Overweight Americans Should Be Screened For Diabetes At The Age Of 35

A person holding a hamburger in their hand.


Nearly one in seven Americans now have diabetes, a new record for the U.S.  It was a serious disease before COVID-19 and even more so now as symptoms could be more severe and the risk of death higher for those diabetics contracting the coronavirus.  Obesity in America has become a growing problem in recent years, as more of us develop a diet high in processed foods, which can be high in sugar and salt.  The popularity of fast food hasn’t helped either.  New guidelines have been issued by an expert task force (The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force) that were published in the journal JAMA suggesting that obese Americans and those with abnormally high blood sugar levels ought to be tested for diabetes starting at the young age of just 35.  That means that 40% of the adult population ought to be screened.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/24/health/diabetes-weight-screening.html?campaign_id=34&emc=edit_sc_20210831&instance_id=39237&nl=science-times&regi_id=52105769&segment_id=67677&te=1&user_id=7052b81671c57203c64c377c7522baa7

Medicare Could Soon Cover Dental And Eye Care

A nurse is smiling next to an older woman.


As part of a large budget bill making its way through Congress, there is a provision to provide dental and eye care for Medicare recipients for the first time in our nation’s history.  Ironically, the bill is facing opposition from dentists, who fear that government reimbursement rates would be too low.  Back in 1965, the American Dental Association fought to keep dental from being a paid service for Medicare recipients.  Sadly, nearly half of all Americans over the age of 65 did not visit a dentist last year, and almost 20% have lost all of their teeth.  I know about the problem firsthand.  In addition to owning Family inHome Caregiving, I am president of the non-profit Hands to Help Seniors which provides emergency assistance to seniors in a financial pickle.  The vast majority of our donations go to providing dental care to low-income senior citizens, which is very expensive.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/29/upshot/medicare-dental-care.html

Long Term Care Insurance Or LTC To Be Funded By The Government?

A stethoscope laying on top of papers.


Long Term Care or LTC Insurance is the only insurance policy which will cover the care of services provided by companies like Family inHome Caregiving.  Unfortunately, it is very expensive and few people have it.  A 2019 study funded by the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care found that by 2029, more than half of the nation’s 14.4 million middle-income older adults won’t have the financial resources necessary to pay for senior housing or in-home care.  The study concludes that both public and private funds need to come to the rescue.  There is hope.  The Well-Being Insurance for Seniors to be at Home (WISH) Act would create a federal LTC trust fund that would pay for catastrophic long-term care for those who need it, and it would also allow private insurance companies to offer affordable coverage plans for the initial years of disability.  The plan would be fully paid for by a slight increase in the payroll tax (0.3% of income for both workers and employers), or roughly $300 per year for a median-income earner.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/social-security-costs-expected-to-exceed-total-income-in-2021-as-covid-19-takes-financial-toll-11630436193?mod=djemwhatsnews

Biogen’s Aduhelm Not Accessible To Most Alzheimer’s Victims

A doctor and patient looking at a book


There was much excitement when Biogen’s Aduhelm was approved by the FDA for use on Alzheimer’s patients in June.  Although there was controversy in the medical community regarding whether or not it was effective, it gave hope for many suffering from a disease which hasn’t seen a promising new drug in nearly 20 years.  The problem is, the cost of the drug is so high at $56K/year few people have access to it.  Medicare recipients won’t find out until next year if they are going to cover the drug and, if so, for whom.  Stephen Salloway, director of Butler Hospital’s Memory and Aging Program, one of the few places serving up the drug, says that by next week it will have treated ten patients with the drug, with more than 100 others on a waiting list.  Those few are paying cash.  “That’s not the way I want to go about this, that only people with means can access the drug,†said Dr. Salloway.  “That’s not what the FDA intended.  It isn’t equitable.â€Â  I agree, however, with the Medicare fund quickly running out of money without even covering drugs like this, a solution needs to come from Congress at the behest of President Biden.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/biogens-new-alzheimers-drug-beyond-reach-for-many-patients-11630077741

Boulder Creek, CA Home Care Aide (HCA) Senior Caregiver Jobs Available : Set Your Own Hours

A heart shaped word cloud with words related to caregiving.


Boulder Creek, CA Home Care Aide (HCA) Senior Caregiver Jobs Available : Set Your Own Hours (Also Aptos, Ben Lomond, Capitola, Davenport, Felton, Freedom, Mount Hermon, Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley, Soquel& Watsonville)

We have developed a reputation for having the best caregivers (Home Care Aides or Senior Companions) in Monterey County over the past decade, and we are now expanding into Santa Cruz County.   We are currently looking for qualified caregivers.

Family inHome Caregiving is seeking compassionate, mature and dependable caregivers who want to improve the lives of our elderly Clients by providing in-home, non-medical care.  Our services include:

Caring companionship

Meal preparation

Incidental transportation

Running errands

Light housekeeping

Medication reminders

Monitoring of safety while bathing

Information and referral services

Other services that improve the safety, security and quality of life of seniors.

If you believe you would make an exceptional Home Care Aide, we would love to hear from you!  We prefer those with experience helping the elderly, disabled and others with mobility problems.  Having cared for those with dementia and/or Alzheimer’s is a plus.  To work for us, you must have excellent references, a clear criminal record, a good driving record, and an insured reliable vehicle.  To apply, please visit our website www.fhcofm.com, click on home care aides, then careers where you can fill out an application online.  We have immediate openings.

https://tsc221.ersp.biz/index.cfm?event=Apply.index

Pacific Grove, CA Family Caregivers Face Heartbreaking Journey With Alzheimer’s Disease, Often Ending Up In Hospice

A woman and an old lady smiling at each other.


There was a heart breaking article in the Wall Street Journal recently.  It featured Nick Clement, age 78, who has cared for his wife Lucy for the past decade.  Lucy has Lewy body dementia as well as Alzheimer’s disease.  Nick wanted to take care of his wife, however, he quickly found out how difficult it is taking care of someone who is slipping rapidly into dementia.  As her disease progressed, she was unable to brush her teeth or comb her hair, so Nick did that too.  He said that some friends stopped calling, which can be heartbreaking.  Eventually, after Lucy had dropped from https://www.homecaremag.com/june-2021/buzz-vibration-therapy125 pounds down to 90, it took its toll on Nick who was gaunt and depressed.  He had to call in hospice which took over Lucy’s care.  Hospice asked Nick if he had told Lucy it was OK for her to go.  He had not, but went to her room and looked into her eyes and told her he would be alright, it was OK to go.  Sadly, she died the next morning.  Unfortunately, most of us will have to go through this with a family member.  If you need help, CHOMP has a service called Hospice of the Central Coast, as does the Visiting Nurses Association (see links below).  Please reach out for help if you need it, they both have compassionated caregivers.

https://www.montagehealth.org/care-treatment/hospice/

Pebble Beach, CA Online Scams Abound : Elder Abuse Fundraising Scams Abound

An old woman with a bruised eye and hand on her face.


here was a sad story in The New York Times recently about how some fundraisers—including many politicians—trick people (particularly senior citizens) into donating more than they want to.  The story profiled Steve Vaughn, who started to go through his fathers bank statement after he died and was shocked to see 400 donations totaling more than $11K over just a four month period.  There were donations to Donald J. Trump, Mitch McConnell, Tim Scott, Steve Scalise and many others.  There were notes with the bank statements showing the 90-year old had repeatedly try to dispute the charges with his credit card company—all to no avail.  Here is how the scam works.  Fundraisers will call you and ask you for a donation and once you agree, they will enter them into the system as a recurring payment.  Instead of taking a fixed amount, say $100, out of your account, they will take out $100 every month or sometimes every week.  They are hoping people aren’t diligent about going over their bank statements, so pay attention!  Many of them are targeting high-income areas of Monterey County like Carmel, Pacific Grove & Pebble Beach.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/26/us/politics/recurring-donations-seniors.html

C

Monterey, CA Can Driving Habits And Credit Scores Predict Future Alzheimer’s Or Dementia Diagnosis? By : Derek Baine

An older woman with a gray hair sitting in front of trees.


There has been such slow progress on the search for a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, I was pleased to see that some researchers are focusing on finding early clues as to who may be vulnerable to getting Alzheimer’s disease or some other type of dementia.  A recent article in The New York Times said that some scientists believe that pathologies underlying brain decline may begin many years before symptoms emerge.  A spate of experiments is underway to see if little things like overlooking a couple of credit card payments or habitually braking while driving could be a sign that dementia is in your future.  “Early detection is key for intervention, at the stage when that would be most effective,†said Saye Bayat, the lead author of a driving study funded by the National Institutes of Health and performed at Washington University.  The study took 64 older adults with preclinical Alzheimer’s disease as determined by spinal taps and 75 who were deemed cognitively normal (results were not shared with the study participants).  For a year, researchers measured both groups’ driving performance.  The study found that driving behavior and age could predict preclinical Alzheimer’s 88% of the time.  Those findings could spur recruitment for clinical trials and allow for interventions—like an alert when a car drifts—to help keep drivers safely on the road.  Dr. Jason Karlawish, a geriatrician and co-director of the Penn Memory Center, called the study “provocative†and well designed.  “The results suggest that monitoring a real-world, cognitively intense behavior can detect the earliest, subtle signs of emerging cognitive impairment,†he said.  Another study analyzed medical records and consumer credit reports for more than 80,000 Medicare beneficiaries and found that those who eventually received a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease were significantly more likely to have delinquent credit card payments (and sub-prime credit scores) than those with similar demographics who never received an Alzheimer’s diagnosis.  I hope these studies bear fruit.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/23/health/dementia-behavior-alzheimers.html

 

Many Older American’s Still Haven’t Gotten The Coronavirus Vaccine, Fueling More Deaths : By Derek Baine

A close up of the word coronavirus with an image of a virus


Sadly, many senior citizens have not been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, which is causing hospitalizations across the country to soar as the highly contagious delta variant spreads rapidly.  The U.S. can now boast that is has a much higher share of seniors without full vaccine protection than many other wealthy countries, which means that we will likely see a disproportionate number of deaths of senior Americans compared to other developed countries.  In contrast, unvaccinated seniors in Britain, Canada and Spain are very rare.  Even London, which has higher rates of vaccine hesitancy among seniors than the rest of Britain, is far ahead of the United States in its vaccination rates.  Thankfully, California is doing much better than other states.  Low elderly vaccination rates in Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana and Nevada have coincided with surging rates of hospitalizations and deaths.  Next on the list are likely to be Colorado, Kansas and North Dakota which have not yet experienced severe Delta outbreaks but has low senior vaccination rates.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/08/24/world/vaccines-seniors.html?campaign_id=34&emc=edit_sc_20210824&instance_id=38663&nl=science-times&regi_id=52105769&segment_id=67063&te=1&user_id=7052b81671c57203c64c377c7522baa7

Felton CA Caregivers Looking For Relief For Clients With Arthritis Or Osteoporosis Might Want To Turn To Vibration Therapy Or Light Therapy

A group of people doing different exercises together.


With the opioid crisis, it has becoming increasingly difficult to get doctors to embrace any kind of pain medication therapy for those struggling with debilitating and painful diseases which impact the muscle and bone.  Amplitude Vibration Therapy is now getting a lot of buzz in the medical community, providing relief for a number of ailments without having to turn to prescription drugs.  It works by stimulating muscles and ligaments, which increases blood circulation and can reduce pain and inflammation, promote immune response and improve joint strength as well as more flexibility.  A recent study by the National Institutes of Health and researchers from the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa found that those living with rheumatoid arthritis showed improvements in functionality and decreased pain after using vibration therapy over three months, and an even better response after six months.

 

https://www.homecaremag.com/june-2021/buzz-vibration-therapy

 

Best of all, vibration therapy doesn’t bring the feeling of electric shock that is commonly associated with some other therapies.  Clinical studies suggest vibration therapy may offer benefits for patients with arthritis, fibromyalgia, osteoporosis and other ailments. It is also a trendy workout recovery option due to ease of use. A study completed earlier this year indicates that five minutes of low-level vibration therapy was as effective as a 15-minute massage at reducing muscle soreness and improving recovery time after strenuous exercise.

Potential Benefits of Vibration Therapy:

  • Increased blood and lymphatic circulation
  • Reduced pain and inflammation
  • A boosted immune response
  • Additional joint strength and flexibility
  • Increased healing of fractures, strains and sprains
  • Decreased stress and increased energy levels
  • Assistance in detoxification and removal of wastes from the body
  • Safe and effective

Source : www.brownmed.com

Locally, Sol Santa Cruz provides a number of different therapy programs for those in pain, including exercises like Pilates, Active Relief and Light Therapy.

https://solsantacruz.net/about-us/featured-services/a-perfect-light/

Commonly Treated Conditions

  • Back pain
  • Ligament injuries
  • Muscle strains
  • Contusions and bruising
  • Arthritis
  • Muscular atrophy
  • Chronic pain conditions
  • Muscle aches and pains
  • Tendinitis

Source : Sol Santa Cruz

 

Experiment with these traditional and non-traditional treatments and see what is best for you.  You may be surprised at how your body reacts.  My chiropractor has evolved over the years to combining massage therapy, ultrasound, laser therapy and other services which are sued to relieve chronic pain along with traditional chiropractic treatments.  I’ve been very pleased with the results.

 

https://drbarkalow.com/services/