Elmwood Terrace Short Term Care Illinois Blog

Respite – What Is It? Do You Need It? Guest Columist

All of us know what caregiving is – most of us have cared for an infant/child, or for a older relative or friend. And we all know that caregiving can be a 24-hour a day job – in addition to any other things we have to do that day: laundry, cleaning, cooking, and for some,… View Article

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Why I Love a Good Funeral

Yesterday I attended the funeral of one of our residents who passed away at age 94. I did not know her very well but had visited with her and her son on a few occasions. They both are huge Cubs fans and I can talk baseball for hours if you let me. Mary lived a… View Article

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The Wonder & Beauty of Four Generations of Women!

Yesterday we welcomed my mother-in-law from Bulgaria. It was a trip made accompanied by her niece, my wife’s first cousin. The trip is hard for most humans complete with jet lag, questionable food and swollen ankles. It is a bit harder on this beautiful woman now a year shy of her 80th birthday. But the… View Article

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Depression, Dementia or Delirium….Which “D” Is It?

Mr. Andrews was listless this morning, staring at his food as if he didn’t know what to do with it.  Normally he eats a big breakfast and jokes with the staff about his ability to eat a lot and not gain weight. He urinated in the bed, something he has never done.  His caregivers wonder… View Article

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If You Build it, They Don’t Always Come

Recently we did a multi-million dollar renovation at our facility, upgrading our therapy department and adding an in-house dialysis unit. All good right? The problem was no one mentioned what we had done and consequently our census did not magically take off. This submission can be for any business anywhere and at anytime in history… View Article

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Reminder: Life, Death & Regret

This week as the story of the horrific mining accident in Turkey unfolded we are reminded about how one’s world can change in an instant. The faces of those families waiting outside the mine hoping against all odds now that their loved one is still alive and will be pulled out of that hell hole… View Article

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Veteran? You may qualify for help with your Long Term Care

The Veterans Administration has had a lot of press as of late and most of it is pretty bad. Sometimes our big bureaucracies just cannot seem to get out of their own way. Pretty serious stuff especially if lives are lost due to inefficiencies and negligence. In spite of the bad stuff we have been… View Article

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In Honor of Nurses (All)

Probably one of my first memories of a nurse was my 2nd cousin Elaine Montgomery Parsons going to work on the 2nd shift at Saint Lukes Hospital in Kansas City. Sometimes my mom would pick up Elaine’s boys (my 3rd cousins) as Elaine headed to work, until their Dad Jim got home from his own… View Article

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Why mom didn’t necessarily have to die

This spring my mother will have been gone 23 years. She died way too young of a stroke sitting in her chair trying to enjoy a cup of coffee with her best friend by her side. She had been suffering from a persistent headache and unfortunately was misdiagnosed by her primary physician.  I say she… View Article

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Of Passover and Easter

What a great time of year this is. After the brutal relentless winter, we are beginning to turn green and the promise of new life is all around us. This week will be full of joy and wonder in our community as little ones hunt with excitement for eggs and more eggs. Tomorrow the Easter… View Article

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