Irish Referral Agency

12/03/2025

All too often, older patients get released from the hospital and are fully eligible for help at home but refuse it. The reasons for this vary, but often it gets down to privacy or pride. Seniors see their homes as sanctums. -

Refusing home health care post-hospitalization puts patients at risk of a difficult, incomplete or slower-than-anticipated recovery.

12/02/2025

Given that 118,000,000 people in the US have a “smart speaker” the next part of this paragraph is probably be rendered unnecessary, but it is important to set up the conversation. Amazon Echo is a voice-activated and controlled smart speaker that uses a virtual assistant called Alexa, to perform a variety of tasks. These tasks can be simple, such as playing music or making lists, or more advanced, such as controlling your smart home’s thermostat or turning off your lights. - https://irishreferralagency.com/alexa-for-seniors/

12/01/2025

Caregiving can be an all-consuming, and occasionally a thankless task. Those for whom you care are inherently net takers, though not usually intentionally selfish. In the end, however, the caregiver gives more and gets less. In many cases that makes the caregiver attempt to provide more than the capacity he or she may have physically or emotionally. -

In many cases that makes the caregiver attempt to provide more than the capacity he or she may have physically or emotionally.

11/30/2025

When you consider the challenges of growing older, a variety of unhappy situations can come to mind. Loneliness as we have less exposure to family and friends is one. Less activity may lead to feeling less self-worth. A life of responsibility becoming one of “freedom” turns out not to be the panacea that it sounded like during the years that life felt hectic. Aging sometimes isn’t all that fun. -

Relief from these and other deficits of aging can be resolved fairly simply in the form of a dog. Cat lovers will forgive this, but dogs more

11/29/2025

Pressure ulcers, more commonly called “bed sores”, represent a preventable and treatable issue for seniors, but caregivers must be vigilant to monitor for the potential of this malady. Further, these wounds can happen in places other than beds. -

Pressure ulcers, more commonly called “bed sores”, represent a preventable and treatable issue for seniors, but caregivers must be vigilant

11/28/2025

Even as the vaccine is now available to an increasing number of seniors, logical protections are still in place that have kept seniors isolated over the past year. The psychological distress that has been a by-product of isolation -

Anxiety and depression as a result of Covid-related events have pushed many people – especially seniors – into as yet undiagnosed mental

11/27/2025

In a previous column we talked about the challenges of being a long-distance caregiver. The subject matter dealt with knowing as much as possible when the caregiver is not local. -

One key component that should be added to the list of things a long-distance caregiver needs to have is a “Need to Know Kit”.

11/26/2025

Caregiving in-person can be physically exhausting. Caregiving long distance can be mentally tortuous.

When you are responsible for a loved one (or feel you should be) and you cannot see first-hand what the situation is, it can be very stressful. You may call and your Dad does not answer. You know he “should be there”, but he is not answering the phone. He could have fallen and injured himself – or he could be enjoying a cookout with the neighbors. -

Caregiving in-person can be physically exhausting. Caregiving long distance can be mentally tortuous. When you are responsible for...

11/25/2025

When a family caregiver is called upon to help with an elderly loved one, occasionally he or she runs into an unexpected situation – hoarding. Hoarding is relatively common among the elderly and tends to get worse with advancing age. Clutter and unsanitary conditions can severely hamper the ability for a senior to live independently. -

When a family caregiver is called upon to help with an elderly loved one, occasionally he or she runs into an unexpected situation – hoarding.

11/24/2025

As a society, we quickly recognize overt prejudice. Disparaging comments about skin color, national origin and religion are patently unacceptable. Yet, seemingly innocuous comments to the elderly about their age do not raise much indignation. -

Being referred to as an “Old Geezer”, for example -- even with a wink, begets a stereotype that defines ageism.

11/23/2025

Polypharmacy is defined as “taking multiple medications for a variety of conditions.” There are millions of seniors in this situation today. - https://irishreferralagency.com/managing-polypharmacy/

11/22/2025

Everyone is familiar with arthritis. But few really understand it.

Arthritis is not a single disease. It is an informal way to refer to joint pain or joint disease. The term is so wide-ranging that the Arthritis Foundation says it actually refers to more than 100 types of conditions. -

Arthritis is the most frequent cause of disability the United States. More than 20 million individuals with arthritis have severe limitations