The Older Americans Act and Me After they both retired, my parents volunteered with Meals on Wheels, which delivers food to home-bound elders. Programs like Meals on Wheels have been supported through legislation like the Older Americans Act (OAA), a historic bill that was passed in 1965 to help all of us remain independent in our homes and communities as we age, but which has been overdue for reauthorization (the process by which Congress makes changes to laws over time) since 2011. Independence is something my friends and I think about a lot now that we are in our 50s and 60s, with many of us caring for our own parents, too. We talk about how we can remain independent in our homes for as long as possible—and
Tag: health in aging
National Nurses Week 2015: Celebrating Profiles of Geriatrics in Nursing—Terry Fulmer
Terry Fulmer, PhD, RN, FAAN, AGSF President, The John A. Hartford Foundation University Distinguished Professor and Dean Bouve College of Health Sciences, Northeastern University The field of geriatrics relies on so many different healthcare professionals to provide expert, high-quality, patient-centered care for older adults. In honor of National Nurses Week 2015 (May 6-12), we’re celebrating the commitment of nurses committed to elder care by helping them share their stories in their own words. Here’s what Terry Fulmer—the new president of The John A. Hartford Foundation and a professor of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Northeastern University—had to say about her career as a gerontological nurse practitioner. It was her first experience as a nurse that convinced Terry Fulmer the best part of nursing was caring
National Nurses Week 2015: Celebrating Profiles of Geriatrics in Nursing—Phyllis J. Atkinson
Phyllis J. Atkinson, RN, MS, GNP-BC, WCC Gerontological Nurse Practitioner The field of geriatrics relies on so many different healthcare professionals to provide expert, high-quality, patient-centered care for older adults. In honor of National Nurses Week 2015 (May 6-12), we’re celebrating the commitment of nurses committed to elder care by helping them share their stories in their own words. Here’s what Phyllis J. Atkinson had to say about her career as a gerontological nurse practitioner. Phyllis Atkinson remembers, vividly, the day she started rethinking her career in nursing. A critical care nurse, Atkinson was working at a small hospital in Ohio at the time. One morning, an elderly man was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit. He was very frail and gravely ill. Though it
For National Nurses Week 2015, Let’s Salute Nurses Caring for Older Adults
Until a wealthy young woman named Florence Nightingale entered the profession in the mid-1800s, nursing got very little attention—very few prominent women would even consider nursing as an appropriate career choice (and male nurses were even rarer). Thanks to Nightingale’s pioneering and courageous efforts, especially during the Crimean War (she revolutionized the care of soldiers by instituting hygienic practices), we began to recognize nurses for the essential, invaluable roles they play in health and care for all. In honor of Nurse Nightingale, we first celebrated National Nurses Week in 1954, on the 100th anniversary of Nightingale’s Crimean Mission, though it took a presidential proclamation nearly 25 years later to recognize the week officially. HealthinAging.com is particularly delighted this week to salute the hardworking, dedicated nurses who specialize
Culturally Sensitive Care Celebrates Diversity in All its Forms
Manuel A. Eskildsen, MD, MPH, CMD, AGSF Associate Chief of Geriatrics for Education Director, Emory Geriatric Medicine Fellowship Program Associate Professor of Medicine Division of General Medicine and Geriatrics Emory University School of Medicine Taking care of older adults is extraordinarily rewarding to me—I’m always moved by the fascinating life stories and challenges my patients share. In particular, I find it especially fulfilling to help simplify an older adult’s care when he or she is coping with complex problems. That’s an especially satisfying part of my job. But sometimes, when you’re dealing with older adults who have unique health needs—like members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) community—you run into different kinds of issues that aren’t just about simplifying medical solutions. For example, I especially
Supporting who we are, what we need, and how we age as individuals — Ethnogeriatrics & Minority Health Month
Sharon A. Brangman, MD Professor of Medicine Division Chief, Geriatrics SUNY Upstate Medical University VJ Periyakoil, MD Director, Stanford Successful Aging Program Clinical Associate Professor Stanford University School of Medicine While each person is unique and wonderful, no two bodies are the same—and no two people will age in identical ways. That’s one of the joys, and also one of the challenges, in caring for older adults. Geriatrics, the healthcare field specialized in caring for older people, has given us great knowledge about the health issues commonly seen in older adults and guides how to provide high-quality care to aging Americans. Even so, we also know that there will be twists, turns, and uncharted destinations along every person’s journey toward healthy aging. However, if older adults
How much sleep do older adults need?
Belinda Setters, MD, MS, AGSF, FACP Director, Mobile ACE & Transitional Care Programs Associate Clinical Professor Geriatric Medicine & Palliative Care Robley Rex VA Medical Center When most of us talk about sleep needs, we usually think about children. We know children need a certain amount of sleep to stay active and healthy and to grow into adulthood. Children have a bedtime and parents (and grandparents!) work hard to ensure they are in bed on time and get the sleep they need every night. But most of us don’t think about how much sleep we get or need as we grow older. And yet, sleep is just as critical to our health as we age. As we age, our brains may tell us to go to