Creating a Meaningful Life

General Posted by anthony Date March 20, 2013

This is partially reprinted from my Caring.com blog. Click to the whole post at the end.

There is a Taco Bell Super Bowl commercial in which a bunch of elderly folks get rowdy while the song “We Are Young” by a band called Fun plays in Spanish. It’s irreverent, but it is fun! The English lyrics read:

Tonight / We are young / So let’s set the world on fire / We can burn brighter / Than the sun.

On most days you probably don’t feel like you can set the world on fire. But caregiving doesn’t have to be a bad experience. Caregiving is an opportunity to give back and have a closer personal relationship with the person to whom you provide care.

Over 20 years of performing for elders in nursing homes and assisted living communities, I’ve learned a number of life lessons. One woman who was blind and in a wheelchair had a better quality of life — in a place we associate with death — than many I know on the “outside.”

I have observed eight traits of elders living a quality life that can teach us all something. In fact, I turned these lessons into a keynote presentation called “The Meaning of Life,” which I give for caregiving groups and long-term care professionals.

Read full blog…

Mediterranean Diet Can Reduce Heart Disease and Stroke (VIDEO)

General Posted by anthony Date March 19, 2013

[embed_youtube”420″ height=”315″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/OojDMV2e2ZQ”]

NCOA Offer Medication Mgt Tips (VIDEO)

General Posted by anthony Date March 18, 2013

[embed_youtube”420″ height=”315″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/DFvE0kQWyPY”]

Mediterranean Diet Can Reduce Heart Disease and Stroke

General Posted by anthony Date March 18, 2013

From the NYT

A large and rigorous new study has found that 30 percent of heart attacks, strokes and deaths from heart disease can be prevented in people at high risk if they switch to a Mediterranean diet rich in olive oil, nuts, beans, fish, fruits and vegetables, and even drink wine with meals.

The findings, published on The New England Journal of MedicineÛªs web site were based on the first major clinical trial to measure the dietÛªs effect on heart risks. The study ended early, after almost five years, because the results were so clear.åÊ

Rachel Johnson, a professor of nutrition at the University of Vermont and a spokeswoman for the American Heart Association noted “And the really important thing ÛÓ the coolest thing ÛÓ is that they used very meaningful endpoints. They did not look at risk factors like cholesterol or hypertension or weight. They looked at heart attacks and strokes and death. At the end of the day, that is what really matters.ÛåÊ

Scientists randomly assigned 7,447 people in Spain who were overweight, were smokers, or had diabetes or other risk factors for heart disease to follow the Mediterranean diet or a low-fat one.

The study, by Dr. Ramon Estruch, a professor of medicine at the University of Barcelona, and his colleagues assigned subjects at high risk of heart disease to three groups.åÊ

One group was given a low-fat diet and counseled on how to follow it. The other two groups were counseled to follow a Mediterranean diet. One group assigned to a Mediterranean diet was given extra-virgin olive oil each week and was instructed to use at least 4 four tablespoons a day. The other group got a combination of walnuts, almonds and hazelnuts and was instructed to eat about an ounce of the mix each day. The mainstays of the diet consisted of at least three servings a day of fruits and at least two servings of vegetables. Participants were to eat fish at least three times a week and legumes, which include beans, peas and lentils, at least three times a week. They were to eat white meat instead of red, and, for those accustomed to drinking, to have at least seven glasses of wine a week with meals.

They were encouraged to avoid commercially made cookies, cakes and pastries and to limit their consumption of dairy products and processed meats.åÊ

Well nothing we haven’t preached before but now you have the evidence and you also have scientists saying it’s OK to drink wine. I am thinking they meant red wine but would be curious to know since what I read did not specify.

National Consumer Voice for Quality Long Term Care Hosting Focus Groups

General Posted by anthony Date March 15, 2013

The National Consumer Voice for Quality Long Term Care is hosting two focus groups ÛÒ one for nursing home residents and one for home care consumers ÛÒ to get consumersÛª input and thoughts on issues related to their care and services.

The Home Care Consumer Focus Group (formerly called the Consumer Input Council) is ONLY open to individuals who receive long-term services and supports in their home. The Nursing Home Resident Focus Group is ONLY open to nursing home residents.

By participating in the Home Care Consumer Focus Group or the Nursing Home Resident Focus Group, participants will have a chance to share what they think about ideas for changes in care and services. They will also be able to tell Consumer Voice staff about experiences with their care. The feedback received will then be used to guide the organization in their policy work. ParticipantsÛª names will not be shared outside the group, and nothing said will affect the services they are receiving.

The Home Care Consumer Focus GroupÛªs call will take place by telephone on a toll-free conference line on Monday, April 1st, 2013 from 2:00-3:30pm ET. Click here to register for the call.

The Nursing Home Resident Focus GroupÛªs call will take place by telephone on a toll-free conference line on Monday, April 8th, 2013 from 2:00-3:30pm ET. Click here to register for the call.

Participants in each call will be joined by other focus group members and Consumer Voice staff and will receive ahead of time.

If you know someone who would be interested in joining either focus group, please pass this info along! If they have any questions, they can contact Sara Cirba at scirba@theconsumervoice.org or at 202-332-2275 x 221.

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