Parkinson’s Non-Profit Celebrates 50 Years

As you know if you’ve been keeping up with this blog, April is Parkinson’s Awareness month. There have been a host of events around the country to help turn the nation’s attention once again on the disease that is now affecting more than one million seniors in the United States.

One of the groups on the forefront of the research is the American Parkinson Disease Association (ADPA), based out of Long Island, NY. The ADPA was founded in 1960, and now has chapters all over the nation. This year marks the non-profit’s 50th year, and they are planning a series of events to mark their anniversary, and to raise new funding and awareness to find a cure.

As we have mentioned, this disease hits home for us here at iCare For Elders in a personal way, because my wife’s father suffered and died from it. (My wife wrote about this in this post last week.) And one of the most essential things that a family can do is find support from other families who are experiencing the disease. This is what her parents finally decided to do, and it really paid off.

Why do I mention Parkinson’s support groups again? Because the ADPA, in addition to its 54 centers around the country, also has more than a thousand Parkinson’s support groups! This is a wonderful thing. Many of those suffering with this disease either directly or indirectly can really benefit from these groups.

Anyway, the ADPA has some other events scheduled for this year, and especially throughout April. One cool trend we’re seeing is the “Walkathon” event, which is really becoming popular. This weekend, there are Walkathon’s in Asheville (North Carolina), San Diego (California), Las Vegas (Nevada), and Virginia Beach (Virginia) alone. Next month, there will be Walkathons in places like Los Angeles, CA and Madison, WI.

You can read about these and other evens on the ADPA website.

For more information about Parkinson’s disease, check out this site. For more information on elderly activities relating to Parkinson’s, etc, visit our homepage.

Dialysis Decisions & Continued Care for Elders

I just read this article from the New york Times blog about elderly patients who are experiencing kidney failure. For the past several decades, these patients would be led directly to dialysis treatment, which has been completely covered by the federal government.

But today, as kidney failure seems to have skyrocketed since those days, the medical industry now has to make choices as to who will get treatment and who will not. The first problem is that we are broke as a nation. The second problem is that the medical community cannot properly handle all the people who need treatment.

So who gets the free dialysis treatment?

The article goes on to talk about how oftentimes, doctors are hesitant to recommend dialysis for patients who are experiencing a ton of health problems already. If you have a person whose kidneys are failing, and who is also in the late stages of cancer or heart disease, or perhaps Alzheimer’s, etc, then dialysis might be of no use whatsoever. Some doctors say that this treatment could end up causing a world of pain and problems for those seniors. And because there is a shortage of available treatment anyway….

Okay, you can see where this is going. It’s a real problem, but there is something about it that makes me uneasy. Are we talking about health care rationing at this point? Are we going to dictate who is allowed to get what kind of treatment?

Honestly, I don’t know the answers here, but the issue is troubling. The article talks about how almost no senior wants to forgo dialysis. Why? Because they know it can keep them alive. Their quality of life might not be helped at all. But they will at least be alive. And they want that option. But the doctors would counter and say that kidney treatment won’t help them if they are just going to die of something else that they are suffering from.

My question is this: will cardiologists suggest that they should not treat heart patients who are already suffering greatly of kidney issues? Or will they turn down surgery candidates because they think the patient might die anyway as a result of the patient’s cancer? And then will the oncologist refuse to offer chemotherapy to a cancer patient because that patient has heart trouble? Or because the patient is on dialysis?

Do you see the problem? Where does it start, and where does it end? I assume that we are only having the discussion about dialysis because we are talking about the direct appropriation of federal tax dollars?

Look, I am not getting political here. This is obviously a complicated issue, and I don’t pretend to understand it all. I am not a doctor or a politician. I’m a pastor. I happen to think that senior citizens are people who are every bit as valuable as any member of society, no matter what abilities, or disabilities they have. I believe they are made in the image of God, and they ought to be respected. That’s what we do at iCare for Elders. So this whole discussion is really disconcerting. I don’t want to give anyone an excuse to let sick seniors die.

I can only hope and pray that the ones who have to make these awful decisions make them carefully. And that they will put the needs and the desires of patients at the highest priority at all times.

Senior Scam Alert: Beware of the Phone

The Consumer Affairs website recently announced their list of the top 10 scams of 2010. We have talked a lot recently about the issue of scams, because protecting seniors from fraud is a good way to care for elders. Today, we want to highlight what might be the most vulnerable area that seniors have to deal with: the telephone.

There are many different schemes which begin with a simple phone call, and seniors are often quick to be taken in. Here are a couple of ways that it happens:

Calls for Charity
This is extremely popular following natural disasters. You’ve heard of the millions of dollars that were lost to scams after Hurricane Katrina? This is par for the course. Fraudsters quickly jump on the phone claiming to be representing some charity, asking for donations to help alleviate the pain wherever a tragedy has struck. They are usually very kind on the phone, and seniors citizens, who are typically far more generous with finances than the rest of the population, are quick to jump in and make a “donation.” They might give a credit card number, or send a check. The delivery method varies, but the idea is the same: talk sweetly and manipulate a senior’s good intentions to get into their pocket book.

Fake Calls for Collections
Here is the opposite phone strategy. Rather than play on a senior’s goodness, they play on their his or her frailness. Debt collectors are pushy, and these phony ones are even more so. They can claim all sorts of things: unpaid tickets or payday loans are overdue. They usually don’t even have to do any homework before hand. They can just claim that the retiree on the phone is delinquent on payments, and then they just pour on the pressure. The caller is usually harsh and threatening. “If you don’t pay right now…” yada yada yada. Many elders will give in and pay whatever is demanded, even if they never took out a payday loan, etc. Why? Because of the threats, and because of the tone.

Seniors can protect themselves on the phone by understanding the way scammers will play on their emotions. It is best to make financial transactions in person and not over the phone. And you can’t go wrong asking for a second opinion from a relative before you agree to do anything.

And most importantly, you should NEVER let someone bully you with meanness or kindness!

Helping Seniors Start a New Chapter

Our philosophy on elder care is simple: we don’t just think it’s enough to just care for elders’ health and housing needs. We think they ought to be treasured. They have inherent value. Always have. And the fact that they cannot “contribute” to society at the same level they used to is of no concern of ours whatsoever. A person’s value is not measured by their contributions. It is built it, and it cannot be taken away.

That is why this idea makes me so happy. Recently, the Marquis Home Health company began something called the “New Chapters Program.” It seems to be rooted in this value system. Seniors should not simply be taken care of, they should be listened to. They still have hopes and dreams. They have things they are passionate about. And far too often, they believe that all of these are out of reach. The New Chapter Program sets this notion straight.

This program is initiated by the employees of Marquis Home Health. Employees listen to their patients, trying to understand what makes them tick. And when they are able, they try to step in and help them “turn a page” in their life. To start a new chapter in their life.

For instance, there was one man who used to love skiing. It was a major part of of his growing up. But today, he lives in an Oregon assisted living community, and he has multiple sclerosis. So obvkously, skiing is out of the question, right?

Wrong.

The good folks at Marquis Home Health helped him take to the slopes again, even in his condition. Here is a picture:

This particular story can be found here at an Oregon news site.

Another woman wanted to turn a page in her life by getting into the digital age. Marquis bought her a laptop. She was overjoyed!

Don’t mistake this program for a version of the “Make a Wish” program. These residents aren’t dying. They simply want to begin a new phase of life. And the program validates their wishes. And by doing this, they show how much they value these seniors.

We think that’s awesome.

Scam Education: Another Way to Care for Elders

As we have mentioned, scam artists routinely target senior citizens who live alone. The scams are often intricate and cruel, praying on the best qualities of seniors: kindness, and trust. It is a problem that has probably been around for thousands of years in one way or another, but it is one that can be curbed. Seniors who live with families or who receive full time elder care services might be more protected, since they can always ask somebody for help. And even those who live alone can arm themselves. How? Through education.

Getting educated about senior scams

When any consumer feels he has been defrauded in business, he or she calls the Better Business Bureau, right? So who better to get the lowdown on senior scams than the Bureau themselves? Fortunately, the BBB is now offering their own brand of scam consumer education. One event, for instance is called the “Scam Jam.” The Scam Jam is a seminar that is dedicated to helping everyone (not just seniors and babyboomers, even though they are the primary target audience) about protecting themselves from scam artists around the country.

Currently, the Scam Jam is being making the rounds in the Pacific Northwest: Alaska, Washington, and Oregon. The seminars feature speakers from around the region who are consumer protection experts. There are booths with great brochures and educational materials that will help customers understand some basic principles for watching their money, and get up to date on some of the current ways scam artists are targeting their victims. Information is the best protection!

Since scams against the retired elderly community are so common, we are going to begin to feature more stories and articles on the subject. We are tired of seeing our loved ones lose out on so much! If you want even more information, check out the BBB website and Stop Senior Scams

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