When my elderly parents, both in their 90s, moved into an assisted living community, the decision process and the move itself were arduous. In their nineties and married for nearly 70 years, they needed more support, although they did not see it that way. It was common for me to discover medicines not taken, mail … Continue reading
Tagged with senior health …
Life Expectancy Growth in the U.S. – Slowing Down
When I read the article Americans Fall Behind in the Getting Older Race at National Public Radio (NPR), I was impressed by the graphics — and how easy they were to understand — so I decided to share one or two of them here at As Our Parents Age, along with more information about the report that … Continue reading
Grandfather First Refused Medicare Because of Scare Tactics and Misinformation
It’s funny how changes in health care policy seem to generate anxiety, anger, and all sorts of misinformation in the United States. Well, actually it’s not so funny. How is it that so few people can scare so many others when it comes to keeping many more people healthy? But that describes what has happened … Continue reading
Inside the Dementia Epidemic: A Book Review
A few years ago, when my mother-in-law was sinking deeper and deeper into dementia, my husband and I suddenly realized, with some help from professional geriatric counselors, that the devious brain disease had been lurking for some time. Although we had noticed a number of memory issues and behaviors, we continually chalked them up to … Continue reading
Empowering Through Design: What a Health-Wellness Concept!
We’ve all had experiences trying to accomplish a task that is way too hard — and one reason it’s so difficult is because the environment is not designed to help a person function and work efficiently. Many of us have watched our aging parents grow frustrated, especially in medical settings, where equipment and furniture is … Continue reading
Don’t Forget About Your Blood Pressure
Over at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website, the Vital Signs September 2012 issue focuses on controlling good pressure. The article, Getting Blood Pressure Under Control: Many Missed Opportunities to Prevent Heart Disease and Stroke, explains that many people are not treating their blood pressure and many others are taking medication but not monitoring enough … Continue reading
Aging Parents and Hospital Admission for Observations
When your parents go to the hospital and need to stay over night or longer, be sure the medical staff admits them as official patients and not for observation (which means that technically they are not admitted at all). People hospitalized for observation do not qualify for Medicare’s skilled nursing care benefit after leaving the hospital, and … Continue reading
Chronic Conditions of People Living in Residential Care
What are the most common chronic medical conditions of people who live in residential care facilities, including assisted living communities? This graph depicts the 10 most common chronic conditions of residential care residents. The data come from a National Center for Health Statistics survey of United States residential facilities, not including nursing homes. Check out the other … Continue reading
Effectiveness – A Frustrating Concept in Medical Care
Over the past several years we’ve heard a lot about the effectiveness of medical treatments. It’s frustrating to put together the puzzle parts on this issue, but especially so when a family member is ill with a serious disease. Sometimes going forward with a treatment feels better than seeming to do nothing. When aging issues … Continue reading
Green Houses in NY State and How They Work
This interesting article, Nursing Homes Trend Toward More Homey, Less Institutional Settings, in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle describes the quality-of-life changes that residents and families experience when a family member lives in a Green House Project home. Reporter Patti Singer provides a window, allowing readers a glimpse of life in a care community where … Continue reading
Family Members’ Attention-Visits Make a Huge Difference
I’ve just finished reading Involved Family Is a Key to Receiving Good Care in Nursing Homes, a December 13, 2011 article in the Detroit Free Press. The report describes how a nursing home resident benefits enormously when family members drop in to visit on a regular basis and get to know the staff that is caring … Continue reading
National Library of Medicine Director’s Podcasts
I’ve become quite a fan of the weekly Director’s podcasts from the National Library of Medicine (NLM). These mini radio programs are a terrific resource for people of all ages, but adult children and their parents will find they provide a helpful introduction to the National Library of Medicine and Medline Plus. The podcasts used to … Continue reading
Hospitals in Cleveland Introduce ER’s Focused on Senior Care
This Cleveland.com article, University Hospital’s Bedford, Richmond ERs Focus on Senior Care, shares important changes at yet another medical center, changes that focus on the needs of seniors when they go a hospital’s emergency facility. How wonderful that the first senior-friendly emergency room, at Holy Cross Hospital in suburban Maryland, just outside of Washington, DC … Continue reading
When Family Members Accompany an Aging Parent to the Doctor
Visiting the doctor’s office with an aging parent can be one the most puzzling situations for adult children as they provide increasing support. The dynamics of the situation can be confusing, especially in a time when family roles and responsibilities are changing. My husband visited the doctor with his 90-year-old mother on several occasions. At … Continue reading
Another Article on the Geriatrician Shortage
Read the Associated Press article in the Seattle Post Intelligencer, about the the shortage of geriatricians. In Boomers’ Aging Casts Light on Geriatrics Shortage, reporter Matt Sedensky describes the increasing shortage of geriatricians –physicians who are trained to treat aging seniors. For those of us who are moving toward retirement, this is a serious problem. Given … Continue reading
New CMS Video on Medicare Preventive Benefits
Check it out. Read the CMS press release about preventive benefits.
Senior Patient Hospitalization, #5: The ER Worked Fast
If you like this post, please read my Senior Parent Hospitalization posts: Report #1: This Hospital Gets It, Report #2: Peace and Quiet, Report #3: Four Ways to Reduce Stress for Patient Families, Report #4: Observations from My Dad, Report #5: The Emergency Room Worked Fast, and Report #6: Learning About Cardiac Procedures and Surgeries. It was long past … Continue reading
Medicare Projections: Congressional Budget Office
Read CBO: Seniors Would Pay Much More For Medicare Under Ryan Plan in the Kaiser Health News. A graph using Congressional Budget Office (CBO) data depicts the costs to a Medicare beneficiary (what a person will pay) in 2022 and 2030. In the article Congressman Ryan says, “Washington has been making empty promises to Americans from a … Continue reading
The Good Caregiver: Rules of the Road for Adult Children
I have just read The Good Caregiver cover-to-cover. The recently published book, by Robert L. Kane, M.D., is an all-in-one user’s guide with thorough, indexed, and therefore easy-to-find information about every aspect of elderly parent caregiving. Though he is a world-renowned specialist on aging and long-term care (Read Dr. Kane’s faculty bio), and he produces lots of … Continue reading
Pay Attention to Policy Discussions
Check out the many informational links to documents explaining proposed changes in Medicare and Medicaid at this Kaiser Health News article, Resources And Proposals On Curbing Medicare Cost Growth. If this is where we are going, people should educate themselves and understand what is going on. Stay on top of the issues. If Medicare will cost more … Continue reading
As Our Parents Age So Do We 