Digital Commons Network^™

Making Affordable Assisted Living Work: The Mountainside Senior Living Story, Cheryl Cooper, Gordon Walker

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. Describe the challenges of providing affordable assisted living in Virginia.

2. Describe the experience of the Jefferson Area Board for the Aging (JABA), an Area Agency on Aging, in becoming owner and operator of an assisted living facility.

3. Describe the culture change that made Mountainside a unique and award-winning facility.

Do We Want To Measure The Quality Of Care For Vulnerable Older People? The Acove Approach., Neil S. Wenger

Center for Policy Research

There's limited information available about measuring the quality of medical care that is targeted to the needs of older patients. And there's very limited pressure on the system to provide high quality geriatric care. Why is that? Because the quality measures haven't been adequately developed and implemented, and it's more difficult to measure care for an older sample. Measuring care for ill older adults is complex, because they tend to have multiple medical conditions, and they demonstrate substantial variation in goals for care (Wenger and colleagues 2007). The Assessing Care of Vulnerable Elders (ACOVE) project began in 1998 as a …

“Powerful Tools For Caregivers”: Teaching Skills That Reduce Stress And Increase Self-Confidence, Ed Rosenberg, Natasha Gouge

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. Describe caregiving stress and burnout symptoms and effects experienced by older caregivers.

2. Report implementation and evaluation of the “Powerful Tools for Caregivers” workshop, which is designed to increase knowledge and skills in caring for elders and reduce caregiver stress.

3. Suggest ways to alleviate caregiver burden at both micro and macro levels.

Elderfriends: Relieving Loneliness Among Elders, Kiersten Seeger Ware, Sarah Coble

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. To discuss social isolation among older adults.

2. To promote awareness of the ElderFriends program, an intervention newly established in greater Richmond

3. To seek friendly visitors for the ElderFriends program.

Spirituality And The Cognitively Impaired, Kathy Fogg Berry

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. Discuss the need to acknowledge and nurture the spirituality of older adults with cognitive impainnent to enhance their health and well-being.

2. Provide tools and suggestions for use in nurturing the spirituality of older adults with cognitive impainnent.

3. Review the response of one resident with cognitive impainnent to spiritually-based programming and support

Elders Impressions Of Ethicolegal Issues In Healthcare, Gabriella H. Cooper Bsn, Rn, Ellen B. Buckner Dsn, Rn

Journal of Health Ethics

Ethicolegal issues are those that involve ethical and legal considerations when one is deciding on a course of action. They include topics in advance directives, basic human needs, general nursing care, and health care decision-making. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perspectives of elders regarding geriatric care. Seniors ages 65 and older were interviewed using the Seniors Perspectives Regarding Elder Care Issues (SPRECI) questionnaire to obtain qualitative responses. Eight open-ended questions developed by the investigator comprised the SPRECI. The questionnaire was reviewed for content validity by a CNS with cardiovascular and administrative experience, a faculty member with …

Meeting The Challenges And Opportunities Of Aging With Lifelong Disabilities: The Area Planning And Services Committee, Allison Wilder, Edward F. Ansello

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. To generate awareness of needs and capacities of aging adults with lifelong disabilities and their effect upon human services

2. To understand the challenges and opportunities facing aging adults with lifelong disabilities in accessing appropriate community supports and services.

3. To illustrate the benefits of intersystem collaboration among human services providers through the vehicle of an Area Planning and Services Committee.

Mental Fitness And The Lifelong Learning Movement, Jane F. Stephan, Debbie Leidheiser, Edward F. Ansello

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. To identify the functional benefits of continued mental activity

2. To examine the role of Lifelong Learning Institutes in later life

3. To describe the motivations of participants in lifelong learning

Caregiver Education And Service Utilization In African American Families Dealing With Dementia, Constance L. Coogle

Virginia Center on Aging Publications

For more than a decade attention has been focused on Alzheimer’s family caregivers in African American communities. The Fourth Report of the Advisory Panel on Alzheimer’s Disease to the U. S. Congress and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services calls for “…public education and outreach efforts specifically targeted to ethnic elders and their families and communities through the development and dissemination of culturally relevant materials emphasizing both the established facts about [Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders] and the efficacy of seeking treatment.” (Advisory Panel on Alzheimer’s Disease, 1993, p. 50). While federal financing and state initiatives have addressed …

Montessori-Based Activities For Dementia: A Walk Down Memory Lane, Janina C. Bognar

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. Familiarize readers with the Montessori method as used with participants who have dementia.

2. Demonstrate the role of Montessori-based activities for dementia in an adult day care setting.

Abuse, Neglect, And Exploitation Of Vulnerable Elders, Sheila Crossen-Powell, Kira R. Holland, Marjorie L. Marker

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. To describe the variety and dynamics of self-neglect and abuse.

2. To illustrate cases of familial self-neglect and of financial exploitation.

3. To demonstrate the roles that Adult Protective Services (APS) plays in the investigation of adult abuse, neglect, and exploitation.

4. To describe the protections available to vulnerable adults in the Commonwealth.

Using Validation As A Consultant In A Richmond, Virginia Continuing Care Retirement Community, John Colletti

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. Familiarize readers with the intricacies of setting up a behavioral program for persons diagnosed with Alzheimer's type dementia in a long term care facility.

2. Exemplify importance of interdisciplinary work.

3. Outline the future of the Validation Method in Virginia.

Older Homeless Women: Beneath The Safety Net, Anne J. Kisor, Lynne Kendal-Wilson

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. Discuss how there is no stereotypical experience of, or explanation for, homelessness among older women.

2. Discuss why it is important to study the experiences of older homeless women.

3. Discuss policy and practice recommendations and specific ways to bridge efforts of aging and homeless service providers.

Enhancing The Quality Of Life Of Nursing Home Residents With Late Stage Alzheimer's Disease And Related Disorders, Felicity Sluga

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. Discuss the growing need for special programming and activities to improve the quality of life of nursing home residents with dementing illnesses.

2. Discuss program and activity options that have a positive impact on quality of life as measured by the resident's mood, behavioral symptoms, cognitive skills, physical condition and medication use.

3. Review the responses of a resident to our unit’s therapeutic interventions.

Vision And Hearing Loss In The Older Adult - “Double Trouble”, Paige Berry

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. How to recognize age related vision and hearing loss.

2. How the loss of both vision and hearing affect the individual's day to day functioning.

3. Services and technology available to assist the professional in better meeting the needs of the individual who is experiencing a vision and hearing loss.

Factors Influencing Social Workers Commitment To The Field Of Gerontology, Susan Savella Cole, Teresa Marie Alarcon

Theses Digitization Project

Due to the impending "elder boom" the need for gerontological social workers is increasing. This study examined what attracted workers to enter this field and what motivates them to stay. The research also focused on the relationship between the social worker's commitment and their perceived need for training and education in the field of gerontology.

Adult Daycare: Sharing The Caring, Having A Life, Lory Phillippo Osorio

Case Studies from Age in Action

Objectives

1. Demonstrate the role of adult daycare in community-based services for older adults.

2. Illustrate the diversity of services provided in adult daycare/day health care centers in Virginia.

3. Encourage public policy and funding to expand quality adult daycare in the Commonwealth.

Pace: Program Of All-Inclusive Care Of The Elderly, A. Leigh Peyton, Wendy Boggs, Bill Miller, Nancy Allan

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. To describe the origin of PACE.

2. To identify essential services provided by the PACE model.

Health Promotion For Older Adults: What Is The Potential?, Linda P. Fried

Center for Policy Research

As a greater number of people reach old age, medicine is challenged to develop new approaches to this population. Health promotion, not just treatment of disease but improving the quality of life for older persons, must play a role. What happens to individuals in terms of health status as they get older, and what are the implications for health care needs? Where should we focus to get the biggest benefits in terms of health promotion? Overall, we have learned a tremendous amount over the last 25 years about the components of health as people get older, and what modifies their …

Geriatric Interdisciplinary Team Training, Rita Jablonski, David A. Cifu, Peter A. Boling, Patricia Slattum, A. Leigh Peyton, F. Ellen Netting, Iris A. Parham, Joan B. Wood

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. To demonstrate the importance of training health care professionals in inter-disciplinary teamwork and geriatric health issues.

2. To increase one’s knowledge of the roles and responsibilities of the various disciplines involved in interdisciplinary teamwork.

Reducing Medication Mismanagement In Adult Care Residences, Mary Ann F. Kirkpatrick

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. Describe the prevalence of medication mismanagement in adult care facilities in Virginia.

2. Explain the significance of selected medication management errors.

3. Recommend practices to improve medication management task performance in adult care facilities.

State Regulation Of Assisted Living Facilities, Sonya A. Sterbenz

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. To define the role of assisted living facilities in the continuum of long-term care options for older adults.

2. To present the various arguments concerning the regulation of the assisted living industry.

The Hidden Age Revolution: Emergent Integration Of All Ages, Matilda White Riley

Center for Policy Research

Over the past 30 years my colleagues and I have been focusing on conceptual and empirical work (the aging and society paradigm) that does not create policies, but can inform them. The most immediate phase of this long cumulative history is leading us now to hidden changes in people's lives and social institutions that herald a new phenomenon world-wide--a phenomenon that may have momentous implications for the policies of the future. We call it "age integration" because it *integrates* older people with others of every age. When I come to the end of my lecture, I hope you will see …

Nursing: A New Day, A New Way, Lin Zhan, Jane Cloutterback

New England Journal of Public Policy

The U.S. health care environment is changing rapidly. Its structure, financing, and delivery are being reconfigured toward an integrated system based on managed care. Increasingly, national interest in health promotion and disease prevention is moving care away from a disease-oriented, institutionally based model to a population-focused, wellness-oriented, and community-based system. Health care consumers are diversifying in age, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. The approach emerging from these changes and others requires nursing to rethink, redesign, and retool its workforce to meet new challenges. This article analyzes nursing education, practice, and operations. The authors discuss the dilemmas and complexity of developing an …

Pro-Work Policy Proposals For Older Americans In The 21st Century, Richard V. Burkhauser, Joseph F. Quinn

Center for Policy Research

Reports that the Social Security Trust Fund will be exhausted sometime in the early part of the next century reinforce the need to make retirement policy in the United States more accommodating for those who want to work. While there is general agreement that disincentives to work at older ages in both Social Security and employer pension plans played an important role in the dramatic drop in retirement age from 1945 through 1985, skepticism exists over the ability of policy changes to both stop this trend and increase work at older ages. In this policy brief we summarize how government …

The Changing Economic Circumstances Of The Elderly: Income, Wealth, And Social Security, James P. Smith

Center for Policy Research

How is the economic status of the elderly changing and what are their prospects for the future? My portrait tells us how well off they are on average, but also about the vast disparities that exist among them. This description includes an often neglected measure of their economic well-being--the amount of wealth they control. Amazingly little is known about how much personal wealth older people have and how and what determines its distribution. But the conventional definition of household wealth ignores two critical components of wealth: the expected income flows from pensions and Social Security. For some elderly households, Social …

Levels Of Depression In Diabetic Elders With Controlled And Uncontrolled Blood Glucose Levels, Julie Sharon Randolph Briggs

MSN Research Projects

Depression is one of the most prevalent illnesses among elders. However, while it is one of the most treatable illnesses, depression is often the most neglected. It is well documented that depression leads to suicide. With the suicide rate among elders the highest of all age groups, it is imperative that health care providers become aware of the risk of depression among diabetic elders. Elders are at risk for depression with advancing age, loss of previous good health, and social interaction. The purpose of this nonexperimental, descriptive study is to compare depression levels in diabetic elders with controlled and uncontrolled …

1996 Annual Report, Office For The Study Of Aging

Office for the Study of Aging: Alzheimer's Registry

The Prevention Center, University of South Carolina (USC) School of Public Health, in cooperation with the South Carolina (SC) Department of Health and Human Services, the SC Department of Mental Health, and the USC School of Medicine, maintains a statewide registry of SC residents diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or a related disorder. The registry is located in the Prevention Center, School of Public Health. All cases are identified from a computerized medical records search. The goals of the registry include:

• reporting annual prevalence of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders by demographic characteristics,

• providing data to public agencies for …

1995 Annual Report, Office For The Study Of Aging

Office for the Study of Aging: Alzheimer's Registry

The Prevention Center, University of South Carolina (USC) School of Public Health, in cooperation with the South Carolina (SC) Department of Health and Human Services, the SC Department of Mental Health, and the USC School of Medicine, maintains a statewide registry of SC residents diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or a related disorder. The registry is located in the James F. Byrnes Center for Geriatric Medicine, Education and Research. All cases are identified from a computerized medical records search; inclusion in the registry is voluntary. The goals of the registry include:

• reporting annual prevalence of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders …

Nf92-83 Older People: Where Should They Go For Clothes?, Rose Marie Tondl

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

This NebFact offers suppliers of clothing, health aids and supplies for older persons.