Home Care Seniors, Elderly Care, Companionship - Sonoma County, CA » Stages of Senior Care

Falling into Medicare Doughnut Hole Ups Nonadherence

Julie Ann Anderson — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 15:59:13 +0000

By Emily P. Walker, Washington Correspondent, MedPage Today
Published: August 16, 2011

The researchers expected that seniors, when faced with mounting out-of-pocket costs, would switch to cheaper generics. In fact, that was one of the main arguments behind the coverage back when Medicare’s drug benefit was created in 2006. If seniors saw how much drugs cost, they’d be more thrifty consumers and seek out cheaper drugs, some reasoned.

But the current study shows that hasn’t been the case.

Rather than seeking cheaper alternatives to prolong entry into the doughnut hole, some seniors just stop taking their prescriptions once they reach the coverage gap or alter their dosing regimen to make their medication last longer.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) will eliminate the doughnut hole by 2020 and until then, the law takes measures to help seniors defray the costs of the coverage gap.

For example, in 2010, many seniors received $250 checks in the mail, and this year 900,000 Medicare beneficiaries have already received a 50% discount on prescription drugs while in the doughnut hole.

But until the doughnut hole is truly closed in 2020 “beneficiaries may still be at risk of decreased drug utilization and adverse clinical consequences,” the authors wrote.

“In contrast to blunt cost-sharing approaches such as the coverage gap feature, more nuanced, clinically informed insurance strategies that specifically promote the use of drugs with high benefit and low cost may hold the most promise for governments and insurers seeking to improve the health of their citizens while reining in drug costs,” they concluded.

One alternative strategy, the authors wrote, would be to encourage the use of generic drugs from the outset in order to forestall entry into the coverage gap.

The study was funded through grants from the National Institute on Aging, the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and CVS Caremark.

The study authors reported a number of conflicts of interest, including that lead study author is a consultant for a company that contracts with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; another author is a consultant to United Healthcare, which sells Part D plans, and receives research funding from CVS Caremark, Aetna, and Express Scripts, which all have Part D business. Another author worked at CVS Caremark during the study, and CVS Caremark provided funding and data for the study.

Primary source: PLoS Medicine
Source reference:
Polinski JM, et al “Changes in drug utilization during a gap in insurance coverage: An examination of the Medicare Part D coverage gap” PLoS Med2011; 8(8): e1001075

Help family caregivers through holidays

Julie Ann Anderson — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 19:41:46 +0000

Help family caregivers through holidays

Give family caregivers a gift this holiday season by inviting them to participate in one of the upcoming “Home for the Holidays” webinars. This hour-long informational session provides family caregivers with information on how to help their senior loved ones manage holiday travel, family gatherings, seasonal depression and other issues that can occur during this busy time of year. The webinar will be offered on:

Tuesday, November 15 at noon Central Time

Click the following link to register for this date and time: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/316436230

Monday, December 5 at 7 p.m. Central Time

Click the following link to register for this date and time:

https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/321591990

The “Home for the Holidays” webinar is the next installment in the Caring for Your Parents: Education for the Family Caregiver^SM support series and is moderated by the Home Instead Senior Care^® network, hosted by the American Society on Aging (ASA) and co-sponsored by the National Family Caregivers Association (NFCA) and the National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC).

The Caring for Your Parents: Education for the Family Caregiver support series is another way Home Instead Senior Care^®businesses across the country are building trust in communities and supporting clients and their families.

Why Seniors are Moving from Institution Back Home

Julie Ann Anderson — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 13:39:49 +0000

Why Seniors are Moving from Institution Back Home

After living for three years in a nursing home following a stroke, Gail, 78, went through his life savings paying for the nursing home and eventually qualified for Medicaid. He had always wanted to and intended to move back home, but his condition required that he stay in the nursing home. His ex-wife, Sue, and a social worker at the nursing home informed him about a program called “Money Follows the Person” (MFP), which supports efforts to move institutionalized individuals back home.

In 2009, MFP enabled Gail to move into Sue’s house because she is his main care provider. The program allotted $1,500 for home services, modifications to the home in the form of ramps and a handicap accessible bathroom, 16 hours of personal care services each month, and attendance at adult day care each day. Gail’s health has remained steady, he is able to enjoy more of a routine life, and he is able to get the care he needs at home while surrounded by friends and family.

The U.S. Congress authorized the MFP as part of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. MFP was designed to assist states in rebalancing their long-term care systems and help Medicaid enrollees transition out of institutions and back to their communities.

Since 2008 when the first senior moved back home through the MFP program, an increasing number of states have been making stories like Gail’s a reality for seniors and others with disabilities. As of February 2011, 43 states and the District of Columbia participate in the “Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Demonstration Program.” The significance of this program for seniors is found in its intention for establishing a strong foundation of person-centered, consumer-directed, and community-based services. Seniors are receiving the services they need in an environment that is more comfortable for their recovery and/or daily living. Ultimately, the service model is no longer provider-driven and institution-based, but rather it is more conducive to successful living because of the personalized approach. (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services).

More recently, with the passing of the Affordable Care Act in March of 2010, the MFP received a boost in funding and a time extension through September 30, 2016. Additionally, the MFP program expanded the eligibility requirements to include anyone who is in an institution for more than 90 consecutive days. The old restriction was anyone who had been institutionalized for six months to two years. The longer an individual has been institutionalized the more likely they are to have relinquished a community residence and it is often more challenging for them to again establish a community residence. Individuals who have been institutionalized for a shorter period of time may still have a home to which they still have access.

States have their own methods for identifying appropriate candidates for the MFP program. Once identified, the individual has access to the designated funds for their case for a period of twelve months and receives assistance in achieving the needed transition services.

After the program is complete, the continuity of care in each state will vary. Generally, MFP participants may be able to access existing waivers. Participants will continue to be served through these waivers as long as they continue to meet the eligibility criteria. Therefore, there will not be a lapse in services for MFP demonstration participants. Check with your state on the plans the Medicaid office has in place for the post-demonstration period.

Challenges that Affect the Program
While each state handles their grant money from the MFP program differently, each is working to gain foothold in providing opportunities for their institutionalized citizens to regain status as community members. Implementing a MFP program involves comprehensive and extensive planning at the state level as well as collaboration with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The two main challenges to the success of the program continue to be available housing and accessibility of community service providers.

Housing – The number of residential units available for Medicaid dependents is limited in any case, and states recognize the squeeze that the MFP program places on this issue. More and more states have launched a concerted effort in conjunction with other government agencies such as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to increase their chances of creating and locating safe and affordable housing arrangements.

Examples of what states are doing specifically to address this problem include: Ohio has a housing specialist under the MFP umbrella whose job it is to build partnerships with housing officials. Michigan has 26 housing coordinators throughout the state who identify housing opportunities for MFP recipients (www.kff.org).

Community services – Already stretched thin, service providers who can provide Medicaid supported home- and community-based services (HCBS) are difficult to find. MFP aligns more individuals with service providers, but without enough service providers, the MFP program recipients may not have access to these services. States are working hard to develop HCBS services using MFP dollars because community services are typically more cost-effective compared to institutional care when measured on a per-person basis.

Examples of the most commonly expanded services that states are employing are: case management to coordinate transition; help with home modifications; and one-time housing expenses such as security deposits, use of assistive technology, and transportation (Kaiser Family Foundation). North Dakota has developed a 24-hour back-up nursing service.

All of these efforts are to create more opportunity for community-based service providers that will support the long-term care of seniors and people with disabilities in their homes by providing the care they need.

Successes for Seniors Now and Long-Term
Each year, the numbers of participants transitioning increases as solutions to barriers are identified and significant technical assistance helps states meet transition goals. As of December 2010, almost 12,000 individuals returned to the community as a result of these demonstration programs, with a reinstitutionalization rate of only about 3–4 percent.

The infrastructure that is creating avenues to affordable housing and HCBS continues to be strengthened through plans customized at the state level to provide support for seniors even after MFP is slated to end. This infrastructure is required if states plan to successfully extend the opportunity of transitioning institutionalized individuals for the long-term.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, “MFP is likely to continue to help states reorient their long-term services and support systems toward more community-based care. This program in conjunction with other ACA Medicaid policy options has the potential to expand Medicaid home and community-based services for many more seniors and persons with disabilities who desire to live in the community.” Kaiser Family Foundation expects this trend to extend beyond the life of the MFP program demonstration and have a positive long-term impact for seniors.

Resources:
To find out if you are eligible and to apply for MFP, contact the Department of Social Services or related Medicaid office in your state. To get to your state’s official website, most states follow the website address pattern of www.insertnameofyourstate.gov, i.e. www.colorado.gov.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services:
www.cms.gov

Join the effort to detect Alzheimer’s early

Julie Ann Anderson — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 15:02:34 +0000

Join the effort to detect Alzheimer’s early

The Home Instead Senior Care^® network has joined the Alzheimer’s Early Detection Alliance (AEDA) in a nationwide effort to educate people about the warning signs of Alzheimer’s disease and the importance of early detection. The AEDA is a group of corporations, nonprofits and government entities under the leadership of the Alzheimer’s Association dedicated to making a difference in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease.

There is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease and no way to prevent it. Early detection allows those living with the disease – and their families – time to plan for the future. The Alzheimer’s Association created the following list of warning signs for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Every individual may experience one or more of these symptoms in varying degrees:

Memory changes that disrupt daily life
Challenges in planning or solving problems
Difficulty completing familiar tasks
Confusion with time or place
Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships
New problems with words in speaking or writing
Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps
Decreased or poor judgment
Withdrawal from work or social activities
Changes in mood and personality

If you notice any of these signs in your senior clients, contact the client’s family members immediately.

To learn more about the 10 signs of Alzheimer’s disease, contact the Alzheimer’s Association at www.alz.org/10signs or 877-IS IT ALZ (877.474.8259).

Aging Boomers strain cities build for the Young

Julie Ann Anderson — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 16:07:14 +0000

By LAURAN NEERGAARD – AP Medical Writer | AP – Mon, Jul 11, 2011..

NEW YORK (AP) — America’s cities are beginning to grapple with a fact of life: People are getting old, fast, and they’re doing it in communities designed for the sprightly. To envision how this silver tsunami will challenge a youth-oriented society, just consider that seniors soon will outnumber schoolchildren in hip, fast-paced New York City.It will take some creative steps to make New York and other cities age-friendly enough to help the coming crush of older adults stay active and independent in their own homes.”It’s about changing the way we think about the way we’re growing old in our community,” said New York Deputy Mayor Linda Gibbs. “The phrase ‘end of life’ does not apply anymore.”With initiatives such as using otherwise idle school buses to take seniors grocery shopping, the World Health Organization recognizes New York as a leader in this movement.But it’s not alone.

Atlanta is creating what it calls “lifelong communities.” Philadelphia is testing whether living in a truly walkable community really makes older adults healthier. In Portland, Ore., there’s a push to fit senior concerns such as accessible housing into the city’s new planning and zoning policies.

Such work is getting a late start considering how long demographers have warned that the population is about to get a lot grayer.

“It’s shocking how far behind we are, especially when you think about this fact — that if you make something age-friendly, that means it is going to be friendly for people of all ages, not just older adults,” said Margaret Neal of Portland State University’s Institute on Aging.

While this fledgling movement is being driven by nonprofit and government programs, New York aims to get private businesses to ante up, too.

Last year, East Harlem became the city’s first “aging improvement district.” Sixty stores, identified with window signs, agreed to put out folding chairs to let older customers rest as they do their errands. The stores also try to keep aisles free of tripping hazards and use larger type so signs are easier to read. A community pool set aside senior-only hours so older swimmers could get in their laps without faster kids and teens in the way.

On one long block, accountant Henry Calderon welcomes older passers-by to rest in his air-conditioned lobby even if they’re not customers. They might be, one day.

“It’s good for business but it’s good for society,” too, he said.

The size of the aging boom is staggering. Every day for the next few decades, thousands of baby boomers will turn 65. That’s in addition to the oldest-old, the 85- to 90-somethings whose numbers have grown by nearly one-third in the past decade, with no signs of slowing.

By 2050, 1 in 5 Americans will be seniors. Worldwide, almost 2 billion people will be 60 or older, 400 million of them over 80.

That’s almost always viewed as a health issue, preparing for the coming wave of Alzheimer’s, or as a political liability, meaning how soon will Social Security go bust?

“We think this is something we should be celebrating,” says Dr. John Beard, who oversees the World Health Organization’s Global Network of Age-Friendly Cities. “They need to live in an environment that allows them to participate.”

In East Harlem, a yellow school bus pulls up to a curb and 69-year-old Jenny Rodriguez climbs off. The bus had already dropped a load of kids at school. Now, before the afternoon trip home, it is shuttling older adults to a market where they flock to fresh fruits and vegetables.

Rodriguez usually goes shopping on foot, pulling along a small cart. It can be a hike. Supermarkets aren’t too common in this lower-income part of the city, and there’s less to choose at tiny, pricier corner bodegas.

“You can only buy so much. Some streets, the cracks are so bad, you’re pushing the shopping cart and almost go flying,” Rodriguez said, examining sweet potatoes that she pronounced fresher and cheaper than at her usual store. “This is so much easier.”

More than 200 times, school buses have taken older adults from senior centers to supermarkets in different neighborhoods. It’s just one of a variety of initiatives begun in 2009 by the New York Academy of Medicine and the city’s government to address the needs of older residents. Already, they’re showing results.

A city report found the number of crashes has dropped at busy intersections in senior-heavy communities where traffic signals now allow pedestrians a few more seconds to cross the street.

Benches have been placed in nearly 2,700 bus shelters to give waiting seniors a place to rest.

The city’s aging taxi fleet is scheduled to be replaced by a boxier model designed to be easier for older riders and people with disabilities to open the doors and slide in and out.

On the Upper West Side, seniors snapped up a report card of grocery stores deemed age-friendly because they offer deliveries, have public bathrooms — a rarity in the city — and sell single portions of fresh meat, poultry or fish, important for people who live alone.

Artists volunteer to teach at senior centers in return for space to work on or display their own creations.

And a “Time Bank” is letting hundreds of people of different ages and with different skills essentially barter services. A retired English teacher may do some tutoring, for example, and use the credit she earns to get computer help from another volunteer.

Aging expert Andrew Scharlach of the University of California, Berkeley, sees a common thread in these changes and the work of other cities. Combat the social isolation that too easily sneaks up on older adults and it has a huge impact not just on how many years they will live, but how well they live them.

Cities and suburbs were designed for younger people, full of stairs and cars, he explained. As they become increasingly difficult to navigate, older people gradually retreat.

Revamping a lot of infrastructure may not happen in a tough economy. But some communities are building age-friendly changes into planned upgrades or maintenance, such as New York’s street crossings, or into requirements for future development.

The WHO’s Beard says some changes aren’t that costly, noting that seniors around the world say more benches and access to bathrooms will help them get out and about.

Among other cities’ work:

—The Atlanta Regional Commission’s Lifelong Communities Initiative is pushing communities that help people age in place. Efforts are under way in six metro areas, including work to adapt zoning codes to allow more of a walkable mix of housing and retail. The Mableton community of suburban Cobb County is planning that kind of a town square, and has opened a farmers market — on a weekday morning when seniors preferred to shop — and intergenerational community garden. To the east, DeKalb County is building a library near a senior center, planned senior housing and a bus stop. One town pilot-tested a shuttle for seniors to supplement bare-bones public transit.

The Atlanta Housing Authority is working with the commission to retrofit high-rise apartments that house a lot of older residents, with the goal to improve access to the surrounding community. At one site under construction, changes include a ramp entrance, safer sidewalk to the bus stop and more time for pedestrians to cross the street.

The overall move isn’t without controversy.

Sometimes younger residents misunderstand and say they don’t want to live in a retirement community, said commission urban planner Laura Keyes.

She said boomers, who are classified as being born from 1946 to 1964, and millenials, the children of baby boomers who came of age in the new millennium, ultimately want the same things: access to shopping, green space, more freedom from the car. The idea is a mix of ages but where older residents don’t need to move if their health fails.

Keyes became interested in age-friendly communities when visiting friends in nursing homes built in commercial districts — and saw that they had nowhere to take a walk.

—Philadelphia is the oldest of the nation’s 10 largest cities, with 19 percent of its residents over age 60 — and lots of multi-story rowhouses where seniors are stuck on one floor. “They become prisoners in their homes,” said Kate Clark of the nonprofit Philadelphia Corporation for Aging.

In redesigning the city’s zoning code, proposals are being debated that would allow seniors to rent out their upper floors, and to require that a certain amount of new housing be what’s called “visitable” — with such things as ramp entrances, wide hallways and at least a half-bathroom on the main floor, she said.

With funding from the National Institutes of Health, the aging group’s Allen Glicksman is studying if seniors who live in a walkable neighborhood really are healthier as a result. He has found that social capital — think friendly neighbors, low crime and good sidewalks that encourage getting out — is as important to older residents as access to supermarkets, public transportation and good housing.

Also, there are calls for age-friendlier parks, with safer steps and places to walk apart from bikers.

To sustain momentum, Clark created GenPhilly, a network of 20- and 30-somethings interested in shaping the city they’ll age in by raising senior issues in varying professions.

—Portland was part of WHO’s initial study of what makes a city age-friendly, an initiative that helped bring about more handicapped-accessible cars for the city’s light-rail system, Neal said.

Now, aging experts are among the advisers as the city develops a master plan for the next 25 years. One issue, Neal said, is how to develop more accessible housing when the city’s anti-sprawl policy means a lot of narrow, multistory houses are being squeezed into empty city lots — near transportation but still not age-friendly with all the stairs.

Integrating senior-friendly changes into everyday city policies is less visible than, say, a new retirement home but it’s ultimately the goal, says Scharlach, the aging expert.

New York also hopes for some economic return.

Consider La Marqueta in East Harlem. Fifty years ago, it was a bustling, five-block market, a weekly gathering spot for families. But economic downturn left the city-owned building mostly empty for years. Now, as part of a $1.5 million economic revitalization project, an industrial kitchen in the building will train low-income women to start their own food businesses. It joins the fish and butcher shop, a farmer’s market, and a high-end food importer — and busing in the seniors once a month boosts the still thin customer traffic.

But it’s more than a shopping day. A quick check from a health department nurse reassured 73-year-old Maria Ilarraza that her blood pressure was OK, and she sat to catch up with friends over coffee. In another corner, a crowd listened as a university nutritionist explained how to safely freeze and thaw meat.

Art teacher Piedad Gerena showed off some of the bold landscapes and modern images her students at a nearby senior center learned to paint, and, to her delight, sometimes sell for up to $200 apiece. “Many of these people have no families,” Gerena said. “The art makes them feel happy.”

___

Online:

World Health Organization’s Global Network of Age-Friendly Cities: http://tinyurl.com/3kdkp6q

Portland State University’s Institute on Aging: http://www.pdx.edu/ioa

New York City’s Aging Improvement Districts: http://tinyurl.com/3h5fo7a

New York Academy of Medicine: http://www.nyam.org/urban-health/healthy-aging

Atlanta Regional Commission’s Lifelong Communities Initiative: http://tinyurl.com/3gz9lfv

Philadelphia Corporation for Aging: http://www.pcacares.org

GenPhilly: http://www.genphilly.org

The Loneliness Factor….

Julie Ann Anderson — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 19:35:55 +0000

The Loneliness Factor

Loneliness – it’s one of the most serious obstacles to good nutrition that your senior loved one could face. In the United States, approximately 40 percent of the population age 75 and older – 6.7 million people – lives alone, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. These seniors face significant socialization challenges, particularly when it comes to lack of shared mealtime experiences.

“Who likes to eat alone? Nobody,” says Sandy Markwood, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a) – who served as expert source for the Home Instead Senior Care^® network’s Craving Companionship^SM program. “Meals are not just a matter of sustenance, but a social outlet,” said Markwood, whose members coordinate the popular home-delivered meals program, also known as “Meals On Wheels^®.”

“It’s how we come together as a family or a community. When you’re isolated from that opportunity it’s indicative of bigger challenges that person could be facing.”

The far-reaching impact of loneliness prompted the Home Instead Senior Carenetwork to conduct a first-of-its-kind study* to measure mealtime routines, challenges and preferences of seniors age 75 plus who live by themselves in their own homes or apartments.

This comprehensive study, which involved 600 interviews, provides evidence that increased opportunities for seniors to share meals with others will promote nutritional and emotional well-being. Key findings include:

Two of five seniors who live alone have at least four warning signs of poor nutritional health.
One in five seniors says he or she sometimes or most of the time feels lonely when eating alone.
Seventy-six percent of these seniors eat alone most of the time.
The biggest mealtime challenge for older people who live alone is lack of the shared family experience, including lack of companionship.
Mealtimes last nearly twice as long when seniors who live alone share meals with others compared with when they eat alone.
A majority of seniors who live alone say they eat more nutritiously and the food actually tastes better when eating with others.
More than three-fourths of seniors say they wish their families shared more meals together.
The most common obstacle preventing these seniors from sharing more meals with others is that their family and friends don’t have enough time.

As a result of this study, the Home Instead Senior Care network launched the Craving Companionship program to encourage extended families to bring back the family meal for the benefit of their seniors, especially those who live alone.

For more information, visit www.mealsandcompanionship.com. The program includes a variety of resources such as recipes and tips to help family caregivers make the most of mealtimes.

*The Home Instead Senior Care network completed 600 telephone interviews with seniors age 75 and older in the U.S. who live alone in their own homes or apartments. The sampling error is +/-4.0% at a 95% confidence level.

10 Senior Mealtime Challenges ….

Julie Ann Anderson — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 17:54:16 +0000

10 Senior Mealtime Challenges

Research conducted for the Home Instead Senior Care^® network reveals 10 mealtime challenges for older adults. The following percentages refer to the number of seniors who believe these are challenges for older people who live alone. After each are tips for how to make the most of mealtimes for older adults who live alone, from the Home Instead Senior Care network and Sandy Markwood of the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging.

1. Lack of companionship during mealtimes (62 percent) Tip: If you can’t be there to dine with a loved one regularly, look for alterative options such as friends and neighbors. Check out special activities at churches and senior centers as well as the local Area Agency on Aging and Home Instead Senior Care resources.
2. Cooking for one (60 percent) Tip: Freeze most any type of leftovers including sliced and seeded fruit by placing it in plastic containers or freezer bags. Buy your senior healthier low-sodium dinners for one.
Eating nutritious meals (56 percent) Tip: Buy fresh, when possible, or frozen foods including fruits and vegetables. Frequent affordable farmer’s markets in season. Your older loved one may enjoy perusing the racks of produce. If your senior is able, help plant a garden.
Grocery shopping for one (56 percent) Tip: Transportation can be a big issue for seniors. Contact the local Area Agency on Aging and Home Instead Senior Care business, or encourage your loved one to engage neighborhood support systems when possible.
Eating three meals a day (49 percent) Tip: So many seniors are on prescription medications that must be taken with or without food. Coordinate the food plan with the medication plan. “Remember, Dad, to take this pill when you’re eating oatmeal for breakfast.”
High expense of cooking for one (45 percent) Tip: Encourage shared meals when possible – your older loved one will get the benefit of reduced costs of meals as well as companionship. Check out your local senior center, which often offers affordable meals for older adults, as well as the home-delivered meals program, also known as “Meals On Wheels^®.”
Relying too much on convenience food (43 percent) Tip: Encourage your older adult to meet with a nutritionist or talk with the doctor to learn how to read labels. So many older adults don’t know the foods that are good and bad for them.
Loss of appetite (41 percent) Tip: Help older adults make mealtimes an event, which can make dining more appealing. Pull out a favorite recipe, help that older adult prepare a meal, get out the good dishes and decorate the table with real or artificial flowers.
Eating too much food (38 percent) Tip: The bigger issue is eating too much of the wrong types of food. If you’re helping an older loved one with a shopping list or grocery shopping, encourage healthier choices.

10. Eating too little food (35 percent) Tip: Plan a trip to a favorite restaurant for a special dish. If lack of food is an ongoing problem, check with your senior’s doctor to learn about supplemental products that could ensure an older adult is getting the proper nutrition.

For more information about the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, go to www.n4a.org. Learn about the Home Instead Senior Care network’s Craving Companionship^SM program at www.mealsandcompanionship.com.

KSRO Kira Reginato’s Ask the Expert on ElderCare August line-up!

Julie Ann Anderson — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 14:34:16 +0000

The Elder Care Radio Show – August 2011

KSRO 1350 AM Fridays – 12:30 – 1:00 p.m.

KNEW 910 AM Saturdays – 8:30 – 9:00 a.m

Do older adults disengage as they get older? It may seem that way if it’s hard to get Mom to go out and do things like she used to. Experts explore the topic of QUALITY OF LIFE in August. We’ll discuss the importance of helping people connect with a sense of purpose and meaning – even, and especially, when there are health issues or cognitive impairments that compete for “attention.” I hope you will give yourself a 30-minute break each week to tune in to the live show or to a podcast. Take good care, Kira Reginato

Nina Herndon, MA, CMC
Care Manager and Principal of Sage Eldercare Solutions
What can quality of life (QOL) mean if you’re limited physically or mentally? Nina will share stories of clients who are non verbal, have Alzheimer’s, have physical challenges, and have found interests adapted to them that have returned QOL to them. Learn to build a quality of life plan and/or a therapeutic activity kit for your loved one.

Julie Ann Anderson, Owner
Home Instead Senior Care
What can quality of life mean if you’re living alone? Julie Ann will fascinate you as she explains their LifeCatching Program, a way to record personal histories to share with others. She will entice you to enter the Craving Companionship Recipe Contest, too.

Dr. Michael Fraga, Neuropsychologist
Neuropsychological Associates
What can quality of life mean if you have a brain injury, whether from a bicycle accident, stroke or disease? Dr. Fraga will tell us about his amazing work with patients and the improvements they make to increase their quality of life and regain independence.

Dorothy McReynolds, Admissions Director
Golden Living Center, Petaluma
What can quality of life mean if you’re in a facility? What can you expect from an excellent facility? Dorothy will tell you how their staff goes the extra mile in their “Life’s Simple Pleasures Program.”
Special guest, Diana Gruhl, MSW, will talk about her Elder Active Program.

THE ELDER CARE RADIO SHOW THANKS ITS SPONSORS:
SearchSeniorLiving.Com • Dr. Michael A. Fraga, Neuropsychologist • Brookdale Senior Living •
Arcadia Home Care and Staffing • Golden Living Centers • Home Instead Senior Care • Institute on Aging •
Jewish Home of San Francisco • Lifeline Personal Response and Support Services • Dr. Thomas Yatteau, Concierge Medicine • Reliable Caregivers

Table Talk: How to Get Mealtime Conversations Going!

Julie Ann Anderson — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 15:19:56 +0000

Table Talk: How to Get Mealtime Conversations Going

The shopping is done, and the meal is ready and on the table. Your work is complete, right? And now comes the fun part. You sit down to dine with an older loved one. But what is there to talk about? A senior’s world may have shrunk to the size of their four walls. Even so, mealtime conversations are an important part of the dining experience.

And sharing memories is one way to get the conversation going, according to Dr. Amy D’Aprix, a life transition consultant, author, corporate speaker, facilitator, coach, and an expert in aging, retirement and caregiving. “Sharing memories is a great way to deepen your relationship with an aging relative,” D’Aprix said. “But sometimes we all need help thinking of new and meaningful things to talk about.”

That’s why D’Aprix created Caring Cards^TM. This packet of playing card look-alikes features more than 50 questions on a wide range of topics that can help you engage a senior loved one in meaningful conversation. Featured below are two Caring Card questions and D’Aprix’s comments about ways that you can use them to start up table talk with older adults.

What are some of the most valuable things you learned from your parents?

Many of us enjoy remembering our parents and the impact they had on our lives. Whether our relationship with our parents was easy or difficult, or more likely a combination of both, most of us recognize that who we are as adults was at least partially formed by what we learned from our parents. This question gives seniors the opportunity to talk about some of the most impactful things they learned from their parents. Follow-up questions could include: How did your parents teach you about “X”? Why do you think it was important to your parents that you learned “X”? Do you think they learned “X” from their parents?

For example, if the senior mentions the “importance of hard work” as something valuable they learned from their parents, you could ask whether their parents worked hard and in what ways. You could ask if their parents required them to work hard as a child. You could also ask if their parents had to work hard as kids and if their grandparents taught them it was important to work hard. This question could lead to many questions about how much time was spent working versus leisure time, and whether the parents thought people who didn’t work hard were lazy.

What was a major turning point in your life and how did it affect you?

As Kierkegaard said, “Life can only be understood backward, but must be lived forward.” By the time they have reached their senior years, many older adults have had numerous turning points. Reminiscing about these turning points allows seniors to make sense of their lives and their choices, and to gain peace of mind now. Natural follow-up questions include exploring more fully one or more of the turning points the person mentions and asking more details about the importance of that turning point in their lives and how they felt after taking the particular path they took.

Other questions include asking whether they would take that particular path again knowing what they now know and how they thought their lives might have turned out differently if they had taken a different route. When exploring this topic, it is important to be sensitive to whether a turning point was emotionally difficult or had outcomes that were not easy. Allow the senior to reveal only as much as they are comfortable revealing without pushing too hard or probing beyond his or her comfort zone.

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The Boomer Project results suggests adopting the 40-70 Rule® which is a program to help bridge the communication gap between adult children and their senior loved ones.

Julie Ann Anderson — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 20:31:47 +0000

Jeff Huber, President of Home Instead Senior Care Inc. was recently interviewed and here is a few of Jeff’s words….

Most professionals involved with eldercare are aware that adult children are not prepared to care for their parents when they receive “that call” that throws them into the caregiving role. But the Home Instead Senior Care network wanted to learn more about that and so in conjunction with The Boomer Project, a study of 600 baby boomer aged adults was conducted.

The results surprised me:

Less than 50% were knowledgeable about their parents’ medical history
49% were unable to name any of their parents’ current medications
More than 30% did not know just how many medications their parent(s) was taking
34% were unaware whether or not their parent owned a safety deposit box
and 36% were unaware of the location of their parents’ financial and legal information

The time to gather this information is NOT when a crisis occurs. At that time, decisions need to be made quickly, tempers may flare and fights between siblings and other family members can ensue. Family members can panic and incorrect choices may be made which may cause long term problems for all involved.

There will come a point when all of this information will be needed so it’s best to begin to gather it early.

Jeff suggests adopting the 40-70 Rule® which is a program to help bridge the communication gap between adult children and their senior loved ones. Basically, the earlier the conversation begins, the less stressful it will be and the more prepared the adult children will be. The site provides conversation starters and communication tips.

Home Instead is also offering a free “Caring for Your Parents: Senior Emergency Kit” that you can download from our website www.SeniorEmergencyKit.com. This kit contains information such important contact information, a medication tracker, an allergies and conditions worksheet and some extra listed resources.

Do something good for YOURSELF and be prepared as your parents age…trust me, you’ll be glad you did!