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.

Promoting Senior Wellness in Washington Park

Jennifer

senior-centerThe Senior Center in Washington Park recently hosted a series of events entitled, “Embrace Your Wellness Community Fair,” for the elderly as a way of promoting senior wellness.  This was where seniors were given tips on how to enhance their quality of life, focusing on subjects such as blood pressure monitoring, flu shots, etc.  According to Amy Kloster, Assistant Director of the Interfaith Older Adult Programs, there are around “25 different community resources [which] have come in and are identifying what dimension of wellness they connect with in the community.”  This incorporates the spiritual, intellectual and emotional aspects of wellbeing.

Another aspect that was brought up in these sessions was how seniors can become more energy-efficient at home.  A representative of Focus on Energy, Nancy Alberte was in attendance giving “cash back rewards on appliance recycling.”  Every little bit helps

For those who did not attend this series in Milwaukee but want to get more education on enhancing the quality of life as a senior, Brian Bingaman on Twitter @brianbingaman has some great tips.

Geriatric Health Enhancement Grant

Jennifer

craig-rubinThe geriatrics unit of UT-Southwestern has been awarded The Next Steps $1m four year award for its internal medicine department.  The donation – to be used for the enhanced of geriatric health care – was given by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation.  This is the second grant that UT-Southwestern has received from the foundation.  It is one of the 10 grants under the umbrella of the foundation’s Aging and Quality of Life program.

According to Chief of Geriatrics and Principal Investigator of the UT-Southwestern Aging and Geriatrics Education program, Dr. Craig Rubin, getting one of these grants is no easy feat since they are very competitive.  He explained that “the Reynolds Foundation decided a couple of years ago that it would fund a new round of grants open to the institutions that had previously received its support.”

The UT-Southwestern Geriatrics unit has also led a geriatric health fellowship program for a number of years.  Within the field of geriatric health, the fellowship offers: specialized education for physicians and offering the elderly the best possible care using expertise garnered from clinical skills by developing a strong medical foundation.  It is a one-year primary care track program.

Enhancing Senior Wellness

Jennifer

In an effort to improve senior wellness and health in the region, a telehealth pilot program is being launched in Connecticut.  According to Chairman of the New Canaan Health and Human Services Commission, Jim Lisher, there will be 50 participants in the program. Equipping seniors with customized mobile technology, in the fall, the 10 elderly individuals living in New Canaan will be given iPads or Acer tablets to enable them to communicate with a nurse a few times a week.  This way – it is hoped – they will be able to remain in their homes rather than having to be put into care.

As well as having teleconferencing abilities, pilot program participants will be given medical equipment to monitor their weight, blood pressure and heart rate; information that will thereafter be given to the nurse who will also take a general overview of the patient’s overall wellness.

It is fitting that this pilot program will take place in New Canaan since 75 percent of adults living there fall into the senior category.  Thus it is hoped that this program will alleviate the pressure on hospitals and nursing homes.  In addition, enabling the elderly to stay at home is much cheaper on the system, and better in general for senior wellness.  In terms of finances, like many cities in the US, over 50 percent of healthcare in New Canaan is spent on preventable diseases that result from diet, smoking and overall bad lifestyle choices.  Telehealth programs may have the potential to serve as preventative measures and thus reduce the overall cost of healthcare as well as enhancing senior wellness.

The concept of senior wellness at home is not a new one.  Indeed, the villages regions of Florida, boasts a Telemonitoring program as part of its Senior Home Care package, launched in the summer of 2012.  Like the telehealth program soon to be piloted in New Canaan this one was set up to “monitor home health patients under their care who are high-risk and have chronic conditions, such as chronic heart failure.”  As well, the program combines clinical home health visits with telephonic intervention which have, through studies, been shown to enhance senior wellness and decrease the amount of hospital readmissions.

While these programs are not cheap – the one in New Canaan is $24,000 – ultimately the long-term savings and overall senior wellness have been shown in other such programs to be worth the initial monies required.
 

Enhancement of Geriatric Health Care

Jennifer

 

Coming together to enhance geriatric health care, St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan Health System (UMHS) are launching a medical care unit specializing in quality care for the elderly.  The UM-SJMAA Acute Care for Elders (ACE) Unit, will be a place for expert geriatricians to work together to enhance geriatric health care.  Equipped with top-quality machinery, health care providers working at the unit will be guided by a UMHS medical director.

This new unit is one of the only one of its kind in America under the auspices of a nationally-renowned model of care.  This helps the elderly rehabilitate and recover; maintain and increase strength and mobility; decrease the possibility of complications when in hospital and more.  In other words, the idea behind the unit is to truly enhance the quality of life for the elderly. This team – geared to geriatrics – has a different perspective to eldercare and understands more of what they encounter.

All patients in attendance at the new unit will be given tailor-made care to help them function more independently; improve their comfort level and nutrition and other such medical-related matters.  As well as geriatricians, on the board will be geriatric medicine-trained nurses; occupational therapists; social workers; a pharmacist and nutritionist since the center’s goal is to provide complete care for the elderly.  It is thus hoped that all of this will succeed in bringing an overall improvement to geriatric health care.