While knee pain is a big problem among older adults, there is good news, Dr. Barrett noted. In particular, he was talking about the success rate that Simple Spinal is experiencing with a non-invasive Medicare-approved alternative to full knee replacements for osteoarthritis of the knee.
Osteoarthritis, or chronic degenerative joint disease, is the most common form of arthritis. It can be caused by heredity, injury, weight, age, over use, under use as well as an injury to another part of your body that causes you to walk differently, Dr. Barrett explained. Signs include stiffness, pain, and loss of flexibility and range of motion.
Your knee, he said, contains a fluid that lubricates and cushions the joint. The fluid is produced naturally by your body.
With osteoarthritis, you find yourself in a Catch 22 situation. As your cartilage wears down or gets thinner due to osteoarthritis, the amount of fluid that your body produces decreases. Less fluid results in less protection for your knee, which results in more damage, which further reduces the amount of fluid being produced.
Also, noted Dr. Barrett, if your knee is hurting, you are less likely to exercise.
The general treatment process for knee pain was to rely on medications until the pain became too severe and then do a total knee replacement. The problem with total knee replacements is that the procedure is invasive and replacements only last five to ten years.
Injections of an FDA-approved fluid called Hyalgan into the knee. Hyalgan is the main ingredient found in Hyaluronic acid, a gel naturally found in many places in your body, including your joints and your eyes.
Using the guidance of fluoroscopy or live-motion x-ray during the injection process to ensure that the fluid is being injected into the knee joint.
Having the patient engage in a patented rehab program after the fluid has been injected into the knee.
Dr. Barrett attributes the Center’s 85% to 87% success rate to the combination of these three factors, with patients reporting relief ranging from Six to 24 months.
The fluid used for the injections comes from roosters combs.
For the curious, these combs that sit atop roosters’ heads are not just decorative and used to attract mates, at least according to wiki.answers.com. They serve as cooling devices. Air moving over the comb helps cool the rooster.
The combs are plentiful and would otherwise just be thrown away after slaughter.
But because of the origin of the fluid, anyone allergic to eggs or feathers can’t take advantage of the procedure, and vegetarians and vegans most likely would not consider it appropriate.
For anyone else suffering from knee pain caused by osteoarthritis, you can learn more about the procedure at Simple Spinal’s website (click)
What are your thoughts? Leave a comment and let us know.
“BMA Management is the leading provider of affordable assisted living in Illinois and one of the 20 largest providers of assisted living in the United States.”
The call came just in the nick of time to save a grandmother in Springfield, Illinois from what has become known as the Grandparents Scam, said Erin Ruebbelke, Policy Advisor with the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.
She was conducting a program earlier this week at the Heritage Woods of Manteno affordable assisted living community that we manage in Manteno, Illinois, to help educate older adults and their families on frauds and scams that target older adults. The Silver Beat program was developed by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s Office.
The grandmother, Erin said, had received a phone call in the middle of the night from someone posing as her grandson. “Grandma”, the caller said, “I’ve been arrested on a DUI. Please don’t tell Mom or Dad. I can get out if you just wire $3,000.”
The grandmother was standing at Western Union with the cash in hand when her grandson just happened to call. He let her know that he was okay and not in jail in Canada.
The calls usually come in the middle of the night, and the caller usually will ask for Grandma. The scam artists claim to be attorneys, paralegals and law enforcement officers as well as frantic grandchildren.
The Grandparents Scam is the #1 Scam going on right now, Erin noted. Especially be careful this time of year, as calls often come around Spring Break.
Medicare scams also are popular, Erin noted. Beware of callers who claim to need personal information such as Medicare numbers or bank account information to activate new Medicare benefits and folks offering free scooters in exchange for your Medicare number.
A great way to help protect yourself against Medicare fraud is to be sure your review your quarterly Medicare Summary Notices (MSN).
Among the other topics covered in the program were Reverse Mortgages, Credit Cards and Credit Reports.
Reverse Mortgages
May be beneficial, especially if you have built up equity in your home and are struggling to pay bills. To be eligible, you must be 62 years of age or older and own your home. The home must be your primary place of residency, and you must get counseling from a HUD-certified counselor.
Credit Cards
With the Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights, credit card companies have to send your statement a minimum of 21 days in advance of the payment due date and have to send you a notice of changes 45 days in advance.
Credit Reports
You need to keep a close eye on your Credit Report. It is the #1 way to protect yourself from Identity Theft.
Free Credit Reports are available from the following three Credit Reporting Agencies:
Much more information about how to protect yourself or a loved one from fraud and scams targeting older adults can be obtained by visiting the Silver Beat website.
We also invite you to attend the Silver Beat training program on March 10 at our Heritage Woods of Chicago affordable assisted living community and on March 29 at our Heritage Woods of Watseka affordable assisted living community.
What are your thoughts? Leave a comment and let us know.
“BMA Management is the leading provider of affordable assisted living in Illinois and one of the 20 largest providers of assisted living in the United States.”
No pep rallies, slick sales pitches or hard sell sales techniques were needed. The residents of one of the affordable assisted living communities that we manage in Chicago were eagerly awaiting the opportunity to learn how to use a computer and get on-line well before last Friday’s Launch Party.
More than half of the residents of Churchview Supportive Living had already signed up for classes before the Launch Party had started.
Located in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood on Chicago’s southwest side, Churchview is one of only 26 sites in the entire United States to have been selected for a special pilot demonstration project to bring computer training and Internet access to low income seniors.
Through a grant from the Department of Commerce, residents of Churchview will have access for the next 18 months to a senior-friendly computer program offered by Connected Living of Quincy, Massachusetts.
The focus of Connected Living is on helping low income seniors and people with disabilities get on-line using a fun, simple and secure interface portal combined with touch-screen technology and personalized training and support.
At the Launch Party, representatives of Connected Living talked about what the residents of Churchview can expect.
Residents will be able to take a training class designed to teach them the basics of using a computer and accessing the Internet.
Residents who pass a basic computer proficiency test will receive a Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) grant-provided computer and free Internet service in their apartment.
Residents also will be able to access the computers in the Computer Lab that has been set up on the fifth floor of the community.
Intermediate and advanced training classes will be available.
Through the program, residents will be able to share photos and stories with their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren; access music and entertainment; participate in live video chats; and do comparison shopping and get coupons on-line.
In addition, they also will be able to keep in touch with family and friends through electronic mail and search the Internet.
To provide training and personalized support, Connected Living has assigned a full-time staff person to work at Churchview. Chicago resident Thalia Barrow was introduced as the on-site Community Program Manager.
Additional support is available for residents seven days a week through a toll-free telephone number.
Connected Living is changing the way residents of senior living communities such as Churchview are viewing technology, says Sarah Hoit, the company’s CEO and Co-Founder. “It empowers them to become proficient with computers, stay in touch with families, and ultimately broaden their horizons. They start to realize how much potential they have when they are on-line.”
The Connected Living program provides residents with everything they need to get and stay connected.
Commenting on behalf of the residents of Churchview at the Launch Party, resident David Atwood said that “when I heard about it, I was glad it was coming in.” Resident Blanche Birdsong added that while her grandchildren are using the computer, “I never thought that I would have a chance.”
Their reaction shouldn’t be a surprise if a recent article by Troy Wolverton on “Seniors Getting Plugged Into Technology” published earlier this month in the San Jose Mercury News is any indication.
The article cites research by the Pew Internet Project that shows computer use among those 65 and older in the United States doubling in the ten-year period of 2000 to 2010 and Internet usage more than tripling.
Once seniors get involved in using a computer, noted Aaron Smith, Senior Research Analyst with Pew Internet, “they are as active or more active than other users.”
In the video below, Sarah Hoit {CEO & Co-Founder of My Way Village} gives us an explanation of what “Connected Living” is all about.
What are your thoughts? Leave a comment and let us know.
“BMA Management is the leading provider of affordable assisted living in Illinois and one of the 20 largest providers of assisted living in the United States.”
The past Saturday, a book at the Palatine Library caught my attention.
Having been in senior living and health care for the past 35 years, I was intrigued by the title “You’re Old, I’m Old… Get Used to It!” and by the author, who is a product of the world of sex, drugs and rock and roll of the 1960s. As a journalist in her youth, author Virginia Ironside interviewed the likes of The Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix.
Instantaneously the below songs began “rolling” through my head.
The Rolling Stones • Brown Sugar
Jimi Hendrix • Purple Haze
Virginia, who is blazing her way through her sixties, pens an advice column for the Independent newspaper in London, England. The inside back cover notes that the book has been developed into a one-women stage show called the Virginia Monologues, which was first performed in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2009.
Copy in a banner on the top of the front cover proclaims that the book contains “20 Reasons Why Growing Old is Great.”
She wrote “You’re Old, I’m Old” because she found nothing when she went searching for “something entertaining and perceptive” to help her through the decade of her sixties. After all, she notes, there was “Catcher in the Rye” to help her through her teens, books by Erma Bombeck once she became a “young mum” and, of course, the “Fear of Flying” by Erica Jong.
Being old is great, Virginia argues. It is fun, interesting and liberating. It is something to celebrate. “I don’t WANT to be young anymore.”
I thoroughly enjoyed many of her insights and humor.
On Downsizing — “I see reducing as being like something you do to a wine sauce.” After you have simmered it for ages, what started as something sloppy and tasteless turns into something delicious.
On Looks — “There is no excuse when you’re old to let yourself go. A good looking oldie can have the time of his or her life.”
On Terminology — She quite likes “over the hill” because once you’re over the hill the view of everything is better than when you were struggling up it.
If you find yourself pining for your youth, Virginia says that you can console yourself in the knowledge that there are many things that you will never have to do again such as sacrificing comfort for style, worrying about what the world will be like in 50 years, and thinking Bob Dylan is a god.
“The less future we have in front of us,
the more we can enjoy the now”
It is one of the reasons why growing old is great, says Virginia.
I think you will find “You’re Old, I’m Old… Get Used to It!” to be a funny and memorable read that challenges our obsession with youth.
What are your thoughts? Leave a comment and let us know.
“BMA Management is the leading provider of affordable assisted living in Illinois and one of the 20 largest providers of assisted living in the United States.”
Here in Chicago, we already are well above the full season averages for snow fall, the number of days when the temperature fails to get above freezing, and the number of days that the ground has been covered with snow.
The past two nights have been among the coldest of this winter season, with temperatures dropping well below zero and wind chills down to 20° to 25° below.
At this time last week, we were still digging out from the Blizzard of 2011, which featured the combination of 20+ inches of snow, 50+ mile-an-hour gusts of wind, flashes of lightning and claps of thunder.
It’s during times such as these that the benefits of living in a senior living or assisted living community become so amplified, as told to me by residents and their families.
Residents don’t have to worry about running out, or finding someone to take them, to stock up on things as warnings of the need to prepare for a blizzard pound the airwaves on the radio and television. They don’t have to worry about shoveling or snow blowing driveways and sidewalks nor about being isolated in a home alone.
Even more importantly for those in assisted living, they don’t have to worry about a relative, home health agency or meal delivery service being able to reach them to provide them with something nutritious to eat, help with medications or the personal assistance that they need.
As I listened to those at our communities recap all of the steps they took to ensure that residents would be safe and secure during the Blizzard of 2011, the following two stories in particular captured my attention.
Cabin Fever Party
At our Eagle Ridge of Decaturaffordable assisted living community in Decatur, Illinois, board games were used to help relieve boredom.
The community hosted a Cabin Fever Party to help residents ride out the storm.
“We went down to the Activity Room, pulled out every game we had, and brought them all to the Dining Room,” says Kristi Ruderman, Administrator. With Big Band music playing in the background, residents and staff, including the department heads, played Yahtzee, Scrabble, poker, checkers, Bunko, and juice pong. While playing, residents munched on freshly baked banana bread, cookies and Snickerdoodles and sipped hot chocolate.
The residents talked about how happy they were that they didn’t have to be outside.
But they are not the type to never go anywhere or do anything, says Robin Bauerle, Director of Marketing. They are on-the-go, visiting friends and family and going to the Mall, beauty shops and exercise. They love the outings we offer to places such as the Bement County Opry and Prairie Gardens.
Since they don’t like to be stuck inside, we didn’t want them to become bored because they had nothing more to do than watching all the snow accumulate outside.
“We want to add quality and fun to their lives,” Kristi says, in addition to making sure they receive the help and assistance that the need.
Slumber Party
At our Heritage Woods of Sterlingaffordable assisted living community in Sterling, Illinois, residents took notice as department heads moved into the community to spend the night of the blizzard with them.
“We ate together, bowled on Wii, played cards, popped popcorn and watched a movie” before retiring for the evening,” says Rae Ann Higley, Resident Services Coordinator.
Staff made sure that the residents were safe and warm while the world around us was a whirlwind on snow, ice and wind.
In the morning, everyone pitched in to make sure that their bellies were full. As we helped pour coffee and serve food, we were reminded about how well the Dietary staff knows the likes and dislikes of residents – for this resident, it’s ½ Cornflakes™ and ½ Cheerios™ – mixed together – not in two separate bowls; this resident wants milk in a tall glass, not small; this resident likes tomato juice with ice.
During the Blizzard, the community also posted updates and pictures of what was going on at Heritage Woods of Sterling on Facebook to help provide comfort and peace of mind to family members.
“It is nice not to have to worry about our loved ones in the midst of this huge blizzard,” one family member commented in thanking Heritage Woods for the Facebook postings. “I feel very comfortable that he is well taken care of.”
What are your thoughts? Leave a comment and let us know.
“BMA Management is the leading provider of affordable assisted living in Illinois and one of the 20 largest providers of assisted living in the United States.”
