Raya’s Paradise Residential Care Communities Blog

Come read Raya’s Paradise blog about assisted living Los Angeles.

Raya’s Paradise partnered with Care Predict to provide AI-Powered Enhanced Resident Care

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Care Predict’s AI-Powered Technology for Enhanced Resident Care and Effective Infection Control

Raya’s Paradise Communities partnered with CarePredict, the leading digital health and remote monitoring company for senior care, to use CarePredict’s innovative technology for resident wellbeing and safety, engaged workforce, and effective infection control. “Senior living facilities are combatting unprecedented challenges today and recognize the critical role technology plays in their residents’ health and safety,” said Satish Movva, CEO & Founder, CarePredict. “We are pleased to partner with these leading senior communities who are committed to empowering their staff with tools that enable quality senior care.” The CarePredict solution uses an award-winning smart wearable, Tempo™ Series 3, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and advanced kinematics algorithms to learn each resident’s daily activity and behavior pattern. When there is a deviation from an individual’s “normal,” the system alerts staff on a wide range of potential health concerns. This ability to detect the early signs of health concerns allows for preventive care and ensures residents’ wellbeing. Communities using CarePredict have reported as much as 40 percent lower hospitalizations and a 64 percent reduction in falls annually. “What is most appealing about CarePredict, apart from the fact that it addresses the needs of both our residents and staff, is the simplicity of the technology, said Peter DeMangus, VP of Business Development, Solterra Companies. “For new constructions, the CarePredict system is the least disruptive and fastest to install requiring no servers, antennas, or external hardware.” CarePredict employs a real-time location system [RTLS] that provides insights to operators on workforce productivity, including the time to respond, automated documentation of care services provided, and automatic tracking for time caregivers spend with residents in direct care. The use of CarePredict’s location-based insights has increased staff response rates in communities by 37 percent. CarePredict Tempo is packed with additional features that improve the resident experience, such as integration with RFID for keyless door access, a concierge services button, and two-way voice communication that allows residents to speak to staff, thus helping residents receive timely assistance. CarePredict’s latest offering, CarePredict PinPoint automatic digital contact tracing solution is the first commercially available contact tracing solution specifically designed for congregate living settings and is available to all CarePredict customers for effective infection control. Using PinPoint, communities can identify, within seconds, all the people and places exposed to a suspected carrier, and effectively stop the spread of infection within the community. About CarePredict CarePredict’s mission is to help caregivers take timely action by detecting a senior’s activity and behavior patterns that are precursors to health declines and increased risk for falls. Based on the well-known notion that changes in the daily activity behaviors precede health issues in seniors, CarePredict’s award-winning smart wearable, Tempo™ autonomously observes, and the system alerts professional and family caregivers on these changes, before something happens. CarePredict’s latest offering PinPoint, the automatic contact tracing solution for senior care, helps facilities stop the spread of infections by quickly identifying all the people and places that were exposed to an infected person. By enabling the isolation of just the exposed contacts, PinPoint holds the solution to protect our vulnerable seniors without compromising their social, mental, and physical wellbeing.
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Video Games and Virtual Reality Finds New Takers

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Grandparents are the latest players on board

Teenagers hold the gaming fort strong, but they are now being forced to share their gaming console with another group, their grandparents. Seniors across America have started jumping on the gaming bandwagon to stay busy and to find a community to engage with. According to a survey, the USA had 51 million gamers above the age of 50 years. The rise in the grey-haired players is owing to two factors. They are either aiming to spend quality time with their grandkids by engaging in activities the younger generation enjoys. Or they are looking for intellectual challenges. Video games are fun, they challenge the players, provide adventure, and help them connect with people. Just like youngsters, the elderly have started forming groups with players interested in the same game and have started having dedicating play sessions. Video games are proving to be more engaging, active versions of the good old poker and bridge clubs. While video games provide intellectual challenge and stimulus is spades, researches have proved that video games are helping seniors cope with cognitive ailments Alzheimer’s and dementia. They provide an excellent workout for the brain by creating meaningful experiences without leaving the comforts and safety of a community. At Raya’s paradise, seniors, we encourage you to virtually wield your sword, run to your heart’s content, create your own city, and care for your animals, all while sitting on your comfy chair. We understand that leaving your safe zone to travel far and wide isn’t a possibility, but this doesn’t mean you don’t get to see all the great places. This is what virtual reality is designed for. Travel to Paris with your friends, experience the long-pending Gondola Ride with your better half, or engage in a multi-player Super Mario game to see who’s the best player. Once you experience gaming, you will realize that not only is it super fun, but it is also helping you lead an engaging fulfilling life. Regular gaming sessions with your friends or with your grandkids will increase your social interaction and will give you daily updates of their lives. To facilitate your gaming, we have the best Wii Consoles. Wii consoles will help you game with your friend who lives across the country as well as be your gaming partner while playing solo. Get gaming seniors, our consoles are waiting for you!  
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Why Alzheimer’s Patients Become Agitated

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A Will, A Living Will, A Living Trust…What is the Difference?

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Three important legal documents that every adult should have are a will, a living trust, and a living will.  Each document defines your decisions for the different areas of your estate and will save your loved ones time, money and stress when you are gone.  These documents are easy to draw up, or you could have a lawyer prepare the documents for a nominal fee.

A WILL dictates how your estate and property is to be distributed after your death and can also designate guardians for children and self should you become incapable or pass away. A regular will must pass through probate court in most states before your estate can be passed on to your heirs. Most state laws do not require that you use a lawyer to prepare your will; you can use a will kit at home.  Probate court can take some time if there are any disputes, so make sure your wishes are clear when writing your will. A LIVING WILL defines your wish to be kept or not kept alive by artificial life support in the event of terminal illness or injury. A living will also give you the ability to set limits on your hospital, medical and funeral costs that can easily drain your estate and leave your loved ones with the bills. If you express your wishes beforehand, it will make the process much less stressful for those involved in your care and the execution of your final wishes. A LIVING TRUST is quite similar to a regular will, but they are different at the core.  Unlike a regular will that cannot be changed after it is written, a living trust can be amended at any time.  A living trust takes effect while you are alive, whereas a will takes effect after you pass. You can put property into your living trust at any time before your death and afterward your estate goes directly to your heirs without passing through probate court. If you ever change your mind about the definitions of your will, you can change or revoke how your estate will be divided at any time by using a living trust. A living trust will also save money and time later on because your loved ones won’t have to go through probate first.
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San Clemente Project Update

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Tips for Safe Winters at Raya’s Paradise 

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All of our residents here at Raya’s Paradise are looking forward to the Festive season. Of course, along with the season’s good cheer, comes the cold weather.  This is a time for everyone at Raya’s Paradise to take just a little extra care to help avoid an illness or injury. The chances of catching a common cold, flu or even pneumonia are greatly heightened in the cold weather.  At Raya’s Paradise, we are trying to get ahead of the problem and making sure all of our residents are aware of the risks at this time of the year. Here are 4 tips we give to everyone here at Raya’s:  #1. Have the Flu Shot  The best way to stay protected against the flu is by having a flu shot. The flu season starts in October and the CDC recommend that people get inoculated by the end of that month. The flu shot is the best way to stay free of this virus; one that has been responsible for a number of deaths over the past few years. Getting the flu shot will also protect family, friends and loved ones that come into contact with you during the festive period.  #2. Eat Well  Maintaining a healthy diet and eating well are important to keep your immune system strong. Vitamin D is particularly important at this time of year as you will have less exposure to the sun. The National Institute of Health recommend the following foods as a good source of Vitamin D: 
  • Salmon 
  • Tuna 
  • Swordfish 
  • Fortified milk 
  • Yogurt 
  • Orange juice 
  • Breakfast cereals 
#3. Dress Appropriately  Dress in clothes that are designed for winter and that will keep you warm when outdoors. This includes your footwear. Dressing loosely, in layers will give you great insulation and let you remove a layer if you get too warm or go inside. Remember the small but essential things: hat, gloves, scarf, warm socks etc. Also, with your footwear, make sure you have good grip for rainy conditions and try to wear something waterproof too.  #4. Preparing Your Home  We take precautions to prepare the accommodation for winter: weather stripping windows and doors; checking heating and ventilation systems are fully operational; stocking up on supplies just in case deliveries are delayed in the poor weather. We also check all of the outdoor lighting is working to reduce the risk of trips and falls at night. 
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Holiday Party 2019

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We love our residents and are thrilled to be in the business of caring for them. This is one of our favorite times of the year where we host a holiday party at each community. We hope you enjoy these pics of the fun had by all.
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Do you have compassion fatigue?

There comes a point when you are caring for a loved one, when you have to ask yourself what is the best decision for me as well as for the person I am caring for. Whether you decide to continue to care for your loved one or start to explore other options such as a professional care home, take the time to insure your own personal health and well being. There is a reason that during the safety briefing on a plane they tell you to put your oxygen mask on first, then help your love ones. If you don’t take care of yourself you have no way to care for someone else. “There is a cost to caring,” states Charles Figley, an expert in trauma and researcher in the field of burnout; he comments that compassion fatigue is something that can occur when caring for someone long term. Take a moment to examine how you feel and see if you may be experiencing any level of burnout or even compassion fatigue and then take the time to explore ways to best care for yourself as well as those you love.

Before we go much further, let’s briefly explore the difference between burnout vs. compassion fatigue.  Figley describes burnout as the end result of a gradual process of wearing down.  It is the long-term consequences of unaddressed compassion fatigue, resulting in emotional exhaustion and a diminished sense of personal accomplishment and achievement.  Recovering from burnout is often a more lengthy process.

Compassion fatigue is often a result of the daily care we do, and is a more immediate specific response.   It is often characterized by emotional and physical exhaustion; symptoms resembling depression; and usually a shift in a person’s sense of hope and optimism about the future value of the care they are offering.  This may not be a constant feeling, but it something that comes and goes.  The recovery from compassion fatigue is often less lengthy then burnout.

Are you isolating yourself, bottling up your emotions, having nightmares or even physical ailments? Do you suffer from compulsive behaviors such as over eating or over spending or have difficulty concentrating. Do you feel stressed out or depressed? These are symptoms of compassion fatigue. There is no cure for compassion fatigue but by practicing good self care techniques daily can help you to be physically and emotionally healthy and decrease these symptoms.

A self-care plan begins with you.  It begins with being kind to yourself, becoming aware of how things are effecting you (both physically and emotionally), setting boundaries, expressing your needs, taking actions to aide yourself, surrounding yourself with individuals that listen and support you and being able to listen and support others around you.  Although when you care for someone it seems like you have no time, you need to take the time to have healthy eating and exercise habits. Get plenty of rest and hydrate yourself. Develop good time and self management skills even if it means saying no.  Have a support system, take breaks and try to enjoy a balance in your life. Do not give up all of your friends and hobbies.  Pick your battles and even though it is hard, consider professional care givers, if not on a regular basis then consider short term help.  You can sometimes schedule breaks, where you use a professional care giver in the home or facility for a few weeks a year, allowing yourself to have time to decompress and feel better before you can no longer care for your loved one.
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Advice for Traveling with Seniors

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The biggest travel day of the year, the day before Thanksgiving, is almost here. For families with an aging loved one, that brings up the question of how to get that person to the feast. Whether travel means just a few hours by car or a plane ride, here are some tips for making sure your voyage goes as smoothly as possible. 1. Talk to your loved one’s doctor. Make sure that it’s OK for them to travel before you take off, and that the place where you’re headed is somewhere they can handle. Your doctor will let you know if there’s any special preparations you need to make in advance, and can also give you advice on medication to take if problems with anxiety or other issues arise. Make sure that you fill your loved one’s prescriptions before you go. 2. Do some advance planning. Think through your trip with your loved one’s limitations in mind. Are you renting a car? Then make sure you’ve requested a minivan or other vehicle that will be easy for them to get into and out of. Make sure you can fit their wheelchair and any other bulky equipment. If you’re flying, put in a request for seats meant for the disabled and notify the airline of any dietary restrictions. Also request a wheelchair so that you have some help navigating the airport. Contact both your hotel and airline to make sure they are able to handle any medical equipment that your loved one needs. Request a hotel room at ground level. 3. Be realistic. You may need to scale down on your usual travel routine. Keep things simple. For example, consider renting a cabin in the woods that’s just a two-hour drive away, rather than going to Europe or planning anything that will require a lot of walking (such as visiting an amusement park). Do your research in advance to make sure the location is properly equipped to have your loved one as a guest. Put plenty of padding in your schedule and don’t overload on the activities: it will likely take much more time to do things than normal. 4. Make sure you have necessary supplies. Special stockings can help if your loved one will be sitting for long periods, so that their extremities don’t go numb or a blood clot forms. Make sure you have protective gear for the sun, and especially that you have enough water since seniors are more susceptible to dehydration. Make sure medical information is with you at all times in case there’s an emergency.
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