American Baptist Homes of the Midwest has been providing senior healthcare services throughout our Midwest senior living communities for over 85 years. Each unique community offers an array of senior housing and health care options, from independent living apartments to senior assisted living and memory care, rehab and skilled nursing care services.

We have communities located through the Midwest between Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

Read a little about our any of our eight senior living communities below to find specific information about the lifestyle services and care provided.

Colorado:                                                                     Iowa:

–  Franklin Park – Denver                                       –  Elm Crest – Harlan

–  Mountain Vista – Denver                                    –  Crest Services – Des Moines

Minnesota:                                                                 Nebraska:

–  Thorne Crest – Albert Lea                                   –  Maple Crest – Omaha

South Dakota:                                                             Wisconsin:

–  Trail Ridge – Sioux Falls                                    –  Tudor Oaks – Milwaukee

Our goal in each community is to promote an active, engaged and independent lifestyle amongst residents, ensuring that their safety and comfort is top of mind.

Along with that, our mission is to create healthy Christian communities that empower older adults, families and people with disabilities. Finally, we strive to provide choices for housing, services and technology that enrich body, mind and spirit.

If you are looking for a senior living community for you or a loved one, explore our new ABHM Foundation Newsletter “The Inner Circle” to learn how the communities are supporting the spiritual needs of residents. Plus, read our blog to see what life is like at ABHM.

We have gathered the frequently asked questions we get about senior living as a whole and more specific questions about our ABHM communities – feel free to reference this as you look for your next home. If you have any additional questions, please contact us at 952-941-3175.

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With the new year less than a month away, it’s time to start thinking of any resolutions you want to make. Each year, we are given an opportunity to rejuvenate our lives and start fresh. Whether you make one resolution or 10, it can be good to set goals for yourself.

Take the time that is left in 2018 and think about what are some changes you wish you’d start making in your life but haven’t been motivated yet or didn’t have the time to prepare for the changes. It could be as simple as eating more greens or something a bit harder like quitting smoking. All resolutions are important because they are personal—it’s up to you whether or not you want to make resolutions for the coming year.

For seniors, there are many important aspects of your life you should prioritize as you age such as, your health, mobility, social life and family. Below we walk through seven possible resolutions you could make for 2019.

  • Eat healthier: This coming year, try incorporating more fruits and vegetables into your diet. If you already do so, try avoiding the sugary treats you crave after mealtime and switch them out with healthier options like fruit slices or dark chocolate.
  • De-clutter: The new year is a great time to motivate yourself to de-clutter your home and your belongings. If you’ve been stuck on this one for a while, make the first of the year your first attempt at de-cluttering. Start throwing away or donating things you haven’t used in the past year and see how you feel after!
  • Try something new: Trying something new will allow you to continue learning throughout your life. Whether you decide to learn a new game that exercises your brain or if you decide to try volunteering, it will be a fun time of exploration!
  • Stay or start being active: Physical activity is critical for seniors. Are you staying active lately? If you are, keep it up! If you aren’t, 2019 is a great time to start! Here’s how to start an exercise routine over the age of 60.
  • Spend more time with family: In the end, family and friends are what matter most. Take 2019 to reconnect with old friends or choose a day of the week to see your family and make the most out of your time well spent!
  • Prepare for the future: You may have been avoiding having “the talk” with your family but the new year is a perfect time to stop avoiding it and finally speak up about it. Sit down with your family and discuss how you’re feeling about your living situation, how you feel mentally, how you feel physically and any other concerns you may have been feeling about your overall health.
  • Embrace 2019: While making your list of resolutions, don’t forget to simply enjoy life! Do all the things you love to do all while adding in some healthy adjustments. It may be the most important resolution on your list.

Another year down and another year ahead! Take time out of the month of December to decide on what aspects of your life you want to change or improve and start down that track come January 1st!

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It’s that time of year again, the holidays are upon us. With Thanksgiving behind us and Christmas around the corner, it’s likely you’ll be seeing a lot of your family members. While it’s always nice to connect with your loved ones, it can also be a good time to have conversations with your aging parents while you’re together.

If you’ve noticed your family members need a bit more help lately, here are a few important conversations to have with your senior parents this holiday season. But first, take a moment to run through the strategies for how to have those talks. Always remember:

  • Be considerate: While you may have noticed slight changes in the lives of your parents, they might not have so, it’s important to be considerate of their feelings. Have these conversations with them thoroughly and explain your point of view respectfully.
  • Listen: It will be helpful to say your point of view but then remember to take the time to listen to their side of the story. It can also help in the future if you all agree that assisted living may be necessary as you’ll know what parts of their lives they struggle with most—from climbing the stairs to cooking meals.
  • Show you care: Conversations like this can always be hard to have but reminding your parents that you love them and you want to talk about this to ultimately help them will allow the conversation to go smoothly. 

Now that you have a few guidelines for how to approach these tough conversations, here are three critical conversations to have with your aging parents.

Wellbeing Conversation:

First, and most importantly, talk about the wellbeing of both or one of your parents. This is a conversation that might be the toughest to have but it’s critical to gauge how they’re feeling overall. Discuss their health—how do they feel on a daily basis? Are they staying active? If not, discuss options for them to get some exercise like, going for walks or joining a gym. These questions will help you learn more about their daily life and how they are feeling they’re doing with daily tasks.

Financial Conversation:

Finances can always be an awkward conversation to have with your parents but, it will help set up the rest of their lives. Discuss their will, is it up to date? Do they have property they have plans for? Offer them assistance with any of the financial questions or concerns they might have.

Living Conversation:

How are your parents doing in their home? Ask them about their living situation—do they have any issues climbing the stairs or keeping track of their personal items like keys or wallets? If they live alone, do they ever feel isolated or lonely? Conversations like this might lead to discussing assisted living or senior living options for your parents. Remind your parents you are there to help them if they do choose to move into a community.

Conversations like these can be hard to have with family members but they are awfully important. Review the strategies provided and keep them at the top of mind while you discuss any of the topics above this holiday season.

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The holiday season is upon us. The best way to spend the holidays is with family.

Unfortunately, some of our family members can be miles away. Traveling in the car or on a plane can make seeing your loved ones a little difficult especially, as you age. Figuring out travel plans and whether or not to make them can be stressful for many people.

Related: Tis the Season: Helping Seniors Manage Holiday Stress

But, not to fret! There are many ways you can still connect with your loved ones even if you can’t see them in person. The main way is through technology—it can be very useful when you want to catch up with your family members. According to the Pew Research Center,

“Around four-in-ten (42%) seniors ages 65 and older now own smartphones, more than double the share that did so in 2013.”

Below we offer you three ways to connect with your loved ones over the holidays.

Schedule a Skype or FaceTime session:

Scheduling a session to Skype with your family members is a perfect way to connect with each other. This way, you get to talk to your loved ones and see them. One way to make it feel even more like the holidays is to open each other’s presents during your Skype/Facetime session. Plan to mail your presents to your family ahead of time so they’ll arrive before your Skype/Facetime session. It will feel as if you’re all there together being able to see everyone’s reactions to their gifts.

Make a video:

Using your phone, wish your family members happy holidays through a video! You can make it ahead of time and send it to them on the day they’re celebrating. This will show them how much you miss and love them.

Give them a ring:

Even a simple can call bring your family members together. Next time you feel like connecting with your loved ones, call them up! It’s a great way to get the inside scoop on all the fun things they have planned for the holidays.

Use technology to stay close to your loved ones over the holiday season and throughout the year. If you feel like you still want more holiday celebrations, bring the holiday cheer to your assisted living home!

Related: How to Bring Holiday Cheer to Seniors in Assisted Living

 

Happy holidays from all of us at American Baptist Homes of the Midwest!

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November is National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness month. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, Alzheimer’s is a type of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior. Symptoms usually develop slowly and get worse over time, becoming severe enough to interfere with daily tasks.

It’s estimated that there are approximately 44 million people worldwide living with Alzheimer’s disease or a related form of dementia. In the U.S., an estimated 5.5 million people have this disease.

Do you know someone who is or might be affected by Alzheimer’s? Learn the 10 warning signs to watch for from the Alzheimer’s Association below:

  1. Memory loss that disrupts daily life
  2. Challenges in planning or solving problems
  3. Difficulty completing familiar tasks at home, at work or at leisure
  4. Confusion with time or place
  5. Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships
  6. New problems with words in speaking or writing
  7. Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps
  8. Decreased or poor judgement
  9. Withdrawal from work or social activities
  10. Changes in mood and personality

Are you wondering, what now? What if I do notice these signs and symptoms in one of my loved ones? The next step you should take is to see the doctor.

Early detection can be very important with Alzheimer’s disease. If detected early, you have the opportunity to explore different treatments that can help extend your independent lifestyle longer.

It’s important to take notice of your loved ones and their health. If you’re starting to worry about a loved one’s memory and their living situation, let us help. We have an Assisted Living Decisions Guide that outlines the senior communities and services we offer throughout the Midwest.

Our Assisted Living Decisions Guide is designed to help you make good decisions for your future or that of a loved one. There are many factors to consider — financial security, ongoing healthcare, and overall safety and well-being.

It’s important to educate yourself and your loved ones of Alzheimer’s disease so that if the time comes, you are prepared. If you have any further questions or would like to learn more about our assisted living communities, please contact us at 952-941-3175.

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Did you know? October is National Physical Therapy month. As we age it’s important to remember to prioritize our health. One way to do that is by taking care of ourselves when we are in pain.

Are you wondering how you can accomplish that in order to maintain your health? There’s one answer: physical therapy.

According to Web MD, physical therapy is a non-drug, no-surgery treatment that works for arthritis, cancer pain, Parkinson’s and incontinence and improves your strength and endurance.

General aging can cause many seniors to be in a lot of pain whether they have arthritis, recently fell, have been in an accident, sick, or simply just tired. To help you understand what physical therapy can do for you or a loved one, we’ll walk through four physical therapy types according to seniorliving.org:

  1. Manual Therapy
    Manual therapy is done by the therapist with their hands. The goal is to reduce any pain and relax the patient. This process includes massaging muscles to improve circulation and reduce pain. It also includes slow movements to stretch arms or legs—twisting and pulling joints or bones and making sure they are put into place.
  2. Electrical Stimulation
    This type of physical therapy is when electrical currents are going through the body in hopes to contract the muscles that may not be working as they should. Electrical stimulation is used when someone is experiencing pain, spasms or muscular weakness.
  3. Heat Therapy
    Heat is used when the need is to relax muscles and increase blood circulation. Heat therapy is a great way to loosen stiff joints caused my immobility. Another use of this therapy is to loosen the muscles before further physical activity takes place.
  4. Cold Therapy
    Cold therapy is a great type of physical therapy for those with arthritis. Cold temperatures are used to reduce pain and inflammation. This type of therapy often follows the process, also known as RICE – rest, ice, compression and elevation.

According to the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), physical therapy can restore or increase strength, range of motion, flexibility, coordination, and endurance – as well as reduce pain. Another role is to help the patient to do everyday tasks. If you or a loved one feels they are in pain, physical therapy may be the solution.

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