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The Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program will hold the following peer support meetings in June. This month’s topic is “Firearms and Dementia.” July 7, Caregiver support meeting at Sterling Senior Center, 1 p.m. July 14, Caregiver support meeting at Soldotna Senior Center, 1 p.m. July 21, Caregiver support meeting at Kenai Senior Center, 1 p.m. July 28, Caregiver support meeting at Soldotna Senior Center, 1 p.m. Please join and share your experiences as a caregiver, or support someone who is a caregiver. If you are helping a famil...
From rocks to socks and toxic foods to scissors, pets manage to get into anything and everything. But what happens when you rush your pet to the emergency room only to find out that Buster's surgery to remove all those socks is going to cost upwards of $2,000? Can this be real? For some pet owners, there is no question as to whether the pet is an animal or a family member, but for others that want some savings set aside for a rainy day, pet insurance might be the answer. How it works On...
In my last column, I’m going to invite you to take a pledge. The goal for this year of columns was to share that it’s harder than it looks to take medicine correctly (75 percent of Americans don’t), and to give you tips and tools to avoid common pitfalls. Why? So you can safeguard your health. Not taking medicine as directed leads to more than one in three medicine-related hospitalizations and nearly 125,000 deaths each year. Now, we all know that no matter how much water you put in front of a h...
There is nothing as sweet as a day in June. I’m not so sure about the rest of the country, but that really holds true for Alaska. When the leaves start bursting out of their pods, and the sun shines until midnight, I know I picked the right state to live in. Medigap policies in Alaska I have recently been asked about additional insurance if one has Medicare. If you have Medicare, both parts A and part B, you can also buy a supplemental insurance policy, sometimes called Medigap (a policy that f...
People with Medicare have the right to be treated with respect. This means you are not discriminated against for any reason and your health information is kept private. All hospitals in Alaska post a Patient Bill of Rights. These meet guidelines from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). CMS contracts with a national service to make sure your concerns and complaints are acted on quickly. These national services are called quality improvement organizations. You may be asked to sign a paper or electronic pad that you know you have...
Do you have a health savings account (HSA) at work? You may have enjoyed the comfort of an HSA account during your work life, knowing the money for your health needs would be there. Did you know that once you turn 65 and begin receiving Medicare, you can no longer make contributions to your health savings account? But you can still take withdrawals tax-free, to pay for many of your medical expenses. Among other things, you can: • Use your HSA money to reimburse yourself for the money that Social Security withholds from your benefits for M...
Living to celebrate your 100th birthday It is believed that more and more people will be living to the age of 100 and so scientists have been studying what may be the key to successful aging and longevity. Researchers at Sahlgrenska Academy in Sweden for the past 50 years have followed the health of 855 Gothenburg men born in 1913. The study now is being wrapped up and it turns out that 10 of the individuals lived to 100. The volunteers in this study were surveyed at the age of 54, 60, 65, 75,...
The Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program will hold the following peer support meetings in June. This month’s topic is Safety in Your Home’s Surroundings. June 2, Caregiver support meeting at Sterling Senior Center, 1 p.m. June 9, Caregiver support meeting at Soldotna Senior Center, 1 p.m. June 11, Caregiver support meeting at Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program in the Blazy Mall, Soldotna, 5 p.m. June 16, Caregiver support meeting at Kenai Senior Center, 1 p.m. June 25, Caregiver support meeting at Forget-Me-Not Adu...
I was reading an article by Dr. Martin and he was talking about natural dementia prevention. He said that “dementia does not have to come with the territory as you get older.” At a recent Alzheimer’s Association International Conference held in Honolulu, a study was presented and the conclusion was that there are three things that should be a big part of your life to stave off the dementia demon: • vitamin D • tea • exercise Let’s start with exercise. Researchers tracked 1,200 elderly people for 20 years as part of a study on cardiovascula...
In the past few years, more than one older Alaskan has been in the news for a driving accident while medicated — with tragic or near-tragic consequences. An 82-year-old man was driving his 6-year-old grandson to school when he went through a red light, swerved onto a curb and almost hit a patrol car, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported. He faced charges of endangering the welfare of a child, reckless driving, and driving under the influence of several drugs, including Oxycodone and muscle r...
Senior centers around Alaska are beginning to offer the Tai Chi for Health Institute’s Tai Chi for Arthritis classes just in time for May’s Arthritis Awareness Month. Created by Dr. Paul Lam, the Tai Chi for Health Institute’s 12 week program provides knowledge and exercises that are perfect for home, work or anyplace you need relief from arthritis-related pain. “We’re very excited,” says Ali Young, certified Tai Chi for Arthritis instructor at Wasilla Senior Center. “We just got certified last month.” Arthritis is the number one cause of di...
Can eating eggs help prevent type-2 diabetes? Researchers in Finland are reporting that eating eggs may benefit blood sugar metabolism. In the past, egg consumption has either been associated with an elevated risk of diabetes or no association has been found. The findings from this new study suggest that some compound or combination of compounds in eggs may help combat diabetes through an anti-inflammatory effect. The researchers looked at the dietary habits of 2,332 men between the ages of...
An interactive workshop exploring the challenges faced by organizations and facilities in providing dementia care will be offered in King Cove and Wrangell this month. • May 12, King Cove Clinic conference room, 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Contact: Kimberly Jung, 907-561-3313 or kjung@alzalaska.orgkjung@alzalaska.org. Online registration deadline: May 8 • May 21, Wrangell, at the Fire Dept. Training Hall, 9 a.m. to 1:15 p.m., or 4 to 8:15 p.m. Contact: Amber Smith, 907-586-6044 or asmith@alzalaska.orgasmith@alzalaska.org The workshops are designed for...
The Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program will hold the following peer support meetings in May. This month’s theme is “Celebrate Your Age (It’s Older Americans Month”). May 5, Caregiver support meeting at Sterling Senior Center, 1 p.m. May 12, Caregiver support meeting at Soldotna Senior Center, 1 p.m. May 14, Caregiver support meeting at Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program in the Blazy Mall, 5 p.m. May 19, Caregiver support meeting at Kenai Senior Center, 1 p.m. May 19, Caregiver support meeting at Anchor Point Senior...
The Medicare Minute Program is making its debut in Alaska. Launched in the summer of 2014 by the Medicare Information Office, it is quickly becoming a popular tool for seniors to educate their peers about their Medicare benefits and to protect themselves from Medicare Fraud. The brainchild of the Medicare Rights Center, Medicare Minutes was created and launched in New York in 2001. Medicare Minutes are short, engaging presentations on timely Medicare topics that are presented at local sites on a monthly basis. Volunteers are provided with...
Alaska Health Fairs, Inc. concludes its spring series of health fairs this month, featuring free health screenings and education, low cost blood tests and more. The tests can help you learn about your health and detect potential problems early, when treatment or changes in personal habits can be most effective. The test results give you and your health care provider important information about your physical condition and vital organ functions. A complete and comprehensive chemistry/hematology test is available for only $45 and panels 27...
We’ve talked before about how our bodies process medications, alcohol and other substances differently as we age. So … what do we need to do with this information? Here are a few strategies to manage this change: Conduct a review Once a year, ask your provider to review your medicines and ask if she or he recommends any changes. The review should: • cover whether you’d benefit from a change in dosage for drugs you’ve been taking for a while, and • include a check to see if any medications...
While researchers continue to make progress in understanding the disease process of rosacea, lack of public awareness of the disorder remains a stumbling block to its control. The National Rosacea Society (NRS) has designated April as Rosacea Awareness Month to educate the public on the warning signs of this chronic and widespread facial condition, now estimated to affect more than 16 million Americans. In a recent NRS survey of 1,459 rosacea patients, 45 percent said they had never hear of rosacea prior to their diagnosis, and 95 percent said...
What retirement ‘security’? The United States ranked 19th in a recent international assessment of retirement security worldwide. This places the U.S. just behind France and just ahead of Slovenia in the rankings, while Switzerland, Norway and Australia took the top three positions. Nations were ranked in four categories: finances in retirement, health, quality of life and well-being. The United States’ comparatively low level of retirement benefits, in addition to a lack of workplace retir...
Just in time for spring celebration menus, it looks like many of us can drop the worry about eating a few eggs – yolks and all. Although the new dietary guidelines won’t be published until much later in the year, the Scientific Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Committee suggests that the advice for heart healthy diets may shift from decreasing dietary cholesterol to decreasing saturated fat, sugar and refined carbohydrates. This isn’t really very new thinking – it is the painful, slow process of discovering that accepted scienti...
Alaska Health Fairs, Inc. continues its spring series of health fairs this month, featuring free health screenings and education, low cost blood tests and more. The tests can help you learn about your health and detect potential problems early, when treatment or changes in personal habits can be most effective. The test results give you and your health care provider important information about your physical condition and vital organ functions. Unless another phone number is listed, for more information on the events below, call (907) 278-0234...
The Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program will hold the following peer support meetings in April. This month’s theme is senior drivers and distracted driving. April 7, Caregiver support meeting at Sterling Senior Center, 1 p.m. April 14, Caregiver support meeting at Soldotna Senior Center, 1 p.m. April 16, Caregiver support meeting at Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program in the Blazy Mall, 5 p.m. April 21, Caregiver support meeting at Kenai Senior Center, 1 p.m. April 21, Caregiver support meeting at Anchor Point S...
News worth toasting Drinking red wine may help lower your risk for dementia, according to researchers at Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine. However, they warn that moderation is the key. The researchers just published a study that showed a compound found in common foods such as red grapes and peanuts may help prevent age-related decline in memory. Resveratrol is an antioxidant that is found in the skin of red grapes, as well as in red wine, peanuts and some berries. It has...
The National Sleep Foundation kicks off Sleep Awareness Week with the nationwide Sleep in America Poll and ends on Daylight Savings Time each year in early March. It's no coincidence that Sleep Awareness Week coincides with Daylight Savings Time, the annual spring forward that comes with a loss of an hour of sleep. The National Sleep Foundation chose to host the event in early March due to the increase in sleep deprived related accidents, says Kevin Asp, founder of Alaska Sleep Clinic. In 2003,...
Alaska Health Fairs, Inc. continues its spring series of health fairs this month, featuring free health screenings and education, low cost blood tests and more. The test results give you and your health care provider important information about your physical condition and vital organ functions. A complete and comprehensive chemistry/hematology test is available for only $45 and panels 27 different tests for conditions ranging from diabetes, kidney and liver function, thyroid, prostate, bone metabolism and more. There are also tests to check...
