Month: May 2017

Substitute teaching – a great part time job

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substitute teaching
worthschools.net

School is almost out for the summer, so why would I be writing about substitute teaching?  If you’ve thought about working part-time, summer is a great time to prepare to substitute at your neighborhood schools this fall.  If you hold a current teaching license or a bachelor’s degree you can become a substitute teacher.

Most states have a licensing procedure for becoming a substitute teacher if you don’t hold a current teaching license.  Just check the state’s Department of Education website and search for substitute licensing.  In Colorado for instance, you can apply for a one-year, a three-year or a five-year license.  All three of these licenses require the applicant be fingerprinted and results submitted to the state’s Bureau of Investigation. Licensing in Colorado costs $60 for a one-year license and $90 for the three- or five-year license.  The five-year license in-state applicants must hold or have held a Colorado teaching license.  An out-of-state applicant must hold an unexpired (non-Colorado) teaching license.  

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Safety behind the wheel

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HealthinAging.org

Testing Driver’s Safety

“When it comes to driving, there is no set age at which people become less safe when they’re behind the wheel. Safety largely depends on the older driver’s physical and mental health, which of course vary widely from person to person. The following issues can be warning signs that suggest that you or an older adult in your care should get tested for their ability to drive safely:

  • Getting lost in familiar areas
  • Ignoring traffic signs and signals
  • Becoming easily agitated or angered when driving
  • Falling asleep or inability to concentrate when driving
  • Reacting too slowly to dangerous situations
  • Forgetting or ignoring driving basics – when to yield right of way, for example
  • Having trouble judging distances

    driver's safety
    insure.com

Several tests and reviews can help determine how safe a driver an older adult may be. If you suspect that an older adult you care for is having difficulty driving safely, consider taking these actions:

  1. Start with a good physical
  2. Have their vision checked
  3. Get a driving evaluation
  4. Consider cognitive testing
  5. Check your state’s rules
  6. Know what medications the older driver is taking”

For more details and resources

Osteoporosis is preventable

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Osteoporosis
medicalnewstoday.com

Take steps to improve bone health before osteoporosis becomes problematic

By Dr. Jessica Pennington, Lexington Herald Leader

May 5, 2017

“Osteoporosis is a common bone disease that occurs most often in older adults. It makes bones weak and more likely to fracture due to a deficiency in calcium and vitamin D. Nearly 10 million Americans are currently suffering from osteoporosis. It is important for older adults to take measures to improve bone health and prevent osteoporosis-related injury.

Bones are living, growing tissues that are constantly regenerating. They are structured like a honeycomb, with intricate gaps and spaces. With osteoporosis, the spaces in the bone structure are much larger than in a healthy bone. These bones become porous and less dense, so they weaken and are more likely to fracture.

Osteoporosis often has no symptoms. People with this disease cannot feel their bones getting weaker, and many people do not know they have osteoporosis until they experience a fracture, which most often occurs in the hip, spine or wrist. These can be caused by falling or bumping into an object, or in severe cases, from simple movements like sneezing or hugging.”

Nearly one in two women and one in four men over the age of 50 will break a bone due to osteoporosis.

Read more about improving bone health

Benefits of walking

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walking
Photo : Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

I try to walk everyday for exercise and weight management.  I even wear a pedometer to keep track of my daily steps.  Now, after reading the following article I will be walking to improve my brain health.

Walking Could Improve Neural Connectivity, Lowering Risk of Alzheimer’s in Older Adults

By John Raphael, Nature World News

May 5, 2017

“A new study led by the University of Maryland School of Public Health revealed that walking interventions could improve the neural connectivity in older adults, potentially reducing the risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or Alzheimer’s disease.

The study, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, showed that walking for 30 minutes for four times a week can increase the neural connectivity between the brain’s posterior cingulate cortex (PCC)/precuneus region and other brain regions of patients diagnosed with MCI.

‘The brain’s posterior cingulate cortex (PCC)/precuneus region is a hub of neuronal networks which integrates and disperses signals,’ said Dr. J. Carson Smith, director of the Exercise for Brain Health Laboratory and senior author of the study, in a press release. ‘We know that a loss of connectivity to this hub is associated with memory loss and amyloid accumulation, both signs of MCI and Alzheimer’s.'”

Read more about the benefits of walking

 

When should antidepressants be prescribed?

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Research Snapshot: Depression screening in older adultsantidepressants

Erin McHenry
April 24, 2017

“The number of antidepressants prescribed in the U.S. is skyrocketing as more primary care providers give antidepressants to patients even though many of them don’t have a psychiatric diagnosis.

A group of University of Minnesota researchers set out to study how that trend might be affecting older adults.

‘We found that physicians were less likely to prescribe unnecessary antidepressants when they screened their patients for depression,’ said Greg Rhee, Ph.D., M.S.W., primary author of the study affiliated with the College of Pharmacy.

The study looked at adults age 65 or older.

The study, recently published in Preventive Medicine, utilized data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. It surveyed primary care physicians to randomly sample over 9,000 visits made among older adults in 2010-2012.”

Out of 9,313 visits analyzed in Rhee’s study, only 209 included a depression screening.

Find out more

A Salute to Seniors in Denver, CO

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Baby Boomers Pave the Way for Changing the “Later Years”

By Eileen Doherty, MS

April 30, 2017

DENVER, CO – “Ever thought you might want to xeriscape your yard to reduce maintenance in your later years, save a few bucks on home repairs, or spend a summer being a camp host in a national park. These and many other opportunities such as learning how to download apps on your cellphone or communicate with your grandchildren on Facebook will be demonstrated at the upcoming Salute to Seniors in downtown Denver.

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Elderly scams – don’t be a victim

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elderly scams
dailycaring.com

7 tricks fraudsters use to entrap the elderly

by Steve Vernon, Money Watch

April 25, 2017

“Financial fraud is common today — no one is immune to solicitations from fraudsters. Chances are very good that one of these criminals has targeted you or a loved one recently.

Fraudsters go after older adults because they’re believed to be more trusting and socially isolated. Plus, they often have more assets to exploit. Bad guys rely on very common strategies to take advantage of their marks. ‘Recognizing these persuasion tactics will go a long way toward preventing you or a loved one from being victimized,’ said Marti DeLiema, a post-doctoral fellow at the Stanford Center on Longevity.

DeLiema is one of the nation’s leading experts on financial fraud of the elderly. Here she describes seven tricks scammers use on their victims.

  1. Emotional arousal
  2. Scarcity
  3. Source credibility
  4. Social consensus
  5. The norm of reciprocity
  6. Distraction
  7. ‘Landscaping’

These seven tactics aren’t unique to financial fraud. You experience them often when deciding between legitimate goods and investments. The problem is that fraudsters also use these same persuasion tactics for illicit purposes. If you recognize these influence strategies, you can significantly protect your money from financial predators, legal or criminal.

DeLiema summed it up with great advice: ‘Get into the habit of using these suggested defenses for all important transactions to help you get the most from your hard-earned money.'”

Read more details on elderly scams and suggested defenses

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