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With more budget cuts from the state forcing the loss of numerous staff positions, the state’s Pioneer Homes assisted living facilities have begun to further limit the number of residents the homes are able to receive. Vickie Wilson, director of the Alaska Pioneer Homes, believes that reducing the number of new residents will allow the remaining staff to give the quality and level of care the homes are known for. “We won’t risk safety or quality by admitting too many people, and I’ve told many people that,” said Wilson. “Our level of care is...
In Alaska, nearly one in four adults has experienced a disability. People with disabilities experience more health disparities than people without disabilities, and these disparities are similar to those reported by other minority groups. This is particularly true for the 18,000 Alaskans with intellectual disabilities. This crisis becomes more critical as Alaskans with intellectual disabilities begin experiencing the health-related challenges of an aging population. Research has shown that individuals with intellectual disabilities are living l...
Editor’s note: This press release was received Sept. 14, 2016. The need for family caregivers in the U.S. is rapidly increasing, yet demographic shifts are causing the pool of potential family caregivers to decrease, according to “Families Caring for an Aging America,” a new report from The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Currently, nearly 18 million people in this country provide some form of care for loved ones age 65 or older. The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) — the nation’s largest interdisc...
Older Persons Action Group, Inc., earned honors for its monthly, statewide publication “Senior Voice” in the 25th annual National Mature Media Awards Program. The program, presented by the Mature Market Resource Center, a national clearinghouse for the senior market, recognizes the nation’s finest marketing, communications, educational materials and programs designed and produced for older adults. Senior Voice received a Merit award in the Local/State media division, Newsletter/Newspaper category. And Senior Voice writer Mackenzie Stewa...
Feeling squeezed by adult kids living with you? Or, maybe you’re okay with it. One thing is certain, you’re not the only ones in your situation. Living with Mom and Dad is now the most common living arrangement for young adults, according to the not-for-profit Pew Research Center. Remember when you were in high school and couldn’t wait to get out on your own? Maybe you planned to go to college and live in a dorm or get some roommates and have your own space? These days, the number of young people (age 18 to 34) who live with their paren...
Soap makers now have to get their junk out because plain soap works just as well and without risk. Manufacturers were ordered by the FDA to pull out 19 different chemicals from their body wash, hand soap, dish soap and other soaps. Hallelujah, these chemicals are pesticides which go down the drain and into our ecosystem. We kind of got all bug-phobic when soap makers started adding antibacterials like triclosan and fluorosan into soap. Fluorosan has a fluorinated and brominated backbone, and fluorine and bromine compounds are known to...
Alaska Health Fair, Inc., continues their fall series of health fairs around the state this month, featuring free health screenings and education, low cost blood tests and more. These tests can help you learn about your health and detect potential problems early, when treatment or changes in personal habits can be most effective. A complete and comprehensive chemistry/hematology test is available for only $45; with 27 different panels for conditions ranging from diabetes, kidney and liver function, to anemia and tissue health, thyroid,...
Suns, skies, clouds and flowers of June together cannot rival for one hour, October’s bright blue Alaska weather. – H H Jackson. If you think your prescribed meds are getting more expensive each time you get another order in, you are absolutely right. Just a couple of questions to my friends: Wouldn’t the world be a far better place if there were no insurance companies? Why do the people on Medicare Part D have to buy into an insurance company? When I saw my doctor last week, he told me his e...
The open enrollment period for 2017 Medicare prescription drug plans is Oct. 15-Dec. 7. Plans change and people’s needs change, so it’s a good idea to review your options every year. A new plan may just save you money. You can read about them before Oct. 15 to be ready. To get more information, visit www.medicare.gov/part-d and click the button at left “Find health and drug plans”, or go to www.medicare.alaska.gov. As always, the staff at Alaska’s Medicare Information Office and their statewide volunteer network are primed to help you. June...
The Medicare Information Office has new materials in other languages. Contact office staff if you’d like rack card size brochures in English, Tagalog or Korean, or you can print out a flier on Extra Help, a prescription financial assistance program, off the office’s website. From medicare.alaska.gov, go to the ‘Publications & other resources’ link on the left side of the page, http://dhss.alaska.gov/dsds/Pages/medicare/medipublications.aspx....
Virtually reality may help prevent falls Researchers have found that combining virtual reality and treadmill training may be an ideal way to help prevent falls in older adults. The researchers report in the journal The Lancet that this type of intervention, which combines the physical and cognitive aspects of walking, could potentially be used in gyms, rehabilitation centers or nursing homes to improve safe walking and prevent falls in older adults. They said it may also help adults with...
You have decided you need a change of scenery and want to explore our wonderful country. You pull out the Rand McNally (I am aware I have just dated myself) and pick a section of the country on your bucket list. Then, reality strikes. You have VA medical appointments, meds about to run out and a lab test scheduled. Your next logical step would be to wait until all of those little situations are sorted before leaving. I have a news flash: There will always be some little appointment, event or...
The Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program will hold the following peer support meetings in October. This month’s focus is “Managing Stress,” with a viewing of “Humor Your Stress,” presented by Loretta Roche, faculty member of Mind/Body Medical Institute in Boston,” and discussion of how to reduce stress during the holidays. Oct. 4, Caregiver support meeting at Sterling Senior Center, 1 p.m. Oct. 11, Caregiver support meeting at Soldotna Senior Center, 1 p.m. Oct. 18, Alaska Day holiday: Caregiver support meeting at Kenai Senior Cent...
"I never expected this." That's how Laurel Downing Bill summarizes the turn her life took many years ago when she got a phone call from her sister, Meredith. "I've got some stuff here," her sister told her. "It's papers, clippings, photos from our aunt, Phyllis. You can come over and see what's here. If you want it, great. If not, we can pitch it." Their aunt, Phyllis Downing Carlson, a lifelong Alaskan, had died in 1993 at the age of 84. She'd been a school teacher and research librarian at...
Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) has received a large federal grant to revitalize the languages of the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian in four Southeast Alaska communities. The $927,000 award from the Administration for Native Americans (ANA) will fund four mentor-apprentice teams of Lingít (Tlingit), Xaad Kíl (Haida) and Sm'algyax (Tsimshian) speakers and students in Metlakatla, Hydaburg, Sitka and Juneau to study the languages over three years. The program, "Haa Shuká: Voices of Our An...
Bring your sensitive personal and financial documents for secure shredding; turn in old, no-longer-used cell phones; learn about ways to improve your financial well-being, all for free at the annual “Secure Your ID Day and Financial Fitness Fair,” Oct. 8 at the Sears Mall in Anchorage. The event is presented by the Better Business Bureau along with sponsor partners Money Management International, GCI, NeighborWorks Home Ownership Center, Shred Alaska, Wells Fargo, KFQD, Anchorage Public Library and United Way. In the Sears Mall parking lot...
When John Green Brady, governor of the District of Alaska, was asked to create an exhibit to publicize the Great Land for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis in 1904, he decided to showcase one of Southeast Alaska's most recognizable features: totem poles. Brady thought a display of poles carved by Alaska's Native people would draw crowds to the exhibit where they then could learn about the real Alaska – not an icebox, but a land that offered much for tourism, settlement and developme...
There was a time when Burt Ward would leap dramatically across our TV screens in green shorts, beige tights and a gold cape masquerading weekly as 'Robin, the Boy Wonder,' one-half of the crime fighting Dynamic Duo in the popular television show "Batman," which first aired 50 years ago this year. Today, you'll find Burt more comfortable at home in jeans, rescuing dogs, although he hasn't abandoned the citizens of Gotham City entirely. "I was the Caped Crusader, but now I'm the Canine Crusader,"...
All right, I gripe about the legislature as much as the next guy. On the other hand, I am also happy to give credit where credit is due. And this last session, the legislature passed a bill which is really helpful. Actually it passed two bills I like. The smaller one involves revisions to the statutory form power of attorney. It’s nothing dramatic, but there were several oddities in the old format which grated on me. But now, no more will people have to figure out, from the instructions, that i...
Q. I have collected photos on my computer for years, but they are not organized. Now I have a mess on my hands. I would like to sort them out and keep them safe. Where do I start? A. We are spoiled by too much choice when it comes to photo management tools. But there is a way to cut through the noise: think long term. I have used image catalogs for years. Most of them have eventually been discontinued. Today, there are only two services I expect will still be around in 10 years, Apple iCloud Photo Library and Google Photos. Most organizing...
This year the National Park Service celebrates its 100th birthday. Help them celebrate with a visit to one of their parks and/or monuments. There is bound to be one near your home. America owes a big thank you to John Muir, whose writings convinced the U. S. government to protect Yosemite, Sequoia, Grand Canyon and Mt. Rainier as national parks. Think what would have happened if they were not protected or fell into the hands of private promoters. Another thank you goes to Theodore Roosevelt...
Staff from Alaska’s Social Security office will be available for questions via videoconferencing at the following locations and times: Kodiak Job Center, on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month (Oct. 11 and 25), 9 a.m. to noon. Kenai Senior Center, on the first and third Wednesday of each month (Oct. 5 and 19), 9 a.m. to noon. Ketchikan Job Center, every Thursday (Oct. 6, 13, 20, 27), noon to 3 p.m. Social Security provides toll-free telephone service to all of Alaska. Residents in Alaska’s southeast communities can call the Juneau Soc...
With the nation sharply focusing on the Nov. 8 presidential election, the choice between Republican candidate Donald J. Trump and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton has been all about personalities, not about policy differences. Facts have taken a back seat to flamboyance. To many, the election choice seems to be between an ethically-challenged, calculating lawyer/politician versus a drunk-uncle-style egomaniac. No surprise then, that both Trump and Clinton have unfavorable ratings above 50 percent in most polls, leaving many voters to hold...
