Online Communication Makes a Positive Difference in Families

Published in Pawtucket Times on August 11, 2003

Seniors are turning to their computer-savvy children to help learn the intricacies of using a computer, so says a recently released AARP survey.

Computers can be intimidating to older persons who may not be able to do more than just flip the “on”/off” switch.  According to the AARP survey, a growing number of seniors are calling their younger children and grandchildren for computer help.

The findings reveal that more than half of the survey respondents whose parents have a computer have been contacted for help by them at some point.

Moreover, the survey found having an older relative online has made a positive difference in the lives of 80 percent of those survey respondents who are contacted for help by their parents.

Sthe AARP survey was conducted to learn to what extent adult children provide technical computer support to their aging parents and how computers bind together intergenerational relationships.

Wirthlin Worldwide conducted the online survey for AARP among 534 respondents ages 25 to 44 who reported having a parent or older relative that frequently uses a computer and contacts the younger adults for help.

Countering America’s highly mobile society, computers can play a key role to keep generations together, the telephone survey found. Families are using computers to keep closely in touch with each other. Nearly all the younger respondents and their parents use a computer to contact each other (97 percent), most frequently with email (96 percent). 

“Families who live geography close to each other are nearly as likely to use email as those who live far apart (94 percent verses 99 percent). Those who live far apart cite long-distance phone savings, while those who live close together cite the fact that it makes it easy to dash off a quick email to let their family members know they are thinking of them,” said Christine Donohoo, associate executive director of membership.

“Not only do computers and the Internet help families keep in touch,” added Donohoo, “it can enhance older American’s quality of life.”

AARP’s survey also found that:

  • Nearly nine out of 10 (87 percent) respondents aid their parents in finding information on the Internet.
  • 43 percent of the respondent’s parents age 50 and older use instant messages to keep in touch with their children.
  • 78 percent of respondents have taught older adults computer use; 74 percent how to use email; 64 percent have helped set up a computer;
  • Older grandchildren (52 percent of respondents with kids ages 18-24 and 48 percent of the respondents with kids ages 11-17) help their grandparents with the computer of the Internet.  

AARP provides an outline resource for all generations, by creating AARP computers and technology (www.aarp.org/computers), an easy-to-use Web site.

“Helping older adults become more comfortable with computers and the Internet is the main reason we developed this area,” said Mark Carpenter, director of web strategy and operations.

The AARP site features articles that include how-to-guides and reviews and a monthly email newsletter with tips and latest news.

Carpenter said he believes the valuable area of the site is the on-line discussions board, where members share questions and solutions.

In conjunction with the release of these AARP survey findings the nonprofit announced its launch of AARP today of “Generations On-line Sweepstakes,” an initiative that recognizes the important bond between parents and their grown children.

Sthe initiative will also encourage older Americans and their children to use the Internet for fun and sharing. Parents or their children can enter to win two new Dell computers – one for each generation.

For more information or to enter the sweepstakes parents and their children can visit AARP’s computers and technology section, http://www.aarp.org/computers.

State Must Rethink Its Driving Policies for Seniors

Published in Pawtucket Times on August 4, 2003

Not seeing the posted sign, 86-year-old Russell Weller drove onto a street closed to traffic and mowed down 50 pedestrians with his car, ultimately killing 10, in a Southern outdoor farmers market.

Just nine days later, Louis Nirenstein, 70, plowed into pedestrians at a local farmers market in Flagler Beach, Fla., injuring six people.

Both of these accidents follow on the heels of the tragic death of longtime R.I. state Rep. Mabel Anderson, who was killed while pushing her carriage at the front entrance of the Home Depot parking lot at the Bristol Place Shopping Center in South Attleboro.

A magistrate’s hearing to determine if vehicular homicide was committed by an 88-year-old Pawtucket driver is scheduled for Aug. 14 at the Attleboro District Court.

According to a report released by the Road Information Program last month the number of older drivers – ages 70 and above – killed in crashes nationwide increased by 27 percent from 1991 to 2001.

The latest data finds older drivers have not only lost their ability to manage complex traffic situations, but are more likely to have problems making left hand turns and understanding small signage that alerts motorists to upcoming changes in traffic patterns.

The aging process guarantees your driving skills will not be as shar as you get older.  Poor vision, caused by cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration, poor hearing, lack of flexibility, limited range of motion and reduced rection time make the complex tasks associated with driving more difficult for older motorists.

As older driver facilities increase and the death toll tied to older-drivers accidents sky-rocked, a growing number of states are looking at licensing restrictions as a way to delicately approach this complicated problem.

AARP and other aging advocacy groups will say not all seniors are equally affected as they age. One may lose the skills needed to drive safely at age 60, while another will not lose those skills until 90.

For many seniors, losing your driving privileges translates to the loss of independence. Meanwhile, public transportation may not be readily available.

States are grappling with this age-charged issue, not wishing to stir up the wrath of seniors. Aging advocates oppose any blanket solution to this problem, calling for licensing restrictions to be made on a case-by-case basis. They say age should not be used as a predictor of unsafe driving.

In Rhode Island, the Department of Motor Vehicles has decreased its renewal cycle from five years to two years for persons age 70 and older.  At license renewal time, some states require vision screening and road tests for older drivers.  Certain medical conditions or a succession of accidents my restrict your driving privileges in other states.

Even the limiting of driving hours or the types of roads driven on are examples of license restrictions that states can attempt to reduce age-related accidents.

The American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, the American Automobile Association, AARP and the National Safety Council, have recognized the thorny issues surrounding restrictive licensing and have developed special training courses to help older motorists drive more safety.

On the other hand, even if an older driver enrolls in one of these courses, they may choose not to recognize age-related limitations that impact on their driving.

With a growing age population, R.I. state officials must tackle this problem head-on. Why not consider mandating a battery of tests to examine an older drivers’ field of vision, flexibility and range of motion, reaction time, along with the person’s mental or cognitive abilities?

Intersections can be improved by widening left-lane turn lanes, adding overhead street signs and adding luminous lane markings.

Finally, street and highways can be improved by creating longer merge and exit lanes, making curves less sharp and using rumble strips to warn motorists when they are running off the road.

If the state chooses not to act, the result will allow a growing number of unsafe senior drivers on the road.

Ultimately, the burden falls on the family and physicians who must take the keys away from the driving-challenged senior.

Sometimes you just have to yank the keys away from an older family member, like my family needed to do several years ago. When my father could not stop my mother with dementia from driving, the only solution appeared to come from making a call to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TDMV) by my family.

Mother’s deteriorating driving skills were reported and as a safe measure, the TDMV officials called her in for testing – where she failed the test thy gave her three times.

As difficult as a decision this was for my family to make ultimately, my mother, who was in mid-to-late state dementia, didn’t even realize that she had lost her driving privileges and her keys.

Sadly, we will continue to read about age-related traffic accidents and the death of innocent victims until states move to tighten driving licensure of older adults.

For information about AARP’s 55 Alive Driver Program for older people call 1-888-227-7669 or write them at 601 E. Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20049.

Aging Advocates Call for Override of Governor’s Veto

Published in Pawtucket Times on July 14, 2003

The General Assembly is poised to override  Gov. Don Carcieri’s veto Tuesday.

The political rhetoric has intensified as the governor picks apart the 2004 budget, which was recently passed by the Democratic-controlled legislature, forcing Democratic Majority Leader William J. Murphy and Senate President William V. Irons to explain how they shaped the budget.

Carcieri has called the General Assembly’s 2004 budget flawed because lawmakers have “missed opportunities” to stop the legislature’s habit of deficit spending.

The governor’s media blitz, beginning last week, is intended to build support for his efforts to defeat the legislature’s attempt to override his veto. Carcieri has called for the elimination of subsidies for greyhound kennel owners [also supported by this writer] and the reining in public-employee personnel costs.

Carcieri also opposes the spending of $ 52 million in federal Medicaid expenditure relief funds and the one percent restaurant sales tax.

When the dust settles after Tuesday’s legislative session to override Carcieri’s veto, aging advocates hope for an override. The 2004 budget crafted by the Democratic-controlled General Assembly puts increased state funding into senior programs and services.  Both provider groups and senior advocacy groups expressed disappointment when Carcieri’s budget proposal did not allocate funding for new aging-related initiatives. Moreover, his fiscal blueprint for state spending made cuts to existing senior programs and services.

“Once again, senior advocates have looked to the General Assembly to provide essential programs and services for the state’s growing senior population,” says Susan Sweet, a long-time aging advocate and consultant to nonprofit groups who also serves as a consumer representative to the state’s Long-Term Care Coordinating Council.

“We have not been disappointed,” Sweet said, in reference to the passage of the General Assembly’s 2004 budget.  “It’s sad that the Carcieri administration does not recognize the improvements the General Assembly has made to the budget and the lives of older Rhode Islander.”

Joan Crawley, executive director of Pawtucket’s Leon Mathieu Senior Center, added, “Although I can appreciate Carcieri’s frustration with trying to balance the state budget, as a senior advocate, I applaud the legislators for making the very difficult decision to fund legislative grants on behalf of the state’s  senior centers,” she said.

“At the Pawtucket town meeting, gubernatorial candidate Carcieri assured us that seniors would be a top priority of his administration should he be elected governor. He even distributed a brochure outlining his senior initiatives. So far, he has failed to address any of those initiatives in is budget, Crawley says.

So, what’s in the General Assembly’s 2004 budget that will improve the quality of life of Rhode Island seniors?

The budget will allocate new state funds totaling $ 300,000 to pay for nursing facility care of legal immigrant Rhode Island seniors who are not eligible for Medicaid.

The budget will also allocate $ 50,000 to support the efforts of the Ocean State Adult Immunization Coalition to get the word out about the importance of seniors getting influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations.

Meanwhile, lawmakers have allocated state monies for community grants. Initially, senior centers (in Carcieri’s budget ) were targeted with a 10 precent cut. To the relief of senior center providers, lawmakers passed the 2004 budget with no cuts

As previously reported to All About Seniors, an 18-month study by B.D.O. Seidman, a consulting firm hired by the state Department of Human Services, found Rhode Island was underpaying its nursing facilities in excess of $ 30 million annually.

It seems that the Rhode Island General Assembly agrees with the report’s assessment, because lawmakers made a partial allocation of new Medicaid dollars to overhaul the state’s ailing Medicaid system.

With passage of the budget, nursing facilities will receive a total of $ 18.8 million in state and federal dollars – a three-year phase-in will bring the total federal and state dollars up to $ 30 million.

Finally, the recently passed 2004 state budget has allocated $ 50,000 to provide dental services to nursing facility residents.

The 2003 budget that was supposed to expire June 30 stays in effect until Carcieri signs the 2004 budget into law. Until that time, new programs, policies, or program appropriations will be effectively put on hold.

An override of Carcieri’s veto will result in many new senior programs and services being funded in the 2004 state budget.

If the popular Republican governor is able to rally is troops – both Republican lawmakers and Carcieri Democrats – to support his veto, then lawmakers must begin their efforts to hammer out another budget.

….

As noted in last week’s All About Seniors column, not one dime in state funding was allocated in the state’s 2004 budget to beef up the state Department of Health’s regulatory oversight. Providers, aging advocates, and even state officials have called for new state dollars to fill one full-time surveyor position (a nurse) to ensure that assisted living residences across Rhode Island are inspected on a timelier basis.

The General Assembly has put laws on the books to protect frail Rhode Island seniors who received assisted-living services. Yet, Carcieri and lawmakers have failed to allocate the necessary funding in the 2004 state budget to allow Health Department regulators to comply with    their legislative oversight duties to inspect the state’s 72 assisted-living facilities and 155 assisted-living bed in nursing facilities on a timely basis.

That’s not all.  According to the state’s Department of Health, another seven assisted-living projects are expected to be up and running over the next 18 months.

Meanwhile, at Tuesday’s veto override, lawmakers will also take up legislative issues were not addressed in their haste to adjourn two weeks ago.  Maybe the state Health Department’s urgent need for more funding to adequately perform its oversight duties of assisted-living facilities will be acted on by lawmakers in both chambers.

Carcieri can become the white knight and save the day. He can choose to move forward and fix this policy flaw by either using contingency funds in his office budget or to take administrative action to hire one more full-time assisted living inspector.

Acting decisively to fix tis identified policy glitch is sound public policy that will ultimately protect the health and well-being of 1,700 assisted-living residents. Even with Carcieri’s calls for balancing the budget, taxpayers especially seniors won’t oppose allocated tax dollars to protect older Rhode Islander.