Posted by Ken Accardi on Mon, May 31, 2010 @ 07:21 AM
Memorial Day is a day of remembrance for the soldiers who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. This is what enables us to be care givers, or in our case at Ankota, to service the home care industry. We are forever in their debt. Below are some poems and cartoons to remind us of the importance of Memorial Day.
Memorial Day
by Eula Gladys Lincoln
In distant field of sunny France
Where strangers come and go,
Amid the farms of Flanders, where
The fragrant breezes blow,
Our solder-dead in quiet sleep
'Neath crosses row on row.
Here shrapnel shells once shrieked and burst
And took their toll of death;
The very wind, itself a foe,
Bore poison on its breath.
Above their graves the birds now sing
As round that home of yore,
When, carefree boys, they romped and played;
Those childhood days soon o'er,
The boys to brave and strong men grown,
They romped and played no more.
They put aside their childish toys,
A man's work each must do,
And when their country called for them,
To her they answered true.
"We must protect our native land:
She shall not suffer wrong
For she has reared and nurtured us,
We're men and we are strong.
We'll bid good-bye to those we love;
It will not be for long."
With aching hearts and tear-dimmed eyes
We watched them go away.
Some have returned but many sleep
In foreign lands today.
Where English roses bloom and fade,
In France where lilies grow,
Among the fields of Flanders, where
The scarlet poppies blow,
Our soldier-dead are not forgot
Though strangers come and go.
Ankota provides software to improve the delivery of care outside the hospital. Today Ankota services home health, private duty care, DME Delivery, RT, Physical Therapy and Home Infusion organizations, and is interested in helping to efficiently manage other forms of care. To learn more, please visit www.ankota.com or contact Ankota.
Posted by Ken Accardi on Thu, Dec 24, 2009 @ 10:17 AM
Actually it's a trick question, because today is Christmas Eve... Think of all the visits that Santa needs to schedule today! We know that home care scheduling software is tricky and we're proud of what it can help our customers do, but today we give the nod to the ultimate home care provider - Santa!
To track Santa's travel around the world, our friends at Norad have built a cool site in conjunction with Ankota partner Google maps. To track Santa's travels, click here.
Here's a view of the places Santa has already been as Christmas comes around the world!
Have a Great Holiday!
Posted by Ken Accardi on Tue, Dec 22, 2009 @ 06:39 AM
Does this post have anything to do with scheduling for home health care? Nope!
Anything about home health care agency software? Absolutely not!
Maybe just some relevance to a homecare management system? Not even close!
This is just my favorite video on YouTube, a clip from the short-lived TV show Studio 60 featuring a group of musicians who are referred to as "The City of New Orleans" shortly after Hurricane Katrina. For me, this video reinforces the strength of the human spirit to perservere, while also capturing the spirit of Christmas. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
One quick tidbit that I'll share with all of you who manage your agency websites is that embedding a video on your site (as done above) is pretty easy. For example, if the video is on YouTube, you can look to the right of the video and find the code you need to either link it or embed it on your site. Note that you don't need to understand the code - just copy it and paste it into your site and you're good to go. I'll do a follow-up post from the home care software geek in January.
Posted by Ken Accardi on Thu, Dec 17, 2009 @ 07:25 AM
by: Lori Solomon
As a general rule, festivities at holiday time, provide for a joyous season. Although it can be a particularly difficult time for many seniors, who may be remembering those dear to them that are no longer here to be with them to celebrate. Many seniors also exhibit behaviors of depression, and have increased anxiety and agitation due to feeling overwhelmed. Holiday stress can also increase their physical and mental issues to further complicate the season. Here are some tips to help your elderly loved one at holiday time:
1. Encourage remembrances of wonderful memories: Old photos, family movies and old-time music through photos, family videos and music from yesteryear. Stimulate memories to encourage our elders to share their remembrances.
2. Plan ahead. To encourage participation for the senior, plan ahead so that you have someone rested to have the stamina to enjoy the planned activities, party, etc.
3. Create a senior friendly environment: If you plan on taking your loved one out to celebrate at another person's home, then be aware that this environment needs to be a safe one for the senior. For instance, remove accent rugs that could lead to a fall.
4. Be a good listener, take clues from them. Comment as appropriately as you can, as this can be a sensitive time.
5. Create new traditions. We all need something to look forward to. As our elders age, they may have lost old-time friends and dear family.
Family may be scattered, not able to come home at holiday time.
6. Encourage them to give. Increase their self worth by giving of themselves or providing gifts for others. Sharing their memories or cherished keepsakes with people close to them may provide a true joy.
7. Be thoughtful and include the senior. They are most likely lonely, which can lead to depression and resentment. They have many years of suggestions they will gladly pass on for others. Involve a senior center, religious place of worship or other senior venue to "reach out and touch another someone, someone who may not have family of their own".
8. Find new modes of entertainment to stay active minded. Activities for the holiday season are important. Keep your senior cognitively busy. Beat the "Holiday blues" and "Depression.
9. Maintain a happy environment. Maintain brightness in these special festive days, despite the sense of loss they may have of loved ones who are no longer here to partake of the holiday with them.
10. Monitor medications and alcohol. Be aware of their alcohol intake during the holidays at gatherings or in the privacy of their own home. You don't want the alcohol to interfere with medications.
Give the gift a senior most wants! Time, companionship and visits from their friends and loved ones will be their most treasured gift. Seniors will typically relish the seasonal gatherings. This is the time to have patience, have compassion, and provide a safe and wonderful new memory, for them to reflect back on throughout the coming year.
Accent on Seniors, A FREE State Licensed Senior Living Referral Service, providing personalized information about senior living throughout California. Call 888-954-6637 to obtain a detailed listing of places for your loved ones and friend or go onto the website at www.AccentOnSeniors.com.
Copyright © 2008, Accent on Seniors Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduced by permission from Lori Solomon, and http://www.accentonseniors.com/.
About the Author:Lori Solomon is President & Founder of Accent on Seniors, a CA State licensed FREE referral placement & info service. She has over 25 years of experience serving the senior community. With a Masters in Health Administration and CA Certification as a Residential Care Facility Administrator, Lori has served on a prestigious list of industry boards.
http://www.AccentOnSeniors.com.
Posted by Ken Accardi on Tue, Dec 15, 2009 @ 06:30 PM
Let's face it, Home Care Optimization is hard work. Some days we're working to bring the latest advances in home care scheduling software to the market. Other days we're devising ways that home care telephony can reduce hospital readmissions. And we never lost sight of our vision to deliver patient-centered and coordinated care at home. All work and no play can have some bad results...
Well, when we decided to break away for our company holiday party things got a bit out of hand. Of course Will was the ring-leader, but Marc, Hunter and I were a bit out of control too. We also had Al from our board of advisors joining in the craziness.
Back in the old days, we might have gotten away with this and nobody would have known, but with the paparazzi these days, it seems that everything gets caught on tape. So we won't deny anything and we're releasing the video footage before the National Enquirer article comes out.
On a serious note, we wish the home care industry a very happy holiday season. We thank all who supported us, gave us input, viewed a demo, and encouraged us, and we especially thank our customers for turning Ankota from a vision into a business. We're proud of what we've accomplished and the ways that we're able to help the industry improve patient care while increasing efficiency. And we've just started scratching the surface.
Have a Wonderful and Joyous Holiday!