Magnolia Manor Blog

One of so many reasons seniors love to live at Magnolia Manor is our truly amazing staff. We know we are blessed to have such dedicated, caring people to assist and support our residents – and our residents know it, too. When we say we treat one another – staff and residents -- like family, it is simply the truth.

From time to time we like to introduce our outstanding staff. So let’s find out more about Charlotte Ingram. Charlotte is the Activities Director at our well-known Mattie H. Marshall Memory Care Center, located on our Magnolia Manor campus in Americus. She works with residents who have Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia or cognitive impairment.

For families who are close-knit and live near one another, the first line of “defense” when an aging loved one needs a little help is family members. Of course you want to help, it’s only natural. You might say family caregivers are the ultimate “cottage industry”:

Are you ready for a raise? Prices go up and retired seniors need to keep up, so the Social Security Administration has announced a “pay” increase for more than 64 million folks who receive Social Security retirement benefits. Starting in January 2022, benefits will go up 5.9% -- the largest cost-of-living adjustment in quite some time. Of course, while your benefit is increasing, Medicare premiums are also going to increase.

Pet therapy, formally known as animal-assisted therapy (AAT), is known to provide both physical and mental benefits for seniors with dementia. Prior to COVID-19 concerns, many Memory Care facilities around the country had adopted pet programs of some kind. Some chose to bring in animals as full-time residents, others chose visiting pet programs.

All types of senior living communities are including pets to make their communities feel homier and offer a special kind of comfort and stimulation for residents. However, AAT can be especially beneficial for those suffering from mild or more advanced memory loss.

Medicare and Medicaid are both government programs that provide certain types of health care coverage for seniors. Although the programs are very different, they are often confused. And Medicaid, especially, is often misunderstood. So let’s clear up some of the confusion, to help you know if Medicaid may be a viable financial resource for you some day.

Just as the name implies, art therapy combines the creative process with psychotherapy, to help individuals improve their mental health and overall well-being. Art therapy addresses the mind, body, and spirit – a holistic approach to quality of life that we heartily endorse here at Magnolia Manor. But we appreciate art therapy for another reason, too.

With so much talk about Alzheimer’s disease, it is easy to forget that there are other forms of dementia. Whether you’re getting older yourself, or you care for an aging loved one, it is important to understand the different causes of dementia, and especially the symptoms. The earlier you get medical advice if you suspect a problem, the better the chances there will be help to manage the disease.

One of the toughest things about getting older is having to admit you need help. Devoted couples look to each other for assistance as one of them needs a helping hand with daily living tasks or shows early signs of memory loss. Filling in the gaps this way enables the couple to continue living together, independently. But what happens when one person’s needs become just too much for an elderly spouse to handle? What if the couple is your parents?

We all age differently, so this scenario is not unusual. But it can be very difficult for adult children as well as aging parents to acknowledge that Mom and Dad now have different senior living care needs

Searching for that just-right retirement community for yourself or a senior parent can be truly daunting. There are so many different types of facilities to choose from, and each one is unique in its living accommodation options, range of professional services, amenities and overall ambiance. We’ve all heard the expression “aging in place.” In a perfect world, we would never have to leave the home we love just because our mental and/or physical capabilities change. Yet for most of us that time does come. And when it does, choosing a full service retirement community will give you the peace of mind that you don’t have to move again.

Do you ever catch yourself humming or singing along to a song when music isn’t even playing? The power of music is so extraordinary, it gets “stuck” in our heads and can even help us recall memories.