Eldercare, Aging and Long Term Care

Assisted-living facility gets technology assist

Though the article from the UK (below) that debates electronically monitoring people with Dementia, the use of technology in serving functionally impaired elders is not new. Gerontechnology is an exciting new field that will be a boon to nations facing a high growth in older adults and a shrinking of its care giving population. 

Here are several articles on Oatfield Estates in Oregon which has been featured as a prototype of these new technologies in the past several years. 

http://www.elitecare.com/

Assisted-living facility gets technology assist - USATODAY.com.

http://www.alfa.org/i4a/pages/Index.cfm?pageID=3760

UK Alzheimer's Society backs tracking devices | Technology | Reuters

LONDON, Dec 27 (Reuters) - The Alzheimer's Society charity has backed British government proposals to issue dementia sufferers with tracking devices if patients agree.

Concerns have been raised about the ethics of tagging dementia patients to stop them wandering off and the charity itself has in the past worried about the obtrusive nature of some of the tracking devices.

Link: UK Alzheimer's Society backs tracking devices | Technology | Reuters.

Ruling Stirs Debate On Retiree Health Care - WSJ.com

A new EEOC policy targeting health benefits of people 65 and older may prompt employers to maintain current benefits for younger retirees, supporters say.

Link: Ruling Stirs Debate On Retiree Health Care - WSJ.com.

Power To End Stroke

Heart disease and stroke are major health risks for all people. But African Americans are at particularly high risk. Consider this:

• Blacks have almost twice the risk of first-ever strokes compared to whites.
• Blacks have higher death rates for stroke compared to whites.
• The prevalence of high blood pressure in African Americans in the United States is the highest in the world.
• Among non-Hispanic blacks age 20 and older, 62.9 percent of men and 77.2 percent of women are overweight or obese.
• In 2001, 27.7 percent of black or African-Americans only, used any tobacco product. Heavy cigarette smoking approximately doubles a person’s risk for stroke when compared to light smokers..
• Black women have higher prevalence rates of high blood pressure, obesity, physical inactivity, and diabetes than white women.

The American Heart Association provides information and ideas specific to African American's  on how to prevent or reduce the risk of a stroke at Power To End Stroke.

Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Benefit

Want to learn more about the Medicare Prescription Drug Beneift? Here are several resources:

Medicare Rights Center

Kaiser Family Foundation

Smerken Consulting - Eldercare Services

Kaiser EDU Web Slide Show

Downloadable and Printable Handout from the Medicare Rights Center

Talking About Medicare: Your Guide to Understanding the Program: Kaiser Family Foundation

The Kaiser Family Foundation has written an easy to understand guide for talking with your parents about Medicare. Much easier to read than Medicare's own booklet (which your parents should have received. Medicare sends every insured person a booklet called Medicare and You) you will find it easy to read and informative.

Here is the Link: Talking About Medicare: Your Guide to Understanding the Program: Welcome - Kaiser Family Foundation.

Scientists Want to Find Alzheimer’s Before a Mind Fails - New York Times

Link: Scientists Want to Find Alzheimer’s Before a Mind Fails - New York Times - Permalink

Alzheimer's disease is one of the 6 leading causes of death in the United States. This article on Alzheimer's disease appearing today in the NY Times discusses research being done to identify the outset of the disease in younger asymptomatic adults. Several excellent graphics are included in this article. Look for graphics and charts on the seven stages of Alzheimer's, and a PET scan image showing where amyloid plaques collect in the brain.

Memory - Mapping Memory 3D Interactive - National Geographic Magazine

Link: Memory - Mapping Memory 3D Interactive - National Geographic Magazine.

The link above will take you to the National Geographic website which has developed an animated and interactive site where you can easily learn about which brain structures are involved in memory. IMPORTANT: Select the "Forgetting" tab once in the site for a graphic demonstration of the brain changes that occur over time with Alzheimer's Disease.

On the Same Wavelength With the Doctor - New York Times

If your middle aged (like me) you have seen the health care system change. When I was a teenager I can recall times when I would be the only patient in my physician's waiting room.  When in the hospital as a teen I recall the "orderly" (look it up) had time to play chess with me between tasks.  Those days are gone.

To be better prepared when seeing a physician, Jane Brody of the NY Times has provided some tips to make our next visit to the doctor more efficient.  This advice may be particularly helpful to an older adults who has not been to see a physician in some time.  Here is the Link: On the Same Wavelength With the Doctor - New York Times and a permalink.

Health Insurance Counselor - Doggedly Persistent, Untying Medicare Knots for the Elderly - New York Times

Link: Health Insurance Counselor - Doggedly Persistent, Untying Medicare Knots for the Elderly - New York Times. or Permalink

This is an article that I'd like to share with you only inasmuch as it characterizes the outstanding work of the Medicare Rights Center, a non-profit that provides nationwide support to older adults and the disabled who rely on Medicare. Some cynical types (or realists) might think that making a program complex is a good thing as it acts as a governor against overuse. Medicare is incredibly complex and the way most benificiaries find out just how complex it is is when they have a problem with it. And the relatively new Part D drug benefit?  Don't get me started!

The Medicare Rights Center is a fabulous and free resource for those with specific questions about Medicare as well as general ones. Its information is provided in easy to understand language. If you have questions about Medicare, contact the Medicare Rights Center!