June 20, 2024 • 19 mins
Are you aware that nearly 90% of seniors who receive help within the first hour of falling can continue living independently, but if left for 12 hours, this number drops to just 10%. On this episode of the Comfort Keepers Daily Podcast, Kristi Gurule and Jeremy Wolf unravel startling statistics and impactful solutions regarding home safety and fall prevention for our elderly loved ones. We’ll be sharing crucial insights into how comprehensive home safety assessments can prevent falls, examining everything from door locks to rug placements. Additionally, we dive into the importance of proper nutrition and exercise to maintain muscle mass and overall health—ensuring seniors not only live safely but thrive.
We explore practical strategies to keep seniors active and prevent falls, discussing physical activities like weight training, yoga, and outdoor activities such as walking and pickleball. Learn about essential home safety improvements, including securing rugs, organizing pet-related items, and installing bathroom safety features to create a safer living environment. Moreover, we highlight the vital role caregivers play in these efforts, alongside expressing our heartfelt gratitude to Kristi for her invaluable contributions. Don’t miss this empowering episode aimed at keeping our seniors safe, active, and mentally refreshed. Thank you for joining us, and we look forward to continuing this important conversation in future episodes.
Please visit our website for more information: https://www.comfortkeepers.com/offices/florida/davie/
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jeremy Wolf (00:02):
Welcome to the Comfort Keepers Davy Podcast,
where we elevate the humanspirit.
Here's your host, ChristyGroulet.
Hello, hello, everyone, andwelcome back to another episode
of the Comfort Keepers DavyPodcast.
I'm your co-host, Jeremy Wolf,joined by your host, Christy
(00:22):
Groulet.
Kristi Gurule (00:23):
Good morning everyone Good morning, Christy.
Jeremy Wolf (00:28):
So nice to see you again.
Kristi Gurule (00:30):
It's good to see you.
It's been a minute.
Jeremy Wolf (00:32):
It has and you are in.
I would say you're in sunnySouth Florida, but it's not so
sunny right.
Kristi Gurule (00:37):
I was very surprised I came after all the
rain, but yes, this morning wasvery rainy All right.
Jeremy Wolf (00:43):
Well, what is the topic of conversation today?
Kristi Gurule (00:48):
I always like to circle or surround our
conversations around hot topicsthat are happening every day and
, like all trends, you seethings come and go.
There's always constants.
But here lately there's been alot, a lot of conversation
around home safety and falling.
(01:08):
So before we started our show,we talked about the ever famous
commercial help.
I've fallen.
Jeremy Wolf (01:19):
Fallen and.
I can't get up yeah.
Kristi Gurule (01:22):
Worst commercial, sorry that there's ever been,
but in the true sense of it.
When somebody falls, it's not alaughing matter at all, it's
not, and you and I might trip inour home and we're able to
catch our balance on whatever isnearest to us.
Jeremy Wolf (01:41):
Not so much anymore .
I got to say.
Kristi Gurule (01:43):
Well, I want you to think about right now the
last time you tripped oversomething in your house, a toy,
whatever it is your own feet,because that happens to me, and
we might stumble, but we may notfall completely to the ground.
And our seniors, though, thatstability is much less, um, that
(02:04):
muscle and reaction is muchless, reaction time slower, and
so what we might be able torecover from quickly by just
readjusting ourselves.
Our seniors, our elderly, willend up on the floor, and there's
a statistic that I came acrossthat was really is a statistic
that I came across that wasreally, really impactful,
(02:26):
because it stated and this isout of a New England journal for
elderly science and fallingstatistics okay, but 90% of
seniors who fall and areassisted within the hour, within
that hour so hopefully there'ssomebody at home or there's
emergency personnel that arenotified they will continue to
(02:54):
live independent in their home90 of them, however, after 12
hours which sounds astonishing,right, but someone can lay on
their floor for 12 hours thatstatistic drops to only about 10
percent of seniors will thencontinue to live independently,
and there's a lot of things thatgo into that, and I've
encountered many, many a familymember that we've talked, or
even clients that are nowclients who have laid on the
(03:18):
floor just hoping that somebodyis going to come check on them
because they cannot get up.
And that's such a terrifying,like scary thing.
So many things mentally,emotionally, physically are
happening to that individual.
And whenever anybody hasinjured themselves so maybe it
isn't a fall, but I know thatwhen I was a gymnast and I had
(03:40):
an injury that once I was better, I tend to think in my head
okay, I could hurt myself again,right.
And sometimes, if our mind isalready there that I've had this
happen and I'm worried about ithappening again, we tend to try
to take different steps toprevent it when in fact we're
(04:02):
really putting our ourselves inmore danger.
So we're not as confident as wewere before and silly things
can happen out of that.
Jeremy Wolf (04:10):
Yeah.
Kristi Gurule (04:10):
Like Our elderly, once they've fallen and they do
get to come home which thatwould be the ultimate goal that
they're home now, they're scaredof tripping, they're scared of
showering, of getting in and outof their bathtub or shower.
They're worried about thesethings, and so you might see a
(04:31):
senior become more secluded.
They don't do things as oftenbecause they've fallen and they
don't want to do that again.
They don't regularly care fortheir personal hygiene because
they're more worried about theanticipation of a fall or a
potential, and that's a very sadstate to live in, right?
(04:51):
So we have these conversationsand they're very real, and our
goal is that seniors, elderly,they can live in their home
confidently, not just safely,but confidently knowing.
So a part of the services thatwe bring to someone's home is to
do an entire home safetyassessment, and that is
(05:13):
everything from.
Are the doors lockable, like?
How easy can somebody get inand out of your home?
What kind of carpets do we have?
Rugs, are they not stacked onthe end tables next to the couch
right?
Or the bedside?
How high is the bed off of theground?
What other obstacles mightthere be between the bedroom and
(05:37):
the restroom?
Or what is it like walking downthe hallway.
Where are the light switches?
So it's a very in-depth homesafety assessment to make
reasonable suggestions toprevent future falls, but also
just to make it easier forpeople to move and work in the
environment that they want toremain living in.
Jeremy Wolf (05:59):
Yeah, I was going to ask you about the
preventative measures, right,because what is that?
An ounce of prevention?
What's the saying?
An ounce of prevention is wortha pound of cure, as they say,
something like that.
But before I get into that, acouple of things were resonating
with me.
Right, it was the commercialthat you alluded to I've fallen
(06:19):
but I can't get out.
Yeah, remember when I was youngyou would hear that and to kind
of chuckle because you're young, right.
But as I'm getting older nowand like my body starts to ache
a lot and it's a little bit moredifficult for me to get in and
out of the car and out of thebed, it's not bad, but I feel it
right now it starts looming onyou and you start thinking like,
wow, I really need to start andthis goes into this,
(06:42):
preventative measures I reallyneed to start taking care of
myself, nutrition-wise,exercise-wise, like building
muscle mass.
That's the thing that starts togo real quickly.
And I run a lot now, but I don'tdo a lot of physical weight
training like strength training,and I find myself I still run
many miles but my body hurtsterribly afterwards.
I think that is largely in partto the fact that I'm not doing
(07:04):
a lot of strength training.
So, in terms of preventativemeasures, obviously, well, first
, what are some?
You said you come in and you doan assessment of the house.
What are some commonmodifications or things that you
typically might run into or doin the house.
And then, what are some thingsthat our seniors can do in terms
of just taking care ofthemselves, exercise-wise, to
(07:26):
strengthen themselves so thatthey're more resilient to
falling in the first place?
Kristi Gurule (07:31):
Absolutely so let's actually start with that
Weight training.
We're not talking aboutdeadlifts or anything like that.
You can even go walking withweighted little ankle straps or
even the little wrist thingsthat you can hold Even something
as minor as that a one pound orhalf a pound and walk, walk
(07:52):
with that.
That is still considered yourweight training.
Yoga, senior yoga, chair yogaYoga is phenomenal for muscle
building you wouldn't imaginethat but also your flexibility,
and a lot of times when we'rereacting to anything that we're
trying to overcome, when we'rewalking like an obstacle, it's
(08:14):
really, yeah, muscle, but thenit's our flexibility to be able
to, you know, go left to rightor whatever it is that we're
doing.
So yoga is something that I'mseeing really a lot more people
take part in because it is notas strenuous and you can take it
, you know, very slowly, butagain you feel good afterwards.
(08:35):
Very slowly, but again you feelgood afterwards.
You should not be hurting badafter yoga, but you can see
yourself improving throughdifferent yoga experiences.
Jeremy Wolf (08:43):
Question for you.
I'm sorry to cut you off thereNow.
When Comfort Keepers comes into a home, obviously you do
bathing, shopping, companionship, things like that.
I'd imagine that part of thatroutine for many of your clients
is some kind of exercise to dothese types of things like
walking around, go to the park,maybe go out and play pickleball
(09:05):
or something like that.
Right, that's the new phrase.
Oh, absolutely.
Kristi Gurule (09:08):
Oh gosh, pickleball, yes, and I don't
know a thing about pickleball,but, yes, I have plenty of
people that love for theircaregiver to join them at the Y
or the senior center that theygo to or at any gym, being able
to go outside and, here inFlorida, go to the beach.
Right, that's incredible.
Yes, we want to encouragepeople to get out safely Right,
(09:31):
not in 101 degree weather, butget out safely and move.
That's good for everyone.
Jeremy Wolf (09:37):
And there's really not just for the body but also
the mind.
Kristi Gurule (09:40):
For the mind.
Absolutely, absolutely.
There's nothing like justsoaking in that sun and fresh
air, right?
I've always been told that ifyou are inside for too long, you
need to step out and just touchsomething that's alive, right?
Something in nature and thatlike grounds you.
It's alive, right, something innature and that like grounds
you, it's just, it really is.
It's a good practice foreveryone, but we absolutely love
(10:01):
and we want to know what ourclients are excited about doing
or what is something that theyhaven't been able to do because
they haven't been able to getthere.
What can we help bring back tothem?
And that's a really fun thing.
I have a client that we nowtake to a horse arena and
there's horse therapy there, ahorse arena.
Jeremy Wolf (10:20):
Yes, and it's such an incredible thing what's a
horse arena?
Kristi Gurule (10:23):
Well, like where horses are boarded and they do
horse therapy.
Can you believe that it's soincredible?
Jeremy Wolf (10:29):
I've heard of horse therapy.
I just haven't heard the twowords horse and arena put
together, like I hear.
Like a barn, a stable, not ahorse.
Kristi Gurule (10:36):
I'm thinking of a large space.
I mean, maybe we want to takeour clients to a racetrack.
That's fine, it's not out ofthe question.
I'm just saying that this isjust another example of someone
who used to go to the horsestables and couldn't get there
anymore, and so we've been ableto come in and experience
something new with them andbring that joy to their life
(10:59):
again.
So we're going to go back intothe client's home now.
One of the main things I can'teven tell you one of the main
things, the easiest thing thatwe come across that we make the
first recommendation of is getrid of the runners, the rugs
that are in the hallway that areright after you walk in, or
(11:20):
make sure that they are securely, like seriously fastened to the
floor, not an anti-skid.
That's not going to stop someonewho gets their toe underneath
the end of it, right, but really, rugs.
Rugs are one of the easiestthings to change out to prevent
falls.
How many of our seniors have apet?
(11:41):
Seriously, everybody has a petand we would never suggest not
to have a pet.
However, there are a lot ofthings that our pets require,
and whether that's their dog bed, their toys, everything that's
everywhere and no matter how bigor small this dog or cat or
(12:04):
whatever animal that they have,they also pose a risk.
So we try to look at whereeverything is staged in the
house and sometimes just havinga better central location will
help eliminate there beingsporadic things throughout, like
normal, I would say, heaviertraffic areas in the home.
Jeremy Wolf (12:27):
The bathroom is the number one place where people
fall, it is.
Kristi Gurule (12:31):
The floors get wet.
Right, floors get wet.
Yes, people fall trying to getup from the toilet.
Even so, having a grab bar issomething that's really
important, or even suggesting araised toilet seat is also very
helpful.
These are very common thingsthat I see At times.
Maybe, on an extreme, we mightconnect them with someone who
(12:54):
can do like a bath remodel, arebath, you know where now
there's a walk-in bathtub, justdepending on what the space and
really what would matter, andsometimes that's not something
that comes until much, much,much later.
But even anti-skid strips orshower chair, these are all
things that can be used in thebathroom to help maintain their
(13:18):
safety.
Jeremy Wolf (13:20):
Now, you're doing this assessment.
Are you also actuallyimplementing these safeguards?
You're doing this assessment?
Are you also actuallyimplementing these safeguards or
you just make therecommendations for them to.
Kristi Gurule (13:27):
We have we have great connections to help have
these things installed.
But no, I do not come in andinstall them into the drywall or
anything like that.
Jeremy Wolf (13:36):
Um not my fault.
I didn't think so, I was justcurious In my own home?
Kristi Gurule (13:41):
Yes, but we do.
We do want to make sure thatthey feel good about whoever
they're contracting with, and wehave great recommendations,
because it's a very normal thingthat we come across.
Jeremy Wolf (13:51):
That's what I wanted to make sure of.
Right Was that you weren'tgoing in there and I know you
wouldn't do this but go in thereand give them a whole laundry
list of things to do and thenjust say all right, now go
figure it out, right, like callall these contractors.
So obviously you have a networkof people and you can make them
this year all about greatpeople.
Kristi Gurule (14:06):
Yep, yep, great people that we trust, that we
refer to, and again, these.
This is to keep our clientssafe, or safer, but then also
the caregiver that I'm sendinginto the home.
We want to set everybody up forsuccess, and so there's a
variety of things that come intothe home.
Assessment and being able tolook at the location in each
(14:27):
room is one part, but then youknow there are other factors
that play into it too.
Does this person have a historyof falling?
Do they have certain medicalconditions that make them more
prone to falling?
What is their age?
All of these things.
Then.
With an algorithm that we have,we then calculate really what
is the fall risk and how can wehelp prevent that More than oh
(14:48):
gosh.
90% of our clients have apersonal emergency response
system, which is either a watchor a necklace, and most people
are opting for the watch becauseit looks like, you know, like
an eye, like an Apple watch orsomething.
It's very sleek and they have afall detection alert on these
watches.
So should a fall happen, soimportant, should a fall happen
(15:11):
at a restaurant, at the beach,at the gym, it doesn't matter
where you're at.
It uses AT&T and Verizon Towersto ping where you're at.
You get a voice that comes upon your watch and says hey, do
you need?
Probably not just like this,but essentially do you need any
medical attention?
So, no matter where thisindividual is traveling, it does
not matter.
They can ask for a medical teamto come and, based on location,
(15:37):
they're able to send people out.
So it's just an extra layer ofsecurity and helping to provide
them further independence.
Jeremy Wolf (15:47):
My, how useful that would have been for my
brother's wife's father recently, just a few months ago I think.
He had a minor stroke and hewas living in a place.
It was not fully assistedliving, but it was a property
that was there, but I guess theydidn't check on him too
regularly.
Well, anyway, he wasincapacitated, did not have a
(16:08):
device like that and he was onthe floor for, I think, a couple
of days before they found himthere.
And he just couldn't move,couldn't do anything, he was
just stuck.
And they found him there and hejust couldn't move, couldn't do
anything, he was just stuck.
And they finally, thank godsomebody came in and and found
him and he's okay now.
But you know, it's scary justlike you said.
Kristi Gurule (16:23):
it's very scary, and can you?
I can't imagine being thatindividual to feel that sense of
helplessness like I am here.
Surely somebody is going tocome and then they don't, and
then they don't.
So oftentimes when we meet withfamilies for the first time, if
we're not coming in to providepersonal care services, that's,
that is fine.
But we'd love to be able to atleast get you set up with a we
(16:47):
call them PERS units instead ofthe personal emergency response
system.
We like to get them set up witha watch or a necklace again,
just for everyone's peace ofmind, and then we monitor that.
So I would get an alertimmediately if a fall happens
and a full, detailed analysis ofwhere this person was.
Did they require EMS?
Did they require anything else?
(17:08):
Did they deny help?
And then I'm like that middleperson to then also make sure
the family is aware.
Like hey, this happened.
We've already gone and checked,he was checked, everybody is
fine, but whereas before maybethat information would not have
been known.
Jeremy Wolf (17:26):
So important to raise awareness around this type
of stuff, because so manypeople I mean we all do right we
think, oh, it'll never happento me until it happens to you,
absolutely.
And you're the one laying thereon the floor like man, I should
have done something sooner.
So, yeah, it's really important.
Kristi Gurule (17:42):
And it's a very easy thing to wear a watch right
.
Wear a full functioning watch.
That's not just for falling andum and be discreet.
Be discreet about this extralayer of protection that you
have and continue about your day, and it's just a just in case.
Jeremy Wolf (17:59):
Very cool.
Anything else that we'remissing here on this topic?
I'm sure there's quite a fewthings, but is there anything
else you want to share?
Kristi Gurule (18:08):
Honestly, without going into a whole another half
hour, Jeremy.
The one other thing I wouldjust say and we can talk about
this in depth later is the othersafety feature in the home that
is often overlooked or just notreally thought of as a hazard
is medication, and there's justa lot around medication and the
(18:32):
number of medications thatsomebody is taking and who's
helping them put theirmedication, you know, in their
planners, and how are theyadministering it.
How do we know if they'vemissed medication.
So we do have we do have sometips and some devices that can
help remind people to take theirmedication, especially if it's
not just once a day or eventwice a day.
(18:55):
There are people that have totake medication every two hours
and they may fall asleep, theymay forget.
So we do have some devices torecommend for those things too,
just to help maintain medicationaccuracy.
Jeremy Wolf (19:12):
Very cool.
Christy, we appreciate all thegreat things you do for our
lovely community here.
Kristi Gurule (19:16):
So thanks for all you do yeah, good stuff Good
stuff, all right.
Jeremy Wolf (19:21):
Well, everyone, thank you so much for tuning in
and we will look forward toseeing you next time on the next
episode of the Comfort KeepersDaily Podcast.
Everyone take care, have agreat day.
Thank you for listening to theComfort Keepers Davey podcast.
For more information, visitcomfortkeeperscom or call
954-947-7954.
Welcome to the Comfort Keepers Davy Podcast,
where we elevate the humanspirit.
Here's your host, ChristyGroulet.
Hello, hello, everyone, andwelcome back to another episode
of the Comfort Keepers DavyPodcast.
I'm your co-host, Jeremy Wolf,joined by your host, Christy
(00:22):
Groulet.
Kristi Gurule (00:23):
Good morning everyone Good morning, Christy.
Jeremy Wolf (00:28):
So nice to see you again.
Kristi Gurule (00:30):
It's good to see you.
It's been a minute.
Jeremy Wolf (00:32):
It has and you are in.
I would say you're in sunnySouth Florida, but it's not so
sunny right.
Kristi Gurule (00:37):
I was very surprised I came after all the
rain, but yes, this morning wasvery rainy All right.
Jeremy Wolf (00:43):
Well, what is the topic of conversation today?
Kristi Gurule (00:48):
I always like to circle or surround our
conversations around hot topicsthat are happening every day and
, like all trends, you seethings come and go.
There's always constants.
But here lately there's been alot, a lot of conversation
around home safety and falling.
(01:08):
So before we started our show,we talked about the ever famous
commercial help.
I've fallen.
Jeremy Wolf (01:19):
Fallen and.
I can't get up yeah.
Kristi Gurule (01:22):
Worst commercial, sorry that there's ever been,
but in the true sense of it.
When somebody falls, it's not alaughing matter at all, it's
not, and you and I might trip inour home and we're able to
catch our balance on whatever isnearest to us.
Jeremy Wolf (01:41):
Not so much anymore .
I got to say.
Kristi Gurule (01:43):
Well, I want you to think about right now the
last time you tripped oversomething in your house, a toy,
whatever it is your own feet,because that happens to me, and
we might stumble, but we may notfall completely to the ground.
And our seniors, though, thatstability is much less, um, that
(02:04):
muscle and reaction is muchless, reaction time slower, and
so what we might be able torecover from quickly by just
readjusting ourselves.
Our seniors, our elderly, willend up on the floor, and there's
a statistic that I came acrossthat was really is a statistic
that I came across that wasreally, really impactful,
(02:26):
because it stated and this isout of a New England journal for
elderly science and fallingstatistics okay, but 90% of
seniors who fall and areassisted within the hour, within
that hour so hopefully there'ssomebody at home or there's
emergency personnel that arenotified they will continue to
(02:54):
live independent in their home90 of them, however, after 12
hours which sounds astonishing,right, but someone can lay on
their floor for 12 hours thatstatistic drops to only about 10
percent of seniors will thencontinue to live independently,
and there's a lot of things thatgo into that, and I've
encountered many, many a familymember that we've talked, or
even clients that are nowclients who have laid on the
(03:18):
floor just hoping that somebodyis going to come check on them
because they cannot get up.
And that's such a terrifying,like scary thing.
So many things mentally,emotionally, physically are
happening to that individual.
And whenever anybody hasinjured themselves so maybe it
isn't a fall, but I know thatwhen I was a gymnast and I had
(03:40):
an injury that once I was better, I tend to think in my head
okay, I could hurt myself again,right.
And sometimes, if our mind isalready there that I've had this
happen and I'm worried about ithappening again, we tend to try
to take different steps toprevent it when in fact we're
(04:02):
really putting our ourselves inmore danger.
So we're not as confident as wewere before and silly things
can happen out of that.
Jeremy Wolf (04:10):
Yeah.
Kristi Gurule (04:10):
Like Our elderly, once they've fallen and they do
get to come home which thatwould be the ultimate goal that
they're home now, they're scaredof tripping, they're scared of
showering, of getting in and outof their bathtub or shower.
They're worried about thesethings, and so you might see a
(04:31):
senior become more secluded.
They don't do things as oftenbecause they've fallen and they
don't want to do that again.
They don't regularly care fortheir personal hygiene because
they're more worried about theanticipation of a fall or a
potential, and that's a very sadstate to live in, right?
(04:51):
So we have these conversationsand they're very real, and our
goal is that seniors, elderly,they can live in their home
confidently, not just safely,but confidently knowing.
So a part of the services thatwe bring to someone's home is to
do an entire home safetyassessment, and that is
(05:13):
everything from.
Are the doors lockable, like?
How easy can somebody get inand out of your home?
What kind of carpets do we have?
Rugs, are they not stacked onthe end tables next to the couch
right?
Or the bedside?
How high is the bed off of theground?
What other obstacles mightthere be between the bedroom and
(05:37):
the restroom?
Or what is it like walking downthe hallway.
Where are the light switches?
So it's a very in-depth homesafety assessment to make
reasonable suggestions toprevent future falls, but also
just to make it easier forpeople to move and work in the
environment that they want toremain living in.
Jeremy Wolf (05:59):
Yeah, I was going to ask you about the
preventative measures, right,because what is that?
An ounce of prevention?
What's the saying?
An ounce of prevention is wortha pound of cure, as they say,
something like that.
But before I get into that, acouple of things were resonating
with me.
Right, it was the commercialthat you alluded to I've fallen
(06:19):
but I can't get out.
Yeah, remember when I was youngyou would hear that and to kind
of chuckle because you're young, right.
But as I'm getting older nowand like my body starts to ache
a lot and it's a little bit moredifficult for me to get in and
out of the car and out of thebed, it's not bad, but I feel it
right now it starts looming onyou and you start thinking like,
wow, I really need to start andthis goes into this,
(06:42):
preventative measures I reallyneed to start taking care of
myself, nutrition-wise,exercise-wise, like building
muscle mass.
That's the thing that starts togo real quickly.
And I run a lot now, but I don'tdo a lot of physical weight
training like strength training,and I find myself I still run
many miles but my body hurtsterribly afterwards.
I think that is largely in partto the fact that I'm not doing
(07:04):
a lot of strength training.
So, in terms of preventativemeasures, obviously, well, first
, what are some?
You said you come in and you doan assessment of the house.
What are some commonmodifications or things that you
typically might run into or doin the house.
And then, what are some thingsthat our seniors can do in terms
of just taking care ofthemselves, exercise-wise, to
(07:26):
strengthen themselves so thatthey're more resilient to
falling in the first place?
Kristi Gurule (07:31):
Absolutely so let's actually start with that
Weight training.
We're not talking aboutdeadlifts or anything like that.
You can even go walking withweighted little ankle straps or
even the little wrist thingsthat you can hold Even something
as minor as that a one pound orhalf a pound and walk, walk
(07:52):
with that.
That is still considered yourweight training.
Yoga, senior yoga, chair yogaYoga is phenomenal for muscle
building you wouldn't imaginethat but also your flexibility,
and a lot of times when we'rereacting to anything that we're
trying to overcome, when we'rewalking like an obstacle, it's
(08:14):
really, yeah, muscle, but thenit's our flexibility to be able
to, you know, go left to rightor whatever it is that we're
doing.
So yoga is something that I'mseeing really a lot more people
take part in because it is notas strenuous and you can take it
, you know, very slowly, butagain you feel good afterwards.
(08:35):
Very slowly, but again you feelgood afterwards.
You should not be hurting badafter yoga, but you can see
yourself improving throughdifferent yoga experiences.
Jeremy Wolf (08:43):
Question for you.
I'm sorry to cut you off thereNow.
When Comfort Keepers comes into a home, obviously you do
bathing, shopping, companionship, things like that.
I'd imagine that part of thatroutine for many of your clients
is some kind of exercise to dothese types of things like
walking around, go to the park,maybe go out and play pickleball
(09:05):
or something like that.
Right, that's the new phrase.
Oh, absolutely.
Kristi Gurule (09:08):
Oh gosh, pickleball, yes, and I don't
know a thing about pickleball,but, yes, I have plenty of
people that love for theircaregiver to join them at the Y
or the senior center that theygo to or at any gym, being able
to go outside and, here inFlorida, go to the beach.
Right, that's incredible.
Yes, we want to encouragepeople to get out safely Right,
(09:31):
not in 101 degree weather, butget out safely and move.
That's good for everyone.
Jeremy Wolf (09:37):
And there's really not just for the body but also
the mind.
Kristi Gurule (09:40):
For the mind.
Absolutely, absolutely.
There's nothing like justsoaking in that sun and fresh
air, right?
I've always been told that ifyou are inside for too long, you
need to step out and just touchsomething that's alive, right?
Something in nature and thatlike grounds you.
It's alive, right, something innature and that like grounds
you, it's just, it really is.
It's a good practice foreveryone, but we absolutely love
(10:01):
and we want to know what ourclients are excited about doing
or what is something that theyhaven't been able to do because
they haven't been able to getthere.
What can we help bring back tothem?
And that's a really fun thing.
I have a client that we nowtake to a horse arena and
there's horse therapy there, ahorse arena.
Jeremy Wolf (10:20):
Yes, and it's such an incredible thing what's a
horse arena?
Kristi Gurule (10:23):
Well, like where horses are boarded and they do
horse therapy.
Can you believe that it's soincredible?
Jeremy Wolf (10:29):
I've heard of horse therapy.
I just haven't heard the twowords horse and arena put
together, like I hear.
Like a barn, a stable, not ahorse.
Kristi Gurule (10:36):
I'm thinking of a large space.
I mean, maybe we want to takeour clients to a racetrack.
That's fine, it's not out ofthe question.
I'm just saying that this isjust another example of someone
who used to go to the horsestables and couldn't get there
anymore, and so we've been ableto come in and experience
something new with them andbring that joy to their life
(10:59):
again.
So we're going to go back intothe client's home now.
One of the main things I can'teven tell you one of the main
things, the easiest thing thatwe come across that we make the
first recommendation of is getrid of the runners, the rugs
that are in the hallway that areright after you walk in, or
(11:20):
make sure that they are securely, like seriously fastened to the
floor, not an anti-skid.
That's not going to stop someonewho gets their toe underneath
the end of it, right, but really, rugs.
Rugs are one of the easiestthings to change out to prevent
falls.
How many of our seniors have apet?
(11:41):
Seriously, everybody has a petand we would never suggest not
to have a pet.
However, there are a lot ofthings that our pets require,
and whether that's their dog bed, their toys, everything that's
everywhere and no matter how bigor small this dog or cat or
(12:04):
whatever animal that they have,they also pose a risk.
So we try to look at whereeverything is staged in the
house and sometimes just havinga better central location will
help eliminate there beingsporadic things throughout, like
normal, I would say, heaviertraffic areas in the home.
Jeremy Wolf (12:27):
The bathroom is the number one place where people
fall, it is.
Kristi Gurule (12:31):
The floors get wet.
Right, floors get wet.
Yes, people fall trying to getup from the toilet.
Even so, having a grab bar issomething that's really
important, or even suggesting araised toilet seat is also very
helpful.
These are very common thingsthat I see At times.
Maybe, on an extreme, we mightconnect them with someone who
(12:54):
can do like a bath remodel, arebath, you know where now
there's a walk-in bathtub, justdepending on what the space and
really what would matter, andsometimes that's not something
that comes until much, much,much later.
But even anti-skid strips orshower chair, these are all
things that can be used in thebathroom to help maintain their
(13:18):
safety.
Jeremy Wolf (13:20):
Now, you're doing this assessment.
Are you also actuallyimplementing these safeguards?
You're doing this assessment?
Are you also actuallyimplementing these safeguards or
you just make therecommendations for them to.
Kristi Gurule (13:27):
We have we have great connections to help have
these things installed.
But no, I do not come in andinstall them into the drywall or
anything like that.
Jeremy Wolf (13:36):
Um not my fault.
I didn't think so, I was justcurious In my own home?
Kristi Gurule (13:41):
Yes, but we do.
We do want to make sure thatthey feel good about whoever
they're contracting with, and wehave great recommendations,
because it's a very normal thingthat we come across.
Jeremy Wolf (13:51):
That's what I wanted to make sure of.
Right Was that you weren'tgoing in there and I know you
wouldn't do this but go in thereand give them a whole laundry
list of things to do and thenjust say all right, now go
figure it out, right, like callall these contractors.
So obviously you have a networkof people and you can make them
this year all about greatpeople.
Kristi Gurule (14:06):
Yep, yep, great people that we trust, that we
refer to, and again, these.
This is to keep our clientssafe, or safer, but then also
the caregiver that I'm sendinginto the home.
We want to set everybody up forsuccess, and so there's a
variety of things that come intothe home.
Assessment and being able tolook at the location in each
(14:27):
room is one part, but then youknow there are other factors
that play into it too.
Does this person have a historyof falling?
Do they have certain medicalconditions that make them more
prone to falling?
What is their age?
All of these things.
Then.
With an algorithm that we have,we then calculate really what
is the fall risk and how can wehelp prevent that More than oh
(14:48):
gosh.
90% of our clients have apersonal emergency response
system, which is either a watchor a necklace, and most people
are opting for the watch becauseit looks like, you know, like
an eye, like an Apple watch orsomething.
It's very sleek and they have afall detection alert on these
watches.
So should a fall happen, soimportant, should a fall happen
(15:11):
at a restaurant, at the beach,at the gym, it doesn't matter
where you're at.
It uses AT&T and Verizon Towersto ping where you're at.
You get a voice that comes upon your watch and says hey, do
you need?
Probably not just like this,but essentially do you need any
medical attention?
So, no matter where thisindividual is traveling, it does
not matter.
They can ask for a medical teamto come and, based on location,
(15:37):
they're able to send people out.
So it's just an extra layer ofsecurity and helping to provide
them further independence.
Jeremy Wolf (15:47):
My, how useful that would have been for my
brother's wife's father recently, just a few months ago I think.
He had a minor stroke and hewas living in a place.
It was not fully assistedliving, but it was a property
that was there, but I guess theydidn't check on him too
regularly.
Well, anyway, he wasincapacitated, did not have a
(16:08):
device like that and he was onthe floor for, I think, a couple
of days before they found himthere.
And he just couldn't move,couldn't do anything, he was
just stuck.
And they found him there and hejust couldn't move, couldn't do
anything, he was just stuck.
And they finally, thank godsomebody came in and and found
him and he's okay now.
But you know, it's scary justlike you said.
Kristi Gurule (16:23):
it's very scary, and can you?
I can't imagine being thatindividual to feel that sense of
helplessness like I am here.
Surely somebody is going tocome and then they don't, and
then they don't.
So oftentimes when we meet withfamilies for the first time, if
we're not coming in to providepersonal care services, that's,
that is fine.
But we'd love to be able to atleast get you set up with a we
(16:47):
call them PERS units instead ofthe personal emergency response
system.
We like to get them set up witha watch or a necklace again,
just for everyone's peace ofmind, and then we monitor that.
So I would get an alertimmediately if a fall happens
and a full, detailed analysis ofwhere this person was.
Did they require EMS?
Did they require anything else?
(17:08):
Did they deny help?
And then I'm like that middleperson to then also make sure
the family is aware.
Like hey, this happened.
We've already gone and checked,he was checked, everybody is
fine, but whereas before maybethat information would not have
been known.
Jeremy Wolf (17:26):
So important to raise awareness around this type
of stuff, because so manypeople I mean we all do right we
think, oh, it'll never happento me until it happens to you,
absolutely.
And you're the one laying thereon the floor like man, I should
have done something sooner.
So, yeah, it's really important.
Kristi Gurule (17:42):
And it's a very easy thing to wear a watch right
.
Wear a full functioning watch.
That's not just for falling andum and be discreet.
Be discreet about this extralayer of protection that you
have and continue about your day, and it's just a just in case.
Jeremy Wolf (17:59):
Very cool.
Anything else that we'remissing here on this topic?
I'm sure there's quite a fewthings, but is there anything
else you want to share?
Kristi Gurule (18:08):
Honestly, without going into a whole another half
hour, Jeremy.
The one other thing I wouldjust say and we can talk about
this in depth later is the othersafety feature in the home that
is often overlooked or just notreally thought of as a hazard
is medication, and there's justa lot around medication and the
(18:32):
number of medications thatsomebody is taking and who's
helping them put theirmedication, you know, in their
planners, and how are theyadministering it.
How do we know if they'vemissed medication.
So we do have we do have sometips and some devices that can
help remind people to take theirmedication, especially if it's
not just once a day or eventwice a day.
(18:55):
There are people that have totake medication every two hours
and they may fall asleep, theymay forget.
So we do have some devices torecommend for those things too,
just to help maintain medicationaccuracy.
Jeremy Wolf (19:12):
Very cool.
Christy, we appreciate all thegreat things you do for our
lovely community here.
Kristi Gurule (19:16):
So thanks for all you do yeah, good stuff Good
stuff, all right.
Jeremy Wolf (19:21):
Well, everyone, thank you so much for tuning in
and we will look forward toseeing you next time on the next
episode of the Comfort KeepersDaily Podcast.
Everyone take care, have agreat day.
Thank you for listening to theComfort Keepers Davey podcast.
For more information, visitcomfortkeeperscom or call
954-947-7954.
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