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Media Coverage on Remote Monitoring for Seniors Lacks Substance

Enough already!

By Laurie Orlov

Clearly, free buzz is the best marketing any tech vendor can get—and it is good to raise consumer awareness about a market category with fewer than 10,000 deployed units (a sum of the installed base, as described to me by vendors). Overall, these stories have been superficial: Hey, these are news stories, after all. They briefly mentioned a randomly selected set of tech vendors and perhaps whetted the appetite of consumers to consider their use. Never mind that numerous barriers and constraints have, to date, limited adoption of remote home activity monitoring because of issues with pricing, reimbursement expectations, a well-established set of product capability and features, and a well-developed distribution model.

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Under the Radar: The A-Plus Senior Computer

Despite the hype, the iPad may not be best for seniors

By Laurie Orlov

Over the past few years, several attempts at creating a “senior” computer have been made, including a pricey senior PC partnership between HP and Microsoft and the thin-client GO Computer from MyGait (sold through FirstSTREET), which is not extensible—what you get is what you get, and as a few frustrated comments on the blog post indicate, it's not to everyone's liking when it is time to add devices or additional software.

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Gossamer of Sadness

So many people are afraid of getting old

By Sara Myers
“Getting old is hell,” my friend Jo recently wrote. I think her words and sentiment reflected her feelings of loss. Loss of her dear parents, who are slowly fading away, and a sense of loss as the signs of her own aging are becoming clearer with the passage of each birthday. Perhaps it’s not really getting old that seems so hellish as is the realization that what was once, will never be again. Read More >>


All by Itself, Managing the Money Is a Full-time Job

Lessons learned . . .

By Sara Myers
I have job, a full-time job. Since I manage two adult day service associations—Washington Adult Day Services Association and National Adult Day Services Association—it sometimes feels like I have two full-time jobs. And I have been managing my mother’s finances and care for about two years, which means I essentially have three jobs. Read More >>


Why Don’t Large Vendors Invest More in Technology for Seniors?

Aging in place is here to stay

By Laurie Orlov
This is a rant. I am tired of youth-oriented tech vendors with their back-to-school laptops. I am tired of how clumsy and nonintuitive most computing technologies are—especially home networks. Read More >>


Reduce Medicare Expenditures?

What does the Obama administration intend to cut or eliminate?

By Sara Myers
I try to read almost all of the articles I come across that focus on pending health care reform and its potential or proposed impact on aging services and long-term care. Almost without exception, the articles I have read discuss how important it is to cut Medicare so that we can afford to pay for health care for the millions who have none. Sounds like the same old saw: old people have an obligation to get out of the way and make room for younger generations. Read More >>


Saintly Behavior Witnessed in Seattle

Visit lifts spirits

By Sara Myers
Sixty-one-year-old Mansell David Myers was recently seen catching a cab to the Seattle airport after a whirlwind weekend visit with Reva, his mother. Reva lives at Gaffney House, a dementia-specific assisted living arrangement that is much more architecturally akin to a frat house on fraternity row than an assisted living “facility.” Read More >>


Common Sense Advice on Health, Happiness, and Longevity

Suggestions for living a long, happy life

By Eli Goodman, MD
One of the more pleasant aspects of my professional life is to read excellent medical journals and publications. I read, skim, or speed read quite a few, mostly in my own specialty of internal medicine. (Yes, "internal medicine" IS a specialty.) Read More >>


What’s Up with Life Extension?

We spend billions trying to “reverse” aging

By Sara Myers
I watched Oprah this afternoon, and she and Dr. Oz featured strategies, techniques, and equipment to extend life. I understand wanting to live a healthier, happier, more meaningful life, but living to 125 or 150, just for the sake of living long, doesn’t make sense to me. Read More >>


Holding Negative Stereotypes About Aging Is Unhealthy

A self-fulfilling prophecy?

By Sara Myers
Internalized negative stereotypes of aging developed when one is younger result in a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy when one is older. Read More >>