Discussing aging issues, such as living arrangements, finances, dating, end-of-life decisions and driving, early and often can save families years of heartache, tension and even legal battles. Yet, research indicates that about two-thirds of American families put off these conversations, either because they are uncomfortable with the topics or they just don’t know where to start. ¹

Statistics show that 34 percent of adults surveyed are conversation avoiders. ² That is, they haven’t talked about any important end-of-life issues with their parents or children, or they have talked about just one issue. 

To help, the local Home Instead Senior Care office is sponsoring the “40-70 Rule^®” program, which includes an Action Plan for Successful Aging^SM and other resources to help ease these conversations between adult children and their parents. 

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You can tell a lot about a person from their eyes. If a smile reaches a person’s eyes, psychologists call that a Duchenne smile, which people classify as genuine. Healthy eyes are seen as a sign of beauty, vigor and wisdom, but the sparkle in your eyes also is affected by your health and nutrition. So it makes sense to eat foods that will support and promote healthy looking and feeling eyes.

Get Your Carotenoids

If cartoons are true, then bunnies have great eyes. Lutein and Zeaxanthin carotenoids are known to support eye health, according to Nutrients, an open access nutrition journal. Carotenoids are a pigment inhibitor which gives certain fruits and vegetables an orange or yellow color. Yes, carrots are in this category as are cantaloupe, corn and yellow peppers. Lutein and Zeaxanthin carotenoids have been linked to a reduced risk of macular degenerative disease and cataracts. They also serve to filter out damaging blue light, which gives the eye that shiny, sparkly appearance of health. However, carrots are not the best source of carotenoids but rather kale, basil and parsley top the list. If you have a hard time getting enough vitamins through your food, try a vitamin supplement like Lipotriad. You can purchase this supplement as well as a variety of others online through Vision Direct.

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More than a quarter of the hospitals in the Pittsburgh area closed in the first decade of the 21s century, drastically reducing the amount of charitable care available to the poor.

The failure of the remaining hospitals to provide adequate care to low-income patients and the inability of free and government-funded clinics to fill the gap has left the region’s health safety net badly frayed.

The closures of 11 of 39 hospitals here between 2000 and 2010 left the region’s poor “worse off,” said Wilford Payne, executive director of Primary Care Health Services in Pittsburgh, which runs 11 federally qualified health centers in Allegheny County.

Read more at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

In response to a recent increase in the number of reported cases, the Allegheny County Health Department is offering advice on how to reduce the risk of Lyme disease, which can be contracted in wooded areas as well as yards and neighborhoods with low bushes or tall grass, from which ticks that spread the disease can most easily attach to a person.

In 2013, 145 cases of Lyme disease were reported in county residents, up sharply from several years ago.  From 2004 through 2008, the number of cases fluctuated between 16 and 35 per year.

Lyme disease, transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected tick, may be acquired not only on trips outside the area but also increasingly so locally, because the tick that transmits Lyme disease, Ixodes scapularis, also known as the deer tick, is the most commonly found tick on people and pets in Allegheny County.

In 2013, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection tested 56 deer ticks found in Allegheny County for Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria that cause Lyme disease, and found that 19 or 34% of the ticks were infected.

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Best Doctors, Inc., the global health company dedicated to improving health outcomes by getting people the right diagnosis and treatment, today announced that it is one of 13 “Volunteer Achievement” projects honored by the Botín Foundation among 550 nominated endeavors. Best Doctors was honored for its ability to use the power of physician collaboration, telemedicine, and partnerships with major medical missions to bring improved health outcomes to those who suffer from life-threatening medical conditions made worse by a lack of local resources.

Working in conjunction with the Recover Hospitals for Africa Foundation’s Teleasistencia/Salud 2.0 initiative, a project combining quality health care, clinical collaboration, training, and research to focus on improving health care for African patients with minimal economic resources, Best Doctors was able to introduce the cutting-edge Medting platform which seamlessly connects physicians in Spain with physicians throughout Africa to collaborate on the most complex cases.

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By Dr. Ramona Warren

As people age one of their biggest fears is falling and losing the ability to care for themselves. This is a valid fear since government records show that between 30 and 40 percent of people age 65 years or older fall at least once each year. Bone-breaking falls are one of the most common reasons older adults are no longer able to live in their own homes.

Falls are also the most common reason for hospitalization in older adults.   When there are fractures involved, especially of the hip, it can be particularly dangerous. As many as 25 percent of people with hip fractures die within one year.

Read the rest of the article at Pathways to Healing.

Most everyone enjoys a dazzling fireworks display on the Fourth of July. Cities and towns across Pennsylvania host pyrotechnical shows each year. But no one enjoys the burns and other injuries that can result from being too close to the spectacle or mishandling a firecracker. “You can’t be too careful around fireworks,” says Dr. Michael Bohrn, President, Pennsylvania Chapter, American College of Emergency Physicians (PaACEP.) “Emergency professionals see more firework-related injuries around the Fourth of July than people would like to believe.”

Emergency departments in Pennsylvania treat thousands of fireworks-related injuries each year, many of which occur among children under 15. Most injuries involve burns, but others include damage to eyes, head, face and ears. Notable fireworks-related incidents in Pennsylvania include a mishap in Palmyra in 2010 and another near New Castle in 2013. In both of these cases, young people sustained serious burns and other injuries.

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The big problem at the VA is that it’s competing for doctors with every hospital in the country, physician practices, insurance companies, urgent care centers, retail clinics, and community health centers.

This ongoing scandal surrounding long waiting times for physician appointments at Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals has generated an array of justifiable responses including grief, anger and embarrassment.

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Checkpoint has simplified the process for all Veterans of the United States military and their families to connect to resources in their communities regardless of their age, service type, rank, or situation.  All Veterans in southwest Pennsylvania can now utilize Checkpoint’s online platform (www.thecheckpoint.org) to find the things that they need and become more informed about what’s happening in the region’s Veteran community.  Checkpoint users can identify specific providers serving specific needs like career advancement, medical care and more.  At the same time they can read peer reviews of services that will help them make the right decisions on who to contact.

“As we begin to observe Memorial Day, a day where we honor the memories and the service of those brave men and women who have given their lives to protect our freedom, we want to stress the importance of helping provide quality support services to those Veterans who are still with us as well,” says Jared Souder, Executive Director of Checkpoint who is an Iraq war veteran. “Checkpoint provides Veterans with a platform not only learn about any and every opportunity, but to be heard and told through a fellow Veteran’s voice – so we can empower them to truly reintegrate into our region.”

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