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☆ ‘Aging in Place, or Stuck in Place?’
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-20 | by ( Paula Span | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

When it came to housing, Susan Apel and Keith Irwin thought they had planned adroitly for later life. They bought a four-bedroom house on two acres in Lebanon, N.H., 24 years ago, and “we made sure to pay off the mortgage before we retired,” said Ms. Apel, 71. Ms. Apel, a retired law professor, is having trouble climbing stairs. Mr. Irwin, 71, previously an account manager for a local business, is wearying of yard work and snow shoveling, and finding workers to do those chores instead has become difficult. “We’re seeing the writing on the wall,” Ms. Apel said.

Persons: Susan Apel, Keith Irwin, ”, Apel, Irwin, Ms Locations: Lebanon, N.H

☆ Why Are Older Americans Drinking So Much?
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-30 | by ( Paula Span | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The phone awakened Doug Nordman at 3 a.m. A surgeon was calling from a hospital in Grand Junction, Colo., where Mr. Nordman’s father had arrived at the emergency room, incoherent and in pain, and then lost consciousness. At first, the staff had thought he was suffering a heart attack, but a CT scan found that part of his small intestine had been perforated. A surgical team repaired the hole, saving his life, but the surgeon had some questions. “Was your father an alcoholic?” he asked. The doctors had found Dean Nordman malnourished, his peritoneal cavity “awash with alcohol.”The younger Mr. Nordman, a military personal finance author living in Oahu, Hawaii, explained that his 77-year-old dad had long been a classic social drinker: a Scotch and water with his wife before dinner, which got topped off during dinner, then another after dinner, and perhaps a nightcap.

Persons: Doug Nordman, Nordman’s, “, ”, Dean Nordman, Nordman Locations: Grand Junction, Colo, Oahu, Hawaii

☆ When Medicaid Comes After the Family Home
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-16 | by ( Paula Span | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The letter came from the state department of human services in July 2021. It expressed condolences for the loss of the recipient’s mother, who had died a few weeks earlier at 88. Then it explained that the deceased had incurred a Medicaid debt of more than $77,000 and provided instructions on how to repay the money. She asked not to be identified, because the case is unresolved and she doesn’t want to jeopardize her chances of getting the bill reduced. The daughter moved into the family’s Midwestern home years earlier, when her widowed mother, who had vascular dementia, began to need assistance.

Persons: “, ” Organizations: The New York Times

☆ Apparently Healthy, but Diagnosed With Alzheimer’s?
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Paula Span | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Determining whether someone has Alzheimer’s disease usually requires an extended diagnostic process. A doctor takes a patient’s medical history, discusses symptoms, administers verbal and visual cognitive tests. or a spinal tap — tests that detect the presence of two proteins in the brain, amyloid plaques and tau tangles, both associated with Alzheimer’s. All of that could change dramatically if new criteria proposed by an Alzheimer’s Association working group are widely adopted. Its final recommendations, expected later this year, will accelerate a shift that is already underway: from defining the disease by symptoms and behavior to defining it purely biologically — with biomarkers, substances in the body that indicate disease.

Organizations: Alzheimer’s Association

☆ Old and Young, Talking Again
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-18 | by ( Paula Span | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

On Fridays at 10 a.m., Richard Bement and Zach Ahmed sign on to their weekly video chat. The program that brought them together provides online discussion prompts and suggests arts-related activities, but the two largely ignore all that. “We just started talking about things that were important to us,” said Mr. Ahmed, 19, a pre-med student at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. “There’s this fallacy that these two generations can’t communicate,” said Mr. Bement. “I don’t find that to be true.”

Persons: Richard Bement, Zach Ahmed, ”, Ahmed, Pink Floyd, Bement, Ahmed’s, “ Organizations: Miami University in Locations: Miami University in Oxford , Ohio, Milford Township , Ohio

☆ The Heart Surgery That Isn’t as Safe for Older Women
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-20 | by ( Paula Span | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Last Thanksgiving, Cynthia Mosson had been on her feet all day in her kitchen in Frankfort, Ind., preparing dinner for nine. She was nearly finished — the ham in the oven, the dressing made — when she suddenly felt the need to sit down. “I started hurting in my left shoulder,” said Ms. Mosson, 61. They said testing revealed serious blockages in all her coronary arteries and told her, “You’re going to need open-heart surgery,” Ms. Mosson recalled. When such patients head into an operating room, what happens next has a lot to do with their sex, a recent study in JAMA Surgery reported.

Persons: Cynthia Mosson, “, ”, Mosson, “ You’re, ” Ms Locations: Frankfort , Ind

☆ The Neighbors Are All Older, Too. Is That What You Want?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-25 | by ( Paula Span | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But the prospect of life in an age-restricted development makes Robyn Ringler shudder. She meets people while biking through her neighborhood or walking her goldendoodle; she knows trick-or-treaters by name. Though surveys repeatedly show that most older people prefer to remain in their own homes as they age, about 800,000 were in assisted living last year, according to LeadingAge, which represents nonprofit aging services providers. An additional 745,000 lived in continuing care communities and three million in federally supported affordable senior housing. The National Investment Center for Seniors Housing and Care estimates that 540 active adult communities with 82,000 units offer market-rate rental properties for seniors.

Persons: Robyn Ringler shudder, “, ”, Ringler Organizations: National Investment Center, Seniors Housing Locations: New York, Albany

☆ The Only People Who Understand What a Caregiver Goes Through
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-11 | by ( Paula Span | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Both men are patients at Penn Memory Center in Philadelphia, which began this mentorship program for caregivers in September. Dr. Dunbar, a nurse-practitioner who lives in Wallingford, Pa., is younger, at 61, but has coped with caregiving for far longer: Her husband, Jeffrey Draine, 60, was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s in 2017. Philip Sadtler, 80, received his diagnosis just two years ago, so his wife has long lists of questions about what lies ahead. How can she handle the guilt of leaving him at home sometimes while she volunteers or sees friends? How long can the couple, who live in Berwyn, Pa., continue traveling to California to visit their daughter and her family?

Persons: Julia Sadtler, Debora Dunbar, Alzheimer’s, . Dunbar, Jeffrey Draine, “, I’ve, ”, Philip Sadtler, Philip Organizations: Penn Memory Center Locations: Philadelphia, Wallingford, Pa, Berwyn, California

☆ Hearing Aids Are More Affordable, and Perhaps More Needed, Than Ever
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Paula Span | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A year ago, the Food and Drug Administration announced new regulations allowing the sale of over-the-counter hearing aids and setting standards for their safety and effectiveness. That step — which was supposed to take three years but required five — portended cheaper, high-quality hearing aids that people with mild to moderate hearing loss could buy online or at local pharmacies and big stores. Manufacturers and retailers have become serious about making hearing aids more accessible and affordable. The past year also brought renewed focus on the importance of treating hearing loss, which affects two-thirds of people over age 70. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University published the first randomized clinical trial showing that hearing aids could help reduce the pace of cognitive decline.

Organizations: Food and Drug Administration, Manufacturers, Johns Hopkins University

☆ How a Lawsuit in N.J. Could Bring Aid in Dying to Millions
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-16 | by ( Paula Span | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Judy Govatos has heard that magical phrase “you’re in remission” twice, in 2015 and again in 2019. Ms. Govatos, 79, a retired executive at nonprofit organizations who lives in Wilmington, Del., has been grateful for the extra years. She has been able to take and teach lifelong learning courses, to work in her garden, to visit London and Cape Cod with friends. “If that means less time alive, that’s OK.” When her months dwindle, she wants medical aid in dying. After a series of requests and consultations, a doctor would prescribe a lethal dose of a medication that she would take on her own.

Persons: Judy Govatos, ”, Govatos, “ Locations: Wilmington, Del, London, Cape Cod

☆ Long Covid Poses Special Challenges for Seniors
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-03 | by ( Paula Span | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The dozens of symptoms collectively known as long Covid, or post-Covid, can sideline anyone who has been infected. About 11 percent of American adults have developed long Covid after an infection, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last month, down from the almost 19 percent recorded from June 2022 to June 2023. People over age 60 actually have lower rates of long Covid overall than those aged 30 to 59. That might reflect higher vaccination and booster rates among older Americans, or more protective behavior like masking and avoiding crowds. Though knowledge of long Covid has increased, she added, much remains unknown about the illness.

Persons: ”, Akiko Iwasaki, Anderson Organizations: Centers for Disease Control, Yale School of Medicine

☆ How Nursing Homes Failed to Protect Residents From Covid
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-19 | by ( Paula Span | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“I kept waiting for the cavalry to come, and it really hasn’t, even today,” Dr. Grabowski said. “At no time during the pandemic did we prioritize nursing homes.” More than 167,000 residents have died, Medicare reported this month, along with at least 3,100 staff members. It was Dr. McGarry, Dr. Grabowski and their co-authors who discovered the failure to deliver antiviral medications. This is “the highest of the high-risk groups,” Dr. McGarry said. As the saying went, a nursing home was like a cruise ship that never docked.

Persons: “, Dr, Grabowski, McGarry, Dr . Grabowski, Paxlovid Organizations: Medicare, Food and Drug Administration, JAMA

☆ Still Dreaming of Retirement in the Sun Belt?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( Paula Span | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The number of older Americans like the Coxes who are exposed to extreme heat is increasing, the result of an aging population, continuing migration to heat-prone places and climate change. Phoenix, long a retirement destination, has averaged 108 days a year of 100-plus degree temperatures since 1970. But this year has been brutal: By July 31, Phoenix had already reached 68 days this year with temperatures over 100 degrees. Temperatures hit at least 110 degrees Fahrenheit for 31 straight days, from the last day of June to the end of July, setting a record. Summer in the Phoenix suburbs has been “miserable,” Ms. Cox said, on a midmorning when the temperature in Goodyear had already reached 106.

Persons: Cox, Cox’s, ”, Deborah Carr, Phoenix, Ms, “, haven’t Organizations: Boston University, Goodyear Locations: Goodyear, Phoenix

☆ A Number That Should Guide Your Health Choices (It’s Not Your Age)
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-23 | by ( Paula Span | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

At her annual visit, the patient’s doctor asks if she plans to continue having regular mammograms to screen for breast cancer, and then reminds her that it’s been almost 10 years since her last colonoscopy. The patient’s age alone may be an argument against further mammogram appointments. The task force gives it a C grade for those 76 to 85, meaning there’s “at least moderate certainty that the net benefit is small.” It should only be offered selectively, the guidelines say. Does she have heart disease? Does she smoke?

Persons: it’s Organizations: . Preventive Services Task Force

☆ Substance Abuse Is Climbing Among Seniors
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-09 | by ( Paula Span | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

He asks, too, about their use of tobacco, alcohol, cannabis and other nonprescription drugs. “Patients tend to not want to disclose this, but I put it in a health context,” Dr. Han said. He tells them, “As you get older, there are physiological changes and your brain becomes much more sensitive. It can put you at risk.”That’s how he learns that someone complaining about insomnia might be using stimulants, possibly methamphetamines, to get going in the morning. Or that a patient who has long taken an opioid for chronic pain has run into trouble with an added prescription for, say, gabapentin.

Persons: Benjamin Han, Dr, Han Organizations: School of Medicine, University of California Locations: San Diego

☆ Hospice Is a Profitable Business, but Nonprofits Mostly Do a Better Job
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-10 | by ( Paula Span | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In the nearly 20 years that Megan Stainer worked in nursing homes in and around Detroit, she could almost always tell which patients near death were receiving care from nonprofit hospice organizations and which from for-profit hospices. “There were really stark differences,” said Ms. Stainer, 45, a licensed practical nurse. Looking at their medical charts, “the nonprofit patients always had the most visits: nurses, chaplains, social workers.”The nonprofit hospices responded quickly when the nursing home staff requested supplies and equipment. By contrast, she said, “if you called and said, ‘I need a specialized bed,’ with for-profits it could take days — days when the patient is in a bed that’s uncomfortable.”Ms. Stainer, now a private duty nurse and certified death doula in Hamburg, Mich., also found nonprofits more willing to keep patients enrolled and for-profits more prone to “live discharge” — removing patients from hospice ostensibly because they no longer met the criteria for declining health, then re-enrolling them later.

Persons: Megan Stainer, ”, Stainer, ‘, Ms Locations: Detroit, Hamburg, Mich

☆ Moving Is a Monumental Task for Many Older Americans. These Organizers Can Help.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Paula Span | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Depending on the needs of clients, move managers’ services include sorting and organizing belongings, working with a moving company and using a floor plan to determine what can fit where in the new residence. That’s not within everyone’s means, but most clients are moving into private-pay senior living facilities, often after selling a house, and can afford the additional expense. Family members may also help shoulder the costs. “It’s not just packing and unpacking,” Ms. Buysee said. “It’s working with the clients and the family for weeks or months, going through a lifetime of possessions.

☆ Too Many Older Men Are Still Screened for Prostate Cancer
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Paula Span | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

He’d occasionally noticed blood in his urine and wanted to have that checked out. His doctor ordered a prostate-specific antigen, or P.S.A., test to measure a protein in his blood that might indicate prostate cancer — or a number of more benign conditions. “It came back somewhat elevated,” said Mr. Loree, 68, an instructional designer who lives in Berkeley, Calif. A biopsy found a few cancer cells, “a minuscule amount,” he recalled. Mr. Loree was at very low risk, but nobody likes hearing the c-word. But because his brother and a friend had both been diagnosed with prostate cancer and had undergone aggressive treatment that he preferred to avoid, Mr. Loree felt comfortable with a more conservative approach called active surveillance.

☆ They May Be Just Acquaintances. They’re Important to You Anyway.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Paula Span | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Those who interacted with more weak ties reported greater happiness, and a greater sense of well-being and belonging, than those with fewer interactions. The researchers found “within-person differences,” too, showing that the effects were not a result of personalities. The same individuals reported being happier on days they had more interactions. Those in the innermost circle of close ties were almost always family, said Toni Antonucci, a psychologist at the University of Michigan and senior author of the study. The weak ties in the outermost circle included friends, co-workers and neighbors.

☆ Which to Choose: Medicare or Medicare Advantage?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Paula Span | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +13 min

Which to Choose: Medicare or Medicare Advantage? Medicare Advantage plans, like traditional Medicare, are funded by the federal government, but they are offered though private insurance companies, which receive a set payment for each enrollee. The proportion of eligible Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans has hit 48 percent. Which is better: Medicare or Medicare Advantage? Credit... Kenny Holston for The New York Times Unlike most Medicare Advantage plans, traditional Medicare does not include drug coverage.

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