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Recent IRS statistics show that about 74 percent of eligible senior citizens, disabled veterans and low-income workers nationwide have received their stimulus payments, leaving about 5.2 million people who have yet to claim their payments.
The IRS recently launched a campaign to reach seniors and disabled veterans who qualify for the rebates but have not taken the steps to claim them.People can receive up to $600, or up to $1,200 for married couples filing joint returns, plus $300 for each child under 17. Those who are not required to file tax returns would receive at least $300, or $600 for married couples.Most people who live on Social Security or disability would receive $300.
To claim the checks, people who do not otherwise have to file an income tax return should file Form 1040A with basic information including their name; address; dependents, if any; the amount of qualifying income, which must be at least $3,000; their direct deposit information; and signatures. The form is due by Oct. 15.More information and the form are available at www.irs.gov.
Posted at Wednesday ~ July 07, 2008
Category: News & Articles, Aging Parents, Social Security News, Senior Housing
A new “Green” trend is hitting the Senior Living Community market. I found a recent news report about a new Senior Living Community that is taking the market in a new direction. Will others follow? Below is a brief overview of the report.
The Glasstown Residence at
South 2nd Street
Posted at Wednesday ~ June 06, 2008
Category: Assisted Living, News & Articles, Senior Alternatives, Senior Housing
If you are looking for nursing home abuse and neglect report you should visit : http://www.nursing-homes-ratings.com/. Nursing Home Ratings. com hosts information about nursing homes in your area. They provide data on the each nursing home’s inspections and resident ratings. The only downfall with the site is that it is not up to date in every state. It does provide with with a list of many homes.
Good luck with your search.
Posted at Tuesday ~ June 06, 2008
Category: Assisted Living, Aging Parents, Nursing Home, Nursing Home Abuse, Senior Housing
Did you know that 80% of all strokes are preventable?The National Stroke Association’s stroke prevention guidelines help you learn how you may be able to lower your risk for a first stroke.The Stroke Prevention Guidelines were established by National Stroke Association’s Stroke Prevention Advisory Board, which includes an elite group of the nation’s leading experts on stroke prevention.
National Stroke Association suggests you ask your doctor for advice on how to best use the following guidelines.
Stroke Prevention Guidelines:
1. Know your blood pressure.Have your blood pressure checked at least annually. If it is elevated, work with your doctor to keep it under control.High blood pressure (hypertension) is a leading cause of stroke.You can check your blood pressure at your doctor’s office, at health fairs, at home with an automatic blood pressure machine, or at your local pharmacy or supermarket.
2. Find out if you have atrial fibrillation.Atrial fibrillation (AF) is an irregular heartbeat that changes how your heart works and allows blood to collect in the chambers of your heart.This blood, which is not moving through your body, tends to clot.The beating of your heart can move one of these blood clots into your blood stream, and can cause a stroke.Your doctor can diagnose AF by carefully taking your pulse.AF can be confirmed or ruled out with an electrocardiogram (ECG) (a recording of the electrical activity of the heart) which can probably be done in your doctor’s office.
3. If you smoke, stop. Smoking doubles the risk for stroke.If you stop smoking today, your risk for stroke will immediately drop.Quitting smoking can significantly reduce your risk of stroke from this factor.
4. If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation.Studies now show that drinking up to two alcoholic drinks per day can reduce your risk for stroke by about half. More alcohol than this each day can increase your risk for stroke by as much as three times and can also lead to liver disease, accidents and more.
5. Find out if you have high cholesterol (a soft, waxy fat (lipid) in the bloodstream and in all body cells).Know your cholesterol number.If your total cholesterol level (LDL and HDL) is over 200, talk to your doctor. You may be at increased risk for stroke.LDL, known as the “bad” cholesterol, is the form that builds up and causes plaque which may narrow arteries and limit or stop blood flow. LDL can be inherited from your family members or be a result of your body chemistry. It can also be the result of a diet high in saturated fats, lack of exercise, or diabetes.HDL is the “good” cholesterol that sweeps the blood and removes plaque.Lowering your cholesterol may reduce your risk for stroke.
6. If you are diabetic… Follow your doctor’s advice carefully to control your diabetes.Often, diabetes may be controlled through careful attention to what you eat.Work with your doctor and your dietitian (a health care professional who helps promote good health through proper eating) to develop a healthy eating program that fits your lifestyle.Your doctor can prescribe lifestyle changes and medicine that can help control your diabetes.Having diabetes puts you at an increased risk for stroke; by controlling your diabetes, you may lower your risk for stroke.
7. Exercise.Include exercise in your daily activities.A brisk walk for as little as 30 minutes a day can improve your health in many ways, and may reduce your risk for stroke.Try walking with a friend; this will make it more likely that you’ll make it a habit.If you don’t enjoy walking, choose another exercise or activity that you do enjoy, such as biking, swimming, golf, tennis, dance, or aerobics.Make time each day to take care of yourself by exercise.
8. Enjoy a lower sodium (salt), lower fat diet. By cutting down on sodium and fat in your diet, you may be able to lower your blood pressure and, most importantly, lower your risk for stroke.
9. Circulation (movement of the blood through the heart and blood vessels) problems. Ask your doctor if you have circulation problems which increase your risk for stroke.
Strokes can be caused by problems with your heart (pump), arteries and veins (tubes), or the blood which flows through them. Together, they are your circulation. Your doctor can check to see if you have problems in the circulation supplying blood to your brain.
10. Symptoms.If you have any stroke symptoms, seek immediate medical attention.Read our article to learn more about stroke symptoms.
Posted at Tuesday ~ June 06, 2008
Category: News & Articles, Healthy Aging, Aging Parents, Baby Boomers, Anti-Aging, Senior Health, Stroke
What are the symptoms of a stroke?
The symptoms of stroke are distinct because they happen quickly.Because stroke injures the brain, you may not realize that you are having a stroke and to a bystander, someone having a stroke may just look confused.
Symptoms of a Stroke May Include:
Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm, or leg (especially on one side of the body)
Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding speech
Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
Sudden severe headache with no known cause
If you believe someone is having a stroke call 911 immediately.
Posted at Tuesday ~ June 06, 2008
Category: Alzheimer's & Dementia, News & Articles, Healthy Aging, Aging Parents, Baby Boomers, Stroke
A consumer advocacy group called on the Food and Drug Administration Tuesday to ban the use of eight artificial colorings in food because they have been linked to hyperactivity and behavior problems in children. The colorings the center seeks to ban are: Yellow 5, Red 40, Blue 1, Blue 2, Green 3, Orange B, Red 3, and Yellow 6.
Controlled studies conducted over three decades have shown that children’s behavior can be worsened by some artificial dyes, says the Center for Science in the Public Interest. The group noted the British government is successfully pressuring food manufacturers to switch to safer colorings.Dyes are used in countless foods and are sometimes used to simulate the color of fruits or vegetables. The additives are particularly prevalent in the cereals, candies, sodas, and snack foods pitched to children.
The center’s petition asks the FDA to require a warning label on foods with artificial dyes while it mulls the group’s request to ban the dyes outright.
Source: mayoclinic.com
Posted at Thursday ~ June 06, 2008
Category: News & Articles, Healthy Aging
Nursing Home Aduse is a serious crime. Most states have laws that include criminal penalties for different types of elder abuse. Often, nursing home abuse is not reported because the individual homes do not take elderly abuse seriously. Residents are afraid they will be embarrassed, hurt or declared incapacitated if they tell.
Who to Report Abuse to
If you or someone you love has been the victim of nursing home abuse, contact legal counsel to find out what your rights are. If someone is in immediate, life-threatening danger, call 9-1-1 immediately.
If the danger is not immediate, but abuse is suspected, you must tell someone. Contact:
• A doctor
• A family member you trust
• Local adult protective services
• Long-term care ombudsman for the appropriate state
• Local police
How to Report Abuse
It is everyone’s personal responsibility to report any suspected case of elderly abuse to the authorities. When making a call to report nursing home or senior living abuse, you should be ready to give the elder’s name, address, contact information and details about your concerns.
Some questions you may need to answer include:
• Does the elderly person have any known medical problems?
• What kinds of family or other social support system does the elderly person have?
• Have you witnessed any incidents of hitting, yelling or other abusive behavior?
If you are reporting abuse but are not related to the victim, calling a nursing home abuse hotline is your smartest choice. Each state has organizations that monitor these hotlines and can offer help.
If you are making a formal complaint against a nursing home or specific staff member, you should find a sitter to monitor them in your absence or remove them from the nursing home right away.
Posted at Thursday ~ May 05, 2008
Category: Assisted Living, Alzheimer's & Dementia, News & Articles, Legal Issues, Aging Parents, Nursing Home, Nursing Home Stories, Senior Health, Nursing Home Abuse
An inquiry into acute care in New South Wales public hospitals is claiming elderly patients are being pressured into accepting nursing home beds even though they may not be suitable for the nursing home.
A social worker at Blacktown Hospital, Claudia Graham, has told the inquiry many elderly patients are discharged from hospital too quickly.
Ms Graham says families are often forced to place their loved ones in unsuitable aged care facilities because of pressure from the hospital to make beds available for other patients.
She says she often witnesses a rapid deterioration in elderly patients who have been told they will have to go into a nursing home.
Ms Graham wants to see a change of emphasis from patient flow to patient care.
She has told the inquiry more transitional care beds should be made available to allow time to find suitable nursing homes for patients.
The inquiry is taking evidence today at Sydney’s Westmead Hospital.
Posted at Thursday ~ May 05, 2008
Category: Alzheimer's & Dementia, News & Articles, Aging Parents, Nursing Home, Nursing Home Stories
A jury Thursday awarded $1 million in punitive damages to the family of a 104-year-old woman who died after a short stay at Villa Valencia Nursing Home in Laguna Hills.
The judgment against the center’s owner, Virginia-based Sunrise Senior Living, comes two days after the same Orange County Superior Court panel rendered a separate $1 million verdict for negligence in the March 2005 death of Mary Kathleen Adams of Laguna Hills.
Sunrise Senior Living operates 440 senior homes in the U.S. and abroad – says it will appeal the decision.
The trial, which began in March, revolved around the physical decline of Adams, a retired teacher who admitted herself to the home after fracturing her leg.
Adams then developed pressure ulcers and was not given adequate treatment, such as daily skin checks, according to the lawsuit. She left the home after about two months, on Feb. 25, 2005, and died about two weeks later because of the ulcers, the lawsuit says.
Posted at Thursday ~ May 05, 2008
Category: Alzheimer's & Dementia, News & Articles, Legal Issues, Aging Parents, Nursing Home, Anti-Aging, Nursing Home Stories, Senior Health, Nursing Home Abuse
Every year over 38 million Senior Citizen’s suffer drug complications, 180,000 of which are life-threatening, according to research by Dr. Jerry Gurwitz, chief of geriatric medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
The risk for drug errors is seven times greater in seniors than in people under age 65, according to Medco Health Solutions, a pharmacy benefits manager.
“When I was in training, my mentor taught me the maxim that any new symptom in an older person should be considered a drug side effect until proven otherwise,” Gurwitz said.
Only a doctor can tell you whether your older relative is suffering from medication side effects or from an actual disease.
Read the entire artcile at cnn.com are steps you can take to help your doctor sort out which is which.
Posted at Thursday ~ May 05, 2008
Category: Alzheimer's & Dementia, News & Articles, Healthy Aging, Aging Parents
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