America's Health Rankings

The United Health Foundation is a nonprofit organization that publishes a report called "America's Health Rankings Senior Report". The 2013 report ranks all 50 states according to the health of their seniors and uses 34 different measures of health ranging from smoking and obesity to Intensive Care Unit usage. Florida's overall rank was 30. Florida's strengths include:

• a high prevalence of health screenings     
• a high percentage of diabetes management     
• a high percentage of hospice care  

Florida needs improvement in:

• a limited availability of home health care workers 
• a high prevalence of chronic drinking 
• a low percentage of volunteerism

You can read more about the Florida rankings here.

Sleep is Important for Good Health

The Administration on Aging  has a webpage about how getting enough sleep is important for good health. Older adults need 7-9 hours of sleep, which is the same amount which younger adults require. As people age, they have more trouble falling asleep and sleep less deeply. It is very important to get enough sleep, because insufficient sleep can increase the chance of accidents and falls. Here are some suggestions from the Administration on Aging about how to get a good night's sleep:

• Go to sleep and get up at the same time each day, even on weekends. 
• Develop a bedtime routine. About 30–45 minutes before bedtime each night, do the same things so your body will know that it’s time to sleep.  
• Avoid caffeine late in the day.

You can find more information about sleep from the National Institutes of Health Senior Health website.

Caregiver Video Contest

The Health and Human Services (HHS) has started the "Million Hearts" Initiative. This initiative "seeks to prevent one million heart attacks and strokes over the next five years by empowering Americans to make heart-healthy lifestyle choices, and improve care for those needing treatment." The "Million Hearts" initiative wants to recognize caregivers and encourage them to tell their stories, so they have created a caregiver video challenge. This contest is for caregivers and must be less than 2 minutes long. The video must explain the role a caregiver plays in contributing to a loved one’s heart health, include an additional topic from the list below, and must direct viewers to http://millionhearts.hhs.gov for more information. Here are the additional topics:

• Give tips on how a caregiver can help to ensure that a loved one takes blood pressure medication(s) as prescribed.  
• Explain how to measure and monitor blood pressure and why this is important.   
• Share how a caregiver can encourage lifestyle changes that benefit blood pressure control, such as increase physical activity or reduce sodium in the diet.

The competition began July 16th and will end on August 31st at 5pm. You can get the full details on this video challenge here.

New Healthy Eating and Exercise Resource

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases has published a guide called "Young at Heart: Tips for Older Adults". This guide gives useful information about healthy eating and exercise.  This nutrition information can help you to lower your risk for obesity, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, cancer, and other chronic diseases. In addition, exercise may also help to ward off depression. You can access the full report here.

              Young at Heart: Tips for Older Adults

You can find even more in-depth dietary guidelines in "Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010", from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

National Influenza Vaccination Week

This past week was designated the "National Influenza Vaccination Week" and Thursday was "Older Adults Vaccination Day". The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) are urging people 65 years and older to get vaccinated.  Vaccination is important because this age group is at the greatest risk of serious flu-related complications (such as pneumonia). For example, each year about 9 out of 10 seasonal flu-related deaths and more than 6 out of 10 seasonal flu-related hospital stays in the United States occur in older adults (press release). For more information about the flu, visit Flu.gov for Seniors.

New Federal Website: healthcare.gov

Healthcare.gov is a new federal website that brings together information from many separate websites (medicare.gov, healthfinder.gov, and hospital compare).  This website provides information about your insurance options, based on your age, family situation, and which state you live in.  The insurance information includes both the Medicare plans and the private insurance plans available in your state.  Another part of the website is devoted to preventative care - i.e. how to stay healthy.  In addition, another section of the website allows you to compare the quality of care in different hospitals.  There is a section specifically for Seniors, with information about the new Affordable Care Act and about how Medicare recipients can receive rebate checks when they reach the drug coverage gap (the "donut hole").
Here is a video from the website describing the Affordable Care Act and Medicare Benefits:

How Healthy is Your County?

The University of Wisconsin's Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation have released a set of reports which rank the health of every county in the United States. You can compare your county to other counties in your state. The rankings are based on how healthy people are and how long they live in each county. The rankings also take into account key factors that effect health, such as: air pollution levels, rates of violent crime, smoking, obesity, binge drinking, access to primary care providers, and the number of children living in poverty. These County Health Rankings are online and can be searched here.

Pasco County is ranked 37th out of 67 counties in Florida in Health Outcomes and 25th out of 67 counties in Health Factors. The Pasco County Summary for 2010 provided the following statistics:

•   9,150 premature deaths (the target value is 6,978)
• 17% of people reported poor or fair health
• the average number of poor physical health days reported by people in the last 30 days: 4.7 days
• 24% of adults do not have health insurance
• motor vehicle crash death rate per 100,000 population: 24 (target is 16)

The Florida summary report can be found here.

Medicare's "Hospital Compare" Website

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Department of Health and Human Services have partnered to provide the "Hospital Compare" website.  This tool can help you to choose the best hospital for your medical condition or surgical procedure.  In addition, this website provides information about a hospital's quality of care, as measured by patient surveys. You can search for hospitals by name, city, county, or distance from your zip code.  The website compares hospitals using several types of information.  

First, there are the "Hospital Process of Care Measures". These measures "show how often hospitals give recommended treatments known to get the best results for patients with certain medical conditions or surgical procedures". They have information about best practices for heart attack care, heart failure care, pneumonia care, asthma care, and surgical care.

The next section is "Hospital Outcome of Care Measures". This information includes death rates and hospital readmission rates for each hospital. The ratings are fair, since the "calculations take into account how sick patients were when they went in for their initial hospitalization". Other measures include "Structural Measures", such as whether the hospital uses electronic health records.

Another Medicare website, Nursing Home Compare, helps people to choose a good quality nursing home.

New Heart Disease Website

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have launched a new heart disease website. This website has information about coronary artery disease, heart attack, and about the signs and symptoms of a heart attack.  In addition, they provide information about how to prevent heart attacks.  The CDC also has websites with information about stroke and high blood pressure.

Take Precautions in the Summer Heat!

Recently we have had many "Heat Advisories" due to high heat and humidity. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warns that older adults (aged 65 and over) are more vulnerable to heat stress than younger adults because:

• Elderly people are more likely to have a chronic medical condition that interferes with the body's response to heat.
• They may be taking prescriptions which limit perspiration or limit the body's ability to regulate heat.
• They do not adjust well to sudden changes in temperature.

High heat can lead to heat exhaustion or heat stroke. For more information about heat exhaustion and heat stroke, please click here.

What can you do to prevent heat-related illness?

• stay indoors during the hot part of the day.
• stay hydrated by drinking cool, nonalcoholic beverages.
• do not do strenuous activities.
  
• stay in air conditioning as much as possible (consider visiting a public library or mall if you do not have air conditioning).

You can help elderly relatives and neighbors by checking on them at least twice a day, by taking them to air conditioned places if they do not have air conditioning, and by making sure that they have an electric fan.

Older American's Month 2009

May is the month to celebrate older adults. This observance was originally called "Senior Citizen's Month" when it was created in 1963, but it was renamed "Older Americans Month" by President Carter in 1980. The Administration on Aging has announced the theme for this year - Living Today for a Better Tomorrow. According to an article from Administration on Aging, "Nearly 40% of deaths in America can be attributed to poor health habits such as lack of physical exercise, poor eating habits and smoking. Older Americans can prevent or control chronic disease by adopting healthy habits such as exercising regularly, maintaining a healthy diet and ceasing tobacco use." The Administration on Aging provided the logo above and the poster below. These files can be downloaded and printed.


The following websites have helpful and accurate information about healthy aging:

• Medline Plus: Senior's Health
• National Institutes of Health: Senior Health
• Healthfinder: Senior Health
  
• Mayo Clinic: Healthy Aging

Online Health and Wellness Information

Healthfinder.gov is a great government website created by the "Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion" and the "National Health Information Center". This website gives quick access to health information from over 1,600 government and non-profit organizations. It also provides interactive tools to give personal health advice, based on the age and sex of the individual.

Some of the features of this website include:

• a quick guide to healthy living
• online checkups to find out if you are at risk for a disease
• physical activity and menu planners
• health calculators - to determine calorie intake, body mass index, etc.
  
• help finding a doctor, hospital, or other health care provider
• health videos and audios

There is also a "GoLocal" link to find local health care services. However, not all states are participating in GoLocal. For example, Florida is not a part of this service currently. However, there is a FloridaHealthFinder.gov website which has a Seniors page with local resources for Seniors.

You can also send electronic greeting cards (e-cards) to encourage friends and family members to stay healthy. In addition, there is a link to find support groups for health conditions. Another useful feature is a link to a quiz to determine if you are ready to be a caregiver.

HealthFinder is also available in Spanish - here.

Medication Management Program for Seniors

The National Council on Aging has partnered with CVS /Pharmacy to create "Pack Your Bag" outreach programs at senior centers. These programs ask seniors to bring their prescription medicines, over-the-counter medicines, and dietary supplements to be reviewed by a pharmacist. The pharmacist checks for possible drug interactions, checks for expired medications, and also informs the senior about the availability of cheaper generic versions of their prescriptions. If a "Pack Your Bag" program is not being given in your neighborhood, you can arrange to have a personal consultation with a local CVS pharmacist.

New Health Information from NIH

The National Institute of Health (NIH) has a Senior Health website - NIHSeniorHealth. They have recently added nutrition information about how to eat well and shop wisely. This information can be found here. More information about nutrition for Seniors can be found on the MedlinePlus website.

In addition, the NIHSeniorHealth website has added information about complementary and alternative medicine. Complementary medicine can include treatments such as acupuncture and nutritional supplements.

New Nutrition Website for Older Adults

The National Institute of Health has a website called NIHSeniorHealth. This website provides information on many topics - such as arthritis, cataract, COPD, diabetes, high blood pressure, macular degeneration, and osteoporosis. The newest addition to this website is a section called “Eating well when you get older”, which includes advice about healthy foods, food safety, and how to shop wisely. The U. S National Library of Medicine also has a webpage called “Nutrition for Seniors”.

Also, if you want to track your nutrition and calories, the MyPyramid.gov website provides tools to assess your food intake and to assess your physical activity level.