FDA Approves A New At Home Test For Both Flu And COVID

A vial of influenza vaccine next to two syringes.


The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first-ever over-the-counter test that can detect both the flu and COVID-19.  Unfortunately, this comes just two days after the company which developed the test, Lucira Health, filed for bankruptcy.  Lucira cited the lengthy process the FDA put them through to get the final approval.  The test works by taking a nasal swab and then you receive the results in only 30 minutes.  The test is meant to be used by people 14 and over or by an adult collecting a sample by someone 2 years or older.

Salinas, CA Home Care Aide (HCA) Senior Alzheimer’s & Dementia Caregiver Jobs Available : Set Your Own Hours: $2/Hour Extra On The Weekends CNA or HHA Designation A Plus

A nurse is helping an older man with his medical equipment.


Salinas, CA Home Care Aide (HCA) Senior Alzheimer’s & Dementia Caregiver Jobs Available : Set Your Own Hours: $2/Hour Extra On The Weekends CNA or HHA Designation A Plus (Also Aromas, Big Sur, Carmel-by-the-sea, Carmel Highlands, Carmel Valley, Castroville, Del Rey Oaks, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, Seaside & Soledad

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

Family inHome Caregiving of Monterey and Santa Cruz 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.familyinhomecaregiving.com, click on careers where you can fill out an application online or go to https://tsc221.ersp.biz/index.cfm?event=Apply.index

We have immediate openings all over Monterey County.

AARP Smart Driver Course At Carmel Foundation On March 20

A red square with the word aarp in white


Carmel Foundation will be hosting a teacher from AARP for a smart driver course from noon until 4:00 p.m. on Monday March 20.  It will be held in the Seideneck Room with instructor Curt Tipton.  The fee is $20 for AARP members, $25 for non-members payable to the instructor at the time of the class.  Sign up online at www.carmelfoundation.org or you can call member services at 624-1588.

You May Live Longer Than You Think : Financially Plan For It

A woman is helping an older man with his shirt off.


The Wall Street Journal recently ran an article entitled “Plan on living past your life expectancy,†which emphasized the fact that with people living longer, many outlive their money.  There are many reasons that this could happen, among them claiming Social Security too early, passing up the opportunity to buy annuities or long-term-care insurance, or simply mis budgeting.  Life expectancy refers to the average number of years someone will live from a given age, while longevity refers to how long someone might live if  everything goes well.  Many people, unfortunately, are ignorant of their so-called longevity risk, which is the probability of living a very long life.  Speak with your financial advisor to see if you are prepared for a long retirement.

Diabetes Drugs In Short Supply

A person holding a hamburger in their hand.


Drugs like Ozempic are in short supply for diabetics as physicians have found new “off-label†uses for the drug such as weight loss.  Although the drug was not originally designed for the use of weight loss, this has become a very effective side effect and many weight loss clinics are aggressively pushing the off-label prescription drug.  “The clock is ticking to preserve kidney and heath health, and the longer patients are without these therapies, the more risks they are accruing,†Katherine Tuttle, Executive Director for Research at Providence Medical Research, told the Wall Street Journal.

Prunedale, CA Home Care Aide (HCA) Senior Alzheimer’s & Dementia Caregiver Jobs Available : Set Your Own Hours: $2/Hour Extra On The Weekends CNA or HHA Designation A Plus

A man helping an older woman walk with a cane.


Prunedale, CA Home Care Aide (HCA) Senior Alzheimer’s & Dementia Caregiver Jobs Available : Set Your Own Hours: $2/Hour Extra On The Weekends CNA or HHA Designation A Plus (Also Aromas, Big Sur, Carmel-by-the-sea, Carmel Highlands, Carmel Valley, Castroville, Del Rey Oaks, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, Seaside & Soledad

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

Family inHome Caregiving of Monterey and Santa Cruz 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.familyinhomecaregiving.com, click on careers where you can fill out an application online or go to https://tsc221.ersp.biz/index.cfm?event=Apply.index

We have immediate openings all over Monterey County.

AARP Fraud Alerts Just Keep Coming

A woman is helping an older man with his shirt off.


AARP has been great at tracking down fraudsters, alerting the public and passing on information to the authorities to make sure that they get permanently shut down.  Six people have pleaded guilty and two are charged but not yet arrested for taking part in a grandparent fraud operation that stole from more than 70 older Americans.  A federal judge called the ringleader Timothy Ingram “heartbreakingly evil.â€Â    He was sentenced to nine years in prison for stealing almost $2 million from grandparents, including 10 people who lost more than $300K.  The gang would call the grandparent and pretend to be their grandson or granddaughter and say they were in jail and needed money wired to get them out.  U.S. District Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo said during the sentencing hearing that she hoped tough sentences would warn others against participating in what she said was one of the most harmful she had seen in her 17 years on the bench.

America Is Losing The Battle Against Heart Disease, Our Number One Killer

A stethoscope and heart on the table.


After decades of steady decline, heart disease is coming back with a fervor, and often with fatal consequences.  In 1948, President Harry Truman signed the National Heart Act, establishing the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.  The President also funded the landmark Framingham Heart Study, the world’s longest-running population study of heart disease.  For the next six decades, we were winning the war on heart disease.  Deaths from heart attacks, heart failure, heart rhythm disorders and related conditions fell a whopping 69% between 1950 and 2009.  Lately, however, it has been bad news.  “We’re looking at a crisis in terms of lowering life expectancy for the first time in decades,†cardiologist Sadiya Khan, M.D., told AARP.ORG/BULLETIN (January/February Issue, page 9). Death rates from heart disease for people between the ages of 45-64 rose 8.5% between 2010 and 2020.  More recently, the COVID pandemic has taken its toll on our nation’s hearts.  In 2020 and 2021, heart attack deaths increased by 21% for those 45-64 and 17.9% for those 65 and older.  These are frightening statistics.

Pebble Beach, CA Home Care Aide (HCA) Senior Alzheimer’s & Dementia Caregiver Jobs Available : Set Your Own Hours: $2/Hour Extra On The Weekends CNA or HHA Designation A Plus

A woman and an older person sitting on the couch


Pebble Beach, CA Home Care Aide (HCA) Senior Alzheimer’s & Dementia Caregiver Jobs Available : Set Your Own Hours: $2/Hour Extra On The Weekends CNA or HHA Designation A Plus (Also Aromas, Big Sur, Carmel-by-the-sea, Carmel Highlands, Carmel Valley, Castroville, Del Rey Oaks, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Pacific Grove, Prunedale, Salinas, Seaside & Soledad

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

Family inHome Caregiving of Monterey and Santa Cruz 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.familyinhomecaregiving.com, click on careers where you can fill out an application online or go to https://tsc221.ersp.biz/index.cfm?event=Apply.index

We have immediate openings all over Monterey County.

FDA Detects Cancer Causing Chemicals In Blood Pressure Medicines

A person holding hands with another person in bed.


The Food & Drug Administration, FDA, has announced that after recalling more than 12 million bottles of high blood pressure meds over the last five years, it expects more may be tainted with a chemical called nitrosamines.  Although they are found in trace amounts in anything from water, cured and grilled meats, dairy products and vegetables, in higher doses they can be dangerous.   “The difference is with drugs it’s totally avoidable,†Dr. Stephen Hecht, a University of Minnesota professor of cancer prevention, told USA Today.  FDA officials have said the agency expects drug manufacturers who have identified a potential risk to complete testing and report changes that they have made by October 1.