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Save on Health Care at the Playground January 20, 2018 by Mary Jacobs - When Ronni Bennett discovered elder playgrounds online a few years ago, she immediately fell in love with the concept.
Aging and Addicted January 20, 2018 by Jenny Gold for Kaiser Health News - It took a lot of convincing for John Evard to go to rehab. Seven days into his stay at the Las Vegas Recovery Center, the nausea and aching muscles of opioid withdrawal were finally beginning to fade.- The Opioid Balancing Act January 18, 2018 by Jenny Gold for Kaiser Health News - The national conversation about the opioid epidemic has mostly focused on young people who buy drugs illegally on the street. But the scrutiny of opioids has also changed the way doctors are prescribing medications to [older people] to ease their pain from arthritis, cancer, neurological diseases and other illnesses that become more common in later life.
Medical Tourism: Are Local Doctors Always the Best Choice? January 18, 2018 by Mary Jacobs - Patients travel from around the United States and the world to see Richard Guyer, MD, an orthopedic spine surgeon at the Texas Back Institute in Plano, TX, because he is a recognized, widely published expert in disc-replacement surgery. But when…
Faster Aging through Space Travel January 11, 2018 by Elizabeth Payne - When Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield returned to Earth after nearly five months in space in 2013, he described his physical state as “tottering around like an old man.”
Henry Cisneros: Homes—and Neighborhoods—Should Work for All Ages June 29, 2017 by Leigh Ann Hubbard - For years, Henry Cisneros watched his father, George, live an active life with limited mobility. A stroke at the age of 59 had left the elder Cisneros without the use of his left arm and left leg. But parts of his house were modified to accommodate his limited mobility. He was able to live there, with his wife, Elvira, in the home and close-knit neighborhood where they’d raised their children, until two years before he died in 2006 at age 89.
They’re Old, They’re Sick—and They’re Homeless April 4, 2017 by Margot Kushel - On any given night in the United States, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, over half a million people are without a home. That number may have decreased nationwide in the past few years, but California remains on the forefront of the problem, accounting for 20 percent of the country’s homeless in 2014.
Membership Medicine: When the Doctor Is Always In April 4, 2017 by Leigh Ann Hubbard - Adina Cook’s teenage son was skateboarding one evening. He tried to jump 10 concrete stairs and landed smack-dab on his shoulder. Instead of rushing him to the emergency room, Cook, 52, called the family’s doctor, Tracy Ragland, who met them…
Is Medical Marijuana Good Medicine for Older Adults? It’s Complicated April 4, 2017 by Liz Seegert - After Jane broke her ankle, walking even short distances was a painful challenge. The 63-year-old had been an avid hiker and gardener and was stifled by her limited mobility. To make matters worse, she couldn’t tolerate the side effects of prescription painkillers.
It’s Never Too Late to Exercise—but Starting by Midlife Is Best April 4, 2017 by Leigh Ann Hubbard - Harrison Caldwell had a good excuse for not being athletic: one of his legs was about a quarter inch shorter than the other, thanks to a childhood bout with polio. Plus, his feet were so flat that the Army turned…
Can Your Cherished Possessions Shorten Your Life? March 28, 2017 by Dana DiFilippo - In a corner of Sarah’s living room, a decades-old phonograph sits ignored. Sarah doesn’t use it anymore, doesn’t even know if it still works. Only the housekeeper pays any attention to it, or to the dozens of records stacked nearby,…
What to Do If You’re Not the Athlete You Once Were March 28, 2017 by Leigh Ann Hubbard - At 55 years old, Heidi Christensen relishes the chance to defy stereotypes. “You didn’t just get passed by an old person,” she says of the 20- and 30-somethings she zooms by on bike paths. “You got passed by an old…
Loneliness Can Lead to Health Problems March 28, 2017 by Holly C. Corbett - Wednesday mornings are all about spending time with friends over coffee and eggs for Frank Colvin, 66, of Warwick, NY. The former teacher has breakfast with about 25 men from his retirement community, at a trading-post-turned-restaurant called the Country Dream,…
Vulnerable LGBT Elders Are Going Back into the Closet March 28, 2017 by Ellen Rand - Lawrence Johnson and Alexandre Rheume were an interracial couple who had been together 38 years until Rheume—22 years older than Johnson—needed professional care as his health declined.
When There’s Big News about Health, Should You Believe It? March 28, 2017 by Leigh Ann Hubbard - To be fair, at first glance, it did sound like a huge story.
“Metastatic Prostate Cancer Cases Skyrocket,” proclaimed the press-release headline in July of 2016. New cases of an incurable form of prostate cancer rose a whopping 72 percent from 2004 to 2013...
100 Years and Counting: What Makes a Centenarian? March 28, 2017 by Flora Davis - People who survive for 100 years or more owe their long lives to: their genes a healthy lifestyle a healthy bank account great medical care an upbeat personality a sheltered, low stress life all of the above Don’t give in…
Successful Aging—It’s Not Impossible March 28, 2017 by Leigh Ann Hubbard - Maybelle lives with her daughter, Ella, in a two-bedroom house in rural Nevada. At 76 years old, Maybelle controls her type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure as best she can. Years of caring for her ailing husband left little…
It Takes a Village to Age in Place March 28, 2017 by Robert Miskimon and Flora Davis - When Janet Swenson enrolled her 87-year-old mother in Lincoln Park Village, a Chicago organization for older people, she was delighted with the results. Suddenly, her mother had help with household maintenance, someone to call for transportation or to find a…
Tim Carpenter: Retirement Can Unleash Creativity March 28, 2017 by Leigh Ann Hubbard - When you’re talking to Tim Carpenter about how he envisions the future of old age, at some point it strikes you: he’s talking about older people as … people. They’re not “seniors.” They’re not “the 62-and-older crowd.” They’re not … other.
The Power of Positive Aging March 28, 2017 by Flora Davis - Do you feel good about growing older? If you do, you may very well live longer than those who dread old age. This good news (or bad news, depending on how you feel about aging) emerged from a study done…
We Age in Bursts - In his early 40s, Vinny Minchillo noticed he needed to work harder in the gym just to maintain his usual level of strength. Then, when he turned 60 a few years ago, he noticed a big change in flexibility. “I…
On the Unsung Pleasures of Very Long Friendships - I made my first real friend when I was 11 and she was 12. Marsha moved in on the block. Soon after, her mother saw my mother in the backyard and said she had a daughter about my age. My…