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The Carmel Foundation has a lot of programs for seniors where you can make new friends and learn new hobbies and get health information. They are also hosting a Prime Rib Twilight Supper for only $18 which includes potatoes, broccoli, glazed carrots, croissants, chocolate mousse and either strawberry lemonade or a glass of wine. Your meal will be served at 3:00 and seating opens at 2:30. Sign up with member services at 624-1588 or www.carmelfoundation.org.
AARP has been great about tracking the latest scams tracking senior citizens, but a surprising number of people continue to fall for scams, mostly pitched over the phone. First, I have a practice of using caller ID and won’t pick up the phone if I don’t recognize the caller. This can screen out a lot of the potential scammers. AARP says that historically fraud operators have tried to get your money in one of four ways—gift cards, wire transfers, cyber currency or cash. These are all untraceable once you send them. However, AARP says a fifth form of payment is on the rise, peer-to-peer (P2P) money transfer services like CashApp, Venmo or Zelle. Beware of anyone asking you to send money using these apps.
If you haven’t already, check out “Market Day†at Alliance on Aging’s headquarters in Salinas called “The Hub†at 236 Monterey Street which occurs the second and 4th Thursday of every month. Get fresh and affordable quality produce. Recent examples of deals include organic broccoli for $1, organic cauliflower for $1.25 and green onions for only $0.25 per bunch!
For more information go to www.allianceonaging.org/hub/
Like Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s can be a devastating disease which can take a heavy toll on your body. There have been few new treatments for both diseases, which has been disappointing. The disease hasn’t gotten a lot of attention from researchers until last December when a report said that Parkinson’s disease strikes 90,000 older Americans each year, 3x the previous estimate of 30,000 per year. See a neurologist if you suspect that you or a loved one may be noticing shaking and other symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.
According to a study by Kaiser Permanente Colorado Institute for Health Research, only 5.8% of those eligible for a free lung cancer screening are getting them. Many people believe that because they quite smoking many years ago that they are not at risk of getting lung cancer. However that may not be true. Lung cancer remains the deadliest cancer in the United States, killing about 130K Americans each year. About 60% are caught after the tumor has spread beyond the lung and is past the point of being cured. The five year survival rate for lung cancer is only 25% so please take advantage of this free screening!
A flurry of start-ups have been advertising on Facebook, Instagram and Tik-Tok touting medications which are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the purpose the advertisement is pushing. For instance, the Wall Street Journal reported that start-up Home Health ran an ad with a middle-aged man holding a dumbbell and saying testosterone “literally changed my life†restoring his energy and happiness. The problem is, the man is an actor who has never used the drug and the ad doesn’t mention that testosterone is only approved by the FDA for treating specific disorders and carries with it the risk of heart attacks and stroke. Beware of these ads, they have increased significantly since the pandemic began.
Burbank, CA Getting an early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia (ADRD) is critical, agreed the panelists on the Mapping the Future of Alzheimer’s Partnerships panel at the C4A 2023 Annual Conference, held here from May 9-11. Yet some people have this diagnosis written in their medical chart and their doctor hasn’t even told them.
Michele Johnston, Program Director for Dementia Initiatives at the California Department of Aging said that around 50% of people who have Alzheimer’s are diagnosed. “Half of the people diagnosed with dementia are never told by their physician,†she said, which I found to be a shocking statistic. “When people get diagnosed earlier, it saves money for both the family and society,†she said.
Roughly 60-80% of dementia cases are Alzheimer’s disease, said Barbara McClendon, Public Policy Director at Alzheimer’s Los Angeles. Yet many people refer to dementia as Alzheimer’s disease.  About 690K Californians had Alzheimer’s disease in 2020, a number which is expected to rise to 840K by 2025 due to the rapid aging of our population.
Longer term, the statistics are even more bleak, and minorities are being hit harder than the general population. By 2040, the number of Latino’s with the disease are expected to triple, as are the number of African Americans having the disease. For Asian’s, the number will double during this time frame. The same is projected for members of the LGBTQ community.
McClendon rattled off a number of other alarming stats and said, “We are really fortunate in California that the State is aware of these statistics. Governor Newsom has gathered an Alzheimer’s Prevention and Preparedness Task Force, and Kim McCoy Wade, Senior Advisor on Aging to the Governor appeared on another panel to discuss what the State of California is doing to address the many issues seniors face in our state. “Progress is already being made,†said McClendon.
Goal 2 of the Master Plan for Aging is “Health Reimagined†which includes a focus on dementia. The plan is implementing a number of initiatives and calling for refunding for Adult Day Care, which was defunded in 2009.
She also said that research shows that there are a number of things Californians can do to reduce their risk of getting dementia, but “we need to get this info out,†she said. Johnston noted that much progress has been made with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) 2018-2023 National Healthy Brain Initiative Road Map, and they are preparing to come out with a second edition of the road map soon. She said the federal government had given out a number of grants to help fuel the Road Map, and the state has given grants to 13 different counties, including Monterey.
Terry Gabriel, Executive Director at PSA 2 of the Area Agency on Aging (AAA), said her agency had partnered with the Alzheimer’s Association and the Family Caregiver Support Program and emphasized the importance of inter-agency partnerships.
Shasta County was awarded funding and AAA was able to connect them with other agencies. They developed a Community Needs Assessment Survey which was used to develop their local plan. One thing the survey revealed was that first responders are there when there is a fall or someone with dementia has an outburst. Sometimes they are at the same person’s home repeatedly. They were able to develop a training program for first responders who can now better deal with dementia patients.
Victoria Jump, Director of the Ventura County AAA said that with the help of an ADPI Grant, they were able to develop the CAlz Connect initiative (California’s No Wrong Door System) which will be an enterprise client relationship management (CRM) system with interoperability between CRM systems with the Congressional Budget Office, health plans and counties. This will be launched later this year. The objective is to support communities and caregivers with access to quality innovative services.
Regular readers of my blog know that both my father and my grandmother had Alzheimer’s disease when they passed way. It’s a terribly debilitating disease which can suck the life out of caregivers and family members. Our local Alzheimer’s Association in Ryan Ranch has some wonderful people that can help, as well as a 24-hour hotline at 1-800-272-3900.
Find out more about the Carmel Foundation on Tuesday, July 11, at the Carmel Foundation’s Diment Hall. The place is a great place to socialize with other seniors, take classes, have meals and discussion groups, they even have various dance classes like Greek, Line Dancing and Nia Freedance. They also have various groups like photography, papercraft and Needlecraft. They recently had an outing to the Legion of Honor in San  Francisco and an upcoming jaunt to Golden Gate Park will occur on Tuesday June 20. For more information go to www.carmelfoundation.org or call 624-1588.
If you haven’t already, check out “Market Day†at Alliance on Aging’s headquarters in Salinas called “The Hub†at 236 Monterey Street which occurs the second and 4th Thursday of every month. Get fresh and affordable quality produce. Recent examples of deals include organic broccoli for $1, organic cauliflower for $1.25 and green onions for only $0.25 per bunch!
For more information go to www.allianceonaging.org/hub/
Carmel-by-the-sea, CA Home Care Aide (HCA) Senior Alzheimer’s & Dementia Caregiver Jobs Available : Certified Nursing Assistant CNA or HHA Designation A Plus $2 An Hour Extra On The Weekends (Also Aromas, Big Sur, Carmel-by-the-sea, Carmel, Carmel Valley, Castroville, Corral-de-Tierra, Del Rey Oaks, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Seaside, Soledad and Watsonville
We have developed a reputation for having the best caregivers (Home Care Aides or Senior Companions) in Monterey County and have recently expanded to Santa Cruz.  We are currently looking for qualified caregivers.
Family inHome Caregiving of Monterey 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 all over Monterey County. Apply here:
https://tsc221.ersp.biz/index.cfm?event=Apply.index