Carlton Senior Living Wins Silver in 2012 McKnight’s Technology Awards

San Francisco-California-based Carlton Senior Living took home silver at the 2012 McKnight’s Excellence in Technology Awards — Connect Our World competition. The family-owned senior living provider was honored for its therapeutic music program at its memory care communities.

Carlton Senior Living (www.carltonseniorliving.com) has won the Silver Award at the 2012 McKnight’s Technology Awards. The organization received the award in the ‘Dignity Through Technology’ category that celebrated a community that effectively leveraged technology to improve the level of dignity its residents enjoy. The award was in recognition of Carlton Senior Living’s CORO Health music therapy and LiFE (Letting Individuality Freely Exist) program.

McKnight’s Technology Awards recognize technology-related innovations in the senior care field, felicitating facilities/communities that have harnessed technology to enhance, among other things, staff-resident interaction, residents’ dignity, and level of care. The McKnight award is another feather in Carlton Senior Living’s cap, with the provider having won accolades in the field of ‘Advanced Caregiver Training’, ‘Balance Fitness and Mobility Assistance’ and ‘Diabetes Management’, from the Assisted Living Federation of America (ALFA), a national trade association representing assisting living providers.

Carlton’s one free-standing dementia care community is Chateau Poet’s Corner in Pleasant Hill; the organization operates LiFE memory care units in Chateau III, Pleasant Hill, Carlton Plazas in San Leandro, San Jose and Sacramento. One at Elk Grove is currently in the works. In each memory care community, therapeutic music through the Coro Health Media Tablet is provided. The medical and scientific communities unanimously agree on the healing effects of music. From helping brain trauma victims develop new pathways around damaged brain areas to allowing the brain to display emotional connections, music has a special place in senior care centers.

Carlton Senior Living’s partnership with Coro Health is in keeping with its mission to explore innovations that reaffirm its commitment to delivering love, honor and top-notch care to its residents. Coro Health’s MusicFirst product was a perfect fit to Carlton’s goal of putting the power of music to good use in its communities and delivering ‘care in the air’ that positively impacts residents’ behavior as well as psychological and physiological well being.

Coro’s patented technology has registered many success stories at Carlton Senior Living. “The Coro Media system has increased the quality of life for our residents, their loved ones, and our staff. We have music to compliment the environment for activities and dining to reinforce our person centered care dedication. These common environments have been inspired by the rich therapeutic music and we have witnessed increased engagement, storytelling, and in some cases increased of caloric intake by some residents during meal times” says a spokesperson from the organization. In a more recent incident, Coro Health Music helped an unwell resident at the Chateau III community stay calm under stress until the fire department arrived to take her vital signs.

Carlton Senior Living’s LiFE program for residents living with dementia, adopts a person-centric approach that values all people as unique and recognizes individual viewpoints. Best practices for dementia care,state-of-the-art sensory integration and therapeutic treatment tools integrate to effectively tackle challenges faced by seniors and their families, whilst ensuring a secure, invigorating and pleasant environment.

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UK Based Teeth Whitening Clinic, Smile Tech, Welcomes the New UK Law that Means Only Dentists can Perform Teeth Whitening Treatments

Following calls by the General Dental Council (GDT) to change the law and dental regulations to stop non-dentists carrying out teeth whitening treatments, those changes have been put in place and the law come into force in a move that has been applauded by the British Dental Health Foundation and the UK’s leading cosmetic teeth whitening clinic, Smile Tech.

A spokesperson for Smile Tech, which is one of the largest cosmetic teeth whitening providers in the UK and operate in shopping centres says, “We employ dentists to provide high quality, professional, safe treatments and an affordable price to the customer and that is why we have over 20,000 happy customers on our books to date.” They add, “We have always felt strongly about and fought those providers who have ignored the health and safety risks and given the professional teeth whitening clinics a bad name.”

Before this law change came into place, the regulations regarding tooth whitening procedures were a bit of a grey area. The 1984 Dentists Act came at a time before teeth whitening was a common practice, with the Act stating that “only dentists can perform dental procedures.” As teeth whitening is often seen as a cosmetic process as opposed to a dental process, non-dentists and non-dental professionals were able to carry out the treatment.

“There was often a lot of bad press towards teeth whitening clinics and providers that operated from shopping centres because there was very little control over who could or couldn’t carry out this procedure.” Smile Tech’s spokesperson explains, “We really suffered from this, as even though we have always used fully trained dentists, our Smile Tech premises are within shopping centres so we were bundled into this ‘unsafe’ category – which Smile Tech really isn’t!”

Smile Tech are now hoping that with local treading standards officers and the General Dental Council taking action to close down and prosecute any premises continuing to let non-dentists and non-dental care professionals carry out teeth whitening treatments, their customers and prospects can rest assured that they are safe in Smile Tech’s professional hands.

“Every single one of our clients have to go through a full and thorough consultation with our dentist before they undergo their teeth whitening treatment. Each year we turn away hundreds of people who, following their consultation, have been found to be unsuitable for the procedure.” Says the spokesperson for Smile Tech. They continue, “During the treatment’s set-up, we go to great lengths prior to applying the whitening gel to completely and totally isolate the teeth to ensure that the gel will not come into contact with the client’s gum. We also use a destaining agent and a de-sensitiser to give our clients the safest and most comfortable experience, whilst of course still achieving a great result.”

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Vitamin D Pharmacy’s YouTube Video Surpasses the 2000 View Mark as Winter Sets in and the Hours of Vitamin D Producing Sunshine Decrease

New Life Pharmacy in Glasgow is on a mission to raise awareness of vitamin D deficiency and in turn, reduce the number of people suffering from its related health issues.

In April 2012 Elizabeth Roddick, Fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, pharmacist and owner of the New Life Pharmacy released a video on YouTube that explains the health risks of being deficient in vitamin D. Low levels of this important vitamin have been linked with diabetes, arthritis, high blood pressure, hypothyroidism and cancer.

More recently, studies have found that a high level of vitamin D in women under the age of 75 can decrease the risk of macular degeneration and the loss of central vision, which is a main cause of partial-blindness in people over 50 years old (Qureshah, 2012). Vitamin D deficiency can also lead to health issues and diseases such as rickets, multiple sclerosis, depression and respiratory tract infections.

Vitamin D is produced when ultra violet (UVB) rays coming from the sun hit the skin. It is then absorbed through the liver where it is converted to calcidiol. It then works to check the calcium and phosphate levels in the blood, which are important for maintaining healthy bones. Vitamin D can also be found in some foods such as eggs, oily fish and fortified cereals.

It is common knowledge that all people’s vitamin D levels drop during the winter (November to March) as the sun is weaker during this time. A recent study (Qureshah, 2012) found that during the winter 28 percent of women had deficient levels of vitamin D, and 33 percent of women had insufficient levels. Being regarded as deficient means the level of vitamin D is less than 20ng/mL, insufficient is having 20-29ng/mL. Compare this with the summer statistics where only 5% are deficient in vitamin D and the contrast is clear.

According to Roddick, the skin needs to be exposed at the hottest time of the day (between 10am and 3pm) for about 15 minutes. These are the hours where the UVB rays are strongest and so vitamin D is most prevalent. This of course completely opposes the advice given out by skin cancer charities who urge sun bathers and holiday makers to stay out of the sun during these peak hours. Roddick does add, “It is of course very important than the skin does not burn since that can lead to skin cancer.”

Roddick believes that, “supplementation is required for most people. Also, because there are certain people who shouldn’t take vitamin D and a wide range of doses are available it can be confusing. Advice needs to be available when purchasing the products.”

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In support of World Diabetes Day, Harvey Norman’s Connected Fitness team research reveals that 280 Australians develop diabetes every day

In support of World Diabetes Day (14 November), Harvey Norman’s Connected Fitness team carried out a detailed research project to uncover the extent of Australia’s type 2 diabetes problem. The worrying results indicate that an estimated 1.7 million Australians suffer from type 2 diabetes today, with up to half of these cases currently undiagnosed. Reports from The World Health Organisation indicate that the total number of diabetic Australians is expected to increase to 3.3 million by 2031, creating a healthcare timebomb for the country. An infographic to visually represent the results has been specially commissioned and can be found on the Harvey Norman website.

Diabetes can significantly impact the quality of life and life expectancy of its sufferers. Some of the potential health complications caused by the disease include kidney damage, heart disease and stroke, loss of vision, and foot ulcers leading to limb amputation. The long term impacts on the life of the sufferer, and on healthcare costs for the country, are significant. However, it is known that up to around 60% of cases of type 2 diabetescould be prevented.

Key steps that can be taken to help prevent the development of this killer disease include eating a healthy diet, cutting out tobacco, keeping alcohol consumption within sensible limits and taking regular exercise. Walking, running and cycling are all great forms of exercise that enable people to work at their own pace and can easily be carried out in the home using treadmills and exercise bikes. Harvey Norman’s Connected Fitness team are on hand to provide help and advice on suitable fitness equipment and tools that can make it easy for people to increase their levels of activity and monitor their progress.

Harvey Norman’s Daniel Hosford, says: “World Diabetes Day should be an important date in everyone’s diary. Harvey Norman understands the importance of following a healthy lifestyle in order to protect against this debilitating disease and we’d like to do our bit to support the aims of the day. Our Connected Fitness team are happy to help our customers find the right equipment to help them take part in a healthy level of exercise, and our range is also available to purchase online for those customers who don’t have a store nearby. ”

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Amazing Deals on Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard from Explosive Nutrition

Whey Protein is the number one essential nutrient for building muscle, burning fat and repairing your body after a long workout session. Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey Gold Standard is a whey protein supplement that can help you get amazing results from your regular exercise regime. This product comes in a powdered form, so you can drink it on-the-go by adding milk or water. The high amino acid content in Gold Standard encourages your body to continue building muscle even after you stop exercising. Whether you want to achieve lean, toned muscles or improve your general health and well-being, Gold Standard can help you reach you achieve your dream goals.

Explosive Nutrition are currently selling Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard at fantastic prices- plus when you buy the 2.27kg (5Ib) tub, you get 30 servings of free amino energy. Whilst the recommended retail price is £116.58, Explosive Nutrition comes in at just £49.25 – that’s a huge saving of over 58% or £67.33. There are 77 servings per batch, which works out at a super low-cost of 64p per serving. Whey protein isolates are the purest form of whey, with 90% pure protein as part of their nutritional make-up. Take a look at the Gold Standard label to see the essential muscle building ingredients such as BCAAs, whey peptides and glutamine.

Explosive Nutrition are one of the top UK retailers of bodybuilding supplements, so you can trust their dedicated team to deliver quality products and service. This leading retailer works in conjunction with bodybuilding experts, that give you personal advice about bodybuilding strategies and fully endorse products such as Gold Standard. Easy to drink and really tasty – Optimum Nutrition Whey Gold Standard has the hallmark of approval from experts and retailers alike, so take advantage of Explosive Nutrition’s excellent deals today.

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