Do Not Resuscitate Orders Taken Too Seriously?

Do you have a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) in your medical file? DNRs are legal forms instructing health care providers that cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and other measures should not be performed in the event that the patient’s heartbeat stops. Typically, DNRs are signed by individuals of advanced age or with chronic illness who don’t want [...]

Where’s My Mom?

Physically, she’s probably sitting at home on the couch watching HGTV or The Biggest Loser. But the mommy I once knew is gone. My mother is battle-tested, and battle-scarred. But that never held her from moving us forward. The last couple of years haven’t been a crystal stair. Hell, neither have the last 40 years. [...]

Parentgiving: Powers of Attorney Explained

A Power of Attorney allows one to designate another person or organization to act on one’s behalf to handle financial, legal or medical if one is unavilable or unable to do so.  The person designated is known as the attorney-in-fact.  There are many types of powers of attorney, including general power of attorney, limited power [...]

Use Family Reunions to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes

Family reunions offer a chance to bond with relatives, learn about your heritage, share recipes, and celebrate with your whole family. When learning about your heritage, it is also important to find out if type 2 diabetes runs in your family. Having a family history of type 2 diabetes increases your risk for developing the [...]

Parentgiving: 5 Tips to Prevent Medical Errors

The “July Effect” is a very real phenomenon in teaching hospitals across the country. This is the time when graduates, fresh out of medical school, begin their residencies. It is also when there is a 10 percent increase in preventable, accidental medical errors in hospitals. Researchers from UC San Diego and UCLA did a recent [...]

The White House Explains Health Care Reform

The White House hosted a forum this week to explain the health care reform law to seniors. Earlier the week, President Obama and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius participated in a health care tele-town hall with seniors at the Holiday Park Multipurpose Senior Center in Wheaton, Maryland. In coordination with dozens of participating organizations, seniors across [...]

Health News: Glaucoma, Alzheimer’s Disease, HIV/AIDS in Women and Girls

World Glaucoma Week People of African descent have a 3–8 times higher risk than other people to develop open-angle glaucoma. Not only is this group at increased risk, but glaucoma is 15 times more likely to cause blindness in those of African descent between the ages of 45–64 than in Caucasians of the same age [...]

Does Dad Have Dementia? Ten Symptoms to Watch For

The onset and development of memory loss and dementia can be your biggest concern as a child and caregiver for your parent. Sometimes taking care of the physical and organizational aspects of your parent’s aging process are tiring, but the idea of losing that person cognitively can be almost unbearable. Unfortunately, many of us have [...]

Advance Directives For Health Care Explained

Advance Directives is the term given to legal documents that detail a person’s preferences regarding health care treatments and decisions, should he or she be unable to make those decisions due to such conditions as unconsciousness or loss of mental capacity. Advance directives typically include at least two documents: the living will and the durable [...]

Health News: Health Disparities, Uterine Fibroids, Over Diagnosis of Schizophrenia

Health Reform Gaps for Ethnic Elders:   The populations of ethnic elders are growing at two to three times the rate of older non-Hispanic whites. The proportion of ethnic elders in the U.S. will double by 2050 to make up 40 percent of all people aged 65 and over.  Multicultural and language issues range from better [...]

Next Page »