Friendship Village of Bloomington (MN) names David Miller as the new executive director of the senior living community.
A survey by St. Paul, MN-based Securian Financial Group shows that about half of the retirees (49%) carried debt into retirement. Of those, more than half (55%) carried $25,000 or more. More than one-fifth (21%) held $100,000 or more in debt at retirement.
Knitting groups are popular and quite common among senior centers, but few match the output of the knitters at Edina Senior Center, of Edina, MN. Last year, the group knitted nearly 600 articles of clothing to donate to needy residents.
The foundation supports nonprofit organizations which encourage youth development, address women's issues and provide for the elderly.
The food-flavoring ingredient used to produce that distinctive buttery taste in microwave popcorn, margarines, snack foods, candy, baked goods, pet foods and a host of other edibles may be linked to Alzheimer's disease.
According to new research from Minneapolis-based marketing firm Russell Herder, consumers are demonstrably interested in green, sustainable products, yet the willingness to move toward an environmentally-friendly purchase is highly dependent on the langua
The Rochester, MN, Senior Center celebrates its 50th year with a special week of activities, including a 50th Wedding Anniversary Party, open to area couples celebrating their 50+ wedding anniversaries.
The program places AmeriCorps members -- largely seniors -- as literacy tutors in sites across Minnesota to implement a researched-based early literacy effort to help struggling readers.
The foundation's geographical focus is national, with a special emphasis on Minnesota and Wisconsin. It provides funds for capital campaigns, general/operating support, and program development.
The EEOC's suit charged that 3M unlawfully laid off hundreds of employees over the age of 45 during a series of reductions in force (RIFs) from July 1, 2003 through Dec. 31, 2006
Generally speaking, grant funding is limited to areas of company operations in Des Moines and Dubuque, IA; East Metro, MN; North Brunswick, NJ; Luray and Page Counties, VA; Dunn County, Menomonie, and St. Croix Valley, WI; and some national and international organizations.
If you're in the business of providing housing for seniors and you want to generate public interest in your operation, take a lesson from New Perspective Senior Living (NSLP), a suburban Minneapolis-based provider, owner and operator of senior living facilities scattered throughout the Midwest.
Two leading congressional Democrats on Friday told reporters there has been too much partisan rhetoric around the issue of healthcare reform, and it has left many Americans misinformed about the benefits of the new law. "There is going to be an aggressive effort to explain the bill because there have been so many mischaracterizations," says Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), "especially to the elderly."
To honor organizations that are making it easier for experienced workers to transition into encore careers -- paid jobs offering meaning and the chance to make a social impact -- Civic Ventures and MetLife Foundation, during a press conference in Washington, DC on Tuesday (Nov. 17), named winners of the 2009 Encore Opportunity Awards: eight nonprofit and public sector organizations that are tapping "encore" talent to serve the common good. Each organization will receive a $2,500 cash prize.
If you're a developer of housjng for seniors and you're looking for a unique project with the potential of attracting financial help from the federal government, consider this: A Minnesota developer is proposing to buy two former elementary schools in Minneapolis and redevelop them into senior cooperatives.
MDU Resources Foundation, a Bismarck, ND-based funder, supports organizations serving seniors. The foundation is particularly interested in supporting programs related to health and human services, education, civic and community activities, culture and the arts. The Foundation is underwritten by MDU Resources Group Inc., a company primarily focused on energy and transportation infrastructure.
Three HealthEast Care System hospitals have agreed to pay the United States $2.28 million to settle allegations that the health care facilities submitted false claims to Medicare, the Justice Department announced today. All three hospitals are located in the Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN area.
Consumers are more concerned about short-term security than long-term financial goals, a new study suggests. The 2009 Survey of Financial Values and Debt, sponsored by St. Paul, MN-based Securian Financial Group, indicates that saving for emergencies is among Americans' top financial priorities. And while they have found many ways to spend less, consumers are not reducing their debt.
The inclusion of nearly $88 billion in House of Representatives' economic recovery package (HR 1) would not only help states continue to provide health coverage for vulnerable populations, details a new Families USA report, but it would also help to revitalize states' overall economies by preventing loss of jobs, wages and business activity, the group says.
Among the organizations the Xcel Energy Foundation supports with its generous grants are those involved with housing, financial counseling, diversity, senior citizens, and economically disadvantaged people.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued revised compensation requirements for sales agents and brokers who sell Medicare Advantage and prescription drug benefit plan options to people with Medicare. This CMS interim final rule with comment period modifies regulations issued on Sept. 18.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services says it will increase Medicare payments on average to home health agencies in 2009 and will take action to remedy inappropriate outlier cases in which providers bill Medicare unusually large amounts.
With premiums for most major Medicare drug plans rising sharply in 2009, many people with Medicare must look for alternative coverage as Medicare prescription drug and health plans begin marketing their 2009 plan offerings starting Oct. 1, warns the Medicare Rights Center (MRC), a national consumer service organization.
A state insurance regulator and a top official of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services disagree about what authority states should have to regulate Medicare Advantage plans. The discussion occurs during a Sept. 22 session of the annual Medicare Conference of America's Health Insurance Plans.
Pre-mixed insulin analogues, a modified form of conventional pre-mixed human insulin, are more effective than long-acting analogues for controlling high blood sugar levels after meals in patients with type 2 diabetes, find the authors of a new report funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality, part of the Department of Health & Human Services.
The grants will support translational research in the overlapping areas of aging and cancer, linking basic and clinical research relevant to older cancer patients through both bench to bedside and bedside to bench approaches.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) wants the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to produce a full accounting of how the agency provided inaccurate estimates of improper and fraudulent Medicare payments. Grassley, ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, says the findings of a new Inspector General (IG) report require the agency to be forthcoming about the policies and procedures that were used.
A new poll by AARP finds that while many Americans ages 50+ are trying to move away from car transportation as a result of high gas prices, their attempt to go "green" is challenged by inadequate sidewalks and bike lanes, as well as insufficient public transportation options. "More Americans age 50+ are trying to leave their cars behind but face obstacles as soon as they walk out the door, climb on their bikes or head for the bus," says Elinor Ginzler, AARP senior VP for Livable Communities.
All physician groups participating in the Physician Group Practice (PGP) Demonstration improved the quality of care delivered to patients with congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease, and diabetes mellitus during performance year 2 of the demonstration, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) says.
Americans lack the basic freedom to make their own healthcare decisions, says the author of the second edition of the U.S. Index of Health Ownership, an annual report by the Pacific Research Institute (PRI). The Index measures the degree to which individuals -- be they patients, health professionals, entrepreneurs, or taxpayers -- "own" the healthcare in their states.
Nearly all of the 100 community pharmacies examined by the Department of Health & Human Services' (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) experienced problems when contracting with Medicare prescription drug program (PDP) sponsors.
CMS is taking several actions to improve the quality of care in hospitals and reduce the number of so-called "never events" -- i.e., preventable medical errors that result in serious consequences for the patient. A final acute care inpatient prospective payment rule that went on display Thursday (July 31) at the Office of the Federal Register for publication Aug. 18, updates Medicare payments to hospitals for FY 2009 and provides additional incentives for hospitals to improve the quality of care provided to people with Medicare.
Potentially preventable medical errors that occur during or after surgery may cost employers nearly $1.5 billion a year, according to new estimates by the Department of Health & Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ). In a just released study, AHRQ researchers Drs. William Encinosa and Fred Hellinger found that insurers paid an additional $28,218 (52% more) and an additional $19,480 (48% more) for surgery patients who experienced acute respiratory failure or post-operative infections, respectively, compared with patients who did not experience either error.
With 40 and 50-somethings at or near the peak of their earning potential and typically having several financial dependants ranging from small children to elderly parents, this prime adult demographic is making the majority of the household spending decisions, according to cable network TV Land's new study, "Generation BUY: A Close Look at the Boomer Consumer."
A new AARP national survey has found that workers age 50 and over are satisfied with employer-based training programs offered to them (79%), and they participate in those programs in large numbers. But while two-thirds (67% of workers questioned online said that they received all of the training th...
Forty-five senators, including Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Jack Reed (D-RI), co-chairs of the Senate Northeast-Midwest Coalition, have fired off a letter to the White House urging President Bush to release $120 million in remaining contingency funds from the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). The money is being sought to help alleviate the burden high energy prices have placed on working families and seniors throughout the country.
The American Health Care Association (AHCA), in formal comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), says the agency's proposed rule on the Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System (SNF PPS) for FY 2009 jeopardizes quality in the nation's nursing homes. AHCA's comme...
LivHOME Inc., the nation's largest provider of professionally led at-home care for seniors, has acquired Continual Feast Companion Care in Minneapolis, MN. With two offices in the Twin Cities area, Continual Feast Companion Care has provided caregiving and companion care services to seniors since 2002.
The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research is launching a funding initiative to promote development and testing of technologies to image alpha-synuclein and/or Lewy body-related pathology associated with Parkinson's disease in living brain tissue.
With the nation's economy uppermost in many Americans' minds, the Alliance for Aging Research explores the economic benefits from increased investment in longevity science in its most recent podcast series. The podcast series is part of the Alliance's SAGE Crossroads website, a forum that explores emerging issues of human aging and longevity.
The competition, which attracted submissions from emerging businesses in the United States, United Kingdom, Russia, and Singapore, will be held June 17 at Santa Clara University. The finalists will present their business plans in two sessions, one prior to and one following lunch.
At least five states are cutting or proposing to cut medical, rehabilitative, home care, or other services needed by low-income people who are elderly or have disabilities, or significantly increasing the amounts that such people must pay for the services, says the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
With waning budgets at the state and federal levels, officials are questioning the logic of tax-exempt status for all nonprofits, which is worrisome for the sector because many are struggling despite receiving the benefit.
A senior-leve representative of the American Health Care Association (AHCA) argues that the long-term care profession has pioneered transparency and disclosure efforts among U.S. healthcare providers, and outlined a variety of reforms designed to ensure seniors and every long-term care stakeholder benefits from smarter, more effective oversight of the nation's long term-care system.
The answer is no, according to America's Health Insurance Plans. The organization commissioned Harris Interactive for a series of surveys to determine the extent of boomers' coverage in case of disability.
Congressional Democrats appear to have reached a tentative agreement on a $3.3 trillion FY 2009 budget resolution that does not include the Bush administration's proposed spending cuts for Medicare and Medicaid.
Because the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 gives states the option of providing home- and community-based healthcare services, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is proposing a rule that would offer guidance to states on how to implement this provision.
The Picker/Commonwealth Fund Quality of Care for Frail Elders program and the Pioneer Network on Monday, May 19, will co-host an online meeting, "Culture Change in Nursing Homes: How Far Have We Come?"
Sens. Tim Johnson (D-SD), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) are pushing proposed legislation that would exempt complex rehabilitative services from the new Medicare equipment bidding program.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services proposes a new rule that would reduce funding for inpatient rehabilitation facilities by about $20 million in FY 2009.
With all the advances that have been achieved, the decision to have surgery made by many doctors is still often the incorrect one, leaving patients with unnecessary physical and financial burdens.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, in a unanimous three-judge decision, has issued an opinion supporting the position of the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) and holding that it is entitled to renew its constitutional challenge to the fiduciary-disclosure provisions of the District of Columbia's AccessRx Act of 2004.
CMS has released a final rule that is intended to modernize the Medicare conditions for coverage for the nation's dialysis centers and promote higher quality of care for patients receiving dialysis.
Interested in attending aging-related events? Here's the 2008 Calendar of Events for Spring & Summer at a glance
The American Association for Homecare (AAHomecare) has fired off a letter to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Acting Administrator Kerry Weems asking for an extension in the 10-day contract evaluation window for providers that were offered contracts in Round One of competitive bidding.
A new method of paying for some items of medical equipment and supplies means that Medicare beneficiaries who use those items in ten select regions of the country will see average savings of 26 percent.
Mayors across the country today (March 19) joined the fight to end senior hunger by delivering meals to the homebound elderly with their local Meals On Wheels program.
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission is reviewing draft recommendations to Congress regarding skilled nursing facilities, prescription drug plans and primary care.
The Bush administration has unveiled a legislative proposal calling for higher Medicare prescription drug benefit premiums for higher-income beneficiaries. The proposal also would cap non-economic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits and compel healthcare providers to adopt the use of e-health records.
A new report from the Commonwealth Fund discusses results of a 12-month evaluation of Beverly Healthcare's resident-centered care initiative -- one of the nation's largest nursing home chains.
Nonprofits, funders and donors facing a possible recession would do well to draw lessons from the challenging economic period that the sector went through in 2001, made worse by 9/11, says the head of a nationwide consultancy for nonprofit organizations.
With CMS reporting that more than 90% of nursing homes do not have sufficient staff to meet residents' needs, it is time for Congress to enact legislation mandating comprehensive and meaningful nurse staffing ratios, say officials at the Center for Medicare Advocacy.
The U.S. Department of Labor is proposing to update its regulations under the 15-year-old Family & Medical Leave Act to help workers and their employers better understand their rights and responsibilities.
A revised FY 2007 Dept. of Housing & Urban Development appropriation allocates $19.8 million for pre-development grants to private nonprofits and consumer groups for development of Sec. 202 housing for the elderly.
Experts on technology for the aging and current technology consumers discuss technology's potential to facilitate independence and allow older Americans to remain in their own homes.
CMS proposes a rule aimed at updating the annual payment rates for the Medicare prospective payment system for inpatient hospital services provided by long-term care hospitals.
Here are two more handy Web-based resources designed to help seniors.
Some of the nation's leading long-term care organizations gathered this week in Washington, DC, to warn consumers and policymakers about the severe long-term care crisis.
The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation has issued a Call for Proposals from U.S. medical schools for Comprehensive Programs to Strengthen the Training in Geriatrics of Medical Students, Residents, and/or Practicing Physicians.
MedPAC's latest recommendations to Congress will affect skilled nursing facilities and home healthcare agencies.
Medicare Part D payments, excluding dispensing fees, to local, community pharmacies exceeded the pharmacies' drug acquisition costs by an estimated 18.1%, OIG finds.
The most thorough study to date of the impact of the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit found that this benefit led to a 13.1% decrease in out-of-pocket expenses for patients and a 5.9% increase in prescription use.
The FDA has approved Voluven, an intravenous solution that prevents and treats a dangerous loss of blood volume, a condition that sometimes occurs during and after surgery.
CMS plans to issue a Request for Proposal for competitions resulting in awards of separate contracts for Quality Improvement Organizations for the states of Alaska, California, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nevada, New York, Oklahoma, and South Carolina.
Pay-for-performance initiatives have attracted a growing interest among those who think financial incentives can affect physician behavior to improve healthcare outcomes but there is a paucity of evidence about the effectiveness of these efforts
The proposed "Social Security COLA Protection Act of 2007", introduced by Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD), garners strong support from the Washington, DC-based seniors' advocacy group, the National Committee to Preserve Social Security & Medicare (NCPSSM).
This year's final Medicare bill, which passed in the Senate Dec. 18 by unanimous consent and which is slated for a vote in the House Dec. 19, does not contain any provisions relating to oxygen, wheelchairs, or durable medical equipment competitive bidding.
CMS is proposing to extend Medicare coverage for continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) devices to include beneficiaries who have been diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea as a result of a Type II, III, or IV home sleep test.
Here's a handy-dandy list of aging-related events slated for 2008. Put those fridge magnets to work now!
(Deadline March 1, 2008) Civic Ventures is accepting nominations for the 2008 Purpose Prize, a major initiative that invests in Americans over 60 who are leading a new age of social innovation. The "Purpose Prize" provides five awards of $100,000 and 10 awards of $10,000 to people over 60 who are ta...
OSHA publishes a final rule that requires employers -- including agencies providing home healthcare providers -- to pay for personal protective equipment for their employees.
Only half of all Americans age 50 and over have had a colonoscopy, one of several common screening tests for colon cancer, according to the latest news and numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality.
New York: Residents of seven states will find themselves living in upgraded apartments more equipped to meet their physical needs thanks to more than $22.2 million in grants from the Housing & Urban Development Dept. (HUD). On Oct. 31, HUD Deputy Secretary Roy Bernardi unveiled HUD's Assisted Li...
The Admin. on Aging (AoA) reports that programs it administers under the Older Americans Act received the rating of "effective" after a review by the White House Office of Management & Budget (OMB). "Effective" is the highest grade a program can receive under OMB's Program Rating Assessment Tool...