Health and Disability

http://goo.gl/lQ1X9O

Netflix is streaming in the auditorium, clothes lines are strung across the lobby and the 14 remaining disability rights advocates occupying the headquarters of the state nurses' union said Saturday they're in for the long haul — despite dwindling supplies of crucial medications and the hospitalization of one their own.

As the protest at the New York State Nurses Association stretched into its 72nd hour, organizer Bruce Darling acknowledged the group never planned to be encamped in the Cornell Road office park so long.

http://networkedblogs.com/Vacwd

When I hear that someone was screaming in pain, my first thought is “malpractice.”  My father died of bone cancer, a very painful type of cancer, and he had pain medications prescribed by his oncologist, but was still in a lot of pain and could barely stand to move.  Then he agreed to forego aggressive treatment and go into hospice.  The hospice nurse adjusted his medications, and his pain virtually disappeared – he got up, went to see his neighbor and played putt-putt golf in the living room.

He lived about three more months, and stayed under the care of that nurse until the end.  Sadly, she told me that she was being forced to spend increasing amounts of time documenting care due to managed care, rather than providing care to her patients, and as she tried to do both, her work was eating into her time with her family, so she decided to quit.  That was 15 years ago.

So when I hear stories of painful deaths, I think about my dad’s well-meaning but ignorant oncologist, the wonderful hospice nurse, and the ensuing progress in palliative care.  When a nationally respected palliative care physician like Dr. Ira Byock says that assisted suicide is not progressive, people should listen.  But personal stories carry so much more weight.

Also a book on living wills....

http://goo.gl/wrFuoW

One day you may find that someone you care about — a spouse, parent, relative, or close friend — needs help negotiating the daily tasks of life. Perhaps that day has already come. Close to 49 million informal or family caregivers offer assistance of all sorts to adults in America, according to the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP. Their efforts are vital to the lives of people struggling with illness, disability, or the changes that often accompany aging.

The information in this report will assist you in meeting the needs of the person you care for while attending to your own. The first chapter focuses on ways to organize and accomplish daily tasks. The chapters that follow describe financial, legal, and medical information that’s vital to caregivers, as well as a special section devoted to caring for yourself as you navigate caregiving challenges. Throughout the report, you’ll also find plenty of resources and tips designed to improve your loved one’s life as well as your own.

http://goo.gl/IqkzUM

Chronic sleep problems can inflame a number of health problems, from widespread pain to speeding up cancer. Though sleep disturbances have been observed in people with Alzheimer's disease, whether this is a cause or effect has been unknown. Now, researchers say individuals with chronic sleep disruptions could face earlier onset of Alzheimer's.

http://goo.gl/uQgAaS

Information about the 84,000 people who were told they might qualify was supposed to be transferred to the state. Then, the state would have been able to verify eligibility and get them signed up for coverage immediately. However, the state says they have not been receiving complete information on those people, and as a result could not process them for coverage. It is possible some of those people have signed up by using the state website, but that cannot be confirmed right now.

http://goo.gl/f8985S

"In other words, insurance companies will not be permitted to discriminate against married same-sex couples when offering coverage," Matthew Heinz, the director of LGBT outreach at HHS, wrote in a blog post.

A White House aide said later that the rules update goes further than originally explained. Starting in 2015, insurers also have to be willing to offer coverage for same-sex spouses if a company buying an insurance plan from them is buying coverage for opposite-sex spouses.

http://goo.gl/DKhwF6

So why not tote them to and from their medical stuff in limos if it’s $36 a ride cheaper? Multiply $36 times a million and, according to my crack math skills, that saves taxpayers nearly $50,000!

http://goo.gl/6EvHu7

In the first study, published today in Psychoneuroendocrinology, 31 patients with anorexia and 33 healthy controls were given either a dose of oxytocin, delivered via nasal spray, or a placebo. The participants were then asked to look at sequences of images relating to food (high and low calorie), body shape (fat and thin), and weight (scales). Once the images flashed on screen, the researchers measured how quickly participants identified the images. If they had a tendency to focus on the negative images, they would identify them more rapidly. The test was done before and after taking oxytocin or placebo. 

After taking oxytocin, patients with anorexia reduced their focus (or ‘attentional bias’) on images of food and fat body parts. The effect of oxytocin was particularly strong in patients with anorexia who had greater communication problems. 

DUH! of the week....

http://goo.gl/uxbFTP

In a report published online in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, the experts say studies have long shown that fragmented care, incomplete information "handoffs" and poor planning among community-based and home caregivers jeopardize health and safety.

Similarly, the team says, those with traumatic brain injuries,cancer, end-stage kidney failure, complicated diabetes, heart disease, developmental disabilities and cerebral palsy need better coordination of their care across health care settings.

http://goo.gl/g2zqZM

Now consider these steps to make your home the home of a lifetime: