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The Next Horizon: A Lifetime Service for Seniors with Brenda Dever-Armstrong

Brenda Dever Armstrong

Brenda Dever-Armstrong is the CEO and owner of The Next Horizon Senior Military Locator/Resource/Advocate. The Next Horizon helps seniors and military 55 years and over in locating housing, senior communities, medical care, financial, legal, realtors, movers or whatever the need may be, now or in the near future.

The Next Horizon is located in San Antonio, Texas, but Brenda covers all of Texas and she even works out of state occasionally. She knows all of the rules and regulations when working with Medicare and Medicaid, so she can help with those programs in other states. Brenda also continues her education and keeps up with the latest technologies and insurance regulations.

Brenda has been in the senior industry for 22 years and has run her company now for 14 years. She has a degree in Business Management Marketing and has had immense experience in this industry.

“I first started in Medical Marketing, where I worked with physicians and hospitals,” Brenda said. “I was later offered a job in working with Alzheimer’s patients. Then, I traveled around teaching staff on how to work with behavioral types of Dementia and Alzheimer’s. From there, I ended up being the director of an independent assisted living community. I later decided to open up my own company.”

Brenda said she started up her company because she felt the need to assist families who were needing extra help when searching for a senior living community. She said she wanted to be the one to do all of the leg work for seniors and their families, such as researching communities and doing the homework for them.

“I am a lifetime service for whatever my clients need,” Brenda said. “My company, The Next Horizon, is what I call a one stop shop for seniors, children with aging parents and caregivers. I’m the go-to person and my services last a lifetime. I do all of the research and the background work.”

Brenda said that more than half of her seniors are retired military, and being a military spouse of 29 years, military families can relate to each other – knowing the military lifestyle, putting military family at ease.

“I’m a military spouse and I actually oversaw the military for public affairs,” Brenda said. “I was an independent contractor, so I have worked with all branches of the military more than 30 years. So working with the military, we have this saying; we understand what it’s like to move around and be ready on a minute’s notice.”

The Next Horizon’s services cover the following: Help finding Apartment Living, Home Health/Caregiver Services, Professional Services and Referrals, VA Resources, One Stop – Resources Available, Proactive Military Advocates and Aids and Attendance Benefits.

For military personnel, Brenda said there is an Aid and Attendance program, which can be very misunderstood because many military retirees don’t understand how the program can help them offset some of their medical expenses. The Next Horizon has a Certified VA Aids and Attendance Benefits Counselor to help with any questions you may have.

It is a good idea for all senior living professionals to also make sure that residents don’t have this problem when it comes to the Aid and Attendance program. Make sure you have someone your residents can talk to, like how The Next Horizon has a Certified VA Aids and Attendance Benefits Counselor to help with any questions that any of their clients may have. Brenda is familiar with many communities and services, since she is a referral agent, so she can help potential clients with VA and other funding.

The Next Horizon strives to take the tension off of the senior and his or her family members. They do a full evaluation, get to know the individual and his or her family and are a lifetime service. Brenda goes on all of the tours of each community before recommending. She refers the best caregivers, home health agencies, specialty doctors, realtors, senior mover specialists, as well as helps families with financial and/or legal advice. Brenda also refers the best resources in those areas.

“My reputation is very well known and people in the senior community know that I am a stickler,” Brenda said. “I focus on working one on one with people, doing the necessary research and being that advocate for them.”

All About Private Duty Home Care, Day Services and Residential Homes for Seniors with Barth Holohan

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When it comes to caring for your loved one, there are many options available for seniors that can help them in their day-to-day lives. Someone who knows all about providing a variety of care options to seniors is Barth Holohan. He is the president and founder of Continuum: Private Duty Home Care and is the co-founder of Family Partners: Day Services/Residential Home. He started his home care business in 2002, his day services business in 2008 and his residential home business in 2017. Barth has been in the healthcare industry for more than 20 years.

“I have a background in healthcare and social work and have always enjoyed being around seniors,” Barth said. “I saw the need for being able to help people be independent in their homes because most people don’t want to go to a retirement community, they want to be independent in the comfort of their own home.”

Barth’s businesses are located in the St. Louis area where there’s plenty of business, so Barth said he isn’t looking to expand to other cities right now, but could see his businesses expanding throughout Missouri in the future.

Barth said Continuum: Private Duty Home Care is made up of a care team that strives to help their clients remain safe, healthy and independent in the comfort of their homes, no matter what their care needs. Continuum Home Care’s Personal Care Services include: Meal Preparation, Light Housekeeping, Companionship, Bathing Assistance, Laundry and Linen Service, Shopping and Errands, Transportation and much more.

“The way Continuum differentiates itself is by being based on what we call a Care Management Model, where we use social workers and nurses to follow the care of people that want to stay independent in their home,” Barth said. “We provide all of the services that people need, which the government doesn’t pay for, in order for people to stay in their home.”

Barth said that most people don’t know that home care and services like his exist, so they feel like their loved one has to go into a higher level of care. “Accepting help from others can be a difficult decision, but if frailty requires accepting assistance where needed, it is actually the best way to remain independent at home. Family caregivers need to be able to ask others, like us, for help, in order to decrease stress, maintain their own health and to be able to provide the best possible care for their loved ones.” When looking for home care, Barth said that people should know that it can be a lot more affordable than living in a community and most people do better in their home.

Family Partners: Day Services/Residential Home is an assisted living community that provides an environment for those with dementia by providing stimulation to help individuals live as independent and long as possible.

According to Barth, he said the Family Partners Day Services is a Day Center for individuals with dementia who are still living at home and need a place to go during the day that provides them with the help and supervision that they need to be as independent as possible. “When caregivers work, the nice thing about our Day Center is that it provides daily and hourly supervision to seniors with dementia that you can’t get in a retirement community or at home. There’s just something special about seniors with dementia being around other seniors with dementia and having activities geared toward them that you can’t exactly get elsewhere.” The Day Services has many activities that keep seniors active mentally and socially, such as: field trips, discussion groups (books, films, current events, poetry), gardening, community service, movies, picnics, arts and crafts, mental stimulation games (board games, card games, Nintendo Wii, etc.) and much more. Barth said the Day Center will do anything they can to help families take care of their loved ones with dementia. “We’ll do anything from having dinner made and ready for them, so when they pick up their loved one, they can take dinner home with them. We will order all of their personal care and medical products, we bathe and dress them and just do anything that needs to be done in our adult Day Center, so families can interact with their loved one and not be such a caregiver when their loved one gets home.”

As for the Family Partners Residential Home, Barth said it is an eight-bedroom home in a residential neighborhood where people with dementia live when they can’t live at home any longer. It ensures a home-like person centered care.

“Some people don’t even know that a smaller assisted living community in a residential neighborhood is an option, so they always think that they have to go to the big bucks at a huge senior community, which is not always the case,” Barth said. “When looking for a good residential home for loved ones, people should know that there’s a lot of variety. For us, we offer a comfortable home-like setting at a reasonable cost and provide key socialization activities, outings, meals and daily living assistance for those suffering from memory loss. For caregivers, we offer services to lessen the burden of caregiving, such as senior drop-off and pick-up, dry cleaning drop-off and pick-up, concierge services and much more.”

You can learn more about these offerings at Continuum: Private Duty Home Care and Family Partners: Day Services/Residential Home.

Thursday Article Links: Tips on Financial Support for Caregivers

Helping Independent Seniors Fill the Quiet Hours at Your Community

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Most seniors who can live independently wish to do so for as long as possible. That doesn’t mean, however, that they are satisfied with solitude. The good news is that with just a few small adjustments, you can help fill the quiet hours. Below are a few tips on how your senior living community can help seniors fill their quiet hours.

  • Provide and Facilitate Social Engagement

A good way to keep your residents social and feeling important is by encouraging the family and friends of your residents to visit them. Ask or help remind them to try and make regular phone calls to their loved one, email them or even have Skype dates. If your community has clubs and/or activities, encourage the seniors to join a group or two, or start one, and make new friends, reminding them that they are not alone.

  • Encourage Reading Groups or Create a Book Club

According to the American Library Association, senior book clubs allow members to engage socially and grow intellectually. If you don’t already have a type of reading club or group at your community, then it is a good idea to start one for your residents so that they can read often, even to each other, and socialize with others when discussing the books that they are reading. Your book club should engage the members’ time and attention more than one hour per week. This is a great activity for volunteers too! Who doesn’t like story time? If your residents need help, consider an audio book.

  • Facilitate Volunteering

Volunteering doesn’t just provide a needed service. For seniors, it can also prevent isolation and lead to increased mental and physical well-being by keeping them active and engaged in community life. Anything you can do to facilitate volunteering among seniors will pay rich dividends. In some cases, that could mean something as simple as compiling a list of local opportunities. In others, it might mean providing transportation – promoting a driver for goods or similar. Either way, it will prove time well spent and a publicity opportunity!

Though independent living can be fulfilling, it can sometimes prove lonely. Fortunately, with a little forward planning, you can help your residents develop rich, independent lifestyles that they will enjoy for years to come.

Should You Move Your Parent in With You?

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The signs may all be there. Your parent’s health is failing. He or she is struggling to get through the day, barely leaving the house and not eating very much. Maybe you are worried about him or her falling. You have several choices. You can move in with your parent, have him or her move in with you or think about assisted living options. Each has their own advantages.

So, should you let your parent move in with you? Below are some tips and questions to ask yourself that can help you make the best decision for your loved one.

  • Think About the Care That Your Parent Will Need

Though some parents just need the socialization and a little extra care, others will need full care. They may need medicine given to them regularly, help getting a shower and even help going to the bathroom. Some seniors can’t be left alone at all.

  • Are You Able to Provide That Care for Him or Her?

It is very important that you decide if you are capable and able to provide everything that your parent needs. Do you work 12 hours a day? Will you need someone to stay at the house when you are gone? Do you know someone who is willing to help? Do you have the patience to do it?

  • Is Your Home Equipped for Your Parent?

Do you have an extra bathroom? Is your house wheelchair accessible, if needed? Is the bathroom close by and big enough? If you need to renovate, are you willing to do so?

  • Think About Moving Your Loved One into an Assisted Living Community

Assisted living is a combining of housing, personalized supportive services and health care designed to meet the individual needs of your loved one who needs help with the activities of daily living. If your parent needs assistance with daily living, New LifeStyles can help you find a community that fits his or her needs.

The choice to let your parent move in with you is not as simple as having a spare room. You have to decide if you are able to provide the level of care that he or she needs, especially if you are working. You also have to make sure that your home is properly equipped for what your parent needs or if you are going to have to do some renovations. Though it may be the greatest thing that you could give to your parent, it may not be the right choice for everyone.