Trying to navigate the waters of Medicare, Medigap, and Medicare Advantage can be as clear as mud — but all hope is not lost. Anyone who is 65 years or older or those who have qualified for Social Security disability for 24 months become eligible to enroll in Medicare. If you fit into either of
Emotional isolation and physical inactivity are two of the biggest problems facing the growing senior citizen population. Fortunately, there are some way to address both these issues in a single program. It is ironic that in a society where instant communication is the norm, many of us feel very isolated. That’s especially true among seniors,
You have raised children, navigated your relationship with your spouse or partner and managed your career/job. Now the children are grown, your relationship succeeded or didn’t and you are ready to retire. What’s next? Plenty if you take the time to look around, think about your interests and what you want your next decade
March is National Nutrition Month, so this is as good a time as any to talk about nutrition and aging. What should we be eating as we age? Does it matter? Should we be concerned if we are “a little overweight”? Is it natural for an elder to have less of an appetite? As it
Our heart is a fist-sized muscle that pumps blood and fresh oxygen to all parts of our body, then returns the blood to the heart for an oxygen refill. It seems simple but this small organ is vital to keeping us healthy. As we age our heart tends to become a little less efficient, meaning
Your parent is admitted to the hospital for a physical complaint. Suddenly he is disoriented, seeing things, combative and paranoid. What happened? Hospital delirium is a widespread condition that affects many elderly patients. For years it was ignored or misdiagnosed as dementia by the medical community. Recent studies, however, have shown that hospital delirium can
A truly balanced lifestyle is one that combines good nutrition, regular physical activity and a healthy mental outlook. We try our best to maintain this balance through our lives even though for many of us it proves difficult. If we can make the effort, however, the pay off is great. Our mood is better, our
I love music! It brings me up if I’m feeling down, soothes me if I’m feeling anxious and, best of all, makes a party even more fun. If I’m cleaning the house, blasting that radio makes the time fly by. If I’m working on a tedious task, music helps me focus. Some songs bring back great
Watch yourself! I hung up the phone and whacked my planner shut. I had just canceled a lunch with my best friend. There were just too many things I had to get done and something had to give somewhere. I started to move on to the next thing when I decided to stop and pay attention to
