All Posts in "Month: March 2020"

The National Council on Aging (NCOA) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) shared the following information for older adults to help them protect their health against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19):

The CDC has identified older adults and people who have severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung, or kidney disease at higher risk for more serious COVID-19 illness. According to the CDC, older people are twice as likely to have serious COVID-19 illness. This is likely because as people age, their immune systems change, making it harder for their body to fight off diseases and infection, and because many older adults are also more likely to have underlying health conditions that make it harder to cope with and recover from illness. Age increases the risk that the respiratory system or lungs will shut down when an older person has COVID-19 disease.

CDC recommends that people at higher risk take the following actions:

  • Stay at home as much as possible.
  • Make sure you have access to several weeks of medications, food, and supplies in case you need to stay home for prolonged periods of time.
  • When you go out in public, keep away from others who are sick, limit close contact, and wash your hands often.
  • Avoid crowds.
  • Stay up to date on travel health notices.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said people with serious chronic conditions, especially the elderly, should think twice about traveling or going to crowded places. He advised that these individuals take the simple steps of “not putting yourself in a situation—whatever that might be—that might increase the risk given your situation.”

Other common-sense tips from CDC include:

  • Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
  • Stay home when you are sick.
  • Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.

James Firman, president of NCOA, said older adults “are especially vulnerable to the coronavirus. The latest research found the median age of those infected to be 59. In the United States, the first reported virus-related fatalities were Americans over age 50, and the data available from China and other countries mirrors those results.”

NCOA believes “a fully funded public health response that includes providing Medicare coverage of potential vaccines and other treatment options will save lives and help contain the spread of this deadly virus in our communities.”

srmedia by — March 11, 2020 in Health & Fitness

New rules around nursing homes and assisted living facilities have been put in place in Washington to focus on protecting older adults – a population more likely to be severely hit by COVID-19 (coronavirus) – during the ongoing outbreak of the illness.

The rule changes, which were announced March 10 by Governor Jay Inslee, center on visitors, screening, and precautionary measures.

Effective the same day they were announced and continuing until April 10:

  • Visitors must be adults and the visit must take place in the room of the resident they’re visiting. This doesn’t apply to end-of-life situations.
  • All visitors must follow COVID-19 screening steps and take reasonable precautionary measures. The latter include wearing personal protective equipment, social distancing, or visiting in designated locations.
  • All visitors must sign a visitors log. Owners and operators of facilities must retain that log for 30 days.
  • Employees or volunteers must be screened for COVID-19 symptoms at the start of each shift.
  • Residents of nursing homes or assisted-living facilities and who test positive for COVID-19 must be isolated from other people.
  • Owners and all staff of facilities are prohibited from disclosing protected and confidential health information, except as otherwise provided by law or with the resident’s consent.

“The risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19 appears to be higher in people 60 years or older and in those with chronic health conditions,” Inslee said. “And we know there is an increased risk among people while live in congregated settings, such as long-term care facilities. We need to protect our older adults, and these rules will help.”

Deaths of at least 12 residents of a nursing home in Kirkland have been attributed to coronavirus cases.

Inslee declared a state of emergency in Washington this month because of COVID-19. The declaration calls for certain state agencies and the National Guard to be involved with official government responses to and assessments of coronavirus-related incidents.

srmedia by — March 10, 2020 in News

In response to growing concern about the coronavirus, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the Medicare Part B medical insurance will pay for tests for the illness.

The test is covered when a healthcare provider orders it, including any tests ordered on or after Feb. 4.

CMS made several other announcements March 3 aimed at limiting the spread of the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), including a call for healthcare providers nationally to ensure they are following their infection-control procedures, which they are required to maintain at all times. CMS also said state agencies will focus their inspections of nursing homes and hospitals exclusively on issues related to infection control and other serious health and safety threats.

As the federal agency responsible for Medicare and Medicaid, CMS requires facilities to maintain infection control and prevention policies as a condition for participation in Medicare and Medicaid.

CMS administrator Seema Verma said guidelines from the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are also being emphasized.

“We sincerely appreciate the proactive efforts of the nursing home and hospital associations that have already galvanized to provide up-to-the-minute information to their members. We must continue working together to keep American patients and residents safe and healthy and prevent the spread of COVID-19,” Verma said.

Officials reminded the public that people can help prevent the spread of coronavirus and other communicable illnesses, including the flu, by:

  • Wash hands often with soap and water.
  • Covering mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing.
  • Staying home and seeing a doctor when sick.
srmedia by — March 6, 2020 in News

Are you thinking about moving into a retirement community but just don’t know where to start looking or even what questions to ask? During the past six years, five Tacoma senior living communities have hosted a combined senior living tour and toured over 1,000 seniors that had questions about senior living just like you. The next Tacoma Senior Living Community Tour is on March 11 from 9:45 a.m. to 3 p.m.  The participating communities are Franke Tobey Jones, Merrill Gardens, Narrows Glen, Tacoma Lutheran Retirement Community and the Weatherly Inn.

“Most seniors who have taken this tour have never stepped inside a retirement community before,” says Christine Hall, senior director of marketing and public relations at Franke Tobey Jones. “When most people think about retirement communities, they conjure up all kinds of terrible images and smells from visiting their mom and grandma in a nursing home decades ago.  Retirement living is not like that any more.  Our communities are beautiful, vibrant, active and offer wonderful chef-prepared meals, classes, trips, tours and the opportunity to meet new friends and have fun.”

Each tour is informative, and attendees walk away having learned a lot about living in a retirement community. You will get an overview of each community, walk through common areas and see actual apartments. You will also have the opportunity to taste the food at each community, compare prices and ask as many questions as you want in a friendly, relaxed environment.

Linda Lee, community relations director at Merrill Gardens, says attendees “walk away at the end of the day with a totally different perspective than what they started with at the beginning of the day.  We can’t emphasize enough that there is a lot of walking on the tour, so wear comfortable clothing and shoes.”

You might have questions such as, What is the monthly rent and what does it cover? Is a community pet-friendly, and does it cost more to have a pet? Is there a waiting list? What is a “buy-in,” and is there one? What is the difference between assisted living and memory care, or memory care and skilled nursing? What is the highest level of care? Is therapy offered? What happens if my spouse needs memory care and I don’t–can we still live in your community? The vans fill up very fast and seats are limited, so please RSVP to reserve a seat on one of the community vans.  Or, if you’d like to drive yourself, please still RSVP so the organizers will have a good head-count for food, brochures, and so on. To be on one of the vans you must RSVP by March 9 by calling 253-320-4216.

The program of the day is as follows:

• 9: 45 a.m. Start at one of the five communities. Hear a short presentation about Senior Living Communities and about today’s activities.Tour that community.

• 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Get aboard the community van or drive your own car to the next community. Each van will have a representative from that community to answer questions. Vans will stop at all five locations, or drive yourself and visit the communities you choose. Tour ends. We’ll get you back to your starting community.

For information or to RSVP, call 253-756-7562 by March 9.

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srmedia by — March 2, 2020 in Personal Finance/Consumers