Proper Nutrition for Senior

Everyone should know that appropriate nutrition plays a role in our health. This is also true for seniors and individuals who have serious diseases. Terrible physical health, depressive disorders and lonesomeness can also play a vital role in poor eating routine. Many seniors who experience these problems overlook their nutritional needs, and this can result in more severe medical conditions. They may tend to eat more sugary or high cholesterol foods that may lead to diabetes or hypertension.

The food we eat may determine the health of the senior. Thus, it is necessary to monitor the food they eat as part of the senior care program. As an example, it is essential for a person with diabetes to regulate how many sugary and starchy foods in his or her diet and for someone struggling with high blood pressure to cut out salt from their diet. It is of course difficult for a senior to monitor the food that he eats on their own. A physician or a nurse may guide the patient on what is healthy and what is not. Seniors must have good sources of nutrients to sustain their systems and for them to avoid diseases. The healthier they eat, the healthier they become.

The nurse can educate the individual and family the amount of carbohydrates in the food typically eaten by the patient; or the aide will shop for and prepare food with low sodium content, avoiding those that are high in sodium. Getting a proper meal on a daily basis often leads to better nutrition.  It will also avoid unneeded hospitalization thus saving money by avoiding hospital bills and medicines.

Lowering Senior Care Costs Using Technology

There is an increasing demand for Long-term Care (LTC) in the country which is estimated to reach 27 million by the year 2050; this is according to a research conducted by the Bipartisan Policy Center. LTC is given to patients with long-term or chronic diseases, mostly seniors who have complications and inability to monitor themselves. There are many existing LTC options offered to seniors like assisted living facilities and retirement homes. They offer around the clock services with equipments to monitor the patients, as needed. However, the senior care cost may be a burden to the patient and their family.

senior care technologyMany researches and programs have been created to find a solution to reduce the cost. The ideal situation is for the senior to stay at their houses, but the lack of equipments may hinder it from happening. According to a separate study, most of the seniors (90%) prefer to stay at their homes. This is why technology is continually being improved to make it affordable and convenient to use. Researchers are now looking for ways to improve the sensor technology where it can remotely detect the vitals and the overall health of the patient. This technology will reduce the cost since the patient will no longer stay long at the hospital for monitoring and check-up. It will likely reduce the patient’s stress in transportation.

The main purpose of the sensor is to alert the hospital whenever the patient is in an emergency; for instance of fire or a fall; but their capabilities are limited. The research makes the sensors more advanced by giving it the ability to detect the real-time health condition of the patient, making it a “smart sensor”. The sensor will send a regular report to the physician as well as an emergency report that detects abrupt changes in the health condition of the patient. Improving the sensor technology will definitely lower the cost of maintenance of long-term senior care. And it will give them a sense of independence and allow them to stay closer to their home and their family.