The Importance of "Mind Sports” Like Chess

By Guest Blogger: Evan Rabin

During the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of seniors around the world have been and remain isolated. For over a year, they have been unable to socialize with family and friends. While progress has been made ( I have personally received my second vaccine), most people I speak with do not anticipate the world returning to “normal” any time soon.  

Mentally challenging games, such as chess, can help older adults, or anyone for that matter, manage the stressors that the pandemic has thrust upon us. There are virtual platforms for learning and playing chess with real live people which allows for safe socialization. 

In addition to relieving stress and providing for social engagement, there are studies that show that “cognitively stimulating activities,” such as chess, which require a lot of brain power, can help improve a person’s memory and slow the progression of Alzheimer’s Disease and other dementias. See https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6617066/  

About Evan:

Evan Rabin, a National Chess Master himself, is the founder and CEO of Premier Chess. If you would like to learn more about the social and health-related benefits of chess please contact Evan at Evan@PremierChess.com. Premier Chess (https://premierchess.com/) offers online and in-person individual lessons and group classes. Premier Chess partners with companies and non-profit organizations to help realize Evan’s dream that anybody who wants to play chess anywhere in the world should be able to do so.

Care Managers and the Importance of Objectivity

by Lisa Bayer, J.D., CCM

Heidi and I founded LMR Elder Care, LLC with the mission that “care management” would remain our core focus. For more than 15 years we have held true to that mission. 

Every new client of LMR Elder Care receives a disclaimer when they onboard with us. This disclaimer is as much for our clients’ protection as it is for ours. We want our clients to know that, with the help of their families, friends and trusted advisors, we will hold their hands and guide them to make informed elder care plans and decisions. But we also want our clients to know that we will always strive toward “the best interest of the client” and that we will not substitute our judgment for that of our clients or of their authorized agents. We believe in a collaborative approach to elder care and we encourage our clients to lean on all of their trusted professional and paraprofessional advisors.

One core pillar of our business is that we do not accept referral fees. That means that when we include an organization or service in our directory or recommend a provider to a client, it is because we believe that provider will provide a necessary service.  At the heart of what we do is protecting our clients. While we do our best to promote long-term care planning and healthy aging, the reality is that most clients hire us when there is already an actual (or near) crisis. It is important to us that families are not taken advantage of when they are at their most vulnerable. 

The elder care space has evolved a lot over the last 15 years since we started our practice. In this regard some home health care agencies have started offering fee-for service private pay care management services. In this instance, a client is paying the agency for care management and the client is also paying for home health care. This arrangement creates the potential of a “dual relationship” for the care manager as he or she is duty bound to the client and to the employer who is both providing the services and who is paying the care manager’s salary. With a dual relationship the boundaries are blurred and objectivity can become diluted.

Dual relationships can also rise to a true conflict of interest between the care manager and his or her clients. For example, consider a company that provides both fee-for-service private pay care management AND home health care services.  Would the geriatric care manager even be allowed by his/her employer to recommend a more appropriate agency or caregiver? What happens if the home health aide is not performing his or her job adequately or the client simply does not like the caregiver? Simply put, without the checks and balances of independent providers comes the potential for exploitation and abuse. We have seen and heard everything over the years; home health aides offering sexual favors for extra cash, dementia clients abandoned overnight when they were supposed to be under watch, and theft of family valuables. Unfortunately, anything can happen at any time, but the opportunity to correct and protect is diminished when “Peter is Paul” and “Paul is Peter”.

When working with older adults and persons living with disabling conditions, it is important to  insist on transparency, ask necessary questions, and perform reasonable due diligence on all service providers. At LMR Elder Care our number one priority is what is in the best interest of our clients. We advocate for you and only for you.

I’m Sorry, But What Did You Say???

By: Lisa Bayer, J.D., CCM

Recently, I met with Dr. Rhee Rosenman-Nesson, Au.D., CCC-A to learn more about the importance of good hearing health for everyone, but particularly older adults who may be showing signs of dementia and other age-related medical and psychological conditions. Dr. Rosenman-Nesson is the owner and founder of Hearing Doctors of New Jersey with an office in Livingston, New Jersey.

According to Dr. Rosenman-Nesson, poor hearing can increase the risk of:

·       Falls

·       Cognitive Impairment (such as Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias)

·       Social Isolation

·       Depression

Poor hearing has been associated with an increased risk of falling. A person with low hearing may miss auditory cues (such as a pet underfoot). In addition, it takes a lot of mental energy, particularly for a person experiencing hearing loss who is trying to compensate using their other senses, thereby leaving less bandwith for concentration on balance and posture.

According to Dr. Rosenman-Nesson, hearing loss can lead to an increased risk or earlier onset of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. She explained that when a person is deficient in one sense (hearing) they use their other senses such as watching a person’s lips while they speak, to interpret and compensate. If the hearing part of the brain remains unused, it begins to atrophy. “Use it or lose,” explains Dr. Rosenman-Nesson.

Hearing loss can also lead to social isolation and depression. Dr. Rosenman-Nesson explained that when a person is constantly asking people to repeat what they are saying they tend to, at some point, give up and sit quietly at the dinner table or alone at a party. Eventually, they may decline social invitations and avoid activities altogether leading to social isolation and consequent depression. 

Dr. Rosenman-Nesson explained that there are many new and innovative solutions for helping her patients improve hearing and that it is not “one size fits all.” For example, for active adults who do not want their hearing aid to show (if they cannot cover it by growing their hair longer) there are small, clear-colored devices that are barely noticeable. What I was most interested in are the new products that make it easier for caregivers to assist my clients with their hearing aids. For example, they make larger, more manageable devices that are harder to lose and that can be clipped to a person’s clothing if they inadvertently take them out. They also make devices that can be tracked by GPS with a smartphone.

LMR Elder Care and Hearing Doctors of New Jersey’s team approach helps to keep our clients and patients connected and living healthy, productive lives.

To learn more about Hearing Doctors of New Jersey please visit https://hearingdoctorsofnj.com/ or call Dr. Rosenman-Nesson’s office at 973.577.4100.