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Chat live online Thursday, June 24, 2004, 4:30 PM with Dante Tipiani, MSW, Project Director for the Family Caregiver Program at Beth Israel Medical Center's Department of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care, New York, and
NetofCare.org. Talk about coping with you new role as a caregiver, how to relax, and address your feelings. Learn stress management techniques and self-care while caring for your loved one.
Visit
www.nypl.org/chat/ (English and Spanish).
The Center for Immigrant Health at the New York University School of Medicine is currently recruiting Latino breast cancer patients for its pilot program, Virtual Community for Immigrants with Cancer (VCIC) or, in Spanish, Comunidad de Apoyo Virtual para Inmigrantes con Cancer (CAVIC). This study investigates alternative support groups for immigrants who may find traditional face-to-face services linguistically or culturally inaccessible.
Participants are furnished with a free computer, internet access and instruction as necessary to take part in the weekly 90-minute online support group sessions. Each support group is composed of eight participants and one trained facilitator. To participate, an individual must be a Spanish-speaking breast cancer patient who has never taken part in a support group.
If you would like further information, contact Ana Grigera at
ana.grigera@med.nyu.edu or call (212) 263-3764. Visit their website at
www.cavic.org
As of May 2004, Medicare recipients who demonstrate severe financial need may enroll in a Medicare-endorsed discount drug program. The program allows eligible individuals to receive discounted drugs from participating pharmaceutical companies. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and its partners are attempting to contact older Americans and people with disabilities who have incomes below $12,569 (or married couples below $16,862) in an effort to enroll them in this program.
Hand in hand with the announcement of various discount drug card programs, drug card scams also have appeared in parts of the U.S. Medicare officials are warning beneficiaries and their family members to be cautious when they are approached with an offer to buy a drug discount card. Beneficiaries should NEVER share personal information (for example, bank account number, social security number, health insurance card number or Medicare number) with anyone who calls or comes to the door claiming to sell ANY Medicare-related product.
There are many websites where you can learn more about Medicare-related programs. Sites such as The Center for Medicare Advocacy, Inc.,
www.medicareadvocacy.org/default.htm or the Department of Health and Human Services,
www.medicare.gov, can provide more information.
Are you caring for an adult? Seeking services to help care for this person? Contending with legal and financial concerns? Challenged by communicating with professionals? Feeling stressed and overwhelmed? If you answered Yes to any of these questions, please join the Manhattan Borough-Wide Interagency Council on Aging, Inc. (MBIAC) 2nd Caregivers' Conference, Thursday, June 10, 2004 from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. The conference is being held at Fordham University's Lincoln Center Campus, Pope Auditorium, located on 113 West 60th Street (Columbus Avenue). Pre-registration is required. To RSVP call (212) 725-7775 or email MBIAC2000@aol.com.
This conference is funded by the New York City Department for the Aging and Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields.
These teleclasses are designed for family caregivers and healthcare professionals. Family caregivers will be able to find information and support. Healthcare professionals will garner the knowledge necessary to provide family caregivers with the help and support they need. Learn more at
www.caregiving.com/CAREGIVING/HTML/
caregiving_years_school.htm
Jacob Perlow Hospice, a program of the Department of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care, is committed to providing specialized care to patients with end-stage disease. Jacob Perlow Hospice is nonsectarian, not-for-profit, and provides comprehensive care for persons at the end of life, without regard to race, creed, disease, sexual orientation, or ethnic background. Licensed and certified in 1988 to serve Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx, Jacob Perlow Hospice has served over 3,900 patient and family units since its inception. To make a referral call (212) 420-2844 or visit
www.stoppain.org/services_staff/hospice.html
Continuum Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine
(www.wehealny.org/services/ortho/)
comprises the Orthopaedic Surgery, Sports Medicine and Rheumatology
programs of three distinguished New York Hospitals: Beth Israel
Medical Center, St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital, and Long Island College
Hospital, providing world-class orthopaedic care to New Yorkers
of all ages.
Dr. Jonathan Steinberg, Chief of Cardiology at St. Luke's Roosevelt
Hospital Center, recently performed a groundbreaking treatment for
a trial fibrillation, the most common form of heart arrhythmia,
during a webcast. View this cutting-edge procedure at
http://heart.wehealny.org/
According to a new study by researchers at New York University (NYU) School of Medicine, a six-session counseling and long-term support program substantially eases depression in people caring for a loved one with Alzheimer's Disease (AD), and the mental health benefits appear to be long-lasting. The study, published in the May 1, 2004 issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry, is based on research conducted over 17 years and is the longest research study ever devoted to testing an intervention to improve the mental health and well-being of Alzheimer's caregivers. It is part of the NYU Spouse-Caregiver Intervention Study, a model of support for families as they struggle to care for a loved one with Alzheimer's.
The paper, "Sustained Benefit of Supportive Intervention for Depressive Symptoms in Caregivers of Patients With Alzheimer's Disease", was co-authored by Mary Mittelman, Dr.P.H., David L. Roth, M.D., David W. Coon, Ph.D., and William E. Haley, Ph.D. Read the full press release at
www.med.nyu.edu/communications/news/pr_48.html
For more information on biological, epidemiological, clinical, and social and behavioral research on AD, several publications are available from the National Institute on Aging including 2001-2002 Alzheimer's Disease Progress Report and Alzheimer's Disease; Unraveling the Mystery, which includes a CD-ROM animation of what happens to the brain in AD, and
Caregiver Guide: Tips for Caregivers of People with Alzheimer's Disease. Get these publications from NIA's AD-dedicated website,
www.alzheimers.org from the Institute's Alzheimer's Disease Education and Referral (ADEAR) Center, or by calling ADEAR at 1-800-438-4380.
Recent findings from an ongoing study suggest that older women have a significantly greater risk than men of either being diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease or having a stroke at some point in their lives. The study showed that women who were over 55 years old had a roughly 50% chance of experiencing one of these two brain diseases, while men in the same age bracket had only around a 33% chance. These research results are part of an ongoing Boston University study following nearly 5,000 people for up to 40 years. "All these diseases that increase exponentially with aging are going to be a major public health problem," said Sudha Seshardi, lead author of the study and an assistant professor of neurology at the Boston University School of Medicine. Visit
The Caregiver's Home Companion website:
www.caregivershome.com/news/
article_2004_4_16_Women_Stroke.htm
The Caregiver Guide, www.careguide.com, provides useful examples of some of the more common legal forms used in estate planning. These forms are only provided as examples and should not be used as the actual documents in your legal planning. Use these examples to familiarize yourself with forms and terminology before speaking with a professional or making your own plans. The guide provides samples of powers of attorney, irrevocable trusts, revocable trust wills, and living wills.
A free readers' guide is now available for The Four Things That Matter Most: A Book About Living, published by Ira Byock, MD (FreePress, 2004). The guide is designed to assist groups to study and discuss the book. It is co-authored by Leslie Piet, RN, BSN, MA, of Johns Hopkins HealthCare, and Ira Byock, MD, and downloadable at
www.TheFourThings.org
Dr. Byock writes, "The readers' guide can help hospice and palliative care programs in using 'The Four Things' to engage in discussions about the potential of expressing forgiveness, gratitude, and love in our relationships and lives. It is a collection of stories of people using expressions of forgiveness, gratitude and love as a way to mend, tend and nurture relationships.…As a physician, the experiences of people who say these four things have forced me to suspend my disbelief and realize that healing can occur in many situations that I would have once thought impossible. Why wait until we or someone we love is dying to say the things that matter most? It would be great if this nugget of 'hospice wisdom' became part of public discourse and part of our culture. I hope these stories will allow people to imagine that healing is possible and will help them recapture joy."
What financial benefits might my husband be eligible for?
The best resource for you may be A Benefit Guide for Older New Yorkers from the New York City Department for the Aging. To request a copy visit
www.nyc.gov/html/dfta/html/16benefits.html or call (212) 442-1000. This website gives a basic write-up on Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, medication insurance, food stamps, rent increase exemptions, energy assistance, school tax relief, reduced transport fares, and other benefits.
You can also learn more about benefit programs for people aged 55 years and older. Fill out an online questionnaire at:
Benefit QuickCheck
New York City Department for the Aging
www.nyc.gov/html/dfta/html/bqc_jump.html
Benefit CheckUp
National Council on the Aging
www.benefitscheckup.org
Access to Benefits
Council of Senior Centers & Services of New York City
www.cscs-ny.org/accessbenefits.html
My mother is being discharged from the hospital tomorrow. What happens next?
Most hospital discharges are often planned, especially for older adults and those with serious illness. It is important to be prepared in case they are not. You will find that many services that are difficult to obtain on your own are available through the hospital's discharge planner.
A FREE family Caregiver's Guide to Hospital Discharge Planning is available at
www.caregiving.org/Family%20Discharge%20Planning.pdf (English)
or at
www.caregiving.org/FamDisPlanEsp.pdf (Spanish).
I'm trying to help my parents to prepare advance directives. Do I need a lawyer?
Living wills, health care proxies,
and powers of attorney are all critical to fulfilling the wishes
of a loved one. Every family caregiver should know the location
of these important documents. Many caregivers say, "Mom made me
promise never to put her on a ventilator or respirator," but if
you do not have the signed papers, you may not be able to carry
out this promise. Do not resuscitate (DNR) and healthcare proxies
are available at hospitals, medical facilities, or from the State.
You can fill out some of these forms yourself and file them in a
safe place.
Legal advice is often necessary for many documents, and attorneys who specialize in "Elder Law" can be especially helpful with the ins and outs of Medicare, inheritance, and other legal documents. Many have sliding scales so that their assistance is affordable. The Department for the Aging (DFTA) keeps a listing of attorneys, some who give free advise. You can request a free listing by contacting DFTA at (212) 442-3086 or by visiting
www.nyc.gov/html/dfta/
The following organizations may also have elder law attorneys on their staffs, or can refer you to an appropriate attorney. Be sure to shop around, check the costs of a service with more than one attorney, and try to find on with the skills and experience related to the services you need.
Association of the Bar of NYC, Lawyer Referral Services
42 West 44th Street
New York, NY 10036
(212) 626-7373 (English)
(212) 626-7374 (Spanish)
www.abcny.org
Volunteers of Legal Service, Inc. (VOLS)
54 Greene Street
New York, NY 10013
(212) 966-4400
info@volsprobono.org
National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA)
1604 North Country Club Road
Tucson, AZ 85716
(520) 881-4005
www.naela.com
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