Elite Care Blog

For many years now we have been reading about how we can help to prevent Alzheimer’s Disease and waiting for the next break through in the treatment of Alzheimer’s.  Just recently  the New York Times details a national study that indicates right now there are no cures or preventions  for Alzheimer’s disease.

Let me tell you about my friend Ray and his pranks on the Oatfield Estates Rainier House team members. Ray was a very caring, loving individual who had the best sense of humor.  He taught us all that no matter our age, abilities, knowledge or busy lives we all needed to take time to smile, love and laugh.

Rays Most famous pranks:
During the summer months it's obviously warm and the team members increased their consumption of ice tea. Ray caught on that we all liked putting a ton of ice in our tea and went to work. He snuck an ice tray, filled it with water, put a surprise in each ice cube and froze it. Later in the day when the ice was frozen he plunked several of his special cubes into our drinks (when we weren't around).  While two of us simultaneously took a nice long drink of our cool ice tea before we delved into our next task……..we saw bugs in our ice cubes headed straight at us in our cups!!  He sure had one of his wonderful belly laughs at that and so did we!!

Our daughter got married on August 7th at Mt. Hood. It was a great time to get together family and friends and celebrate a new stage in their life. Families are so important no matter how old we are. My mother-in-law traveled all the way from Florida to be with us for this momentous occasion.

She appears to be a  spry 91 year old, I took her golfing along with my grandson and was actually able to beat her. Now you may think that is no big deal but Bill and 2 of his brothers have never beaten her on her home course.  I am not good at golf and on her home course, where her understanding and knowledge of the environment allows her to concentrate on her game, she is unbeatable. 

It can be tremendously stressful as a child caring for an aging parent.  Thoughts of worry run through your mind - "what if they fall," "are they getting proper nutrition," or "they aren't getting enough exercise."  This can be an exhausting game to play with your family and yourself.  The cause of this stress is ofte

Sometimes people come into our lives that make a big difference to us. Our beloved Tom from Adam's House was one of them. He passed in April, after having been at Oatfield Estates for 7 years. I don't often write about individual residents who pass, but I was compelled to do so this time.

When the time comes and you have to look for a place for your frail parents to move to, it is hard to judge which facility is right for your parent(s).  What are the measures you should look at and what information should you get?

From the Founder:

Recently I  had the opportunity to be at the celebration of life, of Hood House resident Franny. Friends and team members shared their memories of Franny. He moved to Hood House after being a lifelong resident of the Milwaukie area, a farmer and determined independent man.

As the Baby Boomer generation ages, more and more active, older adults are investigating various new housing choices.  One trend on the rise is Elder Co-housing Neighborhoods.

Recently I marched in the Grand Floral Parade as a Royal Rosarian and it reminded me how important traditions, caring, and life continuity are.  It has been about 5 years since I last was able to march in the parade and it was reassuring, that some things don't change, yet some things are worth changing.