Health and Disability

from Medical News Today:

AbleNet announces the release of the innovative new Impulse™ Bluetooth®Technology Access product. Impulse is specifically designed for personswith significant physical limitations, allowing them to use any musclesurface (face, jaw, neck, arm, leg, etc.) to control their computer.This device is particularly applicable for persons with degenerativeconditions such as ALS, MS and MDA; as well as anyone with physicallimitations or paralysis.

"This product leapfrogs anything in the market in terms of flexibility,usability, safety and price," said AbleNet CEO Jen Thalhuber. "Computeraccess unencumbered by wires and visual limitations is now possible forpersons with the most severe physical limitations, as long as they haveeven faint muscle control somewhere on their body."

"Impulse offers consistent, wireless computer access capability forusers who may be using complementary tools including eye-trackingtechnology," continued Thalhuber. "We expect the price point will bevery appealing, especially when coupled with the flexibility andusability improvements. Impulse also has the stylish technology designof a Bluetooth headset, giving the user the same look and comfort otherconsumers demand and receive."

AbleNet

from Brown2020:

Last week I spoke at the On Lok Lifeways Conference on October 22, 2008 in San Francisco, entitled “Sustainable Long Term Care: Ethics, Technology and International Perspectives.” The organizers asked me to draw insights from my experience in developing new models for chronic care as the founder and former CEO of Health Hero Network, and to compare that to what I had learned while traveling in Rwanda with Partners in Health last year. Here is my presentation.

from Market Watch:

Eighty-four percent of
baby boomers say the presidential candidates' positions on long term care
issues and funding will be an important factor in determining how they cast
their vote in November, according to a national survey of more than 800
registered voters ages 45 to 64 sponsored by Genworth Financial, Inc.

from Medical News Today:

People taking care of more than one generation -- such as their
children and parents -- engaged in fewer healthy behaviors, found a
study by researchers from Indiana University and Arizona State
University.

As the U.S. population continues to age, more and more midlife adults
find themselves similarly "sandwiched," leading the research team to
conclude that "encouraging healthy behaviors among caregivers has the
potential to prevent significant illness and premature mortality."

From MHPC web site:

This conference will explore the regulatory relationships between LTC, Assisted Living, and Hospice. A flyer is out, but was inaccessible. The link is to the registration form on the Michigan Hospice site.

from Tennessee Journalist:

Dr. Richard Rose, a private practice doctor specializing in treatment
of infectious diseases, gave a lecture titled "How we got into this
mess" on the problems with the U.S.'s health care system during the UT science forum Friday.

Rose described health care practices in the Unites States from the time of the Neanderthals up to present day.

The discovery that insulin injections treat diabetes changed the face
of medicine, he said. Instead of doctors simply treating acute diseases
with one visit, chronic disease treatment became common practice for
doctors.

"For most of the history of man, 'fee for service' made sense because it was based on episodic care giving," said Rose.

"A system developed around treatment of acute diseases was now translated into treating chronic diseases," Rose said.

It is not effective to provide care for long term treatable diseases
in a health care model based around treating acute problems, he said.

As far as the presidential election goes, Rose feels that neither of
the candidates' plans for reform will have much of an effect on the
problems with health care.

"Their plans are really just tweaks," Rose said. "I'm not basing my decision on their health care plans."

Rose admitted he doesn't have the answers to these problems.

"I just told you how we got here, but I'm not going to tell you how
to get out," Rose said. "I'll leave the solutions up to you."

from Northern Lakes:

We are proud to share that Ernie Reynolds was one of the featured speakers at theMichigan Association of Community Mental Health Boards fall conference. Ernie is a Certified Peer Support Specialist at Northern Lakes and has a great deal of experience with public speaking and advocacy.

Ernie has oftentimes been heard to say that if he can help just one person each day, it was a good day.  This presentation, and the many other presentations he has made in his advocacy career, was extremely effective and helped many, many people – so it must have been a tremendous day for Ernie!

from Center for Disability Rights:

The traditional model of long term care services emphasizes a medical approach to meeting needs, often involving unnecessary high cost professionals.  The independent living (IL) approach to long term care services vests control of services in the consumer rather than the professional.  Many of the services that are widely perceived as “medical” are simply a part of daily life to a person with disabilities.  The independent living paradigm supports an integrated life in the community, with personal care workers providing needed assistance in tasks ranging from dressing and bathing to managing breathing devices, feeding tubes and catheters.  Tasks that hospitals routinely train family members to perform can also be done in a home setting by other laypersons under the direction of the individual or their family member.  

from Info Long-Term Care:

In August 2006, the Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation (the Foundation) awarded the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) a planning grant to develop strategies for providing palliative care in nursing home settings. The purpose of the planning grant was three-fold:

1) Assess the need for palliative care in the nursing home setting;
2) Evaluate effective approaches to meeting the need; and
3) Develop a practical strategy for extending palliative care services to nursing home
residents.

This report to the Foundation reviews the needs assessment conducted by project researchers and describes our findings. The need for extending palliative care services to nursing facilities is compelling, and the report includes suggestions for future initiatives in this area.

http://www.capc.org/support-from-capc/capc_publications/nqf-crosswalk.pdf

from Health Care for health Care Workers:

A new fact sheet from HCHCW, Women Caring for Women
(pdf), examines the unique characteristics that are inherent to the
direct-care workforce because it is dominated by women. Some of the key
facts revealed in this publication:

• Women are 90 percent of the 3.1 million paid, professional caregivers in long-term care.
• Nearly two thirds (65 percent) of long-term care consumers are women.
• Nearly one in three direct-care workers lack health insurance coverage.