The Medicare and More column over at the Tuscon Citizen posted a December 13, 2010 story describing how the social security administration mistakenly recorded a man’s death when it was really his wife who died. In the blog post, Social Security to Local Senior: You’re Dead, MedicareBlogger explains how the problem seemed to expand in information-changing concentric … Continue reading
Filed under aging parents …
Lots of Seniors on Social Networks!
According to a December 15, 2010 USA Today article, people over age 65 are the fastest growing group of social networking users. Seniors Surge on Social Networks, by Janis Lloyd, described Generations 2010 by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, a report that examines the variation in Internet and social networking experiences among various age groups. … Continue reading
Taking Your Blood Pressure? Tips from the New York Times
I’ve just finished reading the best information about taking blood pressure in a December 13, 2010 New York Times article posted in the Science section. For years I’ve wondered about some of this information, and though I take my blood pressure on a regular basis, I could never get the answers to my questions. Read … Continue reading
End-of-Life Conversations
Over at the Inside Aging Parent blog, Carol recently posted Conversations About End of Life with a link to a BlogTalk radio program interviewing author Kelsey Collins (check out Collin’s videos presentations). I have just listened to the program so I recommend checking out Carol’s post and the radio interview. In her book Exit Strategy: Leaving this Life with … Continue reading
Cold Where You Live? Keep an Eye on Elders
Is it getting cold where you live? Here in my mid-Atlantic location, the bitter cold hit a few days ago, with wind even, and we’ve been bundling up every time we go outside. On the way in and out of the supermarket I’ve noticed quite a few older seniors who are clearly bothered by the … Continue reading
Too Many Medications? More Aging Parent Health Problems?
Polypharmacy is a serious problem for many seniors. Here on AsOurParentsAge I’ve written multiple posts (links to a few at the bottom of this page) about the medications that our aging parents take for various chronic conditions. I’ve wondered, after considerable experience with my husband’s and my parents, why they have so many, and more … Continue reading
Holiday Gifts: Buying an iPad for Your Senior Parent?
If you like this post, read some of the other descriptions of our Father/Daughter iPad adventure. 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 for Dad, … Continue reading
Aging, Falls, Music, and Dalcroze Eurhythmics
How interesting to read about the research Effect of Music-Based Multitask Training on Gait, Balance, and Fall Risk in Elderly People (abstract), an article published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. The article is not freely available from the medical journal, so to read it you will need to speak with a librarian or go to … Continue reading
Three-Part Series on the Rigors of Aging Parent Caregiving
This week I discovered a great three-part series about aging parent caregiving, written by an adult child and published in the Redondo Beach Patch. I recommend taking a few minutes to read this set of short articles. When Mom Gets Old by Vanessa Poster appeared on March 15 – 17, 2010, and describes Ms. Poster’s … Continue reading
Medical Histories Support Aging Parents and Their Families
What is more important for the personal health of an individual –a family history taken by a physician or genetic testing? According to an Associated Press article published in the Washington Post, while genetic testing has important uses, people should be aware that a thorough family history taken by a physician is what Cleveland Clinic geneticist, … Continue reading
Another Great MedicareBlogger Post
MedicareBlogger has another posted interesting post, this time focusing on a man who wants a cheaper Medicare Advantage plan when he really needs a Medicare Supplement plan. Medicare Advantage Selling Season, a November 18, 2010 post, conveys a lot of information in a few short paragraphs.
Senior Parents and Long Term Insurance Changes
During the time we cared for my husband’s mother and even before that when we helped a bit with his father’s care, we were continually frustrated by their long-term care insurance policies. Despite several years of required care for his two senior parents, the long-term care policies, purchased in early 1991, covered only skilled nursing facilities … Continue reading
Senior Parents: Maintaining a Bit of Their Privacy in a Digital World
If the seniors who I have as friends on Facebook are any indication, they are giving away too much personal information. However, it’s not just Facebook. Lots of things we do on our computers and cell phones require us to give away a bit of personal information. To learn more about helping your parents put … Continue reading
Medicare Part D – It’s Time to Make Choices
It’s that time of year again. I’ve just been chatting with my mother about her annual task of choosing a Medicare Part D option for herself and my dad. Each year she looks at charts, chats with friends, consults with her pharmacist, studies web sites, and finally, after a great deal of thought, makes the … Continue reading
Alzheimer’s: Helping a Parent Manage Financial Issues
Interesting article in the November 5, 2010 New York Times describing how adult children can get started helping with finances when a parent has Alzheimer’s. In Stepping in for a Parent With Alzheimer’s reporter Tara Siegel Bernard consults with financial planners, shares their ideas, makes specific suggestions about getting started, and offers tips about how to be … Continue reading
Seniors and Media Literacy: Voting, Fear, and Manipulation
For years I have read articles by Pulitzer prize-winning reporter Saul Friedman — an experienced journalist who writes engagingly on just about everything. His pieces are well-researched and timely, and often I recommend them to friends and family. When Freidman — I really think of him as Saul — left Newsday we mourned, but then suddenly … Continue reading
Protecting A Senior Parent’s Online Privacy
Every time I visit my parents, I check their computers to be sure the privacy controls are on the maximum settings. Since we all use computers all the time, significant privacy concerns exist, but seniors have even more concerns, because they welcome and enthusiastically use the added communication opportunities that the Internet provides. Moreover, few … Continue reading
Seniors and Whooping Cough Vaccine
With a pertussis epidemic in California and cases on the rise in other states, experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are recommending that elderly parents, especially those who have grandchildren or are around infants, get re-immunized against the disease. According to the LA Times report on the October 27th CDC panel … Continue reading
Green House Home Video Tour
Head over to the always information-filled and sometimes wonderfully provocative ChangingAging blog to see a guided video tour of a Green House Home. Led by elder advocate Dr. Bill Thomas, the walk-through is a must-see for anyone who wants to understand exactly what a Green House looks like as well as learn more about this … Continue reading
Great Interview With Dr. Berwick at JAMA
An article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Medicare Head Donald M. Berwick, MD, Takes on Mission of Health System Reform, should put to rest any doubt about his commitment to high quality medicine and to seniors’ access to it. The article is free and can be downloaded as a PDF. Some … Continue reading
As Our Parents Age So Do We 