Posts Tagged ‘ senior health care ’

SENIORS LEARN TO AVOID DRUG REACTIONS

Sep 23rd, 2011 | By Sharon Shaw Elrod MSW EdD | Category: Lifestyle, Health & Fitness

What You Can Do to Protect Yourself Avoiding drug reactions is necessary for senior citizens to protect themselves and their good health.  Patricia Barry writes for AARP regularly, and offers seniors a lot of good advice about health issues.  In the September, 2011, AARP Bulletin, she has an excellent article on The Side Effects of [...]



Senior Care Centers Require Close Scrutiny

Aug 30th, 2011 | By Dr Jerry D Elrod | Category: Dr Jerry Elrod's Senior Moments Blog

Quality conditions and service vary significantly among Senior Care Centers. (Here we refer to Assisted Care, Memory Care, Nursing Homes, Skilled Nursing facilities, etc.) Usually the satisfaction of the resident is directly associated with the quality and effectiveness of that care. And that is usually attached to the overall costs charged back to the resident.

Quality care, however, even in those top of the line centers cannot always be presumed. Most such centers, not all, are profit making. This, as in any enterprise, drives the cost to service ratio. In smaller communities, even mediocre care can be expensive. While some residents enjoy both subsidized care and/or long term care insurance, the costs usually are such that additional resources must be called upon.



Last-Ditch Cancer Treatment Is Questionable

Jul 15th, 2011 | By Sharon Shaw Elrod MSW EdD | Category: Senior Finances

Another financial horror story showed up on Bloomberg news last March, all in the name of end of life choices.  The article begins with “March 4 (Bloomberg) — It was some time after midnight on Dec. 8, 2007, when Dr. Eric Goren told me my husband might not live till morning. // The kidney cancer [...]



Glaucoma and Senior Citizens: Some Genetic Considerations

Jun 28th, 2010 | By Sharon Shaw Elrod MSW EdD | Category: Lifestyle, Health & Fitness

In the 1990s, Johns Hopkins University and other medical centers conducted some studies and discovered there were genetic considerations in the search for the cause of glaucoma among senior citizens.  That research showed a correlation between glaucoma in a senior and siblings, children and parents also having glaucoma.  Obviously nothing causative here.  But definitely a [...]



Seniors: Educate Yourself for Healthcare Management

Jun 20th, 2010 | By Sharon Shaw Elrod MSW EdD | Category: Lifestyle, Health & Fitness

Alzheimer’s disease never gets too far from center stage in our culture.  The morning news and evening papers always carry an article or two about this disease that robs the elderly of their minds, and eventually their lives.  A recent article details the experience of aging parents, one who had Alzheimer’s and the other who [...]



Health Care Reform for Seniors: More Help From Medicare

Jun 9th, 2010 | By Sharon Shaw Elrod MSW EdD | Category: Lifestyle, Health & Fitness

The Affordable Care Act passed by Congress and signed by President Obama this year contains some important benefits for Medicare recipients. If you have Medicare prescription drug coverage, and aren’t already getting Medicare Extra Help (extra help for seniors living at or below poverty level), Medicare will automatically send you a tax free, one-time $250 [...]



Medicare and HealthCare Reform: Preventive Services Now Covered

Jun 6th, 2010 | By Sharon Shaw Elrod MSW EdD | Category: Social Security & Medicare

SCJ posted an article last month that featured advantages in healthcare reform for senior citizens on Medicare.  One of the new medical services described was annual preventative care exams.  The PPACA (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) brings relief to millions of seniors for whom preventive care means early identification of disease and greater opportunity [...]



Aging-Eye Related Diseases

May 30th, 2010 | By Sharon Shaw Elrod MSW EdD | Category: Lifestyle, Health & Fitness

Seniors, What do glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration and cataracts all have in common?  Yes, they are all dis-eases that affect the eye.  But more important, they all strike senior citizens more than any other generation.  They affect the aging eye. The common risk factors for all four conditions is aging.  Glaucoma is considered an ‘end [...]



For Retirees: Exercise Improves Quality of Life

May 8th, 2010 | By Sharon Shaw Elrod MSW EdD | Category: Lifestyle, Health & Fitness

Many of us seniors watch our adult children and their workout programs.  That generation is heavy in to exercising because of their desire for a healthy life.  Some of us elders have been told by our physician that we also need to exercise to improve the quality of our lives.  For some, physical exercise is [...]