What Can You Do to Help Your Senior to Avoid the Flu?
The flu rolls around every year and it’s something that most people do everything they can to avoid.
A serious bout of the flu can last for a couple of weeks and it can leave your elderly family member feeling weak and run down. That doesn’t help her when there are other illnesses just waiting to take advantage of a compromised immune system.
Senior Care in Beech Grove IN: Avoid the Flu
Being Concerned about the Flu Is Smart
Some people think that it’s a little silly to be worried about the flu and your senior. But the reality is that the flu can be very dangerous for people of all ages. If your senior has existing health issues that compromise her overall health, the flu can take an even bigger toll on her. There are so many variables involved in avoiding and treating the flu that it’s absolutely smart to help your senior to avoid it if possible.
Learn What the Flu Looks Like
Lots of respiratory ailments can kind of look the same. Allergies and the common cold get confused all the time, so it’s important to get to the nitty-gritty of the symptoms involved. Your elderly family member might have congestion, a sore throat, a cough, and fatigue. But flu can bring other symptoms, too, like aches and pains and a fever. If you’re in doubt at all, your senior’s doctor can sort out what she’s facing.
You Can Do a Lot Toward Prevention
Getting the flu vaccination every year can help your senior to keep her immune system strong. It’s also a really good idea for her to avoid anyone who might be sick or who definitely is sick. Thorough handwashing and regular disinfection of surfaces can help a lot to reduce germ exposure. The Centers for Disease Control recommend masks as a means of protection from the germs of other people.
Talk to Your Senior’s Doctor
The best plan is to talk to your elderly family member’s doctor about her flu risk and about what she personally needs to do in order to reduce that risk. If there are any supplements or nutritional changes that her doctor feels might help, it’s a good idea to take those seriously. Any way that you can help your senior’s immune system to be as healthy as possible is really important.
If your senior does get sick or if she just needs a little more help while she’s avoiding people who are sick themselves, then bringing in senior care providers may be a solid answer.
If you or an aging loved-one are considering Senior Care in Beech Grove, IN, please call the caring staff at Home Services Unlimited. Serving Greater Indianapolis Area. Call for Immediate Info & Assistance: (317) 471-0760
As a practicing Registered Nurse, Etelka was keenly aware of a void in quality patient care that could be provided in the home. She embarked upon a journey to develop a home health care agency that would exceed all expectations and become a trusted partner to physicians and patients.
A Distinguished Career From Nurse to Director of Nursing to President of Home Services Unlimited
Etelka’s distinguished career followed a logical progression to her position as President of Home Services Unlimited. She graduated as a nurse practitioner with a Bachelor of Nursing (RN) in 1972 from Meshgorya University in the Ukraine, close to where she lived with her family. She married her husband Phil in 1973 and decided in 1977 that they would relocate to the United States to be closer to family and to come to this land of opportunity. With an eagerness to continue her budding career, Etelka sat for and passed her Boards in the U.S. in 1979.
A Love and Talent for Working with the Elderly
Etelka began her nursing career in the U.S. at Colonial Crest, now part of Golden Living, where she was the In-service Coordinator, the Director of Training and Education and Director of Nursing, a position she occupied for several years.
With a group of partners, she co-founded Adept Corporation, which operated group homes for the mentally challenged. The business was successful and in 1996, Etelka sold her share to return to her roots, caring for the elderly.
In January of 1997, Etelka opened Home Services Unlimited as a fully licensed business to provide home health care. In her quest to learn to do better for her patients, she had already obtained a Masters in Healthcare Administration (MHA) in May of 1990 from the College of St. Francis. As President of Home Services Unlimited, Inc., Etelka guides the trusted, experienced care model Home Services Unlimited uses to continue providing excellent home health care.
Giving Back to the Community of Indianapolis
Volunteering for community services is a high priority for Etelka. Her memberships include the Indiana Association of Rehabilitation Facilities, Executive Women in Health Care and the Indiana Association for Home and Hospice Care, where she is a member of the Board of Directors.
Etelka has also served on the Board of Directors with Hooverwood Home, a highly regarded geriatric facility, since 1997 and as the President for 2005-2006. Through her community work, she has received several awards and accolades, including the Nora McFarland award in 2002, from the Indiana Association of Home and Hospice Care.
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