Early Alzheimer’s Gene Spells Tragedy For Patients, Opportunity For Science
Researchers are studying families from the U.S. and Mexico for clues to how Alzheimer’s develops in young patients, with the hope of finding treatments and even cures for the more common form of the disease.
Aging And Addicted: The Opioid Epidemic Affects Older Adults, Too
Using opioids to treat pain in seniors has been common, and that has led some to dependence disorders in later life.
When Pretend Play Is Real For Alzheimer’s Patients
Playing with dolls is good therapy for some elderly people with dementia. They may think the dolls are real babies, but does it matter?
Gaps In Care Persist During Transition From Hospital To Home
A partnership between San Diego County and four health systems seeks to bridge the longstanding gap between hospitals and social services.
‘America’s Other Drug Problem’: Copious Prescriptions For Hospitalized Elderly
Older people are often given a huge number of medications, and many of them are unnecessary or even harmful.
Hidden Stroke Victims: The Young
The number of hospitalizations for stroke is rising quickly among young people, even as it drops across the U.S. population as a whole.
Geriatric ERs Reduce Stress, Medical Risks For Elderly Patients
Overcrowding and chaos in traditional emergency rooms can harm seniors’ health. That’s prompting some hospitals to open ERs designed specifically for the elderly.
‘More At Peace’: Interpreters Key To Easing Patients’ Final Days
But more training is needed for such translators to do their jobs well, without miscommunications and misunderstandings.
Elderly Hospital Patients Arrive Sick, Often Leave Disabled
Some hospitals try to avoid sharp declines in the health of elderly patients by treating them in special units geared to their specific needs. This story is the first in a KHN series on the challenges hospitals face with an aging population.
Court Decision Leaves Undocumented Immigrants’ Health Care Options In Limbo
Deportation-relief programs would have meant access to subsidized health care.
Warning: Government Listing Of Clinical Trials Doesn’t Disclose Costs To Patients
Some clinics on NIH’s website charge people to participate in testing of unproven treatments — and it can come as a surprise to unsuspecting patients.
Los hispanos están menos preparados ante un desastre mayor en LA
Sólo el 38% de los hogares latinos tienen un plan ante un desastre, el porcentaje más bajo de cualquier grupo racial o étnico.
Hispanics Least Prepared For A Major Disaster In Los Angeles
Only 38 percent of Latino households have a disaster plan, the lowest of any ethnic or racial group.
Viejos moteles cobran nueva vida ayudando a las personas sin hogar a sanar
El uso de moteles deteriorados para cuidar y albergar temporalmente a personas sin hogar recientemente dadas de alta del hospital ayuda a estabilizarlos de manera económica, previniendo retornos innecesarios y costosos a las salas de emergencia y a los hospitales.
Doctors Get Creative To Distract Tech-Savvy Kids Before Surgery
Anxiety before surgery can be dangerous for kids. Medication can help calm them down. But an anesthesiologist in California has come up with a safer, cheaper and much more entertaining alternative.
Busting Myths About Mental Illness
Mental illness is common — and so are misperceptions about it. These too-often-believed myths can be harmful to you and your loved ones.
Old Motels Get New Life Helping Homeless Heal
Using run-down motels to care for and temporarily house homeless people recently discharged from the hospital helps stabilize them inexpensively, preventing unnecessary and costly returns to ERs and hospitals.
A pioneering program in southern California provides ongoing care and housing to homeless people who are “super-utilizers” of hospital emergency rooms. The effort is reducing ER visits and saving a lot of money.
Needle Exchanges Can Now Get Federal Funding
Proponents hail the change in policy but say it doesn’t go far enough because federal dollars cannot be used to buy syringes.
