Check your Newsletter and Fact brochure inventory … Be Prepared for Older Americans Month coming up in May!

Every May, the Administration on Aging, part of the Administration for Community Living, leads our nation's observance of Older American's Month. Older Americans Month, or “Senior Citizens Month,” was established in 1963 through a joint effort between President Kennedy and the National Council of Senior Citizens. The endeavor was to bring attention to the 30% of older Americans living in poverty with limited programs to meet their needs.

Specific themes are established each year to bring attention to current issues of significance affecting older Americans. The theme for 2018 is, Engage at Every Age. This May the focus is on finding ways for seniors to stay active. This begins by embracing the ideology that you are never too old to participate in that which brings you joy and enriches your life.

A healthy lifestyle is important at any age, but it is especially important for seniors. According to the CDC, adults living in America today that make it to 65 can expect to live another 19.3 years. Make the most of those years by adopting good health habits earlier in life. As adults we should exercise regularly, eat a balanced diet, get plenty of sleep, practice brain stimulations, not smoke, and not over indulge in alcohol. The healthier you are as an adult the less likely you are to suffer from chronic age-related conditions that can limit functionality later in life.

The eight most common age-related conditions facing seniors are: arthritis, heart disease, cancer, COPD, Alzheimer’s disease, osteoporosis, diabetes, and pneumonia. Coping with these conditions can be a challenge to an active senior lifestyle, but one rule to overcoming any obstacle in life is not to try do it on your own. Joining a senior group or club for example is a good way for older adults to participate in programs especially designed for them. Today’s senior centers offer everything from trips, fine arts and crafts, concerts, lectures, music and dance, and fitness like yoga and Tai Chi.

Participation goes both ways. Seniors have a lot of knowledge, fellowship, and friendship to share. Here are some ideas on how you can show your appreciation and engage with seniors in your community:

  • Host a game day at your local Adult Day Center. Provide games that stimulate the brain and help increase memory.
  • Inquire at local Nursing Homes about patients who have little or no visitors and make it part of your weekly routine to stop in for a visit.
  • Enjoy lunch at Assisted Living Communities in your area. Share a meal and some good stories with the residents.
  • Volunteer with your local Meals on Wheels Program
  • Share your company’s efforts with your referral sources, and partner with them to host discussions at senior gatherings hosted by organizations like: The Red Hat Society, Senior Net, or Seniors Meetup Groups. Focus your instruction on topics relevant to the elderly such as: food & nutrition, healthy aging, and the importance of exercising your brain.

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Have a little fun and get noticed, too

May is Older Americans Month. For more than 50 years, the nation has taken time during May to honor senior citizens and to work to improve their lives. Help celebrate your community’s seniors while empowering them to improve their health.

  • Host a community education class about fall prevention and make sure seniors know about the impact a fall could have on their lives. Find a great done-for-you class here.
  • Volunteer to host a senior dance at a local VFW. Encourage veterans to attend dressed in military attire and play lots of oldies. Make sure everyone who attends is given a goodie bag filled with coupons for area merchants, flyers and samples. Be sure your agency’s name and services are prominently displayed throughout the event.
  • Partner with noncompetitive organizations that also serve seniors and host a senior fair. Arrange for entertainment from local school performance groups, and find a sponsor to provide refreshments. Set up a large information station near the event entrance to offer free information about your services and programs. Set up an ask-a-nurse station with lots of marketing collateral on hand. Organizations that may want to participate include ILFs, ALFs, senior-focused exercise programs, AARP, pharmacies, VA, VFW, Senior Corps, medical product vendors, medical alert system companies, municipal governments, and eldercare physician referral sources.
  • Surprise your patients this week with a token of appreciation. It can be a simple flower or a note of thanks for allowing you to be part of their home-based care.
  • Visit the website of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Community Living for lots of information about this year’s event, including logos, posters, sample proclamations and more.
  • Host an afternoon of trivia in conjunction with another organization that serves your community’s seniors. Offer fun prizes to the winners, including items branded with your agency’s logo. Find tons of fun trivia questions here. Call TAG Partners at 866-232-6477 to discuss the wide variety of affordable and creative branded promotional products you can incorporate into your event.

April 2015: Lead your market with education and outreach

As competition for home health and hospice clients becomes tougher than ever, it’s important to distinguish yourself from the other providers in your community. You should work to stand out not only for the hard work you do, but for the emphasis you place on being a true partner with your client.

  • One great way to do that is by sending out a personalized agency newsletter. Newsletters take you into your clients’ homes and demonstrate your interest in their well-being. Find ready-made newsletters for home health, private duty or hospice at www.tagwebstore.com/newsletter-products.php. These newsletters are Buy 1 Get 1 free on printing through April 30. Use promo code NEWS50 if ordering online to receive the discount.

Strokes kill more than 800,000 Americans every year, making this condition the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. A staggering 7 million people over age 20 in this country have had a stroke at some point in their lives. The seriousness of this condition underscores how important it is to get involved in raising awareness about strokes and how to prevent them. A perfect time to do that is May: Stroke Awareness Month. You not only may save lives through your outreach efforts, but you’ll be raising awareness of your stroke-specific medical services.

  • Call on clinical referral sources in your community and sell them on your agency’s outcomes when it comes to providing care for stroke patients. Find great Patient Outcomes Brochures for the Physician at www.tagwebstore.com/patient-outcomes-physicians.php. You can easily show off how you compare to your competitors when it comes to a variety of outcomes measures.
  • The Patient Outcomes Senior Brochures are a natural companion to the physician brochures. They educate about stroke in easy-to-understand language. Find them at www.tagwebstore.com/patient-outcomes-senior.php.
  • While touting your outcomes to physicians, show them that patient education is a strong component of your home health program. Comprehensive Patient Education Guides for Stroke not only are an eye-catching example of your work, but they help patients get more involved in their own care, which improves outcomes. Find them at www.tagwebstore.com/patient-education-guides.php.
  • Distribute personalized stroke care flyers at community health fairs, libraries, senior centers and anywhere that seniors gather. Find them at www.tagwebstore.com/health-care-flyers.php.
  • Stock the offices of referral sources, as well as pharmacies, rehab centers and hospital waiting rooms with rack cards about stroke. Find them at www.tagwebstore.com/rack-cards.php.

May is a month when we recognize the vitality of our nation’s seniors. Not only is May Older Americans Month, but National Senior Health and Fitness Day is May 27. Celebrate your community’s seniors while you educate them about the benefits of home care.

  • Call on your top referral sources and distribute health log books for them to distribute to their patients. Physicians will be grateful to have a way for patients to keep track of important information in one place. Patients will carry the logs – and your agency’s contact information – everywhere they go. Get them at www.tagwebstore.com/healthlog.php and www.tagwebstore.com/patient-scorecard-logs.php.

More than 50 million Americans are living with some form of arthritis, a joint inflammation that is characterized by pain and stiffness around one or more joints. That means one in five adults is coping with this disease! The CDC reports that about 42 percent of those with arthritis report that the condition limits their activities. May is National Arthritis Month, an awareness event sponsored by the Arthritis Foundation. Help increase awareness of this painful condition in your community while spreading the word about your agency’s services.

  • Visit the offices of your local professionals who specialize in treating those with arthritis and leave behind a stack of brochures about arthritis and how your agency’s services can help. Be sure to go beyond rheumatologists, internists, orthopedists, physical medicine, and family practice doctors. Others who encounter these patients include physical and occupational therapists, nutritionists, chiropractors and acupuncturists. Find the brochures at www.tagwebstore.com/brochure.php.
  • When speaking with potential referral sources, show them how serious you are about arthritis care. Show off your arthritis treatment program’s professionalism with comprehensive patient education guides. Find them at www.tagwebstore.com/patient-education-guides.php.
  • Market your agency’s services while educating about arthritis by placing rack cards in stands at senior centers, pharmacies, rehabilitation facilities and independent living facilities. Find them at www.tagwebstore.com/rack-cards.php.

April 2014: Focus on education; celebration

Did you know that about 50 million adults have some form of arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, lupus or fibromyalgia? In all, about half of all adults age 65 and older are diagnosed with arthritis. May is National Arthritis Month and it’s a great opportunity to educate about this painful and potentially debilitating condition while marketing your agency.

May is a month when we recognize the vitality of our nation’s seniors. Not only is May Older Americans Month, but National Senior Health and Fitness Day is May 28. Celebrate your community’s seniors while you educate them about the benefits of home care.

May is also the month when it’s important to step back and recognize the professionals who keep our agencies and our referral sources’ offices running: nurses. National Nurses Week is May 6-May 12.

  • Celebrate the nurses on your staff with thoughtful, personalized cards. The cards help improve employee morale and encourage employee retention. Get them at www.tagwebstore.com/nursesweek.php.
  • Honor your agency’s nurse of the year this month during a special staff meeting or event. Find great products to personalize to your agency at http://theadamgrp.espwebsite.com/.
  • Distribute fun and personalized giveaway cards along with a small treat that corresponds with the message on the card to nurses you encounter as you call on referral sources this month. Get them at www.tagwebstore.com/giveaway.php.