Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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SENIOR CORNER Managing the Challenges of Alzheimer���s: Part Two by MARTHA OWEN AND SUSAN GUY The following, from the Home Instead Senior Care�� network and Vickie Dellaquila, certified professional organizer and author of Don���t Toss My Memories in the Trash, are 10 reasons seniors can���t or won���t give up their stuff and what to do about it. ��� The Sentimental Attachment The beloved prom dress represents the history and memories of the event; it���s not the dress itself. Save only a piece of the dress to make a quilt or display in a shadow box. Scrapbooking and converting photos to DVDs are other ways to save treasured keepsakes without all the extra mess. ��� The Sense Of Loyalty Older adults who���ve received gifts from family and friends may be reluctant to part with them. Encourage your loved one to give unused gifts back to the giver or grandchildren. ��� The Need To Conserve Seniors are the original green people. Appeal to a senior���s desire to help others. ���You went through the Great Depression, now it���s time for you to let go and help someone else.��� Counter a senior���s inclination to conserve by appealing to their desire to give back. ��� The Fatigue A home with a lifetime of memories can easily become too much for an older adult to handle. Help seniors manage clutter by establishing online bill paying. Also, get your senior off junk-mail lists, which can put them at risk for identity theft. Buy them a shredder. ��� The Change In Health Seniors who have suffered a brain trauma or stroke, who are wheelchair bound or who are experiencing dementia may no longer be able to manage household duties, which could contribute to clutter. If you see a health change, encourage your senior to visit his or her doctor and consider a professional organizer and caregiver to help your loved one. ��� The Fear Seniors often fear what will happen if they give up their stuff, like the older adult who saved three generations of bank statements. Use logic and information to help seniors understand it���s okay to let go. ��� The Dream of the Future Those clothes in the closet don���t fit anymore, but your loved one is sure that some day she���ll lose enough weight to get into them. Ask seniors to fill a box with clothing they don���t wear much and make a list of the items in the box. Agree that if they have not gone back to the box in six months to wear the item, they will donate that to charity. ��� The Love of Shopping Today���s seniors have more money than any other previous generation of older adults and they love to shop. Clutter can become so bad seniors can���t find things and they repurchase items they already have, contributing to the clutter cycle. Try to convince seniors to cut back and to say ���no��� to free stuff. ��� The History And Memories Keepsakes represent history and memories. Encourage seniors to take old photos to a family reunion and share with several generations. Let seniors know they can contribute to the history of their time and leave a lasting legacy by donating to museums and historical societies, a theater and library or churches and synagogues. ���The Loneliness Stuff can become a misplaced companion. Loneliness may also lead to depression, which makes it difficult for seniors to get organized. Consider the services of a professional organizer and caregiver. For more information, go to the National Association of Professional Organizers at www.napo.net or visit www.homeinstead.com. Other experts contributing to these tips include Katherine ���Kit��� Anderson, CPOCD, president of the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization; University of Kansas Professor Dr. David Ekerdt, who is coordinating a ���household moves��� project to determine the role that possessions play in older people���s housing decisions; and University of New Mexico Researcher Dr. MARTHA OWEN & SUSAN GUY, Owners Catherine Roster. of Home Instead Senior Care, Editor@ upandcomingweekly.com. An Interesting Healthcare Career that Helps People Breathe Easier ��� Respiratory Therapy by JOHN HOLLOMAN Breathing should be the easiest natural process a person can do, but for millions of people, it can be a struggle. The Respiratory Therapy program at Fayetteville Technical Community College equips graduates with the skill to service patients of all ages who face respiratory breathing problems. Through lecture, laboratory and hospital clinical rotations, students learn the basic physiology of respiratory therapy needed for patient assessments, oxygen therapy, diagnostic procedures and ventilator management. Graduates will have an in-depth understanding of the anatomy and pathology of the respiratory system for identification, treatment, management and rehabilitation of diseases Make a difference, in your life and in the lives of such as asthma, chronic obstructive others. pulmonary disease, emphysema and interstitial lung disease, just to name a few. Students will have the opportu- nity to enhance their critical thinking skills for troubleshooting and equipment manipulation. After earning an associate of applied science degree with a concentration in Respiratory Therapy at FTCC, students are qualified to take the required national boards, the Certified Respiratory Therapist and Registered Respiratory Therapist exams. Graduates who successfully earn CRT certification may then apply to the state agency for licensure and begin work in most states. The advanced credential of Registered Respiratory Therapist involves a twostep examination process that may be attempted after the CRT certification is obtained. The RRT credential is not only a professional achievement but also a monetary benchmark. According to salary.com, a CRT���s median salary is $46,000, while RRT���s make about $8,000 more. If you are an ambitious problem-solver who is looking for a challenging, exciting and dynamic career in healthcare and are team oriented and enjoys helping others, then respiratory therapy may be the profession for you. Application deadline is Jan. 30, 2013, for fall semester 2013. Visit our website at www.faytechcc.edu to learn more about the Respiratory Therapy program as well as other opportunities available to you at Fayetteville Technical Community College. Email hollomaj@ faytechcc.edu with questions JOHN HOLLOMAN, Contributing Writer. about the training at FTCC FTCC Department Chair, Respiratory that can lead to your future career in Respiratory Therapy! Therapy COMMENTS? editor@upandcomingweekly.com 14 UCW JANUARY 2-8, 2013 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM