Travel, Leisure & Fun for South Valley Adults
Travel, Leisure & Fun for South Valley Adults
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Every year, 36 million older adults suffer a fall, and with a fall can come serious physical and emotional outcomes. Falls are a leading cause of hip fractures and other serious injuries, but there are repercussions on mental health as well. However, falls don't have to be inevitable. Prestige Assisted Living will present a free webinar, as well as a free online self-assessment, to help seniors and their loved ones learn valuable information that can help them remain safe....
The number of adults (aged 40 years and older) living with dementia worldwide is expected to nearly triple, from an estimated 57 million in 2019 to 153 million in 2050, due primarily to population growth and population aging. The Global Burden of Disease Study, published in The Lancet Public Health is the first to provide forecasting estimates for 204 countries worldwide. The study also looks at four risk factors for dementia - smoking, obesity, high blood sugar and low...
My mother is living in her home alone. When I went to visit her for Thanksgiving, her home was a mess. When do I know when it is not safe for her to be living alone? This year, I received more calls than usual regarding what families found when they visited their parents living alone. Elders can sound fine when you are checking in on them on the phone. It can be very hard to know from a distance when a relative is losing his or her independence. The following are things to look out for: Missed Appointments: Contact your...
Many people experience forgetfulness as they age, but it's often difficult to tell if these memory issues are a normal part of aging or a sign of something more serious. A new study finds that a simple, self-administered test developed by researchers at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, College of Medicine and College of Public Health can identify the early, subtle signs of dementia sooner than the most commonly used office-based standard cognitive test. This...
The Tulare County Health & Human Services Agency announced that seven human cases of West Nile Virus have been detected and reported in Tulare County. Kings County reported five cases, with one becoming the first West Nile Virus-related death of a Kings County resident in 2021. "Though we are late in the season for mosquitos, this is a stark reminder of how important it is to eliminate the sources where mosquitos can propagate," said Kings County Department of Public Health...
On October 12, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force posted a draft recommendation statement on aspirin use to prevent heart disease and stroke, also known as cardiovascular disease (CVD). People ages 40 to 59 who are at higher risk for CVD and do not have a history of CVD should decide with their clinician whether to start taking aspirin. Heart disease and stroke are leading causes of mortality in the United States, accounting for about one in three deaths. While daily aspi...
Cognitive decline is one of the most pressing topics facing seniors and their loved ones. The prospect of their memory and acuity diminishing is something many seniors and their loved ones want to avoid. Prestige Senior Living in Visalia, which offers its residents cognitive health programming, including brain games, puzzles, hobbies and social activity, will present two webinars focusing on brain health. On Tuesday, September 28, at 10:30 a.m. Prestige will host a free webinar for seniors and their families with Ryan Glatt,...
Write down the benefits of a college degree and, more than likely, all the items on the completed list will relate to graduates: higher salaries, autonomous jobs and better access to healthcare, for instance. All of those factors, supported by extensive research, help draw a direct line connecting higher education and health. Similar research suggests how the education of parents affects their children. Now, two University at Buffalo (UB) sociologists have used a new wave of...
Will summer ever end? September is a hopeful month that begins to remind us that winter will be here again someday. It has become harder to predict what kind of fall weather we will have. Historically, we should enjoy cooler temperatures both day and night, mostly due to the ever-shortening days. Planting: We can finally begin to plant trees, perennials and shrubs when nighttime temperatures drop into the low sixties and high fifties degrees Fahrenheit. Be prepared to provide...
You're as old as your immune system. Investigators at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the Buck Institute for Research on Aging have built an inflammatory-aging clock that's more accurate than the number of candles on your birthday cake in predicting how strong your immune system is, how soon you'll become frail or whether you have unseen cardiovascular problems that could become clinical headaches a few years down the road. In the process, the scientists...
On August 18, public health and medical experts from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released the following statement calling for COVID-19 booster shots: “The COVID-19 vaccines authorized in the United States continue to be remarkably effective in reducing risk of severe disease, hospitalization and death, even against the widely circulating Delta variant. Recognizing that many vaccines are associated with a reduction in protection over time, and acknowledging that additional vaccine doses could be needed t...
It really did seem that things were changing and that life was getting back to normal. After all, the state lifted its mask mandate in June. Unfortunately, the one constant in recent months continues to remain constant. There are still mixed messages about how much is back to normal. 2021 Visalia Senior Games "The Visalia Senior Games will not be held in 2021," said Laurissa Roggenkamp, recreation manager for the City of Visalia Community Services Department. "Recreation...
Following the increase in the supply of COVID-19 vaccines in Tulare and Kings counties, most local residents who are 50 or older have now received at least one vaccine. It also helps that seniority has been a factor in determining when people can receive their vaccines. As of April 20, more than 38,500 vaccines were given to Tulare County residents 65 and over. A majority of county residents in this age group have now had at least one shot, according to Carrie Monteiro,...
Cognitive motor training helps in the fight against Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia, according to a study by an international team of researchers with ETH Zurich, a public research university in Zurich, Switzerland. "It has been suspected for some time that physical and cognitive training also have a positive effect on dementia," said ETH Zurich researcher Eling de Bruin. "However, in the past it has been difficult to motivate dementia patients to undertake physical...
My mom has been living by herself during the COVID pandemic, and I am noticing she is getting extremely forgetful. Does she have dementia? The fear of getting COVID has been very detrimental to the mental health of our seniors. Older adults who are socially isolated show more rapid cognitive decline than those who are in a social senior setting. Loneliness has been found to increase the risk of developing dementia exponentially, especially when there is a loss of a spouse (who used to bring much needed companionship). In fact...
It might start small – maybe your mom or dad forgets a birthday, or the cable bill goes unpaid for a month. It might seem like the type of thing that can slip anyone's mind. But soon it progresses to more consistent forgetfulness. Maybe they go for a walk and then can't remember how to get home. Maybe their spending habits change, and suddenly more purchases are showing up at the door that they don't remember buying. Before long, they receive a diagnosis that may not be s...
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is launching "Still Going Strong," a national campaign to bring attention to ways adults age 65 and older can age without injury. The campaign is raising awareness about the leading causes of unintentional injuries and deaths in older adults. Still Going Strong will encourage older adults to continue participating in their favorite hobbies and activities, while informing them and their caregivers of steps they can take to...
Hanford-based endocrinologist Prem Sahasranam, MD, is now offering My Diabetes Tutor, a telehealth education program for residents struggling to manage their diabetes. My Diabetes Tutor is an online program that focuses on helping the estimated one out of every two Valley residents who are living with high blood sugar but who have never seen a specialist in diabetes care and education. According to a recent California Health Interview Survey, 48% of the population has been...
People aged 65 years or older are more prone to heat-related health problems. Below is information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website (www.cdc.gov) about how you or the person you are caring for can stay safe during the heat this summer. Why are Older Adults More Prone to Heat Stress? • Older adults do not adjust as well as young people to sudden changes in temperature. • They are more likely to have a chronic medical condition that changes normal body responses to heat. • They are more likely to ta...
On June 7, the FDA approved Aduhelm (the brand name for aducanumab) to treat patients with Alzheimer's disease using the "accelerated approval" pathway, which allows the FDA to approve a drug for a serious or life-threatening illness when the drug is reasonably likely to have a clinical benefit to patients, but when there remains some uncertainty. Aduhelm is the first new therapy approved for Alzheimer's disease since 2003. The drug is the first treatment directed at the...
Just 63% of family caregivers who have doubts about COVID-19 vaccine safety say they'll take the senior under their care to get vaccinated. That's according to a new survey of U.S. family caregivers conducted by Wakefield Research for SCAN Health Plan, one of the nation's largest not-for-profit Medicare Advantage plans. "These findings should ring alarm bells throughout the country," said Eve Gelb, senior vice president of healthcare services for SCAN. "Family caregivers are...
When older adults are viewed as cognitively or physically impaired, they perform below their abilities on tasks, according to a recent review article by Sarah Barber, a psychology and gerontology researcher at Georgia State University. Groups that are stigmatized - whether due to race, socioeconomic status or age - perform more poorly when they are faced with negative stereotypes, Barber said. She found expectations of others can play a powerful role in how well older adults...
Older Adults Technology Services, Inc. (OATS), in partnership with the Humana Foundation, released a new report that for the first time quantifies the size and degree of the digital isolation crisis among seniors in the United States. The report finds that nearly 22 million older Americans continue to lack broadband access at home. Stressing the importance of digital health tools and social connectedness amid the coronavirus pandemic, OATS and the Humana Foundation are...
Suppose Smokey Bear were to lose it and start setting forest fires instead of putting them out. That roughly describes the behavior of certain cells of our immune system that become increasingly irascible as we grow older. Instead of stamping out embers, they stoke the flames of chronic inflammation. Biologists have long theorized that reducing this inflammation could slow the aging process and delay the onset of age-associated conditions, such as heart disease, Alzheimer's...
Although still in very limited supply, distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine now seems to be on track with more clinics providing vaccinations. As of late February, however, all vaccine appointments at Tulare County public health clinics have been taken – even though at this time, other than essential workers, the only eligible age group is individuals ages 65 or older. "The biggest hindrance has been the availability of the supply," explained Carrie Monteiro, Tulare County Hea...