Bed rails in nursing homes

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve been asked “why can’t we have bed rails for my [mom or dad]?”  I’m in the process of working through a module in my residency about physical and chemical restraints, but I saw this article in the NYT about them this morning while reading the Health section so I thought I would share it here for those who have parents who may be needing a stint in rehab or a nursing home.

Aging in place

I recently read a brief review of Unassisted Living – Ageless Homes for Later Life by Wid Chapman and Jeffrey Rosenfeld.  I requested it from our local library to read it out of curiosity, not sure what to expect.  While it was interesting, I was a bit disappointed.  The book has some beautiful (and pretty big) homes, and some great ideas.  But are they feasible for most Boomers, given the current economic situation?  Given what I’ve learned recently about Boomer finances, I don’t think that the homes specifically are.  I think this is a great book for the very wealthy, but not for the average person looking to staying in their home.  However as I said before, it does have some great ideas and concepts.  I would really like to see a book incorporating some of the ideas from this book into homes that average Boomers own to help people see what is possible.  Here is an interesting article about remodeling for aging in place, and also a website about Aging in Place (I’m not endorsing the site or any products).

Caregiving resource

It has been a long time since I have posted – I’m in the midst of a geriatric physical therapy residency after having sold our home and moved to the midwest (not sure of our plans afterward).  I received an email newsletter for the CareGiving Library recently and thought I would pass it along.

Elder-care SOS

There was an article in last weekend’s WSJ – “Sending Out an Elder-Care SOS” – which has some great resources for families and caregivers.  I’m filing this away mentally for patients’ families as well as for the future as our parents get older.  While it is about elder-care, some of the information and links can be for any family who is experiencing caregiving issues.  Links include:

• Lotsa Helping Hands
• eCare Diary
• CareFlash
• CareCentral
• CaringBridge
• CarePages

(cross-posted on PT for Boomers)

Different strokes

There is a great story in the Seattle Times today about a 59 year old man who made the decision to take responsibility for his health and future and got moving – by swimming. He lost over 100 pounds and dropped his BMI from 39.1 to 24.5 (the article did not report about any other changes like blood pressure or cholesterol, but I would expect they would drop as well). A few things I noticed about his choices: he decided it was up to him, he was willing to look out of place, he had someone that encouraged him and probably kept him accountable, and he stuck with it for greater than 3 months.

Photo credit: Swimming Pool Pattern #4, originally uploaded by Lee Coursey

Kill your TV?

Kill the TV before it kills you? A new study out of the UK reports greater than four hours/ day in front of your TV or monitor significantly increases your risk of death or hospitalization due to cardiac disease. Think exercise will counteract that? Think again, according to the researchers.

No need to kill the TV, but significant cuts in TV consumption or computer use is something we all could use (including me). Let’s get moving!

Photo credit: Our New TV, originally uploaded by Kevin Lawver

Free wellness exam

If you have Medicare, use this benefit!  It includes “the usual checks of vital signs, height, weight, establish a schedule for screenings for patients and seek to identify cognitive impairment, functional ability and depression.”  Keeping on top of all of this even when you feel healthy can point out changes you might need to address, including physical activity to prevent the loss of functional abilities and ultimately independence.