High-tech Dwelling Could Change Elder Care

Reposted from The Washington Post

Viola Baez wouldn’t budge.

Her daughter’s family had just invested about $125,000 in a new kind of home for her, a high-tech cottage that might revolutionize the way Americans care for their aging relatives. But Viola wouldn’t even step inside.

Read the rest of the story here.

6 Steps to Protect Your Older Loved One from a Fall

Reposted from the National Council on Aging

Did you know that one in three older Americans falls every year? Falls are the leading cause of both fatal and nonfatal injuries for people aged 65+.

Falls can result in hip fractures, broken bones, and head injuries. And even falls without a major injury can cause an older adult to become fearful or depressed, making it difficult for them to stay active.

If you have an aging parent, grandparent, or neighbor in your life, helping them reduce their risk of falling is a great way to help them stay healthy and independent as long as possible.

Change the Clocks, Change Those Batteries!

Daylight Savings Time took place this weekend, but it's not too late to take care of that OTHER piece of business - changing the batteries in your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors.

One of the easiest ways to remember to take care of this annual chore is to do it the same day you change your clocks. Working smoke alarms cut in half the risk of dying in a home fire. Worn or missing batteries are the most common cause of a smoke alarm or carbon monoxide detector malfunction. Changing the batteries at least once a year is one of the simplest, most effective ways to prevent tragic deaths and injuries.

November is Assistive Technology Month

In celebration of Assistive Technology Month, here is some helpful information from the Department of Health and Human Services.

Assistive Technology

Assistive technology is any service or tool which can help an older person or a person with a disability perform activities that might otherwise be difficult or not be possible.

Such technology may be something as simple as a walker to make moving around easier or an amplification device to make sounds easier to hear (for talking on the telephone or watching television, for instance). It could also include a magnifying glass that helps someone who has poor vision read the newspaper or a scooter that makes it possible to travel over distances that are too far to walk. In short, anything that helps the elderly continue to participate in daily activities is considered assistive technology.

For many seniors, assistive technology makes the difference between being able to live independently and having to get long-term nursing or home-health care. For others, assistive technology is critical to the ability to perform simple activities of daily living, such as bathing and going to the bathroom. Read more...

Pennsylvania RX Price Finder

PACE has updated their PA Prescription Price Finder brochure. The new booklet will help guide people toward the Price Finder website and inform them of the Price Finder program’s benefits. The brochure also includes examples of prescription price ranges, which can differ depending on the distributing pharmacy. For help with Price Finder, call 1-800-835-4080 or visit the Price Finder website.

Your Resource on the Pennsylvania Voter ID Law

From the Allegheny County Department of Human Services

As we move closer to Election Day, it is important to stay informed of changes to the Pennsylvania Voter ID Law. Recent updates include:

    Pennsylvania care facilities, including long-term care facilities, assisted living residences or personal care homes can create their own photo IDs for residents, as long as the document includes the name of the facility, the name and photo of the voter, and an expiration date.

    Department of State voter cards will be available for registered voters who are not able to provide all of the documents they would normally need to obtain a photo ID from PennDOT, such as a birth certificate. Voters will need to affirm they do not possess any other approved identification for voting and will need to provide two proofs of residence, such as a utility bill, along with their date of birth and Social Security number, if the customer has an assigned number. PennDOT will validate the voter registration status with the Department of State while the voter is in the PennDOT office. Upon confirmation of this information, the voter will be issued the voter card before leaving the PennDOT facility. These cards will be issued by PennDOT up to and through Election Day, Nov. 6, 2012, and thereafter.

    In most cases, those who have a Pennsylvania driver’s license, or a non-driver's license photo ID, will not be required to bring a birth certificate, or any other proof of identification or residence, to request a non-driver photo ID for voting purposes. They will only need to give their name at a PennDOT driver's license center, and once verified as being in the system, PennDOT will provide a non-driver's license photo ID, which can be used for voting purposes. Those with licenses that expired prior to 1990 should call PennDOT’s Customer Care Center (1-800-932-4600) to verify that their information is still in the system.

    For Allegheny County residents who are concerned that their ID may not be valid for the election, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette website has an interactive page to check your ID’s status: http://newsinteractive.post-gazette.com/voterID/

NO ONE legally entitled to vote will be denied the right to do so. If an individual does not have a photo ID, he or she may cast a provisional ballot, and will have six days to provide a photo ID and/or an affirmation to the local county elections office - in person, by mail, email, or fax - to have his or her ballot count.

To learn more, please visit http://www.votespa.com.

Keeping Seniors Healthy in Soaring Temperatures

In Pittsburgh, the first six months of 2012 were the warmest on record, and July was especially sweltering. While hot weather can be fun for swimming and outdoor activities, it can also be dangerous, particularly for older adults. To protect some of Allegheny County’s most vulnerable individuals, the DHS Area Agency on Aging (AAA) offers a variety of services to ensure that local older adults have opportunities to avoid the heat and stay safe. 

Medicare Scam Alerts from AARP

Don’t Fall for the Utility Bill Scam

Several news outlets have reported on a national scam that has claimed over 500 PA residents to date.  Scammers contact people in a variety of ways-- including door to door—promising that a new program from the Obama administration will pay their utility bills. To enroll in the fake program, victims are asked to provide personal information like social security and bank account numbers. 

Remember:

• Never give personal information to someone goes door to door or calls you unsolicited.
• If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

“New” Medicare Card Scam

Residents all over Pennsylvania have received calls from scammers claiming to be “from Medicare.” The scammer states that Medicare is sending out new cards and instructs the beneficiary to provide a checking account number to receive the new card. In at least two cases, the scammer already had the beneficiary’s address, bank name, and bank routing number.

If you receive a call like this, hang up the phone.

Remember:

Medicare will never call to sell you anything and will never ask for your checking account number.

To report a similar scam or other Medicare Fraud, please contact the

Pennsylvania Senior Medicare Patrol at 1-800-356-3606.

Valley Care Video

Valley Care was recently featured in Three Rivers Wealth Management's online video series titled "Bridges." You can watch the video here.

Thank you, TRWM!

Valley Care Leads Efforts to Build Wheelchair-Accessible Gardens

Valley Care's own John Seitz, coordinator for the Home Safe Home program, recently led a collaborative initiative to build 8 wheelchair-accessible gardens at long-term care facilities in Allegheny, Butler, and Washington Counties.

A nice article was written about the effort by Dona Dreeland in the North Journal. You can read the article here.

Webcast Gives Voice to Elder Care Challenges

"Speak Up! Influential Women Give Voice to the Challenges of Elder Care" featured energetic conversations, passionate people, and valuable information – all with a focus on the issues and possible solutions. If you would like to watch the session, or share it with a friend or colleague, the webcast is available for replay at: http://www.altarum.org/roundtablejune5. The webcast was sponsored by the Altarum Institute.

Home Safe Home helping to bring accessible gardens to western PA

Valley Care's Home Safe Home program is helping to lead a project to bring wheelchair-accessible gardens to nursing facilities in Butler, Allegheny, and Washington Counties. This is an expansion of a project that started last year, with the construction of a garden in Beaver.

The Beaver County Times just featured the growth of this project.

We'll keep you updated as the projects are completed!

Family Matters: NPR Series on Issues Facing the Sandwich Generation

Reprinted from npr.org

To cope with the hard times, millions of families have pulled together — stacking two, three, even four generations on top of one another. An NPR series explores the lives of three multigenerational households struggling with issues of money, duty and love.

We can’t wait: Administration announces new steps to fight Alzheimer’s disease

Reposted from www.hhs.gov

The Obama Administration announced on Feb. 7 new efforts to fight Alzheimer’s disease, including immediately making an additional $50 million available for cutting-edge Alzheimer’s research. In addition, the administration announced that its Fiscal Year 2013 budget will boost funding for Alzheimer’s research by $80 million.  Today’s announcement also includes an additional $26 million in caregiver support, provider education, public awareness and improvements in data infrastructure.

In January 2011, President Obama signed the National Alzheimer’s Project Act, which calls for an aggressive and coordinated national Alzheimer’s disease plan.  The Act also establishes an Advisory Council on Alzheimer’s Research, Care, and Services, which brings together some of the Nation’s foremost experts on Alzheimer’s disease to inform the development of the national plan. The preliminary framework for the National Alzheimer’s Disease Plan identifies key goals including preventing and treating Alzheimer’s disease by 2025.  As work on the plan continues, the Obama Administration is taking action.

“Today’s announcement reflects this administration’s commitment to confronting Alzheimer’s, a disease that takes a devastating toll on millions of Americans,” said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.  “We can’t wait to act; reducing the burden of Alzheimer’s disease on patients and their families is an urgent national priority.”

Read the rest of the article.

Aging in Place in the News

An article about aging in place ran in the Jan. 22nd edition of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. It highlights the growing movement towards putting services and supports in communities so that older adults can continue to live in their own homes.

Read the article here.