Other Practical Tools for Caregiving

As part of National Family Caregivers Month – November, 2013 – the National Parkinson Foundation has announced that it will offer Free Caregiving tips and resources during the entire month of November. On the NPF Facebook page, the Foundation . . . → Read More: Free Caregiving Tips & Resources for National Family Caregivers Month from Parkinson Foundation

The Parkinson Foundation has announced that it will offer a Free Online Webinar on “Caring for the Caregiver” on Thursday, November 7 at 1:00 PM. The webinar, for caregivers, patients and their families and friends, is presented in . . . → Read More: Parkinson Foundation Offers Free Webinar on Caring for the Caregiver – November 7

In a HealthBeat message and podcast issued on April 22, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) pronounced that “Your health is going digital. Health applications on the go are becoming more available.” The message describes new . . . → Read More: HHS Announces New Digital & Mobile Health Apps to Help You Stay Healthy

Here are a few useful apps that can organize all of your elderly loved one’s documents. Evernote (note taking service), an app that saves information, web pages, notes, and attachments across all your devices. Includes a great search function. . . . → Read More: Helpful Organizing Tips for Caregivers

The February, 2013 issue of the journal HealthAffairs features several studies addressing how more active engagement of patients in their own health and health care can affect health care outcomes and costs of care. “Studies show that more informed . . . → Read More: Patient Engagement Improves Healthcare Outcomes and Lowers Cost, New Studies Find

Frequently late? Often angry or irritated? Unsure of your ability to do something? Overextended? Not enough time for stress relief? A new report by Harvard Medical School, Stress Management: Approaches for preventing and reducing stress, “can help you identify . . . → Read More: Harvard Releases New Report On Stress Management

As Hurricane Sandy was preparing to strike New Jersey and New York on October 29, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) circulated a bulletin on how to prepare for, and keep your food and water safe . . . → Read More: Tips on Keeping Food & Water Safe During Emergencies, Circulated by HHS

A new update on the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) website announces and provides information about a new Helpline called “TSA Cares” that will be provided by the TSA to assist travelers with disabilities and medical conditions. According to . . . → Read More: TSA Provides Helpline for Travelers with Disabilities and Medical Conditions

As Tropical Storm Isaac approaches Florida, with Hurricane warnings in effect for much of Florida’s West coast, government authorities are urging all citizens to prepare, and are focusing attention on government resources available to help you prepare for a . . . → Read More: Tropical Storm Isaac Puts Spotlight on Hurricane Preparedness

The U.S. Government today circulated a news bulletin from its official website, USA.gov, advising of a number of new or expanded resources on how to prepare for and stay safe in a Summer weather emergency. Today is the first . . . → Read More: Govt News Bulletin Gives Preparation & Safety Tips for Summer Weather Emergencies

The American College of Physicians (ACP) and Consumer Reports jointly announced yesterday that they will work together to produce a new series of “High Value Care” guides to help patients understand what are appropriate treatments for common health problems. . . . → Read More: New High Value Care Guides for Patients Are Jointly Announced by American College of Physicians & Consumer Reports

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) and its Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) announced new data on Friday, February 17, showing that the use of electronic health records has more than doubled . . . → Read More: Health IT, Electronic Health Records & Health IT Jobs Expanding, New Data Show

To better help cope with caregiver stress, The Mayo Clinic offers courses in Mindful Living Techniques. This course teaches the skill of focusing on the present moment, letting go of the past (often associated with depression) as well the . . . → Read More: Mindful Living Techniques May Help Caregivers Better Cope With Stress

Steve Jobs, 56, the founder of Apple®, died Wednesday, October 5, 2011, after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Despite his personal struggle, Jobs is remembered for his remarkable contributions to technology, including healthcare and wellness technology, and his . . . → Read More: A Tribute to Steve Jobs; Remembering His Legacy to Healthcare & Wellness

What can you do as a Baby Boomer and family caregiver to secure your retirement future against the threat of rising health care and long-term care costs? Here are some links to information that may be helpful to you . . . → Read More: Retirement and Long-Term Care Planning Tools

A new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, a journal of the American Medical Association, found that patients’ medical history “emerged as the key element in formulating correct diagnosis” of medical conditions. This obviously has important implications . . . → Read More: Study Finds Medical History Key to Correct Diagnosis

The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), announced on Friday that they have launched new online tools for patients and caregivers to “empower consumers to make informed choices about their health care,” as well as other initiatives . . . → Read More: Medicare Adds New Online Tools to Help Health Care Consumers

While many discounts to seniors begin at 55 years of age, some start as early as 50. Listed below are some sites that may help you save for yourself, your elderly loved one, or both of you. Some things . . . → Read More: Tips on Finding Senior Discounts

Several pilot programs are being conducted by the Oregon Center for Aging & Technology to test motion sensors, skype-like video monitors, robots and other high-tech equipment, as a means of constantly monitoring the well-being of seniors in their own . . . → Read More: High-Tech Increasingly Used to Allow Seniors to Age in Place

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), has released a new tool to help consumers reduce medication errors — a revised booklet, with detachable wallet-sized card, entitled: “Your Medicines: Be . . . → Read More: New Tool Issued by HHS to Help Reduce Medication Errors

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has launched a new section of the Medicare.gov website focused on helping caregivers. The new site, called Medicare Basics — Eligibility and enrollment; definitions for . . . → Read More: Medicare Launches New Website for Caregivers

Here’s a free online health application that assists families in managing their health. The Mayo Clinic has teamed up with Microsoft to give you tools to control your family’s health care with personalized reminders and guidance. . . . → Read More: A Free Online Application to Manage Health

Please take a minute to answer a few questions (anonymously) that will help us learn and let others know what most concerns family caregiver and what would most help family caregivers. Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the . . . → Read More: What Would Help You Most as a Caregiver?

From Area Agency on Aging, helpful Toll-Free information lines from A-Z. Aging, Allergy, Alternative Medicine, Alzheimer’s, Arthritis, etc. »Toll-Free Information Lines.

Caregivers are beginning to recognize that technology can provide significant benefits both to themselves and their care recipient, helping them to be more effective as caregivers, saving time and money, and reducing stress. Health records, web-based care coordination programs, . . . → Read More: Study Finds Family Caregivers Want Web-Based and Mobile Technologies to Help Care for Senior Loved Ones

Can you put your hands on important documents you will need as a primary caregiver? Here’s a helpful to-do list to help you locate, create, or revise important papers. From the National Caregivers Library: . . . → Read More: Caregiving Basics: A Document Organizer

from AARP.org Does your mother have a will? Where is your father’s birth certificate? AARP.org offers a PDF download designed to help organize you and your parents now before a crisis happens. »See Organize Documents

Use these quizzes, calculators, self-assessments and decision guides to check your knowledge and health status. It should be no surprise  that the virtual doctor or decision guides will most likely recommend seeing a real doctor. Try out a virtual . . . → Read More: Health Check Tools

Useful Worksheets from AARP: Medication Record; Organize Documents Worksheet In managing your loved one’s care, it is important for you to monitor the medications your loved one is taking at all times, and to make sure that each of his . . . → Read More: Useful Worksheets

Long-Term Care Cost Calculator by AARP. To find the average cost in your state for a nursing home, assisted living facility, or a home health aid, use the calculator provided.   If you would like, you can download a full . . . → Read More: Long-Term Care Cost Calculator