To prevent what it calls ''a global aging crisis,'' an expert panel convened by the LifeStar Institute, recommends that the U.S. and other countries collaborate to use their public health agencies to inform citizens about how they can improve their lifestyles so that they can live longer and healthier lives. The panel also identified a ''need to ...

The American Medical Directors Association (AMDA) Foundation, the non-profit research and education arm of AMDA, invites you to meet two dogs that have a key role in caring for long term care facility residents. Come meet Sophie and Tessa and hear from their owner, a facility medical director, and other physicians about the power of pets in their ...

As a person who loses keys, purses, my wallet and possibly even a child or two, I will definitely need this high-tech medication reminder: http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/02/02/pills.medication.compliance/index.html?hpt=C2.  

  In a report on medical complicity in human rights violations, Human Rights Watch includes lack of pain relief as an example of torture. ''Our report found that fewer than 4 percent of the roughly 1 million terminal cancer patients in India who suffer severe pain every year were able to receive adequate treatment. Even though the majority ...

Are you paying enough attention to your residents' cognitive wellness? Read my latest column on the ADVANCE Web site.

While it is a few years old, I urge everyone to watch the PBS documentary on Alzheimer's: The Forgetting. This powerful and touching program follows the lives of several families coping with the disease, and the work of scientists searching for a cure. PBS has been re-airing it recenlty, but you can also order the DVD or watch it online. It ...

I can clearly remember the day, 15 years ago, when I learned that my Grandmother had Alzheimer's Disease.  I was in nursing school, out of state, when my mother called to tell me about the diagnosis.   Prior to the diagnosis my family had suspected that her forgetfulness was not normal.  We knew something was wrong, but we were ...

Fall-induced traumatic brain injuries caused almost 8,000 deaths and 56,000 hospitalizations in 2005 among Americans 65 and older, reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the June issue of the Journal of Safety Research. In 2005, TBIs were responsible for 50 percent of unintentional fall deaths and 8 percent of nonfatal ...

Over the summer I made a major purchase at a home improvement retailer. To make a long story short, the vendor: lost my order data due to a computer power failure, delayed product delivery, ordered the wrong size product, forgot to collect payment from me while I was in the store (which meant I had to make an extra trip to the store), allowed the ...

Norovirus, often called the ''stomach flu,'' often shows its face this time of year. Most people realize it's highly contagious but, for the first time, U.S. health officials report it can be spread from contact on computer keyboards and computer mice. With several people sharing computers in long-term care facilities, and the push towards ...