I read in the Boston Globe today that some hospice care companies pay employees for referrals.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2011/12/16/hospice-care-has-become-industry-with-growing-issues/mp40ZHDdlLZVrLDNRSPNvN/story.html
Hospice care used to be chiefly a charitable cause but has become a huge industry with a base of medicare covered patients that doubled to 1.1 million from 2000 to 2009. It is supposed to be offered for patients who are expected t die within 6 months. According to this article Hospice Care of Kansas gave its salespeople a budget of $500 a month to buy lunches and gifts for doctors and nursing facility managers and staff.
The article presents this as being somewhat unethical. I think that it is unethical to bribe but as far as  services- it all depends on what they are. When my mom was in a nursing home with Alzheimer's disease I was not told about Hospice. I only discovered it when I saw a Rabbi running around and I asked him why he was there.  I applied and my mom was suddenly given a specially trained aide who spent 2 hours a day stimulating her. In addition, the hospice nurse said that my mom no longer needed to have painful blood tests to assess her psychiatric medication. I was thrilled with these services.
What I was not thrilled about was arriving one day and seeing a woman waving her arms above my mother's body while my mom was sleeping. This was during the late stages of the disease when she spent most of her time with her eyes closed and needed to be physically stimulated in order to open her eyes and interact at all. Nobody asked if I wanted Medicare to pay for Reiki (which I admit I don't know much about), but I would have said no.
In the same Boston Globe today I read that President Obama will be raising the pay for home health care employees. This is very important because the people who take care of our loved ones should earn a living wage.
Thank-you President Obama!
http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2011/12/16/obama-plan-raises-pay-for-home-health-care-employees/0SR41FARJHRCua4OC0QhMN/story.html

Glen Campbell Good Bye Tour

I am kind of dating myself when I say I that grew up with Glen Campbell on TV. I preferred rock and roll at the time but I am a big fan of his now that he has shared facing his Alzheimer's diagnosis with public.

Life, Scrambled by Dementa

Boston Globe article describes virtual tour so that caregivers experience simulated sensory losses to better understand dementia.
http://articles.boston.com/2011-07-28/news/29825414_1_dementia-patients-brightview-facility-dementia-residents

Elders not told of risks in hip study

Wow, this is an interesting article in the Boston Globe. I don't understand what the purpose of the research was and who funded it. Are the companies that make the underwear looking for a cheaper way to make them with padding on only one side? Who gave permission to be in the study-family members or the nursing homes. Did the nursing homes get financial reimbursement for involvement in the study or free underwear? Basically, I am asking why did the family or staff agree to this study in the first place? Is the study supposed to be comparing use of underwear with padding on one side vs. padding on both sides or are they comparing use of underwear with padding on one side vs. no padding at all? Why would the nursing home staff want to be involved in this in the first place if previous research indicated that underwear with padding on both sides was effective! I think that the authors of this article are just as confused as myself since they seemed to have difficulty getting information from the researchers. but since our tax monies pay for nursing home care we all deserve an explanation from a financial as well as humanitarian vantage....

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/07/01/elders_not_told_of_risks_in_hip_study_us_alleges/

Color Coding the Calendar

I gave a presentation about low vision at a Council of Aging and a woman with macular degeneration showed me how she color coded her large print calendar. Yellow stickers are on days when she has medical appointments.
I thought this was very clever!

Hamilton Wenham Aging Info Expo

Lots of networking and information sharing at the Hamilton Wenham Aging Info Expo where I had a booth with information on my low vision business and ADL adaptive equipment for seniors.Visitors loved my trash bag knitting demo and wanted to see how my needle threading gadget worked.  I guess I should have bought some to resell because so many people were disappointed I wasn't selling anything. I did give out the 10 page informational packet I put together on lighting needs of the elderly and those with low vision. 

Mural in Assisted Living Facility

Biographical Mural lets Alzheimer's patients see their lives....
A nice article about how to stimulate residents with meaningful pictures and information about their lives.