With winter in full force, it is important to take certain precautions in the cold weather. Older adults tend to produce less body heat than younger people, leaving them at a greater risk to problems that can arise with cold temperatures. We have found some resources that provide quality advice to keep you warm and safe during the cold winter weather.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has an extensive section on how to deal with extreme cold.

Health in Aging provides a more general look at winter safety tips for older adults. This resource contains tips on avoiding hypothermia, frostbite, falls and other accidents.

The last resource we found provides some general advice on staying safe in the winter and also includes certain products such as an ice pick cane, carpets for icy entrance ways and a snow shovel on wheels that seniors can use to stay safe.

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The Huffington Post, CNN and other major news sources have been posting articles about how dangerous this years’ flu epidemic already is. The nationwide flu outbreak has clogged emergency rooms and according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this year’s flu season is expected to be one of the earliest and worst the country has seen in the last 10 years. If you want more information about the flu, the CDC has a website dedicated to everything you need to know about the 2012-2013 flu season.

Before getting your flu shot, talk to your doctor. There are many places where you can get your flu shot including some major pharmacy chains and retailers. Here are the links to their flu shot webpages:

Wall Greens

CVS

Rite Aid

Walmart

Safeway

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More seniors are coming online every day. According to Pew Internet, as of April 2012, 53% of American adults age 65 and older use the internet and over 86% of those who use the internet use email. Those new to the internet need to be aware of scams and other potential risks. We have found some useful resources that can help seniors stay safe on the internet.

The Washington State Office of the Attorney General has a website on senior scam prevention that outlines what a senior should be aware of when it comes to internet security.

On Guard Online provides provides a detailed overview of everything you need to know about internet security. It has a section on avoiding scams that highlights common scams and provides tips to prevent them as well as a section on securing your computer.

Here are some of the best tips that you should follow:

- Create stronger passwords that aren’t easy to guess
- Don’t expose personal information, especially financial information
- Don’t fall for email scams: avoid clicking links in an email from someone you don’t know.
- Be cautious with email attachments
- Know who you are doing business with: before you buy something do some research to make sure it is a real company or product
- Never believe that someone you don’t know is going to give you money

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Still looking for a gift for the elderly loved ones in your life? We’ve found a number of ideas and resources that can make finding the perfect gift a little bit easier.

Gifts that invoke memories are always appreciated, such as picture frames, artwork and handmade blankets. For elderly men, sometimes the best gifts are things like helping out with chores around the house or cooking him his favorite dish. See more gifts for elderly men here. Other practical gifts such as PikStiks, sliding cabinets and shopping cart trolleys can make great gifts. See more practical gifts here.

You can always give the gift of peace of mind to an elderly person in your life. A LifeStation medical alert system can make the perfect present for someone you love. Use our Medical Alert Assessment to see if your loved ones need a LifeStation medical alert system.

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We know everyone in the northeast has had a tough couple of weeks with Hurricane Sandy quickly followed by a nor’easter storm. We found several uplifting stories of how people came together to help one another during these tough times.

Seniors in a Greenbriar senior community (an area where the majority of homes had lost power during Hurricane Sandy) came together and provided food and shelter for residents of Greeenbriar. The residents turned the community’s clubhouse into a ‘self sustaining, 24 hour shelter for resident without power.’ Read the full story here.

Seniors in parts of central New Jersey were forced to leave their senior communities to evacuate during the storm, and many were forced to relocate to places that lost power, leaving them in the dark. In one part of New Jersey, seniors were taken to Hunterdon County complex where they were welcomed by government agencies, business and volunteers who all worked together to help those in need. From store owners helping recharge electronics to government buildings becoming temporary shelters, almost everyone went out of their way to help their fellow citizens. Full story here.

Our thoughts and prayers continue to go out to those affected by Hurricane Sandy.

Hurricane Resources

Donate to the Red Cross

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Getting older does not have to mean that your driving days are over. If you plan ahead and take certain preventative steps, you can continue driving long into your senior years. The first thing you should do is understand how aging affects driving and know the warning signs of when it would be unsafe to drive.

This resource outlines these key points and provides more information on maximizing safety on the road.

AAA has a website dedicated to senior driving that has all sorts of tools to help you and your loved ones, including information on licensing laws in your state, an online driving evaluation and a resource to help understand how medications can impact driving.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also provides some helpful resources, including how to adapt motor vehicles for older drivers.

While these resources can help you prepare, if you ever feel uncomfortable driving or believe it may not be safe, the best thing to do is have someone else drive or take another form of transportation.

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We recently conducted our annual customer survey and wanted to share some of the results:

• Over 90% of respondents were highly likely to recommend LifeStation to a friend with the average rating of all respondents being 9.2 out of 10. We remain pleased that overall our customers are satisfied with our service but we remain committed to continually improving.

• Quality of care received from Care Specialist: 95% Excellent/Very good. We hope that you never need to push your emergency help button in an emergency. However, we take particular pride in our UL Listed Monitoring Center and believe that this is the most important part of our medical alert systems and we are gratified that the quality of this service meets all of our high expectations.

• Lockboxes are our most popular accessory. Almost 90% of our customers who have a lockbox are satisfied with this product. We are working on simplifying the instructions on using your lockbox to try and improve this number.

• The three most important reasons for choosing LifeStation are:

• Confidence in the Monitoring Center (Important or Very Important to 97% of customers). We couldn’t agree more.

• Courteousness of phone agent (94%). This is great to hear. While our sales associates are clearly trying to sell our service, we do not want customers that don’t understand what they are buying or who feel pressured into buying our service. We encourage potential customers to read testimonials, do research and consult with loved ones before making a purchase.

• Ability to cancel at any time (94.3). We still don’t understand why anyone would be a service for a senior that locks you into a long-term contract.

• Not all survey results are positive. One common complaint was the look of the LifeStation help button. Good news, we will soon be getting a new shipment of buttons and they are definitely nicer-looking than the current buttons.

• Our favorite part is reading the comments from our customers.

• “I have worked in customer service for most of my career, therefore I expect excellent customer service or I am not happy. Your customer service team has been nothing but helpful, courteous and professional!”

• “So far we have been very satisfied. My mother has not had to use it in an emergency but accidently set it off while moving bags of mulch. She was in the back yard and they couldn’t reach her by phone or could she hear the system. The company called emergency personnel and called me…it was a few terrifying minutes for me since I live in another city, but I was able to send someone to the house. The emergency personnel were very nice about the mistake and laughed about it and said — at least you know it works. She has since moved the necklace to her back when she is carrying mulch.”

• “After a storm which left us without power I was pleased to get calls and emails to be sure we were ok.”

Thanks to our loyal customers for this great feedback.

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We all know how staying active helps you stay healthy, however, what happens when you can’t stay active? Being able to walk around and exercise starts with your feet. When your feet don’t receive the level of attention that they need, you can start to run into problems and develop chronic conditions. We found a few resources that can help keep your feet healthy.

Our first resource is from Footzone Podiatrists and provides general tips on keeping your feet healthy.

Another resource we found is catered towards those who are more physically active. Athletes and individuals who consistently partake in athletic activities should pay attention to these tips.

We’ve all heard that wearing high heels are bad for your feet; however, there are certain things you can do to help negate these effects. Check out these ten tips to help keep your feet happy and healthy, even in heels.

The most important points to take away from all of these resources are to keep your feet clean and dry, wear the proper footwear, check your feet everyday and most importantly, if there is a problem, treat it or get help immediately.

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