Some time ago my father had an uncomfortable experience with a health care professional. A physician, without even a sentence of explanation, began administering the Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE), a short evaluation that measures cognitive functioning. My father, who knew exactly what was happening, was upset. As people age, assessments are important, but so are explanations. After … Continue reading
Posted by Marti Weston …
Aging Parents Traveling with Medications
It’s summer and many of us will be on holiday with aging parents who must travel with a fair number of medications. A Health Day article from Medline Plus shares a few tips about packing and traveling with medications. Also on the page are links to other traveler’s health resources. Share this post.
iPad for Dad, #8 – Quick Update and a Few Resources
A quick update, because I have not visited my parents all week. We’ve talked on the phone and chatted via email, but I need use care and not to make Dad feel too much pressure. He is an eager learner, but not quite at the speed that I would like him to move. As a teacher, … Continue reading
My Vision for Successful Senior Technology Training
Although technology opportunities in today’s world are expanding at breakneck speed, many elderly seniors are still without access to computers and communication tools. On this blog I have described research that associates technology experiences with increased intellectual stimulation in Technology and Senior Adults and Elder Seniors – Enthusiastic Videoconferencers. While many seniors embrace technology, many — … Continue reading
Aging Parents: Comprehensive Medicare Prescription Information
My favorite medical information source, Medline Plus, is maintained jointly by The National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Medline Plus adds new features or highlights old ones just about every week, and today I discovered the Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage page, a comprehensive, “one-stop-shopping” site with links to important Medicare information about … Continue reading
Elderly Seniors – Enthusiastic Videoconferencers
Recently I came across an interesting article in the Journal of Clinical Nursing. The article, Older Nursing Home Residents’ Experiences With Videoconferencing to Communicate with Family Members (abstract), reports on a project in Taiwan that encouraged elderly individuals in nursing homes to communicate with their family members via videoconferencing. Participants in the small study, 34 … Continue reading
Aging Parents, Aging Boomers, Shingles Vaccinations
Shingles is an illness we all need to think about — aging parents, adult children, and anyone who is approaching a 60th birthday. In yesterday’s New York Times Health section (June 10, 2010), Dr. Pauline Chen writes about the expense of the shingles vaccine and how the cost has contributed to a low number of people age … Continue reading
Training for Yoga Instructors Who Work With Seniors
I’ve observed firsthand how much exercise, Yoga, and other physical activities benefit senior participants. My only concern, and I’ve noticed this when I exercise with senior parents, is that leaders are not as familiar with the aging body as they should be if it they are to ensure safely. Moreover, I’ve wondered about what special … Continue reading
Aging Parents: Questions to Ask About Home Health Care
Are you asking questions, trying to figure out whether home health care might work for an aging parent? Are you seeking a way to evaluate a parent’s need for support because he or she wishes to continue living at home? Is your home safe enough for aging parents to visit? The Visiting Nurses Service of New … Continue reading
Aging Parents: Medicare Part D Doughnut Hole Savings in 2011
According to a May 21, 2010, press release from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), in 2011 Medicare Part D beneficiaries will see a 50 percent savings on applicable drugs in the doughnut (donut) hole coverage gap. CMS has issued new guidelines to ensure that these savings occur. The discount will apply to brand … Continue reading
Aging Parents, Hospitals, and Noise
The Boston Globe (Boston.com) recently published an article on hospital noise, Fixing the Noisy Hospital — a timely topic for my family. Written by Drake Bennett, the May 30, 2010, news story highlights the problem of hospital noise and its negative impact on healing. Last year I was directly involved it two hospitalizations, one for my … Continue reading
Another Gail Sheehy Event
This video at Iowa Public Television features Gail Sheehy lecturing on May 19, 2010, at the Des Moines Public Library about her book Passages in Caregiving. Sheehy’s lecture, part of the library’s Authors Visiting Des Moines series, describes the “predictable caregiving crisis” highlighting problems that caregivers experience and offering strategies that caregivers can adopt to … Continue reading
iPad for Dad, #7 – YouTube Rocks!
Saturday featured another in-person iPad lesson. Dad now has Comcast e-mail down cold — only a bit more practice is required. So we started with serious editing techniques so he can avoid deleting so many letters and words to make a single correction. As on my iPhone, it’s necessary to click after a word and … Continue reading
Activities of Daily Living — Declining Proficiencies
What signs illustrate a person’s increasing difficulty performing the activities of daily living (ADLs)? At first they are not obvious. Instead a series of events and behavior changes gradually appear. Observed individually, each change doesn’t seem to represent much, but the trick is to view each observation as a puzzle piece that fits together with … Continue reading
Inside Aging Parent Care — A Blog Worth Following
If you haven’t already explored, Inside Aging Parent Care (the writers have commented a couple of times on this blog), head on over to read thoughtful, intriguing and skillfully written postings, many of which zero in on how we as caregivers can and should harness our inner strength. Caring for the caregiver — what a … Continue reading
Despite Everything We May Be Getting Happier!
All of the chronic health problems, age-related slowdowns, sadness about growing old, caregiving for family members, and generalized fears about Alzheimer’s disease may not be making us that unhappy, according to a May 31, 2010, New York Times article, Happiness May Come With Age, Study Says. The article describes research published in the Proceedings of the … Continue reading
iPad for Dad, #6 – Choosing an iPad
If you like this post, read some of the other descriptions of our Father/Daughter iPad for Dad adventures — iPad for Dad, #1, iPad for Dad, #2, iPad for Dad, #3, iPad for Dad, #4, iPad for Dad, #5, iPad for Dad, #6, iPad for Dad, #7, iPad for Dad, #8, iPad for Dad, #9, iPad for Dad, #10, iPad for Dad, #11, iPad … Continue reading
Aging Parents, Diseases of Aging, and Sodium!
The May 30, 2010, the New York Times published an article, The Hard Sell on Salt, about our high sodium diets, the reluctance to find ways to lower the amount of salt in food, and how the food industry continues to push for its inclusion in our foods, all despite documented risks to our health in … Continue reading
Senior Concierge: In-Home Services for Aging Parents
The Detroit News published an article, Seniors Get a Dose of Daily Care, introducing me to the concept of senior concierge services. The May 26, 2010, article describes a new business set up by Liz Pinto and Frank Gordon in the Detroit area. Their company, Senior Concierge, provides services to relatively healthy elderly adults who want to stay … Continue reading
iPad for Dad, #5 – Telephone Tutorials
If you like this post, read some of the other descriptions of our Father/Daughter iPad for Dad adventures — iPad for Dad, #1, iPad for Dad, #2, iPad for Dad, #3, iPad for Dad, #4, iPad for Dad, #5, iPad for Dad, #6, iPad for Dad, #7, iPad for Dad, #8, iPad for Dad, #9, iPad for Dad, #10, iPad for Dad, #11, iPad … Continue reading
As Our Parents Age So Do We 