Mar 27

Taking the Mystery Out of Hospice Care & Palliative Care

Mary Crowe, LICSW, ACHP-SW of Care Dimensions visited Springwell to teach a continuing education program for staff about hospice care and palliative care. Crowe kicked off the program by asking what the terms hospice and palliative care mean because she said there are many misconceptions about both words. Hospice care is a philosophy of care [...]

Mar 19

Neurologic Music Therapy

At their March meeting, the Ombudsman volunteers welcomed Kirsten Stockel, MT-BC, NMT, from MedRhythms Therapy for a presentation about the benefits of Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT). NMT is used in the rehabilitation of neurologic injury and disease and has been found to be especially helpful for traumatic brain injury, stroke and Parkinson’s disease.  Some Neurologic [...]

Feb 13

Title page: "Caregiving: A Love Story" text over two hands holding each other

Caregiving: A Love Story

Maria and Alex have been taking care of each other for over 40 years. While things are different now that Alex is dealing with memory impairment, Maria feels fortunate. Alex shares lots of hugs with Maria and often asks her if she is okay. He used to write love letters and poems to Maria. Now […]

Feb 11

8 Tips for Caregivers on Valentine’s Day

8 Tips for Caregivers on Valentine’s Day While we traditionally think of Valentine’s Day as a time for expressions of romantic love, it can also be a great time to show yourself some love and share some special moments with your care recipient. Stretch– take a few moments to do some simple stretches and notice […]

Jan 10

Smiling Woman with her Friendly Visitor volunteer

Thriving through social connection

Social isolation can challenge senior citizens who find it more difficult to get out of the house than when they were younger. A friendly visitor can make a valuable difference in their quality of life. Ruth, an energetic 90 year old artist, relocated to Waltham two years ago to be near medical care and her […]

Dec 12

Our Holiday Wish for Caregivers: Take Care of You, Too!

Caregiving is stressful enough at any time of the year but during the holiday season there are many sources of extra pressure and tension. We often remind caregivers of the importance of self-care to maintain well-being during the holidays but accomplishing that with a busy caregiver’s schedule in the midst of holiday activities isn’t easy. Here are […]

Nov 21

smiling woman with her medical escort and friendly visitor volunteers

Companionship & Community – Better Together

When you enter the home where 93-year old Tecla has lived since 1973, her welcome is warm, friendly and lively. As you chat and learn about her early widowhood, her determination to raise her two children independently, and her long work life cleaning homes, her resilience is inspiring. Tecla is animated on many topics, but […]

Nov 15

Choose to Share the Love with Vulnerable Seniors

Exciting news! For the eleventh year running, the Meals on Wheels network, including Springwell, is participating in the Subaru Share the Love Event. Over the past ten years, Subaru and its retailers have helped Meals on Wheels to deliver nearly 2 million meals nationwide to seniors in need. Why does Subaru support Meals on Wheels? […]

Nov 01

Tips to stress less during holiday visits

Adult children who spend much of the year coordinating and managing care for parents from afar often face holiday visits with some trepidation. Warm feelings of celebrating with loved ones are tempered with some anxiety about the many tasks of holiday preparation.  Mix in worries about whether parents will be in worse condition than at […]

Oct 29

Smiling older woman receiving a box of produce from her care advisor

Farm Shares for Seniors

Each September, Springwell Care Advisors identify seniors who would benefit from access to farm fresh veggies, but who are no longer able to get out to a local farmer’s market. Springwell then works with the Lowell-based non-profit, New Entry Sustainable Farming Project, on a delivery of farmer’s market boxes, stuffed to the brim with sun-ripened […]