older adults, have partnered with a local senior-care service to make sure that isolated seniors receive gifts and companionship through the Be a Santa to a Senior program. Read more Who Will Care for Mom? High Growth Job Category Won't Keep Pace with Demand for Caregivers in New Mexico Reports from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics that predict an increase in the personal and home care aides job category -- forecasting that to be the second fastest-growing job group in the nation over the next decade -- is welcome news in a recession. But the rapid growth in this job group may not be fast enough. One local senior-care provider -- Home Instead Senior Care -- says the company's recent research indicates that demand for these jobs will outpace supply in a big way. Read more | 