One of my regular duties is picking up my dad’s prescriptions at the pharmacy. He’s on five different medications for issues ranging from high blood pressure to an enlarged prostate. Fortunately, his Medicare Part D insurance lowers the cost until the end of the year when the donut hole kicks in. That’s when my mouth drops at the price for his prescriptions.
ElderCarelink Blog
AARP study reveals rising medication costs for seniors
by Dorian MartinJanuary 27th, 2012 at 10:49 am
Live alone longer? Seniors connect via the Internet
by Judy KirkwoodJanuary 13th, 2012 at 1:44 pm
By the time we got my mother a laptop computer, she was too cognitively impaired to work the keyboard as she had when she was an ace executive secretary. It might have made a world of difference had we gotten her connected with the Internet earlier.
In a collaborative effort to enrich the lives of shut-ins, Microsoft, Selfhelp Community Services, New York’s Department of Aging, and Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications combined forces to promote Internet use by seniors in an innovative but simple project: The Virtual Senior Center. Although this was a funded project that benefited a limited number of people, it is conceivable that results could be replicated across the country.
Improving elder health care transitions
by Carol Bradley Bursack, Editor-in-ChiefJanuary 11th, 2012 at 10:13 am
Fortunately for me and my family, I was able to make myself available to help each of my elders after their many hospitalizations. Typically, however, many families simply don’t have anyone in a position to help, and elders go home only to return quickly to the hospital setting because they didn’t have the community support needed for recovering.
Billions of dollars are spent annually by elders returning home from hospital stays. According to the US Administration on Aging, almost one out of every five Medicare patients ends up back in the hospital within 30 days. Most of these readmissions are due to poor transitions due to poor communication and medical mismanagement.
A New Year’s resolution: join the fight against Alzheimer’s
by Dorian MartinJanuary 10th, 2012 at 9:29 am
As a caregiver, you often feel like you have no control. I found that out quickly while caring for my mom, who had Alzheimer’s disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. However, I increasingly wanted to something, anything! So as we reach the time for making New Year’s resolutions, I’d encourage you to figure out you can do in 2012 to be proactive. My own efforts began when I decided to participate in the Alzheimer’s Association’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s in 2007. I’ve walked every year since and have raised almost $7,500 to support the association’s efforts.
GPS shoes could limit Alzheimer’s wandering
by Judy KirkwoodJanuary 9th, 2012 at 3:54 pm
Remember the nightmare panic of losing your toddler in a crowded store? The same thing goes for taking an Alzheimer’s patient on a shopping excursion, as well as taking care of your family member or caregiving charge while traveling, or even at night or when you might doze off or take a nap thinking that they are napping as well.
Kimberly R. Kelly, a former sheriff and creator of the DVD for law enforcement agencies Plain Talk About Alzheimer’s Disease: Alzheimer’s Related Dementia and Wandering cites research that 60 percent or more of Alzheimer’s patients will wander away from home at some point: finding them quickly is critical. Once disoriented, they may not respond to their name because they don’t remember it, and may even try to hide if they become paranoid.
