Practical Geriatric Care Management

Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature School on Blog
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM Band, 8-9 evening class, Monday to Friday

Professional geriatric care management center is a holistic, client-centered approach to caring for older adults or others facing ongoing health challenges.

 Sources: National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Helpguide.org; Remedy Health Media.  Acknowledgement: Internet 

A. Some keys to living a long, healthy life include:

· Make healthful lifestyle choices—don't smoke, eat right, practice good hygiene, and reduce stress in your life
· Have a positive outlook
· Stay as active as possible—mentally and physically
· Take safety precautions
· See your health care provider regularly and follow his or her recommendations for screening and preventative measures

B. Try these tips to help deal with difficult changes:

· Focus on being thankful. Appreciate and enjoy your life and don't take people or things for granted.
· Acknowledge your feelings and express them. Talk to a friend, family member or health care professional, write in a journal or join a support group.

Asians value family ties - an advantage in coping up with elderly care.  

· Embrace your spirituality.
· Accept that some things are out of your control.
· Try to keep your sense of humor.

C. If you’re having problems sleeping, talk to your health care provider. These good sleep hygiene tips might be helpful:

· Make sure your bedroom is dark and quiet and that it's not too warm.
· Adjust your bedtimes. Go to bed when you feel tired and get up at the same time each day.
· Turn off the TV at least one hour before going to bed.
· Wind down before bed by taking a bath or listening to soft music.

D. Safety is a serious issue for many seniors—especially those who are living alone and experiencing varying degrees of physical and/or mental decline. In addition to falls and choking hazards, concerns include the following:

· Driving safety (Giving up driving means giving up a measure of independence. Seniors may be unwilling to stop driving, even though continuing to drive can pose a safety risk for themselves and for others.)

· Fire/smoke safety (Memory lapses, which are more common in older adults, increase the risk for household fires caused by cooking, candles or smoking. It's important to have working smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors in your home.)

Comfortable home for the aged

· Extremely hot or cold weather. (Seniors are at increased risk for health problems caused by hot or cold temperatures, especially when the cooling or heating systems in their homes aren't functioning properly.) 

E. Physical elder abuse is the non-accidental use of force against an elderly person that causes injury or pain. It includes hitting, shoving and kicking, as well as misusing drugs, restraints or confinements on a person who is elderly.

· Emotional or psychological elder abuse can be verbal or non-verbal. It includes intimidation (e.g., through yelling or threatening), humiliation and ridicule, as well as ignoring, terrorizing or isolating the elder from family and friends.

· Sexual elder abuse involves sexual contact with a senior without his or her consent, as well as forcing the elder to view pornographic material, watch sexual acts or undress.

· Neglect and abandonment are the most common type of elder abuse. They involve failing to fulfill care-taking obligations—either intentionally or unintentionally.

· Financial exploitation elder abuse involves the unauthorized use of the elder’s assets—funds or property. It also includes health care fraud and abuse, which is carried out by unethical health care providers and involves charging for health care services not provided, overcharging for services, over- or under-medicating, and insurance fraud.

F. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), these are indicators that can be used to help assess health in older adults. These indicators are related to health status, health behaviors and compliance with preventative care recommendations and include the following:

· Number of physically unhealthy days reported per month (due to illness or injury)
· Frequent mental distress (depression, stress, anxiety or emotional problems reported on 14 or more days per month)
· Complete loss of natural teeth
· Current smoking status (smoker or non-smoker)
· Lack of leisure time/physical activity
· Regularly eating fewer than 5 fruits and vegetables per day
· Obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 30 or greater)
· Reported disability (physical, mental or emotional) that limits activity or requires special equipment (cane, walker, wheelchair, hearing-impaired telephone)
· Hip fracture
· Receiving a yearly flu vaccine
· Following routine health care / screening procedure recommendations (cancer, high cholesterol)

G. General health care recommendations in your 70s and older include the following:

· Blood pressure screening—every 2 years or as recommended
· Bone mineral density test—as recommended to screen for osteoporosis (bone loss)
· Cholesterol screening—every 5 years or as recommended
· Colorectal cancer screening—as recommended
· Dental exam—every 6 months or as recommended
· Diabetes screening—every 3 years or as recommended
· Eye exam—every 1 – 2 years or as recommended by an ophthalmologist
· Hearing test—yearly or as recommended
· Immunizations—yearly flu vaccine, herpes zoster vaccine (to prevent shingles; if not       previously vaccinated), pneumonia vaccine (as recommended, if not previously vaccinated), tetanus (every 10 years)
· Mammogram (women)—as recommended by your health care provider
· Pelvic exam (women)—yearly or as recommended
· Pap test (women)—as recommended by your health care provider (Most women over the age of 65 usually do not need this test.)
· Prostate cancer screening (men)—as recommended by your health care provider
· Thyroid test (TSH)—as recommended by your health care provider. 

 Sources: National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Helpguide.org; Remedy Health Media.  Acknowledgement: Wikipedia, Internet