Geriatric Care

Enhancement of Geriatric Health in Hawaii

Jennifer

seniors-hawaiiElderly people in Hawaii are going to be benefiting from the Victor and Margaret Pavel gift. A staggering $11.5m was given to the University of Hawaii Foundation. According to the School of Medicine’s dean, Jerris Hedges, it will be used to:

“support two faculty members on an ongoing basis who will contribute to both training and research in geriatric medicine. Expertise in geriatric medicine is very important for Hawaii as we have one of the oldest populations in the U.S. We know that, as we age, a variety of conditions can develop. Having faculty who are focused on understanding the physiology of aging, and how to work hand-in-hand with the patient to have healthy aging, is really a key part of our training program.”

Other initiatives currently taking place in the state are being undertaken by Hawaii Pacific Health. This not-for-profit health care institution is sponsoring workshops for the elderly on healthcare information and how to enhance their quality of life. Subjects covered include: diabetes prevention and treatment, hearing and vision loss, etc. In addition, through its Summer Student Research Program, a few college students are able to participate in a clinical research study and medical curriculum organized by Hawaii Pacific Health.

It is a way for participants to learn about health issues, understand those matters specifically pertaining to the elderly, and what kind of preventive measures can be taken. In addition, the sheer aspect of socializing with these students is extremely positive for the seniors. It is really a win-win for both the students and the elderly. As one student, Noa Yee said, “My calling, I think, is healing. While I’m only 20 years old, the summer student research program has given me an opportunity to be a healer when I can’t cure.”

Elderly Care: Pennsylvania

Jennifer

stuart shapiroFor seniors faced with a choice as to where to live so that they can age the most gracefully, Pennsylvania probably shouldn’t be in the running. Even though the state is home to more seniors than the national average, it came in at No. 42 and no. 46 for affordability and long-term care accessibility.

However, according to Pennsylvania’s Department of Aging’s spokeswoman, Christina Reese, things aren’t all bad in the region. Reese believes that Pennsylvania is actually working on setting up initiatives that will ultimately enhance services for their seniors. Indeed, just recently, there was an announcement from the Department of Aging and Department of Public Welfare that the Balancing Incentive program has donated $94m in federal funding for this. So with this additional funding, there is likely to be better services for the elderly in Pennsylvania.

First, close to 1,800 extra elderly Pennsylvanians will be able to access in-home/community-based care. Second, Gov. Tom Corbett launched a program to evaluate Pennsylvania’s long-term care system and ways to improve it. Financing programs seems to still be a large issue though, as Ray Landis, AARP Pennsylvania’s advocacy manager pointed out: “our long-term services are among the most expensive in the country in Pennsylvania.”

Another issue for seniors in Pennsylvania is the low Medicaid reimbursement rates. According to President of the Pennsylvania Health Care Association, Dr. Stuart Shapiro, this is part of what is “jeopardizing access to care. [Thus] it is imperative that legislators make senior care a priority in the state budget.”

What thus ends up happening is that the seniors in the region are being cared for by their families – over 1.8 million people fall into the unpaid caregiver bracket. These are unpaid caregivers. Were they to get paid, it would be at a cost of around $20bn per year! Long-term care is simply too expensive for most middle income families to be able to afford. As state director of AARP Pennsylvania, Bill Johnston-Walsh said: “When it comes to helping older Pennsylvanians live in the setting of their choice, this silent army of family caregivers assumes the lion’s share of responsibility. Many juggle full-time jobs with their caregiving duties; others provide 24/7 care for their loved ones.  With every task they undertake, these family caregivers save the state money by keeping their loved ones out of costly nursing homes – most often paid for by Medicaid.  They have earned some basic support.”

There needs to be more help from the state of Pennsylvania for seniors. Greater access and easier affordability for care, needs to be provided by the state.

New Senior Wellness Center

Jennifer

Senior-activitiesA new senior wellness center will soon open in New Jersey on East Main Center just by the Adult Day Center that currently exists. It is a project of the Chosen Freeholders. According to Patrick Scaglione, the organization’s director:

“We are looking forward to the completion of this brand new Senior Wellness Center for the benefit of all residents, age 60 and above. Building next to the Adult Day Center will allow us to form a campus that is focused on helping county residents age in place safely.”

It is also hoped that along with its other Senior Wellness Centers, this new venture will enhance the quality of life for participants and the entire community. They provide educational programming, activities, computer labs and more, giving seniors of all ability-levels a wide array of opportunities that otherwise would not be so easily accessible.

The center will measure 14,000 square feet and share a driveway with the Adult Day Center. It will feature a computer room, exercise room, health screening room, pool table, dining room and kitchen and it is hoped that it will be up and running by the end of next year.

California: Enhancing Geriatric Health

Jennifer

osterweilA two day conference on geriatric health just took place in Long Beach, CA. Since society is aging, there is a growing need for specialist healthcare professionals. This conference aimed to figure out methods of enhancing geriatric health care, while helping the professionals develop their leadership skills. Participants include: nurses, health professionals and physicians, but the conference is focused on the business side of geriatric health.

The event was a great opportunity for participants to learn from geriatric health care leaders vis-à-vis the physician and managerial side, according to conference course chair, UCLA Professor of Medicine and SCAN Health Plan Medical Director, Dan Osterweil, M.D. This is necessary since, as Osterweil notes, the majority of those with a medical degree don’t have any business/finance background and this very soon becomes somewhat problematic.

In addition, given that within the next 20 years, a fifth of all Americans will be 65 or older, it’s crucial that geriatric care becomes “more efficient and less costly.” But in order for that to happen, those in the healthcare industry need to work on their management and leadership skills. And it is this that was the focus of the conference.

The annual Leadership and Management in Geriatrics (LMG) Conference was sponsored by SCAN Health Plan, in conjunction with the California Geriatric Education Center and the UCLA Academic Geriatric Resource Center.

Senior Wellness Facility

Jennifer

wellness-centersA new senior wellness program in an apartment building in Rockford is proving beneficial to both residents and taxpayers. Zion Development was set up in Longwood Gardens Apartments to enhance the quality of life of its residents through their “unique wellness programs.”

The senior wellness facility is run by fitness trainers and nutritionists who are being paid $2,300 per resident. The funds for this are coming from a state grant. This idea will end up saving Medicare money since for example, dialysis alone costs Medicare between three to six thousand dollars weekly.

Apart from the obvious financial saving, residents have noted an improvement in their overall health. One of the reasons for this is the focus on preventive measures such as sugar, cholesterol, weight, blood pressure testing. In addition, there are substantial savings on ambulance calls – 24 percent lower in fact, a financial saving of $13,000+ annually.

So this senior wellness facility certainly seems to be good for everyone.

Robot Elderly Care

Jennifer

healthbotsElderly care by humans could soon be a thing of the past.  With robots becoming more versatile, new “human assistive devices” could be how the elderly are cared for in the future.  HealthBots have various features, including measuring their owner’s heart-rates, blood pressure checks, can send important data to caregivers, detecting falls and reminding them to take their medication. This project – jointly developed by UniServices and the University of Aukland with the Electronic and Telecommunications Research Institute of Korea – seeks to develop “the potential to help care for older people, to improve their quality of life, and to give human care staff more time for skilled tasks that require the more human touch.”

The main aim of the team is to use robots to play “a meaningful part in our future society, assisting health care professionals with repetitive tasks and provide interactions to help enrich elderly social experiences.” Robots will work by being connected wirelessly to a computer network through a central service that will deliver the IT support the robot needs for its operation.

Both Japan and New Zealand have been dealing with an aging society and the former is extremely advanced in robotic technology.  New Zealand has a special focus in software and mechanical engineering in human robotics and Japan in hardware.

So far, small iRobi robots and a larger ‘Charlie’ robot have been introduced successfully, with seniors bonding with them well.  Martin Taylor, CEO of New Zealand Aged Care Association believes that while robots will have a place in the future lives of the elderly, “nothing will ever replace the need for caring, empathetic person-to-person contact when the elderly are in a physically and emotionally complex time.”

Holistic Senior Wellness

Jennifer

senior-wellnessThe tailored wellness program – LifeWorks Senior Wellness Program – created by Lifetime Wellness, engages a holistic approach that seeks to “nurture the whole person,” enhancing their quality of life.  This is particularly important for senior wellness given that all-too-often seniors are treated in a way that just looks at the immediate issue and thus neglects overall health.

To achieve this, the program specializes on six main wellness elements.  According to program director, Brenton Onofre, the goal of the program is “to provide quality of life for our residents while they are living here by creating purpose each day and providing ways for residents to better themselves and help others.  “We understand that to enhance both a person’s health and quality of life requires more than just clinical expertise. We’re always looking for ways to meet everyone’s interests and offer the opportunity for purposeful interaction, both with fellow residents and the staff.”

A holistic approach to senior wellness is the main tenet of the program.  Looking at the senior as an entirety enables the one administering the treatment to thoroughly enhance quality of life, ensuring nothing is missed.  Instead of just helping the elderly get involved in activities that can be challenging for them, this “innovative approach” does everything.  It doesn’t just look at the mental side for example, or just focus on physical limitations.  It spans:  intellectual, emotional, social, physical, vocational, and spiritual, all at once, developing a group of activities that stretches these elements.

In addition to mind, body, intellectual based activities, there are also religious events held through the LifeWorks Senior Wellness Program. Brenton explains, “we work to integrate this into our residents’ rehab program so that have a more comprehensive understanding of what they can do to continue good health once they return home.  Our Wellness Works program strives to make a lasting impact on any resident that transitions home from our facility, and the best way to do that is through caring and education.”

Geriatric Health: NY and OH

Jennifer

eldercareThis month, the central New York community will be able to access information about Geriatric health.  In an initiative taken by the Healthy Community Alliance and the Health Foundation for Western and Central New York is aiming to put together an educational resource on geriatric health in the form of programs to be used by rural health professionals. Also on offer will be a six-week online course and guided care nursing certificate, sponsored by The Institute for Johns Hopkins Nursing.  Through this, participants will l earn how to properly assess the needs of their patients, monitor chronic conditions, and teach their patients how to improve their own health and enhance their quality of life.

Moving over to Bedford, OH, the University Hospitals Bedford Medical Center recently launched a geriatric health care program.  The idea behind it is to help seniors “live healthier, more independent lives.”   According to the center’s manager, Anne O’Neill, LSW, “healthy aging is successful aging.  Our primary goal is to provide clinical expertise and education to older persons and their caregivers in a collaborative health care environment to ensure that they are active and informed participants in their own unique aging process.”  The Senior Assessment Program at the center will be offering geriatrics a resource to manage challenging health issues, along with their families.

The greater education and resources available for seniors, the more enhanced geriatric health and quality of life will be.

Senior Wellness: Screenings

Jennifer

blood-pressureThe older one gets, the more screenings they should probably have.  Director of Flathead County’s Kalispell Senior Center, Khit Harding has been promoting these for the seniors in her region, the first of which took place at the end of October.  On that first screening, several people were diagnosed with severe issues of depression and anxiety by Jennifer Allen who works at the mental health program at North Valley Hospital.

“Seniors will represent almost 25 percent of the overall population of Flathead Valley by 2020, a mere six years away. And although our demographic continues to increase because of retirees and the generally aging population, we still do not have the support of our communities needed to continue to live, work and play in our homes and independently,” she explained. Once diagnosed at the screening, the seniors were given the information they needed on how to seek help through a physician or therapist.

For the promotion of senior wellness, screenings make the world of difference.  There are a variety of these that take place throughout the nation at all times.  Most recent ones include: memory screenings at Kronkosky Place Senior Center in Boerne.  Nurse Next Door Senior Home Care providers undertake monthly memory screenings to recognize National Memory Screening Day with screenings taking no more than 10 minutes. Blood pressure screening is available at Gaffey Home Nursing and the same is offered but with a question-and-answer opportunity with an RN at the Presence United Samaritans Medical Center every Wednesday.

Ultimately for those who are interested in the subject of senior wellness – whether they themselves are seniors or they are caring for seniors – screenings is a very important (and relatively easy) part of senior care.

Geriatric Health in New York

Jennifer

seniorsThe Healthy Community Alliance in Gowanda, NY just received a $135,000 grant from the Health Foundation of Western & Central New York.  The money is to be used to “administer the Foundation’s Geriatric Education Scholarship Program for physicians and allied health professionals.”  Geriatric health should be enhanced through these monies as rural health care professionals receive the appropriate training.

Unfortunately there are not enough geriatricians in New York to help the elderly with their specific needs.  Thus geriatric health suffers and there is added stress on primary care providers who end up “doing it all.”  Thus, this program boasts four nationally-acclaimed geriatric health care training sessions for physicians, Pas, nurses and nurse practitioners can benefit from, for free.