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Heart-Healthy Recipes for Valentine’s Day: Delicious and Nutritious

This Valentine’s Day with Centers Healthcare, celebrate love and heart health with delicious and nutritious recipes that will satisfy both your taste buds and your cardiovascular system. Start your romantic evening with a vibrant spinach and strawberry salad drizzled with a balsamic vinaigrette—a perfect blend of antioxidants, vitamins, and fiber to support heart health. For the main course, indulge in a succulent grilled salmon filet paired with roasted asparagus and quinoa—a heart-healthy trifecta rich in omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, and protein. Finish off your meal with a decadent yet guilt-free dark chocolate avocado mousse—a luscious dessert packed with heart-healthy fats and antioxidants. With these delightful recipes, you can nourish your heart and delight your loved one this Valentine’s Day. Cheers to love and good health!

To learn more about Carthage Center, visit centershealthcare.com/locations/carthage-center or call 800-305-9151

Rehabilitation Journaling Prompts

With Centers Healthcare, elevate your rehabilitation journey with insightful journaling prompts tailored to foster self-reflection and progress tracking. Start by documenting your daily achievements, no matter how small, to celebrate milestones along the way. Reflect on the emotions and challenges you encounter during rehabilitation, providing a valuable outlet for processing feelings and maintaining a positive mindset. Explore your evolving relationship with your body, noting changes and improvements, fostering a deeper connection to the healing process. Finally, envision your future self post-rehabilitation, setting realistic goals and visualizing the empowered, resilient individual you are becoming. Journaling becomes a therapeutic companion, guiding you through the intricacies of your rehabilitation journey with intention and self-discovery.

To learn more about Carthage Center, visit centershealthcare.com/locations/carthage-center or call 800-305-9151

Navigating Social Gatherings in November

As November brings a plethora of social events, navigating them successfully involves embracing the autumnal spirit. Begin by engaging in conversations about shared interests, such as Thanksgiving traditions or fall activities. Utilize the seasonal atmosphere to break the ice and connect with others effortlessly. Additionally, remember to express gratitude and warmth, mirroring the month’s essence, to foster a positive and enjoyable social experience. At Centers Healthcare, we encourage not only physical recovery, but recovery in all aspects of your life.

To learn more about Carthage Center, visit centershealthcare.com/locations/carthage-center or call 800-305-9151

The Power of Motion in Rehabilitation

Join us in embracing the profound influence of motion on the journey to optimal health, propelling our commitment to a future where every step signifies progress, and each movement becomes a testament to resilience. At Centers Healthcare, we value care that moves you, using motion to help you regain independence and return home as soon as possible.

To learn more about Carthage Center, visit carthage-center.facilities.centershealthcare.org or call 800-305-9151

New Study: Adding Strength Training to Your Cardio Can Extend Your Life

When it comes to exercise, most of the guidance for general health is to make sure you’re getting enough cardio. The recommendation from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is 150 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio per week, but they also mention that strength training should be done twice a week.

A new study shows that regularly doing both does in fact help with longevity.

Carthage Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing has a look at the study from The British Journal of Sports Medicine and its fitness recommendations based on the conclusions.

Cardio and Strength Training Is Best

Of the approximately 400,000 people in the study, 60% said that they did aerobic (cardio) exercise regularly, compared to just 23% who did one or two strength-training sessions per week.

The study found that those who did one hour of cardio per week had a 15% lower mortality risk; that number went to 27% for those who did three hours per week.

But adding one or two strength-training sessions per week (along with the regular cardio) dropped the mortality risk by 40%. Researchers say around 30 to 60 minutes per week of strength training is the sweet spot.

Muscle strength is required to live an independent lifestyle, and it also helps with balance, which can prevent falls. We also naturally lose muscle mass as we age, so doing strength training helps counteract that issue.

Regardless of Fitness Level, Just Be Sure to Exercise

One of the authors of the study put it quite bluntly. They said that going from a sedentary lifestyle to having a regular workout schedule is similar to the difference of smoking vs. not smoking. So even if you aren’t reaching the goals listed above, any exercise is better than none. If you’re not active, it’s advised that you talk to your doctor before starting a fitness regimen.

To learn more about Carthage Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing and all of the services they offer, visit http://carthage-center.facilities.centershealthcare.org.

Carthage Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing on Terms You Need to Know When Buying a Car

Let’s face facts: it’s fun to shop and get a new car, but few enjoy the dealership experience. This is especially true when a price that you see plastered on a car goes up by several thousand when it comes time to see the paperwork.

When you’re going to the dealership, knowledge is power. Carthage Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing wants you to get familiar with these terms in order to make sure you get the best deal possible deal when car shopping.

Annual Percentage Rate (APR)

The higher this number is, the more it’s going to cost you in interest in fees. The number is the total cost you’ll pay to borrow money for a loan, combining interest rate and fees.

Dealer Incentive

Auto manufacturers want their dealerships to hit certain sales benchmarks, and they offer incentives to help them do so. Many dealerships pass some of these savings to customers.

Dealer Price Sticker

This is the base price you see on the window of the vehicle as you shop. It must also show the price with dealer’s options and fees along with the fuel economy.

Documentation (Doc) Fee

This fee is passed on to the customer as a representation of how much it costs for the dealership to prepare the sales contract and other documents. This can be negotiable.

Down Payment

The amount of money you pay up front to reduce the cost of your loan.

Lien

If you’re taking out a loan to help pay for the vehicle, a lien is the lender’s legal right to own the vehicle until you pay off the loan in full.

Trade-in Value

If you’re trading in your existing ride, this is what the dealership will pay for your own vehicle. There’s usually room to negotiate here. Many dealers don’t have the ability to come too far down off the sticker price, but they can add value to your trade-in as a way to lower your monthly car payment on the new vehicle.

To learn more about Carthage Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing and all of the services they offer, visit https://carthage-falls-center.facilities.centershealthcare.org/.

Carthage Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing on How to Grocery Shop Safely Amid Coronavirus Threat

With most of the country under stay-at-home orders, one of the few times we’re going out during this coronavirus threat is to go to the grocery store.

Unfortunately, with everyone having to go shopping at some point, there is some risk of catching the virus while at the store. 

Carthage Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing has four ways on how to stay safe while shopping for and buying your groceries. 

 

 

The best way not to catch coronavirus at the grocery store is to keep the number of times you’re at the store to an absolute minimum. Try to shop once per week at the most (every two weeks is even better). Shopping at off-peak times will also help, but this may be hard with stores limiting their hours. In addition, several stores are offering seniors-only shopping hours.

 

 

Follow social distancing regulations while you’re in the store, so stay six feet away from fellow shoppers at all times. 

 

 

You will want to wipe down your shopping cart or basket, and then only touch what you’re going to buy. For example, don’t touch six avocados before settling on one. In addition, you can use an extra produce bag as makeshift gloves. And, if you can, leave children at home, since they love to touch things.

 

 

You can opt for paper or plastic, but if you would rather bring your own bags, that’s fine, as long as you wash them as soon as you get home and unpack your groceries. 

To learn more about Carthage Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing and all of the services they offer, visit http://carthage-center.facilities.centershealthcare.org/. 

Carthage Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing on How to be a Long-Distance Caregiver

It can be stressful to try and arrange for or provide care for a loved one when you aren’t living close enough to physically be there with him. While we at Carthage Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing will assure that we will cater to your loved one’s every need, it’s still difficult when there’s a gap in distance.

With that in mind, the Alzheimer’s Association has tips that can allow long-distance caregivers to feel more connected. While these are catered towards dementia patients, they can really apply to any situation.

Reassess Care Needs When You Do Visit
When you (or a family member you are in close contact with) is able to visit, this is when you can be sure that your relative’s needs are being adequately met. If you have any concerns, this is the time where you can speak with the care team to see if any adjustments in care need to be considered based on any changes that may have taken place since your previous visit.

Maintain Communication
Stay in constant touch with family and friends who are able to visit more regularly, along with doctors, nurses, and other staff at the care center.

Keep Pertinent Information Handy
Have contact information from all the people listed above – along with physicians and important financial and legal documents easily accessible in case you need to refer to anything on short notice.

Be Kind to Yourself
It’s easy to feel guilt if you’re not physically able to help, especially if you’re dealing with someone who has a progressive disease like Alzheimer’s. Support groups in your area and online also exist to help with these feelings, which can sometimes be overwhelming.

To learn more about Carthage Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing and all of the services they offer, visit https://centershealthcare.com/carthage_center/.