Mediterranean-style Diet May Protect Aging Brains from Damage

According to Health Day, a study by Dr. Nikolaos Scarmeas at Columbia University Medical Center shows that eating a Mediterranean-style diet -- one rich in olive oil, whole grains, fish and fruit -- may protect aging brains from damage linked to cognitive problems. The study involved 712 men and women averaging 80 years of age.

Researchers looked at how well the participants followed a Mediterranean-style diet for six years. Upon MRI those who strictly followed the diet had fewer brain infarcts, strokes and their risk for having such damage was lowered by up to 36 percent.

In earlier studies, Scarmeas has shown that a Mediterranean diet could help lower the risk for Alzheimer's disease and might lengthen the life of those who have the disease. "Boosting plant food intake can improve heart health and reduce body weight, but now it appears it may [also] aid brain health," she said.

Alzheimer's Conferene for Professionals

Professionals may have an interest in the NIH's "Preventing Alzheimer’s Disease and Cognitive Decline" conference, April 26-28, 2010 in Bethesda, MD. The purpose of the conference is to evaluate the available scientific information on Alzheimer’s disease.

Discussion topics include:

What factors are associated with the reduction of risk of Alzheimer’ s disease?

What are the relationships between the factors that affect Alzheimer ’s disease and the factors that affect cognitive decline?

What are the therapeutic and adverse effects of interventions to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease?

At the conference, invited experts will present information pertinent to these questions, and a systematic literature review prepared under contract with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) will be summarized. Conference attendees will have ample time to ask questions and provide statements during open discussion periods.

Find more here.

March 23 was Diabetes Alert Day - Information You Can Use

With my goofy travel schedule I missed publishing this but the information is still relevant.

March 23rd was Diabetes Alert Day and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is promoting increased awareness of the diabetes-related preventive services covered by Medicare.

Medicare provides coverage of the following diabetes-related services for qualified Medicare beneficiaries:

· Diabetes screening tests,

· Diabetes self-management training (DSMT),

· Medical nutrition therapy (MNT),

· Glaucoma screening (e.g. dilated eye exam with an intraocular pressure (IOP) measurement), and

· Diabetes supplies (e.g. glucose monitoring equipment and therapeutic shoes) and other services (e.g. foot care).

For more information, visit this site.

Long-Term Care Costs Rose in 2009; Another Reason to Consider Your Alternatives

The 2009 MetLife Market Survey of Nursing Home, Assisted Living, Adult Day Services, and Home Care Costs shows that private room nursing home rates rose 3.3% to $219 per day or $79,935 per year, while assisted living base rates also rose 3.3% on average to $3,131 per month. Home healthcare aides now cost an average of $21 per hour, a 5% increase; adult day services run $67 per day, a 4.7% increase.

Lesson - Most of these costs, save some nursing homes costs, are out-of-pocket. How are you preparing for a future where more and more people may live to be 100?

Click here for the entire Market Survey of Long-Term Care Costs.

Long Term Care Insurance May Be Within Reach

Some 10 million Americans currently require long-term care according to the American Association for Long-Term Care insurance with annual expenditures exceeding $200 billion. Experts expect the number of individuals needing care will grow significantly in the next decade as the 76 million baby boomers begin to turn 65. To educate individuals about the importance of long-term care planning and ways to make insurance protection more affordable, the organization is making available a free informational guide.

Discounts are available when applicants meet certain health qualifications. Non-smokers may qualify for savings and couples or partners who apply for protection may be eligible for savings, even when only one individual obtains insurance coverage.

The guide, "Potential Ways To Reduce The Cost of Long-Term Care Insurance" can be accessed online. As I am a proponent of financial planning for your older years, I have reviewed the guide and have found it useful. Check it out here.

Update from the National Council on Aging: Sheehy Awesome / Sebelius Lame

I am attending my first National Council on Aging conference in Chicago. Made it in time to hear Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius speak. In a nutshell she was there because it is a crucial week in health care reform so she was talking the party line. Remember that she was addressing a room full of caregivers whose hearts are so big that they can not see the rhetoric and simply hone in on the fact that more people will have insurance under reform. And as I have said this is morally correct. But the crumbs they have thrown long-term support and services are just that. A Class Act whose benefit would cover little. A well-intended elder justice act that has been years in the making. Nothing at all was addressed about the cost of it all and while medical homes were touted no one mentioned conveniently that the health care system is not set up to reimburse for this. A lot of long sentences with little substance.

On the other hand Gail Sheehy gave a moving keynote about her care giving journey with her husband. She outlined eight steps in the journey, not dissimilar to what happens when people are diagnosed with a serious health ailment, moving from disbelief to bargaining to acceptance. Her steps went a different route but arrived at the fact that the caregiver journey is just that. You must reach out to others along the route and you must enjoy the cogent moments as they arrive. She then interviewed a panel of caregivers in a moving segment. Well done.

Risk of Death from Hip Fractures Markedly Increased for Elders

From Health Day - Belgian researchers have found that older men and women who break a hip are five to eight times more likely to die in the first three months after the fracture.

The main problem is not the repair of the fracture but the toll it takes on older people who already have a weakened bone structure, other health problems and now face the mental shock of the hip fracture.

That is why balance classes and slip and fall prevention programs must be initiated and embraced.

Half of All Nurses Want Out!

An AMN Healthcare survey reports that half of all nurses say they plan to make a career change over the next three years.

Of the 1,399 respondents to 44% say they will probably change the course of their careers to something less demanding between now and 2013. A total 28% say that, if they have their way, they won't be at their current job one year from now. And 41% say they would not choose nursing if they had the chance to do it over again. Some current industry projections indicate that there could be a shortage of up to 250,000 nurses by 2025.

Meanwhile, a separate survey from Curtin University of Technology in Perth, Australia, finds that 75% of all nurses surveyed experienced some form of violence or abuse on the job. Only 16% of incidents were officially reported. Nearly all (92%) reported verbal abuse; 69% reported physical threats, while 52% experienced physical assault.

Roughly 30% of the nurses did not report incidents because they felt workplace violence was part of the job. A total of 50% said that when they had reported an event, senior managers had failed to take action. The results are published in the Journal of Clinical Nursing.

These findings support the contention that health care workers must first heal themselves before they can heal others.

Virginia Passes National Healthcare Nullifiaction Law

As the federal debate heats up over healthcare, states are slowly taking matters in their own hands with legislation that in affect goes against current healthcare reform proposals.

Virginia became the first state to enact legislation to prevent its residents from being mandated to purchase health insurance or participate in any healthcare system.

37 other states that have similar bills pending or have announced that they will introduce this legislation.

Under the legislation, any state attempt to require an individual to purchase health insurance - or forbid an individual from purchasing services outside of the required healthcare system - would be rendered unconstitutional.

Many have said that such laws are themselves unconstitutional, however, as they are intended to nullify federal laws. Nullification is an extraconstitutional procedure that was employed in the early 19th century by states in the Old Confederacy.

The Freedom of Choice in Healthcare Act has already been filed or pre-filed in 33 states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

Lawmakers in an additional four states - Montana, North Carolina, Rhode Island, and Utah - have publicly announced their intentions to file the legislation. A citizen-led initiative has also been announced in Colorado.

So even if it is unconstitutional, is any one getting the message here? Hello McFly! People obviously do not want what is being bantered about in Washington. My stance - it is absolutely a moral imperative to insure every American. That said, what is being passed is not healthcare reform. It does not solve a single systemic issue. And in fact when the flood gates of patients open, the system will be ill-equipped to handle it.

Blog a Tree Today!

I have to admit this caught my attention. A German firm contacted me about their initiative to raise awareness of the carbon emissions resulting from the use of the internet - specifically of blogs. A blog with 15,000 visits a month they say has yearly carbon dioxide emissions of 8lb. To neutralize these emissions they have created "My blog is carbon neutral" buttons so bloggers can demonstrate that they care about the environment and the carbon footprint of their blogs.

So how do they actually neutralize your blog's carbon footprint? They are planting trees in cooperation with the Arbor Day Foundation in Plumas National Forest in Northern California. For every participating blog they plant a tree. One blog - one tree.

I'm in.

Get Moving to Control Arthritis Pain

One of my keynote topics in our Meaning of Life program talks about how seniors I have met lead a quality life by staying active and moving. Too often people mistakenly believe that the aches and pains associated with osteoarthritis are an inevitable part of aging that they must live with forver.

But, as this entertaining public service ad from the Arthritis Foundation and the Ad Council points out, moving may be the answer for those living with or at risk for osteoarthritis.

Arthritis is the number one cause of disability in this country. Just ask my 89-year-old mother who suffers from it. There is no cure or definitive cause, but there are some simple ways to prevent and reduce the pain.

You can find out how at FightArthritisPain.org.

Preventing Burnout and Compassion Fatigue

Caregivers are known to care for others before they take care of their own needs. In fact, as I tell people in my keynotes, a high majority of caregivers die before the ones they take care of so taking care of yourself must be your first priority.

Families of Loved Ones, in conjunction with Englewood Hospital & Medical Center are presenting a community event for those involved with care giving as well as advocates, nurses, First Responders (Police & Firefighters, Animal Rescue Workers, victim assistance) and those involved with palliative care, psychology, social service, mental health, school counselors, pastoral care, and criminal justice.

It is Saturday, April 17th @1pm and you can find more information here.

World Glaucoma Week - See the Big Picture about Your Eye Health

This week is World Glaucoma Week.

Glaucoma is the world’s leading cause of preventable blindness and affects approximately 70 million people worldwide. Many people do not understand the consequences of glaucoma and, more importantly, that its impact can be significantly reduced.

Pfizer has developed a public awareness campaign to educate people about risk factors for glaucoma and the critical importance of appropriate diagnosis among at-risk populations to slow down the progression of the disease. Check out All Eyes on Glaucoma™ to learn more about glaucoma and how to best take care of your eye health.

Nursing Home Chains to Pay Fines

Mariner Health Care Inc., subsidiary SavaSeniorCare Administrative Services LLC, and their principals will pay the federal government and several states $14 million to settle kickback allegations.

As we blogged before, federal prosecutors alleged that the defendants solicited kickback payments from pharmacy giant Omnicare in exchange for agreements by Mariner and Sava to continue using Omnicare's pharmacy services for 15 years.

Federal investigators alleged in a whistleblower suit filed last year that Omnicare, Mariner, Sava, and principals Leonard Grunstein, Murray Forman, and Rubin Schron arranged for Omnicare to pay Mariner and Sava $50 million in exchange for the right to continue providing pharmacy services to the nursing homes.

Approximately $7.84 million of the settlement will go to the federal government, while $6.16 million has been allocated to several state Medicaid programs that the federal government did not identify.

So simply - would you want your loved ones in one of these nursing homes?

Healthcare Workers Need to Get Along with One Another Before Change Will Occur

You may have read about the two nurses in Texas who were brought up on trial and faced 10 years in prison on the charge of misuse of official information. The jury thankfully laughed in the prosecution's face and dismissed the charge. But that incident is telling of the unbelievable amount of hostility that exists among health care workers. We need to fix that before we can ever make care for residents and patients better.

Virtual Colonoscopy Safer for Older Patients

Screening by virtual colonoscopy is just as effective and potentially safer than traditional screening methods for older patients at risk of colorectal cancer, according to a new report from the American College of Radiology.

Researchers from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health looked at the use of “computed tomographic colonography” (CTC) in 577 elderly patients. CTC is a safer alternative for seniors the study suggests. Complications such as colon perforation were not associated with the procedure. The report appears in the journal Radiology.

Ask your doctor about this procedure. Not all health care providers are equipped to do this and this has been a controversial procedure from Day One!