It’s the end of August and time for another End of Month Update on the End-of-Life. Today Dr. Wyatt discusses the following stories from the news and social media:
- Baycrest Health Sciences reported a study that ongoing mental stimulation for the elderly can counteract the contribution of the Western diet toward cognitive decline
- Some hospitals are creating Acute Care for Elders units to ensure that the elderly receive focused care that will enable them to return to a functional level and be able to return home. There are ~200 such units in the US right now.
- UCLA’s Geriatric unit has found significant overmedication of their elderly patients and has hired a pharmacist to help adjust medications for their patients – reported in Washington Post
- CMS encouraging states to use Medicaid dollars to pay for in-home care for their elderly rather than nursing home stays
- Pilot Study shows that offering intensive education for in-home caregivers helps decrease ER visits and hospitalizations
- Illinois law regulates training standards for Alzheimer’s caregivers
- Revised “Demoralization Scale” for evaluating patients decline in morale during cancer treatment
- Patients who use emotional support and acceptance as coping strategies have increased quality of life, decreased anxiety and depression compared to patients who resort to denial and self-blame
- Story of Disney Princess Party held for the daughter of a young mother who is dying of brain cancer
- Story of California woman with ALS who held a 2-day “going away” party before using the assisted dying law to end her life
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Face Your Fear. BE Ready. Love Your Life.
