Most Expensive Nursing Homes on the East Coast
According to Caregiverlist.com’s searchable online database the most expensive nursing home care is on average is found on the East Coast.
The website identified the top 10 most and least expensive long-term care nursing centers out of more than 18,000 in its database.
Nationally, seniors pay between $5,000 and $12,000 a month for nursing care.
Caregiverlist named Skilled Healthcare LLC’s Sharon Care Center in Los Angeles the country’s most expensive nursing center for seniors. A single room costs $493 a day and a shared room costs $228 a day.
Privately-owned Ridgway Rehab and Nursing Center in Ridgway, IL, is the least expensive, at $95 a day for a private room and $85 for a shared room.
Illinois also made the ÛÏmost expensiveÛ list, with Lutheran Hillside Village in Peoria coming in at No. 9. Michigan and Indiana nursing homes also made both lists. The eastern states of Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania appeared on the most expensive list. Georgia, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee all had providers on the least expensive list.
It is of course reflective of the area you live in but it certainly makes you perhaps consider moving to lesser expensive areas as you age.
Vision Loss Linked to Depression
Xinzhi Zhang, M.D., Ph.D., of the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md., and colleagues suggest that self-reported visual function loss was associated with depression in a study that used a national survey of U.S. adults.
The study analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 2005-2008) and included 10,480 adults 20 years of age or older.
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- The estimated crude prevalence of depression was 11.3 percent among adults with self-reported visual function loss and 4.8 percent among adults without.
åÊ - The estimated prevalence of depression was 10.7 percent among adults with presenting visual acuity impairment compared with 6.8 percent among adults with normal visual acuity.
åÊ - After controlling for a number of factors, including age, sex and general health status, self-reported visual function loss remained significantly associated with depression whereas the association between presenting visual acuity impairment and depression was no longer statistically significant, according to the results.
ÛÏThis study provides further evidence from a national sample to generalize the relationship between depression and vision loss to adults across the age spectrum. Better recognition of depression among people reporting reduced ability to perform routine activities of daily living due to vision loss is warranted,Û the study concludes.
Check with your physician. It continues to amaze me how stress, emotions, etc. play in the health of our bodies. That is why our platform is educated aging – financially, physically, emotionally.
(JAMA Ophthalmol. Published online March 7, 2013)
Aging Policy Briefing and Capitol Hill Day April 22-23, 2013
The National Association of Area Agencies on AgingåÊ (n4a) is hosting an ÛÏAging Policy Briefing and Capitol Hill DayÛ on April 22-23, 2013. This is a great opportunity for family caregiving coalitions to learn what’s happening with aging policy at the federal level and to bring your coalition’s voice to Washington.
After the Tuesday session, they will hold Hill Day, where attendees can schedule Capitol Hill visits to meet with your Senators, Representatives and/or their staff to advocate for national aging policies that will allow older adults to remain in their homes and communities.
The agenda is here.åÊ
Register here.
If you are planning to come to DC and you would like to talk to somebody from the National Alliance for Caregiving about your family caregiving coalition, please donÛªt hesitate to reach out to them!
Unleash the Power of Age in Your Community Challenge
People across our nation are achieving remarkable things in later life. Many older adults are experts in their fields, have years of valuable experience, and are using that knowledge to improve the lives of others. The ÛÏUnleash the Power of Age in Your Community ChallengeÛ is an opportunity to recognize these individuals and share their stories with the public.
The Administration on Aging, an agency of the U.S. Administration for Community Living, invites organizations to celebrate the achievements of older Americans by nominating a leader who is using his/her talents and expertise to make a positive impact in his/her community or beyond.
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Nominees must be at least 60 years old and reside in a U.S. state or territory. Nominees should be actively engaged and committed members of their communities. Their community involvement (through work or volunteerism) must have a significant and positive impact on the community. Nominees should be positive role models who can inspire other older adults to continue to be active, vital members of their communities.
Nominees can be volunteers or paid professionals and can be engaged in a diversity of activities.
Nominations must be submitted electronically through Challenge.gov by 11:00 p.m. on April 22, 2013. Nominations must be made by representatives of a domestic, private nonprofit or public entity, such as a state or local government, an Indian tribal government or organization, faith-based organization, community-based organization, hospital, or institution of higher education.åÊ
Nominations must include a) a recent photograph of the nominee that is at least 430 x 300 pixels, and b) a 300- to 500-word description of the nomineeÛªs societal contribution. Where applicable, nominations should also be accompanied by a video or photograph of the nomineeÛªs work (for example, a copy of a nomineeÛªs original artwork or a representation of his/her innovation, etc.).
Learn More About Submission Requirements
All nominations will go through an initial screening process to eliminate submissions that violate the competitionÛªs rules or do not reflect the theme and intent of this challenge. Nominations passing the initial screening will be evaluated by a panel of judges, who will select the top ten entries. The finalists will be posted on Challenge.gov, where the public will be invited to vote for their favorite entry. Voting will take place during the month of May and the three entries receiving the most votes will be declared the winners of the challenge.
Winners will receive a certificate of recognition and their profiles will be highlighted on the Older Americans Month website at www.OlderAmericansMonth.ACL.gov and on ACL and AoAÛªs social media properties.
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Montessori-based Activities Help Dementia Patients with Proper Eating Habits
A combination of methods that help patients with dementia remember proper eating habits can improve their physical health and lessen symptoms of depression.åÊ
A study, published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing, indicates that clinicians should consider using this intervention in individuals with dementia who also have poor nutrition and signs of depression.
In patients with dementia, poor nutrition or decreased food intake may cause symptoms of depression. Investigators including Li-Chan Lin, RN, PhD, of the National Yang-Ming University, in Taipei, Taiwan, tested the effectiveness of a combination of methods to train patients with dementia to remember proper eating habits.åÊ
The intervention incorporated a method called spaced retrievalÛÓa kind of memory training that requires an individual to recall a piece of information at increasing time intervalsÛÓand Montessori-based activities, through which structured activities related to daily life are sequentially and repetitively practiced. Tests for depression, body mass index, and nutrition were conducted before and after the sessions, as well as at one, three, and six months later.åÊ
The tests revealed that nutrition improved and body mass index increased over time for individuals receiving either type of intervention with spaced retrieval and Montessori-based activities. Also, depression scores were reduced.
“It has been shown that spaced retrieval or Montessori-based activities can improve eating ability. In our research, besides improving eating ability, improved nutrition, increased body mass index, and a moderating effect on depressive symptoms are produced by spaced retrieval combined with Montessori-based activities,” said Dr. Lin. “We expect that this combined intervention can produce greater effects than spaced retrieval or Montessori-based activities can alone.”
