Whither the Wii for Older Adults

And other Kinect conundrums

This was an interesting week, aside from the mid-term elections, which were as riveting a score-keeping experience as I've watched since the days before the 2004 World Series. But immediately after the election came the arrival and quick store departure of Microsoft's Kinect sensor units: the Target near my home sold out in a single day.  Read More >>

Aging in Place Tech News for October 2010

The cost of long-term care will trend upward

Given rising life expectancy, especially for women, combined with rising rates of diabetes and other chronic diseases, we seem to be approaching a conundrum of longer life and poorer choices and options. Read More >>

Falling Among Seniors: Studied but Not Solved

Fear of falling makes it happen?

Falling among older adults—it's a problem. You would think that with all of the available information and technology, there would simply be fewer falls among older adults each year. But you would be an optimist. According to the CDC, each year 40% of seniors fall (up from 30% ten years ago). I was thinking about this during a few visits to assisted living communities this past week when the tour guide mentioned the personal, carefully designed "chair exercise" program.

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PACE: A Team Effort

Holistic care catches any changes in client

The Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) provides “one-stop shopping” for seniors’ health care and much of their social well-being as well. Every PACE client has an interdisciplinary team of professionals at the PACE Day Center that oversees the client’s well-being. This team includes a physician, registered nurse, physical therapist, occupational therapist, recreational therapist, home health nurse, personal care assistant, social worker, and dietitian as well as mental health personnel and transportation staff. Read More >>

PACE: An Overview

Program of care helps keep seniors at home

Last week, I attended a seminar for elder law attorneys on an innovative program for senior care. The model has been around for almost 30 years, and Medicare and Medicaid funding has been available for the program since 1992. Yet few of us have our clients in the program. Indeed, only about 15,000 seniors across the country have enrolled. I’m talking about the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, or PACE. Read More >>

Effort Beyond Task

We need solutions beyond products

What percentage of senior housing organizations permit and even encourage pets on the premises and in the presence of seniors? If you know the answer to this question, please contact me! I view the presence of a house pet (and not just caged birds) as an indicator of effort beyond task, making me hope that's true of every aspect. Read More >>

The Last Blog Entry

It's time

Mom is doing just fine. As a matter of fact, her diabetes is so stable that the glucose checks are down to once a week for another few weeks; thereafter, they’ll be done every two weeks. The woman is going to live forever, or so it seems. Read More >>

Gossamer of Sadness

So many people are afraid of getting old

“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 >>

Adult Day Care Is a Caregiver’s Best Friend

Please support your local center

For years, adult day services—the term used to describe both adult day care and adult day health care—have been labeled “the best-kept secret.” I have never understood why. Adult day centers are wonderful places for old, frail, and disabled adults to spend a day. People who work at day centers are truly remarkable. They are well educated, usually have special degrees or certifications, and understand how to work with difficult behaviors common to, for example, dementia. Read More >>

Our Houses Aren't the Enemy: We Are

Are we kidding ourselves?

Denial of need, current and future, has been a recurring theme lately. We have a push to get people out of nursing homes and into independent living, and we have boomers who want (mostly) to age in their own homes, generally in the suburbs. Although they want lots of technology and community services, they don't see a priority for wide doorways or separate showers that could make bathing safer, according to the latest NAHB/MetLife 55+ Housing Study. Meanwhile, the worldwide home health monitoring market was estimated at $11 billion in 2008. Which raises a question: Should everyone who is monitored for chronic disease at home really be there? And where are the transportation systems that will support suburban seniors who can no longer drive? Read More >>