My Elder Advocate

Are all nursing homes equipped to handle residents with Alzheimer's disease? Part I

 

By Jack Halpern, CEO, My Elder Advocate

The answer to this question is a resounding NO. Throughout the United States, there are many thousands of people, who are afflicted with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, and reside in nursing homes, that are not equipped to handle the special needs of this population. Instead these unfortunate souls (mostly poor) are thrown in with the general population at these facilities, and they die prematurely, not from physical illnesses, but from the rapid mental deterioration, due to the lack of meaningful therapy and stimuli.

US Nursing Homes Have Poor Record of Infection Control

May 5, 2011 — American nursing homes have a poor track record of keeping infections at bay, a new study shows.

via www.medscape.com

Do The Elderly Get Enough Medical Care?

Recent studies have documented the perception that older adults receive less medical care than younger people. A report published in a recent issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that in a controlled study at five Boston hospitals, people older than 80 received about $12,000 less in care than did patients younger than 50.

A Living Will- By Keith Olbermann

FATHER'S DAY

Before I piss everyone off, I would like to wish all Dad’s a Happy Father’s Day, especially those in nursing homes who don’t have children and families to visit them. In my immediate family we don’t celebrate Mother’s Day or Father’s Day. Not because we think that my wife and I don’t need a special day. We just think that we don’t need a special day to love each other. “Everyday is Father’s Day”, yelled Rabbi Wainkrantz in Yeshiva Ohel Jacob. We all hate to stand on restaurant lines anyway.

The Geriatrician Shortage: Who will care for our seniors?

A sweeping change is occurring at the basic structure of our society. We once were proud of the fact that we had a culture of caring for the aged. But the scenario is slowly moving towards growing neglect and isolation of elders on the one hand and lack of capacity and will of the government to reach out to them on the other.

Last week, Beth Israel Hospital in New Jersey, all but decimated it's geriatric department. Employees were unceremoniously terminated without any notice going out to the hundreds of elderly patients, advising them to make other arrangements. Not that these elderly really have other choices. Beth Israel serves a huge population of indigent elderly.

Theresa Redling, Beth Israel's Chief of Geriatrics, said she received her notice Wednesday. Ms. Redling, who also served as Hospice Medical Director at Beth Israel, was awarded the 2008 Humanism in Healthcare Award. This honor is bestowed, by The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey, on individuals in the trenches of patient care who have consistently demonstrated the principles of caring and compassion in their work in hospitals and in nursing education programs in the Essex, Union and Morris region served by The Foundation.

"I think this will be devastating to the senior community that Beth Israel serves," Redling said.

Gay, Lesbian Elders' Health Threatened By Discrimination

Discrimination in many social and institutional environments poses an important threat to the health and well-being of gay and lesbian seniors and their families. This problem exists despite changes in attitude in recent years towards gays and lesbians, according to a recent study.

Death of spouse ups odds of nursing home care

An older person's likelihood of entering a nursing home or other long-term care facility is particularly high immediately after the death of a spouse, new research indicates.

Escape From the Nursing Home

By IRA ROSOFSKY, New York Times Opinion               

LUCKY you. You just won the lottery, and you’re getting a payout of $75,000 a year! Just in time. You’re frail, and at age 65 you wonder how far your measly Social Security check will go. MORE

 

When holiday traditions have to change

If new family dynamics force a different way of celebrating, proceed with care and creativity

BY PAT BURSON, Newsday Staff Reporter LINK: