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During the past few years I have limited my Senior Voice commentary to non-controversial matters; however, I want to take this opportunity to expand the dialogue regarding further American military involvement in the Middle East. After 9/11, the USA went to war in Iraq to eliminate weapons of mass destruction and contain Al-Qaida, a radical Sunni Islamist organization originally nurtured in Saudi Arabia, a USA friend. The Saudi are a theocracy and adhere to the conservative Wahhabi sect of Islam. In fact, most of the 9/11 attackers were Sunni...
Hepatitis C is a disease that is caused by a virus that affects the liver. Even though the disease often doesn’t produce symptoms, it can seriously damage the liver and can be fatal. An estimated 3.2 million Americans have Hepatitis C. Older people are more likely to have been exposed to Hepatitis C, but many older Americans are not aware that they need to be tested for it. A December 2013 report found that Hepatitis C infections are concentrated in the Baby Boomers generation. In one major study of people with the virus, 75 percent of the p...
Alaska's food-growing season is kicking into high gear and Alaska farmers grow some of the best produce in the country, so now's the time to pick up your sheet of coupons for locally-grown fruits and vegetables. The coupons come from the Senior Farmer's Market Nutrition Program and can be used at local farmer's markets around the state. Each coupon sheet contains five $5 coupons for a total of $25 per sheet. The program issues the coupon sheets to senior centers and other agencies, which pass...
Two-thirds of Alaska adults who currently smoke say they want to quit. The state Department of Health and Social Services is now offering additional support to help them. Alaska’s Tobacco Quit Line has enhanced the free tools it offers to provide even greater support to help tobacco users successfully quit for good. Alaska’s Tobacco Quit Line now offers Text2Quit and Web Coach. Text2Quit allows those who are quitting to work with a quit coach via their mobile phone. Text2Quit features a series of interactive text messages — including tips...
If you are new to Medicare, you need to know that Medicare almost always only pays 80 percent of the cost of most medical procedures. In order to be completely covered, you should buy a Medicare supplemental policy, also known as Medigap. These generally cost $100 to $150 per month, but they are very necessary. There are about 10 different plans and they vary from state to state. In my experience, the most popular plan for most people in Alaska is plan F. This plan offers payment for the...
Every day, people confront situations that involve life-changing decisions about their health. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 9 out of 10 adults have difficulty using the health information that is routinely available in health care facilities, retail outlets, media and communities. This challenging situation will be the focus of daylong seminar at Providence Medical Center in Anchorage on Aug. 6. “Bridging Literacy and Communication Differences for Better Health Outcomes,” will feature nationally-recognized...
Just when you thought the VA couldn’t be more offensive, we find out they are denying veterans with traumatic brain injuries and/or post traumatic stress disorders (TBI/PTSD) of their Second Amendment rights. Yes, you read this correctly, veterans asking for help to recover from service connected injuries are being deemed a danger to themselves and others and unable to handle their affairs by an unelected, appointed VA bureaucrat working for the very government agency founded to help them “re-integrate” back into peacetime civilian life. While...
New findings in the physiological causes of depression are leading to treatments other than widely used antidepressants, such as Prozac and Zoloft, according to a report in the journal Current Psychiatry. Depression is a problem facing many seniors. New treatments include new medications, electrical and magnetic stimulation of the brain, and long-term cognitive behavioral therapy for stress management. Authors of the new study are Murali Rao, MD, and Julie M. Alderson, DO. Rao is professor and chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behaviora...
Breath test may be important new tool against lung cancer Researchers have now come up with a new breath test that can diagnose patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) as well as lung cancer. In addition, this new technology can help can define the stage of any cancer present and potentially help guide the appropriate therapy. “This could totally revolutionize lung cancer screening and diagnosis. The perspective here is the development of a non-traumatic, easy, cheap a...
The Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program will hold the following peer support meetings and trainings in July. This month’s theme is Nation UV Safety Awareness Month, with a handout on the risks of sun damage provided at each caregiver support meeting. Please join and share your experience as a caregiver or to support someone who is a caregiver. July 1, Caregiver support meeting at Sterling Senior Center, 1 p.m. July 8, Caregiver support meeting at Soldotna Senior Center, 1 p.m. July 15, Caregiver support meeting at Kenai Senior C...
Most Americans – 75 percent! – don't take their medicine as directed. Forgetting pills, taking them at the wrong time of the day, not filling a prescription because of cost or inconvenience – all these can take a serious toll on people's health – and wallets, if they end up in the doctor's office or hospital. People of all ages make medicine mistakes, but the chances go up the more prescriptions a person takes. So seniors, who often take several prescriptions, have to take special care. I'm Lan...
Dear Jonathan: I am an elderly gentleman who is not married and has no children. Because I have become increasingly aware of my own mortality, I have decided to engage in estate planning for the first time in my life. Interestingly, I am more concerned with those documents whose purpose is to protect me during my lifetime, i.e., financial and health care durable power of attorneys, than I am with those documents that direct where my estate goes when I die, i.e., a will and trust. More specifically, I understand the importance and the need of ha...
Seniors must be diligent and not give out Social Security numbers or credit card information to telephone or email inquiries. Here are some of the latest scams. Medicine/service scam Scammers are looking to steal Medicare numbers and financial information from unsuspecting consumers. The victim receives an unsolicited telephone call or email offering free diabetes testing or other medical supplies. The scammer then asks for the victim’s Medicare number and address. Once the scammers have the Medicare number they can steal the victim’s ide...
Dying patients may find it more difficult to get certain medications under new rules Medicare has recently put in place. Meanwhile, another set of rules could make it easier for seniors to get Medicare to pay for home health care services. Medicare has recently issued different sets of rules for payments involving hospice care and home health care services, as a result of a lawsuit settlement. But both of the rules changes are complicated and confusing and seniors may need some help in working their way through the changes. In an effort to crac...
From July 1 to Sept. 30, 2013, the participants in Mature Alaskans Seeking Skills Training (MASST) performed 25,545 hours in community service statewide while learning skills that helped them find unsubsidized employment. In the program, qualifying participants are matched with agencies, located all around the state, that are able to train in skills the participant needs to find a job. Participants are trained on how to get a resume ready to apply for a job, where to look for jobs, and how to...
Sweet Thai sticky rice with coconut milk, fragrant Indian basmati rice pilaf, glistening sushi rice and creamy Italian parmesan risotto – rice elevated from dull to delicious with some seasoning and respect. By respect, I mean the methods of preparing and cooking. In many cultures with strong affections for rice, an electric rice cooker has replaced the stovetop as the cooking method of choice. Several types of rice cookers can be found in most kitchen equipment stores. A simple rice cooker c...
Many newly arrived residents in the Juneau Pioneer Home are anxious about losing health, control and freedom. Some are aggressive due to dementia, or frail, with limited memory or mobility. Regardless, they soon learn they've gained new friends who treat them with love and respect: Certified Nursing Assistants Vhie Hermano, Nelda Reynolds, Maria De Guzman, Freddie Abad, Arsenia Sales, and Mary Ellen Yadao. The Alaska Pioneer Homes' mission is to create high quality of life for older Alaskans by...
Affordable Care Act and insurance plans For those of you not in Medicare and have not yet enrolled in one of the Affordable Care Act insurance plans, you will not be able to do so until the next open enrollment, which will take place between Nov. 15, 2014 and Feb. 15, 2015. However, you can still apply for coverage through the exchanges before the next enrollment period, if you have a major change in your life. Qualifying changes include getting married, having or adopting a child, losing...
As Senior Voice reported last month, the Veterans Health Administration has been caught in a cover-up of the mismanagement of our veterans’ waiting lists for some of their most critical medical screening services. This scandal now has spread to more than just the Phoenix VA Hospital, with more to come as the layers of the onion keep getting pealed back. The death toll of the gastrointestinal screening exam delays we reported last month now stands at over 100 with retired VA doctors lining up t...
A vibrating capsule may help combat chronic constipation Researchers in Israel are now reporting success with a vibrating capsule for constipation. You simply swallow it and it helps get your bowels moving. In a new study, the researchers found that the vibrating capsule helped nearly double the weekly bowel movements of patients suffering from chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC) and constipation predominant irritable bowel syndrome (C-IBS). “Despite the widespread use of medication to treat c...
The Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program will hold the following peer support meetings and trainings in June. This month’s theme is “Honoring Cancer Survivors Through Prevention.” Please join and share your experience as a caregiver or to support someone who is a caregiver. June 3, “Ways to Reduce Your Risk for Cancer,” Sterling Senior Center, 1 p.m. June 10, “Ways to Reduce Your Risk for Cancer,” Soldotna Senior Center, 1 p.m. June 17, “Cancer Symptoms You’re Most Likely to Ignore,” Kenai Senior Center, 1 p.m. June 24, “Cancer Sy...
I’ve been exchanging emails and phone calls with a woman who is taking care of her husband at home. As his Alzheimer’s progresses, her days and nights become more and more challenging. She never knows when he is going to wake up and need her. She can’t always anticipate what he might do next, like lock himself in the bathroom. Hardest of all, she knows she can’t give in to her grief and cry because it scares him. He needs to see a smiling face. There are a lot of brave, committed family caregiv...
Dear Jonathan: I have a question about my grandson who is going off to college in the fall. A close friend of mine told me about something that happened to his granddaughter who started college a few months ago, and it really has me concerned. Apparently, she ended up being hospitalized for a period of time, and initially was in a coma – she is doing fine now. When her parents, who live a thousand miles away from her college campus, tried to get information about her illness, they were denied because their daughter was over age 18 and b...
Color-coded tags may signal food’s freshness Scientists have now come up with a color-coded smart tag that can tell consumers whether a carton of milk has turned sour. This technology could also tell you if a can of green beans has spoiled, all without opening the containers. “This tag, which has a gel-like consistency, is really inexpensive and safe, and can be widely programmed to mimic almost all ambient-temperature deterioration processes in foods,” said lead researcher Chao Zhang, who i...
The 2014 Alaska Legislative Session included a handful of bills that were important to seniors, from formalizing a change to the mediset program that allows smaller pharmacies to distribute medicine in hourly or daily dosage packs to Medicaid patients, to extending the Senior Benefits Program that provides a cash benefit to seniors who have a low to moderate income. At press time the Senior Benefits Program was being approved and several other bills debated as the Legislature worked to close out the session. Another important bill, Senate Bill...
