Many times our elderly family members get left out of the celebration but we think that they should be included because they have feelings too.  With that in mind here are a few Tips about getting your elderly family members involved in this happy day.

Arranging a visit from an old friend, especially of the opposite sex, on Valentine’s Day is a wonderful way to show your aging family member that you care about them and want them to have a nice time too.  Plus, seeing old friends and acquaintances can sometimes help with memory problems and indeed stir up memories and feelings that they may not have had or felt for a long time.

Purchasing flowers and a gift for your senior home-bound family member is a nice idea but having them delivered in a special way would make it even better.  A ‘singing telegram’ type thing where the delivery person sings a song or does a little dance routine isn’t that expensive and can give them a thrill that they might not have had in some time.

If you have smaller children in the house that are going to make Valentines cards for their classmates asking your elderly family member to help somehow is a nice idea.  They can close envelopes, lick stamps and other things to help the little ones enjoy the day too.

The fact is, 7 out of 10 Americans over age 65 will need some type of long-term care but over 90% haven’t talked to their spouse or child about what that will mean for the family.  On days like Valentine’s Day it may be difficult for them but, since it’s a day of love, including them in the festivities somehow should be a priority.  No matter how old the simple truth is that everyone has a heart and on Valentine’s Day it’s nice to remember that fact.

Seven California hospitals face a combined $775,000 in fines for risking patient safety, including delayed emergency treatment, the California Department of Public Health reported yesterday.

Memorial Medical Center in Modesto, St. Mary’s Medical Center in San Francisco and UCSF Medical Center each faced two violations.

At Memorial, surgery performed on the wrong patient resulted in a $75,000 fine, in addition to a $50,000 penalty for delayed life-saving care after surgery, reported The Modesto Bee.

St. Mary’s, which faces fines of $75,000 for leaving a foreign object in a surgical patient and $100,000 for failing to monitor respiratory status after drug administration, also received a fine in August for patient safety violations.

This marks the first administrative penalty for Placentia Linda Hospital. Medical and nursing staff failed to report and the hospital failed to investigate alleged sexual assault by a doctor, resulting in a $50,000 fine, according to the health department.

But hospitals in California aren’t the only facilities failing to prevent patient safety risks. Despite continued efforts to improve, hospitals in Minnesota are still committing preventable mistakes. Of the 314 reportable errors in a 12-month period, 14 involved patient deaths and 89 resulted in severe injuries, FierceHealthcare reported last week.

Read more: 7 hospitals fined $775K for patient safety violations – FierceHealthcare http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/7-hospitals-fined-775k-patient-safety-violations-california/2013-02-07#ixzz2KKSS6ffV
Subscribe: http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/signup?sourceform=Viral-Tynt-FierceHealthcare-FierceHealthcare

Everyone needs a break. Respite care provides caregivers a temporary rest from caregiving, while the person with Alzheimer’s continues to receive care in a safe environment. Using respite services can support and strengthen your ability to be a caregiver.

• Using respite care
• Types of respite care
• Overcoming concerns

Using respite care

Respite care can help you as a caregiver by providing a new environment or time to relax. It’s a good way for you to take time for yourself.

Respite care can provide:

• A chance to spend time with other friends and family, or to just relax
• Time to take care of errands such as shopping, exercising, getting a haircut or going to the doctor
• Comfort and peace of mind knowing that the person with dementia is spending time with another caring individual

Respite care services can give the person with dementia an opportunity to:

• Interact with others having similar experiences
• Spend time in a safe, supportive environment
• Participate in activities designed to match personal abilities and needs

Types of respite care

Respite care can be provided at home — by a friend, other family member, volunteer or paid service — or in a care setting, such as adult day care or residential facility.

In-home care services offer a range of options including:

• Companion services to the individual with companionship and supervised activities
• Personal care or home health aide services to provide assistance with bathing, dressing, toileting and exercising
• Homemaker or maid services to help with laundry, shopping and preparing meals
• Skilled care services to help with medication and other medical services

Adult day centers offer a place where the person with Alzheimer’s can be with others in a safe environment. Staff leads planned activities, such as music and art programs. Transportation and meals are often provided.

Residential facilities may offer the option for a stay overnight, for a few days or a few weeks. Overnight care allows caregivers to take an extended break or vacation while the person with dementia stays in a supervised, safe environment. The cost for these services varies and is usually not covered by insurance or Medicare.

TIP: Sometimes, a person with dementia may have difficulty adjusting to a new environment. Regular stays can allow the overall adjustment to become easier.

Overcoming concerns

It’s normal to be apprehensive about trying something new. Common concerns caregivers have about using respite care include:

• Cost: You may be concerned about how to pay for services. Look into financial assistance such as scholarships, sliding scale fees or government programs. Contact your local Alzheimer’s Association to learn what kind of financial assistance may be available.
• Reliability: You may be concerned about the dependability of the aide or service. Those who work for an agency or facility should be reliable and well trained, and are often certified. Ask each individual and facility about training and qualifications. If hiring someone independently, interview the person thoroughly and check references.
• Guilt: You may believe that you should be able to “do it all. “Seeking help does not make you a failure. It’s important to remember that respite services benefit the person with dementia as well as the caregiver.

Read more: http://www.alz.org/care/alzheimers-dementia-caregiver-respite.asp?WT.mc_id=enews2012_12_26#ixzz2GC4c6cFR

Initially announced in May, the University City Science Center‘s QED Proof of Concept program picked two digital health projects from Rutgers University. One led by Dr. William Craelius with the biomedical engineering department, co-invented by Nicky Newby of Nian-Crae, is developing a smartphone app to assist in stroke patient recovery using physical therapy.

Another group is working on medical technology to enhance the identification of prostate cancer using computer-based image analysis of MRI scans, according to a press statement. The technology is being developed by a team led by Rutgers University biomedical engineering professor Dr. Anant Madabhushi at Rutgers and Case Western Reserve University in Ohio. One problem identified with computerized imaging is that radiologists are unable to accurately determine whether abnormalities on the image are a harmful growth or benign in a time efficient manner. Madabhushi has been the principal investigator on a five year research grant with University of Pennsylvania and Siemens to improve MRI features in order for radiologists to diagnose patients more effectively, announced in 2009.

Each group will get $100,000 — half from the QED program and half from Rutgers.

Stephen Tang, the University City Science Center CEO, said in the statement that it is exploring opportunities for further involvement in the digital health sector. Last month the Canadian Consulate General in Philadelphia said it would establish a health IT accelerator on the Science Center campus.

In an interview with MedCity News, Christopher Laing, who oversees the Science Center’s science and technology programs, including the QED Proof of Concept program, said part of the decision to add a digital health track to the QED program this year came from its experience working with a Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia research scientist Dr. Flaura Winston. Her team, backed by National Science Foundation funding, is developing a software platform to bring the rigor of clinical trials to Web-based health and wellness interventions such as those for chronic illnesses. Laing said the Science Center helped set up an advisory board for her group and helped devise ways to commercialize the idea. Based on that experience, Laing said the Science Center saw that it could provide assistance to these types of projects.

The QED program is funded with a $1 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration, with additional financial support from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority, the William Penn Foundation and WEXFORD Science & Technology.

Read more: http://medcitynews.com/2012/12/app-for-stroke-patients-prostate-cancer-computer-imaging-tech-get-digital-health-grants/#ixzz2FqkQvOjT

Negotiations to avert the cuts are ongoing and both sides have exchanged offers. The president and congressional Democrats have said they will reduce spending on entitlements, including Medicare, if Republicans will agree to increase tax rates on the highest earners. While Republicans have agreed to more revenue they oppose increasing tax rates, preferring to focus on closing loopholes and eliminating some deductions.

Here are a few questions – and answers – about what could happen in the weeks before the end-of-year deadline.

Q: If no deal is struck, how would that affect Medicare patients as well as the hospitals and physicians and other providers who care for them?

A: Under the series of automatic spending cuts known as “sequestration,” Medicare providers would be subject to an across-the-board 2 percent payment cut, or $11 billion in fiscal 2013.  According to a September report from the Office of Management and Budget, hospitals would bear the largest share of the cuts, with payments reduced by about $5.8 billion.

Seniors would see no changes in their benefits.

Q:  How does that 2 percent cut in payments to physicians affect the 27 percent cut in Medicare payments to doctors already scheduled to occur in January? 

A: Physicians who accept Medicare patients would face the 2 percent cut on top of an already scheduled 27 percent reduction in January unless Congress steps in to stop it.

That payment formula was created in a 1997 deficit reduction law that called for setting Medicare physician payment rates through a formula based on economic growth. It’s known as the “sustainable growth rate” (SGR).

For the first few years, Medicare expenditures did not exceed the target and doctors received modest pay increases. But in 2002, doctors reacted with fury when they came in for a 4.8 percent pay cut. Every year since, Congress has staved off the scheduled cuts. But each deferral just increased the size – and price tag – of the fix needed the next time.

A deal on the SGR could be part of a “grand bargain,” if congressional fiscal cliff negotiators decide to include it. To that point, Obama’s offer to Republicans included $25 billion to stop the scheduled cut. Congress could also pass separate legislation to stop the cuts. Some doctors say that if Medicare reimbursements are further reduced they may stop accepting Medicare patients.

Q: If negotiators do reach a deal, what could that mean for Medicare?

A: It depends on how large a role Medicare plays in a broader deal.  Some of the proposals include raising Medicare’s eligibility age to 67, asking wealthier Medicare beneficiaries to pay more for their coverage and paying Medicare providers less. All are complicated and many Democrats have said that they do not want to make changes that harm beneficiaries or shift costs from the government onto seniors.  Republicans are insisting that entitlement savings play a large role in any deficit reduction deal.

Q: How is Medicaid affected, either way?

A: Medicaid does not face any automatic cuts starting Jan. 1.  The Supreme Court’s ruling made the health law’s Medicaid expansion optional for states, so there’s concern that any reductions in federal Medicaid spending might make governors even more reluctant to expand the federal-state program.

Many Republicans, including GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney and his running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., favor changing Medicaid into a block grant, where states are given a set amount of money and more freedom to decide who is covered and what benefits they would receive. But the block grant concept is a non-starter with Obama and Democrats.

Q: If no deal is reached by Jan. 1, what happens to federal funding for medical research?

A:  The National Institutes of Health would see a $2.5 billion reduction in 2013, which means that the agency would “have to halt or curtail scientific research,” according to the OMB analysis. Other agencies would see cuts, too. For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would face cuts of $490 million, and the Food and Drug administration would see reductions of about $318 million.

Q:  If no deal is reached, what happens to health care for members of the military and veterans?

A: The TRICARE program for active members of the military system would also face an across-the-board 2 percent cut. The Veterans Affairs health system, however, is exempt from sequestration.

Alvin Tran contributed to this report.
Read more: http://medcitynews.com/2012/12/how-the-fiscal-cliff-affects-healthcare-six-questions/#ixzz2Fqfk5VBV

Swedish residents who ate food containing more than 59 grams — roughly two ounces — of whole grains per day were 27 percent less likely to become prediabetic compared with residents who ate 30 grams or less, according to the research.

“This is of great importance because prediabetes is increasing,” lead author Tina Wirström, a postdoctoral fellow at the Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden, told Reuters Health.

The American Diabetes Association estimates that one in four Americans older than 20 have prediabetes. Nearly a quarter of people with prediabetes eventually develop full-blown diabetes.

Previous research has linked whole grain rich diets with a decreased risk of diabetes, but the new study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition makes the connection to the disease precursor. Whole grains range from oatmeal to popcorn, from brown rice to whole wheat – as long as the entire kernel is consumed.

The study included 5,477 Stockholm residents from 35 to 56 years old without diabetes who kept food diaries of how much whole and refined grains they ate. Researchers measured blood glucose in study participants and followed up 10 years later.

Overall, one in 13 participants became prediabetic, while one in 33 became diabetic, the study found. When researchers took into account the daily amount of whole grains eaten, they found that eating more than 59 grams versus 30 grams of whole grain was associated with a 27 percent decreased risk of becoming prediabetic.

The association was stronger for men, and those with an increased genetic risk for developing diabetes did not see a difference, researchers found.

RELEVANT TO U.S.?

Nutrition experts noted that the study had little relevance to the U.S. since most Swedes get their grains from whole grain sources such as rye crisps. In contrast, Americans get most grains from refined wheat such as flour that contains fewer nutrients and fiber compared to rye.

“To say it has any relevance to the U.S. is really a stretch,” said Joanne Slavin, nutrition professor at the University of Minnesota, who was not involved in the current study.

U.S. food manufacturers can label food that contains eight grams per serving as whole grain, whereas Sweden requires that a food product contain at least half whole grains to receive the label.

Many foods with claims of whole grain goodness have extra calories, fats and carbohydrates in addition to the grains, which can be risk factors for diabetes, Slavin said.

Further, fewer than three percent of Americans get the recommended 48 grams per day of whole grains. The average American eats 15 grams of whole grain daily.

“In the United States, we can’t even get 20 grams, much less 60 grams of whole grains in people (on a daily basis),” said Roger Clemens, pharmacology professor at the University of Southern California and an adviser for the most recent dietary guidelines from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“You can’t get 60 grams of whole grains into a supplement,” added Clemens, who was not involved in the study.

Consumers may take away the wrong message from the study, said Slavin, who advocated Americans eat fewer grains overall and switch from refined grains to whole grains.

“Adding whole grains on top of what you’re already consuming is a bad idea,” said Slavin, since over-consumption of calories and carbohydrates are big risk factors for diabetes. “We have “whole grain brownies” now – it’s terrible.”

A similar Dutch study, headed by Dr. Coen Stehouwer, internal medicine professor at the Maastricht University Medical Center, found losing weight was the most important factor for people with prediabetes to revert back to normal blood sugar level.

“Prediabetes is a reversible state,” said Stehouwer, who was not involved in the Swedish study.

Read more: http://medcitynews.com/2012/12/professors-americans-will-never-eat-enough-whole-grains-to-lower-prediabetes-risk/#ixzz2FpmKYSdk

We find that one of the reasons people are hesitant to seek out home care is because there is a sense of guilt that comes along with it.  If you feel that way, you really shouldn’t.  Why is that?  Our caregivers provide in home services, so your loved one never has to leave their comfort zone, we come to you.  Also, just because you hire one of these services does not mean that you will be ignoring the elderly person.  It is actually just the opposite.  You care so much that you are ensuring they are getting top notch service every minute of the day.  We tailor packages to your individual needs as a client.  We provide services based around your individual needs as far as time our services are needed.

Are you nervous because you do not want to feel like you are leaving your loved one with a stranger? Believe us when we say we are used to dealing with this very circumstance when we start working with any client.  This is why we make sure to hire the very best private duty caregivers out there today. We provide uncompromising service and the dignity of the patient is always number one on our list.  Any questions or concerns you have we can clear up for you.  In talking to us, we think you will see that quality service is not only something we preach, but something we practice as well.

Just because you have taken the responsibility to take care of an elderly loved one does not mean your quality of life has to suffer.  In-home caregivers can give you the flexibility to do what you need to do with piece of mind that your relative is being taken care of by a top notch company.