PublicSource | News for a better Pittsburgh (https://www.publicsource.org/tag/aging/)
What information do you need to have in place for you to transition to the end of your life on your terms? Support and palliative care social worker Tanisha Bowman walks us through how to prepare and empower your loved ones to carry out your final wishes and how bias makes the situation even more difficult.
There were bed bugs at the Glen Hazel subsidized housing facility, but the two organizations responsible for ongoing renovations gave conflicting accounts on if the infestation halted construction. Some residents reached out to PublicSource about the issue, and they were on the same page. “The contractors aren’t allowed to work in the mess, but we’re allowed to live in the mess,” said Ralphina Coleman, a resident of the Bernice Crawley high-rise in Glen Hazel, a small neighborhood south of Hazelwood. The bed bugs are the latest in a list of frustrations this year that residents felt at the high-rise for seniors and people with disabilities. Michelle Sandidge, chief community affairs officer for the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh [HACP], said no construction stopped at the building.
When you zero in on the Allegheny County residents who are 75 and older, the rates of living alone grow. Nearly half of them (roughly 53,000 people) live alone, and it’s more common among women, according to the 2014 State of Aging in Allegheny County report.
Living alone puts seniors at an increased risk for social isolation, according to the report.
Health According to the AARP, there are about 40 million family members in the United States taking care of their loved ones at home.
That’s where the CARE Act comes in. Pennsylvania passed a bill in April to address some of the challenges caregivers face, and hospitals have until next April to figure out how to provide the support and education required by it. How effective it can be remains to be seen.
Overlooked communities Homelessness is expensive. In Pennsylvania, it’s become more common.
To combat this and to increase housing for Pennsylvanians who can’t afford average market-rate rent and residents in government-assisted nursing homes, the state’s Department of Human Services [DHS] today announced a five-year plan to make affordable housing easier to find.
The Kane Regional Centers — located in Pittsburgh, McKeesport and Ross and Scott townships — spent more on overtime than any other county department in 2014 and 2015. However, the nursing homes also have more employees than any other department.
In Oregon, there is about one geriatrician for every 3,000 patients over 75.
Census projections indicate that by 2030 the number of Americans over that age will be at the highest levels seen in the nation, yet there are only about 7,000 practicing geriatricians in the country today, according to a New York Times article.
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Millennials stand behind sending American troops to fight ISIS, but not beside them.
Nearly 25 percent of people entering nursing homes are moderately or severely obese, and that number is expected to grow.
Nursing home staff, who are already often overworked, are having trouble handling these patients and special needs that the facilities aren’t equipped to provide for, reports Kaiser Health News.
