Latest Morning Briefing Stories
Some residents are being treated with “ultrahigh intensity” rehab in their last week of life, which has experts looking at who is benefiting from that decision. Meanwhile, CMS aims to increase its enforcement actions of nursing home staff in cases of elder abuse. Nursing home and elder care news comes out of Kansas and Florida, as well.
Media outlets report on news from California, North Carolina, Colorado, Michigan, Oregon, Kentucky, Florida, Maryland, Arizona, New Hampshire, Texas and Minnesota.
While doing your job, your brain faces daily memory, processing and multi-tasking challenges that keep its cognitive functions sharp. Meanwhile, being diagnosed with dementia does not mean patients can’t have an active life.
What You Need To Know About The Upcoming Medicare Open Enrollment Season
Open enrollment for Medicare and prescription drug plans will begin Oct. 15 for coverage in 2019 and close Dec. 7. One change this year is that seniors can try a Medicare Advantage plan for up to three months and if they don’t like it, they can switch to another Advantage plan or enroll in traditional Medicare.
“I think it’s a breakthrough,” Clifford Rosen, an endocrinologist and physician, said of the study. While researchers have known that older women with osteoporosis benefit from drugs called bisphosphonates, this study supports their value for younger women with less brittle bones. Some, however, remain cautious. In other news on aging, two big studies focus on Alzheimer’s prevention.
Nutrition Studies Plagued By ‘Credibility Problem,’ Critics Say
A Cornell University food researcher’s discredited work is symptomatic of a pervasive problem with food and health studies, according to a group of scientists, who say part of the problem stems from the need to publish often. In other public health news, there are reports on flu, twins, pregnancy, nursing homes, living donors, teen girls, anxiety, vaping and more.
Aspirin Study ‘Slays Beautiful Theory’ About Benefits Of Daily Dose For Healthy Adults
Researchers were expecting it to prevent heart attacks and strokes in patients, but taking a daily dose may actually cause more harm than good.
Few Regulations Exist To Protect Elderly And Ill From Potentially Predatory Personal Care Aides
Unlike nurses — or even hairdressers or manicurists — home aides don’t need a state license in Massachusetts, which can leave those in need vulnerable to crime.
Experts give tips on what aging and infirm residents who decide to stay in their homes can do to prepare for worst-case scenarios. Residents on the coast of the Carolinas are facing hurricane winds and rain as Florence makes landfall.
Nursing Home Residents Were Abandoned By Staff Members As Fires Closed In, California Agency Claims
None of the residents died or were injured in the fire, but the state’s Department of Social Services accused the staff of being unprepared and leaving before everyone was taken to safety. Nursing homes news comes out of North Carolina, Colorado, Wisconsin, New Hampshire and Tennessee, as well.
Can Engineered Bacteria Help Cure Patients From The Inside Out?
Synthetic biologists reached a milestone with an experiment to use bacteria to help patients with a condition that causes them to have to avoid dietary protein in foods such as meat and cheese. The concoction that the volunteers drank could become the first synthetic biology-based medical treatment to gain approval by the FDA. In other public health news: vaping, maternal mortality, CRISPR, pollution, stretching, vitamins, chronic diseases and more.
As suicide rates rise among the elderly, some health care providers think that even though it’s difficult to do so, it’s valid to discuss the topic and help those who think there are fates worse than death. In other news on aging: muscle loss and loss of independence, bereavement time for long-term care workers, malnutrition, dementia, and more.
Beyond Respiratory Diseases: Air Pollution Can Also Negatively Affect Language, Math Skills
The cognitive impact was most pronounced among older men, a troubling sign for how it relates to Alzheimer’s and dementia. Meanwhile, the Pacific Northwest is being smothered by smog from wildfires in both California and British Columbia.
Media outlets report on news from Illinois, Minnesota, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Missouri, Texas, Colorado, Georgia, Florida, Connecticut, Wisconsin, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.
Dutch Move Away From Medical Approach To Alzheimer’s And More Toward Reducing Stress
Experts in the Netherlands place emphasis on reducing stress, bringing together patients with dementia, and accessing childhood memories and emotions, rather than on drug treatment. Meanwhile, researchers in the U.S. are studying a gene mutation that could unlock some of the mysteries surrounding Alzheimer’s.
Justice Department Asks Court To Order Anthem Testimony In Medicare Billing Case
The request is part of an investigation into Medicare Advantage risk-adjustment payments. Also in the news, a study finds that Medicare could save $925 million if generic drugs were substituted for 29 expensive combination prescriptions.
Dr. Michael Holick played a crucial role in spurring America’s Vitamin D craze while receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars from the industry, a KHN investigation finds. Other public health stories in the news: lead poisoning on Army bases, health benefits of vacation, changing blood pressure guidelines and gut health.
GreatCall also helps seniors obtain concierge-type and emergency services. Best Buy has already dipped a toe into the health care field with its health-and-wellness products.
Media outlets report on news from Illinois, D.C., Ohio, California, Tennessee, Maryland, New Jersey, Arizona, Louisiana, Georgia, New Hampshire, Minnesota and North Dakota.
There’s Been Few Breakthroughs In Alzheimer’s Drugs In Decades. Where’s The Demand For Progress?
In other diseases, loud and outraged patient advocates have played a crucial role in getting experimental treatments and drugs to trial. When it comes to Alzheimer’s, though, experts say there isn’t that energy to push for a cure. In other public health news: cancer and elephants, brain injuries, female doctors, race, Ebola and tainted blood pressure meds.
