Prime Time: A New Look At Aging

Offspring of elders are often culprits

Elder financial abuse costs older Americans more than $2.6 billion per year and is most often perpetrated by family members and caregivers, according to a new report released by the MetLife Mature Market Institute (MMI) entitled, "Broken Trust: Elders, Family and Finances," which is accompanied by tip sheets for older adults and families on how to prevent such issues. 

The report, produced in conjunction with the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (NCPEA) and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, states up to one million older Americans may be targeted yearly and that related costs like healthcare, social services, investigations, legal fees, prosecution, lost income and assets reach tens of millions of dollars annually.  The study indicates that for each case of abuse reported, there are an estimated four or more that go unreported.  The economic downturn may increase vulnerability.  Family members and caregivers are the culprits in 55% of cases, although financial losses are higher with investment fraud scams.
 
The National Adult Protective Services Association (NAPSA) suggests that the "typical" victim of financial elder abuse is between the ages of 70 and 89, white, female, frail and cognitively impaired.  She is trusting of others and may be lonely or isolated, although reports show that there is a very diverse population of victims.  

"Elder financial abuse has been called the 'crime of the 21st century,'" said Sandra Timmermann, Ed.D., director of the MetLife Mature Market Institute.  "With the present state of the economy, older Americans are at a greater risk than ever of having their financial security threatened.  And, for every dollar lost to theft and abuse, there are still more related costs associated with stress and health care and the intervention of social service, investigative and legal entities.
 
"This is also a growing problem made greater by the increase in the number of older Americans as targets, the relative wealth of this group, a change in family structure and the availability of technology that may make such abuse somewhat easier," said Timmermann.
 
"Sadly, family members and caregivers tend to financially exploit their elderly relatives more often than strangers.  Community service providers and other professionals agree, however, that reported cases represent only the very 'tip of the iceberg.' 

Scholars and practitioners speculate that, like perpetrators of other types of elder abuse, family members who exploit their elders are dependent upon them financially and their actions may be influenced by other problems such as alcohol and drug abuse.  In addition, some family members feel a sense of entitlement and believe that they have a right to the money and material goods their parents or older relatives have accumulated," Timmermann added.

Seniors and technology roundup

Hi all,

Sorry I've been missing recently--paying job and all that.

"Japan has developed a fitness robot to help its rapidly aging population stay in shape.

Taizo is a small humanoid bot that can perform a number of calisthenics routines. It's covered with a plush white material and looks like Frosty the Snowman in a pressure suit.

Taizo, a play on "taiso" (gymnastics), has 26 joints, or degrees of freedom, and can do about 30 moves, mostly while sitting down. Its internal structure is fairly simple and resembles many of the robot kits sold in hobby stores in Japan.

The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), a state-run research center, and General Robotix, a spinoff company, created Taizo to help lead groups of older Japanese in rehabilitation exercises and general fitness routines."

"The developers plan to start leasing Taizo units next year, but did not say for how much. According to a Sankei News report, they plan to sell the robots for about $8,000 apiece.

That may sound exorbitant, but two key factors will help Taizo's commercialization. One is the vast number of elderly and infirm Japanese who need help with mobility and exercise. The number of centenarians in the country has doubled to more than 40,000 over the past six years, and it's expected to hit almost 1 million by 2050. Since Japan sees little to no immigration, there is a labor shortage and machines are expected to meet the demand for workers."

Elsewhere... "Rising incidents of identity theft are forcing people to be more cautious, vigilant of credit card bills and to act immediately, according to a subject expert with the Florida Office of the Attorney General.

"That is the way it is this day and age with all the technology out there," Theresa Ronnebaum told a gathering of about 25 senior citizens Tuesday at the Brannon Center.

The gathering was the first consumer education seminar on identity theft scheduled for the five Volusia County senior centers run by the Council on Aging. An anonymous grant is funding the monthly consumer education speakers and lunches for the coming year."

"Resolving identity theft can take between 500 and 1,200 hours of phone calls, letter writing and appearing before creditors.

The best way to reduce the chances of identity theft is to protect valuable documents.

Ronnebaum suggested not carrying Social Security cards, but to put them in safe storage places. She also recommended photocopying credit cards, drivers licenses and other documents carried in wallets and purses.

Other recommendations included shredding mail and other documents before throwing them out, not leaving mail in the curbside mailbox and reviewing credit histories at least once a year through one of the three bureaus -- Equifax, Experian and Trans Union. A history shows credit account and activity. It is different from a credit score that usually requires paying a fee."

And finally, "After nearly 15 years of serving senior citizens, Bill Crawford has seen - and heard - it all.

Crawford, director of case management for the Shenandoah Area Agency on Aging, loves listening to his clients reminisce about old holiday traditions and historic tales of decades past.

But then there are the less enjoyable moments on the job.

While delivering meals to homebound seniors over the last several years, Crawford has found numerous clients incapacitated by injury and unable to call for help.

For this reason, Crawford is always on the lookout for ways to equip senior citizens with the technology to help them in the event of an emergency.

Crawford's newest venture is collecting old cell phones and having them refurbished for use by seniors.

The Cell Phones for Seniors program sends old phones to Florida-based RMS Technology Inc., which reprograms them to only dial 911, and gives the Shenandoah Area Agency on Aging a small fee for the parts it collects. The funds collected by the agency go to help supplement the nonprofit organization's budget.

According to Crawford, the phones are then handed out to low-income residents throughout Page and Shenandoah counties and three other localities in northwestern Virginia.

"I have been trying to find cost-effective ways to keep people safe in their homes," Crawford said. "[Senior citizens] deserve support and they're a great population to work for. We run into people that really need the technology but can't afford it."

Crawford also has been key in starting other successful technology programs for seniors, including one that gives auto-dialers and "photo phones" to visually, cognitively and hearing impaired citizens.

The auto-dialers allow senior citizens who have fallen or been hurt to call any of three numbers preprogrammed into the device, Crawford said.

The photo phone is a landline phone that lets the user insert up to nine pictures that correspond with speed-dial buttons. The phone also blinks so hearing-impaired seniors can see when a call is coming in.

"It's obvious that a little technology can go a long way to keeping them safe," Crawford said."

With this linkage you'll realize your fondest dreams

Dear Reader:
 Because chain letters offer unachievable expectations, please regard this as a link letter, which is not to be confused with the retired TV star, Art Linkedletter.

It was started by a citizen upset by Medicare fraud while experiencing problems with the health care system harpaxophobia—a fear of being robbed.

There is slight expense for taking part in the links this letter offers and it is absolutely legal perTitle 13, Section 1302 (b). Simply send one senior 65 years of age or older, in good to excellent health, to each of the five people whose names are shown below.  (Please do not send one senior to all five people.) Mail them first class, then remove the name in the No. 1 spot and add your name and address at the bottom. (Note: You may send one proxy—but no more than one—between the ages of 55 and 65 in the event you find only four healthy elders.)

Within 14 to 20 weeks, when your name appears at the top of the list, you will receive approximately 16,740 seniors. If someone errs and sends you a sick senior, put a “Refused” stamp on his or her forehead and promptly return.

At this point you will form a company and establish a health maintenance organization, or HMO, and sign up the seniors. The federal government will then begin paying you approximately $400 per month per senior for their Medicare payments. 

Of the $80,352,000 per year you receive for your seniors, you will spend about $20 million for their various ailments. For suggestions on what to do with the rest of the funds, contact this Examiner and for a nominal 12 percent we will provide you with ideas guaranteed to please.

Do not break this link. A man in Milpitas did so and he received 3,579 aluminum siding salespeople, 1,488 Amway distributors and Rush Limbaugh.

Send your seniors to these individuals:
 1.  Ava Rice, 978 Pinknam St.,Wartburg, TN 37887
 2.  I. G. Reedy, 1302 Flout Rd., Swink, CO 81077
 3.  Sal Fish, 830 Blinker Ave., Grubville, MO 63041
 4.  V. Oracious, 95 Higgeldy St., Germfask, MI 49836
 5.  Mercy Nary, 1494 Nth Ave., Igo, CA 96047

Here are some case histories of people who have benefited from the link letter:

Malcolm Sharpe—“I was flat-as-a-bug-on-the-windshield-of-a-speeding-car broke when I received a copy of this letter. Usually I deep-six letters that sound too good to be true, but I have a soft spot in my heart for seniors, because someday I intend to be one. During the twelfth week my first seniors began arriving and by the end of the 19th week, 15,326 showed up.

“Whereas I was experiencing problems supporting both the government and my family,  I now am the owner of  a new yacht, a new Lexus and a new condominium complex. My neighbors love me because I farmed out my seniors in the community; they did chores and baby sitting in exchange for their board and room until I incorporated.”

Viola Turnbright—“I must have read and thrown away two dozen proposals like this, but this link letter clutched the tentacles of my heart, because it is my goal to leave this world a better place than the mess I found it in.  After my seniors began arriving, I welcomed them with open arms. By the 15th week and the 14,389th senior, my arms were tired, let me tell you.
 “We had such fun getting acquainted. The local food bank was a bit hard pressed at first, but things worked out well since nearly 100 percent of the seniors wanted to lose weight anyway."

Rufus Hollisteergle—“The first seniors arrived after 15 weeks and at first it was a bit awkward, but my cousin Jethroe, a tour guide at Alcatraz, worked out a satisfactory place for them. I’ve been offered $76 million for my HMO, but I’m in this for the big haul. I provide benefits such as wine country tours and attendance at View of the Bay. Right now I have three tax lawyers looking at ways I can keep more of the $14.7 million net that’s come in this year.”

 

Warning signs of Alzheimer's Disease

Your loved one forgets what a key is used for, can’t tell you the function of a cup, or starts using a toothbrush as a hairbrush. Perhaps there’s a change in mood or behavior, a loss in motivation.
 
These are some warning signs that Alzheimer’s Disease may be under way, said Micheal Pope, executive director of Alzheimer’s Services of East Bay, at a workshop in Walnut Creek’s Jewish Community Center. Unfortunately, the progressive disease is not reversible or curable, but several drugs, including Aracept and memantine can slow the process, especially in the early stages.
 
So, are there steps one can take to avoid or delay its onset? Pope noted that people with higher levels of education are less susceptible, as are those who stay involved and take on new challenges. She described a study of nuns that indicates exercise, a heart-healthy diet, meaningful activities, and socialization reduce the chance of getting the disease or minimizing its impact.
 
“Turn your life into activity,” she declared. She said that experts have moved the guideline of 30 minutes of exercise from three to five days a week, “but I think every day is better.”  Weight-lifting was another suggestion.
 
According to Alzheimer’s Disease Research, the total cost for the care and treatment of the disease in the U.S. has reached $100 billion a year. “Caring for an Alzheimer’s patient at home costs the average family between $18,000 and $36,000 per year,” the agency reported. “Nursing homecare costs even more, averaging $80,000 annually.”

When doctors share technology with patients

Doctors are not famours for being the first users of technology. In fact they have the reputation for being old-fashioned. That's often a good thing--they don't get seduced by the latest fad.

But this story is interesting. This is a list of what the medical profession has to cope with right now:

• Need to reduce healthcare system costs.

• Growing incidence of chronic diseases.

• More empowered and educated patients.

• Changing payor dynamics.

• More information available to consumers, primarily via Internet.

• Patient expectations for living a longer, more active and independent lifestyle.

• Consideration that medical errors and infections might be lower with patients cared for outside the hospital contributing to improved outcomes.

• Demographic changes.

• Greater data transparency and benchmarking among healthcare providers and technologies related to cost and outcomes.

• Advances being made in military medicine making their way back into civilian healthcare technology.

• New technological breakthroughs outside of healthcare making their way into industry.

• Technology formerly focused on acute care moving outside of the hospital.

• Changing nature of medicine and roles—Overworked clinicians pushing responsibility to patients.

• Less-expensive medical equipment available to consumers from Asian manufacturers.

• Interest among providers and payors in improving patient adherence and compliance.

• More cosmetic and elective procedures, self care.

• More options for care outside of hospitals.

• More expendable income among older Americans.

• More interest among manufacturers in anticipating patient needs due to competition.

• Growing demand for healthcare services, spending.

 

"For at least the last decade, there has been a quiet revolution under way in the healthcare field. Most Americans are well aware of the challenges facing the country’s healthcare system—escalating costs, denied tests and treatments, fragmented care, less time available for a patient-physician relationship, medical errors, inefficiencies, and other woes. However, a number of important cultural, technological, and demographic trends are increasingly putting more control into the hands of patients themselves to manage their health. This transformation has an enormous potential to change how medicine is practiced and how the healthcare system as a whole operates.

In many cases, the catalyst for this change has been new technologies that have taken advances made in the realm of professional medical products—i.e., those used by doctors, nurses, and other clinicians—and modified them for use by patients in a consumer environment. Consumers have always had access to medical devices to meet their basic needs, such as first aid kits or thermometers. But in recent years, highly advanced technologies have been increasingly rolled out to consumers themselves.

Some of the best examples of this convergence between professional and consumer devices are automated external defibrillators (AEDs), blood glucose monitors, insulin pumps, home diagnostic kits, and remote patient monitoring systems. Medical technology will follow a path similar to that of computers. Large, complex scientific instruments will ultimately become small, powerful consumer appliances for communication and entertainment. This convergence zone represents one of the greatest opportunities to manufacturers in the medical technology and consumer health markets today."

 

"Patients with chronic diseases and conditions are the top targets for most companies moving into the convergence zone between professional and consumer medical devices, and for good reason. According to the organization Partnership for Solutions, in 2000, more than 125 million Americans had chronic health conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, asthma, and Parkinson’s disease, and the care of these patients generated direct costs of $510 billion. This number is expected to grow to 157 million people by 2020 with $1.07 trillion in direct costs. Approximately 80% of all healthcare spending will be on this population."

 

“Caring for individuals with chronic health conditions will be the public health challenge of the 21st Century,” according to Gerard Anderson, PhD, at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Much of the increase in these costs is due to advances in medical practices and technology which often turn an acute condition into a chronic one. For example, since 1980 there has been a greater than 40% drop in mortality from coronary heart disease since, but more people are living with deleterious effects of these acute events. The same is true for patients surviving cancer, stroke, premature birth, renal failure, trauma, and other conditions.