Geriatric Care Management Blog

In an age of high tech health care, it is really gratifying to know that something as simple and personal as human touch can make a difference in the life of an older person.  By stimulating the receptors that are just beneath skin, massage can bolster an individual’s immune system, reduce their stress level and generally improve their mood and sense of well-being.  Gentle massage of an older person also will improve their blood circulation, ease their aches or pains and enhance their emotional outlook. Anyone who has raised kids knows that sometimes it is just a hug, a kiss, or a gentle touch that takes away the stress or hurt of an infant.  And we all know that holding hands, a pat on the back or a kindly touch conveys so much in the way of a feel good to another person with whom we want to connect.  So, if you have an older person in your orbit, try one of these four approaches to enhance their health and well-being: Compression and Release – starting at the wrist and working your way up a person’s...

    This marks the 100th posting on our blog since its inception October, 2010, and it gave me pause to stop and reflect on what one learns at 100.  So, whom better to ask than people who have had 100 birthdays, made it to that milestone and have been paying attention along the way.  I have gathered together here a short compilation of wisdom from some centenarians whom I felt had something to offer the rest of us.  You tell me what you think.

    Ruth offers advice on life and style.  Appreciate that Ruth lifts weights everyday and practices Pilates weekly, an activity she just picked up when she was 92.  Perhaps her most memorable piece of advice is about time and age; she says, “Don't look at the calendar just keep celebrating every day.”  This, from a lady who does not wear blue jeans and makes herself get up and out every day for at least a short walk.  (And she is a real believer in the values of...

Health care providers call them decubitus ulcers, but most people know these pressure wounds on the skin as bedsores.  Although bedsores as a medical condition are not tracked by the Centers for Disease Control, it is generally estimated that about two million Americans suffer with these ulcers any given year.  The vast majority of pressure ulcers occur among adults in their 70’s or 80’s, but the real cause is not age; it is lack of mobility.  An unfortunate – and high profile – case in point was the late actor, Christopher Reeve.  He did not succumb to his paralysis, per se.  He died of a systemic infection that began in a pressure ulcer in 2004. But older adults are the more common victims of bedsores for a lot of reasons.  They have more fragile skin to begin with, a natural outcome of aging.  They also tend to be less hydrated and have relatively poorer nutrition, both conditions which make for less healthy skin and for poorer circulation and healing if there is a wound.  Elders who may be bed ridden or...

We all have heard it said that we are what we eat, but something that many of us do not always think about is how the foods we eat may not mix with the medicines we take.  And this becomes the potential for a perfect storm of medicines and foods among older adults.  Their bodies do not eliminate food or drugs as quickly; they typically have a lower body weight; and they have lower water content in their bodies.  All of these magnify the problems that younger adults may face, because anything they ingest becomes more concentrated.   It also is an even more likely to be an issue with older adults because research shows that four out of five people over age 57 are on at least one prescription, and half also are taking some medicine or herbal supplement they have bought over the counter.  Thirty percent of older adults take more than five prescription drugs.   Computerized medical records make it a lot easier for health care providers today to avoid drug-drug interactions in their patients, but not all of them warn...