Health and Disability

An indispensable resource offering encouragement and instruction to those affected by Alzheimer?s Disease. For many families, Alzheimer?s means a gradually diminishing quality of life both for the sufferer and caregivers. All too often, the disease has led to isolation?and even a certain social stigma. It can impose psychological and emotional burdens just as heavy as the physical one. The Family Guide to Alzheimer?s Disease was created to help families understand what to expect; deal effectively with the challenge of this disease; help their loved ones meet each day more successfully; and enhance the quality of life for all involved. Understanding Alzheimer’s, Volume 1, 62 minutes In this volume you?ll learn about the nature of Alzheimer?s, its causes and the stages of the disease……

Technorati Tags: alzheimers,family support,video

The Family Guide To Alzheimer’s Disease DVD Video Series | Senior Treatment

On June 11, a bill was introduced into both the U.S. House and Senate that promises to improve access to home and community-based services by generating Medicare and Medicaid savings and allowing more older Americans to receive health support in their homes.

“Project 2020: Building on the Promise of Home and Community-Based Services” was introduced on the Senate side as S. 1257 by Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), both key members of the Senate Finance Committee. On the House side, Reps. Bruce L. Braley (D-IA) and John Sarbanes (D-MD), both members of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, introduced the companion bill H.R. 2852……

Technorati Tags: HCBS,community-based care,bills

Project 2020: Bill to Improve Access to HCBS at PHInational.org

It turns out that drinking a lot of coffee may do more than wake us up during the day. It also could rev up our memories.
A University of South Florida study found that drinking five (yes, five) cups of coffee a day could reverse memory problems associated with Alzheimer's disease. Caffeine also hurt the production of protein plaques that characterize the disease, the study also suggested. The study used 55 mice……..

These are 8 oz. cups, also-not those puny cups you get at conferences….

Five cups of coffee a day may reverse Alzheimer's symptoms,

study finds - McKnight's Long Term Care News

I can hear objections already -- yet another tool for adult children to avoid talking with or visiting aging Mom or Dad. But founder Neil Moore (many years in Health IT) may be onto something with Connect for Healthcare. This is a new subscription-based service that enables care providers to use a structured and secure way to communicate status to family members about their loved ones who are receiving some sort of long-term care.

The service in a nutshell. A family member can select up to 10 wellness attributes from from a structured list of 40 -- sleeping, eating, mobility, medication, for example -- that providers like nursing homes, home care agencies, assisted living facilities, or a home care aide -- update and provide in secure and recipient-selected mechanisms once a week ($15/month)………

Technorati Tags: aging in place,technology,social application

Connect for Healthcare: helping care providers communicate with families | Aging In Place Technology Watch

……It turns out that all that worry has a payback. The nurturing you’ve given may be repaid by a longer lifespan.

Researchers from the University of Michigan found that if you accounted for the negative impact of stressing over a loved one’s illness, that caregiving actually led to longer life. During the course of the study, people who spent at least 14 hours a week caring for a sick spouse were almost 30 percent less likely to die during the study period than those who spent no time helping………

EldercareABCblog.com

Missoula, MT— Montanans with disabilities and those who are aging are angry that current federal health care reform efforts exclude the very services and supports that allow them to live in their own homes with the assistance they need. On July 2, they are taking that anger to the streets, with rallies and marches in seven of Montana’s larger cities that will deliver the message that “Long-Term Care is KEY.”

“It’s especially important that Sen. Baucus hears this message,” said Travis Hoffman, Advocacy Coordinator at Summit Independent Living. “Not only is he a “key” figure in health care reform, he represents our interests in Washington, and we want to be sure he knows not to compromise our freedom. We want him to end the bias in Medicaid that currently pays for us to be forced into nursing homes and institutions, but won’t pay less for us to get assistance in our own homes.

Montanans to Sen. Baucus: Include Long-term Care in Health Care Reform-It’s Key! | cripchick's weblog

Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee, has sparked an important debate over long-term care insurance by proposing national coverage that would be available to everyone. But the Kennedy plan, called the CLASS Act, leaves unanswered the question that is probably most important to consumers: How much would the premium be?
Kennedy’s bill, which is likely to be debated by the committee this week, anticipates an average monthly premium of $65. The lifetime cash benefit would be $50 a day (the actual benefit would vary depending on a beneficiary’s level of need). Such a low monthly price would be a terrific deal and likely attract lots of buyers.
However, in recognition of Kennedy’s own uncertainty, the proposal gives the Secretary of Health and Human Services broad discretion to set actual premium levels. And there is some evidence that monthly payments would be quite a bit higher than Kennedy hopes.

National Long-Term Care Insurance: How Much Would It Cost? - Kaiser Health News

The Barrier Free Healthcare Initiative (TBFHI) is spearheaded by advocates, non-profit organizations, legal service providers, and lawyers whose goal is to eliminate the physical and programmatic barriers that people with disabilities face in obtaining healthcare. Please read our list of some of the common barriers faced by people with disabilities. BFHI aims to develop and support legal advocacy and policy initiatives designed to eliminate these barriers in hospitals and other settings where medical care is provided. … read more about TBFHI

The Barrier Free Health Care Initiative

Unless you are a hermit, you probably spend some part of your day outside the place you live.  Even if it is just going back and forth to work, you pass through the outdoors on your way to somewhere else.  It is NORMAL for humans to spend time enjoying the benefits of the outdoors.

Sometimes dementia caregivers find that the outdoors, even a yard attached to a house, can become an anxiety provoking situation when they care for someone with dementia.  Finding a way to balance safety with the obvious pluses of an outdoor experience is the key…..

Technorati Tags: dementia,outdoor activities

The Dementia Caregiver's Toolbox : Dementia Outdoors