Statistics from 2012 showed that a majority of Canadian adults in their sixties took more than 5 medications daily and 40% of those over 85 took ten or more! Not only is this a huge potential risk for seniors but also resulting problems from polypharmacy represent an economic toll on our health care system and [read more…]
Posts
Maintaining Brain Function: What The ACTIVE Study Tells Us
The subject of brain health, along with preventing memory loss and dementia is frequently in the news these days. We think it is important to have an understanding of the limits to, and parameters of, brain health training in order to effectively choose a programme, try to develop your own course, or even do your [read more…]
Recognizing Dementia and Changes
As family members watch a loved one age, it is easy to be confused into not recognizing how fragile or precarious that person’s condition may be. This month, Elder Voice helps you understand how to assess what you are seeing. Elsie was two weeks shy of 95 when her daughter, Marie, came to see us, [read more…]
Making Connections One Conversation at a Time
Social Isolation has been linked to the development of dementia, as well as depression, malnutrition, and falls in seniors. In our effort to fight dementia, and highlight unique community programmes, we are pleased to support Beyond The Conversation by highlighting it in Elder Voice. In 2013 a Metro Vancouver Alliance survey asked seniors to identify [read more…]
Under The Volcano: Anger, Aggression and Aging
May was 92 when we were hired to help her return to her own home from the nursing home where she had been living unhappily for six months. At that time, she was confused, suspicious, and angry. She had been hostile and uncooperative with the staff in the home providing care, and was known as [read more…]
The Right To Live: Part II
Necessary Policies to Protect Seniors In our March issue of Elder Voice, we discussed the issue of decisions being made about end of life without the input of the person or their family. In this issue, we follow up with a recommendation for policies at both government and an institutional levels which would help to [read more…]
The Right To Live
As the implementation of a national Canadian policy on assisted dying approaches, we increasingly read articles and hear on the news discussion about the right to die. This month Elder Voice focuses on another aspect of the question: the right of someone to live and how that decision is made. Several years ago we walked [read more…]
When A Loved One Goes Missing
Our January, 2014 edition of Elder Voice focussed on elopement and wandering. In that edition we discussed what it is, why it happens, and how to guard against it. Recently we attended a seminar put on by the Burnaby (B.C.) Crime Prevention unit that provided more helpful information on this issue. In the session, the RCMP Constable [read more…]
Undoing Aloneness: Caring for Caregivers
Many of us know someone–a friend, a colleague, a client or a customer– who is a caregiver. We might see their stress and worry and want to help, but feel uncomfortable and not know what to do or say. This month Elder Voice focuses on how we can care for the caregivers in our lives. [read more…]
Sweet Holiday Greetings from Diamond Geriatrics
Ruth Margolin Silin is my 92 year old stepmother. For over thirty yeas she has been a wonderful friend, mentor, and wise counsel.She is also in my view, a lovely example of healthy aging; she is one of those people you feel good being around, no matter what their age. She recently published a book [read more…]