Tag Archives for AARP

Rhode Islanders Will Benefit for Long-Term Care Improvements

Published in Pawtucket times on April 5, 2004

An AARP membership application just arrived last week, inviting me to join the nation’s largest senior advocacy group.

AARP’s invitation to join clearly announces my major milestone in my life, when my June birthday officially pushes me into my 50s.

Celebrating my 50th birthday is no problem for me on a personal level, especially with my philosophy that, as with wine, one gets better with age.

But, as a writer on health care and aging issues, I see problems as to how I might access needed home and community-based services or nursing hoe care in my later years, especially if the state does not fix its problematic long-term care deliverly system.

The graying of Rhode Island’s population is taxing the state’s existing long-term care delivery system and will continue to do so for years to come. In response, state policymakers have taken a Band-Aid approach in trying to fix the fragmented system.

Already the Ocean State’s senior population, ages 60 and over, comprises more than 18 percent of the state’s total population. Gov. Don Carcieri and state lawmakers should be very concerned that Rhode Island’s population continues to age at the same time its long-term care delivery system needs an immediate overhaul.

Everyone knows it is extremely difficult for caregivers and seniors to negative the Ocean State’s long-term care system. Just ask any aging baby boomer (persons born between 1946 and 1964), and many will say that it is extremely difficult to find the needed programs and services to k eep mom and dad at home.

Today, many adult children who are juggling careers and raising children are also shouldering additional caregiving responsibilities to their olde parents. Even if their parents have been able to put a little money aside for their retirement, their children see their inheritance quickly being whittled down by thousands of dollars a month, all spent on costly pharmaceuticals and long-term care services.

Money can buy you anything in life, including home and community-based care and nursing home services.  Staying independent at home is still difficult for may moderate-income Ocean State seniors who cannot pay or find providers , especially with the Department of Elderly Affair’s (DEA) co-pay program not being fully-funded.

DEA’s co-pay program aids more that 1,500 frail seniors who do not qualify for the state’s Medicaid program, but who require ongoing services to remain in their homes. This funding helps pay for certified nursing assistants, who assist seniors with bathing, meals, shopping, laundry and light house keeping. DEA’s co-pay program slso provides subsidies for adult day care.

Last October, DEA’s freeze on new admissions to its co-pay program left more than 200 frail seniors on a waiting list for home and community based services.

While Gov. Carcieri recently gave an additional $ 200,000 in funding to DEA’s co-pay program in his 2005 budget, senior advocates have warned this amount is not enough. It is estimated this additional funding will serve 60 to 80 seniors out of the 200 persons currently on the waiting list.

Meanwhile, DEA has even put a freeze on new admissions to its respite program, which enables caregivers to take a break from the grueling physical and psychological demands of taking care of a frail elderly family resident.  This freeze will continue for the rest of this fiscal year, and nobody is sure how long the freeze for this initiative will last.

Hugh Hall, chair of the R.I. Health Care Association, tells All About Seniors that nursing homes will also be especially hit hard as state funding continues to diminish at the same time as  the cost of services and regulatory requirements increases.

“The state’s budget crisis is causing the governor to not meet a commitment in restructuring an antiquated Medicaid reimbursement system that pays for the care provided to 75 percent of the 10,000 frail residents in nursing homes,” said Hall.

This year, Carcieri, citing budgetary constraints, did not keep his promise to move forward with Part Two of the Medicaid reimbursement restricting, said Hall.

“This will have serious effects on the financial viability and quality of care provided in more than 70 small nursing homes throughout the state,” he said.

The huge budget deficient will continue to force Carcieri’s and state lawmakers hacking of many worthy programs and services previously funded in the state budget.  However, the state’s 2005 budget must adequately fund DEA’s co-pay and respite initiatives that keep frail seniors at home in their communities through the use of less costly home and community-based services.

The state must also keep its promise to adequately fund the state’s nursing homes for providing the needed medical care to those who are too sick to stay at home.

Hopefully, in 15 years, when I reach my next milestone – turning 65 – the state policy makers will have hammered out a much improved long-term care delivery system.

A commitment by Carcieri and state lawmakers to fix today’s fragmented long-term care delivery system will have long-range consequences, ultimately beneiting aging baby boomers, their children, and their children’s children.

Indeed, all future generations in this state will ultimately benefit from sound long-term care policy.

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.