Ephraim Zagelbaum – Marketer

Long-Term Care for the Elderly

People live longer and healthier lives than ever before, while at the same time have the potential to make important contributions to society even in their old age. But, at the same time they are also vulnerable to the phenomenon of social exclusion, marginalization and discrimination. In this article, Ephraim Zagelbaum, Founder of Personal Healthcare, provides some context about the needs associated with long-term care services. As the CEO of Personal Healthcare, Ephraim Zagelbaum has stepped up to help struggling and poor-performance facilities, turning them into high-quality nursing homes that provide healthy, safe and positive environments. The company currently owns and operates 10+ nursing homes within New York and Massachusetts totaling more than 1,300 beds.

Demographic changes around the world dictate changes in the needs for long-term care services. Life expectancy for people aged over 65 is rising in many countries, and the proportion of people over 80 in the global population is increasing rapidly. Given that the need for long-term care services in the later stages of life is increasing due to the gradual deterioration of health, it can be predicted that the need for these services will increase sharply in the future, explains Ephraim Zagelbaum. Given these demographic trends and projections, demand for long-term care services is expected to increase, which means that the percentage of GDP allocated to these services will also increase.

The sustainability of existing care systems will be tested partly because of the increasing number of people in need of long-term care services, and partly because the age structure of this population (more people over 80) that will require more formal services from licensed caregivers. Demographic trends, as well as internal migration, will also contribute to reducing the number of family members providing informal care services. The increasing economic migration of professional caregivers is likely to further complicate the problem of internal migration, which is causing the deterioration of informal, family care networks. As a result, the cost of long-term care services will increase.

Providing long-term care for an increasing number of elderly, under conditions of expected extension, not only in good health but also with disability, is certainly one of the issues we will have to deal with in the context of an increasingly aging population and changed family models.

Keeping Seniors Engaged in Activities

When it comes to finding the right assisted living community for your loved one, there are a lot of things to consider in finding the right fit. Fees, location and the quality of the medical care are just some of the key ones. But in order to find a truly home-like place for your aging loved one, it’s also important to consider the quality of life they’ll find in that community and whether they’ll be supported in living their best life possible. One of the main reasons why people start considering placing a loved one into an assisted living facility is “because of increasing concerns about living independently and increasing concerns about social isolation,” says healthcare executive Ephraim Zagelbaum.

Socialization and eliminating loneliness and isolation among older adults is a crucial component of staying healthy in our later years. That is why, finding and engaging in appropriate activities for seniors is a major component of a high quality of life for older adults in assisted living facilities and nursing homes. People have the same basic needs as at any age — the need to explore, have fun, learn and live life to its fullest. That’s why the importance of activities at senior centers, particularly in assisted living and independent living, cannot be overseen.

An individualized, well thought out activities program is at the heart of a quality life for residents in nursing homes or assisted living residences. Activities are not just about bingo and watching television. Staying physically active is always ideal. Over at Personal Healthcare, a senior care management company founded by Ephraim Zagelbaum, seniors have a wide range of options for doing just that. Keeping the mind sharp, and the body vigilant, means engaging the mind and body in ways that stretches strengths and tests cognitive abilities, and that means everything from socializing to exercising to matching wits against the daily crossword puzzle.

Boredom and depression can have a very real effect on physical, emotional and mental health. For seniors, boredom and depression can be lethal. As the leader of Personal Healthcare, Ephraim Zagelbaum regularly introduces new methods that allow seniors to take part in activities they love and maintain positive mental health through activity and connection.

How Caregivers Can Help Seniors Stay Independent

With age, a variety of changes comes, that can challenge a senior’s physical and physiological state. Some changes can make it difficult for seniors to care for themselves. Due to this, many seniors are compelled to move to an assisted living facility. Consequently, many seniors are afraid to ask for help, because they do not want to be forced to live in an assisted living facility.

Ephraim Zagelbaum, the CEO of Personal Healthcare, claim that this is a huge mistake, because it could cost them their independence entirely.

In order to secure your independence, the healthcare professional suggests learning how and when to ask for help. The fail of asking for help, when you need it the most is the quickest way to lose your independence.
How Home Care Can Help

Zagelbaum clarifies that when you need more help than you can receive from home care, an assisted living facility may be best for you. However, if you need just a little extra help with the around the house, home care is probably the best option for you.

Here, Zagelbaum shares a few common threats to a senior’s independence. Additionally, he gives a piece of information on how a caregiver can help.
1: Failing to meet your nutritional requirements.

One of the crucial things to keep seniors independent is getting adequate nutrition. When seniors meet their nutritional requirements, they typically report better mental acuity, stronger immune systems, higher energy levels and have an easier time managing chronic illnesses. Not doing so can affect health, mobility, and as a result, independence.

However, for many senior sometimes is difficult to get the proper nutrition. For example, some seniors are unable to drive, may have difficult time coordinating trips to and from the grocery store, while other seniors may struggle to prepare fresh meals on a regular basis. So, acquiring the proper nutrition can be a challenge for them.

Zagelbaum indicates the ways in which home care services can help seniors meet their nutrition needs:

Driving them to and from the grocery store.
Helping them to navigate the grocery store, including, getting hard-to-reach items and carrying groceries back to their home
Preparing them fresh meals.
Throwing away old/expired meals.

2: Neglecting to exercise.

Many seniors refuse to exercise. They think that it is unsafe. However, Zagelbaum’s research publications have shown the contrary. Seniors, who do not exercise on a regular basis, usually are more at risk of losing their independence.

Exercise helps maintaining the bone density and circulation. The risk of experiencing more serious injuries is increased when bone density is lost. Exercising can make the difference between a minor fracture and a broken bone.

Zagelbaum, points out the ways in which in-home caregivers can help seniors do exercise in a regular basis:

Encouraging them to make the effort to exercise.
Making sure that they are doing the right exercises in accordance with their personal needs and capabilities.
Providing them assistance when they need it (i.e. support while walking, ending exercise when needed) in order to reduce the likelihood of injuries.

3: Forgetting to take medications.

With age, the number of the prescribed medications is more likely to increase. In this case, seniors face the challenge of managing multiple medications. Therefore, they can confuse medications and miss doses.

Unfortunately, according to Zagelbaum, the founder of a healthcare company, this can be very harmful to a senior.

Caregivers can provide an extreme help to seniors who have trouble remembering to take their medications, in the following ways.

Reminding them at the appropriate time to take their medication.
Ensuring that they are consistent with their medication.

The Importance of Socialization in Seniors

Being active and engaging socially makes seniors feel happier and obviously, that has lots of benefit in terms of reducing depression. Even mre, a number of studies show that isolation can be a big contributor to cardiovascular risk and depression in older adults. This becomes especially true for older adults who have made the commitment of moving to an assisted living facility or nursing home. Nursing home owner Ephraim Zagelbaum, founder of Personal Healthcare, a senior care management company operating within New York and Massachusetts, is well-acquired with the benefits of keeping seniors socially active. In addition to providing social and emotional support and connecting, socializing invariably involves communication, which can help improve cognition. It helps to residents to utilize their communication skills and those interactions can be very helpful for keeping a high level of mental stimulation," Ephraim Zagelbaum says.

Bellow, Ephraim Zagelbaum rounded up few wonderful activities for seniors to keep them engaged and interested in life.

One of the most important things you can do for a parent in assisted living is to commit to regular visits. If you want to go a step further and make these visits memorable for your senior loved one, you can include some activities that can make your time there even more special. For example, Ephraim Zagelbaum recommends doing crafts together. This is both a fun way to produce something beautiful and spend time together. Fortunately, nowadays there are tons of options to choose from.
Another great activity you can do with your aging loved one is playing board games. Board games can also inject a dose of fun into your time together. There are board games with all sorts of themes — from adventure games to card games, to word games and more. Some of this games are ideal for seniors, adds the healthcare executive.

For seniors who are living in assisted living locations, eating in the same cafeteria can become pretty mundane. So, the next time you visit your loved elder one, spice things up for by buying or making some of their favorite foods and packing them into a picnic basket. Find a spot somewhere on the assisted living grounds or nearby to sit together and enjoy the meal outside.

Meet Nursing Home Executive Ephraim Zagelbaum

Ephraim Zagelbaum is the owner and CEO of Personal Healthcare, a senior care management company specializing in providing long term care to seniors through the successful operation of skilled nursing and rehabilitative care facilities. Under Zagelbaum’s leadership, Tarrytown, N.Y.-based Personal Healthcare has grown from a single nursing home facility to more than 1,300 beds across 10+ nursing homes. He is involved in the planning, direction, and coordination of day-to-day operations at the highest level of management with the help of assistant executives and staff managers. Mr. Zagelbaum oversees every aspect of franchise operations from sales and marketing to employee and client care to ensure that all locations achieve operational excellence.

Personal Healthcare provides premier level care while pushing the boundaries for the seniors they serve because of their people. The genuine passion, unmatched work ethic, creative spirit and passion for providing the best possible care can be experienced at all levels of the company. Ephraim Zagelbaum is responsible for training, recruiting, scheduling and expertly matching caregivers with clients. He works with managers to oversee all aspects of staffing, supervising and coordinating client care.

As the chief executive officer, Mr. Zagelbaum is responsible for maintaining all operations of the facility. This requires a delicate balance of business acumen and empathetic leadership. This nursing home executive is charged with ensuring the financial health of the facility, managing the staff, interacting with patients and their families, and maintaining compliance with federal and local regulations. With experience ranging from business plan development to crafting turnaround strategies Ephraim has a passion for business development, corporate strategy and healthcare innovation.

His extensive management experience places emphasis on setting strategic direction, communicating vision and strategy through growth initiatives, establishing clear business objectives, and focusing the operational capacity to ensure those objectives are met. Ephraim Zagelbaum has built organizational cultures that are adaptable to change and embrace experimentation, are flexible and adjust priorities quickly to accommodate changing demands. Throughout his career and at Personal Healthcare, Ephraim has earned a reputation for establishing and tapping into professional networks of business and entrepreneurial leaders to bring about breakthrough innovations, speed time to market, and improve organizational outcomes.

Nursing Home Care - What Caregivers Should Know?

What Is Long-Term Care?
Long-term care makes reference to broad scope of medical, personal, and social services, which have the aim to meet the physical, social, and emotional needs of people who are chronically ill or disabled.
Ephraim Zagelbaum, the founder of Personal Healthcare indicates that, people who require 24-hour medical care and supervision, should consider a nursing home facility as the best option.

Type of Care Provided by Nursing Homes

The most substantial care that a person can get outside a hospital is offered by the nursing homes. Nursing home care providers like Zagelbaum's Personal Healthcare offer custodial care (bathing, getting dressed, and eating). In addition, they offer skilled care, given by a registered nurse. In Zagelbaums academia publications is stated that this type of care includes medical monitoring and treatments, and services provided by our specially trained professionals, such as physical, occupational, and respiratory therapists.

Services Offered by Nursing Homes

The services provided by the nursing homes may vary from facility to facility. However, Zagelbaum shares that they often include:

Room and board
Medication Monitoring
Personal care, such as dressing, bathing, and toilet assistance
24-hour emergency care
Social activities
Recreational activities

Finding the Right Nursing Home?

Finding the right nursing home is a long process that takes time.
The experienced healthcare executive, Ephraim Zagelbaum suggests that the best is to start with the search for a suitable nursing home much earlier than seeking admission to the facility. This is because the waiting periods for available accommodations are quite long.

So, the best is to plain ahead, in order to make the transition of moving into a nursing home much easier.
Also, it is important to take time to consider what services are important to you or your loved one, and for how long do you or your loved one will need help, before calling different nursing homes.

Last but not least, ask about vacancies, admission requirements, level of care provided, and participation in government-funded health insurance options before scheduling a visit to the nursing homes you are interested in.

SOCIAL ISOLATION CAN POSE HEALTH RISKS FOR SENIORS

More often, caregivers are worried about whether their aging loved ones are taking their medicine, eating right, and whether their homes are modified to decrease falls.

However, the healthcare executive, Ephraim Zagelbaum points out that there is something else that should be also a matter of concern and what contributes to their poor health. That is social isolation.

What is social isolation?

Zagelbaum explains that a person who lives alone, has less than monthly contact with friends or family, and does not belongs to a group (religious congregation, club, work, or volunteer organization, etc.) is considered to be socially isolated.

Many recent research studies and academia articles suggest that social isolation creates a significant health risk.

The healthcare executive, puts out that isolated people are at a greater risk of heart disease, sleep disorders, high blood pressure, and obesity and having a weakened immune system. Moreover, the risk for cognitive decline and depression is higher among these people.

Signs that a person may be isolated

Zagelbaum lists some signs of social isolation:

Withdrawal and general lack of interest.
Diminished personal hygiene.
Lowered appetite and poor nutrition.
Significant disrepair, clutter and hoarding in the home.
What can you do?

In Zagelbaum’s opinion, in-home caregivers, can recognize social isolation and organize interventions. Also, their presence can reduce loneliness and provide health benefits.

Ephraim Zagelbaum can help you find the right caregivers, which can improve seniors living at home and help them to not feel lonely.

Moreover, nursing homes can play a very useful role in allowing seniors to build healthy connections and develop friendships.

Many nursing homes provide low-impact exercise classes, social events, wellness programs and Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s support groups.

As Zagelbaum further explains, chronic loneliness is not just about feeling alone. It can put you or a loved one at risk for serious physical and emotional issues if left unchecked.

For more information, visit the blog of the healthcare executive, Ephraim Zagelbaum.