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State officials recently unveiled a āmaster planā to address the needs of Californiaās rapidly aging population, from housing to long-term care. Kim McCoy Wade, director of the state Department of Aging, vows it will not end up on a shelf gathering dust.
Tens of thousands of middle-aged sons and daughters ā too young to qualify for a vaccine ā care for older relatives with serious ailments and want to get the shots to protect their loved ones and themselves.
More than 246,000 people in the U.S. have been killed by the coronavirus, leaving hundreds of thousands of others grieving. Judith Graham, author of KHNās Navigating Aging column, hosted a discussion on these unprecedented losses and dealing with bereavement. She was joined by Holly Prigerson, co-director of the Center for Research on End-of-Life Care at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City, and Diane Snyder-Cowan, leader of the bereavement professionals steering committee of the National Council of Hospice and Palliative Professionals.
Although the family patriarch did not face a life-threatening emergency, the episode was a reminder that you have to prepare for a real crisis.
COVID-19 has upended the lives of people with dementia, limiting their interactions with others and complicating matters for their caregivers.
Hundreds of thousands of health care workers go into homes to provide important services for seniors and disabled people. But with the rising concerns about the danger of the coronavirus pandemic, especially for older people, these health workers could be endangering their patients and themselves.
If you are sick from the coronavirus outbreak or sent home, your financial protections may vary depending on what state you live in.
In advance of the Super Tuesday primary, California's Los Angeles County is rotating new touch-screen voting machines among 41 locations, including adult day care centers and jails, to increase voting among populations with historically low turnout.
For Alzheimerās patients and their caregivers, social and emotional isolation is a threat. But hundreds of āMemory Cafesā around the country offer them a chance to be with others who understand, and to receive social and cognitive stimulation in the process.
Fewer Americans are dying in a hospital, under the close supervision of doctors and nurses. That trend has been boosted by an expanded Medicare benefit that helps people live out their final days at home in hospice care. But as home hospice grows, so has the burden on families left to provide much of the care.
On the bright side, advances in medical science and a push for healthier lifestyles might extend the quality of life for aging boomers. Among clouds on the horizon: ageism, strained long-term care services and the need to work well past retirement age.
Family caregivers pledge to fulfill their loved onesā end-of-life wishes. But too often circumstances change, and they must break their word and guard against breaking hearts ā including their own.
Harvard psychiatrist Arthur Kleinman shed his āveil of ignoranceā during 11 years serving as the primary family caregiver for his wife, who had a rare form of early Alzheimerās disease. In a new book, āThe Soul of Care,ā he offers suggestions for transforming health care ā just as caregiving transformed him.
Family caregivers are the backbone of our nationās system of long-term care for older adults. Every year, more than 34 million unpaid caregivers ā mostly family members ā provide essential aid to adults age 50 and older, helping with tasks such as bathing or dressing and, increasingly, performing complex medical tasks such as managing medications, dressing wounds and operating medical equipment.
A long illness creates a real risk: that the relationship will be undermined and essential emotional connections lost.
More baby boomers look forward to aging in place ā in their homes, rather than in a care facility. But the costs of retrofitting a house is likely prohibitive for many Americans.
The notion of a national program to tend to the day-to-day needs of a booming older population has circulated for years. Now, there are grants ā and grit ā behind it.
Throughout her young life, Sylvia Colt-Lacayo has been told her disability didnāt need to hold her back. She graduated near the top of her high school class. She was co-captain of the mock trial team. In April, she learned she had been admitted to Stanford University with a full scholarship. Now, the struggle to fund the caregivers she needs to leave home is proving her toughest battle yet.
Families often spend thousands of dollars caring for ailing loved ones at home. Lawmakers in California and at least seven other states want to provide some financial relief with state income tax credits.
Diabetics dying because they canāt afford insulin. Organ transplant patients undergoing āwallet biopsiesā to get on waiting lists. Are out-of-pocket costs going to dominate the health discussion in the next election? Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call join KHNās Julie Rovner to discuss this as well as new Trump administration rules giving states the ability to make major changes to the Affordable Care Act. Also, lame-duck lawmakers in Wisconsin and Michigan try to cement health changes before Democrats take over.
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