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June 2007 Edition
NEW FROM THE AGS FOUNDATION FOR
HEALTH IN AGING
ADVOCATE NOW!
OTHER NEWS
American Geriatrics Society Foundation for
Health in Aging Launches Newly Updated Web Site For Older
Adults and Those Who Care for Them
The American
Geriatrics Society (AGS) Foundation for Health in Aging (FHA)
has completely updated, expanded, and redesigned its Web site,
making it more comprehensive and easier to navigate.
Visitors can now access all of the major educational
resources and services of the FHA, including the FHA Referral
Service, Eldercare at Home, Health in Aging Stories and
Aging in the Know, no matter where they are on the Web
site, simply by using the main buttons on the top toolbar.
Among the site's new features are a "New Public Education"
box on the home page that alerts visitors every time new
additions to the FHA's ongoing series of publications
concerning health in aging are posted. These publications
include the FHA's easy-to-understand health "tip sheets," the
Foundation's "Public Education Forum (PEF)," and easily
understood summaries of the latest studies in the Journal
of the American Geriatrics Society. Another new feature,
"Medicare Update," reports the latest developments in
Medicare, including the prescription drug benefit.
All material on www.healthinaging.org has been reviewed by
leading geriatrics health care professionals and can be
downloaded, printed and shared at no cost.
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AGS Foundation for Health Offers Older Adults
Advice on Staying Safe When It Sizzles
Hot weather
is more likely to cause health problems in older adults than
in younger ones. Thanks to some of the physical changes that
occur as we age, older adults can't cool down as well as
younger ones. And they're less likely to feel hot or thirsty,
even when they're getting dangerously warm or need to drink
more. To help keep older people safe this summer, the AGS
Foundation for Health in Aging has published "Hot Weather Safety Tips for Older Adults". The
tip sheet offers information on preventing, recognizing and
treating heat-related health problems such as dehydration,
heat stroke, and heat exhaustion. Among other things, it also
advises older people to do the following when temperatures
spike:
- stay indoors in an air conditioned place, such as a
library or mall (fans alone won't provide sufficient cooling
on very hot days)
- drink lots of water or other drinks that don't contain
caffeine or alcohol, which can be dehydrating
- wear a hat when outdoors
All FHA tip sheets are posted here on the AGS' Foundation for
Health in Aging Web site and can be printed and shared at no cost.
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Help Support Nursing Programs
Nurses are in dangerously short supply in the US
and the nursing shortage is expected to worsen dramatically as
the nation's 77 million baby boomers reach retirement age -
unless we act now. An additional 1 million nurses will be
needed by 2012. We at the American Geriatrics Society need
your help with our efforts to urge Congress to support the
'Nurse Education, Expansion and Development Act of 2007.' This
important legislation addresses the growing problem of nursing
shortages in America. Please visit our Health in Aging
Advocacy Center and take a few minutes to Support
America's Nursing Programs.
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National Cancer Institute Offers Free Booklet
About Complementary and Alternative Therapies and Cancer
Treatment
In response to requests from cancer
patients, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) is offering a
free booklet about alternative and complementary medicine
written for those with cancer. The NCI developed the booklet,
Thinking About Complementary and Alternative Medicine,
in collaboration with the National Center for Complementary
and Alternative Medicine. The booklet includes basic
descriptions of complementary and alternative therapies and
lists reliable government sources of information about these
therapies. It also offers patients advice on discussing the
therapies with their healthcare providers; finding additional,
accurate information; and locating certified alternative
therapy practitioners. For a free copy, call (800) 4 CANCER or
visit the NCI Web site.
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Administration on Aging Sponsors "Webinars" on
Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Assistance for Older
Adults
The Administration on Aging (AoA) is
offering three Internet-based seminars -- or "Webinars" -- on
emergency preparedness and disaster assistance for older
adults. The series is designed to help public health and aging
organizations plan for such disasters. A Webinar on pandemic
flu is slated for June 20, from 1- 3 p.m. EST. Two previously
aired Webinars -- the first offering an overview of emergency
preparedness and assistance for older people; the second
concerning crisis and emergency risk communication -- will be
accessible online starting July 2. Registration for the flu pandemic seminar is
on a first-come, first-serve basis. For more information about
registering or accessing the previous seminars, contact
Michael Romero at aoawebinars@betah.com.
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Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI)
Launches Web Site for Patients and Providers
Today,
more that 100 million Americans are living with at least one
chronic illness. The Institute for Healthcare Improvement
(IHI), with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation,
has been studying the use of the collaborative self-management
support (CSMS) as a way to involve patients in their care
process as equal partners with their providers, while also
improving outpatient chronic illness care. Patients, their
loved ones, and providers together, create a plan that
everyone involved can use to guide care at home and in the
clinical setting.
As part of this effort, IHI has created New Health
Partnerships (NHP) - www.newhealthpartnerships.org - a Web
site that offers resources to bridge the gap between patient
and provider. Resources for patients, their caregivers, and
their loved ones, include: a Self Management Support Personal Plan, which
helps patients with chronic conditions develop a personalized
plan to improve health (i.e. a program to increase physical
activity, etc.); and an Action Plan, which is a form designed to help
patients and their families develop and record changes they
plan to make or goals they want to achieve.
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To make a donation to the AGS Foundation for Health in Aging, visit the donation page on our Web site at http://www.healthinaging.org/donate/ or call Li-Chia Ong, at 212-308-1414.
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