One of every three older Americans falls every year. Among those 75 and older, the number of falls-related deaths tripled to more than 25,000 from 2000 to 2016. Even after adjusting for age, the mortality rate for falls roughly doubled over that period. Of every 100,000 people age 75 and older, 122 will die from a fall. Falls not only [...]
Mom fell. Those are two words we never want to hear, but if you have an aging parent, there is a good chance you will. What do you do? Falls are the leading cause of injury and death among older adults in the US. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that in 2014, older adults fell 29 million times, resulting [...]
Adult day centers seem to have made it into the political debate in Washington, though not in a good way. In his nasty weekend back-and-forth with President Trump, Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) suggested the White House has become an “adult care center” and wondered if the staff had “missed a shift” when Trump launched his Sunday Twitter storm. Yesterday, Rep [...]
Falls are the leading cause of injury-related death among people 65 and older. One-third of older adults will fall, many will be hospitalized, and some will die. You’ve probably heard the common story: A frail senior is doing relatively well until she falls. She breaks a hip, everything seems to go downhill, and she dies. But many falls are preventable. [...]
If you are 65 or older and living in America, your chances of getting Ebola are vanishingly small. You are far more likely to contract—and die from—everyday infectious diseases such as flu, a variety of stomach viruses, or common bacteria such as C. difficile (c. dif.) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). These common infectious diseases are responsible for one-third of [...]
When we think about the health of frail older adults, severe, high-profile illnesses such as dementia, heart disease, cancer, and debilitating arthritis come to mind. But for many seniors, small things can turn a manageable chronic condition into an acute medical crisis. One is malnutrition. Spend a little time in a hospital emergency department and you’ll be shocked at how [...]
Imagine your widowed father is 96 and living alone in a distant city. He’s got severe heart disease and mild dementia but is still competent to make his own choices. And is decision is: He refuses to move to a care facility but will not accept any supports and services that could help him remain safely at home. He won’t let [...]
The Obama Administration announced this week that home health aides and other direct care workers are entitled to protections under federal labor laws, including the right to both the minimum wage and overtime pay. The new rules, under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) won’t take effect until 2015. But they should be a significant benefit to many direct care [...]
In the always-complex, often-painful world of family caregiving, there is no worse advice than this: When your parents need help, you must reverse roles and become their parents. Here is the reality: If you are the adult child of an aging parent, you will always be their child and they will always be your parent. They may need your help [...]
What do consumers want to know about assisted living facilities? I was recently asked to participate in a project aimed at answering that question. So, I asked some residents of facilities and their families, as well as people who are considering whether to move in. I thought their questions were interesting, so, I’ll share them and try to provide a [...]