Study finds drop in age-related hearing problems - washingtonpost.com

Sweet news for baby boomers: Despite all those warnings that loud rock music would damage their ears, their generation appears to have better hearing than their parents did. So go ahead, crank up the Lynyrd Skynyrd...

When Caring for Aging Parents Brings Back Sibling Tensions

When Caring for Aging Parents Brings Back Sibling Tensions

When my mother's health was failing, I was the "bad" sister who lived far away and wasn't involved. My sister helped my parents. She never asked me to do anything, and I didn't volunteer. Read more...

Johnson & Johnson, Omnicare, Risperdal and What It Means to You

By: Laura Bramly

I just about fell off my chair Saturday morning when I read in the New York Times about Johnson & Johnson giving kickbacks to geriatric pharmacists to encourage doctors to prescribe Risperdal for their patients with dementia. I knew that there were issues with "Big Pharma," but I could not imagine, or did not want to imagine, that the issues were so blatant, with so much "chutzpa" on the part of the pharmaceutical companies that they would actually give kickbacks for prescriptions.

According to the complaint brought against Johnson & Johnson by two ex-employees of Omnicare, "Johnson & Johnson, based in New Brunswick, N.J., and two of its subsidiaries, Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems, paid tens of millions of dollars to induce Omnicare to buy and recommend Risperdal for elderly patients as well as the drug maker’s prescription pain relievers Duragesic and Ultram, and the antibiotic Levaquin."

Some explanation is in order for us laypeople, so let's pull this statement apart. Read more...

Meet Max Wallack, Age 13. Max Is A Caregiver To A Wide World Of Alzheimer’s And Dementia Victims.

By: Max Wallack, Greatplaces Guest Blogger

Puzzles To Remember (www.PuzzlesToRemember.org) is a section 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that collects puzzles and distributes them to facilities that care for Alzheimer’s and dementia patients. I founded this organization after the death of my great-grandmother, who suffered from dementia. Great Grams had lived with my family. I helped care for her from the time I was about six, until her death at 93, when I was 10.

We had always intended to have Great Grams stay at home with us for the rest of her life, but that became impossible about a few months before her death. Once Great Grams was in a nursing facility, I spent a lot of time visiting her. I noticed that patients who were working on jigsaw puzzles seemed calmer than usual. Read full article...

How to save money on healthcare cost

By: Patricia Grace, National Senior Care Examiner

The pricing of many healthcare services and treatments makes no sense. The healthcare industry has known about these pricing disparities for years and continues to keep them very quiet.

Recent research by Healthcarebluebook.com has found that the prices charged for the same test or treatment, even in the same market and within the same health plan, can vary by thousands of dollars. However, most people have no idea that this type of pricing variation exists. For example...

Health Care Bills Push U.S. on Long-Term Care & Assisted Living

One thing Congress agrees on in the health care reform bill is that long-term care insurance is a good idea.

The CLASS Act, or Community Living Assistance Services and Support Act is part of both versions of the current reform bill being worked on in Washington, DC. The proposed program would create a voluntary long-term care insurance program and workers at participating companies would be automatically enrolled unless they opt-out.

Estimates of the monthly deductions range from $150 to $250 dollars per month. The basics of the program are that any working American could elect the coverage but would have to pay premiums for at least 5 years before being eligible to make a claim. Premiums would be stable for the person’s life but the government has the option to raise them for the program’s solvency if necessary. The benefits would cover a minimum of $50 per day if they are deemed unable to perform at daily activities without assistance.

Many critics of the program have spoken out about the costs, eligibility and premiums while proponents have expressed frustration that a program like this has taken years to come about. Like the program or not, it appears that this is a portion of healthcare reform that has legs to survive committee and become law.

“I believe that long term care insurance is an extremely important component in planning for assisted living, in-home care, etc. However, the above stated premiums seem to be very high for a benefit of $50 pr/day. I am confident that an individual could shop the market and get a lower premium with a higher daily rate. The proposed legislation will offer a false sense of security for many folks, believing they will be able to move into a long term care community for $50 a day...you and I know that is extremely unlikely” says, Patricia Grace, CEO, Aging with Grace .

The importance of carrying medical identification

By: Patricia Grace, National Senior Care Examiner

Will I have a heart attack today…a stroke…a diabetic coma…a seizure? Most of us never ask this question simply because we cannot answer it. Additionally, most of us would prefer to go about our day without such worry. Asking that question, however, is an important step in moving us toward preparedness for the possibility of some unforeseen medical event.

In truth, most of us live, work, and play without a thought to the possibility of a catastrophic medical event. Imagine you are shopping alone in a place distant from your home area and you collapse with a stroke, rendering you disoriented and unable to speak. Far from home, bystanders call paramedics who take you to an unfamiliar hospital. As your treatment begins, paramedics and hospital personnel ask questions, trying to gather more information about you, but are hindered by a lack of background information. Good health care relies on gathering and using information, so the EMT’s search you for identification.

What do you carry that would help paramedics and emergency personnel understand your unique medical background and help further your emergency care? How would hospital personnel learn quickly that you have a loving husband and daughter who know everything about you and who need to be with you in this circumstance? Most of us carry nothing in our wallet aside from a driver’s license that would offer more than our name and address. Do you have any health problems, medications, allergies, emergency contacts, or health care directives? Most of this information is crucial to good care and unlikely to be located in our wallet or purse.
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