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Victorian Home Care Newsletter
April 2009
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Got Milk? Got Brains.
Oxford
researchers say that milk is one of the best sources of vitamin B12--a
vitamin that may help protect against the brain shrinkage linked to
dementia. In a new study, they found that elderly patients who had a
vitamin B12 deficiency had twice as much brain shrinkage as patients
with higher levels.
The
study's authors are conducting clinical trials to see if drinking milk
can protect against memory loss, but in the meantime they say that
drinking two glasses per day can bring vitamin B12 levels into a normal
range.
Find out more here.
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Depressed Older Adults Have Higher Health Care Costs
A
recent NIMH-funded analysis indicates that among Medicare participants
with diabetes or congestive heart failure, those who also suffer from
depression have significantly higher health care costs than their
counterparts who do not have co-existing depression. The majority of
participants had diabetes. Many had congestive heart failure. About 20
percent had both. Participants with diagnosed depression spent
significantly more money in nearly every health care cost category,
including home health care, skilled nursing facility costs, outpatient
care, inpatient care, physician charges, and medical equipment.
Read the full article here.
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Greetings!
The phrase "April showers bring May flowers" reassures us that, even
with a dark sky looming, goodness lies before us. As care providers,
this is something our team at Victorian Home Care believes firsthand. For
even as a dark cloud of poor health or age may loom over, attentive,
gentle and sensitive caregiving may follow. This April, we at Victorian Home Care encourage our readers to think of the "May flowers" coming
ahead in all of our lives. Whatever hardships we might be feeling
individually, there is sure to be a sense of joy around the next corner.
Below
you'll find the most recent and relevant elder care, aging and home
care related news. We strive to educate our friends and contacts (and
that means you!) on all the information that is essential to know. We
hope you will receive this newsletter in the spirit of community in
which it is sent.
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Health Care Spending: Ouch!
 2009
marks the largest one-year increase in total health care spending since
CMS began tracking health care spending in 1960. That amount is 17.6%
of the gross domestic product, a full percentage point higher than
2008. Overall U.S. health care spending will reach $2.5 trillion in
2009, a 5.5% increase from 2008, when health care spending increased by
6.1%, according to a CMS report in the journal Health Affairs.
The
report also estimates growth rates for overall health spending in 2008
of 7.2% for hospitals, 6.2% for physician and clinical services, 9.1%
for home health care, and 4.6% for nursing homes.
Listen to more about increased health care spending here.
An abstract is available here, along with a link to the full study which is available for purchase.
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Take Your Meds, Maude...
 Now
a Web-based home medication management system provides reminders to
seniors who live independently to take their medications. This system
was designed and developed by a nurse who came up with the idea while
working as a nurse manager on a rehabilitation floor at a life care
center.
The negative potential of "poly-pharmacy," the use of
multiple medications by a patient, and improper drug interaction all
can lead to hospitalization, which further taxes an overburdened health
care system. Taking medications properly as part of a daily routine is
one way to keep seniors in their homes longer and keep them out of the
hospital and nursing homes.
The Med-Assist plan includes as many
as six reminders in a day, verification that seniors took their pills,
follow-up if there's no answer, compliance tracking, a current
medication list for doctors' appointments, the cell phone number of a
nurse on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and an option for
asking health-related questions with an automatic call to the doctor's
office. The calls can also remind seniors to check their blood sugar
levels.
Anyone can sign up for this national service here, which includes a link to a free trial.
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Turn Off the TV and Get a Hobby
 The
findings of a new study to be presented at the American Academy of
Neurology's 61st Annual Meeting in Seattle in April show that crafts
and other activities which exercise the brain, including reading novels
and computer games, can all have a protective effect on the mind and
help prevent memory loss. By contrast, the research also found that
watching television for hours on end significantly increased the chance
of suffering from problems.
Previous studies have shown that
those with mentally demanding jobs and high levels of education were
less likely to suffer the memory problems associated with the
condition. Researchers found that those with stimulating occupations
were less at risk, even when they had physical damage to their brain
cells.
Read more here.
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About Victorian Home Care:
For nearly 30 years Victorian Home
Care has been providing superior home care and geriatric care management
services to seniors or people with physical and/or mental disabilities in Monterey,
Santa Cruz, and San
Benito Counties. Care, compassion, integrity, and exceptional customer service are Victorian's
guiding principles, employing only carefully selected caregivers who are
the most dedicated and qualified and strive to ensure the same kind of care
family members would provide. Victorian Home Care services include
assistance with activities of daily living, personal care, transportation,
respite care and medication management. For
more information visit www.victorianhomecare.com
or call (831) 655-1935 in Monterey
or (831) 662-3093 in Aptos.
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