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Hospitals
If you're lucky you won't spend much time watching over someone in the hospital. Most of us have to spend much more time in hospitals than we, and our elders, would like. There is a unique culture and structure in American hospitals that it pays to know. Knowing how hospitals and the people in them work will give you a big advantage.
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Preparing For a Senior's Scheduled Hospitalization
Being in the hospital is no picnic for anyone. For a senior, hospitalization can be especially stressful and traumatic. Even elderly patients with all their mental faculties can become confused and disoriented in the hospital. Those with any degree of dementia are often thrown completely for a loop when in the hospital. . . . keep reading
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Feeding Tubes For End Stage Dementia
Patients with Alzheimer's Disease who live to the end stages will almost certainly lose the ability to eat normally. They may become unable to mentally process the mechanics of what to do with food. The reflexes that enable them to swallow safely may be lost. In these cases, many have their lives extended with feeding tubes, whether or not that may have been what they wished . . . keep reading
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When and How You Can See Your Medical Records
Georgia lives in a nursing home and she wants to see her medical records. Can her doctor refuse to allow her to read her medical chart? John wants to change doctors. He has requested a copy of his medical chart. The doctor's office told him they will send a copy to his new doctor, but they will not give it directly to him . . . keep reading
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Anesthesia and Dementia
For many years caregivers, who know their loved ones best, have been reporting that after a surgery they have seen a clear decline in their loved ones' mental state. These changes, which some doctors have downplayed as merely anecdotal, have now been confirmed as real. Even very short exposure to anesthesia can result in something called Post Operative Cognitive Decline, which can sometimes be permanent. . . . keep reading
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Palliative Care
The goal of palliative care is to improve the comfort and quality of life of those with serious, complex and debilitating illness. While palliative care is medical treatment dedicated to relieving the discomfort of disease or treatment, rather than to curing an illness, aggressive medical treatment may continue at the same time the patient is receiving palliative care. In fact, good palliative care is often the reason patients can continue an aggressive treatment regime that they might otherwise be unable to tolerate. . . . keep reading
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Making End-of-Life Decisions
Many of us may one day have to make end-of-life decisions for someone we love. Even if your loved one has prepared written instructions in a Living Will (Directive to Physicians), you may be faced with decisions that aren't covered, or where their original intent is not clear. . . . keep reading
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Keeping Track of Medicare
As a continuation of our Medicare series, here's a VERY ueful Medicare resource. Especially for caregivers who live distant and who can't be there as often as you'd like, this free tool will help you keep up with all kinds of things. . . . keep reading
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Quality Check Your Local Hospital
Medicare may make you nuts sometimes, but they are taking some very welcome steps to open the curtains that surround many of our medical "closed societies." The latest is the addition of more comparative information about U.S. hospitals that treat Medicare patients. . . . keep reading
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Lifetime Reserve Days: Medicare's "Last Resort"
There is no limit to the number of times Medicare will pay for someone to be in the hospital, but there ARE limits to the length of any one hospitalization stay. Lifetime reserve days are an emergency resource that a Medicare beneficiary can use when a hospital stay goes beyond the usual limit. . . . keep reading
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Making A Trip To The Emergency Room
Most elder caregivers will spend some time in the emergency room. If you're prepared, it won't be quite so awful. Following are some ideas to make the trip a little more pleasant for everyone concerned. . . . keep reading
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Alzheimers Disease
