While Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the origin of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it’s tough to confirm conclusively the source of the day. It is much more likely that it had many individual beginnings; each of those towns and every scheduled or spontaneous meeting of people to honor the war dead in the 1860′s identified the common human need to honor our dead, each added honestly to the growing movement that culminated in Gen Logan giving his formal proclamation in 1868. It is not important who was the very first, what is essential is that Memorial Day was established.

Memorial Day is not about dividing. It is about getting back together; it is about coming together to honor those who gave their all. Traditional observance of Memorial Day has diminished over the years. Many Americans these days have forgotten the significance and customs of Memorial Day. 

Since the late 50′s on the Thursday before Memorial Day, the 1,200 soldiers of the 3d U.S. Infantry place small American flags at each of the more than 260,000 gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery. They then patrol 24 hours a day during the weekend to ensure that each flag remains standing. 

In 1951, the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts of St. Louis began placing flags on the 150,000 graves at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery as an annual Good Turn, a practice that continues to this day. More recently, beginning in 1998, on the Saturday before the observed day for Memorial Day, the Boys Scouts and Girl Scouts place a candle at each of approximately 15,300 grave sites of soldiers buried at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park on Marye’s Heights (the Luminaria Program). And in 2004, Washington D.C. held its first Memorial Day parade in over 60 years.

To help re-educate and remind Americans of the true meaning of Memorial Day, the “National Moment of Remembrance” resolution was passed on Dec 2000 which asks that at 3 p.m. local time, for all Americans “To voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to ‘Taps.”

The Moment of Remembrance is a step in the right direction to returning the meaning back to the day. What is needed is a full return to the original day of observance. Set aside one day out of the year for the nation to get together to remember, reflect and honor those who have given their all in service to their country.

Since 1963, area communities  nationwide have grouped together to commemorate Older Americans Month—a proud practice that exhibits our country’s devotion to recognizing the influences and accomplishments of aged Americans.

The topic for Older Americans Month 2012, “Never Too Old to Play…”
inspires older Americans to continue to be involved, active and involved in their own lives and in their communities.

Here are some creative ideas for Older American’s Month

Brain Activities

Older adults may experience multiple changes in the structure and activity of the brain that can affect how we move and think. But developing studies show that specific actions can teach and spark the brain, bettering its efficiency and potentially even decreasing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. While we do not know which specific daily activities may be of benefit, the ones mentioned below are fun ways to engage your brain.

Consider offering some of these events for Older Americans Month:

- Trivia competition. You’re never too old to play trivia! It’s a great way to bring together older adults and their younger friends and neighbors for a couple of hours of fun and discovery. As a featured activity for Older Americans Month 2012, AoA has developed a team trivia game for your Day of Play. Players will exercise their minds in a 90-minute competition, where intergenerational groups of four to six people gather to answer trivia questions about culture, major events, and sports.

-Crossword puzzles. Crossword puzzles are excellent mental exercises. In the spirit of Older Americans Month, AoA has developed a series of crossword puzzles that you can print and distribute to Day of Play participants.

-Traditional games. Games like Scrabble, bridge, and pokeno are timeless classics and have the potential to be fun intergenerational games. Hold a game night and invite participants to form teams to play these traditional games. Provide a venue, a few decks of cards, a handful of board games, and let the good times roll!

-Continuing education/speaker series. Talk to the older adults you work with and find out what topics interest them. A speaker series as part of your Day of Play might include local professors, authors or others expert in their fields giving presentations on the topics of greatest interest.
To learn more about brain health, please visit:

National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging Memory/Cognitive Health

Alzheimer’s Association: Brain Health

Take care of the seniors in your life and celebrate National Older American’s Month.

To honor the dedication, commitment, and tireless commitment of the nearly 3.1 million registered nurses nationally to increase and care for the health and wellbeing of the US, the American Nurses Association is elated to acknowledge registered nurses in all places on this selected day for the caregiving and top quality work they provide seven days a week, 365 days a year.

In tribute to Nursing: Advocating, Leading, Caring, all registered nurses in America are encouraged to proudly wear the official ANA “RN” pin or any other pin that plainly recognizes them as registered nurses, and/or their nurses uniform on May 6, 2012.

Nurses: Advocating, Leading, Caring 

Often identified as an art and a science, nursing is a job that embraces committed individuals with distinct pursuits, skills and loves because of the many choices the profession has. Nurses are caregivers, work in emergency rooms, school based clinics, and homeless shelters, among others. They have many assignments – from staff nurse to educator to nurse practitioner and nurse researcher – and perform all of them with excitement for the industry and with a strong commitment to patient safety.

National Nurses Week History    

National Nurses Week starts off yearly on May 6th and ends on May 12th, Florence Nightingale’s birthday. 

These solid dates improve planning and positions National Nurses Week as an organized recognition event. As of 1998, May 8 was designated as National Student Nurses Day, to be recognized each year. And as of 2003, National School Nurse Day is celebrated on the Wednesday within National Nurses Week (May 6-12) each year.

The nursing business has been backed and publicized by the American Nurses Association (ANA) since 1896. 

Each of ANA’s state and territorial nurses associations promotes the nursing profession at the state and regional levels. Each conducts celebrations on these dates to recognize the contributions that nurses and nursing make to the community.

If you know a registered nurse, be sure to thank him or her for their service during National Nurses Week 2012.

Christine H. – (Wenonah – Gloucester County) ”Just a short note to thank you along with all your wonderful staff for the love and great care you all have shown my mom over the last couple weeks. I know she was a handful but you and the staff always treated her with such respect and kindness. I speak for my whole family, we are so grateful.”

George D. – (Woolwich – Gloucester County)  “Andrew, your help and support got us through this rough time.  Thank you again from the bottom of our hearts for all you and your wonderful staff did for our father during his most needful times”

Diane S. (Margate – Atlantic County) ”Thank you for having someone the night Les came home form the hospital.  It was 9:30 on a weeknight and I was so grateful to not be alone.  You being here to welcome Les home and personally introduce his caregiver to us was a great comfort.  Your caregivers Eileen and Carol were my rock and support system during the saddest time of my life.  Thank you again”

Heidi R. (Moorestown – Burlington County) ”Thank you to all of the Home To Stay staff for the care they provided my Aunt Gertrude. You always ensured a qualified caring aide was there with her – even during the weekends – storms and holidays.  Knowing she was not only not ever left alone but always with such wonderful aides gave us great comfort”

Plant a Row for the Hungry at a Local Community Garden

In this land of plenty it’s tough to envision being without access to excellent food at a reasonable cost. Having said that, for numerous Americans, finding a healthy meal is not always simple. It’s estimated almost 33 million people, including 13 million children, end up with emergency food because they cannot manage to pay for the food they need.

Participate In a Plant Swap at a Nearby Church

The ideal plants aren’t always from your neighborhood garden center or seed catalog. As a substitute they are gathered through quick cuttings or by gathering up seeds from the garden of a friend or family member. These “pass-along plants” supply both splendor and affection to your garden.

Have a Spring Cleaning Green Up Day at a Senior’s Home

Spring cleaning — indoors and out — is a ritual that marks the end of winter and the start of a brand new season, and similar to many activities, it’s more fun when you share it. A senior’s home, your street, neighborhood, town park, and any other public space could use some greening up; it just takes someone to organize a small group.

Yard Sale Philanthropy

The advent of spring, coupled with a bit longer days and higher temperatures, gives you dreams of green oases teeming with tomatoes and brimming with beans. Spring is also a time for cleaning out. This year, celebrate National Garden Month in an unexpected way-by visiting yard sales in search of second-hand stuff that every senior’s garden needs.

Organize a Garden Visit with Senior Friends, Over Tea!

Gardeners grow more than plants – every one of us has stories to share. For a change, why not share them in over tea? Socialization and admiration of another person’s garden brings joy to everyone.

Other ideas for having fun with seniors in your neighborhood:

-Organize or get involved in a town beautification day.

-Check out your regional farmers’ market.

-Compliment a neighbor on his or her garden.

-Gather with neighbors to purchase compost and mulch in bulk quantities.

-Volunteer to plant and keep up a garden at your area library.

-Present a gardening article or essay to your community paper.

-Interview an elder to learn what foods his or her family grew when he or she was a child.

-Seek out neighbors from differentethnic groups to learn about their native cuisine and gardening techniques.

-Clean up your street or a local park by picking up trash.

-Share a cutting of one of your favorite landscape or houseplants with a senior neighbor.

-Inventory your gardening gear (e.g., pots, seeds, stakes) and give away the excess to a neighborhood gardening program, assisted living facility or school garden.

-Celebrate other important “green” holidays: Earth Day (April 22) and National Arbor Day (April 26).

-Volunteer at your local school’s garden.

-Volunteer at a local senior center’s garden.

-Start a neighborhood garden club.

-Share your garden’s bounty with a senior neighbor.

-Have fun doing a gardening project with a senior.

-Deliver houseplants or flowers to a nursing home, assisted living or children’s hospital.

-Donate past issues of gardening magazines to your library, or buy the library a gift subscription.

The four key symptoms of PD are tremor, or trembling in hands, arms, legs, jaw, and face; rigidity, or stiffness of the limbs and trunk; bradykinesia, or slowness of movement; and postural instability, or impaired balance and coordination.

As these signs grow to be more pronounced, patients may have difficulty walking, talking, or completing other simple duties.

Parkinson’s disease usually impairs individuals over the age of 50.  First indicators of Parkinson’s disease are faint and occur little by little.  In some people the disease advances faster than in others.  

As the disease advances, the shaking, or tremor, which affects the majority of PD patients may begin to hamper with daily activities.  Other signs or symptoms may include depression and other emotional changes; difficulty in swallowing, chewing, and speaking; urinary problems or constipation; skin problems; and sleep disruptions.  

There are currently no blood or laboratory tests that have been established to aid in diagnosing sporadic PD.  Thus the diagnosis is based on medical history and a neurological examination.  

The disease can be challenging to diagnose properly.   Physicians may in some cases call for brain scans or laboratory tests in order to rule out other diseases.

Is there any cure?
At present, there is no cure for PD, but a wide variety of medications delivers dramatic ease from the signs or symptoms.  

Homecare and Treatment
In the beginning, Parkinson’s disease may not significantly interrupt your life. But for plenty of people, the disease gets more disabling as time passes. Homecare can support patients as they adapt, and as the disease advances. This naturally, assists them to continue to be self-reliant for as long as possible. The quality of their life may depend in part on their capacity to continue working, take care of a home, care for their family, and remain independent. They may need to have adaptive devices such as canes or walkers as the disease takes its toll.

Factors of Private Duty Home care that are significant for someone with Parkinson’s Disease include:

•       Changing their tasks and their home, including simplifying their day to day responsibilities and modifying the placement of furniture so that they can hang on to something as they move about the residence.

•       Consuming healthy foods, including plenty of fruits, vegetables, grains, cereals, legumes, poultry, fish, lean meats, and low-fat dairy products.

•       Exercising and doing physical therapy, which has benefits in both early and advanced stages of the illness.

•       Dealing with tremor, which may include putting a little weight on the hand to help reduce tremor and restore control.

•       Improving speech quality by working with a speech therapist (also called a speech-language pathologist).

•       Reducing problems with eating and drooling by changing how and what they eat.

•       Dealing with “freezing” by various means, such as stepping towards a specific target on the ground.

•       Managing depression. If they are feeling sad or depressed, ask a friend or family member for help. If these feelings don’t go away, or if they get worse, talk to their doctor. He or she may be able to suggest someone for you to talk to or give them medicine that will help.

•       Coping with dementia. Dementia is common late in Parkinson’s disease. Symptoms may include confusion and memory loss. If a family member notices that they are confused a lot or have trouble thinking clearly, talk to their doctor. There are medicines that can help dementia in people with Parkinson’s disease.

If a senior in your life is receiving home care services, you might also consider asking their physician about Occupational Therapy services that are often covered by Medicare.

Occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants focus on “doing” whatever occupations or activities are relevant to the person. It is occupational therapy’s intent to get beyond problems to the methods that assure living life to its fullest. These treatments may be modifications for how to do a task, changes to the surroundings, or aiding people to adjust their own behaviors.

When utilizing an occupational therapy practitioner, strategies and changes are individualized for each person to resolve issues, enhance function, and help everyday living tasks. The purpose is to maximize potential. Through these therapeutic approaches, occupational therapy aids individuals structure their lives, develop needed skills, adjust their environments (e,g., home, school, or work) and build health-promoting habits and regimes that will permit them to succeed.

By obtaining the full picture into account—a person’s psychological, physical, emotional, and social makeup as well as their environment—occupational therapy assists clients to do the following:

•           Meet goals
•           Perform at the highest level
•           Center on what matters most to them
•           Keep or rebuild their self-sufficiency
•           Take part in daily interests that they need or want to do.

Founded in 1917, the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) represents the interests and concerns of more than 140,000 occupational therapists, assistants and students nationwide. The Association educates the public and advances the profession of occupational therapy by providing resources, setting standards including accreditations and serving as an advocate to improve health care. Based in Bethesda, Md., AOTA’s major programs and activities are directed toward promoting the professional development of its members and assuring consumer access to quality services so patients can maximize their individual potential. For more information, go to www.aota.org.

Seasonal allergies, also known as allergic rhinitis, cause cold-like characteristics and symptoms which include itchiness in the nose, roof of the mouth, throat, eyes and ears, along with watery eyes, runny nose, congestion and sneezing. But unlike a cold, allergies aren’t brought on by a virus; they are triggered by an allergic reaction to outdoor or indoor allergens, such as mold, trees, pollen and pet dander.

Allergies, which have an effect on an estimated 60 million people in the United States both young and old, can really have its effects on your daily routine, and they are a pest both in daily life and professionally. Whether you’re impacted year-round or during a specific season, discovering how to cope with allergy symptoms can be very important to fixing your comfort and ease and quality of life.

This ailment can also be expensive to manage. From 2000 to 2005, the fee for treating allergic rhinitis nearly doubled from $6.1 billion to $11.2 billion, according to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. Nearly all of that was spent on prescription and over-the-counter medications. Some experts recommend patients get store-brand, over-the-counter medicines as a helpful means of controlling both the allergy problem and its related prices.

“There are a number of very effective over-the-counter treatments to address the symptoms of seasonal allergies,” says Dr. William Berger, professor of allergy and immunology at the University of California, Irvine. “In fact, to help patients save money, I would recommend many of the store-brand, non-sedating antihistamines sold at leading retailers and pharmacies, such as Cetirizine or Loratadine. These products are approved by the FDA, but cost significantly less than the brand names.”

According to Berger, numerous allergy sufferers might discover superior relief of their symptoms by attempting one of these newer, more efficient treatments now on hand in the aisle, like Fexofenadine, which just switched from prescription to over-the-counter in 2011.

“Effective management with medicines, ideally before the allergy symptoms start, is key,” he says.

When an aging loved one needs elder care, know of the interactions between over-the-counter medications and the elderly person’s prescription drugs.

You may think that over-the-counter (OTC) medications are always safe. But if you are the elderly and additionally taking prescription medications, this kind of thought can get you into some issues.

“The average number of prescription medications taken by people over 65 is five or six,” says Michael H. Perskin, MD, an assistant professor of medicine and an internist at the New York University Langone Medical Center. “As you get older, it increases and so does the potential for drug interactions.”

So how can you find effective and protected comfort from arthritis and other pain, and cold or allergy symptoms? “When in doubt, ask your pharmacist,” Perskin says. “If you have taken the medication before, it’s probably OK. But if it’s new or your other medication regimen has changed, check it out.”

You can find more information and facts about the symptoms and treatments for allergic rhinitis at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (www.aaaai.org), or the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (www.acaai.org).