Hands to Help Seniors
Monterey, CA Mediterranean Diet Gets A Nod From Government Officials
by Richard Kuehn on 02/27/15
A nutrition advisory panel made some major changes to the country’s dietary guidelines, easing up on some of its restrictions on fat and cholesterol but recommending sharp new limits on how much sugar we should consume. This makes sense given the growing number of diabetes cases and the problems that we have with obesity in the country. The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, which only meets once every five years, has recommendations that are more in line with the guidelines of the American Heart Association. Key takeaways from the recent report is that we eat too much salt, sugar and saturated fats and that we should focus on eating fruits, vegetables, whole grains and fish. This is consistent to the Mediterranean diet which has been shown to be very healthy.
Monterey, CA Get POLST, Advance Care Directive, Living Trust And Will In Place Before It's Too Late
by Richard Kuehn on 02/27/15
The staged reading of the skit "Call 911" has been making the rounds at local nursing homes and calling attention to the need for end-of-life planning. We always encourage our clients to get a POLST, living trust and will before it's too late. It's also important to discuss your wishes with your loved ones. The short play, Call 911, is performed by professional actors and "It's utilizing art to discuss end-of-life issues," playwrite Cindy Gum told The Monterey Herald. Gum collaborated with the Compassionate Care Alliance to bring the play to Monterey and it's been getting good reviews.
Monterey, CA Nursing Homes Get New And Improved Ratings System From Medicare
by Richard Kuehn on 02/22/15
There has been quite a bit of frustration amongst consumers who rely on government ratings to choose a nursing home for their loved one, only to find up that the facility doesn’t live up to its high rating. That’s because much of the data reported to Medicare on which the ratings are based is self-reported by the nursing home and not verified by government officials. I was happy to read that new ratings have just been released which are based on tougher standards. Under the new guidelines, nearly a third of the nation’s nursing homes got lower scores on the government’s five-star scale. To see how nursing homes fare under the new guidelines click here.
Salinas, CA Elder Abuse Case Ends In Tragedy
by Richard Kuehn on 02/22/15
We see cases of elder abuse on almost a daily basis and the latest one in Salinas ended in the worst possible outcome, murder. Prosecutors say a man with a prior conviction in the 2005 shooting of his stepfather is the prime suspect in the murder of his 70-year old father whom he was living with. The son has a history of mental illness and has been booked into the Monterey County jail on the charges of elder abuse and murder.
Monterey, CA Possible New Treatment On The Way For Diabetics Using Stem Cells
by Richard Kuehn on 02/21/15
A new study which was published in the Journal Cell showed that scientists have found a way to turn human stem cells into insulin-producing cells in almost unlimited quantities. Prior to this study, it was believed that this could be done in only a small quantity of cells. These newly reengineered cells lowered blood glucose levels when they were transplanted into diabetic mice. Scientists believe they may be able to develop casings for the new cells so that they aren’t rejected and they can then be ingested by diabetics which will allow them to produce insulin normally.
