Every few days I read the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) news to see if there is anything relevant to eldercare that I should be aware of. Recently, I came across an extremely eye-opening item.
A new poll* finds that two-thirds of people 40 years old and older have done little or no preparing for the challenging and expensive reality of aging. I think most people seem to have the mentality, "I'll cross that bridge when I come to it." Kids, if you're at least 40 years old, the bridge is here.
You know it is not going to go well when the person you're interviewing starts off by asking, "How much work can I miss before I get fired?" You ever have one of those? Yet that's probably not the worst I've heard.
By now you've heard plenty about Medicare sequestration cuts. But you might not realize that some projects not only survived cuts, but they are getting money for projects while more important ones are slashed.
Once again the war on drugs catches frail elder patients in the crosshairs. Basically a "drive by" that shouldn't happen.
Kentucky may well be remembered for something better than its bourbon and horse races. In early February, the Kentucky Senate passed a bill where the claimants have to go before a review panel prior to filing suit against a nursing home.
Well, it wasn't easy to get there, but we have a new CIA director sworn in. With John Brennan taking over the spy agency, now's a good time to think back to what happened to his predecessor, General David Petraeus.
You may have read that spending time on Facebook has been shown to reduce stress levels but now new research suggests that learning to use Facebook may have the benefit of sharpening of mental abilities on adults over 65. OK, I'm just going to ask: Has anyone out there tried to teach a parent how to use Facebook?
OK, so I just figured out why geriatricians are the some of lowest paid physicians in the profession. It's because no one knows who the heck they are! We have proof.
"To reduce avoidable hospitalizations, you must have a meaningful flow of information." These are extremely wise words we need to really think about.
The Real Nurse Jackie is written by Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC, a 2012 APEX Award of Excellence winner for Blog Writing. Vance is a real life long-term care nurse who also is the director of clinical affairs for the American Medical Directors Association. The opinions supplied here are her own and do not necessarily reflect those of her employer or her professional affiliates.
