Keep Your Immune System Strong With A Mediterranean Diet

A farmers market with fresh vegetables and fruits.


With coronavirus running rampant, keeping your immune system healthy is critical.  There are a number of things you can do such as getting enough exercise, not smoking, staying hydrated, having quality sleep time and eating a healthy diet.  Sticking to a Mediterranean diet is a good way of keeping your good health, and it’s delicious.  A study published in the journal Frontiers of Physiology found that healthy people aged 65-79 who ate a Mediterranean diet and took 10 micrograms of Vitamin D daily for a year were able to help offset age-related declines in immunity.  The Mediterranean diet involves eating a lot of vegetables, fruit, nuts, whole grains and one ounce of food daily.  Stay away from red meats and instead eat salmon and other fish, with modest portions of egg.  Olive oil is the fat of choice, and a glass or two of red wine each night tops of the meal.

https://www.cedars-sinai.org/blog/boosting-your-immune-system.html

 

 

Don’t Let COVID-19 Prevent You From Regular Skin Cancer Checkups

A man with his back turned on the beach.


Coronavirus may be keeping you from going to the doctor as much as you need to.  However, telemedicine makes it easy to see a doctor.  Even dermatologists are now available via videoconference.  A company called DermTech is transforming telemedicine to detect skin cancer.  According to the American Cancer Society, melanoma has a 99% five-year survival rate if caught early.  However, this survival rate drops to 65% if it has spread locally and 25% if spread distantly.  For more information, go to https://dermtech.com/

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https://www.futureofpersonalhealth.com/skin-health/understanding-preventing-and-identifying-skin-cancer-this-winter/

Monterey, CA Coronavirus Update From A Carmel Caregiver : 1,759 New Cases

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


After being completely silent since January 1, Monterey County reported today that there have been 1,759 new cases bringing the total over 30,000 with 20 new fatalities for a total of 216. Natividad has seven COVID-19 patients, CHOMP 10, and Salinas Valley Memorial has 14.  The hospitals have 2, 3 and 8 open ICU beds respectively.   Nationwide, there were 198K new cases for a total of 20.889 million to date, while deaths rose by 3,127 to 355,524.  In California, there were 30,375 new cases for a cume total of 2.475 million while deaths rose by 382 to 27,020.  Please stay home and stay safe!

https://www.latimes.com/projects/california-coronavirus-cases-tracking-outbreak/monterey-county/

 

Please visit us at www.familyinhomecaregiving.com

Monterey Bay Aquarium Let’s Natividad Store COVID-19 Vaccine In Freezers


Thanks to Monterey Bay Aquarium for allowing the use of their extra cold freezers to store incoming COVID-19 vaccine.  The Pfizer vaccine needs to be stored in industrial freezers, and now the Monterey Bay area has access to one of these freezers.  “We have started to see the vaccines arrive and we really see that as really our only pathway out of the pandemic,†said Andrea Rosenberg, Natividad Hospital Operations & Support Services and Assistant Administrator.  “So, there’s a lot of hope and excitement at the hospital with the arrival of these vaccines,†she continued.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/12/31/monterey-bay-aquarium-loans-natividad-hospital-ultra-cold-freezer-for-covid-19-vaccine/

Monterey, CA Genworth Long Term Care LTC Premiums To Go Up


Monterey, CA  Genworth Long Term Care LTC Premiums To Go Up

One of the few remaining companies in the long-term care industry, Genworth, sent out a brochure to policy holders signaling rate hikes are coming.  Said the company:

Our policies are generally held for 30-40 years, which means when they were initially priced, a lot of assumptions were made future costs for claims that would be made decades later.  Many of those assumptions were incorrect because the cost of and demand for care have both skyrocketed since.  Insurance companies, including us, have had significant losses as a result.  Many have left the business.  Despite losing $3.6 billion on our older legacy policies, we’ve decided to stay in the business and file for rate increases on these older policies and select newer ones to cover the cost of future claims.  To learn more, call 1-888-479-6889 or go to Genworth.com/LTCpremiums

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


Hollister,  CA Home Care Aide (HCA) Senior Alzheimer’s & Dementia Caregiver Jobs Available (Also Aromas, Big Sur, Carmel, Carmel-by-the-sea, Carmel Highlands, Carmel Valley, Castroville, Corral-de-Tierra, Del Rey Oaks, Gilroy, Gonzalez, Greenfield, 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.

A Family Of Siblings Is The Oldest Living Family In The World


A family of a dozen siblings broke the Guinness World Record with their combined age of 1,042 years and 315 days.  The D’Cruz family was born to the same parents in Pakistan and now live all over the world.  They range in age from 75 to 97 years old.  They say making the Guinness World Record is one of the greatest highlights of their lives.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/02/us/12-siblings-hold-guinness-record-for-combined-age-trnd/index.html?utm_term=160975939375670ce6ffe7c4c&utm_source=cnn_Five+Things+for+Monday%2C+January+4%2C+2021&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1609759393758&bt_ee=eSmx1KsnoEfryQ575nVRH03JWgoV%2BTuw1RGA4HuH05yJr8ctcrJ8EJ3basspIzwK&bt_ts=1609759393758

Haven Wanted To Develop Innovative Healthcare Solutions, Is Now Shutting Down


Haven, the company backed by Amazon.com, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase surprisingly started informing employees today that it will shut down by the end of next month.  Many of the company’s 57 workers will be offered new jobs at one of the three founders of the non-profit.  The problem, insiders say, is that rather than working together, the three companies developed their own products on their own.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/04/haven-the-amazon-berkshire-jpmorgan-venture-to-disrupt-healthcare-is-disbanding-after-3-years.html

Monterey, CA Nursing Homes Hit Hardest By COVID-19

A man wearing a mask with yellow warning tape around his mouth.


I recently wrote about the fact that although the number of cases of coronavirus in nursing homes is low as a percentage of all cases, they account for a full 40% of deaths from COVID-19.  California’s Department of Public Health has listed 21 skilled nursing and assisted-living facilities that have reported COVID-19 cases.  The worst by far is Windsor Monterey Care Center at 78, followed by Pacific Coast Post Acute at 72, and Windsor The Ridge Rehab Center which has had 67 patient cases and 62 staff members carrying the virus.  Cypress Ridge Care Center has had 49 patients with coronavirus and 40 staff members, while Windsor Skyline Care Center has had 47 patients and 14 staff members with the virus.

This data shows why local hospitals are discharging many patients to their homes rather than have them go to a rehab center prior to going home.

https://www.latimes.com/projects/california-coronavirus-cases-tracking-outbreak/monterey-county/

https://familyinhomecaregiving.com/long-term-care-facilities-account-for-40-of-covid-19-deaths/

Long Term Care Facilities Account For 40% Of COVID-19 Deaths

A woman helping an older person with papers


published a story about how the fear of catching the disease has caused many patients to have gone weeks without a shower or having their teeth brushed, while residents with dementia have suffered from lack of human contact.  This often leads to depression, loss of weight, mobility and speech.  Sharon Wallace, a senior whose multiple sclerosis caused her to go into a nursing home, told the NYT, “I feel like my health is going downhill.”  This has made Aging In Place a more popular option as Assisted Living Facilities become hotbeds for disease.  “Nursing homes are really little hospitals, yet they’re not staffed like it.  If you asked an I.C.U. nurse to take care of 15 people, she’d laugh at you, but that’s essentially what we have,” Chris Laxton, the executive director of AMDA, the Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine said.