Engaging While Aging: What's Good for the Brain is Good for the Soul
Staying socially connected is one of those behaviors, like regular exercise and good diets, that can help older people lead healthier, and perhaps longer, lives.
That’s the finding of several recent studies. In 2007, for example, researchers from Western Oregon University found that older adults who increase or maintain their social networks are more likely than those who don’t to report enhanced cognitive functioning, decreased depression and improved quality of life.
And in the 1990s, Harvard researchers found that people age 65+ who report frequent contact with relatives and friends or participation in regular social activities are about half as likely to experience cognitive decline as those with no regular social ties. Click here to read full article
A New Concept: Home-Based Assisted Living
As the number of Americans seeking to grow old in their own homes rises, the array of solutions aimed at helping them achieve this goal continues to widen.
One innovative new approach is to bring traditional assisted living offerings – including health and safety monitoring, personal care support services and opportunities for socialization – directly into the homes of older adults. The idea is to help seniors who may be experiencing physical or cognitive problems remain living independently without having to leave home.
This model is now available in parts of the Bay Area, pioneered by a Mill Valley-based venture called Living Well Assisted Living At Home. Founded in 2009 by two local leaders in the field of geriatric care, Doris Bersing and Tessa ten Tusscher, Living Well currently serves San Francisco and southern Marin County, with plans to expand into other regions of the Bay Area and Southern California. Click here to read full article
Fall 2008 Podcast
Transitioning From Hospital to Home (recorded October 2008)
Bay Area Summit talks with Kathleen Mayeda about the heightened risks faced by older adults after acute care hospitalization, and steps that can be taken by discharge planners and other providers to improve coordination of post-discharge care. Also addressed are measures that can be taken by elderly patients and those who care for them to promote positive post-discharge health outcomes. Mayeda is director of the Homecoming Services Program established by the San Francisco Senior Center in 2002. The program provides intensive, short-term case management services to isolated, low-income seniors returning home after stays in acute hospitals or rehabilitation facilities. According to Mayeda, the program has succeeded in reducing rehospitalization rates among the clients it serves by about 50 percent. For more information, see research on hospital to home transitions by UC Berkeley’s Health Research for Action at http://healthresearchforaction.org/research-evaluation/reports.html. Click here to access podcast audio file (MP3)
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