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Advice for Older People, Age Friendly Advice

A Month of Wellness: Celebrating Wellbeing, Self-Care, and Healthy Habits

5 tips on finding the right homecare provider

A Month of Wellness: Celebrating Wellbeing, Self-Care, and Healthy Habits

Did you know August is National Wellness Month. This means focusing on self-care, managing stress and creating wholesome habits in your lifestyle for the month of August. In this blog, we will discuss the importance of Wellness and why we should be making our wellbeing a priority this month and all year round.

What Is Wellness and Why Is It Important?

Wellness involves practicing healthy habits on a daily basis for better physical and mental health.

Why should we focus on our wellbeing? Because when we are well, we are able to show up as our best selves in all areas of our lives. When we feel good mentally and physically, we have more energy to put towards our relationships, careers and hobbies.

One way is to focus on healthy habits such as eating nutritious foods, exercising regularly, getting enough sleep, and managing stress effectively. Another way is to make time for self-care activities that help you relax and rejuvenate.

Types of Wellness

There are different types of wellness that we should all strive to maintain. These include:

-Physical Wellness: This is our body’s overall condition and includes exercise, nutrition and sleep habits.

-Mental Wellness: This is our state of mind and includes our thoughts, feelings and emotions.

-Emotional Wellness: This is our ability to cope with life’s challenges in a healthy way.

-Spiritual Wellness: This is our sense of purpose and connection to something larger than ourselves.

-Occupational Wellness: This is our satisfaction and engagement with our work.

Making Wellness A Priority

Now that we know what wellness is and why it’s important, let’s talk about how we can make it a priority in our lives. Below are some tips on making wellness a part of your everyday life:

-Schedule time for yourself: Make sure to schedule time each day or week to do things that make you feel good. This could be anything from reading, taking a bath or going for a walk outdoors.

-Create healthy habits: Habits are easy to form and hard to break. So why not create ones that will benefit your wellbeing? Try swapping out unhealthy habits with healthier alternatives like meditation or journaling.

-Find a balance: It’s important to find a balance between work and play, rest and activity. When we have too much of one thing, it can lead to burnout. Make sure to schedule time for both work and leisure activities so you don’t get overwhelmed.

-Connect with others: Social connection is so important for our mental health. Spend time with loved ones or join a club or group that shares your interests. Take 10 minutes out of your day to call someone that makes you happy.

-Nourish your mind and body: Eating nutritious foods and exercising regularly are great ways to nourish your mind and body. To help nourish your mind, find things that make you happy and do them often.

–Exercise: We know how difficult it can be to gather the motivation to exercise, but even 20 to 30 minutes of exercise can make a positive impact on your mood. Start of small by taking a brisk walk after work or use the stairs instead of opting for the elevator.

Commit to making small changes that will lead to big improvements in your wellbeing.

Remember, it’s never too late to start taking care of yourself. Your wellbeing is worth the effort.

Get in Touch

Our dedicated team are on hand to assist you in any way.
Contact us on +1 800 400 900 or email us info@myhomecare.ie and one of our team will be in touch.

Advice for Older People, Age Friendly Advice, COVID-19, HSE Announcements

The Covid-19 Vaccine Booster Dose Explained

In light of the recent surge in Covid-19 cases, the Covid-19 Vaccine booster programme has been extended following the recommendations of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC). Taoiseach Micheál Martin announced new Covid measures with the vaccine booster rollout ramp up a key phase in combating the ‘fourth surge’ of Covid-19.

The latest figures show 4,407 recorded daily cases, of which 634 are in hospital with 119 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the ICU.

**accurate at time of writing visit Ireland’s COVID19 Data Hub (arcgis.com) for updated daily figures

The vaccine booster programme has already begun with over 400,000 booster doses already being administered to those aged 80+ and those living in care facilities, according to HSE CEO Paul Reid.

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly explains they have already seen a positive impact on those who have received the booster,

“In Ireland, we have already seen that booster doses given to those aged 80 years and older have been followed by a sharp decline in case numbers in that age group. This is very welcome news, and I encourage all of those who are eligible for a booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine to come forward and receive that vaccine as soon as it is available to you.”

During Taoiseach Micheál Martin’s address on Tuesday (November 16^th) he announced that the NIAC have approved booster jabs for everyone over the age of 50 (a cohort of 600,000) and those under 50 with underlying illnesses in a bid to reduce Covid case numbers and relieve the pressures facing the HSE and Hospitals at present.

“NIAC have pointed out that the risk of vaccinated people aged 50-59 years requiring hospitalisation and becoming seriously ill and dying is higher than in younger age groups, therefore they are next in the order of priority for booster vaccination.”

As a result of this latest change, over 2.5 million people will now be eligible for their booster vaccine

Why Get The Vaccine Booster Dose

The HSE and NIAC are recommending those 50+ should consider receiving the booster dose of the Covid-19 vaccine as the protection of the vaccine can weaken with time especially as we age. There are also concerns that with the more infectious Delta variant spreading, coupled with the easing of restrictions, it has lead to the surge in cases and hospital admissions.

The booster dose has been approved by the European Medicines Agency however if you have any concerns, please contact your GP or Pharmacist.

Find out more here – boosterpatientinfo.pdf (hse.ie)

Who Can Get The Vaccine Booster Dose?

Anyone aged 50 years plus
All Healthcare workers under 60 years
Anyone aged 16-59 years who have an underlying condition
Residents of irrespective or age or underlying conditions

You can only receive the booster vaccine if you have been double vaccinated and no sooner than 5 months after your second dose of your initial vaccine.

What Is The Vaccine Booster Dose?

All booster recipients will be given a single mRNA dose of Comirnaty® (Pfizer BioNTech) or Spikevax® (Moderna) regardless of which type of vaccine they initially received two doses of i.e. you received two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine but will received a Pfizer booster dose.

For more information visit https://www.ema.europa.eu/en or COVID-19 vaccines – HSE.ie

How To Get Your Vaccine Booster Dose

You cannot receive your booster shot at a walk-in centre.
There is no registration needed.
Appointments will be issued by your GP or you will receive an SMS from the HSE with your appointment details.
If you cannot attend your appointment or are unable to leave your home contact HSELive on 1800 700 700 to reschedule.
Anyone in Long-term Residential care will not need to attend an appointment, they will be vaccinated at home.
If you are a frontline healthcare worker, you will be invited for your booster vaccine once 6 months has elapsed from your second dose.

Healthcare Workers and the Booster

The HSE advises that most Healthcare workers will receive their booster appointment within the next six weeks. All healthcare workers under the age of 60 are expected to receive their booster vaccine by the end of December, with those aged 60+ already being called alongside the over 60 cohort.

For those who have become a healthcare worker after they received their second dose of the initial vaccine, you may need to register on the HSE, a service that is pending rollout.

However if you need to receive your booster vaccine quickly and have surpassed 6 months since your second dose details on how to get in contact are available here.

What If I Had Covid Recently?

The HSE is recommending that anyone that has been double vaccinated and since contracted Covid-19 will be invited to receive their booster shot six months after their Covid-19 diagnosis.

Can I Still Get The Flu Shot?

The NIAC and CDC, have also recommended that the seasonal influenza vaccine and Covid-19 booster can be administered at the same time, but advise to use different limbs (arms).

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Advice for Older People, COVID-19

Alone’s COVID-19 support line and services for older people

ALONE have launched a COVID-19 support line, which is available to all older people including those that have never used their services before. Supporting the clinical advice and information being provided by the HSE, ALONE’s support line is available at 0818 222 024 from 8am-8pm, seven days a week.

The ALONE helpline offers advice and support for COVID-19 and other issues that are arising for older people at this time, including difficulties in relation to physical and mental health, loneliness, isolation, finance, safety, and housing. As well as ongoing telephone support, volunteers are also collecting and delivering prescriptions, groceries or other necessary items for the older people. ALONE’s network of support is constantly expanding and evolving to meet the needs of older people throughout Ireland.

They are working in collaboration with Local Authorities and the Local Authority Community Response Forum providing practical supports to older and medically vulnerable people. ALONE’s support line has become the leading national number for ‘Community Call’, an initiative that links local and national Government with the community and voluntary sectors to provide support to older people and those who are at risk at this time. The partnership is crucial in mobilising a rapid response in every county to make sure everyone is looked after.

ALONE have since launched a dedicated referral line for professionals including Home Care Providers, Local Authorities, Local Development Companies, Hospitals, Primary Care, the HSE, GP’s, members of PPN’s and other community services, including pharmacy staff. This referral pathway is operational seven days a week, Monday – Friday 8am – 8pm, Saturday – Sunday 9am – 5pm by calling 01 223 3632. This number is specifically for professionals who wish to make a referral including your own staff, and all older people should continue to phone ALONE’s national support line number at 0818 222 024.

As family members, neighbours and communities return to work, there may be a reduction in supports available to those who are at risk. ALONE has highlighted that physical and mental health difficulties are causing increased challenges for older people, with many calling ALONE’s helpline to say they have fallen or are experiencing illness or pain, but do not want to go to GP surgeries or A&E due to anxiety around contracting COVID-19. Lack of access to chiropody and other services are having a direct impact on people’s ability to leave their home for exercise safely, and many callers indicate deconditioning and point to increasing frailty as a result of cocooning. ALONE have also noted a continuing increase in the number of older people expressing very low mood due to cocooning.

It is not yet know what the full impact of cocooning will have on our older people of Ireland, who are medically and socially vulnerable. So we are encouraging all older people experiencing difficulties to please seek help and for younger people to seek supports for older relatives and neighbours that Alone are offering. For more information visit https://alone.ie/

COVID-19

COVID-19 Everything you need to know

We would like to remind everyone to please use trusted sources only, for more information on COVID-19, healthcare and homecare workers information, mental health and the virus, government measures and employment please take a look at some of the below websites:

HSPC – information and guidance for healthcare workers https://www.hpsc.ie/a-z/respiratory/coronavirus/novelcoronavirus/guidance/guidanceforhealthcareworkers/

HSE – information on symptoms, treatment, self-isolation and more https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/coronavirus/coronavirus.html

HSE – Minding your mental health https://www2.hse.ie/wellbeing/mental-health/minding-your-mental-health-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak.html

HSE – Facts and protecting ourselves https://www.smh.ie/assets/files/pdf/your_mental_wellbeing_during_covid-19.pdf

Gov.ie – Ireland and COVID-19. The latest updates on health advice, government measures, employment benefits etc https://www.gov.ie/en/campaigns/c36c85-covid-19-coronavirus/

We have lots of job vacancies available nationwide, please have a look at the jobs section on our website for something near you. You can also call our homecare team on 1800 400 900 and follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/myhomecare/