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What Person-centered Care Means to You
Person-centered care, something that home care companies have provided for decades, isn't just a best practice, it's now a regulatory requirement by Medicare in many care settings, including hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, even assisted living facilities. So what is it? Person-centered care is basically the partnering of a patient or client with the care provider to reflect that individual's care preferences and values. Using a person-centered approach can help caregivers better understand and respect those they serve - and can reduce the likelihood of staff committing abuse and neglect. This approach honors each senior's choice, dignity and individuality, which enhances both quality of care and life for seniors. If you have a loved one in any institutional setting, you have the right - backed by federal mandate - to request and expect person-centered care, just as you do if there is a caregiver in your home assisting you with care for your loved ones. For more information, you can download a copy of this Innovation Network
booklet: insidescv.com/person-centeredcare.
Home Instead Senior Care 254-8701

Could your Family's Poor Health be Mold Related?
Health experts are shedding light on an often invisible problem: mold exposure is making a lot of people very sick. Worse, because mold often hides out of sight in your home or business, you may not know you're coping with a mold problem. "We've found mold inside walls, under carpet, deep inside cabinetry, beneath floating floor installations, in heating and air conditioning vents - if there's the possibility for moisture, there's a chance for mold growth," explains Joel Moss, owner of Paul Davis Restoration of Santa Clarita.
Symptoms of mold exposure are hard to pin down because they affect bodies in different ways, often exacerbating existing health concerns. Sometimes, mold issues are attributed to another source: Do you have migraines because they run in the family or because of mold exposure? Mold can be related to asthma attacks, serious allergy symptoms, shortness of breath, skin irritation, fatigue, lung disease, respiratory infections, headaches, sinus problems and more.
How to get back on the healthy track? The mold has to go.
"Mold remediation is possible, but homeowners have to know that killing the mold without removal actually can make the mold more dangerous. This isn't something you can just spray bleach on - you have to contain the affected area and its contents and proceed with a plan to achieve a sanitized environment," says Moss.
Mold remediation may be covered by your homeowner's insurance policy, as it is often associated with water damage in the home.
Paul Davis Restoration of Santa Clarita is a licensed restoration company that specializes in mold remediation. 310-0884

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How to Reduce Spasticity with Botox for Stroke Recovery
If you suffer from spasticity after stroke, then Botox might be able to really help you out - but Botox for stroke recovery isn't a one-and-done treatment.
If you suffer from spasticity, it's important to understand that the problem is not in your muscles - it's in the brain-muscle communication. When stroke damages your motor cortex, it impairs your brain's ability to send signals that make your muscles move. And when your muscles don't get any signals from your brain, they tense up in order to protect themselves. Once you retrain your brain to tell your muscles to relax, your spasticity will go away.
Botox helps relax your muscles without getting your brain on board; it's a "nerve block" that blocks the release of chemicals that signal your muscles to tighten. As a result, your muscles relax. But without getting your brain on board, Botox merely addresses the symptom of spasticity, not the real problem.
Botox becomes a temporary treatment when you don't use it in conjunction with other therapies that help restore your brain-muscle communication, like rehab exercise.
When you use Botox without any other supporting treatments, your improvements are merely temporary.
It's kind of like using pain killers for a broken ankle without actually doing anything for your ankle. The painkillers will make pain will go away, but it's just a temporary treatment for the symptom. Your ankle is still broken, so once the pain killers fade, you'll need more. Overall, Botox is an excellent treatment for spasticity when used as an opportunity to move your affected muscles and rewire your brain.
Botox alone creates temporary results; Botox - coupled with rehab exercise - creates lasting results.
Advanced Center for Neurology & Headache 888-1099

The Convenience of Saliva Testing
by Pat News
Cortisol, known as the "fight or flight" hormone, effects almost every organ in the body and is necessary for the body to cope with stress from illness, injury, surgery, emotional stress and all other activities of daily living. Too little cortisol can have a devastating effect on one's body and the ability to deal with stress; so too can elevated levels of cortisol. This hormone has a diurnal pattern and its levels fluctuate during a normal day. The healthy pattern is higher in the morning, then it slowly lowers throughout the day so we can rest and sleep at night with a lower cortisol level. To effectively measure those fluctuations, multiple collections are necessary. Noninvasive saliva collection can be accomplished in the convenience and privacy of your home and eliminates the trauma of multiple blood draws. An additional benefit is that saliva testing specifically measures free, unbound hormones and gives an accurate picture of biologically-active levels of hormones at the tissue and cellular level. The female hormones, including estrogen, progesterone and testosterone can also be tested via saliva sample. Gut health can be evaluated by a combination of saliva and stool sample.
Pat News, RNC, NP, MSN is a local women's health expert. To have your cortisol levels examined, call Pat News Health Care. 799-7000

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Stem Cell Treatment can be an Alternative to Surgery
Until recently, treatment options for joint pain and sports injuries were either temporary or surgical. Many people have successfully avoided surgery with stem cell therapy - and you may only need one treatment.
There are many stem cell clinics that suggest several injections at various times; most are not using bone marrow stem cells, instead using stem cells that have been dried or put through a preservation treatment, changing their composition and effectiveness.
At AVORS, they only use bone marrow stem cells. They recommend one treatment unless you experience substantial pain relief - then a second treatment could be beneficial. If, in the rare occasion, you experience no pain relief with one treatment after six to eight weeks, other options would be explored.
At AVORS, the goal is to reduce or eliminate your pain and improve your quality of life. Surgery requires more downtime and recovery - and also has more risks than a stem cell procedure. If stem cell therapy does not work for you and surgery is needed, AVORS specialists will create a treatment plan specific to your surgery needs.
Dr. Alon Antebi & Dr. Justin Sherfey of AVORS 705-5100

Why You (Yeah, You) Need Orthotics
Did you know that back pain often starts... in the feet? Reduce pain and stress on your whole body, from your feet all the way up the spine, with quality orthotics. Bonus: They're also athletic performance enhancers - you'll move faster and more efficiently when the alignment between your feet and legs improves!
Valencia Foot & Ankle Center 288-2321

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What's Better than Invisalign?
That, dear readers, was a trick question. Nothing! But to sweeten your newly-straight Invisalign smile, Santa Clarita Advanced Dentistry includes custom bleach trays, enamel contouring and four sets of retainers.
Santa Clarita Advanced Dentistry 200-0677


Summer is the Best Time for Orthodontics
From exciting trips to amazing barbecues, Summer can also be the perfect time to start your kids on a path to a healthier smile. Why?
Easier to Schedule with the Orthodontist
While your kids are out of school, you get a break from all of the after-school extracurriculars, sports team practices and homework. With your kids spending more time at home, it'll be easier to schedule appointments
for orthodontic checkups. No worrying about squeezing in an appointment before rushing to soccer practice; just easy, summertime scheduling.
Summer Growth Spurts with Kids
Studies in growth for kids has shown that their biggest growth spurts happen during the summer. Whens spurts occur, the structure of your child's jaw and teeth is also changing. During orthodontic treatment, the doctor can adjust their bite to make sure that your child's development is on track to create the perfect smile.
Give your Child a Future of Healthy Smiles
There's no time like the present to embrace a future full of radiant smiles free of dental and orthodontic problems.
Snow Orthodontics 799-0775

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The Difference Between Board & Care Homes
vs. Larger Assisted Living Communities
There's a variety of senior living options available on the market today. If you're looking for senior care facilities, do you know the difference between board and care homes versus larger assisted living communities?
Board & Care Home
A board and care home is a licensed 24-hour care property. These senior living homes offer room, meals, 24-hour staffing, care services and assistance with things such as eating, bathing, dressing, medication management and other forms of personal care. Nursing and medical care are not provided on site or included in most homes.
Board and care homes provide a more natural, homelike atmosphere. Because of their small size, these residential care communities typically enjoy a better staff-to-resident ratio, so residents get more personalized care. There are fewer residents, generally eight to 10, and a lower staff to resident ratio, about one to four.
Larger Assisted Living Communities
Assisted living communities are larger with more beds on premise or the presence of more traditional medical staff, including doctors and nurses, on-site. They provide basic medical monitoring as well as daily activities and care. The facility usually offers private or semi-private apartments that may be fully furnished along with a small kitchen area. Assisted living communities also offer more activities, amenities, health and wellness programs and recreational opportunities.
Seniors have many choices when looking at senior residential living options. What's the most appropriate living arrangement for you or your loved one? Assisted Living Locators can help you with this decision-making process as a free senior placement and referral service.
Assisted Living Locators 544-1004

Senior Life Care Navigation is Customized to your Family
Visiting Angels focuses on specific elements of care through a collection of customized programs. These programs can be tailored to address the needs of the whole person including physical, emotional, social and spiritual utilizing personalized care plans and caregiver training. They can even help seniors utilize technology and social media to stay active and engaged.
Visiting Angels 263-2273