Aging News Alert

West Virginia

 

(GRANTS) Benedum Foundation Serves Older Adults in WV, PA

The Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation provides support to nonprofits in West Virginia and in southwestern Pennsylvania (Allegheny, Fayette, Greene, and Washington counties). The foundation's grants have a special emphasis on the creation of innovative businesses and jobs in distressed communities and civic engagement, with a focus on enhancing participation in civic life by all citizens, especially older adults.

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(CONFERENCE) Summer Institute on Aging Educating Caregivers for the Aging

West Virginia University's Division of Social Work is hosting its 32nd annual Institute on Aging, a summer conference for practitioners and caregivers to network, share expertise, and investigate new trends in aging services in a relaxed environment that, for many, has become an annual retreat.

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(SENATE) Measure Would Enhance Law Enforcement's Ability to Combat Elder Abuse

Four prominent senators on Thursday (Oct. 22) introduced legislation aimed at strengthening the law enforcement community's ability to combat elder abuse. The Senate measure would be a companion bill to the proposed Elder Abuse Victims Act (HR 448), which was introduced by Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) and overwhelmingly passed by the House earlier this year by a vote of 397-25.

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(SENATE) Bill Would Allow People Ages 55-64 to Buy Into Medicare Early

Proposed legislation being pushed by Sens. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), chairman of the Finance subcommittee on Health Care, and Benjamin Cardin (D-MD), a key member of the subcommittee, would allow individuals between the ages of 55 and 64 to buy into the Medicare program early. Many older Americans have lost their health insurance due to early retirement or lay offs, but are too young to qualify for health insurance under Medicare. The legislation -- the proposed Medicare Early Access Act -- would make certain this part of the U.S. population can access affordable healthcare coverage, while also protecting the solvency of Medicare, its sponsors say.

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Review 2009 Medicare Health & Drug Plan Options, Group Advises

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.

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Appalachian Community Fund Seeking Proposals

Organizations seeking funding for projects must show how their proposed projects would eliminate barriers to full participation in society -- i.e., racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, ageism, ableism, and exclusion from decision-making processes.

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Coalition Aims To Improve Financial Dignity For Boomers

As both the housing market and stock market have declined this year, they've taken a big chunk of retirement assets for the baby boomer generation with them. That only adds to the woes of a generation that many experts say has done a poor job planning for their future. To help Boomers better understand and address the unique financial challenges they'll face in retirement, 11 non-profit financial associations, representing more than 200,000 financial services professionals around the world, have formed an unprecedented collaboration called The Partnership for Retirement Education and Planning (PREP).

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What Seniors Can Do To Prevent Dangerous Blood Clots

The Surgeon General of the United States has called upon Americans to learn more about deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism -- related problems that now affect between 350,000 and 600,000 Americans each year.

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Wealth Alone Is No Guarantee Of Secure Retirement

Even if you are doing well, plentiful assets and a good income are probably not enough to get rid of your worries about retirement—at least not according to new studies of high net worth investors. Thousands of affluent boomers and Gen Xers studied by Wharton and State Street Global Advisors expressed fears about outlasting their money.

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Study Finds Most Patients Can Drive Safely Six Weeks After Bunion Surgery

Six weeks following bunion surgery, most patients’ pain levels are so low that they are able to get back behind the wheel of a car again. A study published in the August 2008 issue of The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery also found that emergency brake time response in patients who underwent a first metatarsal osteotomy (a common surgical treatment for bunions) is similar to that of healthy individuals just six weeks later.

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Corporate America Faces a Brain Drain

As the more than 76 million baby boomers approach retirement, an imminent talent shortage is affecting the workforce and many U.S. companies will be challenged with a significant loss of experienced workers. This talent drain can be partially alleviated if companies entice older workers to remain in the workforce longer, say Joan Strewler-Carter and Stephen Carter, the husband/wife team that co-founded the Life Options Institute, an organization dedicated to helping people plan for life after age 50.

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Hearst Foundations Offer Health Grants

  The William Randolph Hearts Foundations award grants to support programs that seek to improve and assure access to quality healthcare for underserved populations, including the elderly. Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis.           ...

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Senate Panel Document Shows Success Of Pilot Program For LTC Worker Background Checks

Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI), chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, on Thursday (July 31) unveiled an official "Committee Print" on the success of a seven-state pilot program to conduct background checks on long-term care workers, created by Kohl and authorized under the 2003 Medicare Modernization Act.

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Flu Vaccine May Not Protect Seniors All That Well, Study Finds

The flu vaccine might not protect seniors as much as previously thought, finds the authors of a study of more than 3,500 patients over age 65. The researchers found no link between flu vaccination and risk of pneumonia during three flu seasons.

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Drug Industry Spent Record Amount Lobbying In 2007

Pharmaceutical manufacturers and their trade groups racked up another banner year on Capitol Hill, spending a record $168 million on lobbying in 2007, a 32% increase over 2006, finds a Center for Public Integrity analysis. Based on data obtained from the Senate Office of Public Records, the pharmaceutical industry has spent more than $1 billion lobbying the federal government over the past decade.

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Boomers, Parents Riding Out Tough Economic Times At Home

A survey conducted for AARP finds three in 10 (29%) middle age and older Americans pinched by tight economic times report making changes to their homes to live there longer. Only 10% postponed selling their current homes, and few (8%) moved to a smaller home or apartment.

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ACCORD Clinical Trial Publishes Results

Intensively targeting blood sugar to near-normal levels in adults with type 2 diabetes at especially high risk for heart attack and stroke does not significantly reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events, such as fatal or nonfatal heart attacks or stroke, but increases risk of death, compared to standard treatment.

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Center's White Paper Examines Nursing Home Diversion Program

The Washington, DC-based National Senior Citizen Law Center has produced an eight-page white paper, titled "The Administration on Aging's Nursing Home Diversion Program" which provides an excellent description of the program and its history.

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NCOA: Congress Should Fund Senior Falls Prevention Act

The National Council on Aging is urging members of Congress to fund the recently enacted "Safety of Seniors Act" (Public Law 110-202), a critical opportunity to decrease falling among older people, which causes nearly two million injuries and 16,000 deaths every year.

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CMS Has $13 Million To Fund States' Long-Term Care Reform Efforts

CMS revealed that its Real Choice Systems Change grants program for FY 2008 has available approximately $8 million in funding to continue to support states' efforts to address complex issues in long-term care reform. In addition, CMS was also awarded $5 million for Aging & Disability Resource Center /Area Agencies on Aging grants.

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CDC Recommends Merck's Shingles Vaccine For Adults 60+

CDC has adopted the unanimous recommendation of its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices for the use of ZOSTAVAX for the prevention of shingles in adults aged 60 and older. ZOSTAVAX is the only vaccine to prevent shingles, a frequently painful disease marked by a blistering rash that is caused by the reactivation of the chickenpox virus.

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'Cash & Counseling' Option Gaining Popularity Among States

A non-traditional Medicaid program, Cash and Counseling -- basically a stipend to hire helpers to allow elders to stay in their homes and avoid tapping into the overburdened home-healthcare industry -- is rapdily spreading across the country.

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FTC Commissioner Rosch Tapped As ALJ In Controversial Case

The Federal Trade Commission has designated Commissioner J. Thomas Rosch as the administrative law judge (ALJ) in the administrative trial on the merits challenging the proposed acquisition by Inova Health System Foundation of Prince William Health System Inc. (PWHS).

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Medicare Cuts For SNFs Could Have Severe Impact

A new analysis of potential Medicare cuts expected in a forthcoming CMS rule highlights a direct threat to the care of America's frail, elderly and disabled, as well as a neagtive impact on local, state and national economies.

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CMS Sets Rate Year 2009 Payment & Policy Changes For Long-Term Care Hospitals

CMS has published the final regulation establishing rate year 2009 federal payment rates and policies for long-term care hospitals. The changes provide moderate increases in payments affecting nearly 400 LTCHs across the nation.

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Leavitt Wants Fiscal 'Trigger Points' to Deal with Problems in Medicare

Health & Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt today (April 29) recommends that a series of fiscal trigger points be established that would force action to control Medicare costs so the financial disaster faced by a system in which fewer and fewer workers are paying for more and more beneficiaries can be avoided.

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Special Meals Target the Older Set

For a lot of older adults, cooking becomes an increasing burden as they age. DineWise, a direct marketer of chef-prepared meals, recognized the need and developed its own line of meals for older adults.

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WV: State Should Look At Mobile Polling For Seniors

West Virginia Secy. of State Betty Ireland wants lawmakers to seriously consider "mobile polling" as way of ensuring that eldery, frail West Virginians get to exercise their right to vote.

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Leavitt Urges Transparency On Medicare Quality, Costs

Health & Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt tells a small business audience if he had the legal authority he would direct changes in the nation's health system that would produce greater transparency about cost and quality of services. The largest impact would be on Medicare recipients, he adds.

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CMS Rule Would Lower Payments To Inpatient Rehab Facilities

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.

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ALFA Names Year's Top Assisted Living Providers

The Assisted Living Federation of America has just released its annual list of "Largest Providers" in the assisted living business. This year's list expands the rankings from the Top 50 to the Top 70, giving industry watchers a broader view of the competitive assisted living landscape.

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AARP and NCOA Launch New Resource on Stimulus Payment Education

AARP Foundation and the National Council on Aging have launched a user-friendly online tool to simplify the economic stimulus payment application process for millions of Americans who are not otherwise required to file income tax returns.

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FNS Food Stamp Program Participation Grants Available

The Food & Nutrition Service is seeking grant applications for the Food Stamp Program (FSP) Program Participation Grants (PPG) for FY 2008.

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Senate Republicans Offer Medicare Fix

Senate Republicans are distancing themselves from many White House budget requests, but its Medicare plan isn't one of them.

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Guide Available on Health Literacy & Older Adults

The Dept. of Health & Human Services makes available a "Quick Guide to Health Literacy and Older Adults" for people who serve older adults on health and aging issues.

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States Poised For Possible Pandemic Influenza Outbreak

States are rapidly improving their preparedness for a pandemic outbreak, say the authors of a new interim report by the Nat'l Governors Assn.'s Center for Best Practices.

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Survey Finds Boomers Confused About Medicare

New research from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners shows many baby boomers -- the first wave of which turns 62 this year -- are confused about their post-retirement health insurance options, including their Medicare eligibility.

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Communities Urged To Seek Electronic Health Record Demo Projects

HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt is urging community leaders across the country to apply for a new demonstration project that provides Medicare incentive payments to physicians for the use of certified electronic health records to improve patient care.

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Physician Group Practice Demo Produces Few Winners

Only two of 10 participants in CMS' demonstartion project actually met all the program's benchmarks.

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Senate Panel Posturing To Reform MA Plans

The Senate Finance Committee plans to continue monitoring and holding hearings on Medicare Advantage private fee-for-service plans this year even though the Bush White House in 2007 nixed numerous recommended changes to such plans.

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House OKs Stimulus Bill Sans Medicaid Funds; Senate Amendment Would Include Funding

House lawmakers vote 385-35 in favor of a $146 billion economic stimulus package that does not include a temporary increase in the federal medical assistance percentage for states' Medicaid programs.

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NIA's Web Training Curriculum Now Available

The National Institute on Aging has just released the Toolkit for Trainers, a free, downloadable training curriculum that instructors can use to help older adults find reliable health information online.

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