Helen Mesoloras, Janna Dutton,

Kathryn Casey, Hanny Pei-Rodriguez

 Read about the 4 C's of Elder Law 

 

When you think of Parkinson's, you think of a tremor, right? This month we would like to call attention to some of the lesser known facts about this disease.

Did you know that Parkinson's disease...

• Is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder after Alzheimer's disease affecting approximately one million people in the US.
• Occurs in every race, ethnic group, and genders, although at slightly different rates.
• Does not always cause tremors - about 25% of people diagnosed with the disease will either not tremor at all or have only a slight tremor. Their main symptoms will be muscle stiffness and slowness of movement.
• Is classified as a neuropsychiatric disorder because people with the disease can have depression, anxiety, changes in thinking and learning, and in about 20% of cases develop Parkinson's dementia.
• Is most often diagnosed in people in their late 50's or early 60's, but can occur in rare cases in children in their late teens and young adults in their 20's.
• Can have a wide variety of non-motor symptoms such as vision changes, constipation, sweating, pain, loss of sense of smell, seborrheic dermatitis, and others.
• Has four cardinal symptoms: resting tremor, slowness of movement, muscle rigidity, and a change in gait or balance. You must have at least two of these symptoms for the neurologist to make a diagnosis.

 If you or someone you know has PD or thinks they might have it, you can find more information on the National Parkinson Foundation (NPF) website at www.parkinson.org or by contacting the toll-free Helpline at 1-800-473-4636.

Author:

Paula McFeely Wiener, MSW, LCSW

NPF Parkinson's Disease Information Specialist 

MAKE SURE YOU KNOW YOUR STATUS

Medicare beneficiary's inpatient or outpatient status in a  hospital affects the way that Medicare bills the beneficiary, as well as whether the patient qualifies for Skilled Nursing Facility care following the hospital stay, so it is vital for a beneficiary to understand their rights.

Information is available from the Center for Medicare Advocacy that describes the issue surrounding observation status and provides steps that patients can take to try and resolve the issue.

view the packet

Note: In Illinois, hospitals are not required to tell a patient if they are being put under observation status or being admitted to the hospital, so it is important for the patient to ask.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid wrote a factsheet about the difference between inpatient and outpatient status:

view the fact sheet

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source: Make Medicare Work Coalition 

learn more about the Coalition

This resource has been mentioned before, but, because of the importance, we are sharing it again.

On August 28, 2009, the Illinois Premise Alert Program Act (PAP) became law in Illinois.

This is a safety program that supports individuals living with disabilities, as well as police and paramedics responding to calls at a specific address. This program requires 911 call centers to maintain a database of information about individuals with special needs when requested by families, caregivers, or the individuals themselves.

The program assists local police departments in identifying individuals who have special needs, which will enable responding police officers and paramedics to have additional information at their disposal in the event of an emergency.

For both community members, and professionals, we have many programs scheduled. 

including:  

•  Taking Control of Your Future - May 13 in Chicago
•  Navigating Legal Issues for Family Caregivers - May 14 in   Barrington
• Navigating Legal Issues for Family Caregivers -  May 31 in Oak Lawn
•  Taking Control of Your Future - June 4 in Melrose Park
•  Elder Law and Ethics, 2014 - September 10 in Evanston

learn more    

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