Dolan Memory Care Homes is locally owned and operated for over 20 years, Dolan specializes in memory care. Residents continue to live life to the fullest, engaging in activities in a stimulating, and comforting environment that becomes home.

More than five million Americans live with Alzheimer’s disease or similar dementia. Research has established that people with Alzheimer’s actually function better within small residential environments. At Dolan Homes, residents live with 7 to 10 other adults in a safe and secure community. Each household is managed by a licensed nurse and staffed, 24 hours a day, with a consistent team of CarePartners.

Dolan Memory Care Homes are designed as traditional homes, with shared common rooms and spacious private suites all within a barrier free environment. Residents have full access to a secured backyard for gardening, bird watching or just enjoying the choice to step outside. And no matter where residents choose to go during the day, clear wayfinding cues, along with a friendly staff, reduce confusion and help to foster a feeling of security.

Self-sufficiency and independence are encouraged by engaging Residents in purposeful activities that draw from their interests and abilities. Small group activities enhance concentration ability, from decision making to daily ritual reinforcement. Enjoyable music sessions help promote better verbal communication and socialization skills.

Their staff is specially trained in person-centered care, treating residents with dignity and a superior level of care. They partner with families on individualized care plans, focused on their loved one’s unique needs. The staff to resident ratio is high, so every resident receives constant, consistent cues, reinforcement, and assistance.

Veterans Home Care help qualifying veterans and their surviving spouses get the in-home care they desperately need. Their exclusive VetAssist® Program helps veterans, or their surviving spouses, apply for a little-known Department of Veterans Affairs benefit to pay for assistance with activities of daily living. The best part is that care can start even before the VA approves the claim and begins paying the benefit. They provide a 0% loan so services can begin immediately. The loan is reimbursed by funds from the VA upon approval of the benefit.

Bonnie Laiderman, founder and president of Veterans Home Care®, has helped over 11,000 veterans and their spouses receive in-home care through the unique VetAssist® Program. Started in 2003 as a one-woman operation, Bonnie has overseen the growth of the company to become one of the largest women-owned companies in the St. Louis Metro Region. Veterans Home Care has also earned the Inc. 5000 award of fastest growing companies five times. Now with offices in 10 locations in the United States, Veterans Home Care serves our veterans in 44 states throughout the country.

In a world where we see people with their cell phones in their faces while driving/walking/sitting/talking on a daily basis, email inboxes with hundreds of unopened messages, facebook feeds with so many invites to read into; take a quiz to find out what kind of animal our soul is, and just a general overwhelming feeling of our cultures over activeness, how do we not become so busy? I’ve tried to take an approach that I’m sure many people have used before and list out my day, dash by dash, hour and minute allotted to each task to make sure I get all of said tasks completed in the time frame I’ve given myself to complete them. Sure, that works for lot’s of things, but not for everything. For some, being busy is a way of life that they hold dearly to for a piece of fulfillment that quenches their internal motor, but what about those who don’t?  How do we stay productive and not become too busy that we hold it as the crux of our being?

I’ve summed it to this: Busy is selfishness. Being selfish is not a bad thing. But using busy to be selfish is annoying. The next time you feel those letters brewing in your mind when someone on the other end is filling your cup that is already runneth over with more to do, refrain from letting those letters form into words and roll off your lips. Instead, use honesty. Come to find out, the person on the other end of the phone that day, had just been given a new assignment by her boss that was due by the end of the week. She really didn’t have the time to do what we were talking about in the time it needed to be done. Knowing that, I would’ve had a better understanding of her time constraints and found a way to not place that task with her.

It takes thoughtfulness to be honest, and in the long-run, you’ll gain some respect for yourself and from others.

*A talented blogger, Seth Godin has shared his thoughts on being busy as well, you can read his take on it here: Two Kinds of Busy