“Life’s tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late.” Benjamin Franklin Aging. A rite of passage. Ah, yes. Waking up to the aches and pains, looking in the mirror and not fully comprehending who’s looking back. I not so fondly remember standing in the checkout line at the supermarket and the… Read more »
Talking about end-of-life care can be difficult and sometimes overwhelming, especially when someone has been recently diagnosed with a terminal-illness. From the start of a diagnosis, there is so much information, from doctors to personal family opinions; it’s a lot to process. Knowing the facts and understanding the basics of hospice can help you and… Read more »
After an injury, medical procedure or extended hospital stay, an important step in the recovery process may be a period of rehabilitation. Choosing the right rehab facility can be daunting, especially if this is your first time needing services or you are new to the community. Following are some important tips to help choose a… Read more »
Medicare Part D Prescription Drug plans can be complicated, but once you understand them, you can make them work in your favor. The two main factors that affect the price of your prescription medications are drug tier and coverage stage. Drug tiers 1-5 are the levels of pricing for medications on a specified formulary. Each… Read more »
Contrary to popular belief, most older Americans with advancing dementia remain in their own homes. With that said, home safety is important for everyone, but especially those with Alzheimer’s or a related dementia. Falls are a leading cause of broken hips and other serious injuries in the elderly, and individuals with Alzheimer’s are twice as… Read more »
Medicare can be very confusing. Plan types, names and acronyms make for a labyrinth of terminology. Here are some simple definitions that may help make sense of Medicare coverage. Traditional Medicare: This is the federal program that includes Medicare Part A and Part B. Most people start here at age 65, unless they have group… Read more »
Hospitals are expected to be a place of healing, leading to wellness and a return home. However, the longer a patient stays in the hospital, the greater the risk for a health care-associated infection (HAI) from a catheter or surgical site, or a health care-acquired condition (HAC) such as a fall with fracture. With an… Read more »
Being a caregiver can be very fulfilling and challenging at the same time. Whether the position comes out of love or obligation, caregiving requires a lot of work. It calls on you to take care of your loved one, educate yourself about serious illnesses, keep up with medical appointments, acquire new skills— and still manage… Read more »
As new variants to COVID-19 continue to emerge, along with increasing rates of infection, it is more important than ever to be prepared for a health emergency. Consider whether you are just planning or if you are really prepared for a health emergency by reviewing the list below: If you become ill or are in… Read more »
Prescribing long-term oxygen therapy in patients with chronic lung disease, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a shared decision-making process between the clinician and patient. This process can encourage patients to accept the American Thoracic Society (ATS) clinical practice guideline recommendation on home oxygen therapy as published by… Read more »
Memories are who we are. Photos from our life are treasures that allow us to journey through our own mental time machine. For me, the importance of curating these images became a personal, precious activity inviting significant contemplation during the holidays. I committed to scanning and digitizing the slides from my parent’s travels in the… Read more »
This summer held a special place in my heart. It was a time of many memorable experiences and, notably trips with family, including my 87-year-old mom. I share my home with my mother; therefore, I see her regularly. I realized from recent summer trips, that even though I see her frequently, the current experience of… Read more »
Most of us wish to spend our latter years at home, but when that is no longer an option, where will you go and what is the right choice for you? Senior living options include independent and assisted living facilities and resident/board and care facilities (B&C), but how are they similar, and how do they… Read more »
What is a patient care manager or advocate? Webster’s Dictionary defines advocate as “one who pleads for another’s cause,” and a manager is defined as “to direct or carry on business.” Using these definitions, it is easy to see how a patient advocate/manager would be a great help to individuals needing to navigate our medical… Read more »
The importance of fitness training has become wildly accepted in the modern-day sport of golf. In past generations, there was a bit of stigma in the game with lighthearted teasing for “spending too much time in the gym and not enough time playing golf.” All golfers benefit from cross-training, especially seniors who need to maintain… Read more »
Is weight lifting only for the young? Not at all! Even those 50 and older can enjoy weightlifting, especially lifting weights in slow-motion. Slow-motion strength training involves 10 seconds of lifting and a 10-second lowering phase. The exercise’s ultimate goal is to gain momentary muscle failure. Slow-motion strength training is an example of a brief… Read more »
In current culture, vitality is frequently associated only with youthful enthusiasm. In the field of naturopathic medicine, vitalism is the lifeforce, the spark within each of us. It was taught and passed down by our founders and is woven throughout our medical education. Unfortunately, the constraints of testing and diagnosing do not elaborate much on… Read more »
One thing experts do agree on is that technology is changing the way we’re interacting socially. Technology can be a very effective tool in reducing social isolation, especially among senior citizens, by enhancing communication and connectivity between friends, family and caregivers. Research shows belonging to social groups and networks is just as important a predictor… Read more »
The coronavirus emergency has made life more dangerous and difficult for people worldwide. However, the extraordinary challenges experienced by the hearing impaired and deaf populations have not been addressed adequately to date by the media. Listening is defined as an “active or intentional behavior involving the brain’s ability to decode and process communication.”1 Affecting approximately… Read more »
You may have heard of birth doulas who work with pregnant mothers and have been in our health care system a very long time. Recently, we have begun to look at the other end of the life cycle, one that is hard to think about and even harder to talk about: death. End of life… Read more »
