CULTURE CHANGE THROUGHOUT THE
CONTINUUM
OF LIFE-LONG LIVING & LONG-TERM CARE
"The secret of change consists in concentrating one’s energy to
create the new, and not to fight against the old."
~ Dan Millman
Special Tributes This Month:
(Source: www.changingaging.org)
Person-centered care advocates in
In the episode below, Kevin McCay, Executive Director of Tockwotton
Home in
And what does that mean exactly? Letting people wake up and go to sleep when they want. NEVER waking them up in the middle of the night for routine checkups. Letting them eat meals when they want to and providing real choice. Abolishing the overhead P.A. speakers. McCay drew the analogy of sitting in your living room watching the Red Sox when an overhead P.A. system drowns out the game with the page “Kevin, call on line 1. Kevin, call on line 1.” In an institutional nursing home, this happens all the time. At Tockwotton Home the overhead P.A. has been gone for years. There’s plenty more, check it out: You can find all eight episodes on Sen. Charles Levesque’s YouTube channel here.
You want Real Care Now? Head to
Overcoming
the Alzheimer's Negativity Bias
Kudos
to Marguerite Manteau-Rao, Mindful Living Advocate, for this Post in The
Huffington Post
Being dealt the initial blow of an Alzheimer's diagnosis is bad enough. Then comes the secondary trauma from having to face the stigma attached to the illness. During a series of nationwide town hall meetings with people with early stage dementia, the Alzheimer's Association found: Negative associations with Alzheimer‟s disease are shown to have a direct impact on the relationships between people with the disease and most everyone with whom they come into contact. People described the change in interactions that occur with their family and friends, colleagues and co-workers, as well as with the medical community . . . Many people reported a hesitation in admitting they had Alzheimer's disease for fear of negative public perceptions about the disease and its potential for causing social isolation . . .
Richard Taylor says it best… READ MORE HERE
Content Category Shortcuts:
Walter Coffey, Aging Services of Georgia
President/CEO Receives Honor
Walter
Coffey was awarded the 2010 Distinguished Alumni Award from The Gerontology
Institute of Georgia State University. The award was presented in
recognition of significant services, leadership, and advocacy for older adults
in
Second Phase of the Green
House at Calvary Should be Completed by
February
(Source: By ALLISON KENNEDY /
akennedy@ledger-enquirer.com)
The Green House is sprouting and growing. After three years, Calvary Ministries on
The Rev. Don Wilhite, senior pastor of Calvary Baptist
Church since 1975, helped break ground on the second phase Wednesday.
Georgia Rep. Richard Smith, Green House at
Calvary director Angie Williamson and Rep. Kip Smith break ground on phase two
of The Green House at
Family members of some of the residents who are now
deceased were among the approximately 40 people in attendance. “It’s like a family,” said Pam Jones, whose
mother, Cubia Helms, lived at the Green House until her death a year ago. “The
philosophy is unique. They’re loved. They kissed my mother goodnight every
night.” READ MORE
Pioneer Network Develops
Promising Practices, Web-Based Resource for Providers Who Are Navigating the
Revisions to the CMS Interpretive Guidelines
Promising
Practices in Dining, the First Topic, Illustrates How Providers Can Honor
Resident Dignity and Choice
(Source: Pioneer Network)
ROCHESTER, NY –
Pioneer Network Executive Director Bonnie Kantor announced today the launch of
Promising Practices, a web-based resource for providers who are navigating the revisions
to the CMS Interpretive Guidelines. Providers
have indicated interest in tools and resources for nursing homes to
operationalize the guidelines which are all about resident Quality of Life,
Person-Centered Care and a Home Environment. Promising Practices serves to meet
that need.
Promising Practices
in Dining is the first topic, with
Promising Practices in Home and the Environment expected next. The release of
the June 12 2009 CMS Interpretive Guidelines reinforces the need for nursing
homes to re-evaluate resident quality of life, including the methods by which
providers honor resident dignity and choice in dining. Pioneer Network has incorporated and
highlighted promising practices in dining from a broad range of nursing homes
and care settings to create this easy-to-use resource. This resource was
created in response to providers asking for a concrete resource during
February’s Creating Home in the Nursing Home II ‐‐ A National Symposium on
Culture Change and the Food and Dining Requirements.
“Providers throughout
the country have asked us to develop a ‘one stop shopping site’ so they can
more easily create responsive and cost effective systems and practices that
exceed their residents’ expectations,” says Bonnie Kantor. “Thanks to the
generosity of the Commonwealth Fund and our many partners we were able to
launch Promising Practices to address that need.” To visit the Promising Practices in
Dining resource, CLICK HERE
(Source: Dr. Bill Thomas, www.changingaging.org)
In the movement to make elderhood a rich and productive
time of life — not just a leftover — the voices of those who are living
through and grappling with this transition must be heard. Social media and blogging have provided a
platform for millions and millions of unheard voices to speak out, and that’s
why ChangingAging.org is partnering with the Picker Institute to launch a new blog — the Picker
Report on Aging in America at www.PickerReport.org — dedicated to promoting person-centered care by building
a social network of elders, their advocates, care givers and families.
Using streaming video and Skype, we want to talk directly
to YOU. Join the conversation by watching our welcome message below and
subscribing to our new YouTube Channel and Twitter account @PickerReport. By subscribing you’ll get instant updates with our latest
conversations. You can send us messages by commenting on our videos, messaging
us through YouTube, Twitter or emailing us directly at PickerReport@Gmail.com.
The Picker Institute is the nation’s leading foundation advancing
person-centered care. They’ve been transforming the way patients and doctors
approach health care by funding research, education and awarding outstanding
advances in person-centeredness. LINK HERE
Congratulations to the
Illiana VA, the First Federal VA Green House Project to Break Ground
(Source: THE GREEN HOUSE® Project)
Congratulations to the Illiana VA, the first Federal VA Green House Project
to break-ground. October 12,2010 was a great day for the Danville VA.
Peddling a Product Few Want,
Nursing Homes Innovate, Broaden Offerings to Turn a Profit
(Source: Associated Press)
Seniors amble the nursing home's halls,
while children from around the world visit for biofeedback treatments. One
floor down from the hospice, middle-aged workers fill its pain
management clinic. A rehabilitation
center attracts people of all ages. For
decades, the mission at
"This is a place of life. This isn't a place of impending
death," said Blaise Mercadante, chief marketing officer at
Other companies whose core business has been housing the elderly are
also coming up with new ways to make money, but
"Nursing homes are waking up more and more to the reality that
their old model of doing business is not going to hold up in the 21st
century," said Elinor Ginzler, an expert on long-term care at
Another provider that's changed its mix of services is Ecumen, which
operates 70 senior communities in
"We were heavily invested and reliant on a product that wasn't very popular," said Mick Finn, one of the company's a vice presidents. "That's a no-win proposition for any business."
Meanwhile, managers of its facilities were challenged to find new ways to make money off their existing services. One began offering meals from its cafeteria pickup service to community members. Another started an online business selling incontinence products. A third opened its fitness classes to nonresidents. "It was either diversify or die," said Eric Schubert, another Ecumen vice president.
Even as the number of older Americans surges with the aging of the massive baby boom generation, demand for nursing homes is decreasing. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that the number of nursing home residents fell from 1.63 million in 1999 to 1.49 million in 2004, the last year for which data is available. Meanwhile, the number of nursing homes decreased by nearly 16 percent over the two decades ending in 2004.
Demand for services like assisted living, in-home care and adult day care, meanwhile, is booming. Nursing homes have expanded their offerings to cope with shortfalls after finding that in many cases they are unable to provide care for less than the amount they are reimbursed under Medicaid, the main governmental provider of long-term care.
Brian Williamson, an analyst for Standard & Poor's who follows nursing homes, said facilities have been branching out to deal with lower occupancy rates. "Where before you may have been able to keep your facility 97 percent full, now maybe it's 92 percent," he said. "You have to figure out how do I compensate for that lost percentage of beds."
While some facilities have shuttered, observers say there will
always be a need for nursing homes. Neil Kurtz, CEO of Golden Living, one of
the largest nursing home operators in the
"The concept where we're just warehousing patients and this is where they go to die is just the furthest from the truth," Kurtz said. READ MORE HERE…
October is Patient-Centered
Care Awareness Month
(Source: www.planetree.org)
Patient-Centered Care Awareness Month is an international awareness-building campaign that occurs every October to commemorate the progress that has been made toward making patient-centered care a reality and to build momentum for further progress through education and collaboration. Hospitals and health care organizations around the world are encouraged to celebrate by empowering patients, strengthening their patient-centered practices, and publicly proclaiming to their patients and communities their commitment to patient-centered care.
For the past three years, health care organizations around the
What is “Patient-Centered Care?”
Although the phrase “patient-centered care” is defined and used in a variety of ways, the essential theme is the importance of delivering healthcare in a manner that works best for patients. In a patient-centered approach to health care, providers partner with patients and their family members to identify and satisfy the full range of patient needs and preferences. Organizations practicing patient-centered care recognize that:
A patient is an individual to be cared for, not a medical condition to be treated.
§ Each
patient is a unique person, with diverse needs.
§ Patients are partners and have knowledge and expertise that is essential to their care.
§ Patients’ family and friends are also partners.
§ Access to understandable health information is essential to empower patients to participate in their care and patient-centered organizations take responsibility for providing access to that information.
§ The opportunity to make decisions is essential to the well-being of patients and patient-centered organizations take responsibility for maximizing patients’ opportunities for choices and for respecting those choices.
§ Each staff member is a caregiver, whose role is to meet the needs of each patient, and staff members can meet those needs more effectively if the organization supports staff members in achieving their highest professional aspirations, as well as their personal goals.
§ Patient-centered
care is the core of a high quality health care system and a necessary
foundation for safe, effective, efficient, timely, and equitable care. MORE…
‘VIVE’: Interviewing Frail
Elders
(Source: Picker Institute)
The systematic inclusion of the resident’s voice in her or his own assessments represents an enormous advance in the new Minimum Data Set 3.0 (MDS 3.0). The Video on Interviewing Vulnerable Elders (VIVE) demonstrates best-practice approaches for implementing the new MDS interviews for cognition, mood, preferences and pain. Specific video sections explain why interviews have been added; review techniques to improve communication with older, frail populations; and demonstrate each interview being conducted. Using real-life nurses interacting in scenarios based on actual situations, VIVE helps to build understanding and ease implementation of MDS 3.0 for nursing home staff members. The goal of VIVE, funded by Picker Institute and developed by the UCLA/Jewish Home Borun Center, is to help staff members build the confidence and skills they need to interview their residents both for MDS 3.0 and for other clinical evaluations. The “VIVE” video is available at no cost from CMS. Click here to order. SEE MORE
2010 State of Senior Living
and Senior Living Capital Markets
(Source: Prepared by Jeffrey Girardi, Research
Specialist, Ziegler, Hat Tip to Colleen Bloom)
The Ziegler Senior Living Finance + Strategy (SLF+S) Conference
at the Coconut Point Hyatt Regency Resort & Spa in Bonita Springs, FL this
week provided a literal and figurative calm after the storm. The literal storm
(Tropical Storm Nicole) passed quickly through South Florida just before the
conference began, leaving blue skies in its wake for conference attendees to
enjoy; the figurative economic “storm” of 2008 and 2009 has left a few remnants
of ‘foul weather’ in its midst, though senior living providers seem to be
riding several positive trends in its wake.
These trends — eleven, in fact — were the highlight of this
year’s traditional opening session of the SLF+S Conference (Thursday, Sept 30).
Presented by Kathryn Brod, Ziegler’s Sr. Vice President and Director of
Senior Living Research; Dan Hermann, Ziegler’s Senior Managing Director, Head of
Senior Living Finance; Mike McDaniel, Ziegler’s Senior Managing Director, Head of
Sales and Trading; Ron Mintz, Principal, Vanguard; and Jim LeBuhn, Director, Fitch Ratings,
these eleven trends were woven into each of the subsequent educational sessions
of the conference and were enumerated by this team of speakers as follows:…
3. Adopting Resident-Centered Service & Care Models. The models of
resident-centered care are proliferating, whether in stand-alone Green House®
and small house
settings or incorporated in culture change new community or repositioning initiatives. READ MORE HERE http://image.exct.net/lib/ff021271746401/d/1/zNews_Featured_100110.pdf?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Z-News+for+the+Week+of+10-01-2010&utm_content=cbloom@aahsa.org&utm_source=
The Language of Change:
Finding Words to Define Culture Change in Long-Term Care
(Source: Author: Meldrena K. Chapin)
Chapin, M. K. (2010). The Language of Change: Finding Words to
Define Culture Change in Long-Term Care. Journal of Aging, Humanities, and
the Arts: Official Journal of the Gerontological Society of
ABSTRACT: Many senior living organizations are working to transform their institutional character into home and community. This undertaking amounts to a virtual cultural shift, known in the industry as culture change. Culture change is receiving growing popularity in the senior living industry; however the majority of organizations have yet to begin tackling this transformation. One of the contributions to this hesitancy may be that no universal explicit definition of culture change is accepted within the industry. This article, based on an extensive literature review, examines the current definitions within the culture change literature and proposes a new definition that may be helpful in understanding and undertaking this challenging holistic transformation.
Six New Villages Expand Aging
in Place in California
(Source: By
Athan Bezaitis, communications
specialist at The SCAN Foundation)
In
the face of declining public resources and cutbacks to social programs for
older adults, a grassroots movement has brought groups of local elders together
to provide services and
healthcare
to help people age in place. These communities call themselves “villages,” a
naming derived from the aphorism, “It takes a village to raise a child.” This
concept is expanded to include community engagement, support for a growing
aging population and helping elders maintain their active presence as a vibrant
element of a healthy society.
Villages
are membership-driven, nonprofit organizations designed to meet the needs and
preferences of older adults at the neighborhood level. They provide
transportation, discounted services, social activities, volunteer opportunities
and a vetted list of trusted vendors for home repairs and personal care.
Currently,
there are nearly 45
operational
villages nationwide with hundreds of other communities seeking to start their
own programs. Membership dues and fees are based on village location. The
largest villages have more than 450 members,
the smallest fewer than 100.
Some charge annual dues of up to $1,200 per year, others as little as $300. The hallmark of the villages is
their commitment to being part of the continuum of services in their
communities and to collaborating with existing organizations. READ MORE
(Source: By Beth Sanders, www.lifebio.blogspot.com)
I work with a lot of senior living
communities, assisted living, and skilled nursing homes across the
The ripple effect of love is very powerful when the director or administrator
or other leaders in the community starts the waves and keep them going with a
simple kind word, a genuine compliment, or smile every day. It will surely
ripple over into the lives of families and residents over time. In a
professional and caring way, his/her love and respect for the staff needs to be
felt equally from laundry to nursing to activity director. Listen carefully to
each other's needs and concerns and creative ideas. Help people feel
appreciated no matter their pay scale. Everyone is in this together!
I can also see residents in these communities starting the ripple effect
themselves. When they are caring and see the workers around them doing all they
can to help, it is a wonderful thing too. It means a lot when residents are
thankful and loving to the people who could be helping them with dressing or
bathing or physical therapy. It is a two-way street, but the ripple effect must
start somewhere.
Drop the pebble of love in the water, and watch the ripple effect begin.
That is true culture change. MORE
Aging in Place — A Graceful
Living Option for Seniors
(Source: By
The
swelling ranks of Americans 65 and older — a figure expected to more than
double to 89 million by 2050 — have inspired communities and companies to find
innovative ways to help older Americans work longer and age gracefully and affordably
in their homes.
The small but fast-growing "village" movement — where seniors help
seniors to coordinate and deliver services within their communities — is a
grass-roots response to the well-documented preference of older people to
remain in their homes as they age. There are many different models for this
approach, but one of the most venerable is
It Takes a Village
"People
who join Villages are planners," notes Elinor Ginzler, senior vice
president for livable communities at
Aging-in-place systems are cost-effective. Consider this: The median monthly cost
for nursing home care in 2009 was $5,243 — more than five times that for
seniors living at home, according a study published
in the 2010 issue of Health Affairs.
With the need for long-term care expected to double between 2000 and 2040,
these models can postpone the need for institutional care and cut significant
costs for individuals as well as government programs like Medicare and
Medicaid.
Businesses Step Up
Businesses,
too, are stepping up to confront the parallel challenge of a rapidly aging
population: how to support workers juggling fulltime jobs with their duties as
caretakers of elderly relatives. According to a study by the
National Alliance for Caregiving and
National Aging in Place Week
October 11th through the 17th
(Source: Mary Lea Quinn, NAIP Georgia Chapter)
This year’s National Aging in Place week will be held from October 11th through the 17th.The following will be continuously updated with national events as they are planned, so keep checking back for ideas. Aging in Place Week is in its seventh year. Past events have, and future events should, incorporate business to business, business to consumer, and media events. The goals of these events should focus on chapter fundraising, creating local awareness among seniors, community involvement, and finding new referrals.
Some of the past and future promotion ideas presented were: The publication of resource guides, highlighting local service providers; Official proclamations from local government; Story placement in local newspapers; Home remodeling events taking place at a senior modified home; A seminar on financial planning for seniors and boomers; Medicare seminars; A Miss Aging in Place contest; Leaflet exchanges with local theaters; A golf tournament where each hole had different sponsor; Bingo with age-in-place product and service prizes; Senior job fairs; Senior "speed dating."
In the Works
-- Atlanta
This
year, the
2010 Consumer Voice Annual Meeting
& Conference
October 19 – 22, 2010 in Orlando ,
Florida
The 2010 Conference will: Enable you to cultivate your network
including interactions with residents, citizen advocacy groups and other
advocates, family council members, ombudsmen, researchers, direct care workers,
and others committed to quality long-term care; Provide tangible tools to
assist in every day advocacy efforts; and Showcase expert presentations and key
information to help you translate issues into action and action into better care. This year the conference will be held at the
beautiful Caribe
Royale hotel in
A Patient-Centered Approach
to Visitation Live Online Event
October 19, 2010 1:00 PM EDT
Presented by Planetree Vice President of Consultation
Services Jeanette Michalak, RN, MSN, along with Wendy Tennis, BA and Nancy Jane
Schreiner, BSN, RN of Valley View Hospital.
Cultivating a health care environment that welcomes loved ones and recognizes
that family involvement enhances health care delivery is fundamental to
patient-centered care. Research has found that flexible visitation policies
minimize anxiety and maximize comfort for patients and families. Learn how to
overcome challenges to implementing 24-hour patient-directed visitation and how
welcoming loved ones leads to increased patient satisfaction scores. Duration: 60 minutes
Login
or Register to view the presentation.
CEAL WEBINARS
The Center for Excellence in Assisted Living (CEAL) is bringing you four, one-hour webinars on practices of excellence in assisted living from across the country, including topic experts and the award winners from the Promoting Excellence in Assisted Living Awards Program.
October
27, 2:00 – 3:00 EST
“Person-Centered Care: It’s More Than an Art”
November
16, 2:00 – 3:00 EST
“Dementia Care: What Works”
December
7, 2:00 – 3:00 EST
“Medication Administration: Getting It Right”
FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO REGISTER CLICK HERE
Eden
The Business Case for Culture
Change
Wednesday, October 27th, 2010
Walter Collins, Owner/CEO,
Briarwood Healthcare
Moving From Commitment to
Action: Where Empowered Partnerships Thrive
Monday, November 8th, 2010
Rhonda Rotterman, Executive
Director, Western New York
Monday, November 22nd, 2010
Melissa Honig, Project Guide,
The Green House Project
Age to Age: Creating a
Kindergarten in Your Nursing Home
Wednesday, December 8th, 2010
Monte Coffman, Executive
Director, Windsor Place; Sherri Chittum,
Kindergarten Instructor, Windsor Place;
Jacque Rooks, Quality of Life Director, Windsor Place
National Village
Village
to Village Network National Gathering
November
11-12, 2010
What exactly is a Village?
Villages are membership-driven, grass-roots organizations that, through both volunteers and paid staff, coordinate access to affordable services including transportation, health and wellness programs, home repairs, social and educational activities, and other day-to-day needs enabling individuals to remain connected to their community throughout the aging process. SEE MORE HERE
Conversations with Carmen Monthly Web Talk Show
The shows are produced by Action Pact and hosted by
For $99.00 per site, as many people can watch as you can get around
a computer monitor or in a room to see a projection of the show. Many teams tell us that having their whole
team hear the same up-to-date, innovative information in an encouraging
conversation format helps them dive into what fits their community.
Next month's guest and topic:
Date: Friday,
Nov. 19, 2010
Guest: Dr.
Matthew Wayne, MD, CMD, Medical Director for multiple nursing homes
Conversation
Topic: The Role of the Medical Director
in Person Directed Care
AMDA, the American Medical Director's Association, released a white paper
in March of 2010 entitled, The Role of
the Medical Director in Person Directed Care.
Dr. Matthew Wayne was one of the primary authors. Join us while one medical director, involved
with medical directors nationally and a leader among them as well as a veteran
nursing home medical director known for implementing person directed practices,
explains AMDAs stand and support for person directed care. An opportunity to invite your medical
directors and attending physicians to listen in on "the latest" from one
of their own.
Human Rights Day- Friday,
December 10th
Celebrate
Human Rights Day and stand up with people all over the world who want to make
human rights a reality for everyone.
Human
Rights Day marks the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(UDHR) adopted on December 10, 1948 that set down the basic principles at the
very heart of the human rights movement. The UDHR has enabled remarkable
progress in human rights, inspiring international human rights standards, laws
and institutions that have improved the lives of many around the world. The day is a high point in the calendar of
United Nations and is normally marked by both high-level political conferences
and meetings and by cultural events and exhibitions dealing with human rights
issues. Many non-profit organizations and human rights activists also schedule
special events to commemorate the day. Look out for events in your community!
SAVE THESE DATES for Upcoming
Pioneer Network Conferences
August 2 – 4, 2011 in St.
Charles, Missouri (The request for
proposals is now open.)
August 6 – 8, 2012 in Jacksonville , Florida
August 12 – 14, 2013 in Bellevue , Washington
(near Seattle
Environmental & Policy
Change for Healthy Aging, An
Interactive, Online Conference Series to Build Capacity for Change
This four-month initiative, produced by the CDC-Healthy Aging Research Network and Creating Aging Friendly Communities, will take place from September 28, 2010 – January 21, 2011.
The conference series will begin with Module I on September 28…
Format. Each conference module begins with a prerecorded presentation that introduces key concepts for the module topic. The prerecorded presentation is followed in 2 weeks by an interactive webinar. Two days following the webinar, the module offers a moderated online conversation.
Modules. The four modules in this conference series address:
- Introduction to Environmental and Policy Change for Healthy Aging (begins Sept. 28)
- Optimal Living Environments for Healthy Aging (begins Oct. 19)
- Integrated Approaches to Mobility (begins November 30)
- Emerging Environmental Issues in Healthy Aging (begins Jan. 4)
Creating Aging-Friendly Communities is excited to bring to you this special capacity-building initiative from the CDC Healthy Aging Research Network. Funding for the Environmental and Policy Change (EPC) for Healthy Aging Conference Series was made possible by a grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). MORE
Aging Means Business Forum
Monday, November 22, 2010, New
Orleans ,
LA
Join us in New Orleans for a one-day forum to learn more about the changing consumer demands of the 50+ age group—and ways to better serve, target, and engage this growing market of baby boomers and older generations. Top-ranked academic experts on economics, gerontology, and consumer behavior will engage in dialogue with national and local business leaders. This year's forum will focus on aging-in-place technology, home modification, and housing. Laurie Orlov, founder of Aging in Place Technology Watch, will provide the keynote address. Other presenters include Joseph Coughlin, founder and director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLab; Mary Furlong, president and CEO of Mary Furlong & Associates; and Gary Moulton, product manager in Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing Group. For more information or to register, click here.
What’s In a Name??
Back
on line, at least for the moment. September was a crazy month, but the dust
should start to settle soon. I will be going to visit Lakeview Ranch in
The words “elder” and “elderly” are being tossed around in another iteration on www.changingaging.org, so I thought I’d cross it over to this post. There are many people who see the word “elderly” as a simple modifier for an old person, and don’t see why culture change advocates recoil at the word. Here is the reply I posted yesterday:
“While the word “elderly” COULD carry any connotation, the usual result in our society is that it suggests an image of a frail, broken, dependent person. The rather common usage, therefore, of a term that paints aging in such a negative light contributes to the negative image of older people that The Eden Alternative, ChangingAging and other culture change movements try to dispel.
“We are hoping that people will come to see elderhood as a distinct developmental stage–not purely defined by loss of physical ability, but rather a synthesis of life experiences into a form of wisdom and perspective not generally seen in younger adults. This is borne out by many studies that show older adults process information through a richer emotional and psychological tapestry.
“Word choice is all about neurolinguistic programming. Certain words can bias our view of people, and we choose a more positive language, in order to help us make the paradigm shift to a more positive view of aging.”
On the positive side, we have resuscitated the word “elder” and increased its usage in a society that has largely forgotten the term. We choose this word, as it comes from traditional societies where elders had positions of respect. Not only were they not excluded from mainstream society, their wisdom was valued and they were often sought for advice on matters both large and small. This fosters a more positive view of aging.
Beyond that, The Eden Alternative does not even assign a particular age range to an elder. We define the term as follows: “An elder is any person who, by virtue of life experience, is here to teach us how to live”. This includes our frailest elders, who teach us every day to be kind, compassionate and patient, and who show us how to create caring communities. It also encompasses younger people who, by virtue of their challenges, live a similar life experience to many of their older counterparts.
Some of the younger people who live in nursing homes reject the term “elder”, but often when you explain what an elder is in positive, developmental terms, they agree that they fit the bill! LINK TO BLOG
Barbaric
Treatment of Alzheimer's Patient John McLeod
I asked myself, what is wrong with
us? I felt variously angry, sad, and frustrated. I wondered to myself, how is
Johns' wife Rose feeling?...
(Source:
By Bob DeMarco, Alzheimer's Reading Room)
Just when you think people are coming to a clearer understanding
of Alzheimer's disease something like this happens. Joe McLeod, 69, was arrested on Sept. 2 for
assault after he became confused and pushed his wife down and injured her. At
the time John was disoriented and didn't recognize her.
Rose McLeod said her husband did not recognize her and she was showing him a family photo to jog his memory when the incident occurred. She required eight stitches to her chest when she fell against the corner of the picture frame.
After the police arrived on the scene and assessed the situation,
they took John first to the Hospital; and then, to jail after the hospital gave
him a medical clearance. And there John
stayed for more than a month. McLeods'
wife said that when she called police, they led her to believe she "didn't
have a choice" but to press charges. Later as he was languishing away in
the police remand center the wife said she didn't want to press charges and
just wanted him out of the remand center.
John spent more than a month in the police remand center and he was not granted bail. As John sat in jail no one concluded he would be better off in some kind of senior or Alzheimer's care facility. Only after the news media got involved and the story became public did something start to happen. READ MORE
Old? Elderly? Senior? No,
just aging.
(Source: By JANE GLENN HAAS,
COLUMNIST, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER)
At what age does a
person become elderly or a senior citizen?
ROD VEAL, THE
ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A few days ago, a young gal asked me if I wrote about "senior citizens." I told her I hadn't written about them in years. In fact, I rarely even write about "seniors" anymore. I'm not alone.
In its recent magazine,
There might be references to "Medicare recipients" and other indicator of age, but that nasty word "senior" – made even nastier when followed by "citizen" – is carefully avoided.
Wondering why? Go back and check out that definition of "senior citizens" – the one we operated under for years. It says people 60-plus are "elderly." Indeed, until 2000 the U.S. Census classified anyone 54-plus as "near elderly" and those over 60 as "elderly." Now there's nothing wrong with being elderly. I hope I am some day. But we don't talk about ourselves getting "elderly" anymore. Instead, we are "aging." Which equates with ripening on the vine. Growing mature. Reaching our potential. Yes, we're hopelessly confused about words… MORE HERE
Loss of Independence
Day
(Source: Author: Karen A. Thompson)
Thompson, K. A. (2010). Loss of Independence Day. Journal of
Aging, Humanities, and the Arts: Official Journal of the Gerontological Society
of
Abstract: The right to self
determination later in life is challenged when safety in a person's marginal
existence is involved. In this narrative, the desire of an older woman to be
independent is denied when her niece intercedes. Safety and practicality take
precedence over autonomy. The life altering decision is perceived as a humane
intervention by all except the person who is affected the most. LINK
Intrepid Exploring: Looking
Past Fears of Short-Term Memory Loss in Aging to Deploy the Brain's Long-Term
Memories and—Wisdom
(Source: Author: Terry Lee)
Lee, T. (2010). Intrepid Exploring: Looking Past Fears of Short-Term
Memory Loss in Aging to Deploy the Brain's Long-Term Memories and—Wisdom. Journal
of Aging, Humanities, and the Arts: Official Journal of the Gerontological
Society of
Abstract: Exaggerated fears about
losses as we age, especially as exemplified by inimical cultural stereotypes
about transient short-term memory losses, may effectively prevent older individuals
from enjoying the changes in their memory patterns. In later life, a lifetime
of memories may spontaneously begin returning to us as we age. New cognitive
science research seems to confirm insights from literature and depth psychology
that older individuals are uniquely qualified to be explorers, as the poet T.S.
Eliot has said they should be. Unlike the brains in younger years, older brains
have “broad attention spans” that look beyond narrow boundaries as they search
and explore the world about them. This essay includes World Wide Web URLs to 22
minutes of video documenting one 62-year-old woman's exploration of long-term
memories in a life-review memoir. She wrote the memoir in a lifelong learning
class, as a way of harvesting a part her long-term memory about a childhood
trauma, and as a way of helping assuage the trauma by catharsis. Finally, I
discuss recent research that indicates the strength that older people have to
make good use of distractors. LINK
I Thought I Was the Kid
(Source: Author: Deborah K. van den Hoonaard)
van den Hoonaard, D. K. (2010). I Thought I Was the Kid. Journal
of Aging, Humanities, and the Arts: Official Journal of the Gerontological
Society of
Abstract: This essay uses the divergent experiences
of the author, a middle-aged woman, at her home in Atlantic Canada and while
visiting
Fed Chairman: Aging
Population Puts U.S. Economy on 'Unsustainable Path'
(Source: McKnights)
Failing to address the challenges of an aging population will
endanger the country's economic future, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke
told a gathering of business and union leaders in
“The retirement of state employees, together with continuing increases in health-care costs, will cause public pension and retiree health-care obligations to become increasingly difficult to meet,” according to Bernanke, the Providence Journal reported. This puts the country on “an unsustainable path in the longer term.”
In commenting on the budget crisis facing states, Bernanke noted that the states collectively are on the hook for $600 billion in retiree health benefits and $2 trillion in unfunded pension liabilities. LINK
A Lewy Body Patient: “Lewy
Body symptoms make my life one of constant frustration.”
(NOTE: Although this is an article about Lewy Body
dementia, it is applicable to ALL OF OUR ELDERS… It helps us to “walk a mile in their shoes”
and understand life from their perspective.
I highly recommend this!!!)
(Source:
Shirley Lay, The information in the article "Lewy Body Disease from
a Patients Point Of View" was obtained from what Shirley Lay observed from
many the LBD caregivers she corresponds with on a daily basis, some is from her
mom -a Lewy Body Disease patient-, and the rest is from what she observed. She
typed this up for a meeting at her mom's nursing home. They had no clue what
LBD was or how to treat a patient who had it.)
There are so many things I can and want to do for myself; but at any
time, I may suddenly find I'm unable to do anything without assistance, and at
times I'm overcome with fatigue. Please be patient and allow me a bit more
time. I know the staff members are very busy, but when you tell me
"Hurry", the stress of something even that simple may make my symptoms
even worse. If you yell at me or act visibly irritated, I get more confused and
will most likely become very agitated. If you were to try to make a sudden
change in my routine or schedule, it would confuse me too. Please, take the
time to explain things and talk to me in a reassuring, kind compassionate
manner. When you roll your eyes or complain that I'm asking for too much help,
it makes me feel bad. I don't want to overwork anyone but the reason I'm here
is that sometimes, I really do need help. Do you really believe I enjoy not
being able to do things for myself? I use to be very independent and never
dreamed I'd ever have to ask anyone for help.
When I wet my diaper or have a bowel movement, I'm very embarrassed. It's a
gross, dirty feeling and I'm ashamed that I'm in this condition. Leaving me
this way for hours at a time is even more humiliating and I wish I could just
die instead of having to be this way. Sometimes I have real difficulties with
simple tasks like brushing my hair, washing, or getting to the toilet on time.
It embarrasses me that I can't handle these personal matters. I've had Lewy
body for over a year and on a good day I can hold a conversation, feed myself
and attempt to comb my own hair. But those other days, that's when I need your
help.
Often and quite unpredictably, my movements become extra slow, even immobile.
Sometimes for a short time, I literally "freeze" on the spot. A
physiotherapist can demonstrate useful strategies to help me become unstuck.
Don't push me or pull me as this may lead to a fall. I worry a lot about
falling and breaking a hip or wrist, but I want to keep mobile and independent.
I appreciate the staff understanding this. When my body is working, I'm able to
move about safely using a walker, a wheelchair, or other aides.
Mealtimes in the dining room can be really frustrating and embarrassing as it
takes me ages to cut my food and get it to my mouth. Sometimes it's impossible
to do either. The food is often cold before I'm half through the meal. My
eyesight is so unpredictable, sometimes I am able to see pretty well; other
times I can't even make out the food on my plate and don't know what I'm eating
until it reaches my mouth. Sometimes I can't even tell if I still have food
left on my plate. Over last year or so, I've also developed problems with
swallowing. As a result, there's always too much saliva in my mouth and I
drool. It's very embarrassing. Because of the swallowing difficulties, I worry
a lot about choking. A side effect of some of the medications I take is a dry
mouth, so I need a lot of ice water available. The water also helps my speech
and is good for the constipation that plagues a lot of LBD patients. Sometimes
it may be difficult for me to swallow water; then, I tend to do better with
juices and other thicker liquids.
Voluntary movements sometimes take more effort for a person with Lewy Body
Disease so I get tired very easily. It's difficult for me to get a good night's
sleep, as I may need help turning over. If my medications wear off before
morning, I may awaken feeling cramped and stiff and since I can't move
naturally in bed, it's impossible to fall back to sleep.
Sometimes I may look grouchy or uninterested. It may be I'm simply not able to
see you or hear you. But, please ask me how I'm feeling because I still enjoy a
good conversation. My speech is sometimes difficult to understand; the words
get slurred or muffled and the volume is low because of various muscles being
affected. My slowness to respond isn't always related to my hearing problem or
that my brain is slow; sometimes it just takes awhile for the words to come
out! With a conscious effort on my part, I'm sometimes able to speak more
clearly and I appreciate the staff taking a little extra time to listen very
carefully.
Lewy Body Disease is a very lonely and boring condition. Often I feel trapped
in my own body. My clumsy hands make activities such as crafts or games
difficult, although I used to enjoy a game cards, bingo, or Scrabble. I'd like
to socialize more, to feel like a normal human being. If someone can help me
with a game of bingo or whatever, I'd enjoy that. It's too hard for me to
maneuver the pieces and sometimes I can't even see them and my concentration is
not as good as it used to be. This really doesn't mean I wouldn't enjoy the
company if I could have some help. But I don't want to be made to feel stupid
or inadequate in front of others.
I would like nothing better than to return home and resume my independent life.
I don't enjoy depending on others for anything. Please remember that I didn't
choose to have my life turned upside down. Your patience and understanding is
the best medicine for me. Remember that I still have feelings; I still have
needs; not so long ago, I was just like everyone else. The best thing you can do
for me now is treat me with respect. Encourage me. Don't talk over my head as
if I'm not there. I may not respond to your questions or remarks but that
doesn't mean I didn't hear you. I don't need to be put to sleep or shoved into
a corner; I need to keep as active of a life as possible. Last but not least,
please do not compare me to other patients. This disease may have similarities
to other diseases, but it is very unique. No two patients display the same
symptoms. No one can tell from one minute to the next what my abilities will be
at any given moment, so please don't think I am being stubborn or ignorant; the
disease is running my body. I no longer have full control. There is no longer a
normal day for me. LINK HERE
A Day to Remember: Assisted
Living Residents Share Their Memories With Others
(Source: www.standard.net)
Eleanor Bent was an American Red Cross volunteer. Virginia Stirling
was a painter and calligrapher. Henrietta Thomas was an Army nurse. Charles
Pennington was a physician. All are
residents of
"Oh, I think this was a great idea,"
Thomas said when she was a little girl she decided she wanted to become a nurse. "I read a lot about doctors and nurses and I just really wanted to become a nurse," she said. "I made my mind up at a very young age."
On display were three huge scrapbooks of Thomas' nursing career with
the Army Corps, along with badges and newspaper clippings. "I worked a lot overseas and also in
…Cheryl Schmid, who was in charge of the event at Mountain Ridge Assisted Living, said the center has some very talented and successful individuals. "They are wonderful people who have done so much in their lives," she said. "It's just something nice to do for our residents. Something to honor them and let them know how much we appreciate them and what valuable people they are in the community." READ MORE HERE
Great Old Broads Take on
Washington
(Source: By Beth
Baker, www.msmagazine.com)
It’s
not every day that a handful of women in their sixties play a game using leaf
blowers and a large yellow ball on the National Mall in
The
Broads, based in Durango, Colo., were in D.C. the end of September as part of
National Wilderness Week, along with 120 other activists lobbying for public
lands protection. When I last reported on the Broads, I accompanied the group’s
executive director Veronica (Ronni) Egan and associate director Rose Chilcoat
on a hike in
Great Old Broads began in 1989 when a group of older women were sitting in a cafe after a long hike and saw on the news that Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) wanted to open up wilderness areas to roads–ostensibly to allow older people access. “Our founders didn’t want to be used as scapegoats,” says Chilcoat. “They were women of a certain age, physically active, politically savvy, who realized theirs was the missing voice in the wilderness dialogue.”
Their “wrinkled ranks,” as they put it, have grown to 5,500. They regularly organize hiking expeditions (“Broadwalks”) where participants learn about wilderness, do a service project and have a lot of laughs. They have 24 chapters (“Broadbands”) in 15 states, led by women who have been through Leader Bootcamp. READ MORE
Workplace Assaults on Nursing
Assistants in US Nursing Homes: A Multilevel Analysis
(NOTE: “BEHAVIORS”
are COMMUNICATION!!! What does this
article tell us??)
(Source: AJPH First Look,
published online ahead of print Aug 19, 2010)
|
|
October
2010, Vol 100, No. 10 | American Journal of Public Health 1938-1945
© 2010 American
Public Health Association
DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2009.185421
SangWoo Tak, ScD, MPH, Marie Haring Sweeney, PhD, MPH, Toni Alterman, PhD, Sherry Baron, MD, MPH and Geoffrey M. Calvert, MD, MPH
The authors are with the Division of Surveillance, Hazard
Evaluations, and Field Studies, National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
Correspondence: Correspondence should be sent to SangWoo Tak, ScD, MPH, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4676 Columbia Parkway, R-17, Cincinnati, OH 45226 (e-mail: STak@cdc.gov). Reprints can be ordered at http://www.ajph.org by clicking the "Reprints/Eprints" link.
Objectives. We examined risk factors for injuries to nursing assistants from assaults by nursing home residents at both the individual and the organizational level.
Methods. We analyzed data from the 2004 National Nursing Assistant Survey that were linked to facility information from the 2004 National Nursing Home Survey by use of multilevel modeling that accounted for the complex survey design effect.
Results. Thirty-four percent of nursing assistants surveyed reported experiencing physical injuries from residents' aggression in the previous year. Mandatory overtime (odds ratio [OR] = 1.65; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.22, 2.24) and not having enough time to assist residents with their activities of daily living (OR = 1.49; 95% CI = 1.25, 1.78) were strongly associated with experiencing injuries from assaults. Nursing assistants employed in nursing homes with Alzheimer care units were more likely to experience such injuries, including being bitten by residents.
Conclusions. Reducing mandatory overtime and having a less
demanding workload may reduce the risk of workplace violence. In
particular, prevention activities should be targeted at those
nursing homes that care for cognitively impaired patients. LINK HERE
Analysis: Salaries Hit the
Brakes for LTC Management
(Source: Brett
Bakshis, McKnights)
After appearing to largely dodge the disastrous economic collapse of 2008 and 2009, the long-term care industry appeared to finally experience the impact of the lackluster economy. Surveys collected for the “2010-2011 Nursing Home Salary & Benefit Report” show that many positions in long-term care management received smaller salary increases than in years past, while some just barely broke even. The “Salary & Benefits Report” is issued each year by Hospital & Healthcare Compensation Service (HCS), in association with the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging and supported by the American Health Care Association. READ MORE HERE
Life around …: Staff’s
Perceptions of Residents’ Adjustment into Long-Term Care
(Source: Elaine C Wiersma, www.muse.jhu.edu)
Canadian
Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement - Volume 29, Number 3,
September/septembre 2010, pp. 425-434
Cambridge University Press
Abstract: The move to a long-term care facility can be particularly traumatic for new residents. Staff can make this transition easier in a number of ways. However, the staff’s perceptions of the transition process and residents’ experiences will play a significant part in determining the type of support that is given residents during the transition. The purpose of this research was to examine the staff’s perceptions of a person’s coming to live in a long-term care environment. Using in-depth interviews with staff from one long-term care facility, three main themes emerged that encompassed descriptions of residents’ lives. Essentially, the staff described how residents learned to live a life involving various factors in three main categories—life around losses, life around the institution, and life around the body LINK HERE
Government Releases Funding
to Help Older Adults Navigate Long-Term Care
(Source: McKnights)
Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Monday said $68 million in grant money is available to help seniors, the disabled and their caregivers better understand options for long-term care. The funding, which is a result of the healthcare reform law, is designed to aid families in deciphering Medicare and Medicaid benefits. It also should assist patients with the transition between skilled nursing care and home care, according to an HHS release. Among the disbursements: Twenty-four states will receive grants designed to strengthen the role of Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ARDCs) in the Money Follows the Person program, which helps with the transition between care settings. All 50 states, along with 125 tribal organizations, will receive funding to help educate beneficiaries on the benefits for which they are eligible.
“Our health care system can offer many options to meeting those needs from traditional nursing home care to home and community-based services,” said Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Don Berwick in a statement. “These grants will help families make informed decisions and make sure patients have more control over their own care.” LINK HERE
For more information on the dispersal of these grants, visit this site.
Advocacy Group's Initiative
to Examine Consumers' Needs Across Long-Term Care Settings
The
National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care has launched a three-year
project to focus on healthcare issues faced by older long-term care consumers
in various care settings.
The initiative represents the advocacy group's new effort to represent consumers in settings other than nursing homes. The project will develop models for engaging consumers through state pilot projects and facilitate collaboration with national organizations to implement health reform, Consumer Voice said. It will culminate in a report with policy recommendations to respond to the growing long-term care needs of a diverse aging population. The Atlantic Philanthropies is funding the project through a three-year grant. Consumer Voice was formerly known as NCCNHR.
"Our organization has had much success in advancing consumer advocacy for nursing home residents and will continue to move forward on those efforts," Executive Director Sarah F. Wells said. "Consumers for Quality Care, No Matter Where presents a new opportunity to advance the goals we developed through our strategic business plan, reflecting our commitment to meeting the changing needs of long-term care consumers." LINK HERE
2010 AAHSA Consumer Research
Digest: Issues That Older Consumers Will
Face in 2016 and Beyond
(Source: www.geron.org)
This collection of resources, compiled by the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, contains credible and informative research that can shed light on the issues that older consumers will face in 2016 and beyond. Those future consumers will differ in important ways from current consumers. Resource categories include: characteristics of the future aging population, financial well-being of the future aging population, future retirement lifestyles, health status of the future aging population, and meeting future needs for long-term services and supports. LINK
(Source: By C. J. Pittsburgh,
www.alzheimersreadingroom.com)
This is a good description of a day in the life of an Alzheimer's
caregiver. Spoken in her own words. LISTEN HERE
‘If You Send Your Parents to
a Nursing Home, You are Sending Them to Die’
(Source: Erin Anderssen, The Globe and Mail)
The alarm went off on her mother’s bedroom door, and Thuy Nguyen-Crawford got up, as she often does many times in a night, to see what was wrong. Her mom regularly mixes up the clock – thinking it’s morning, when it’s really midnight, not registering the darkness outside her window. Sometimes, she doesn’t make it to the bathroom, and Thuy, already exhausted, has to change the sheets, just as she’s done for her three young children.
Her mother often hallucinates during those early morning wake-ups, imagining the cat trapped outside or her daughter sitting at the end of her bed. On this summer night, Tuyet Nguyen was convinced that she saw Thuy’s father climbing the lamp post in the driveway. Her daughter coaxed her back to bed. “That’s okay, mom,” she said. “I’ll go and get him down.”
The next morning, she remembered enough to ask: Was he okay? Thuy’s explanation satisfied her: “Dad was fine. I told him not to do it again.”
Caring for her mother part-time is a struggle itself, but a diagnosis of dementia has also caused tension in her family over how to provide care, and what should happen in the future. Thuy shares the duty right now with her father, who at 82 watches her mother and handles her hygiene for long spells on his own.
Her parents have an apartment in her brother’s house, but she worries that something will happen while everyone is at work. Her father has refused outside help – in Vietnamese culture, families handle the job alone. But he has his own health problems; two years ago, he passed out at home from a bleeding ulcer and her mom was able to call Thuy for help. “Now she can’t even dial the phone. If that happened today, he would bleed to death.”
Peter Power/The Globe and Mail
Thuy knows that,
at some point, a nursing home will have to be a consideration but it’s not a
subject easily raised with her siblings. In
Senior Sez Games -- Born From
a Need
It's
true that the best creations are those that satisfy a need. When seniors at a
local assisted-living facility made their needs known, the seeds of Senior Sez
took root.
(Source: Lynda Seminara)
The story began at a local assisted-living facility, where I had been volunteering for years. I would visit weekly and help entertain the residents. Sometimes they'd like to have horoscopes and news read to them, and frequently they opted to play a game. Although Bingo and Scrabble were popular choices, they required the residents to move from their comfortable living-room lounge to an activity room with tables -- and that was often met with moans and groans.
They enjoyed trivia immensely, so I would read to them from trivia books and provide the multiple-choice answers. This we could do right in their lounge -- but it too had drawbacks. The trivia questions centered around a single subject, such as history, geography, or music, which was of interest to some but caused others to nod off or wander away. Moreover, there were often 5 or 6 possible answers, which led to frustration. Even I couldn't remember all of them!
The seniors' needs were crystal clear -- and prompted the birth of the Senior Sez Trivia game. The game is loaded with amusing facts on a wide array of subjects, including inventions, entertainment, lifestyles, historic events, and much more. Having this large variety minimizes boredom and promotes fairness. And what's more -- there are just two possible answers to each question. This provides simplicity and a non-intimidating atmosphere, with a 50% chance of success every time! READ MORE
Active-Aging Industry Grows
Services for Older Adults
New
survey from International Council on Active Aging® shows a 51% increase in
wellness programs for older adults
(Source: colinmilner@icaa.cc, LinkedIn)
The economic news this year has generally focused on the standstill in production and consumer spending. Despite this environment, the active-aging industry is slowly but steadily growing, according to new research from International Council on Active Aging® (ICAA), the association that provides services and business intelligence for professionals working with people 50 years and older.
Active
aging means living live as fully as possible, with opportunities for health,
productivity and safety. The active-aging industry was created when ICAA
brought together diverse business sectors—from real estate to seniors services
and fitness—by recognizing their mutual purpose of providing services to older
adults. The industry’s emphasis on quality of life among older adults has
resulted in an abundance of Wii tournaments and strength training classes,
expeditions to
The ICAA 2010 Active-Aging Industry Development Survey collected information from 640 respondents to an online survey who work primarily in retirement communities, seniors centers, wellness centers, health clubs and additional locations that provide services for older adults. These providers of services to older adults reported a surge of optimism and service growth.
- Over three-quarters (77%) of respondents plan to add more activities, classes or programs over the next two years. This is a 51% increase from the responses to the identical questions that appeared on an earlier ICAA survey, conducted one year ago, when half (51%) of respondents stated they were adding in the next 12 months (ICAA Economy Survey, July 2009, 489 respondents).
- The growth in program offerings is complemented by jobs creation: 27% plan to hire more wellness staff over the next two years.
- Capital projects are being planned by 41% of respondents, including building new wellness centers and expanding or renovating current wellness and fitness facilities. Retirement communities are refurbishing or building new residences.
“While the larger economy may be suffering from a cold, the active-aging industry is in good health,” explained Colin Milner, CEO of International Council on Active Aging. “From the business perspective, the market of older adults is large and growing, and overall older adults have a net worth that enables them to make choices to maintain their health and keep their days interesting. The results of this survey show that businesses are positioning themselves to meet those needs, by building and upgrading facilities and expanding their programs.” READ MORE
IN COMMENTS SECTION FROM COLIN MILNER:
Colin Milner •
97% Physical (e.g. exercise, nutrition, sleep, disease management)
88% Social (e.g. clubs, dancing, group activities)
82% Intellectual (e.g. arts & crafts, journaling, games/puzzles)
74% Emotional (e.g. peer counseling, stress management, humor/laughter)
74% Spiritual (e.g. faith-based, personal meditation/reflection, mindful
exercise)
61% Environmental (e.g. meditation gardens, walking trails)
58% Vocational (e.g. paid work, volunteer work, skills classes) MORE
(Source: by Lori La Bey of Alzheimer’s Speaks)
Has there ever been someone in your life you wanted to meet and just were not sure if it would ever happen?
A man came into my life via the internet. No it was not an online dating service or some chat room experience. This was a man I found via my passion for knowledge about Alzheimer’s disease. I was introduced to him via the friend, Kim Prayfrock who works at Oak Meadows in Minnesota. Kim is one of those go getters who is always searching for new ways, new answers to old questions, and she always shares the great information and resources she finds with others. The day Kim sent me an email about a man named Dr. Richard Taylor, was a blessed day for me. Kim wrote me something to the effect, “Lori I think you will be very interested in following Richard. He speaks on Alzheimer’s and his prospective is unique and honest. Let me know what you think.”
I have to be honest I don’t remember the date of Kim’s email, but I do remember the impact it had on me. From that day forward I told myself, “Someday I will meet Dr Richard Taylor.”
The universe works in miraculous ways. Another friend and colleague of mine, Judy Berry of Lakeview Ranch and who just received the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation 2010 Community Health Leaders Award, had a fund-raiser for her Dementia Care Foundation The Keynote Speaker for the night was non other than Dr Richard Taylor! To my delight another colleague who I had not met before, was also going to be speaking – G Allen Power, MD.
What a fantastic night October 7th, 2010, was. Allen kicked off the fund-raiser talking about his new book. Dementia Beyond Drugs: Changing the Culture of Care, which he shared many helpful tips and a wonderfully refreshing perspective on dementia. For more information on his book go to: And then there was Richard. He is hard to put into words, but Richard felt like a kindred soul as I saw him across the room. We have never met, nor spoke on the phone, just corresponded by emails on occasion. We seem to speak the same language in terms of our vision for the treatment of Alzheimer’s Care. I say treatment of care as there is no cure for the disease. It’s all about our relationships. How we chose to treat one another and how we choose to communicate with each other. As soon as Richard and I met, we hugged like old friends. It was hard for me to believe we had never met.
Dr Richard Taylor
As Richard spoke that night he mentioned how friends and family hugged him after his diagnosis. He said, “It was not a Hello Hug or a How are you doing Hug. It was a Goodbye Hug. People saw Richard in a new light; one of impending death. It is amazing how a label can change our reactions when our fears take hold of us. As Richard spoke, many in the audience were brought to tears. His honesty and insights helped many heal the pain as he offered new ways to care, via practical tips easy to apply in our everyday lives.
For me it was just plain wonderful to meet another person who understands my passion and purpose in life. I can only hope this Advocate on Steroids thing I have about Alzheimer’s disease is growing in numbers so that someday we may have better care options along with a cure for the disease. Richard seems to share my passion regarding Alzheimer’s disease, but in a more intimate way. Richard lives with the disease not as a caregiver but as a person diagnosed with dementia. He is a blessing to all of us, as he shares so beautifully the inside scoop of what it is really like to have memory problems. His ability to communicate his feelings and to describe the variables between standard techniques used today and how they impact and are perceived by someone who actually has Alzheimer’s is amazing. His tone and humor will touch of toughest of souls.
Richard talks of how the simple lies told to someone with dementia, many times to control their emotional state, and how it confuses things building a lack of trust. He urges both professionals and loved ones to look at what is still there vs. measuring what has been lost. He stated, “A person has as much potential before dementia as after.” He talks of not just focusing on “Who a person was” and what they used to do, but “WHO THEY ARE TODAY.” I could continue to rattle off more Richardisms, but I would not do him justice. Please check out Richard’s website listed below and you will see the possibilities and potential of a person with Alzheimer’s disease and be WOWED! Kudos Richard! You are leading the pack and have so much to be proud of.
Richard has also written a book - Alzheimer’s from the Inside Out, which can be purchased on his website along with his DVD called Be with me Today. I highly encourage anyone who has not heard Richard speak to go to his website and watch a couple of his videos, sign up for his newsletter, and routinely check back on his site. Richard has so much to share with the world. The only regrets I have from that night is not having Richard sign my copy of his book and not getting a photo with him. You see, Richard feels like family to me and those friends who feel like family; well I just like having a photo with them! No worries though, Richard will forever be ingrained in my heart. In fact, in the future when I get frustrated on my own path Driving Change in how Illness and Aging is Perceived, Received or Delivered; I will think of headway my friend has made and continues to make each day. I will smile knowing my frustration will pass and progress will continue thanks to people like Richard. LINK TO STORY HERE
‘New' Dementia Affects 1.3
Million But Is Often Unknown to Doctors
(Source: www.elderlawanswers.com)
Quick, what is the second-most common type
of progressive dementia in the elderly? Lewy body dementia (LBD) affects an
estimated 1.3 million individuals and their families in the
Despite the disease's prevalence, people with LBD have to see an average of three doctors before the LBD diagnosis is made. In order to raise awareness about LBD in the general public and in the medical profession, The Lewy Body Dementia Association is leading the first national LBD awareness campaign, A Week To Remember, from October 10 to 16, 2010.
Lewy body dementia is a degenerative brain disease that has been described by LBD family caregivers as like trying to manage Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and a psychiatric disorder rolled into one disease. Early and accurate diagnosis of LBD is of critical importance because people with LBD respond more poorly to certain medications for behavior and movement than people with Alzheimer's or Parkinson's, sometimes with dangerous or permanent side effects.
Recognition of LBD as a common form of dementia grew to prominence among neurologists only within the past five years, and general awareness of LBD as a disease has yet to make its way to primary care physicians. "Given the growing population of older Americans, at some point in your life LBD will likely affect someone you know," said Angela Herron, President of LBDAs Board of Directors. "The general public, including many primary care doctors and nurses, have never heard of LBD. So in addition to trying to manage a very difficult disease, LBD families find themselves in the unanticipated role of educator and advocate."
LBD symptoms include dementia plus any combination of: unpredictable levels of cognitive abilities, attention and alertness, changes in movement or gait, visual hallucinations, a sleep disorder where people physically act out their dreams, and severe medication sensitivities. The severe medication sensitivities in LBD make it a very difficult disease to treat without worsening already problematic LBD symptoms. At the same time, people with LBD may respond more favorably to certain dementia medications than people with Alzheimer's. To learn more about LBD or to help raise LBD awareness as part of A Week To Remember, visit www.lbda.org. CLICK HERE
(Al Power, Changing Aging,
Posted: 24 Sep 2010 06:39 AM PDT)
I’m in
Kavan forwarded an article from McKnight’s
titled “Dementia
Costs to Consume 1% of Global GDP This Year. This report, a combined effort from
As usual, I have a “Yes, but…” comment.
This is statistically true, but points up the fact that we are not spending our
money wisely. It is akin to decrying the rising cost of nursing home care,
while avoiding the fact that the modern institutional nursing home is not the
best way to provide care for our growing number of frail elders.
Much of the cost of dementia care revolves
around the use of very expensive drugs that are either of little value
(cholinesterase inhibitors) or downright harmful (anti-psychotics), plus the
component of institutionalization of millions of people with all its attendant
costs and failures. And I probably don’t
have to mention to readers of of this blog that the above headline continues
the ageist trend of viewing our aging population purely as a burden on society.
The answer is to re-frame our view and
care of people living with dementia, by creating transformed care environments
that re-engage people with meaningful life, harness social capital and enable
the elimination of ineffective and dangerous drug treatments. By
“de-institutionalizing” the condition, we can provide real care for less cost,
and improve well-being for all. Then, if
a true disease-modifying agent comes along (with a predictably high price tag),
we will be able to absorb the costs and provide a life worth living as we treat
the illness.
Australians Affected by
Dementia to Drive Priorities in Dementia Services and Research
National
Dementia initiative launches at Bupa Mosman
Australians affected by dementia will be able to shape and influence dementia services and research with a first‐of‐its kind project, bringing together industry, researchers and those affected by dementia, officially launched in Sydney today (Sept 7). The Consumer Dementia Research Network is part of a $3 million initiative, led by Alzheimer’s Australia, aged care provider Bupa Care Services, the J O & J R Wicking Trust, (managed by ANZ Trustees), and the Federal Government, through the Dementia Collaborative Research Centres. The network will push for existing dementia research to be translated into action, faster and more effectively, creating world‐leading dementia care services for the 250,000 Australians with the disease.
Individuals with dementia and their carers will also have the opportunity to set priorities for future research. Alzheimer’s advocate Sue Pieters‐Hawke today launched the new initiative at Bupa Care Mosman, where she spoke of the significant gaps in how long it takes for research evidence to translate to the frontline of aged care services.
“The Consumer Dementia Research Network puts those affected by
dementia in the driver’s seat,” she said.
“From giving them a say in what research is commissioned, to ensuring
this knowledge is then used to improve frontline dementia care. “Having been touched by my mother’s
Alzheimer’s, I now understand that there are some great dementia care services
in
By 2050 there will be around a million people living with dementia; around 1 in 30 Australians. Research can take up to 17 years to reach clinical practice.1 More than 20 ‘consumers’, including those in the early stages of dementia and family carers will have a role in the group, with the first projects expected to commence in early 2011.
Areas of focus are likely to include early diagnosis, improved diagnosis and management in general practice, respite care, support for carers, pain management for dementia patients, end‐of‐life care and the over‐prescribing of antipsychotic drugs to treat the behavioural and psychological complications of the disease.
Glenn Rees, CEO of Alzheimer’s
Bupa Care Services Director of Service and Quality Leanne Morton, said Bupa was excited to support such a vital project. “Bupa Care is committed to delivering specialist dementia services. This initiative is a vital way for us to directly tailor and adapt our aged care services to what people affected by dementia are telling us.“
Head of Philanthropy at ANZ Trustees, Teresa Zolnierkiewicz said the J O & J R Wicking Trust is committed to funding innovation in ageing services and making significant investments in improving the future care of those with dementia. “This initiative bridges the gap between what our smartest minds have discovered and learned about dementia care and how we actually care for people with dementia.” LINK HERE
Delayed Diagnosis and
Caregiver Burden Common in Lewy Body Dementia
(Source: Lewy Body Dementia Association, Thank you to
Alzheimer’s Daily News)
Nearly 80% of people with LBD received a
diagnosis for a different cognitive, movement or psychiatric disorder before
ultimately learning they had Lewy Body Dementia (LBD), according to the Lewy
Body Dementia Association.
LBD, the second-most common form of
degenerative dementia in the elderly affecting an estimated 1.3 million people
in the
The report, Caregiver Burden in Lewy
Body Dementias, reveals that people with LBD and their caregivers face
barriers to obtaining an early diagnosis. Additionally, caregivers experience
moderate to severe emotional burden, and most experience a sense of isolation
because so few people know about LBD.
To
download report go to lbda.org
Can
Life Stories Benefit Those With Alzheimer’s?
(NOTE: Beth Sanders at LifeBio
has fabulous resources for life
stories! Check it out here: www.lifebio.com)
(Source:
Dan
Curtis ~ Professional Personal Historian)
Some years ago, when I was a filmmaker, I did a documentary on family caregivers. The show dealt with five caregivers, two of whom were struggling to look after a parent suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. I had a close-up look at the challenges it inflicts on patient and caregiver alike. Since I became a personal historian five years ago, I felt that there was therapeutic value in recording the life stories of those with Alzheimer’s.
Soon after starting my personal history work, I had the opportunity to do a series of video interviews for a charming and accomplished woman who was at an early stage of Alzheimer’s. Both she and her family realized that if I didn’t get the stories recorded they would soon be lost forever. She thoroughly enjoyed my visits and seemed stimulated by the recall of familiar stories from her past. Today that same woman has deteriorated considerably but her family finds some comfort in knowing that her life lives on in these recordings we made.
The other day I read an article in MayoClinic.com Alzheimer’s:
Mementos help preserve memories which seems to bear out my
anecdotal observations about the value of life stories and Alzheimer’s. The
article notes: “Caregivers become the
memory for their loved one with Alzheimer’s disease,” says Glenn Smith, Ph.D.,
a neuropsychologist at Mayo Clinic,
Tom Kitwood in his groundbreaking 1997 book Dementia Reconsidered believes that a Life History
Book for a person with dementia, complete with photographs, should become best
practice. He says, “In dementia a sense of identity based on having a life
story to tell may eventually fade. When it does biographical knowledge about a
person becomes essential if that identity is still to be held in place.”
If you know a family member at an early stage of Alzheimer’s
disease, you might give serious consideration to recording their life story. If
you’re a professional personal historian unsure if you should work with clients
who have dementia, give it serious consideration. You could be providing a
wonderful gift. LINK
Friends, Family Detect Early
Alzheimer's Disease Signs Better Than Traditional Tests
A
brief assessment that harnesses the insights of family and close friends is
better at detecting the earliest signs of Alzheimer's dementia than direct
testing
(NOTE: And of course the
Direct Caregivers – seems like they should be included here too)
(Source:
Senior
Journal: Today's News and Information for Senior Citizens & Baby Boomers)
Hundreds of
scientist are spending millions of dollars searching for a means to detect
Alzheimer’s disease in its early stage. But, researchers at Washington
University School of Medicine in
Doctors often
evaluate a person who is having memory problems by testing them with a variety
of cognitive tasks, such as recalling a list of words or comparing shapes of
objects.
The two-minute
Ascertain Dementia 8 (AD8) questionnaire relies on a friend or family member
who knows the person well, known as an informant, to evaluate whether cognitive
changes have caused the individual to have difficulties in performing everyday
activities.
In the new
study, published online in the journal Brain, scientists validated the
AD8 by checking to see if it could highlight individuals who had biological
indicators, or biomarkers, for Alzheimer's disease, such as abnormal levels of
certain factors in the spinal fluid or positive brain scans for Alzheimer's
plaques. The AD8's results corresponded with biomarker results more
consistently than traditional cognitive tests…
According to Morris, informants who have regular exposure to the
individual provide the most accurate assessments. MORE
Be Open and Learn: People
with Dementia Have Much to Teach Us
(Source: by Carol Bradley
Bursack , Editor, eldercarelink)
In Erasing the Stigma of Dementia, I wrote about my dad and others with a dementia diagnosis who become “oddities” to those who don’t understand. As a society, we may think we’ve come a long way in our attitudes toward mental illness and diseases of the brain. And, indeed, we have. But we haven’t come far enough.
An inspiring post on Huffington.com by Marguerite Manteau-Rao, titled Overcoming the Alzheimer’s Negativity Bias, took me back in time. I won’t go into my personal journey as a caregiver to multiple people with dementia at this time (though you can read some of it on the Stigma article if you choose), because I want to tell you about Manteau-Rao’s post and about Richard Taylor, whom she quotes.
Richard Taylor is one of our leaders in Alzheimer’s. He wrote a book about his Alzheimer’s journey titled Alzheimer’s from the Inside Out that I recommend to anyone interested in the disease. Richard is an amazing example of a person with dementia who does not give in to the disease. He was, among many other things, a college professor, and he keeps on teaching now, many years into his disease. His focus is on educating the public about treating people with Alzheimer’s as whole human beings.
Manteau-Rao
quotes others in her post, as well. The point Manteau-Rao,
This bias that society still harbors pushed me to write about some of my fears that an exceptionally early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s and other dementia, without hope of a real cure, could backfire on those with the disease.
In New Plan to Diagnose Alzheimer’s Before Symptoms Apparent Not Without Drawbacks, I make note that employers, insurance companies, and others, could find ways to work around anti-discrimination laws. People with a diagnosis indicating that they will display Alzheimer’s, or other dementia symptoms, ten years down the road could find themselves repeatedly bumping into societal walls. Early diagnosis is important for scientific reasons, but safeguards need to be in place to protect those diagnosed years before they have symptoms.
I feel we need to move ahead with caution when it comes to exposing these folks to a society that has yet to fully understand that people like Richard Taylor are contributing members with much to give. Manteau-Rao says with beautiful clarity, “We can decide to turn towards those afflicted with Alzheimer’s and approach them as one would a welcome teacher.”
I couldn’t agree more. LINK HERE
Please share articles, links and resources…
Boomers and Technology: An
Extended Conversation
(Source: www.geron.org)
A joint
CCRCs and Technology Centers
-- An Idea Whose Time Has Come
(Source: Laurie Orlov, www.ageinplacetech.com)
Showing, not selling. The storefront is positioned in
the '
- Make coffee: An interactive coffee maker that recognizes voice from Primula.
- Heat food: A talking microwave from CookMagic -- pre-programmed with the 8 most common foods -- selection is via a notched dial
- Access and hear TV: A 6-button Doro Remote Control (on-off, channel up-down) and TV Ears
- Hear the phone: Clarity XL50 (which is stocked by the maintenance department) to replace the standard phone
- Navigate to the bathroom: A motion-activated outlet sensor that can activate a lamp
- 'Read' the Bible: True-Speaking Bible, a solar-powered device with all books and verses
- Make a shopping list: The Smart Shopper Grocery List -- a big, heavy refrigerator magnet that comes with 25,000 words, enabling an individual to speak 'bananas and bread' for example -- then it prints out the shopping list on a thermal printer
- See who's there: A Digital Door Viewer wireless remote monitoring peephole
- Prevent fires: A StoveGuard Fire Prevention System
- 'Read' a book: The Kindle DX -- Sharon says residents are slowly becoming interested in this -- and it has the larger screen and text-to-speech
- What time is it: Low-projection clock -- this can be used to project the time onto the wall or ceiling
- Magnify print: Portable Magnifier to help when out and about
In addition, Sharon is looking at SentrySilver GPS units that could be used to set up an individual Geo fence -- which could be the whole campus -- this could send an emergency text message or e-mail, displayable on a Web portal where the viewer could pull up a map, expanding and shrinking as needed. Your thoughts? LINK HERE
Grandma
Shows Seniors How To Use The New Amazon Kindle
Grandma Alice Shares Her 88th Birthday Present To Seniors, and Aging Parents. This is all about her latest tech tips for seniors.
The End of the Peter Pan
Home: But
shouldn't tech in the home be more universal?
(Source: By Laurie Orlov, Aging in Place Technology Watch Blog)
Get this. A Dallas Morning News article that
advised homeowners to “senior-proof their house so you don't have to move
later” says universal design is now hot. The article cited an
How times have changed. With a groundswell of baby boomers heading
towards seniordom, adding universal design features now adds to the value of
the home. So for those who prefer to plan ahead, like the
Universal design used to have a limited audience, but not any more.
"Stepless entries, home elevators, wide passageways, adjustable cabinets,
curbless showers, and other universal design features represent now the
fastest-growing segment of the residential remodeling industry," says John Hockenberry at the MIT Media Lab. So no
surprise that "there was a 74 percent increase over the last year in
inquiries from prospective clients interested in making their homes more
accessible." The Dallas Morning News article quoted Therese Crahan,
executive director of the National Association of Home Builders' remodelers’
group, which has now trained more than 3,000 contractors as “Certified Aging in
Place Specialists (CAPS).”
We want homes that use universal design principles. The principles of universal design are
excellent: flexible, intuitive, accessible, error-tolerant, etc. And so
CAPS-trained designers make an obstacle course house into a universal design
home in which to live comfortably now and age successfully
later. That's good—it's a glimmer of goodness for contractors in an otherwise
very bleak time. And how nice that these changes boost home value. Read more . . .
14. ASSISTED LIVING
Oktoberfest Helps Assisted
Living Community Provide 'HOME, Not Institution'
(Source: By Paige Dickerson, Peninsula
Daily News)
Lucile Doda,
left, and B.J. Baker play a round of bingo in the activity room at St. Andrew's
Place in
St. Andrew's Place wants to toast the elders
at the third annual Oktoberfest celebration Saturday. The event has developed into the
More than 60 percent of its present clients are
low-income. "We are the only
nonprofit taking Medicaid right now," Jensen said. "And if people run out of money we don't
ask them to leave or anything." In
some cases, Medicaid reimburses between $10 and $30 per day,
"The most important thing to us is to emphasize that
this is their home,"
ADULT DAY SERVICES CENTERS
INCREASING NATIONWIDE, ACCORDING TO NEW METLIFE MATURE MARKET INSTITUTE STUDY
There has been significant growth in the number of Adult Day
Services centers in the
The study was produced in collaboration with the National Adult Day Services
Association (NADSA) and The Ohio State University College of Social Work.
A consumer guide -- The Essentials: Adult Day Services -- accompanies the
study. Both can be downloaded via: www.MatureMarketInstitute.com. LINK TO
ARTICLE HERE
Adult Day Services Fact
Sheet: "A Smart Choice" - Comparisons at a Glance
(NOTE: This is a GREAT
resource)
How do the services offered in an adult day center compare to other long term care services? Discover "Adult Day Services At-a-Glance", a one-page Fact Sheet now available for NADSA members to copy and distribute to help increase the awareness of adult day services nationwide. Download "Adult Day Services At-a-Glance
You might want to send this sheet with a personal cover letter to your state legislators so they know why we are A Smart Choice! And feel free to share it with your participants and their caregivers so they can do the same. Access additional resources in the State Association Toolkit on the NADSA website to help strengthen advocacy efforts in your state.
Priorities for an
Age-Friendly Bus System
(Source: Canadian Journal on Aging)
E-ISSN:
1710-1107 Print ISSN: 0714-9808
Kieran Broome, Linda Worrall, Kryss McKenna, Duncan Boldy
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement, Volume 29, Number 3, September/septembre 2010, pp. 435-444 (Article)
Abstract: This article presents the results of a study
on the barriers and facilitators to bus use for people aged 60 or older. Two
complementary methodologies, nominal group technique and focussed ethnography,
were used to identify barriers and facilitators and rank their importance. Two
sample sites from
Please share articles, links and resources!
See the CCRC article under TECHNOLOGY
Please share articles, links and resources!
(Source: Shari Roan / Los Angeles
Patients and caregivers give poorer marks to
end-of-life care in hospitals. (Mel Melcon /
Cancer patients who die at home with hospice services had a better
quality of life in their final days compared to similar patients who died in
the hospital or intensive care unit, according to a new study. Moreover, the
family members of the patients fared worse psychologically if their loved
ones died in a hospital or ICU compared to home. The study, published Tuesday in the Journal of
Clinical Oncology, suggests that experiences at
the end of life are shaped by the setting. Hospital and ICU care may emphasize
staying alive at all costs while hospice care emphasizes managing symptoms and
comfort at the end of life. The study is also the first to show that caregivers
of cancer patients who die in an ICU are at heightened risk for post-traumatic
stress disorder.
The study, from researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in
On a scale of 0 to 10 -- with 0 being the worst -- patients who died in the
hospital rated their quality of life at 5.3 compared to 5.0 in the ICU, 6.6 at
home with hospice and 7.3 at home. Those patients receiving hospice at home
rated their physical comfort highest, at 6.6, compared to 3.6 in the ICU, which
was the lowest rating. The authors noted the reason for the discrepancy may be
due to the types of patients who choose to die at home with hospice care. But,
they said, it's more likely the rating differences have to do with the
different goals of an ICU and hospice.
Among caregivers, 21% of those whose loved ones died in the ICU or hospital
developed post-traumatic stress disorder six months later compared to 4.4% of
those whose loved ones died at home with hospice. The findings suggest that
when caregivers are not prepared for death, they suffer more grief and stress.
"It may be that attached caregivers cannot accept the patient's impending
death and attempt to care for them at home until a medical crisis precipitates
a terminal hospitalization," the authors wrote.
In a related study published Friday, researchers found that a special training
program for doctors and nurses to improve the experience of end-of-life care in
intensive care units didn't work. The healthcare professionals were trained to
communicate better with family members and to take other measures to improve
the patient's and family's satisfaction and comfort. But follow-up surveys
showed the program made no difference in families' experiences with death in
the ICU.
"It is very difficult to change busy critical care clinicians' ...
behavior patterns, because they have a lot of pressures on them," the lead
author of the study, Dr. J. Randall Curtis, said in a news release. "While
we designed the intervention with that in mind, it was more difficult than we
anticipated." The study was
published online in the American
Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. LINK TO
ARTICLE HERE --
Improving End-of-Life Care
(Source: Kim Barnhardt, Canadian
Medical Association Journal)
Better psychological and spiritual support, better planning of care and stronger relationships with physicians are necessary to improve end-of-life care in Canada, states a study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only).
The
study, a questionnaire that aimed to measure satisfaction with end-of-life care
for patients with advanced diseases and their families, involved 363 patients
over 55 years of age and 193 family caregivers. The patients, located in cities
in
While overall satisfaction for end-of-life care was rated as good, ratings for complete satisfaction ranged from 9% to a high of only 57%, suggesting the need for improvement.
The highest priorities were improving the emotional support for patients, better communication and involvement in decisions and improving the relationship between the patient, family and doctor.
"High
quality end of life care should be the right of every Canadian," says Dr.
Daren Heyland, a researcher at
"For both patients and families, the highest priority quality improvement issues were improving the emotional support provided to patients, improving communication with the health care team and improving decision-making," says Dr. Heyland. "Patients were least satisfied with their understanding of what to expect in the end stage, discussions with their physician regarding final location of care, and the use of technology at the end of life." LINK HERE
Encouraging Comfort Care: A
Guide for Families of People with Dementia Living in Care Facilities
(Thank you Dan Kuhn)
The
Alzheimer's Association-Greater Illinois Chapter is pleased to offer a free
online resource, Encouraging Comfort Care: A Guide for Families of People
with Dementia Living in Care Facilities. This 21-page booklet provides
useful information to families and staff of long-term care facilities about
Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, particularly care issues related to
the late and final stages.
For families, this guide enables them to make informed choices about a variety of medical decisions they may face on behalf of loved ones with dementia living in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and other types of care facilities. It will also equip families to ask good questions aimed at obtaining the best care for their loved ones, including a handy checklist of comfort care measures to be discussed with staff members of care facilities. For staff members of long-term care facilities, the guide serves as an important tool for those who wish to educate families and assist them in care planning. Encouraging Comfort Care was made possible through a generous grant from the Retirement Research Foundation.
Individuals
and organizations are encouraged to disseminate this booklet in electronic and
print formats. To view and download the free guide, click here.
The Anthropologist as
Caregiving Daughter: Lessons from the World of the Frail Elderly
(Source: Author: Luisa Margolies, Journal of
Aging)
Margolies, L. (2010). The Anthropologist as Caregiving Daughter:
Lessons from the World of the Frail Elderly. Journal of Aging, Humanities,
and the Arts: Official Journal of the Gerontological Society of
Abstract: My Mother's Hip: Lessons from the World of Eldercare (Temple University Press, 2004) is based on both my mother's experiences in navigating the healthcare system after suffering a double hip fracture and mine as her principal caregiver. What happens when an anthropologist who studies global aging inadvertently falls into the role of caregiver? Much like a physician who finds himself in an exotic world when becoming a patient, the social scientist-caregiver immediately begins to deconstruct the systemic flaws from a professional perspective. My Mother's Hip opened the Pandora's box of how we care for an aging society in the context of a fragmented medical system. We who write such books see a glaring need to inform the public about critical medical issues that inevitably crop up in the course of eldercare. Parallel to the medical story is the story of how an author produces a trade book about a problematical topic and promotes it without alienating the popular audience.
Nurses: You Better Have Fun!
(Source: Janet
Izzo, Linked In).
According to recent statistics, the number one reason for nurses leaving their jobs is not what you would guess. It has nothing to do with rotating shifts, working weekends or holidays. It has nothing to do with work overloads, understaffing or being forced to float to unfamiliar hospital units. Nurses resign primarily because of issues with coworkers…either they don’t get along with their counterparts or personalities clash to the point of making work (and life) miserable.
If the workplace is not a positive and enjoyable atmosphere in which to work, nurses will move on. It seems to be grounds for turning in resignations. Remember that we often spend more hours in the day with coworkers than we do with our own families. Eight hours (or twelve as the case may be) is an inordinate amount of time to be unhappy.
To survive and thrive in nursing involves more than just making it through a shift. It incorporates feelings that we have made a difference in the lives of others. It means that we are able to go home feeling good about ourselves and the work we have done. And if we happen to have a little fun along the way, all the better! There’s an old song that says “love makes the world go round”, but so does laughter and comradery. Nursing management would do well to take that advice to heart! Staff turnover is incredibly costly. Orienting new nurses is the least cost efficient way to spend resources. Retention of staff is the key.
As nurses, we must also take some responsibility to assure our workplace is a pleasant and nurturing environment in which to work. Uplifting one another, supporting one another, and arriving to work with a positive attitude is imperative. Granted, we like to think of ourselves as the epitome of health care professionals, yet our personal lives are sometimes complicated and hectic. Is it possible that we often take things too seriously and forget to laugh?
As dyed in the wool caretakers of humanity, it often feels as though we are in charge of the health and well being of not only ourselves and our families, but of the entire world and its inhabitants. No wonder we feel bogged down at times! Nurses deserve to have a friendly and happy atmosphere at work. If we find that isn’t the case, perhaps we need to be the one to address the issue at the next staff meeting. A few well thought out suggestions to turn things around may be all that’s needed. Coworkers will thank you for your bravery and willingness to “step up to the plate” as long as it is done in a positive way.
Work will always be work, but there is absolutely no reason it can’t be fun once in awhile. And unless those statistics are lying, we better have fun! Or else! LINK HERE
HIV/AIDS and Aging
(Source: Deborah Cooke, Linked In)
I hope you will be able to access the link. Sept 18th was National
HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day. When discussing culture change, we should not
forget some of the "sub" populations. How does our current system
treat those with HIV/AIDS? How do those with the disease feel the system treats
them? What can we do to create change for them?
I've learned a lot about this population, as well as the LGBT (lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender) community. It's quite appalling how society as a whole
perceives them and they perceive us. Think about it and share any thoughts and
ideas on how we can make change happen!
National HIV/AIDS
and Aging Awareness Day is September 18, 2010 globalaging.org The entry page to Global Action on Aging's
Web site. Find up to date information on the aging population around the World
as well as the United States
I've followed Dr. Thomas for
some time. In the process, I have been developing the idea of highly-motivated
and trained volunteers to serve in long-term care facilities.
After years of effort, not only do I see that it possible, but I now believe it is vital to the success of quality care for institutionalized elders. LINK TO ITEM HERE
Taking Up the Challenge of
Care for the Elderly: The science professor tells David Brindle
why he is now focusing on the care needs of the ageing population
(Source: David Brindle, guardian.co.uk)
Professor Heinz Wolff at Brunel University. Photograph: Graham Turner for the Guardian
Although
he is now in his 80s, Heinz Wolff still displays all the boyish enthusiasm for
the application of science that made him such a popular television personality
on shows such as The Great Egg Race in the 1980s. Midway through this interview
in his office at
In
the professor's fertile mind, he sees the huge potential of a mass-produced electric
vehicle that could park face-on to the pavement, facilitating exit through its
front-opening door. For good measure, the seats would slide forward to enable
driver and passenger simply to stand up and walk away. Naturally, he has
himself been testing the concept by taking the car for spins around the
university's west
With
his bow ties, wild hair and distinctive German accent – he was born in
In his public lectures up and down the country – he still gives an average of one a week – Wolff is these days given to brandishing a hand and declaring: "I have undergone a change of heart. I am a techie; I have spent most of my life inventing technical devices of one sort or another. But the tool required for care, the only one really required for giving care, tends to be attached to people."
In his cluttered office, surrounded by computers, gadgets and less predictable decorations such as a joke-shop selection of stylish party moustaches, Wolff explains: "I fully subscribe to the fact that in the treatment of acute diseases, in robotic surgery, all sorts of things, technology is very important.
Pairs of hands
"But when it comes to caring for people in the way I define as 'comfort care', then I think that technology is no longer important because by and large the kind of things we need already exist. And anyway we may have been addressing the wrong clientele. Therefore I have convinced myself that the actual number of pairs of hands which are available, the right kind of state of mind and so on – these are the real problems we have to solve."
By "addressing the wrong clientele", he means that the focus of assistive technology has been overly on older and disabled people themselves. Rather, he now believes, the focus should have been more on helping their carers. And, reflecting on bitter experience in trying to get take-up of devices he has developed, he now thinks he should have targeted the private sector rather than central and local government. At one time, Wolff and his associates had no fewer than 11 prototype "intelligent homes" set up with all the latest assistive technology. One, on the Brunel campus, was lived in for 10 years. But, he concludes, "there does not appear to be a market"…
"Comfort care is an essential component of an acceptable quality of life," says Wolff. "Everybody to some extent is afraid of what is going to happen to them when they get old. We need to put these two propositions together and get people to do things when they are younger and fitter, in order to ensure that they have an unbreakable entitlement for care when they get older." READ MORE HERE
China: Pension Reform Begins in Shanghai
China
is forced to raise pension age by five years because of scandals, corruption
and one-child policy. A pilot project is launched first in the country’s
largest city and will gradually be applied to the rest of the country.
(Source: By Asia News)
Shanghai – The Chinese government has decided to adopt a risky
pension plan that would allow workers to work for five more years before they
retire. It is doing so in order to cope with a fast aging population as well as
a wave of scandals involving local officials, who have embezzled the pension
funds of the cities they administer.
“The
system tries to meet all the needs of the residents. Those who want to retire
on schedule can do so, while those who wish to continue working may also do
so," says Bao Danru, deputy director of the Shanghai Bureau of Social
Security. Local media have reported that
the decision to change the system is also due to shortfalls in the pensions
schemes. Zheng Bingwen, from the
Others note that postponing the age of retirement will not cut the deficit, only delay its impact. It will however leave fewer job opportunities for younger workers.
The
problem is the result of
Husband, Grandfather, Retiree
– and a Japanese Porn Star
(Source: Mark MacKinnon, Globe and Mail)
It’s said that everyone has a secret. What was unique about Shigeo Tokuda’s fib was that everything he wasn’t telling his wife and daughter was on recorded on hundreds of videos, and that thousands of admirers knew exactly who he was and what he was trying to hide.
For a long time, Mr. Tokuda was not just the world’s oldest porn star, he was perhaps its most anonymous. His family didn’t know where the 76-year-old really went and what he did when the retired travel agent pulled on his blazer and went off to “work” in the morning.
But among his fans – and there are enough of them to justify the making of at least one new film a month – Mr. Tokuda is the superstar of the rising genre of “elder porn,” movies that feature older actors (at least the male ones) and plotlines in which the growing number of Japanese senior citizens (again, at least the males) can picture themselves. His most famous role is as a senior citizen who acts anything but his age with an assortment of nurses, as well as with his twentysomething daughter-in-law.
Elder porn is a fast-growing industry in
Dog and Cat Interaction a Must See – Talk About Making Life
Interesting and Spontaneous!
watch this until the end, you will have a huge smile on your face...trust me!
Posted: 03 Oct 2010 05:10 PM PDT
At the
recent Westberg Symposium Parish Nurse Convention in
One of the key themes of the conference was taking care of self in the midst of
a changing world. It seems that a key challenge for parish nurses as well as
for health care professionals generally is taking care of self, body, mind, and
soul. As a family caregiver, TAKING CARE OF SELF is critical.
Among the visuals we explored was a card with 5 Affirmations. I use this
card/visual to remind myself that I must find a quiet corner for meditation
each day where I can say these affirmations aloud. Also helpful is the
repetition of these affirmations which can become a chant for the soul.
Here are my affirmations:
- I am important.
- I am not alone.
- I am appreciated.
- I am in control.
- I take care of myself.
The last affirmation on the list is in that position for a reason. If we
consistently do the other four, we will be taking care of ourselves.
I encourage you to create your own affirmations and tailor them to your needs.
My affirmations change with time, especially after a crisis or an important
change or learning moment. The MOST USEFUL part is to have the VISUAL CARD that
I tuck in my wallet. It’s always there to remind me and I believe carrying it
with me provides solace and comfort.
I invite you to use mine to begin with if that works but to move toward your
very OWN AFFIRMATIONS. The process I use is:
- Define the affirmations. I like having five.
- Put them on some type of visual. My choice is a business size card.
- Find a quiet spot at least once a day to review the affirmations.
- Say them aloud slowly and breathe deeply after each one.
- Repeat them to create a chanting effect.
- Share your experience using affirmations with others.
- Recreate your affirmations as needed.
The process is important as it gets you into the habit of creating, using, and
sharing the tradition of affirmations. For both the professional and the family
caregiver, they are priceless as the advertisement says! LINK HERE
(Source: Seth Godin’s Blog)
The assembly-line mindset is a natural defense mechanism for the work we're asked to do all day. One more form to fill out. Six more articles to write. Yet another soundcheck for yet another band playing at the venue where you work. You know there were hundreds before, there's one now, and there will be another soon, perhaps in just a few minutes.
So you sit down to remaster a classic album and you can't help but phone it in. There's another around the corner. You sit down to write another blog post and perhaps you cut yourself a little slack, because another one is due soon. This sales call? Don't worry so much, the call list is endless...
Next!
You might have already guessed the problems (there are at least two.) The first is that this is no way to do your work, your art, your chosen craft. Averaging the work down, achieving the least, getting it done--that's no way to spend your day. You deserve more than that.
The other problem is that you have competition. And for them, perhaps even this time, it's not just another in a long line of tasks. It's the one. The one that matters. The competition will bring more to the table than you do, and you suffer.
Perhaps
the alternative is instead of thinking, "next!", we can think,
"last!" This
might be the last time I get to do this.
If I do it that way, it increases the chances that it won't. LINK HERE
Do You Need a Permit?
(Source: Seth Godin’s Blog)
Where, precisely, do you go in order to get permission to make a dent in the universe?
The accepted state is to be a cog. The preferred career is to follow the well-worn path, to read the instructions, to do what we're told. It's safer that way. Less responsibility. More people to blame. When someone comes along and says, "not me, I'm going down a different path," we flinch. We're not organized to encourage and celebrate the unproven striver. It's safer to tear them down (with their best interests at heart, of course). Better, we think, to let them down easy, to encourage them to take a safer path, to be realistic, to hear it from us rather than the marketplace.
Perhaps, years ago, this was good advice. Today, it's clearly not. In fact, it's disrespectful, ill-advised and short sighted. How dare we cheer when a bold changemaker stumbles? Our obligation today isn't to spare the feelings of our peers from future disappointment. It's to establish an expectation that of course they're going to do something that matters.
If you think there's a chance you can make a dent, GO.
Now.
Hurry.
You have my permission. Not that you needed it.