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Patient-Driven Advance Care Planning

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Have you made your advance directives?  The following article is a great place to start.  The PREPARE For Your Care website is an informative and easy to use resource to assist in making medical decisions for yourself and others.  The advance directive form on the site is currently only for California residents.

User-Friendly Decision-Making Tools Help Older Adults Make Choices for Future Medical Care

advance care planning
Click on image to read this free pamphlet

UCSF Study Shows Promise for Patient-Driven Advance Care Planning

By Scott Maier, UCSF

May 18, 2017

“A user-friendly website and advance directive form given directly to patients can be highly effective in empowering older adults to plan for their future medical care without the need for significant health system resources, according to a new study from UC San Francisco.

Researchers found that between 25 and 35 percent of older adult patients had evidence of advance care planning in their medical records after receiving simple decision-making tools. In the study, one group was given an easy-to-read advance directive, a legal document that allows patients to record their wishes for future medical care. This group had a 25 percent increase in advanced care planning. A second group received the advance directive plus a user-friendly website called PREPARE For Your Care, producing a 35 percent increase. Neither intervention required any clinician involvement, training or education.

Patients who received the PREPARE website also reported significantly more engagement in advance care planning, such as having discussions with family, friends and clinicians, and feeling more confident and ready to have these conversations.

The study, which appears online May 18, 2017, in JAMA Internal Medicine, shows promise for efforts to increase advance care planning among older adults, revealing that patient-driven initiatives can empower people to make decisions about their care.”

Read more about advance care planning website

Caregivers having the guts to do so, find a balance

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How Do We Balance Autonomy and Risk for Older Adults?

Finding that balance takes guts, as caregivers often learn

By Dan Browning, Part of the TRANSFORMING LIFE AS WE AGE SPECIAL REPORT

May 1, 2017

“Georgia Dyson of St. Paul, Minn., died in March after suffering the gradual shrinkage of her world. Through it all, ‘she always relished her independence,’ her daughter Christine Dyson Dahn said.

Over Dyson’s 84 years, her spine twisted in two directions from degenerative scoliosis. She had cataracts, high blood pressure and congestive heart failure. She endured a double bypass heart operation, a mitral valve repair, a pacemaker, two hip replacements, a catheter, a hearing aid, dentures and, as you can imagine, periodic depression.

caregivers
Linda Irgens has advocated for more independence, even though it brings risk for her father, Richard “Papa Dick” Irgens. (Photo by D. Browning)

Despite all of that — and despite some misgivings about Dyson’s safety — family members did whatever they could to support her, insisting at each crossroads that she be allowed to get back to her routines.

‘We wanted to respect that fire in her, but we worried about her,’ Dahn said. ‘What if she went out in her wheelchair and got hit by a car?’

Balancing risk and autonomy is one of the toughest things that caregivers do, whether they are professionals or family members. It’s especially difficult when the people they care for cannot advocate for themselves.”
Quality of Care or Quality of Life?
In the United Kingdom and some European nations like Denmark and the Netherlands, the focus is more on personal autonomy
Read more of this important article posted on nextavenue.org 

Senior Law Day

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Don’t Miss Senior Law Day in Jefferson County, Colorado

Saturday, June 3, 2017

8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Mile Hi Church
9077 W. Alameda Avenue
Lakewood, CO  80226

“The Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office is hosting its 7th Annual Senior Law Day on June 3, offering educational seminars for seniors and for others who may be facing challenges with their aging parents.

Eighteen valuable workshops include topics such as:  Medicare Issues; Investment Fraud; Wills/Trusts; End of Life Issues; Powers-of-Attorney, Conservatorship and Guardianship; Tips for Probate; and Identity Theft.  Attorneys and representatives from a variety of community resources will be available to answer individual questions.  Free 15-minute consultation are available through the Ask-an-Attorney segment.

‘Our population is aging and older adults will be facing complicated issues,’ says District Attorney Peter Weir, ‘This information can change the quality of life for seniors and their adult children.’

Registration is $10 and includes a continental breakfast, lunch, and the new Colorado Senior Law Handbook, a publication of the Colorado Bar Association.”

For more information, or to register, contact Cary Johnson at 303-271-6970 or csjohnso@jeffco.us

Registration Form

You don’t have to live in Jefferson County, Colorado to attend.

Register yourself or a loved one in a check-in program

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check-in programs
Photo by Adobe

Local police departments restore peace of mind by phoning senior citizens once a day

By Jenni Bergal, Stateline and PBS Newshour

March 21, 2017

“Living alone can be tough for seniors. Some don’t have family nearby to check on them, and they worry that if they fall or suffer a medical emergency and can’t get to the phone to seek help, no one will know.

That’s why hundreds of police agencies in small towns, suburbs and rural areas across the country are checking in on seniors who live alone by offering them a free automated phone call every day.

Police officials say the computerized calling systems, which are fairly inexpensive and easy to use, provide an important service to a growing senior population that is expected to reach 65 million by 2025. Already, nearly half of women age 75 and older live alone.

And advocates for older adults say telephone check-in programs can help seniors remain independent in their homes and give them — and their family members — peace of mind.”

Read more about check-in programs

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

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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