He recorded his Nana’s songs. Now, at 95, she’s nominated for a Latin Grammy.
WAPO - Growing up in Cuba, Angela Alvarez wanted to be a singer. But after coming to the United States as a young woman, she found herself cleaning a bank in Colorado to make a living.
It now almost seems impossible that her long-held dream has become a reality: Alvarez was nominated for a Latin Grammy for best new artist. She is 95.
You Know You Can’t Resist. Go ahead and click. - The 100 Greatest TV Theme Songs of All Time
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Preparing for the Holidays? So Are Criminals - Already-Rampant Fraud Expected to Spike
AARP - Fraud attempts continue to rise, with criminals ramping up attacks on consumers. Three out of four U.S. adults age 18- plus have been targeted by or experienced at least one form of fraud,2 with monetary donation requests from fake charities topping the list, followed by fraud when buying a product through an online ad and receiving fake notifications about shipping issues.
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How Would You Feel About a 100-Year-Old Doctor?
NYT - I read an article recently about a 100-year-old doctor named Howard Tucker who is still practicing medicine in Cleveland. He represents an important demographic trend: The United States has a growing number of older doctors. Even as baby boomer doctors pass retirement age, many are electing to continue to practice medicine. Given the alarming levels of burnout and attrition in the U.S. health care work force, this trend isn’t entirely unwelcome. But aging inevitably brings physical and mental decline, which can affect physician performance and put patients at risk. Air traffic controllers are required to retire at age 56, and airline pilots must stop flying commercial flights at age 65. Doctors face no such restrictions, even though their decisions are also crucial for people’s lives. Should they?
Observation - I think like anything else, if you have the ability and your skills are still sharp, why not. Look at our first story!
Medicare Advantage? More like Medicare Disadvantage.
WAPO - When the annual enrollment period for Medicare ends on Dec. 7, analysts expect that, for the first time, more seniors will receive their 2023 health-care coverage from Medicare Advantage than the traditional program.
That’s not a good thing for either elderly Americans or federal coffers. And while seniors are well advised to approach these plans with caution, we should all be paying attention to what’s going on.
Observation - I am very familiar with this world. In theory all of those extra benefits, think Silver Sneakers, are designed to keep you healthier and out of the doctor’s office and hospital. Because these plans receive a per member per month fee to take care of you, it is in their best interest to keep you healthy. But when push comes to shove and you need real care, well, expect to find denied services, limited networks, and out of pocket costs. I have opted for traditional Medicare with a supplement. Gives me access to care when I travel across the country, etc. In other words, you get what you pay for as always.
Pandemic drives technology uptake in senior living communities
McKnight’s - The pandemic not only sped up the adoption of technology in the senior living and care field; it also opened the door to a variety of new technologies that one expert said are here to stay.
Technologic innovations have helped long-term care organizations tackle everything from resident safety and mobility to filling gaps left by staff shortages.
Infection control, as well as staff and resident screenings, introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic remain important technology components across settings, according to the 2022 edition of the LeadingAge Ziegler 200.
Dogs and humans both can get dementia. More walks can help.
WAPO - Whether you walk on two legs — or gambol happily on four and happen to bark — being physically active lowers the risk of developing dementia with age, according to two new studies involving people and dogs.
One of the studies monitored the activities of 15,019 pet dogs. The other tracked the daily steps of 78,430 men and women. Together they provide inspiring data about the precise amounts of walking that best protect brains and also how detrimental excessive sitting — and staying — can be.
Dogs develop dementia. It is common with aging, just as in people, and the disease hallmarks are similar in both species.
Drug overdose deaths among seniors have more than tripled in two decades
CNBC - Drug overdose deaths more than tripled among people age 65 and older during the past two decades while deaths from alcohol abuse increased more than 18% from 2019 to 2020, according to data published Wednesday by the National Center for Health Statistics.
More than 800,000 seniors suffered from drug addiction and 2.7 million suffered from alcohol addiction in 2020, according to separate data from the Health and Human Services Department.
Do You Really Want to Rebuild at 80?’ Rethinking Where to Retire.
NY Times - It’s a small yet noticeable shift, experts say — but climate change is causing retirees to start reconsidering moves to disaster-prone dream locales.
Understanding why people feel lonely in later life
News Medical Life Sciences - Not everyone's holiday plans resemble a Hallmark card. If the "most wonderful time of the year" isn't your reality, you're not alone. You might have an idea of a festive picture-perfect holiday season, but what actually transpires doesn't always measure up.
And that's where loneliness comes from, says King's College London graduate student Samia Akhter-Khan, first author of a new study on the subject.
Together with Duke psychology and neuroscience Ph.D. Leon Li, Akhter-Khan and colleagues co-authored a paper on why people feel lonely, particularly in later life, and what we can do about it.
Observation - People can still feel lonely, even if they don't spend much time alone. Researchers identified two age-specific expectations that haven't been taken into account. For one, older adults want to feel respected. They want people to listen to them, to take an interest in their experiences and learn from their mistakes. They also want to contribute: to give back to others and their community and pass along traditions or skills through teaching and mentoring, volunteering, caregiving, or other meaningful activities.
Taking This Common Medication Long-Term Could Lead to Alzheimer's, Studies Say
Yahoo Life - Many medications may potentially increase the risk of diseases such as Alzheimer's, reports AARP. The organization explains that statins—drugs that lower cholesterol in the blood—can decrease the levels of cholesterol in the brain. Anti-seizure drugs can also cause memory loss, the AARP notes, noting that these meds are "increasingly prescribed for nerve pain, bipolar disorder, mood disorders and mania." While these drugs can be effective, "All drugs that depress signaling in the CNS can cause memory loss," they warn.
Seniors’ loneliness increased in face of social distancing, U.K. study finds
McKnight’s - Pandemic mitigation measures are thought to have exacerbated feelings of isolation and loneliness among older adults. Investigators analyzed participant data from two studies from the United Kingdom.
Following the introduction of COVID-19 social distancing restrictions, loneliness among a cohort of 379 study participants rose from 17% to 25%. Factors that increased risk included prior loneliness, separation from family during the pandemic, living alone, female gender, living in an area of higher deprivation, and frequent pre-pandemic social contact at community groups.
Notably, weekly technology-facilitated contact was linked to lower odds of loneliness. However, despite the impact of the pandemic, the prevalence estimates found in this study “are not substantially higher than typical loneliness estimates.” One reason for this may be that there already has been an “epidemic of loneliness” for quite some time prior to the pandemic, they theorized.
Observation - that last sentence is key.
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