From McKnight’s – Researchers at the University of Michigan reviewed the records of 3,746 people aged 60 and older (the average age was 80) who died between 2000 and 2006. Nearly 30% of those individuals at some point prior to death became unable to make health care decisions for themselves,...
Author Archives: anthony
New Consumer Checklist Available for Choosing Nursing Homes
The Advancing Excellence in AmericaÛªs Nursing Homes CampaignÛªs Consumer Tip Sheet provides nursing home residents and family members basic information and 10 questions they should be asking to better understand resident care planning, staffing, important care issues and the significance of measuring resident and family satisfaction. In a typical year,...
Having Caregiver Support Not Always Comforting to Elders
From McKnight’s – Some groups of elderly people actually report being more afraid of death if they have a strong family network of caregivers. Researchers at the University College London interviewed roughly 1,000 people from a wide variety of ethnic backgroundsÛÓincluding Indian, Pakistani, black Caribbean, Chinese and whiteÛÓfor their study...
40% of Women Still Unaware of Dangers of Heart Disease
This from Health Day – Almost half of all American women still don’t know that heart disease is the leading cause of death in women. Only slightly more than half would call for emergency help if they were having heart attack symptoms, according to the latest survey for the American...
Consumer Reports Assesses Central Line Infections in Hospitals
Some of you may know that Consumer Reports (CR) is also in the health care rating business. I know them best from their work involving nursing homes. Their latest data release has to do with central line infections in hospitals, of which 1.7 million occur each year in U.S. hospitals....
Long-Term Acute Care Hospitals Mortality Rates High
From Fierce Health – New approaches to patient care at long-term acute care hospitals throughout the U.S. are needed considering that the survival rate of elderly patients transferred to such facilities after a critical illness is low, a new study published in today’s Journal of the American Medical Association finds....
New Long Term Care Insurance Survey Suggests Premiums Not as High as Public Perceives
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Geriatricians in Short Supply and More Will Be Needed
The country’s fastest growing age group is 85 and older, with the leading of edge of the baby boom already well into their 60s. Yet the number of geriatricians in the nation has dropped by a quarter since 2000, down to 7,000, according to the [embed_youtubea style=”cursor: pointer; display: inline;...
Driving Risk for Elderly with Dementia Greater than Previously Thought
From Health Day – A study published in the a recent issue of [embed_youtubei>American Journal of Occupational Health[embed_youtube/i> says that elderly people with failing memories often keep driving and the risk of getting lost may be greater than once thought. [embed_youtubep>Even with early dementia, there may be no safe period...
Knee Replacements Beneficial for Balance Improvement as Well as Pain Reduction
A study presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons showed that a knee replacement can help improve an elderly person’s balance. [embed_youtubep>Balance problems and increased risk for falls are common among seniors and falls are the leading cause of injury for seniors in the United...