Monterey, CA Tips On ROTH IRA Conversions

Tax rates are likely to go up under the Biden administration, and one hedge against this is to convert an existing IRA or 401(k) to a Roth IRA.  You will have to pay taxes on the amount converted but then the IRA grows tax free.  Talk to a tax advisor—and make sure you wait closer to year-end before doing it in case tax rates increase this year.  Or let Monterey Bank or one of our other local banks walk you through the rules.  There are few—for instance, there are no Required Minimum Distributions from this type of IRA.

Monterey, CA Coronavirus Update From A Carmel Caregiver : Deaths Up Significantly

There were 440 new COVID-19 cases announced for Monterey County, bringing the total up to 34,482 with no new hospitalizations and no new deaths.  Nationwide, there were 301K new cases and over 4K deaths.  This means that we set a new record for deaths from COVID-19 and the highest tallies for new infections and new deaths have all occurred in 2021.  More than 131,300 people are now hospitalized with COVID-19, according to the COVID tracking project.  In California, new cases totaled 40K for a cume total of 2.867 million, while deaths rose by more than 2% (+536) to 31,686.  Please stay home as much as possible.  Stay safe.

Monterey, CA High Hopes For New Alzheimer’s Drug

A microscopic look at Alzheimer’s Disease

There has been so much bad news on the Alzheimer’s front, it was refreshing to read that an experimental treatment from Eli Lilly & Company helped patients.  Granted, it was a small trial of 272 people with mild Alzheimer’s disease, but results show that donanemab met the primary goal of the study, slowing the decline in memory and the ability to perform activities of daily living by 32% over an 18-month period.  Lilly is so excited about the results that it started enrolling another 500 subjects for a new study to confirm the findings.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/11/health/alzheimers-amyloid-lilly.html

Carmel, CA Home Care Aide (HCA) Senior Alzheimer’s & Dementia Caregiver Jobs Available

A caregiver smiling and holding the woman

Carmel,  CA Home Care Aide (HCA) Senior Alzheimer’s & Dementia Caregiver Jobs Available (Also Aromas, Big Sur, Carmel-by-the-sea, Carmel Highlands, Carmel Valley, Castroville, Corral-de-Tierra, Del Rey Oaks, Gilroy, Gonzalez, Greenfield, Hollister, King City, Marina, Monterey, Morgan Hill, Pacific Grove, Pacific Grove, Paicines, Pebble Beach, Prunedale, Salinas, San Juan Bautista, Seaside, Soledad and Tres Pinos

We have developed a reputation for having the best caregivers (Home Care Aides or Senior Companions) in Monterey County.   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.

Cancer Death Rates Drop Significantly

An old woman smoking a cigarette

The death rate from cancer dropped by 2.4% between 2017-2018, good news as new and exciting treatment come to market.  Cancer is consistently among the leading causes of death.  The most success has come in lung cancer with this accounting for 149 deaths for every 100K people in 2018.

Monterey, CA Coronavirus Update From A Carmel Caregiver : Outlook Is Bleak

There were 1,367new COVID-19 cases announced for Monterey County, bringing the total up to 33,671 with no new hospitalizations and 5 new deaths for a total of 247.  The number of ICU beds in the Bay Area is bleak, but Monterey County still has 41 ICU beds available versus zero for Santa Cruz County.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Bay-Area-at-less-than-1-ICU-availability-Here-15862959.php?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headlines&utm_campaign=sfc_morningfix&sid=5936af7424c17c09a38000c4

Nationwide, there were 223K new cases for a total in excess of close to 12 million.  Deaths rose by over 2,000 to 379,020.  In California, the situation is bleak with a heavy outbreak in Southern California.  In California, the average number of new cases per day had increased by more than 250K to 2.786 million, while deaths rose by 1,367 (+4%) to 33,761. Please stay home as much as possible.  Stay safe.

Monterey, CA Coronavirus Update From A Carmel Caregiver : Deaths Up Significantly

A man covering his mouth and nose with N95 Mask

There were 311 new COVID-19 cases announced for Monterey County, bringing the total up to 34,072 with no new hospitalizations and 1 new death for a total of 248.  Nationwide, new cases were up 229,712 (+1%) and deaths almost doubled from yesterday’s count of 2,048 to 3,662.  In California, new cases were up 41,911 to 2.828 million, while deaths rose by 589 to 30,561.  Please stay home as much as possible.  Stay safe.

Monterey, CA Senior Veterans Being Shunned By VA Again

The Veterans Administration (VA) is once again under fire, this time after reports surfaced that a bottleneck at the national archives is delaying benefits claims for 32,00 military veterans.  COVID-19 has shut down the National Personnel Records Center, for months.  After briefly reopening at low capacity, it has once again shut down except for limited emergency requests.  A veteran must get a certified copy of their service record in order to file a claim for benefits, and they are currently unable to do so.  Veterans who left the service after 2000 likely have digital archives that can be accessed easily.  However, older veterans need to get a photocopy of paper records.  That means an archivist must sift through 60 million records and try to find the proper documentation.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/older-vets-cant-get-benefits-because-of-covid-19-bottleneck-11610112128

Monterey, CA Coronavirus Update From A Carmel Caregiver : Numbers Not Looking Good

There were 1,096 new COVID-19 cases announced for Monterey County, bringing the total up to 30,521 with 12 new deaths for a total of 232.  860 of the cases are in the Monterey County jail.  Only one-third of those hospitalized are over 65 years old.  This virus truly is hitting the entire population.  Hispanics in Salinas are hit the hardest.  Of the cases reported so far, 73% are Latino or Hispanic.  Nationwide, there were nearly 300K cases which brought the cume total to 21.8 million, while deaths rose by almost 4K to 367,046.  In California, new cases were over 50K (+2%) while deaths soared by 2% (+565) to 28,642.  These numbers are terrible, please stay home and stay safe.

Monterey, CA Diabetes Is Preventable

A chart of Blood Glucose Optimal Fasting Levels

A study which began in 1996 of 3,234 people with prediabetes randomly assigned them to groups which were either given metformin, given intensive lifestyle (nutrition and physical activity) counseling or a placebo, found good news.  Three years later, the risk of developing type 2 diabetes was reduced by 58% with lifestyle counseling and 31% with metformin.  Two decades later, 2,425 are still alive and being followed. The diabetes risk remains lower than the placebo group by 25% in the original lifestyle group and by 18% in the metaformin group.  Although metformin isn’t approved for prediabetes treatment, your doctor can still prescribe it off label.  The American Diabetes Association recommends it for people with prediabetes who are at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes.