SUNDAY STAR, 4 DECEMBER 2016

A helping hand
By NISSHANTHAN DHANAPALAN
AS ageing individuals come to
terms with changes in their
physical state and their mental
faculties, there are many ways
quality of life can be improved
with sufficient support and care.
There are five core needs
that affect the elderly, which are
the physical, social, mental,
emotional and financial aspects.
All aspects need to work in
tandem for a balanced enriched
quality of life, says Carol Yip,
chief executive officer of
Aged Care Group Sdn Bhd.
For centuries in most Asian
cultures, the elderly live with
their children and are key
members of the family.
However, one of the
consequences of contemporary
living is that many senior citizens
now live on their own, extending
their independence well into
their golden years. These
individuals face a host of
challenges that can reduce their
quality of life.
Dementia, stroke, Parkinsons,
incontinence and chronic medical
conditions such as diabetes, heart
disease, osteoporosis and
osteoarthritis are some of the
many diseases faced by older
persons, says Dr George Anthony
Taye Wei Chun, consultant
geriatrician and physician at
Mahkota Medical Centre,
Malacca.
Many aged persons find
themselves handling their health
issues alone. Other than physical
ailments, they face emotional
and psychological distress caused
by the lack of interaction and
affection from loved ones as well
as worrying about their finances
and responsibilities.
One of the challenges the
elderly face is the empty nest
syndrome. This syndrome sets in
when there is no one to take care
of them. They cannot help but
feel abandoned and helpless,
says Dr Taye.
Being unemployed and having
to face the rising cost of living,

many senior citizens may find that

their savings and retirement funds
are not enough to sustain them.
Unlike in Singapore where
there are policies for older
persons to gain employment,
Malaysian employers are not
entirely supportive of hiring the
elderly.
This augments a senior persons
lack of self-confidence and
helplessness. In the long run,
these worries will end up
impacting their physical health.

Young approach
At this time of their lives, the
elderly need all the support that
they can get. Most importantly,
they need to feel connected and
involved with their surroundings
and people of all ages.
It is important for the younger
generation to understand that
they play a pivotal role in helping
to advocate better living
conditions for the elderly and
provide services that will benefit
them.
Currently, there is a lack of
human capital in the aged care
workforce. There is a need for
more specialists such as geriatric
doctors and professionals such
as physiotherapists, health
psychologists, nurses and
caregivers that are specifically
trained to handle the elderly,
comments Yip.
There are diverse employment
opportunities available in the
aged care industry, including in
architecture and design,
marketing, financial planning
and hospitality.
It is also important for the youth
to be more innovative when it
comes to aged care, especially
with the increased exposure to
technology and digital resources.
The younger generation will be
the ones to create effective
policies, innovate infrastructure
and reinvent jobs when they see
the need for better care for our
ageing population, which could
include their parents,
grandparents and other family

AGED CARE

members as the years go by.

Furthermore, businesses run by
the younger generation, whether
online or brick and mortar, have to
consider elderly users when
designing services or products,
says Yip.
Managing the welfare of the
elderly goes beyond financial
assistance or managing their
healthcare.
It is important for the elderly to
feel empowered and that they can
continue living an active, vibrant
life with the support of their loved
ones.
There are many initiatives
around the globe that aim to
integrate quality living through
various ways to keep the elderly
active, social and happy.
In the United States, for example,
a preschool connects children with
the elderly from a retirement
home.
Residents of the Providence
Mount St Vincent retirement home
help care for children at the
Intergenerational Learning Center
while the children offer the elderly
company and keep them socially
active.
The Malaysian Government has
made headway through several
legislations such as the Care
Centres Act 1993 and Private
Healthcare Facilities & Services Act
1998, which were passed to ensure
that optimum healthcare and
wellness services are provided for
the elderly.
The Economic Transformation
Programme has also initiated
three entry-point projects to
improve senior living, which are
mobile healthcare services,
institutionalised aged care and
retirement villages. Yet, there is
always room for improvement.
We should have parks that are
age-friendly where the elderly can
enjoy the greenery and fresh air,
including proper walkways,
sufficient lighting and clean
restrooms, says Ranuga Devy M.
Packirisamy, vice president of the
Malaysian Healthy Ageing Society.

> TURN TO PAGE 2

The younger generation plays an important role in advocating for improved living conditions and services for the
elderly.

Taking good care of your joints allows you to enjoy an active lifestyle well
into your golden years.

Regain the
joy of freedom
TIGHTNESS in the lower back upon
waking up in the morning and
stiffness in the knees after long
periods of sitting are often
dismissed as signs of ageing.
However, they could be a sign
that you are suffering from a joint
degenerative condition known as
osteoarthritis (OA).
Poorly functioning joints can rob
you of your freedom, making it
harder for you to get out of bed,
keep up with daily activities or
enjoy your hobbies.
A joint is where two or more
bones meet. Bone ends are covered
with cartilage so that they glide
smoothly over one another.
Synovial fluid helps lubricate the
joints and nourish the cartilage to
ensure smooth and easy body
movements.
Ageing, repetitive wear-and-tear
and forceful movements exert an
incredible amount of stress on
your cartilage.
Eventually, the cartilage between
the joints deteriorates, causing
adjacent bones to rub against each
other. This results in pain, stiffness
and swelling of the joints.
OA progresses over time. While
it is unlikely that you will feel any
pain or discomfort at stage 1,
you may experience the
aforementioned symptoms as
it progresses to stage 2.
At stage 3, you may sense greater
pain and stiffness in the joints
during movement. Inflammation
takes place and causes joint
swelling.
Stage 4 is the most severe, where
the cartilage is almost completely
gone and synovial fluid dries up,
leaving your joints stiff and
possibly immobile.
OA is one of the leading causes
of disability in most countries. Not
only does it limit your physical
activities, it also causes emotional
stress.
A comprehensive joint-health
formula comprising hyaluronic
acid (HA) and
methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) can
give you the support you need to
stay active well into your golden
years. It helps ease joint discomfort

A joint is where
two or more bones
meet. Bone ends
are covered with
cartilage so that
they glide smoothly
over one another.
Synovial fluid helps
lubricate the joints
and nourish the
cartilage to ensure
smooth and easy
body movements.
while enhancing mobility and
flexibility.
HA is a naturally occurring
component in synovial fluid that
lubricates and cushions the joints
as well as helps absorb shock in
joints during rapid movements.
Oral HA supplementation
provides a cost-effective
alternative treatment for OA.
The HA extracted from
streptococcal fermentation is
animal free and has an ideal size
(within an average molecular
weight of 1MDa to 4MDa) to bind
strongly to the synoviocyte
surface receptors and increase the
natural synthesis of HA in the
body.
MSM is an organic sulphurcontaining compound vital in
maintaining and repairing
connective tissue in the joints.
It helps ease joint discomfort
and stiffness as well as relieves
inflammation in osteoarthritic
joints.
This informational article is
brought to you by VitaHealth.

n For more information,

call 1800 183 288.

2 Aged Care

SUNDAY STAR, 4 DECEMBER 2016

It is crucial to
improve services
for the elderly so
that they may
live comfortably
and in a safe
environment.

Long-term
care plan

Financial planning is important so that you can retire with peace of mind. Here are some
figures to help you get started.

90% of Malaysians aged 45 and above who want to retire are unable to do so...
What does the future look like?
of population will be 60 years old and above
by 2030.

15%
10% to15%
per annum

medical inflation, which means

higher medical costs.

What are the costs if you fall sick in your old age?

Improving lives
> FROM PREVIOUS PAGE
As for the Malaysian on the street, there
is still work that needs to be done in
moulding a society that truly cares for the
aged.
Ranuga believes that incentives to take
care of aged parents should be given to the
young folk, including tax deductions,
housing preferences and leave incentives to
bring parents to the hospital.
She also stresses the importance of
further inculcating good values towards
the elderly at the grassroots.
There should also be an improvement in
services for the elderly to ensure that they
are safe and comfortable.
This lack is apparent in many
government and private healthcare
institutions where older patients have to
wait in long queues for their turn to see
their physician.
In addition, there should be a proper
licensing strategy for the set-up of nursing
homes that involves vetting the background
of the management and effective
monitoring to prevent cases of abuse.
Taking a leaf out of the book in terms of
healthy and comfortable golden years living
in countries such as Switzerland, Japan and
Australia, we too can learn to improve
efforts in taking care of the elderly.
The important thing is to reassure them
that they still matter and they too can live
their life to the fullest with the support of
the young folk.

Work that matters

Working with the elderly gives young
individuals a sense of enrichment.
Whether it is their job or a social
initiative, many youths are now choosing to
work with the elderly.

Benjamin Noel Sebastian.

Benjamin has been working as a
physiotherapist for the past three years and
a big number of his patients are senior
citizens.
The 25-year-old was inspired to pursue a
career in physiotherapy when he saw his
grandfather recover from a chest illness
with the help of a physiotherapist.

The physiotherapist was really patient yet

pushed my grandfather to follow his therapy
regime and, in the end, my grandfather
recovered. That incident triggered a spark in
me. At first, my parents were a bit sceptical
with my career option but my father gave
his support and I have not looked back
since, he says.
Although physiotherapists work with a
diverse group of individuals, working with
the elderly has its own challenges.
However, his experience working with
them has taught him a lot about respecting
the elderly and to show them empathy.
People tend to sympathise with the
elderly but the important thing is to
empathise with them. Connect and spend
time with them if you can. Even giving them
a small bouquet of flowers when you visit
can go a long way in making them feel
happy and appreciated, he adds.
Teoh has worked significantly with the
elderly as an occupational therapist. She
is the head of the occupational therapy
programme at the Kuala Lumpur
Metropolitan University College.
She teaches geriatrics as a subject to
occupational therapy students, mentoring
a few junior therapists who work with
elderly clients, and supports Hacking Health
Kuala Lumpur in its effort to develop
technological solutions for better aged care.
Aged care is labour intensive. Hence, Teoh
stresses the importance of working together
as a community to provide optimum
conditions for the elderly to live
a fulfilling life.
According to her, aged care begins with
the family, as individuals who care for their
ageing loved ones result in a society that
cares for the elderly.
I think everybody needs to have the skills
in aged care, particularly in collectiveminded societies such as ours.
A good place to start would
be to evaluate ones
relationship with ones
own grandparents
and elderly
relations. Many
older people I
meet are lonely
and bored, so
being able to
converse with
them is a great
skill to
develop, she
concludes.

Ideally, your daily

expenses can be covered
by your EPF (Employee
Provident Fund) or other
retirement savings while
your medical treatment
costs will be covered by
your medical insurance.

Dementia and Alzheimers

Stroke

RM35,000 to RM75,000
Cataract and glaucoma

RM3,500 to RM5,000

Heart attack

RM10,000 to RM30,000

Cancer

RM18,000 to RM300,000

Kidney failure

RM150,000 and above

Daily expenses for
at least 20 years

On going medication
and medical check-ups

One-time cost of
surgery/treatment

Long-term
care cost

RM820/month
minimum threshold
set by EPF

RM235/session

At least

Varies according
to the disease

Varies according
to dependency
and needs

for specialist consultation

Costs of long-term care

Independent living
Day care: RM100/day

Assisted living

Dependent living

Shared room:

Shared room:

20 days per month

RM2,000/month
Annual cost: RM24,000

Consumables (diapers):

Annual cost: RM24,000

RM2,000/month
RM400/month
Annual cost: RM28,800

Coming up with a comprehensive retirement plan will cover your bases

in your golden years.
A COMPREHENSIVE RETIREMENT PLAN
Retirement replacement income
How much do you need?

2/3 of your last drawn salary

Save 33% of your income
How to save

23% EPF
10% Unit trust, Private Retirement
Scheme (PRS), etc.

Medical protection
Medical insurance plan
High/increasing annual limit
No lifetime limit
High coverage period (maximum 100 years)

Long-term care
Unfortunately, your insurance does
not cover long-term care. You need to
set up additional investment for your
senior living costs.
It is crucial to talk to your financial
advisor about when is the best time
you can begin your long-term
investment and the options available.

Alternatives:
Insurance
Includes life and medical
Single premium or regular premium
Other investments (unit trust, PRS)
Important to ensure an average
annual return of 8% to 10%

Riders
Teoh Jou Yin.

Critical illness
Personal accident
Hospital income

Source: Aged Care Group Sdn Bhd

SUNDAY STAR, 4 DECEMBER 2016

4 Aged Care

SUNDAY STAR, 4 DECEMBER 2016

Active ageing through rehabilitation

RECENTLY, there has been a growing
ageing population across Asia. This has
subsequently increased the need for
rehabilitation and physiotherapy for men
and women who are advanced in
years as it plays a vital role in
enabling and maintaining a
healthy and independent
lifestyle.

Supporting ageing
loved ones
One important
aspect that is often
overlooked when
it comes to the
healthcare of
ageing loved ones
is support from
family members.
However, for
many, it can be
painful to watch
their elderly loved
ones struggle to
maintain their level
of physical mobility

and independence due to deterioration in

flexibility, balance and strength that come
with ageing.
Nowadays, there is a better
understanding of the importance of
elderly rehabilitation programmes as
well as available support from the
growing eldercare infrastructure
across Malaysia.
This creates opportunities for families
to extend their loved ones quality care so

that they may live their golden years in

dignity, comfort and grace.

Therapy for dementia patients

Among senior citizens, the more
common areas of care are rehabilitation
for dementia patients, neurological
rehabilitation and geriatric rehabilitation.
Due to the nature of illnesses such as
dementia that can lead to behavioural
problems such as depression and aggression,
it can be taxing on caregivers
of patients with this disease as they
often deal with high levels of stress
and fatigue.
With dementia care therapy, elderly loved
ones can learn to enhance their ability in
carrying out daily activities and improving
cognitive capacity. This, ultimately, enhances
their quality of life.

Neurological rehabilitation
For seniors who require rehabilitation
to treat a neurological condition that
stems from a traumatic brain injury,
stroke or Parkinsons disease, neurological
rehabilitation is available to aid in sensory
loss, upper limb weakness and cognitive
impairments.
With regular therapy, the restoration
of physical balance and functional mobility
is possible. Consistency in therapy also
improves cognitive ability and aids
perceptual learning in senior citizens.

Geriatric rehabilitation
The most common type of rehabilitation is
geriatric rehabilitation. This programme
considers the physical, functional and

cognitive needs of the elderly.

Families can play their part in the
recovery of their elderly loved ones by being
engaged in and trained with comprehensive
understanding on how to care for their
elderly family members.
Empowering and encouraging their
elderly family members to be functionally
independent also goes a long way in their
recovery.

Finding the right care

Today, there are several care options
that are available. It is important to select
the right care provider that is licensed by
the Health Ministry.
Finding a healthcare provider for senior
citizens that delivers care by certified
professionals is of utmost importance in
ensuring that your loved ones receive
appropriate and effective care.
Rehabilitation and physiotherapy form
an integral part of the patient care network
that is central in an integrated rehabilitation
centre.

The best of both worlds

There are options of an integration of
eastern and western philosophies in elderly
care and management that provide seniors
with holistic eldercare services and
solutions.
Many centres now incorporate robust
rehabilitation programmes that enable
the elderly residents to improve their level
of independence through exercise and
therapy.

n This article is brought to you by ECON

Medicare Centres and Nursing Homes.