Home Care Hero: BreAnna Kruyer
Right at Home For many residents of long-term care facilities, the coronavirus pandemic has increased their loneliness, anxiety, and fear. Families can’t visit, and residents are confined to their rooms to stop the spread of Covid-19. Trusted caregivers don disguising personal protective equipment from head to toe, which can be scary and confusing for those […]
‘More Than Physical Health’: Gym Helps 91-Year-Old Battle Isolation
Above photo: Art Ballard, 91, is a retired jeweler in Monrovia, California, who relies on a gym — which he calls “the club” — for his physical and mental health. “If I hit 100 years old, I would like to be taken up to the club on my birthday,” Ballard says. (Heidi de Marco/KHN) MONROVIA, […]
Misinformation Campaigns Hamper Coronavirus Response
Regina Fargis didn’t know what to do. Fargis runs Summit Hills — a health and retirement community in Spartanburg, South Carolina, that offers skilled nursing, activities and communal meals for its residents, most of whom are over 60, the highest-risk category for coronavirus complications. In South Carolina, more than a hundred new cases were emerging […]
Staying Safe and Engaged in Senior Communities During Pandemic
Above photo: The Cinco de Mayo happy hour cart makes its way around Artis Senior Living. Photo courtesy of Artis Senior Living The coronavirus pandemic has hit senior residential communities particularly hard. Older adults are at a higher risk for serious complications and death from COVID-19, and the virus spreads easily in close quarters. While […]
Shutting Out the Coronavirus Threat for Seniors in Continuing Care Communities
With tight restrictions in place at their continuing care retirement community, Tom and Janice Showler are getting on each other’s nerves. Most days, Tom, 76, likes to drive out of their community ― Asbury Springhill in Erie, Pennsylvania — to the store to pick up a few items. “If you follow the right protocols, the […]
Does Everyone Over 60 Need to Take the Same Coronavirus Precautions?
She knew it wasn’t a good idea and her daughter would disapprove. Nonetheless, Barbara Figge Fox, 79, recently went to four stores in Princeton, New Jersey, to shop for canned goods, paper towels, fresh fruit, yogurt and other items. “I was in panic mode,” says Fox, who admitted she’s been feeling both agonizing fear and […]
Amid Pandemic, Programs Struggle to Reach Vulnerable Seniors Living at Home
Close down group meals for seniors. Cancel social gatherings. The directive, from the Illinois Department on Aging, sent shock waves through senior service organizations late last week. Overnight, Area Agencies on Aging had to figure out how to help people in their homes instead of at sites where they mingle and get various types of […]
Loss of balance could signal underlying medical condition
DEAR MAYO CLINIC: My grandmother, who is 82, has no major health issues, but she’s become rather weak and frail over the past several years, and her balance isn’t very good. Several weeks ago, she fell in her bathroom. Although her injuries were minor, my family is worried. Is there something we can do to […]
Annuities that pay off for the sick
The vast majority of seniors don’t have long-term-care insurance. For all but the wealthiest, deteriorating health or an imminent need for care can raise real concerns about running out of money. One solution: a medically underwritten single-premium immediate annuity. Like traditional immediate annuities, these contracts offer a lifetime of monthly payments in exchange for a […]
New options for seniors to get care at home
As Americans age and the need for long-term care grows, the options for providing it continue to evolve. An increasingly available choice: “continuing care at home” programs for seniors who want to stay in their own homes. These programs typically charge an up-front fee and monthly fees to cover in-home assistance you need with dressing, […]
How stress affects seniors and how to manage it
Harvard Health Letters We all experience a little stress from time to time. It’s not so hard to handle when we’re young. But as we age, coping with stress isn’t as easy anymore. “We tend to have less resilience to stress, and older adults often find that stress affects them differently now,” says Michelle Dossett, […]
Childless seniors need to build a safety net
By Susan B. Garland, Kiplinger Retirement Report Childless and divorced, Linda Wiesman, 67, is apprehensive about her future. With two knee replacements, the retired accountant is having trouble negotiating the stairs in her three-story townhouse in Gaithersburg, Md. Wiesman says she and several friends who live in different cities have “seriously thought of communal living” […]
Studies suggest doctors should cut back on some medications in seniors
Source: University of Michigan Medical School whatdoctorsknow.com Anyone who takes medicine to get their blood sugar or blood pressure down — or both — knows their doctor prescribed it to help them. But what if stopping, or at least cutting back on, such drugs could help even more? In some older people, that may be […]
Fight back when drugs are denied
By Eleanor Laise, Kiplinger’s Retirement Report You make a routine trip to the pharmacy to fill a prescription. But the pharmacist tells you your Medicare drug plan won’t cover the drug. You walk away with no medication — and no clear explanation about why you were denied coverage. More and more seniors are finding themselves […]
