New Dental Treatment Helps Fill Cavities and Insurance Gaps for Seniors
A new treatment for tooth decay is cheaper, quicker and less painful than getting a filling. Originally touted as a solution for kids, silver diamine fluoride is poised to become a game changer for treating cavities in older adults or those with disabilities that make oral care difficult.
Another COVID Mystery: Patients Survive Ventilator, But Linger in a Coma
Doctors are diagnosing a new stage of COVID-19 recovery: patients who take much longer than usual to regain consciousness after coming off a ventilator. And a growing number of doctors are worried some patients aren’t being given the time they need to wake up.
Federal Help Falters As Nursing Homes Run Short Of Protective Equipment
More than 3,000 nursing homes reported less than a week’s worth of supplies, and 653 said they had run out entirely at some point. Stopgap FEMA equipment has not reached many facilities, and packages that have arrived have fallen short of promises.
Bringing ‘Poogie’ Home: Hospice In The Time Of COVID-19
One family took up the challenge of taking their mother, who had serious medical problems and the coronavirus, from the hospital to die at home. But because of the risk of infection, home hospice can be a daunting experience.
COVID-Plagued California Nursing Homes Often Had Problems In Past
Nursing homes with COVID-19 infections tend to violate health rules more often and have more complaints and fines, records show. But infections also plague highly rated facilities — while sparing some low-ranked ones.
As COVID-19 Lurks, Families Are Locked Out Of Nursing Homes. Is It Safe Inside?
“The awful truth is families have no control over what’s happening,” one advocate says.
COVID-19 Crisis Threatens Beleaguered Assisted Living Industry
The Capital Senior Living chain of assisted living communities and others like it were struggling financially before coronavirus suddenly appeared. Now their situation is really getting tough.
Inside Meals On Wheels’ Struggle To Keep Older Americans Fed During A Pandemic
Its older volunteers are staying home and its clients, mostly age 75 and up, are more vulnerable than ever.
Should You Bring Mom Home From Assisted Living During The Pandemic?
Families are weighing the challenges of providing home care with the isolation or potential danger of leaving folks in senior housing or long-term care.
Funeral Homes, Families Ponder Deaths In The Age Of COVID-19
As the novel coronavirus marches across the country, it is upending how families and funeral homes honor the dead — and, ultimately, put them to rest.
Coronavirus Stress Test: Many 5-Star Nursing Homes Have Infection-Control Lapses
Since the beginning of 2017, inspectors have cited more nursing homes for failing to ensure that all workers follow federal prevention and control protocols than for any other type of violation, according to federal records.
Finding Connections And Comfort At The Local Cafe
For Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers, social and emotional isolation is a threat. But hundreds of “Memory Cafes” around the country offer them a chance to be with others who understand, and to receive social and cognitive stimulation in the process.
Patients Want A ‘Good Death’ At Home, But Hospice Care Can Badly Strain Families
Fewer Americans are dying in a hospital, under the close supervision of doctors and nurses. That trend has been boosted by an expanded Medicare benefit that helps people live out their final days at home in hospice care. But as home hospice grows, so has the burden on families left to provide much of the care.
Diagnosed With Dementia, She Documented Her Wishes. They Said No.
Across the U.S., people with early dementia are signing new advance directives to confirm their end-of-life wishes while they still have the ability to do so. But doctors say the documents may offer a false sense of security.
As His Wife’s Caregiver, A Doctor Discovers What’s Missing At Health Care’s Core
Harvard psychiatrist Arthur Kleinman shed his “veil of ignorance” during 11 years serving as the primary family caregiver for his wife, who had a rare form of early Alzheimer’s disease. In a new book, “The Soul of Care,” he offers suggestions for transforming health care ― just as caregiving transformed him.
‘I Feel Like I’m In Jail’: Hospital Alarms Torment Patients
As alarms proliferate, hospitals are working to sort through the cacophony that can overwhelm staff and cause them to overlook real signs of harm.
‘Fear Of Falling’: How Hospitals Do Even More Harm By Keeping Patients In Bed
In what experts call an “epidemic of immobility,” older hospital patients remain stuck in bed, their movements tracked by loud and ineffective bed alarms, losing muscle mass that’s key to their health and daily functioning.
Kathy Brandt, A Hospice Expert Who Invited The World Into Her Own Last Days With Cancer, Dies
Kathy Brandt and her wife, Kim Acquaviva, national experts in hospice and palliative care, shared intimate details of Brandt’s experience with terminal cancer before her death Sunday.
Creator Of Brain Exam That Trump Aced Demands New Training For Testers
Geriatricians are outraged over a new requirement to pay for training in order to administer the MoCA test, a widely used tool to screen for cognitive problems. The test’s creator said he was worried about accuracy and liability.
Dream Of Retiring Abroad? The Reality: Medicare Doesn’t Travel Well
More than 400,000 U.S. workers have retired in foreign countries and their ranks are rising. But Medicare doesn’t cover most expenses overseas, so these expats will need to confront the cost of finding alternative insurance.
