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Today, many organizations claim to offer assisted living facilities to all kinds of patients -those needing basic physical support in activities of daily living, those with dementia or those who are bed ridden at various price points. In such a situation, how should you choose the assisted care centre facility? We are sharing some pointers with you to help you in this process. To find anything, you would go online to search. You could search for assisted living centres using keywords such as assisted living centres, care for bed ridden patients, long term care centres, skilled nursing facilities etc on Google and you are most likely to see advertisements on top with some other names on the first page below the advertisements and this is, unfortunately, where your difficulty starts. How do you determine which centre actually gives the compassionate care that your loved one needs at the price that you can afford? While Google will show you many names, the sequence in which you will see the various names of providers on Google are NOT the ranking of the centres as per the actual quality of care they deliver, so do not get confused. A centre, whose name shows right on top on Google, does not necessarily mean that it is the best in terms of care delivery. The ranking you see on Google is as per an opaque proprietary algorithm owned by Google that takes into consideration, the ad spend of the centre, the number of times people have searched for it in the past and other such criteria that have little or no bearing on the level and quality of care. You might think that user feedback and stars given by Google or any other portal like JustDial might give you a good sense of the quality of care. You might think that a higher the number of stars, a higher number of feedbacks given may somehow show that the quality of care delivered is better but unfortunately, this is NOT true. There are commercial organizations that provide good feedback and ratings to companies for a small cost per feedback and this is a very rampant problem. As an example, you will see two-year-old organizations with hundreds of reviews. However, when you think logically, a facility with just 30 beds cannot have looked after 100s of long-term care patients in just two years. So then how should you choose? Do reflect on the nature of service that you are seeking. Is it a one-time purchase where you can choose the lowest cost provider or your favourite brand? On the other hand, are you searching for a centre that is clean, modern and has a team that supports your loved one compassionately, all through the time? Will therefore, just an online search, reading and counting of reviews etc be truly enough? Alternatively, will you need to do more, physically, in the more traditional off-line way? If you think that the more traditional approach is required, then do read on this series of blog posts where we will share points for you to consider before you decide whom to entrust your loved one to for long-term care.

A progressive neurologic disorder like Alzheimer’s causes the brain to shrink (atrophy) and brain cells to die.

As we celebrate the Arthritis and Rheumatism International (ARI) day on 12th October 2022, Sanctus Healthcare reiterates its pledge of raising awareness about Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases (RMDs) and ensures that the caregivers of patients are also made aware about the support available to them. Arthritis is the swelling and tenderness of one or more joints. The main symptoms of arthritis are joint pain and stiffness, which typically worsens with age. Osteoarthritis causes cartilage — the hard, slippery tissue that covers the ends of bones where they form a joint — to break down. Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease in which the immune system attacks the joints, beginning with the lining of joints. Pain, stiffness, swelling, redness, and decreased range of motion are the major symptoms of arthritis. The primary motive of treatments is to reduce the painful conditions that often can cause discomfort to a patient at touch. This disease mostly affects the hands and arms rendering difficulty with the daily tasks. The primary weight bearing joints such as the ankles, knees, and hips in addition to the feet, pelvis & low back, and spine (especially the low back) when affected with arthritis makes the motion painful. Types of arthritis often runs in the family so that even if one of your parents, siblings etc have arthritis, you are more likely to have it too. Females are at a greater risk of this condition especially after menopause that causes the women to experience a decline in estrogen levels.1 Joint injury also develops into the arthritis in that joint. Higher weight around the joints puts additional pressure on the joints rendering the movement even difficult. 2 Reducing or at least maintaining a constant weight is recognized as a great way to reduce discomfort in the joints. Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis, affecting millions worldwide. The symptoms can usually be managed, although the damage to joints cannot be reversed. Staying active and receiving, certain treatments might slow progression of the disease and help improve pain and joint function. In seniors, arthritis is seen with other comorbidities, other diseases that may make surgery impossible. In addition, in many cases, arthritis symptoms become unbearable only after the senior is of an advanced age and families may decide that the surgery though possible may not really add life to the remaining years that a senior citizen has. In such cases, where surgery is either not possible or to be avoided, Sanctus Healthcare manages these patients by providing the assistance required for the daily living, passive mobilization of joints, and diet management, pain management etc. Where surgery is possible, Sanctus Healthcare helps with the post knee and hip replacement rehabilitation and recovery of the arthritis patients by providing Passive and active mobilization of the knee or hip. Overall physiotherapy to retain flexibility, build strength and endurance of the body Provide nursing to manage the site of surgery Manage symptoms of other co-morbidities which are quite usual in such patients To know more, please get in touch with us on 83800 87027 or email us at hello@sanctushealthcare.com References: 1. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseasesconditions/arthritis/symptoms-causes/syc-20350772

Home care is assistance that allows a patient with special needs the pleasure to stay in their home facility. These patients are primarily people who are getting older, are chronically ill, are recovering from surgery, or have a disability. The wellbeing and safety can become major concerns in these cases. It is important to be aware when the patient needs extra help. If he/she needs some extra everyday assistance, there are many care options available. From home care workers to 24-hour centres for such care. The provision of personal care are as basic as the help with bathing, washing the hair, getting dressed, and doing the laundry of the patient. Home care takers are happy to cook comfort meals for your loved ones in your home or delivering them to you. Home care ensures that family and friends can come over at any time and are not restricted by visiting hours that can be important in maintaining mental wellbeing. However, in most cases, living at home while getting home based care can still be lonely and sub-optimal. This may depend on the level of care required, availability of family and friends around the patient and the kind of home care provider that is available. The patients’ safety could also be at risk while they are alone. They may not be able to press the emergency alarms or sometimes the technology can just snap, even if it is elaborate. Some seniors may not trust external care providers. This can make them feel vulnerable and alone. It is important to talk to older patient about their worries and consider whether the carer is right for them. Further, patients and seniors may be reluctant to ask for help pushing back their needs and worsening their physical condition and end up needing a still higher level of care had they not delayed. A notion that families often have is that home care is cheaper. It might well be but it depends on the level of care needed. If your house help can support the senior at home for basic needs, then it will be cheaper. However, if the care needs increase and you are not in a position to provide oversight then your cost savings will disappear and you notice the increased number of visits to the doctor, or to the hospital emergency then it is time to consider a 24-hour care centre. These are overall more affordable for advanced level of care that is needed. To summarize, sometimes a care home is more suited to your needs, and at other times a 24-hour care home may be the most suitable option. However, it depends on each individual’s situation, patient’s care needs, personal preferences, availability of family support, availability of trained home care providers and financial condition.

Around the world, every health care system is struggling with rising costs and uneven quality despite the hard work of well-intentioned, well-trained clinicians. Health care leaders and policy makers have tried countless incremental fixes—attacking fraud, reducing errors, enforcing practice guidelines, making patients better “consumers,” implementing electronic medical records—but none have had much impact.  “the definition of a long term condition is any condition that cannot be cured but can be managed by medication and/or therapy”. All long term conditions present a “common set of challenges” to individuals and their families between practice teams and patients that consistently provide (a) assessments, (b) support for self-management, (c) optimisation of therapy; and (d) proactive follow-up  Interventions based on Chronic Care Model components found reductions in health care utilisation or costs. The long term protocol involve patient in his care giving, define problems, set priorities, establish goals, create treatment plans and solve problems along the way. As guides to action, they may stimulate forward thinking and a focus on goals for patients and professionals. As a contract, they may include mechanisms to ensure actions are undertaken, for example by providing incentives to act. Examples include advance decisions within end of life care, which might be legally binding.

Sanctus Care is Sanctus’ arm that provides medical, nursing and assisted living support to senior citizens and patients those with stroke, neuro-degenerative conditions such as Parkinson’s and complications of chronic conditions such as diabetes foot and chronic kidney disease.  Through Sanctus’ other divisions, rent4health.com and buy4health.com, we currently support over 7000 people annually, for their needs of medical equipment and disposables. Sanctus Care now has a record of accomplishment of supporting over 200 long-term care patients since 2015. Building on Sanctus’ deep experience of providing care, Sanctus Care has set up a new centre, Shriniwas, located conveniently near D’Mart, Baner, Pune. Shriniwas centre has high quality living accommodation with an in house gym, physiotherapy centre, nursing station, CCTV facility, Tata Sky TV and Wi-Fi access. Our full time catering team provides both vegetarian and non-vegetarian meals that are cooked separately. Laundry and pharmacy services are also in house. Our motto is Compassionate Care, Always and that is what we have put into action at this centre through our professional team. At this centre, our full time team of doctor, nurses, physiotherapists and attendants, have helped discharge so many of those who came to us for post stroke, post knee and post hip replacement care, post CABG care, COPD, ILD management and post COVID ILD rehabilitation among others. We have also added life to the time of some of our patients, who came to us at a late stage and supported them until their end of life. We stand out because of our unique combination of values, our attitude and the stable team with a supportive management. We are glad that we are able to practice healthcare delivery, ethically without any conflict of interest. We follow all modern protocols and yet compassionate model of care. We know what we can and what we cannot do well. Our single focus is always patients’ interest, whether their recovery or their comfort, if recovery is not medically possible. We are happy to work with your favourite doctor, specialist or your preferred hospital to act as a care support team. Our staff physiotherapists work closely with your specialists as well as the patient, to ensure that the required modern rehabilitation and physiotherapy protocols are followed to ensure recovery. Our physiotherapy team has played a key part in the recovery and discharge of so many of our patients. Our team of nurses has experience of working in long-term care facilities besides ICUs of hospitals. Our focus is patient care and often more than supporting the medical team, we work with the family members to ensure that the patients and resident do not ever feel that they are alone.

In delivering health care, an effective teamwork can immediately and positively affect patient safety and outcome. The need for effective teams is increasing due to increasing complexity of specialized care. The evolution in health care and a global demand for quality patient care necessitate a parallel health care professional development with a great focus on patient centred teamwork approach. This can only be achieved by placing the patient in the centre of care and having the cross functional teams of doctor, physiotherapist, nurses, attendants, and nursing administrators stationed on ground round the clock.Our deeply experienced team with a cumulative experience of 50 plus years of senior care believes in adding life to years. With an experience of working in Intensive care units, substantial hospitals, the team follows all modern protocols of long-term care.  All the care procedures and advice are documented. Medication management, diet management and motivatingly supportive environment is provided to the residents and patients. The team at Sanctus Healthcare is happy to work as a support system to the patient’s favourite doctor and provide long term care with the touch of empathy.

“Food is medicine,” sits at the crossroads of nutrition and healthcare. The American Society of Nutrition supports the growing interest in food as medicine. This concept helps dietitians, clinicians, and other healthcare providers determine which types of foods work as medicine interventions, who gets benefited the most, and how to best incorporate the said foods in the patient’s diet. Sanctus Care provides healthy wholesome meals both vegetarian and non-vegetarian as per the dietary requirements of the patient/long- term resident. The healthcare facility has a separate cooking facility dedicated for the two food choices stated above. The catering team at the healthcare facility is commissioned to deliver high quality meals and not compromise on quality. The native /staple/local food preferences of a patient are considered heartedly as well. Patients whose health condition demands a specially made food, whether soft foods, or food that is required to be fed to patients on naso-gastric feeding tubes are in the readiness as well. Sanctus Healthcare is determined to cross every mileand reiterates that nutrition is an underrated and underutilised tool in the healthcare arsenal and has the power to accelerate recovery.

Sanctus Care has a fully functional modern gym with key equipment on premises. With the registered physiotherapists who are on site, long-term patients and seniors are able to use the facilities that improve overall wellness. Due to the short and long -term effects that exercise has, physical activity is a fantastic way to combat the onset of both physical and mental illnesses. Not all medical conditions are addressed solely through medical or surgical treatment. Aftercare, rehabilitation and physiotherapy services are complimentary and supplementary to achieving positive health outcomes. The high-quality equipment for the gym that has been procured from the leading manufacturers with excellent safety designs, easy to use controls allow for ease of use by the patients and residents. Further, at the separate in-house physiotherapy centre, all required equipment such as IFT, ultrasound, wax bath, shoulder wheel, finger ladder etc have been set up so that whatever the patients need can be provided The physiotherapist team managing the centre are highly experienced and have over 20 years of cumulative experience. They are competent at managing all rehabilitation needs for musculoskeletal, neuro, and pulmonary physiotherapy. Among other things, our specialty is stroke recovery rehabilitation, COPD and ILD management and facilitating bed-ridden patients retaining flexibility and achieve their recovery goals.

Survelliance in areas that require additional security or ongoing monitoring form an important part of the infrastructure that we have in place at Sanctus Care’s Shriniwas center at Baner, Pune. We have set up a modern, all weather, all light levels, digital system of surveillance cameras to track and record all the activities at all key areas such as the entrance, common areas of each dwelling unit, kitchen and nursing station etc. While fully respecting the right to privacy and dignity of our patients and residents of our long-term care centre, the feed is stored for an adequate number of days to allow for a subsequent need based reference if at all required. Our Centre head  and the team headed by Dr Abhijeet   maintains a vigil in the control room, tracks what is happening, and responds to exceptional events that need immediate attention. While the deployment of this technology has facilitated a significant increase in security of the patients and senior citizens who are at their most vulnerable, it is our belief that our own staff, their training, their sensitization to supporting long-term care patients should be the more critical components of care delivery.