Elder Care ABC

An Alzheimer’s Disease Or Stroke Patient Can Benefit From Music Therapy Music has the ability to transcend language and other communication barriers. It teaches and it can provide therapy after a stroke. Music therapy is also very beneficial to an Alzheimer’s patient. We listen to music all our lives and learn the words to songs [...]

by Mary Jane Stern The 2010 Medicare Marketing Season runs from October 1st through December 31st and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is very specific on how Parts C (Advantage Plans) and Part D (Prescription Drug Plans) can be marketed. One area of concern is marketing through unsolicited contact.  What does this [...]

By Joy Loverde Let’s face it, how we think and what we do can send siblings running in the opposite direction. In his article, “The Myth of Role Reversal,” care consultant Claude Thau reports, “Frequently, a child will enter the care-giving portion of life with noble enthusiasm. ‘My father was always there when I needed [...]

Welcome to the October 28, 2009 edition of eldercareabc carnival Alvaro Fernandez presents 15 FAQs on Neuroplasticity and Brain Fitness posted at SharpBrains, saying, “Here you have a Question and Answer session on what neuroplasticity means and how to maintain and improve brain fitness” Becomecom presents 10 Simple Steps to Healthy Elderly Living posted at [...]

By Joy Loverde Caring for aging parents is not always a family affair. Your brother doesn’t return phone calls. Mom makes demands on you and not of the others. Sis thinks you should pick up the tab for mom’s care because you have the better-paid career. What other situations come to mind when you think [...]

by Mary Jane Stern In just a few weeks Medicare open enrollment season starts.  You can make changes between November 15 and December 31, the “marketing season” starts around October 1st. Why Change? What’s the biggest reason for change?  Rise in premiums for Advantage and Part D plans. Another reason for change is you had [...]

When it first starts manifesting itself, it is really hard to separate dementia from simple aging. As they get older, people start making notes for themselves to compensate for some mental lapses, or they find excuses for having forgotten something. If your parent does not live with you at your home, you may not know [...]

One of my favorite areas of medicine is the challenge involved with treating the elderly. While on rotations in school I was fortunate enough to be placed at a site with an all-inclusive care program for the elderly. The program was a mixture of adult daycare and healthcare (physicians, nurse practitioners, physical & occupational therapists, etc. were [...]