In an article on Forbes USA, Ashlea Ebeling states that moving into a continuing care retirement community requires a big investment and a lot of research. She invites us to ask the right questions “…Are you (or your aging parent) the kind of person who likes to plan for all contingencies? Then you might want to consider a continuing care retirement community–a development that usually includes independent apartments or town homes for spry seniors; assisted living units for those who need some help; plus a nursing home…”
Posts Tagged ‘Living Well best practices to age in place’
Before You Leave Your Home: Eight Questions To Ask Before Buying Into A Senior Community
Tuesday, July 20th, 2010Frustration When it Comes to Avoid Abuse in Residential Facilities
Tuesday, July 20th, 2010
Alarming is the word we can use to define the findings of the U.S. Department of Justice-funded study by Hawes and Kimbell that examined state processes for detecting, investigating, resolving and preventing elder abuse in Residential Care Facilities.
This study focused on detection, investigation, and resolution of elder abuse and neglect complaints in what are known as residential care facilities (RCFs). These facilities are the most rapidly growing form of senior housing. This growth is a result both of the preferences of the elderly and their families and of public policy aimed at reducing nursing home use. RCFs are referred to by a variety of names across the states, including assisted living facilities, personal care homes, domiciliary care homes, adult congregate living facilities, adult care homes, and shelter care homes. The best estimate is that some 50,000 facilities nationwide house a mainly older population in between 900,000 and one million beds. In addition, an unknown number of unlicensed homes house a mixed population of poor older persons and individuals with mental illness. By contrast, there are about 17,000 nursing homes with 1.6 million residents.
The researchers found a lack of adequate resources in all states and all agencies, as well as deeply flawed processes. The report highlights smart practices by Ombudsmen and identifies policy suggestions, training needs, and research recommendations.
Download the U.S. Department of Justice-funded study by Hawes and Kimbell.
Six Questions to Protect Elderly Patients
Monday, July 5th, 2010
Living Well provides medical advocacy to help patients who are hospitalized
On the Wellness section of the New York Times, Pam Belluck compile the advice of three experts on the questions family members can ask to lower a patient’s risk for delirium during a hospital stay.
Pam says “…Many readers have asked me what family members can do to help lower an elderly patient’s risk. To find out, I turned to three experts – Dr. Margaret Pisani at the Yale University School of Medicine, Dr. Wes Ely at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and Dr. Sharon Inouye at Harvard Medical School. Based on their advice, here are six questions family members should ask to lower an elderly patient’s risk for hospital delirium…”
Not All Assisted Living Facilities Are Safe. A Report Describes How Elders Are Dying in Nursing Homes.
Monday, July 5th, 2010
Not all senior care or residential facilities are safe!
America’s largest elderly people live in California. 3.7 million over age 65. Most of these seniors live in institutions and although some of these facilities provide an outstanding care for many seniors, a staggering number of others are being abused and neglected and even are dying on these residential care facilities. Some of these facilities are so eager to retain the residents that they ignore the issues that will need real medical care and well trained medical staff and keep the residents away from the needed care until it is too late.
Tanya McRae conducted an investigative report on abuse and neglect of the elderly at skilled nursing facilities and nursing homes. In the video, one daughter shares her story of her mother’s horrific death, and attorneys explain staggering number of other criminal cases.
House Safety: An Important Matter When Aging in Place
Monday, July 5th, 2010
Home Safety, important matter to age in place.
Our homes fulfill many needs for us. Often, the most basic need is for shelter from the elements and intruders. Once we are protected and secure, other needs can be met. Comfort and a place for self-expression are vital for our well-being. Home gives a feeling of independence. Ourhome should also be a place in which we can be safe from accidents and injuries.
A Housing Safety Checklist for Older People prepared by Sarah D. Kirby, Extension Housing Specialist, and published by NORTH CAROLINA COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICE. North Carolina State University and North Carolina A&T State University commit themselves to positive action to secure equal opportunity regardless of race,color, creed, national origin, religion, sex, age, or disability. The guide-checklist stresses that “…Home accidents are a major source of injuries and can cause death. Older persons, whose bones are often less dense and more brittle, are especially vulnerable to serious injuries from home accidents. A simple fall that results in a broken bone can become a serious, disabling injury that limits one’s independence…”
On the guide, you will find a series of checklists. Use these lists as you go through your home. Make a check mark next to those items or behaviors that you already have. If there are items that you do not check, then your home is not as safe as it could be. By improving those items not marked, you can make your home a safer and more comfortable place to live. While the suggestions in this publication are for older people, they apply to all age groups as well.
Wandering Seniors at Risk of Getting Lost and Even Dying.
Monday, July 5th, 2010
Smart technology: GPS shoes for wandering seniors!
Some of the common symptoms of Alzheimer’s and any other type of dementia are lack of memory, confusion, and wandering. These symptoms usually lead to loosing track of familiar surroundings and thus getting lost. Understanding the symptoms of dementia might help safeguard elderly people who are at risk for getting lost. While infections, tumors, and head injuries can all cause dementia, Alzheimer’s disease is most commonly behind the phenomenon of wandering. For patients who hallucinate, their risk for wandering might depend on how well they trust their caregiver. If they hallucinate, they may be at low risk or high risk, depending on their trust for the caregiver. If they are suspicious, they might try to get out.
In 2008, Texas Legislature enacted a statewide communication system to help find mentally impaired senior citizens. “I think they are a really good idea,” said Hester, a Lubbock Police sergeant. “(A Silver Alert) could have helped those people. I mean, nobody knew where they were.” But Silver Alerts alone can’t keep seniors safe. On Monday, police officials were preparing an alert for 70-year-old Lubbock resident Jim Hardy Clary, who left home for a doctor’s appointment he didn’t keep. He was found dead before a statewide alarm was raised. Read More about this article
In Virginia, law enforcement officers are learning how to search for missing persons who may not know they are lost. A 4-minute video produced by Kassie Bracken for The New York Times tells us the lessons they have learned.
Listening to the Voices of Alzheimer’s
Monday, July 5th, 2010
Voices of Alzheimer's
A series of videos presented for The New York Times by Karen Barrow explores the frightening and confusing world of Alzheimer’s. She captures the voices of both patients and loved ones who are struggling with issues of independence, long-term care and making the most of the time they have left.
Listening to people who say that Alzheimer’s is not a normal part of aging but a disease that affects the patient and all family members equally, brings your awareness of the challenges of this disease that affects people “just out-of-the-blue…”
A common desire of people affected with Alzheimer’s is that they want to live life at its fullest and stay in their homes for as long as they can.
See the videos: Patient Voices: Alzheimer’s Disease and read the related article: “The Voices of Alzheimer’ by Tara Parker-Pope
