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Please join Lory Carriedo, Julia Cruz-Moreno and Maria Quiroz on the second Monday every month from 5:30 to 7:30 for a caregiver support group sponsored by Natividad Medical Center. It can be lonely and depressing during the COVID-19 lockdown so all are encouraged to join in. Call 1-800-624-8304 for more details.
Artificial Intelligence could completely reshape how medical care is given to seniors in many different ways. For instance, Michael Recht, chair of radiology at NYU Langone, is spearheading a partnership between NYU Langone and Facebook’s AI’s research group with a goal of reducing the time it takes to conduct an MRI by a factor of 10. The project, dubbed FastMRI, could enable MRIs to replace x-rays, avoiding radiation exposure. Imagine going into CHOMP for a quickie MRI. On the prescription drug side, Michael Frank, director of R&D strategy within Pfizer’s Worldwide R&D group is hoping to leverage machine learning to accelerate drug discovery. On average, it takes 14 years and $1.6 billion to develop a new drug!
There were 496 new COVID-19 cases announced for Monterey County, bringing the total up to 34,959 with no new hospitalizations and 1 new death for a total of 249. Nationwide, there were 238,390 new cases for a total of 23.409 million, while deaths rose by 3,040 to 389,944. In our state, there were 36,642 cases for a cume total of 2.904 million, while deaths rose by 601 to 32,287. These numbers are bleak, please stay home and stay safe.
If you are feeling down and depressed, you should see a counselor and, in particular, one that specializes in treating seniors. Called a Geropsychologist, this specialty first arose in 2010, according to the American Psychological Association. There are few of them around, unfortunately, with only 3% of licensed psychologists cite this as their primary or secondary specialty. The nearest one is in Santa Cruz, Lily Rich, although she does do both in-home visits and video calls.
Although anyone can be a victim of the many scams that criminals are carrying out now, data from the Federal Trade Commission shows that consumers age 80 and older are far more likely to be scammed by phone and lose the most money, a median of $1,250. “Even if you do everything perfectly, you can still be susceptible to fraud,†Shameka Walker, a fraud and identity theft program manager at the FTC, told Kiplinger’s Retirement Report. Most scammers are hacking in to find your email address and hawking you products that you may have been searching for. Other popular scams are selling fake COVID-19 vaccines and PPE equipment to protect against the virus.
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.
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.
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 (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.
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.