VALLETTA, Malta (Malta Star), September 22, 2007:
The Maltese Society for Dementia organised a walk to commemorate 100 years since Dementia was recognised as an illness.
The walk was organised on World's Alzheimers Day which is remembered on September 21 every year. Every seven seconds a person is diagnosed suffering from dementia.
In Malta there are some 4000 persons diagnosed with dementia. The walk by the Maltese Society for Dementia was called Memory Walk. People diagnosed with dementia lose concentration, suffer from memory loss and have communication difficulties.
Memory Walk is organised in several countries to mark Alzheimer's Day.
JAPAN: Over 12,000 Case of Elder Abuse Reported in 2006
TOKYO (International Herald Tribune - Associated Press) September 22, 2007:
Thousands of elderly people are abused at home by relatives in Japan, news reports said today, as the country faces a rapidly aging population.
More than 12,600 cases of elderly abuse were reported in 2006, almost all of them at home, according to the Health and Welfare Ministry survey released on September 21. About 50 cases involved abuse inflicted by staff at nursing homes.
The national survey, the first produced since a law aimed at preventing elderly abuse took effect in April, showed 80 percent of the victims were women aged 80 or older. The survey also showed about 40 percent of the abused suffered from dementia.
Despite Japan's traditional respect for the aged, increasing life spans and lack of welfare support systems have put increasing pressure on families caring for elderly parents and grandparents.
Nearly 22 percent of Japan's 127.8 million population is aged 65 or older, according to government data released this month. The percentage is expected to nearly double by 2055.
Sons were the top abusers in the reported cases at 37 percent. Daughters-in-law were responsible for abuse in 10 percent of the cases, according to the report. Many victims were also verbally abused, neglected or had their assets stolen.
Copyright © 2007 the International Herald Tribune
Thousands of elderly people are abused at home by relatives in Japan, news reports said today, as the country faces a rapidly aging population.
More than 12,600 cases of elderly abuse were reported in 2006, almost all of them at home, according to the Health and Welfare Ministry survey released on September 21. About 50 cases involved abuse inflicted by staff at nursing homes.
The national survey, the first produced since a law aimed at preventing elderly abuse took effect in April, showed 80 percent of the victims were women aged 80 or older. The survey also showed about 40 percent of the abused suffered from dementia.
Despite Japan's traditional respect for the aged, increasing life spans and lack of welfare support systems have put increasing pressure on families caring for elderly parents and grandparents.
Nearly 22 percent of Japan's 127.8 million population is aged 65 or older, according to government data released this month. The percentage is expected to nearly double by 2055.
Sons were the top abusers in the reported cases at 37 percent. Daughters-in-law were responsible for abuse in 10 percent of the cases, according to the report. Many victims were also verbally abused, neglected or had their assets stolen.
Copyright © 2007 the International Herald Tribune
USA: Caution - Scamsters Ahead. Don't Lose Your Life Savings
ALEXANDRIA, Virginia (Motley Fool), September 21, 2007:
After a lifetime of hard work, seniors should be able to sit back and enjoy their retirements comfortably. But con artists and disreputable professionals have singled out the elderly as targets for scams and fraud.
A recent story in The Washington Post reported that the SEC has conducted an investigation into seminars and other sales presentations geared to senior audiences. Offering free lunches, salespeople try to lure the seniors into unsuitable investments that often carry high commissions, sales charges, and surrender charges. SEC Chair Christopher Cox called the results of the investigation "deeply disturbing."
Where the money isIt's not hard to understand why crooks go after the elderly: They have money. According to AARP, senior citizens have about $14 trillion in assets. That's a big carrot to dangle in front of dishonest people looking for a fast buck.
But despite their collective wealth, many seniors aren't comfortable managing their money on their own. With memories of the Great Depression and market crashes over the decades, they often steer clear of stocks in favor of more conservative investments, such as FDIC-insured bank CDs and Treasury bonds. Yet because they typically live on fixed incomes, many senior citizens have trouble making ends meet, especially with the relatively low interest rates that have prevailed over the past several years.
Higher income ... at a price
The lure of high-yielding investments is often what tempts these insecure retirees. For example, deferred fixed annuities look a lot like bank CDs to novice investors, and they often pay higher yields than CDs. And even though they're not insured by the FDIC, many insurance companies, including MetLife (NYSE: MET) and Prudential (NYSE: PRU), have been in business for over a century. That fact lends credibility to the idea that fixed annuities are safe.
But some annuities contain restrictions on the money invested in them. You may have to pay a fee if you withdraw money within a certain time after you buy an annuity. And while annuities often pay sizable commissions to agents soon after a sale, salespeople may have to pay back those commissions if customers try to back out quickly. As a result, disreputable agents have every incentive to keep seniors locked in, even if the investment is no longer suitable.
And it's not just annuities. Risky securities like trust deeds and junk bonds offer high monthly income, but the risk of principal loss is substantial. With the financial stresses many seniors face, those bigger monthly checks can seem like an answered prayer -- until they stop coming.
What to do
Unfortunately, insurance companies don't always do the right thing. The Post's story includes the experience of one person who'd bought an annuity from Allianz. The company defended its practices, citing low complaint levels and oversight provisions. Yet large insurance companies employ thousands of salespeople, so it's a huge challenge to supervise them effectively.
Recommendations
As a result, you need to take matters into your own hands. Here are some ideas on how to protect yourself and your loved ones.
Never buy anything the first time you meet someone who is trying to sell you something. If you know you're vulnerable to sales presentations, leave your checkbook at home.
If you need help with your finances, ask friends and family members for recommendations.
If you meet with an advisor, get the names of other clients the advisor has. If the advisor can't give you references, stay away.
Always get a second opinion. A reputable professional will understand how important that is.
You've worked a lifetime to save what you have. Don't let financial fraudsters take your money.
By Dan Caplinger
©1995-2007 The Motley Fool.
After a lifetime of hard work, seniors should be able to sit back and enjoy their retirements comfortably. But con artists and disreputable professionals have singled out the elderly as targets for scams and fraud.
A recent story in The Washington Post reported that the SEC has conducted an investigation into seminars and other sales presentations geared to senior audiences. Offering free lunches, salespeople try to lure the seniors into unsuitable investments that often carry high commissions, sales charges, and surrender charges. SEC Chair Christopher Cox called the results of the investigation "deeply disturbing."
Where the money isIt's not hard to understand why crooks go after the elderly: They have money. According to AARP, senior citizens have about $14 trillion in assets. That's a big carrot to dangle in front of dishonest people looking for a fast buck.
But despite their collective wealth, many seniors aren't comfortable managing their money on their own. With memories of the Great Depression and market crashes over the decades, they often steer clear of stocks in favor of more conservative investments, such as FDIC-insured bank CDs and Treasury bonds. Yet because they typically live on fixed incomes, many senior citizens have trouble making ends meet, especially with the relatively low interest rates that have prevailed over the past several years.
Higher income ... at a price
The lure of high-yielding investments is often what tempts these insecure retirees. For example, deferred fixed annuities look a lot like bank CDs to novice investors, and they often pay higher yields than CDs. And even though they're not insured by the FDIC, many insurance companies, including MetLife (NYSE: MET) and Prudential (NYSE: PRU), have been in business for over a century. That fact lends credibility to the idea that fixed annuities are safe.
But some annuities contain restrictions on the money invested in them. You may have to pay a fee if you withdraw money within a certain time after you buy an annuity. And while annuities often pay sizable commissions to agents soon after a sale, salespeople may have to pay back those commissions if customers try to back out quickly. As a result, disreputable agents have every incentive to keep seniors locked in, even if the investment is no longer suitable.
And it's not just annuities. Risky securities like trust deeds and junk bonds offer high monthly income, but the risk of principal loss is substantial. With the financial stresses many seniors face, those bigger monthly checks can seem like an answered prayer -- until they stop coming.
What to do
Unfortunately, insurance companies don't always do the right thing. The Post's story includes the experience of one person who'd bought an annuity from Allianz. The company defended its practices, citing low complaint levels and oversight provisions. Yet large insurance companies employ thousands of salespeople, so it's a huge challenge to supervise them effectively.
Recommendations
As a result, you need to take matters into your own hands. Here are some ideas on how to protect yourself and your loved ones.
Never buy anything the first time you meet someone who is trying to sell you something. If you know you're vulnerable to sales presentations, leave your checkbook at home.
If you need help with your finances, ask friends and family members for recommendations.
If you meet with an advisor, get the names of other clients the advisor has. If the advisor can't give you references, stay away.
Always get a second opinion. A reputable professional will understand how important that is.
You've worked a lifetime to save what you have. Don't let financial fraudsters take your money.
By Dan Caplinger
©1995-2007 The Motley Fool.
CANADA: Mobile Clinic to Prevent Risk of Falls
VANCOUVER (Canadian Press), September 22, 2007:
A team of health experts is taking to the road in a clinic that aims to help seniors reduce their risk of falling and injuring themselves.
The Mobile Falls and Injury Prevention Clinic, sponsored by the Fraser Health Authority, is believed to be the first of its kind of Canada.
Program manager Fabio Feldman says fall-related injuries among seniors can be devastating and lead to costs that are three times
higher than those related to car accidents.
Seniors who attend the clinic will get a custom report aimed at reducing their risk of falling and injuring themselves and a personalized activity program, along with information on osteoporosis and samples of calcium and vitamin D.
The clinic is made up of six stations where seniors will be examined by a nurse, a pharmacist, a kinesiologist, a biomechanics expert and a physiotherapist.
Feldman says the clinic is open to seniors over 60 with one or more falls in the last six months or those who have been referred from Fraser Health's geriatric clinics, emergency rooms and home health offices.
Copyright © 2007 The Canadian Press.
A team of health experts is taking to the road in a clinic that aims to help seniors reduce their risk of falling and injuring themselves.
The Mobile Falls and Injury Prevention Clinic, sponsored by the Fraser Health Authority, is believed to be the first of its kind of Canada.
Program manager Fabio Feldman says fall-related injuries among seniors can be devastating and lead to costs that are three times
higher than those related to car accidents.
Seniors who attend the clinic will get a custom report aimed at reducing their risk of falling and injuring themselves and a personalized activity program, along with information on osteoporosis and samples of calcium and vitamin D.
The clinic is made up of six stations where seniors will be examined by a nurse, a pharmacist, a kinesiologist, a biomechanics expert and a physiotherapist.
Feldman says the clinic is open to seniors over 60 with one or more falls in the last six months or those who have been referred from Fraser Health's geriatric clinics, emergency rooms and home health offices.
Copyright © 2007 The Canadian Press.
U.K.: Number of Grandparents to Swell by 2020
LONDON (The Telegraph), September 21, 2007:
One in three adults living in Britain in 2020 will be a grandparent, according to new research, says
The Future Foundation think-tank.
Falling birth rates and increased longevity are having a big impact on family structures, especially at the top of the family tree. Because people are living longer and are generally in better health the number of grandparents is forecast to swell by nearly a quarter, to 16.6 million.
The foundation's report was commissioned by Saga to mark Grandparents Day on September 22.
People now spend an average of 35 years as a grandparent, 22 years as a parent with children living at home, and a further 14 years on average as an adult with no children.
The most common age to become a grandparent is 49.
By Sarah Womack
© Copyright. Telegraph Media Group 2007.
One in three adults living in Britain in 2020 will be a grandparent, according to new research, says
The Future Foundation think-tank.
Falling birth rates and increased longevity are having a big impact on family structures, especially at the top of the family tree. Because people are living longer and are generally in better health the number of grandparents is forecast to swell by nearly a quarter, to 16.6 million.
The foundation's report was commissioned by Saga to mark Grandparents Day on September 22.
People now spend an average of 35 years as a grandparent, 22 years as a parent with children living at home, and a further 14 years on average as an adult with no children.
The most common age to become a grandparent is 49.
By Sarah Womack
© Copyright. Telegraph Media Group 2007.
SINGAPORE: Healthy Prospects for Mature Workers
SINGAPORE (TODAYOnLine), September 21, 2007:
AT 47, he accepted an offer of early retirement after 25 years with Singapore Customs, when he found he was unable to cope with his new job scope. His prospects were bleak. He tried out several jobs, including that of a security officer and even went jobless for nine months. Then, two years ago, Mr Shahril Sulaiman (picture) sought help from the Workforce Development Agency, which enrolled him in a three-month course at education provider Healthcare Management International (HMI).
With a certificate in in-patient care, he became a healthcare assistant with the Institute of Mental Health. Today, the 50-year-old is training to be an enrolled nurse, sponsored by his employers for a full-time course at the Institute of Technical Education.
Yesterday, Mr Shahril was commended by Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen for excelling in a field he started out in with no experience. Mr Ng launched HMI's new training centre "the HMI Institute of Health Sciences". It offers mature workers, who are making a mid-career switch, an alternative healthcare education that is more basic and simpler to grasp.
With efforts ongoing to get Singaporeans to continue working beyond 65, the healthcare sector seems a natural field offering opportunities for them. For instance, the target of drawing a million medical tourists a year to Singapore by 2012 will mean an additional 13,000 jobs, Dr Ng said.
A Community Health Care Assistant course has also been launched at the new training centre. Its aim is to boost the employment of local healthcare assistants and enhance the standard of healthcare support in step-down care institutions.
Currently, foreigners comprise a whopping 85 per cent of healthcare workers in such institutions, which include community hospitals, nursing homes and voluntary welfare organisations.
By Daphne Chuah
Copyright ©2005 MediaCorp Press Ltd
AT 47, he accepted an offer of early retirement after 25 years with Singapore Customs, when he found he was unable to cope with his new job scope. His prospects were bleak. He tried out several jobs, including that of a security officer and even went jobless for nine months. Then, two years ago, Mr Shahril Sulaiman (picture) sought help from the Workforce Development Agency, which enrolled him in a three-month course at education provider Healthcare Management International (HMI).
With a certificate in in-patient care, he became a healthcare assistant with the Institute of Mental Health. Today, the 50-year-old is training to be an enrolled nurse, sponsored by his employers for a full-time course at the Institute of Technical Education.
Yesterday, Mr Shahril was commended by Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen for excelling in a field he started out in with no experience. Mr Ng launched HMI's new training centre "the HMI Institute of Health Sciences". It offers mature workers, who are making a mid-career switch, an alternative healthcare education that is more basic and simpler to grasp.
With efforts ongoing to get Singaporeans to continue working beyond 65, the healthcare sector seems a natural field offering opportunities for them. For instance, the target of drawing a million medical tourists a year to Singapore by 2012 will mean an additional 13,000 jobs, Dr Ng said.
A Community Health Care Assistant course has also been launched at the new training centre. Its aim is to boost the employment of local healthcare assistants and enhance the standard of healthcare support in step-down care institutions.
Currently, foreigners comprise a whopping 85 per cent of healthcare workers in such institutions, which include community hospitals, nursing homes and voluntary welfare organisations.
By Daphne Chuah
Copyright ©2005 MediaCorp Press Ltd
CANADA: Alzheimer Society Receives $1 Million Gift
TORONTO, Ontario (Alzheimer Society), September 21, 2007:
Today on World Alzheimer's Day, the Alzheimer Society of Canada has announced its receipt of a $1 million legacy gift. This donation, the largest single legacy gift in the Society's history, will be used to help fund critical Alzheimer research, as well as support other important programs and services.
The funds were left to the Alzheimer Society of Canada through the will of an Ottawa resident, who witnessed the devastating effects Alzheimer's disease had on those in her community and wanted to make a difference.
"We continue to be humbled by the generosity of Canadians, and are particularly grateful for the thoughtfulness behind this very important gift," says Scott Dudgeon, chief executive officer of the Alzheimer Society of Canada.
"Legacy giving is a very satisfying and meaningful way for people to make a difference. It is within reach of everyone, regardless of their economic status, and can be done in a way that doesn't impact their lifestyle, or that of their family."
A portion of the funds will be used to support the Alzheimer Society's Research Program. Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2007/08, the research program helps support some of the country's best and brightest minds find answers in revention, treatments, and most importantly, a cure.
"We know that research remains the key to a cure, but there is still much work to be done," adds Dudgeon. "We need the support of both the Canadian public, as well as the Federal Government, in order to ensure enough dollars are being spent on this very important work."
Government Urged to Develop Dementia Management Strategy
With this in mind, the Alzheimer Society of Canada is calling on the federal government to make dementia a national health priority by sponsoring the development of a Canadian Dementia Management Strategy. The strategy would include key issues such as research, prevention, diagnosis, improved treatment, improved care and care for caregivers.
The Society is also calling on Canadians to let their voice be heard by becoming an Alzheimer advocate. By joining together with the Society, people can be part of a powerful tool for change, working to create a future without Alzheimer's disease.
More info at www.alzheimer.ca
Today on World Alzheimer's Day, the Alzheimer Society of Canada has announced its receipt of a $1 million legacy gift. This donation, the largest single legacy gift in the Society's history, will be used to help fund critical Alzheimer research, as well as support other important programs and services.
The funds were left to the Alzheimer Society of Canada through the will of an Ottawa resident, who witnessed the devastating effects Alzheimer's disease had on those in her community and wanted to make a difference.
"We continue to be humbled by the generosity of Canadians, and are particularly grateful for the thoughtfulness behind this very important gift," says Scott Dudgeon, chief executive officer of the Alzheimer Society of Canada.
"Legacy giving is a very satisfying and meaningful way for people to make a difference. It is within reach of everyone, regardless of their economic status, and can be done in a way that doesn't impact their lifestyle, or that of their family."
A portion of the funds will be used to support the Alzheimer Society's Research Program. Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2007/08, the research program helps support some of the country's best and brightest minds find answers in revention, treatments, and most importantly, a cure.
"We know that research remains the key to a cure, but there is still much work to be done," adds Dudgeon. "We need the support of both the Canadian public, as well as the Federal Government, in order to ensure enough dollars are being spent on this very important work."
Government Urged to Develop Dementia Management Strategy
With this in mind, the Alzheimer Society of Canada is calling on the federal government to make dementia a national health priority by sponsoring the development of a Canadian Dementia Management Strategy. The strategy would include key issues such as research, prevention, diagnosis, improved treatment, improved care and care for caregivers.
The Society is also calling on Canadians to let their voice be heard by becoming an Alzheimer advocate. By joining together with the Society, people can be part of a powerful tool for change, working to create a future without Alzheimer's disease.
More info at www.alzheimer.ca
INDIA: Dementia Website Launched By Alzheimer's Society
BANGALURU, Karnataka (The Hindu), September 21, 2007:
Karnataka State Governor Rameshwar Thakur formally inaugurated a website on dementia at a ceremony today to mark Alzheimer's Day.
“In India today, there is no proper awareness about this disease. Sometimes loss of memory is ignored as a part of the aging process,” said Ms.Radha Murthy, President of the Bangalore Chapter of the Alzheimer’s and Related Disorders Society of India (ARDSI).
“My father has been living with dementia for the last five years and dealing with it is a challenge, not so much for the patient, but for the caregivers. For my mother, who is the main caregiver, it is a taxing job,” said Hari Nair, a caregiver who works in an IT company.
For hundreds of such dementia patients and their caregivers, the key word is awareness and early detection.
Copyright © 2007, The Hindu.
Karnataka State Governor Rameshwar Thakur formally inaugurated a website on dementia at a ceremony today to mark Alzheimer's Day.
“In India today, there is no proper awareness about this disease. Sometimes loss of memory is ignored as a part of the aging process,” said Ms.Radha Murthy, President of the Bangalore Chapter of the Alzheimer’s and Related Disorders Society of India (ARDSI).
“My father has been living with dementia for the last five years and dealing with it is a challenge, not so much for the patient, but for the caregivers. For my mother, who is the main caregiver, it is a taxing job,” said Hari Nair, a caregiver who works in an IT company.
For hundreds of such dementia patients and their caregivers, the key word is awareness and early detection.
Copyright © 2007, The Hindu.
USA: Life Expectancy Hits New High
Drops in deaths from heart disease, cancer and stroke fuel the trend
HYATSVILLE, Md. (HealthDay News), September 21, 2007:
Life expectancy rates in the United States are at an all-time high, with people born in 2005 projected to live for nearly 78 years, a new federal study finds. The finding reflects a continuing trend of increasing life expectancy that began in 1955, when the average American lived to be 69.6 years old. By 1995, life expectancy was 75.8 years, and by 2005, it had risen to 77.9 years.
"This is good news," said report co-author Donna Hoyert, health scientist, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at the National Center for Health Statistics. "It's even better news that it is a continuation of trends, so it is a long period of continuing improvement."
Despite the upward trend, the United States still has a lower life expectancy than some 40 other countries, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The country with the longest life expectancy is Andorra at 83.5 years, followed by Japan, Macau, San Marino and Singapore.
Much of the increase owes to declining death rates from the three leading causes of death in the country -- heart disease, cancer and stroke. In addition, in 2005, the U.S. death rate dropped to an all time low of less than 800 deaths per 100,000. "Yet mortality for Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease continue to increase."
The death rate from heart disease dropped from 217 deaths per 100,000 in 2004 to 210.3 in 2005. The death rate from cancer fell from 185.8 deaths per 100,000 in 2004 to 183.8 in 2005. And the death rate from stroke fell from 50 deaths per 100,000 in 2004 to 46.6 in 2005, according to the report.
However, deaths from Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease increased by about 5 percent between 2004 and 2005. Factors that contributed to increasing rates of death from Alzheimer's and Parkinson's include the aging population, Hoyert said. "There is also better diagnosis and reporting of these diseases on death certificates," she said, and she expects the steady increase in life expectancy to continue.
Full report: National Center for Health Statistics.
By Steven Reinberg, HealthDay Reporter
Copyright © 2007 ScoutNews, LLC.
HYATSVILLE, Md. (HealthDay News), September 21, 2007:
Life expectancy rates in the United States are at an all-time high, with people born in 2005 projected to live for nearly 78 years, a new federal study finds. The finding reflects a continuing trend of increasing life expectancy that began in 1955, when the average American lived to be 69.6 years old. By 1995, life expectancy was 75.8 years, and by 2005, it had risen to 77.9 years.
"This is good news," said report co-author Donna Hoyert, health scientist, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at the National Center for Health Statistics. "It's even better news that it is a continuation of trends, so it is a long period of continuing improvement."
Despite the upward trend, the United States still has a lower life expectancy than some 40 other countries, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The country with the longest life expectancy is Andorra at 83.5 years, followed by Japan, Macau, San Marino and Singapore.Much of the increase owes to declining death rates from the three leading causes of death in the country -- heart disease, cancer and stroke. In addition, in 2005, the U.S. death rate dropped to an all time low of less than 800 deaths per 100,000. "Yet mortality for Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease continue to increase."
The death rate from heart disease dropped from 217 deaths per 100,000 in 2004 to 210.3 in 2005. The death rate from cancer fell from 185.8 deaths per 100,000 in 2004 to 183.8 in 2005. And the death rate from stroke fell from 50 deaths per 100,000 in 2004 to 46.6 in 2005, according to the report.
However, deaths from Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease increased by about 5 percent between 2004 and 2005. Factors that contributed to increasing rates of death from Alzheimer's and Parkinson's include the aging population, Hoyert said. "There is also better diagnosis and reporting of these diseases on death certificates," she said, and she expects the steady increase in life expectancy to continue.
Full report: National Center for Health Statistics.
By Steven Reinberg, HealthDay Reporter
Copyright © 2007 ScoutNews, LLC.
JAPAN: Tokyo's Neon Lights To Dim As Japan Ages
TOKYO (Reuters) September 21, 2007: In a leafy Tokyo suburb, a landlord visits his tenant only to discover a skeleton inside the apartment. The tenant had died three years before. None of the neighbors had noticed the man was missing. His bank kept on making rent payments until his account was empty and a rent check finally bounced, prompting the landlord's visit and the gruesome discovery.Welcome to the macabre side of ageing Japan, where growing numbers of people are dying alone, uncared for and unnoticed in suburbs that are rapidly turning grey.
And nowhere more so than in Tokyo, the world's largest metropolis, where hostess bars and neon lights will dim in the coming decades as the population ages.
Lonely deaths such as the one in the Tokiwadaira district, on the outskirts of Tokyo, where the skeleton was discovered, will become more common as 60-and-70-something "children" with their own health problems find it difficult to care for their 80-something parents and understaffed nursing homes struggle to meet what is expected to be overwhelming demand.
Statistics suggest already more than 20,000 people a year die alone in Japan - 2 percent of all deaths.
This figure is expected to rise as the number of senior citizens living alone soars in Japan, the world's fastest ageing society. In 2055, around 40 percent of the population will be aged 65 and over.
"These are things we would rather cover up," said Takumi Nakazawa, 73, a community leader in the Tokiwadaira district where elderly residents have set up a neighborhood watch scheme.
Residents have been asked to report to authorities if they see neighbors' lights left on or off for a long time, clothes hanging out to dry for a protracted period and post boxes over-stuffed with newspapers and junk mail.
Such efforts have saved lives. An old woman who lost consciousness was rescued after a neighbor reported that she had not been seen and her television was on all day.
TOKYO TURNING GREY
Tokiwadaira is one of the capital's greyest suburbs, but the rest of Tokyo's metropolitan area, home to a quarter of Japan's 127 million people, will soon take on the same hue.
By 2020, about 14 percent of the population of greater Tokyo -- around 4.9 million people of a predicted population of 35 million -- will be aged 75 or older. Currently only around 7 percent of the greater Tokyo area are in this age bracket.
Within the next 15 years, the bustling city that never stops will be one of the world's greyest metropolises.
The suburbs of Tokyo, built by the government to accommodate people who flocked to the capital from the countryside as Japan's population exploded in the past few decades, will be hit hard as Japan's population shrinks to an estimated 90 million in 2055 from around 127 million today.
Experts predict that some of these suburbs of high-rise apartment complexes could become ghost-towns if the government doesn't swiftly plan for the city's grey future.
"There will be some areas where it will become almost impossible to do business," said Kosuke Motani of the Development Bank of Japan.
Tokyo suburbs are already bearing the brunt.
Some senior citizens who can afford to buy property in central Tokyo are moving out and the population is already starting to decline in some areas, hurting the local economy. Corner stores are shutting down and streets are often deserted.
"Our new town is becoming an old town," said a resident of one such community in Saitama prefecture, north of Tokyo.
Development experts say the Tokyo metropolitan government should start preparing now for the city's grey future, such as building old age homes for the millions of elderly people who will need nursing care as their health declines.
"Few local governments appear to recognize this," said Kosuke Motani, an expert on regional development at the Development Bank of Japan.
Some experts say the Tokyo metropolitan government, now busy with its bid to host the 2016 Olympics, is turning a blind eye to its likely demography in less than a decade.
COMPACT CITIES
Though greater Tokyo does not yet have a clear strategy for dealing with its graying population, some other Japanese cities are already taking steps of their own.
Aomori, near the northern end of Japan's main island of Honshu, has banned development work in suburbs to bring those living on the outskirts back to the city centre.
Aomori's attempt to turn itself into a "compact city" by concentrating the dispersed population in the city centre near railway stations is seen as a model for many other cities in Japan and abroad that are facing steep drops in population.
The city of 300,000 has built a condominium with a clinic and nursing care service centre, and is also trying to transform the shopping mall in the city centre into a senior-friendly area.
The mall now has wheelchair ramps and benches for the convenience of senior citizens.
"It'll be bothersome to drive when you get old. Senior citizens will want to live in the city centre," said Hiroshi Kato, a local business leader. "What we are doing now will bear fruit in five to 10 years," he said.
By Hideyuki Sano
© Reuters 2007
U.K.: Retirement Dreams: Sex and Bungee Jumping
LONDON (The Telegraph), September 21, 2007:
Far from retreating into a quiet life of knitting, reading and early bedtimes, older people today appear to have more exciting plans for their retirement. A wish list of goals compiled by the over-60s reveals people who want to have more sex, take up bungee jumping and see the world.
A survey of 1,000 over-50s found that many intended to spice up their retirement by embarking on extreme sports such as parachute jumping or hang-gliding, learning new skills such as cooking or playing an instrument, and travelling. Some dreamed of seeing the Northern Lights, swimming with dolphins and going on safari. Others craved new cultural experiences, such as going to the London 2012 Olympics, visiting the opera, and seeing a West End show. A few just wanted to eat more cakes, have more sex or grow a beard.
The list of 60 goals for the over 60s was published by the Generation Xperience campaign ahead of a new Older People's Day on October 1, aimed at highlighting opportunities available to the over-50s by challenging common misconceptions of what it means to be older.
The organisers say the list provides a new insight into the ambitious, upbeat outlook of older people.
Dr Aric Sigman, a psychologist, said: "This list of personal goals highlights how people are expecting more from older age in terms of both the opportunities that are open to them and the things they want to accomplish and contribute to society. "It's great that later life is approached with such a sense of optimism."
However, some older people also intended to use their spare time for more altruistic activities. Caring goals for later life included freeing the family from debt, volunteering and raising money for charity.
The veteran broadcaster Sir Terry Wogan said: "Everyone aged 60-plus should have high ambitions. Use-by dates don't apply to people."
By Laura Clout
© Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2007.
Far from retreating into a quiet life of knitting, reading and early bedtimes, older people today appear to have more exciting plans for their retirement. A wish list of goals compiled by the over-60s reveals people who want to have more sex, take up bungee jumping and see the world.
A survey of 1,000 over-50s found that many intended to spice up their retirement by embarking on extreme sports such as parachute jumping or hang-gliding, learning new skills such as cooking or playing an instrument, and travelling. Some dreamed of seeing the Northern Lights, swimming with dolphins and going on safari. Others craved new cultural experiences, such as going to the London 2012 Olympics, visiting the opera, and seeing a West End show. A few just wanted to eat more cakes, have more sex or grow a beard.
The list of 60 goals for the over 60s was published by the Generation Xperience campaign ahead of a new Older People's Day on October 1, aimed at highlighting opportunities available to the over-50s by challenging common misconceptions of what it means to be older.
The organisers say the list provides a new insight into the ambitious, upbeat outlook of older people.
Dr Aric Sigman, a psychologist, said: "This list of personal goals highlights how people are expecting more from older age in terms of both the opportunities that are open to them and the things they want to accomplish and contribute to society. "It's great that later life is approached with such a sense of optimism."
However, some older people also intended to use their spare time for more altruistic activities. Caring goals for later life included freeing the family from debt, volunteering and raising money for charity.
The veteran broadcaster Sir Terry Wogan said: "Everyone aged 60-plus should have high ambitions. Use-by dates don't apply to people."
By Laura Clout
© Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2007.
CANADA: Ontario's Seniors, Poor Unable To Access Needed Care
TORONTO, Ontario (CNW News), September 21, 2007:
Seniors, the working poor and those receiving social assistance suffer the highest incidence of musculoskeletal problems, including back pain.
Yet, as an unintended consequence of the delisting of chiropractic in 2004, these vulnerable populations are least able to access chiropractic care, according to a recent report by the DeGroote School of Business's Health Leadership Institute.
Commissioned by the Ontario Chiropractic Association (OCA), the report, titled Providing Chiropractic Services to Those Most Vulnerable, cites a significant shift in the demographics of patients visiting Ontario's chiropractors - toward those with private insurance, WSIB or automobile insurance claims, and away from seniors, low income earners and social assistance recipients.
The report outlines five different funding options that would substantially improve access to chiropractic among these segments of the population.
"These groups are at a major disadvantage in getting the care they need," says OCA President Dr. Bryan Wolfe.
"Musculoskeletal problems, such as repetitive strain injuries, back and neck pain, are often debilitating, and they present a major challenge for the health care system. Without funding support, vulnerable populations have no choice but to seek care from health providers who fall within the scope of OHIP. That means an increase in the use of emergency rooms and family physicians, who are already overburdened and in short supply."
Musculoskeletal (MSK) pain is one of the leading causes of chronic health problems among people over 65. In fact, according to a study by the Public Health Agency of Canada, back pain and migraines were two of the most common reasons for visiting a physician. Interestingly, the top three reasons that patients visit the chiropractor are back pain, neck pain and headache.
With the upcoming provincial election, funding for chiropractic has become a subject for debate, and the OCA is very encouraged by NDP Leader Howard Hampton's recent pledge to commit $100 million a year for chiropractic, physiotherapy and optometry.
"The OCA is committed to working closely with the provincial government, no matter what the outcome of the upcoming election, to find a viable and cost-effective solution," says Dr. Wolfe. "We have already been engaged in discussions with all three parties regarding the funding options outlined in the report."
The funding models outlined in the report include:
- fee-for-service - in which the Ministry of Health and Long-Term care funds a
fixed amount for each patient visit, with the patient paying a co-payment;
- mixed population - in which fee-for-service model for those patients not enrolled
in some form of reformed primary care practice, and the capitation model for
those who are.
The Ontario Chiropractic Association is a voluntary professionalorganization that represents more than 2,700 (80 %) of Ontario's Chiropractors. www.chiropractic.on.ca.
Further information: Ontario Chiropractic Association, jpaige@chiropractic.on.ca.
© 2005 CNW Group Ltd.
Seniors, the working poor and those receiving social assistance suffer the highest incidence of musculoskeletal problems, including back pain.
Yet, as an unintended consequence of the delisting of chiropractic in 2004, these vulnerable populations are least able to access chiropractic care, according to a recent report by the DeGroote School of Business's Health Leadership Institute.
Commissioned by the Ontario Chiropractic Association (OCA), the report, titled Providing Chiropractic Services to Those Most Vulnerable, cites a significant shift in the demographics of patients visiting Ontario's chiropractors - toward those with private insurance, WSIB or automobile insurance claims, and away from seniors, low income earners and social assistance recipients.
The report outlines five different funding options that would substantially improve access to chiropractic among these segments of the population.
"These groups are at a major disadvantage in getting the care they need," says OCA President Dr. Bryan Wolfe.
"Musculoskeletal problems, such as repetitive strain injuries, back and neck pain, are often debilitating, and they present a major challenge for the health care system. Without funding support, vulnerable populations have no choice but to seek care from health providers who fall within the scope of OHIP. That means an increase in the use of emergency rooms and family physicians, who are already overburdened and in short supply."
Musculoskeletal (MSK) pain is one of the leading causes of chronic health problems among people over 65. In fact, according to a study by the Public Health Agency of Canada, back pain and migraines were two of the most common reasons for visiting a physician. Interestingly, the top three reasons that patients visit the chiropractor are back pain, neck pain and headache.
With the upcoming provincial election, funding for chiropractic has become a subject for debate, and the OCA is very encouraged by NDP Leader Howard Hampton's recent pledge to commit $100 million a year for chiropractic, physiotherapy and optometry.
"The OCA is committed to working closely with the provincial government, no matter what the outcome of the upcoming election, to find a viable and cost-effective solution," says Dr. Wolfe. "We have already been engaged in discussions with all three parties regarding the funding options outlined in the report."
The funding models outlined in the report include:
- fee-for-service - in which the Ministry of Health and Long-Term care funds a
fixed amount for each patient visit, with the patient paying a co-payment;
- mixed population - in which fee-for-service model for those patients not enrolled
in some form of reformed primary care practice, and the capitation model for
those who are.
The Ontario Chiropractic Association is a voluntary professionalorganization that represents more than 2,700 (80 %) of Ontario's Chiropractors. www.chiropractic.on.ca.
Further information: Ontario Chiropractic Association, jpaige@chiropractic.on.ca.
© 2005 CNW Group Ltd.
USA: Pistachios Lower Risk of Heart Disease
LONDON (The Telegraph), September 21, 2007:Pistachios in the diet can significantly reduce cholesterol and help prevent narrowing of the arteries, according to researchers.
One or two handfuls of the nuts can make a big enough difference to lower the risk of heart disease, say scientists. Volunteers who ate three ounces of pistachios a day for one month lowered their total blood cholesterol by 8.4 per cent. Levels of "bad" cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), fell by 11.6 per cent. The balance between LDL and "good" cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), was also changed. Participants on the pistachio diet had less LDL relative to HDL after four weeks.
Sarah Gebauer, from Pennsylvania State University, said: "Pistachio amounts of 1.5 ounces and three ounces - one to two handfuls - reduced risk for cardiovascular disease by significantly reducing LDL cholesterol levels and the higher dose significantly reduced lipoprotein ratios.
"We were pleased to see a difference between the two doses of pistachios for the lipoprotein ratios because it would appear that pistachios are causing the effect."
At the start of the study participants ate an average American diet consisting of 35 per cent total fat and 11 per cent saturated fat for two weeks. They were then put on to one of three different diets, all variants of a cholesterol-lowering, low-fat diet. One included no pistachios, the second 1.5 ounces of pistachios a day, and the third three ounces of pistachios a day.
Pistachios contain high amounts of the plant antioxidant lutein, normally found in dark leafy vegetables.
© Copyright. Telegraph Media Group Limited 2007.
BOTSWANA: National Day of the Elderly To Be Commemorated
MOCHUDI, Gaborone (Botswana Press Agency), September 20, 2007:
Ten years after introduction of old age pension scheme, Botswana, like other UN member states, will commemorate for the first time the National Day of the Elderly.
The commemoration has been slated for Oodi in the Kgatleng district on November 1 under the theme "Addressing Challenges and Opportunities of Aging."
The day supposed to be held on October 1 is to be observed a month later as this day was a public holiday in Botswana.
The Director of Social Services, Ms Tshenolo Omphitlhetse, told a meeting of the Kgatleng District Council that she regretted that the district leadership was not initially consulted when a decision for Kgatleng to host the commemoration was taken. The elderly must be accorded all the services they need.
She said her department would benchmark from South Africa where the day was commemorated for some years. Unlike Botswana, she said, countries such as South Africa had policies for senior citizens.
She said the commemorations would help bridge the gap between the young and old to help appreciate and learn from each other. Cllr Tona Mooketsi of Mosanta South suggested that tokens of appreciation must be given to appreciate the elderly.
Cllr Tirafalo Kwapa of Morwa said the commemoration said other countries have homes where the older people stay as a form of appreciation.
Mr Jerry Rasetshwane, a nominated councillor, said the day would revive a culture of respect for elderly. Mr Rasetshwane added that it seems there was conflict of interest as at times what other members of the community wanted was not appreciated by the elderly.
Council Chairperson, Rev. Mpho Moruakgomo, said he sometime despaired at the way the elderly were treated and cared for at work and other community activities.
Rev. Moruakgomo said Batswana had to regard senior citizens as fountains of wisdom, saying the likes of former president, Sir Ketumile Masire, worked hard during difficult times to develop the country and he was still assisting to restore peace in other African countries.
Botswana Press Agency (BOPA)
© 2006 The Government of Botswana
Ten years after introduction of old age pension scheme, Botswana, like other UN member states, will commemorate for the first time the National Day of the Elderly.
The commemoration has been slated for Oodi in the Kgatleng district on November 1 under the theme "Addressing Challenges and Opportunities of Aging."
The day supposed to be held on October 1 is to be observed a month later as this day was a public holiday in Botswana.
The Director of Social Services, Ms Tshenolo Omphitlhetse, told a meeting of the Kgatleng District Council that she regretted that the district leadership was not initially consulted when a decision for Kgatleng to host the commemoration was taken. The elderly must be accorded all the services they need.
She said her department would benchmark from South Africa where the day was commemorated for some years. Unlike Botswana, she said, countries such as South Africa had policies for senior citizens.
She said the commemorations would help bridge the gap between the young and old to help appreciate and learn from each other. Cllr Tona Mooketsi of Mosanta South suggested that tokens of appreciation must be given to appreciate the elderly.
Cllr Tirafalo Kwapa of Morwa said the commemoration said other countries have homes where the older people stay as a form of appreciation.
Mr Jerry Rasetshwane, a nominated councillor, said the day would revive a culture of respect for elderly. Mr Rasetshwane added that it seems there was conflict of interest as at times what other members of the community wanted was not appreciated by the elderly.
Council Chairperson, Rev. Mpho Moruakgomo, said he sometime despaired at the way the elderly were treated and cared for at work and other community activities.
Rev. Moruakgomo said Batswana had to regard senior citizens as fountains of wisdom, saying the likes of former president, Sir Ketumile Masire, worked hard during difficult times to develop the country and he was still assisting to restore peace in other African countries.
Botswana Press Agency (BOPA)
© 2006 The Government of Botswana
INDIA: Elderly Indians Face Higher Risk of Alzheimer's
World Alzheimer’s Day will be observed on September 21 in more than 1000 centres in India as National Dementia Awareness Week, with the main aim to sensitize people. On this occasion,
THE HINDU carries a feature "Living With Alzheimer's" by Pankaja Srinivasan, emphasising that right intervention and care can make a difference to those suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease
CHENNAI (The Hindu), September 20, 2007:
Alzheimer's Disease does not discriminate between rich and poor, engineer and doctor, teacher and head of state. Says Dr. K. Jacob Roy, National Chairman, Alzheimer’s and Related Disorders Society of India (ARDSI): "The only known risk factor is age. As a person grows older, he is at greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s. After 60, the risk is one in 20, but after 80 it is one in five."
Right intervention and care can make a difference to those suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease.
The national administrative office of ARDSI is located at Kunnamkulam in Kerala and it has chapters in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangaluru, Chennai, Goa, and in five places in Kerala.
Families and communities need to be sensitised to the problems of those afflicted with Alzheimer’s
Lakshmikutty Amma laughs a lot. She cries a lot too. She asks for her parents repeatedly, and thinks Rajeshwari A. is her chechi (sister). She needs constant care, is confused, and remembers little. She has no idea that her parents are long dead and her chechi is, in fact, her daughter. Lakshmikutty is 72 and has Alzheimer’s Disease (AD).
When Krishnaswamy wouldn’t respond when his family addressed him or stared blankly, they thought it was because he was going deaf. But, gradually they noticed changes they couldn’t ignore. Spells of lucidity were followed by complete withdrawal when he would recognise no one, respond to nothing or talk non-stop drivel for hours on end. Krishnaswamy was 70 when AD affected him.
Coming home from work, Manavalan lost his way. When a frantic search party found him, he was 12 km off course. Manavalan is 83 and an AD patient.
Does not discriminate
AD does not discriminate between rich and poor, engineer and doctor, teacher and head of state. Says K. Jacob Roy, National Chairman, Alzheimer’s and Related Disorders Society of India (ARDSI): “The only known risk factor is age. As a person grows older, he is at greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s. After 60, the risk is one in 20, but after 80 it is one in five.” No one knows why it happens, but it occurs when cells in the brain start dying. It is degenerative and leads to progressive mental deterioration.
How does one know if a family member is afflicted? There are warning signs.
* Difficulty in doing familiar tasks: inability to perform simple, tasks such as unlocking a door or making tea.
* Slipping job performance: forgetting appointments or meetings.
* Language difficulties: difficulty with words and in naming objects such as pen or spectacles.
* Confusion of place and time: difficulty in remembering the time of day, or even recognising their neighbourhood.
* Lack of judgment: touching a hot object, being insensible to traffic while crossing the road and wearing clothes inside out.
* Problem with abstract thinking: balancing cheque books and calculating the correct change.
* Misplacing objects: losing keys, money and keeping objects in inappropriate places.
* Mood fluctuations: swinging from happiness to severe depression in no time.
* Changes in personality: a characteristically quiet person, becoming garrulous or vice versa. Getting suspicious, fearful, withdrawn and acting completely out of character.
* Lack of initiative: becoming passive and needing constant prompting.
Often, these are dismissed as normal signs of aging. “But, when these start interfering with day-to-day functioning, and familiar activities become increasingly difficult for the person, it is time to seek help,” says K. Selvaraj, Professor of Psychiatry and Consultant Psychiatrist, Vazhikaati Mental Health Centre and Research Institute. And, the best person to approach is a neurologist or psychiatrist, or a geriatrician who has a special interest in dementia.
Dr. Roy says the right intervention and care can make a difference. Take Sethumadhavan, a former aeronautical engineer who is in his mid-60s.
"When I first met him, he didn’t know where he was, couldn’t recognise people around him and needed help for his daily needs. Now, after intervention at our respite care centre, he is cheerful, identifies people and participates in various activities. He recognises me as a doctor, even when I am without a stethoscope."
Dr. Roy says judicious use of medicines, a stimulating environment and a caring support group can make a huge difference. “Drugs can reduce the suffering, even if they don’t completely cure a patient. They can modify behaviour and enhance cognition,” adds Dr. Selvaraj.
In a report, Mathew Varghese MD, Professor of Psychiatry, NIMHANS, says mental disorders in the elderly in India are a major public health issue for four major reasons — They occur in an increasing population of elders what with the number of people suffering from mental disorders rising rapidly; poor public awareness of these disorders; rapidly changing traditional family and social support systems; and few health services that are geared to cater for the special needs of the elders in India.
Indrani Rajadurai, Director, Southern Region, HelpAge India, says the voluntary organisation is going all out to increase awareness on AD.
“We conduct Alzheimer’s Awareness camps and through voluntary organisations, support training programmes where family members and communities are taught about caring for AD patients.”
HELP AT HAND
The Alzheimer’s and Related Disorders Society of India (ARDSI) is dedicated to the care, support and research of dementia. It has chapters all over India. For more information on AD, visit www.alzheimer-india.org
By Pankaja Srinivasan
Copyright © 2000-2006 by Kasturi and Sons Ltd
THE HINDU carries a feature "Living With Alzheimer's" by Pankaja Srinivasan, emphasising that right intervention and care can make a difference to those suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease
CHENNAI (The Hindu), September 20, 2007:
Alzheimer's Disease does not discriminate between rich and poor, engineer and doctor, teacher and head of state. Says Dr. K. Jacob Roy, National Chairman, Alzheimer’s and Related Disorders Society of India (ARDSI): "The only known risk factor is age. As a person grows older, he is at greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s. After 60, the risk is one in 20, but after 80 it is one in five."
Right intervention and care can make a difference to those suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease.
The national administrative office of ARDSI is located at Kunnamkulam in Kerala and it has chapters in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangaluru, Chennai, Goa, and in five places in Kerala.
Families and communities need to be sensitised to the problems of those afflicted with Alzheimer’s
Lakshmikutty Amma laughs a lot. She cries a lot too. She asks for her parents repeatedly, and thinks Rajeshwari A. is her chechi (sister). She needs constant care, is confused, and remembers little. She has no idea that her parents are long dead and her chechi is, in fact, her daughter. Lakshmikutty is 72 and has Alzheimer’s Disease (AD).
When Krishnaswamy wouldn’t respond when his family addressed him or stared blankly, they thought it was because he was going deaf. But, gradually they noticed changes they couldn’t ignore. Spells of lucidity were followed by complete withdrawal when he would recognise no one, respond to nothing or talk non-stop drivel for hours on end. Krishnaswamy was 70 when AD affected him.
Coming home from work, Manavalan lost his way. When a frantic search party found him, he was 12 km off course. Manavalan is 83 and an AD patient.
Does not discriminate
AD does not discriminate between rich and poor, engineer and doctor, teacher and head of state. Says K. Jacob Roy, National Chairman, Alzheimer’s and Related Disorders Society of India (ARDSI): “The only known risk factor is age. As a person grows older, he is at greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s. After 60, the risk is one in 20, but after 80 it is one in five.” No one knows why it happens, but it occurs when cells in the brain start dying. It is degenerative and leads to progressive mental deterioration.
How does one know if a family member is afflicted? There are warning signs.
* Difficulty in doing familiar tasks: inability to perform simple, tasks such as unlocking a door or making tea.
* Slipping job performance: forgetting appointments or meetings.
* Language difficulties: difficulty with words and in naming objects such as pen or spectacles.
* Confusion of place and time: difficulty in remembering the time of day, or even recognising their neighbourhood.
* Lack of judgment: touching a hot object, being insensible to traffic while crossing the road and wearing clothes inside out.
* Problem with abstract thinking: balancing cheque books and calculating the correct change.
* Misplacing objects: losing keys, money and keeping objects in inappropriate places.
* Mood fluctuations: swinging from happiness to severe depression in no time.
* Changes in personality: a characteristically quiet person, becoming garrulous or vice versa. Getting suspicious, fearful, withdrawn and acting completely out of character.
* Lack of initiative: becoming passive and needing constant prompting.
Often, these are dismissed as normal signs of aging. “But, when these start interfering with day-to-day functioning, and familiar activities become increasingly difficult for the person, it is time to seek help,” says K. Selvaraj, Professor of Psychiatry and Consultant Psychiatrist, Vazhikaati Mental Health Centre and Research Institute. And, the best person to approach is a neurologist or psychiatrist, or a geriatrician who has a special interest in dementia.
Dr. Roy says the right intervention and care can make a difference. Take Sethumadhavan, a former aeronautical engineer who is in his mid-60s.
"When I first met him, he didn’t know where he was, couldn’t recognise people around him and needed help for his daily needs. Now, after intervention at our respite care centre, he is cheerful, identifies people and participates in various activities. He recognises me as a doctor, even when I am without a stethoscope."
Dr. Roy says judicious use of medicines, a stimulating environment and a caring support group can make a huge difference. “Drugs can reduce the suffering, even if they don’t completely cure a patient. They can modify behaviour and enhance cognition,” adds Dr. Selvaraj.
In a report, Mathew Varghese MD, Professor of Psychiatry, NIMHANS, says mental disorders in the elderly in India are a major public health issue for four major reasons — They occur in an increasing population of elders what with the number of people suffering from mental disorders rising rapidly; poor public awareness of these disorders; rapidly changing traditional family and social support systems; and few health services that are geared to cater for the special needs of the elders in India.
Indrani Rajadurai, Director, Southern Region, HelpAge India, says the voluntary organisation is going all out to increase awareness on AD.
“We conduct Alzheimer’s Awareness camps and through voluntary organisations, support training programmes where family members and communities are taught about caring for AD patients.”
HELP AT HAND
The Alzheimer’s and Related Disorders Society of India (ARDSI) is dedicated to the care, support and research of dementia. It has chapters all over India. For more information on AD, visit www.alzheimer-india.org
By Pankaja Srinivasan
Copyright © 2000-2006 by Kasturi and Sons Ltd
USA: Study Links Emotional Isolation to Elevated Blood Pressure in Seniors
One of the best strategies a senior can adopt
to overcome loneliness is the
maintenance of a strong social network.
BRENTWOOD, California (Antioch Press),
September 21, 2007:
For millions of seniors, loneliness can have a serious affect on physical and mental health. A recent University of Chicago study revealed that emotional isolation is linked to elevated blood pressure in seniors.
Lonely seniors can register blood pressure readings up to 30 points higher than their socially connected peers, regardless of race, sex or other health factors, researchers found.
Loneliness is also closely linked to depression. More than two million of the USA’s 64 million seniors suffering from this condition.
“Approximately 8.8 million seniors were living alone in America 17 years ago, according to the 1990 U.S. Census,” says Scott Perry, president of Bankers Life and Casualty Company, a national insurance company specializing in the senior market. “The 2000 Census showed that number had climbed to 9.7 million. Experts agree it’s reasonable to expect the number of seniors living alone will continue to grow. Maintaining strong social networks can help seniors stay healthier longer, and enhance the overall quality of their lives as well.”
Older Americans are more prone to experience the kind of life changes that place them at greater risk for loneliness, including the death of their spouse, relatives and friends; retirement; illness; decreased physical mobility; loss of the ability to drive; and reductions in their social networks.
Fortunately, there are many ways in which seniors, even those with significantly curtailed mobility, can prevent and combat loneliness. Proven loneliness-fighting strategies include volunteering. Volunteers live longer, have higher functional ability, lower rates of depression and less incidence of heart disease, according to a study by the Corporation for National and Community Service. Research shows that seniors age 65 and older who volunteer experienced significantly lower rates of depression than their non-volunteering peers.
“The life changes that come with age can easily make us feel isolated and less useful than we felt when we were working and raising our families,” Perry notes. “For those who are physically able, volunteering is a great way to connect with new people and renew your sense of purpose in life.”
Joining social and support groups is another way seniors can avoid falling into the loneliness trap. Interaction with those who share interests or face similar challenges not only combats loneliness, but can be a way to build new friendships. If your community has a senior center (and most can provide transportation assistance), take advantage of its programs and facilities. Call your local recreation or senior services department to learn what’s available in your area.
Another strategy is to plug in to the Internet. The number of seniors using the Internet more than doubled between 2000 and 2004. Seniors who face mobility challenges can find others with similar interests through a variety of resources and Web sites directed at seniors on the Internet.
Technology providers continue to develop products to make it easier for seniors to use the Internet, such as large-button keyboards and voice recognition software. Asking for help to get online can also be a great way to connect with tech-savvy grandchildren.
Want to fight loneliness? Get back into the classroom. Learning a new skill requires you to interact with a teacher and fellow students. Choose to learn a skill such as cooking or e-mailing, and the skill itself can help enhance your ability to interact socially with others. Local community colleges and city centers offer many courses appropriate for seniors.
Studies have found that friendships are often more important than family connections in fighting loneliness among seniors. Make a conscious effort to stay connected with friends by visiting with them in person or keeping in touch by phone, letter or e-mail.
Visit www.bankerslife.com and click "Senior Resources."
Copyright 2007 Brentwood Press.
USA: No Clear Winner in Diabetes Treatment Trial
BOSTON (HealthDay News - Forbes.com), September 21, 2007:
A study designed to tell which insulin-plus-drug regimen might best control type 2 diabetes has produced disappointing preliminary results, with none of the three strategies tested coming out on top.
"What this shows is that none of the strategies in the study can be recommended" as being superior to the other, said Dr. Graham T. McMahon, an assistant professor of medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and co-author of an editorial accompanying the report, published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Instead, he said, the insulin regimen would probably have to be tailored to each patient.
The report was released early, because the preliminary, one-year results of the four-year study are being presented at a meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, in Amsterdam.
The study, led by British diabetes specialists at the University of Oxford, included 708 participants with type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes, which affects about 95 percent of diabetics, typically occurs in adulthood and is often tied to obesity.
All of the trial participants were given maximum doses of two diabetes drugs, metformin and sulfonylurea, and a different regimen of injected insulin three times a day, two times a day or just once a day. The once-a-day group got an extra dose if deemed necessary.
The goal was to reduce blood levels of glycolated hemoglobin, which forms when sugar enters blood cells, to 6.5 percent or less.
The results overall were not impressive: The treatment goal was achieved by just 23.9 percent of those getting insulin three times a day, 17 percent of those getting insulin twice a day and 8.1 percent of those in the once-a-day group, the researchers reported.
The greater success rate in the two- and three-times-a-day regimen had a down side, the team noted, since it was also accompanied by an increased incidence of weight gain and low blood sugar levels, the report said.
Still, the results indicated that "the best thing to be done is to follow current guidelines," McMahon said. That means "using long-acting drugs and adding insulin either once, twice or three times a day," he said, depending on each patient's particular needs.
What the new data "suggests to the doctor is that if you are serious about controlling diabetes, you should be willing to use the more complex method," added Dr. Larry Deeb, clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of Florida and immediate past president of the American Diabetes Association.
Diabetes control "is hard work for doctor and patient," Deeb said, and "family doctors have got to learn to give insulin the way we endocrinologists do." Deeb is located in Tallahassee, Fla., where the ratio of endocrinologists is 1 to 75,000 inhabitants, he noted.
Family doctors can handle type 2 diabetes, McMahon said, but it is best if they do not work alone. "An endocrinologist, nutritionist and nurse-educator should cooperate," he said.
Because type 2 diabetes is a major risk factor for heart disease, attention should be paid not only to blood sugar levels but also to other coronary risk factors, such as blood pressure and cholesterol levels, McMahon said.
What lies ahead for the British study is uncertain, McMahon said. "They are going to next look at what happens when the first steps fail," he said.
Copyright Forbes.com
A study designed to tell which insulin-plus-drug regimen might best control type 2 diabetes has produced disappointing preliminary results, with none of the three strategies tested coming out on top.
"What this shows is that none of the strategies in the study can be recommended" as being superior to the other, said Dr. Graham T. McMahon, an assistant professor of medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and co-author of an editorial accompanying the report, published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Instead, he said, the insulin regimen would probably have to be tailored to each patient.
The report was released early, because the preliminary, one-year results of the four-year study are being presented at a meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, in Amsterdam.
The study, led by British diabetes specialists at the University of Oxford, included 708 participants with type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes, which affects about 95 percent of diabetics, typically occurs in adulthood and is often tied to obesity.
All of the trial participants were given maximum doses of two diabetes drugs, metformin and sulfonylurea, and a different regimen of injected insulin three times a day, two times a day or just once a day. The once-a-day group got an extra dose if deemed necessary.
The goal was to reduce blood levels of glycolated hemoglobin, which forms when sugar enters blood cells, to 6.5 percent or less.
The results overall were not impressive: The treatment goal was achieved by just 23.9 percent of those getting insulin three times a day, 17 percent of those getting insulin twice a day and 8.1 percent of those in the once-a-day group, the researchers reported.
The greater success rate in the two- and three-times-a-day regimen had a down side, the team noted, since it was also accompanied by an increased incidence of weight gain and low blood sugar levels, the report said.
Still, the results indicated that "the best thing to be done is to follow current guidelines," McMahon said. That means "using long-acting drugs and adding insulin either once, twice or three times a day," he said, depending on each patient's particular needs.
What the new data "suggests to the doctor is that if you are serious about controlling diabetes, you should be willing to use the more complex method," added Dr. Larry Deeb, clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of Florida and immediate past president of the American Diabetes Association.
Diabetes control "is hard work for doctor and patient," Deeb said, and "family doctors have got to learn to give insulin the way we endocrinologists do." Deeb is located in Tallahassee, Fla., where the ratio of endocrinologists is 1 to 75,000 inhabitants, he noted.
Family doctors can handle type 2 diabetes, McMahon said, but it is best if they do not work alone. "An endocrinologist, nutritionist and nurse-educator should cooperate," he said.
Because type 2 diabetes is a major risk factor for heart disease, attention should be paid not only to blood sugar levels but also to other coronary risk factors, such as blood pressure and cholesterol levels, McMahon said.
What lies ahead for the British study is uncertain, McMahon said. "They are going to next look at what happens when the first steps fail," he said.
Copyright Forbes.com
USA: Staying Active is Key to Senior Health, Happiness
Staying active and involved is vitally important for the health and wellness of today's seniors
HAMILTON, Ohio (Hamilton Journal-News), September 20, 2007:
"It's really critical for seniors to stay active and healthy, especially if they want to remain in their homes as long as possible. That is our mission at Council on Aging, to help people remain in their homes and to help them to be independent," said Laurie Petrie, Communications Director, Council on Aging of Southwestern Ohio.
Health and wellness throughout a person's life has a huge impact on the quality of life. "Many people lose their mobility through the lack of exercise, or poor diet and other health problems," said Petrie. "When your mobility declines, you start to need help to do basic, every day tasks that we all do."
Joanne Westwood, Director of Program Enhancement, Senior Citizen's Inc. (centers in Hamilton, Fairfield and West Chester), agreed, "Keeping seniors active and healthy is important because it helps them to stay in their homes and be independent longer."
Seniors are realizing that they not only need to exercise, but that they need to incorporate activity into their daily lives. The more physically active they are, the stronger they will be.
For fuller report visit Hamilton Journal-News
By Ginny McCabe, Contributing Writer
Copyright 2007 Hamilton Journal-News
HAMILTON, Ohio (Hamilton Journal-News), September 20, 2007:
"It's really critical for seniors to stay active and healthy, especially if they want to remain in their homes as long as possible. That is our mission at Council on Aging, to help people remain in their homes and to help them to be independent," said Laurie Petrie, Communications Director, Council on Aging of Southwestern Ohio.
Health and wellness throughout a person's life has a huge impact on the quality of life. "Many people lose their mobility through the lack of exercise, or poor diet and other health problems," said Petrie. "When your mobility declines, you start to need help to do basic, every day tasks that we all do."
Joanne Westwood, Director of Program Enhancement, Senior Citizen's Inc. (centers in Hamilton, Fairfield and West Chester), agreed, "Keeping seniors active and healthy is important because it helps them to stay in their homes and be independent longer."
Seniors are realizing that they not only need to exercise, but that they need to incorporate activity into their daily lives. The more physically active they are, the stronger they will be.
For fuller report visit Hamilton Journal-News
By Ginny McCabe, Contributing Writer
Copyright 2007 Hamilton Journal-News
JAPAN: Government to Woo Workers Into Welfare Industry
TOKYO (Japan Times - Kyodo News), September 20, 2007:
Faced with a severe shortage of nursing care workers, the welfare ministry plans to carry out research in fiscal 2008 to find out why so many qualified workers are not actually doing nursing work.
According to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, there with 470,000 nationally certified caregivers as of September 2005, of whom more than 40 percent, or 200,000, were not involved in welfare-related businesses or do not have jobs, despite the growing need for such workers due to the aging of the population.
In 2006, the average monthly wage for caregivers, excluding part-timers, was ¥214,000, well below the average of ¥331,000 among all businesses, according to research by the Care Work Foundation.
Such poor working conditions are widely seen as a factor contributing to the lack of caregivers.
In the upcoming survey, the ministry will attempt to collect from qualified caregivers such information as their current working conditions and whether they intend to return to the welfare business, as well as their reasons for not working in the field.
Ministry officials said the government is planning to work out specific measures like training in to bring the number of care workers in the industry up to adequate levels.
Faced with a severe shortage of nursing care workers, the welfare ministry plans to carry out research in fiscal 2008 to find out why so many qualified workers are not actually doing nursing work.
According to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, there with 470,000 nationally certified caregivers as of September 2005, of whom more than 40 percent, or 200,000, were not involved in welfare-related businesses or do not have jobs, despite the growing need for such workers due to the aging of the population.
In 2006, the average monthly wage for caregivers, excluding part-timers, was ¥214,000, well below the average of ¥331,000 among all businesses, according to research by the Care Work Foundation.
Such poor working conditions are widely seen as a factor contributing to the lack of caregivers.
In the upcoming survey, the ministry will attempt to collect from qualified caregivers such information as their current working conditions and whether they intend to return to the welfare business, as well as their reasons for not working in the field.
Ministry officials said the government is planning to work out specific measures like training in to bring the number of care workers in the industry up to adequate levels.
USA: More Retirees Volunteer for Peace Corps
CHICAGO (Seattle Times), September 20, 2007:
Ten days after his 50th college reunion, John Baker joined the Peace Corps. The Collinwood, Ohio, resident was 70 years old. His wife, Kathy, who also signed up, was 61. The Bakers became part of a small but growing cadre of Peace Corps volunteers over age 50.
This summer, the organization created by President Kennedy ramped up recruiting of the 50-plus crowd, covetously eyeing millions of baby boomers approaching retirement.
"They have life experience and skills. They bring so much to the table," said Christine Torres, a spokeswoman for the Peace Corps' regional office in Chicago.
More than 7,700 current Peace Corps volunteers are 50 or older, with an undiminished desire to serve.
For Full Report visit:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/living/2003892647_peacecorps20.html
Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company
Ten days after his 50th college reunion, John Baker joined the Peace Corps. The Collinwood, Ohio, resident was 70 years old. His wife, Kathy, who also signed up, was 61. The Bakers became part of a small but growing cadre of Peace Corps volunteers over age 50.
This summer, the organization created by President Kennedy ramped up recruiting of the 50-plus crowd, covetously eyeing millions of baby boomers approaching retirement.
"They have life experience and skills. They bring so much to the table," said Christine Torres, a spokeswoman for the Peace Corps' regional office in Chicago.
More than 7,700 current Peace Corps volunteers are 50 or older, with an undiminished desire to serve.
For Full Report visit:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/living/2003892647_peacecorps20.html
Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company
CANADA: He Has ALL THAT But Sticks To His GM Vehicles
Malcolm Parry of Vancouver Sun
puts the spotlight on business mogul
Jim Pattison who will be 79 on October 1.
VANCOUVER, Canada (Vancouver Sun), September 20, 2007:
GETTING STARTED: City-based mogul Jim Pattison's 29,000 employees handle $6.3-billion-worth of sales yearly from 400 locations in 11 countries. There are 28 radio stations, three TV broadcasters, 750 fishing vessels, 90,000 billboards, and 13,500 new vehicles leased annually. With volume like that happening, you'd think a hot shot on the make -- like the Jim Pattison of 60 years ago, say -- would have sweet-talked the boss into trading his four-year-old Cadillac DTS four-door sedan for a 79th-birthday gift to himself October 1.
That would be an easier sell if General Motors' premium division still produced the convertibles and two-door hardtops Pattison favours. But there were few full-load Caddies in Pattison's future when he was 41 and visions of sugarplums danced in his head. The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce turned that glittering Christmas Eve picture into "the dark days."
Bankers visit Pattison's 18th-floor, Cordova-at-Thurlow office regularly nowadays. A BMO Bank of Montreal squad was there Monday. Below them as they smiled, the Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre expansion ate up extra millions, and Pattison's 150-foot yacht Nova Spirit lay placidly at its nearby dock after having Oprah Winfrey as a week-long guest recently.
There had been no such smiles "at 10 to six, Dec. 23, 1969," Pattison recalled. That's when, "with no inkling whatsoever," word came from Toronto's 25 King St. main branch that the CIBC had called in $73 million worth of personal and corporate loans as Pattison pursued an unfriendly takeover of Maple Leaf Mills.
"For three years, we were really out of business," Pattison said. "We were alive, but that was it."
Alive enough, it appears for Toronto Dominion Bank president (later chair) Dick Thompson and credit chief Ted MacDowell to okay a $2-million loan "to pay the payroll, save our company and help us build it again. I am forever in the debt of the TD Bank."
Pattison had a track record then, at least. That was hardly the case 10 years earlier, even though the TD Bank had loaned him $300 in 1950 to buy and resell railway ties.
From a desk side drawer Monday, Pattison produced a financial statement showing that Jim Pattison Ltd. began business May 7, 1961. General Motors had guaranteed $190,000 worth of credit, and the Royal Bank's Broadway-at-Cambie branch was on the hook for $40,000.
Recent official photo from the Group site
That hook took months for the bank to swallow, partly because manager Harold Nelson's loan limit was $5,000 and the bank's B.C. head, Tom Whitley, didn't know Jim Pattison from Jim Beam. Credit was also a lot harder to get a half-century ago. But, with GM insisting he produce the dough or no deal, Pattison got Nelson to try and try again.
"They'd figured it out on paper," Pattison said. "But, in this world, everything is people."
Finally, he scored a meeting with Whitley, told him he was married, had three children had worked steadily at the Bow-Mac auto dealership for 10 years, "and wasn't a job-jumper." Two days later, "Whitley approved it."
Pattison strung up some fluttering pennants and began selling cars -- 25 of them in the first month. He also scored a $13,956.40 deficit. "I'd lost a third of my $40,000," he said. "I thought that was the end."
Happily, the year-end showed a different story. Pattison was $29,922.72 to the good by then, and embarked on a process that would see him buy 240 companies, sell 60, start 54, liquidate 33, complete 33 joint-ventures and partnerships and arrange "five significant amalgamations."
The story has a sentimental conclusion. When then U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell presented Pattison with the rags-to-riches Horatio Alger Award in 2005, the recipient flew retired 91-year-old Nelson to the Washington ceremony and said: "This is the guy who made it all possible."
In like vein, although his firms sell all manner of vehicles, "I drive a GM car because they started me in business, and I have a great debt to them." As for almost putting him out of business, does he still deal with the CIBC?
"Sure, I do," Pattison said, laughing. "Sure."
Awarded OBC - Order of British Columbia - 1990 Horatio Alger winners are bound to espouse hard work, perseverance and honesty. Pattison's corporate slogan, Partners In Pride, stresses the core values of integrity, quality and customer satisfaction. Like most high-achievers, he is able to remember and benefit from setbacks, not dwell on them.
Maybe the closest he came was in 1971, when he looked long through his window, then called still-with-him sidekick Maureen Chant and said: "Ten years in business, and my net worth is now minus $2 million."
However, "I never felt depressed. Ever. I can only remember figuring out how to get through the problem and build things up again."
Asked how many companies he plans to add to the 300-plus he's bought, started or amalgamated, near-octogenarian Pattison replied: "Hopefully, a lot. We're just getting started, Malcolm."
By Malcolm Parry
© The Vancouver Sun 2007
SOUTH AFRICA: State Drive to Protect Senior Citizens
AUCKLAND PARK, Johannesburg (South African Broadcasting Corporation), September 20, 2007:
There is an Act to protect the rights of South Africa’s senior citizens, but most of them do not know of its existence. The National Department of Social Development has now set aside R77 million to effectively implement the Older People's Act number 13 of 2006.
The campaign to educate the public about this Act has started in the Alfred Nzo District municipality at Mt. Frere in the Eastern Cape.
An elderly person is raped, abused or killed every 24 hours in South Africa. Often these incidents go unreported as many stay far from police stations.
The Act will ensure that elderly people have a forum to voice their concerns. There will be no more traveling long distances to urban areas for Old Age homes.
In each district municipality an old age home will be built. Associations will also be formed where the aged will be able to dance and enjoy their hobbies.
Copyright © 2000 - 2005 SABC
There is an Act to protect the rights of South Africa’s senior citizens, but most of them do not know of its existence. The National Department of Social Development has now set aside R77 million to effectively implement the Older People's Act number 13 of 2006.
The campaign to educate the public about this Act has started in the Alfred Nzo District municipality at Mt. Frere in the Eastern Cape.
An elderly person is raped, abused or killed every 24 hours in South Africa. Often these incidents go unreported as many stay far from police stations.
The Act will ensure that elderly people have a forum to voice their concerns. There will be no more traveling long distances to urban areas for Old Age homes.
In each district municipality an old age home will be built. Associations will also be formed where the aged will be able to dance and enjoy their hobbies.
Copyright © 2000 - 2005 SABC
JAPAN: Robots Turn Off Senior Citizens in Ageing Society
TOKYO (Reuters), September 20, 2007:
Ifbot, the resident robot at a Japanese nursing home, can converse, sing, express emotions and give trivia quizzes to seniors to help with their mental agility.
Yet the pale-green gizmo has spent much of the past two years languishing in a corner alone.
"The residents liked ifbot for about a month before they lost interest," said Yasuko Sawada, director of the facility in Kyoto, western Japan, shaking her head as she contemplated the 495,000 yen ($4,300), 18-inch-tall "communication robot".
"Stuffed animals are more popular," she remarked dryly.
High-tech gadgets and futuristic robots which Japan had hoped might lend a hand when the population turns grey haven't caught on with the elderly, who according to forecasts will make up around 40 percent of the population by the middle of the century.
"Most (elderly) people are not interested in robots. They see robots as overly-complicated and unpractical. They want to be able to get around their house, take a bath, get to the toilet and that's about it," said Ruth Campbell, a geriatric social worker at the University of Tokyo.
Japanese manufacturers have learned the hard way that the elderly want everyday products adapted to their needs -- easy to read for those with poor eyesight, big buttons for people with trembling hands and clear audio for the hard of hearing.
Among the most high-profile failures was Hopis, a furry pink dog-like robot capable of monitoring blood sugar, blood pressure and body temperature.
Faced with poor sales, its manufacturer Sanyo stopped production of the robot dog and instead focused on utilitarian devices for the elderly such as height-adjustable countertops and phones with jumbo-sized keys.
Not all high-tech products aimed at seniors have disappeared, though many are hardly blockbusters.
Kitchenware maker Zojirushi Corp. offers the i-pot, an electric kettle equipped with a radio transmitter that sends e-mail twice a day to relatives to let them know if Grandma has made tea. Some 3,300 of the devices are in use across Japan.
Secom Co.'s My Spoon, an automatic feeding device for those whose hands are too shaky to eat on their own, is available in Japan and the Netherlands. Two hundred have been sold, including 150 in Japan, since it first went on the market in 2002.
High production costs and difficulty of use make it hard to sell specialty electronics to seniors, according to Mieko Ohsuga, a biomedical engineer specialising in geriatrics at Osaka Institute of Technology.
"When talking about how to market more complex products, we keep coming up against the same problems," she said. "They are costly to create, require supervision to use, and in the end the manpower issue is not solved. We can see things work, but who is going to pay the expense?"
It won't be the elderly themselves, at least for now.
"They just want simpler phones and tools," said Dr. Kanao Tsuji, a geriatrician with Life Care System, a home visit health care provider.
By Emi Foulk
© Reuters 2007
WORLD: A World of Difference Awaits the Early Retirer
Peter Pallot of THE TELEGRAPH, London surveys the retirement scene in
Australia, New Zealand, USA, Spain, Greece, Portugal
The curbs on EU citizens in France using its state health system is hardly unprecedented. Healthcare budgets across the western world are increasing disproportionately to other budgets. Thus, governments are seeking any means to stem the cash haemorrhage.
Britain's NHS has long been regarded as a "soft touch". Despite strict tightening of access rules in 2004, a Department of Health analysis early this month conservatively estimated the cost of abuse at £62 million a year. The actual figure is thought to be a lot higher.
The main problem areas are Aids patients from Africa and pregnant women from Nigeria, India and Pakistan seeking a bed in a UK maternity ward. Recently, cases began to emerge in Spain of early-retired Britons declined treatment once their disease passed "emergency" status to become chronic, or terminal.
Now Nicolas Sarkozy has stepped in. "If you think 53 old enough to retire, then fine, go ahead and retire," he remarked during his campaign for the French presidency. "But don't expect the state to pay for it."
Sydney Harbour symbolises the delights of Australian life. But Britons seeking to retire there face tough admission criteria
That attitude is not so far off that of other countries popular with Britons as retirement spots. Australia is the favourite choice, with a British population of 600,000. When asked what healthcare access early-retired Britons could expect there, the reply from the Australian embassy in London was characteristically forthright.
"We don't want retired people," said Laura Bailey, embassy spokeswoman. "No country wants them Britain doesn't. To get into Australia you need a visa. They come under different categories and there isn't a retirement visa."
However, Ms Bailey added: "Some people would be covered under the reciprocal healthcare agreement. However, people applying for this class of visa need to show evidence of being part of a private healthcare scheme."
Australia's Investor Retirement visa is designed for "self-funded retirees" who have no dependants and want to reside in Australia. Applicants need to demonstrate they have money and the "designated investment" needs to be maintained. Furthermore, the applicant needs an "adequate health insurance package."
Those who buy insurance are far from rare. Spurred by tax breaks, 43 per cent of Australian citizens have private cover, compared to 11 per cent in the UK. Australians have 40 insurance providers to choose from. The market is expected to grow as politicians strive to move the state healthcare burden onto individuals.
All Britons in New Zealand have access to emergency healthcare, barring pre-existing conditions. The system takes a broad view of emergencies, so that full cancer treatment would be covered, according to the New Zealand embassy in London.
Press officer Kathy Rose said: "We may use a generous interpretation of what constitutes emergency treatment, but we are not generous in other respects. We don't pay for doctors' appointments or prescriptions except for retired people or others who qualify for a Community Services Card."
She added that the right to treatment for a Briton would be no different to that of a local citizen the outcome of a reciprocal deal between UK and New Zealand, giving New Zealanders in Britain the right to register with a doctor on arrival.
Ms Rose said some people in New Zealand held private medical cover. "It gives quicker access to treatment, but it is in no way at American levels."
The USA does not specifically insist on retired immigrants having health cover. But exemption can depend on individual wealth.
Matt Goshko, a press officer at the US embassy, said that if the question of insurance came up during an interview for an immigration visa "our consular officers recommend that insurance be purchased, but again, there is no requirement."
He added: "However, the Immigration and Nationality Act does require the applicant to establish to the satisfaction of the consular officer at the time of the application for a visa, and also to the satisfaction of an officer of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services at the time of application for admission to the United States, that he or she is not likely at any time to become a public charge."
The situation in Spain and Greece is that non-working expats below retirement age are not given access to state healthcare in non-emergencies. However, Spanish provinces have a high degree of autonomy in running healthcare and some seem stricter than others in interpreting eligibility.
Spanish authorities have been irked by cases in which Britons have remained in the country beyond the "short term" in which the Ehic is valid then resorted to Spanish medical care.
New expats are now asked to report to a "Foreigner's Office" or police station within three months of arrival to gain access to the system. But this does not alter the position of non-working retirees under pension age.
The Foreign Office advises some form of private health cover and urges people to think ahead, particularly in terms of care of the elderly. Provision is scant in Spain and care home places will probably be allocated to Spaniards.
The situation in Greece is the same, although in practical terms the case for buying insurance is greater for all parties.
The reason is that the underfunded state system (IKA) is considered below par, with hospital-acquired infections at British NHS levels. However, improvements are said to be on the way.
Expatriate EU citizens retiring before pensionable age to Portugal are likely to have the same difficulty getting non-emergency treatment as their counterparts in France and Spain, according to the UK's Department of Health.
A spokeswoman said: "The same rule applies as in France, that is once a person's E106 has lapsed they should seek to join the healthcare system of the country they are in." But there was no guarantee of success, she added.
By Peter Pallot
© Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2007.
Australia, New Zealand, USA, Spain, Greece, Portugal
The curbs on EU citizens in France using its state health system is hardly unprecedented. Healthcare budgets across the western world are increasing disproportionately to other budgets. Thus, governments are seeking any means to stem the cash haemorrhage.
Britain's NHS has long been regarded as a "soft touch". Despite strict tightening of access rules in 2004, a Department of Health analysis early this month conservatively estimated the cost of abuse at £62 million a year. The actual figure is thought to be a lot higher.
The main problem areas are Aids patients from Africa and pregnant women from Nigeria, India and Pakistan seeking a bed in a UK maternity ward. Recently, cases began to emerge in Spain of early-retired Britons declined treatment once their disease passed "emergency" status to become chronic, or terminal.
Now Nicolas Sarkozy has stepped in. "If you think 53 old enough to retire, then fine, go ahead and retire," he remarked during his campaign for the French presidency. "But don't expect the state to pay for it."
Sydney Harbour symbolises the delights of Australian life. But Britons seeking to retire there face tough admission criteriaThat attitude is not so far off that of other countries popular with Britons as retirement spots. Australia is the favourite choice, with a British population of 600,000. When asked what healthcare access early-retired Britons could expect there, the reply from the Australian embassy in London was characteristically forthright.
"We don't want retired people," said Laura Bailey, embassy spokeswoman. "No country wants them Britain doesn't. To get into Australia you need a visa. They come under different categories and there isn't a retirement visa."
However, Ms Bailey added: "Some people would be covered under the reciprocal healthcare agreement. However, people applying for this class of visa need to show evidence of being part of a private healthcare scheme."
Australia's Investor Retirement visa is designed for "self-funded retirees" who have no dependants and want to reside in Australia. Applicants need to demonstrate they have money and the "designated investment" needs to be maintained. Furthermore, the applicant needs an "adequate health insurance package."
Those who buy insurance are far from rare. Spurred by tax breaks, 43 per cent of Australian citizens have private cover, compared to 11 per cent in the UK. Australians have 40 insurance providers to choose from. The market is expected to grow as politicians strive to move the state healthcare burden onto individuals.
All Britons in New Zealand have access to emergency healthcare, barring pre-existing conditions. The system takes a broad view of emergencies, so that full cancer treatment would be covered, according to the New Zealand embassy in London.
Press officer Kathy Rose said: "We may use a generous interpretation of what constitutes emergency treatment, but we are not generous in other respects. We don't pay for doctors' appointments or prescriptions except for retired people or others who qualify for a Community Services Card."
She added that the right to treatment for a Briton would be no different to that of a local citizen the outcome of a reciprocal deal between UK and New Zealand, giving New Zealanders in Britain the right to register with a doctor on arrival.
Ms Rose said some people in New Zealand held private medical cover. "It gives quicker access to treatment, but it is in no way at American levels."
The USA does not specifically insist on retired immigrants having health cover. But exemption can depend on individual wealth.
Matt Goshko, a press officer at the US embassy, said that if the question of insurance came up during an interview for an immigration visa "our consular officers recommend that insurance be purchased, but again, there is no requirement."
He added: "However, the Immigration and Nationality Act does require the applicant to establish to the satisfaction of the consular officer at the time of the application for a visa, and also to the satisfaction of an officer of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services at the time of application for admission to the United States, that he or she is not likely at any time to become a public charge."
The situation in Spain and Greece is that non-working expats below retirement age are not given access to state healthcare in non-emergencies. However, Spanish provinces have a high degree of autonomy in running healthcare and some seem stricter than others in interpreting eligibility.
Spanish authorities have been irked by cases in which Britons have remained in the country beyond the "short term" in which the Ehic is valid then resorted to Spanish medical care.
New expats are now asked to report to a "Foreigner's Office" or police station within three months of arrival to gain access to the system. But this does not alter the position of non-working retirees under pension age.
The Foreign Office advises some form of private health cover and urges people to think ahead, particularly in terms of care of the elderly. Provision is scant in Spain and care home places will probably be allocated to Spaniards.
The situation in Greece is the same, although in practical terms the case for buying insurance is greater for all parties.
The reason is that the underfunded state system (IKA) is considered below par, with hospital-acquired infections at British NHS levels. However, improvements are said to be on the way.
Expatriate EU citizens retiring before pensionable age to Portugal are likely to have the same difficulty getting non-emergency treatment as their counterparts in France and Spain, according to the UK's Department of Health.
A spokeswoman said: "The same rule applies as in France, that is once a person's E106 has lapsed they should seek to join the healthcare system of the country they are in." But there was no guarantee of success, she added.
By Peter Pallot
© Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2007.
USA: Seniors Make Pitch To Become Movie Extras
NEPTUNE BEACH, Florida (First Coast News), September 20, 2007:
A movie scheduled to be filmed on the First Coast has seniors making a pitch to be part of the action.
The movie, "Recount," is about the days following the 2000 presidential election that had all eyes on Florida.
"They pay $75 a day for ten hour days," said Julia Crews. She wants to be an extra in the movie, along with 250 others who responded to the casting call at the Neptune Beach Senior Activity Center this week.
The movie needs thousands of people to be extras for crowd shots and to play the role of protesters.
Chuck Marquadt is ready for the cameras to roll.
"The buzz around the group was looking for people who could play angry senior citizens," said the 73-year-old Hollywood hopeful.
Movie producers plan to begin filming in Jacksonville in early October. September 22, the main casting call for the movie will be held downtown.
By Roger Weeder
Copyright: First Coast News
A movie scheduled to be filmed on the First Coast has seniors making a pitch to be part of the action.
The movie, "Recount," is about the days following the 2000 presidential election that had all eyes on Florida.
"They pay $75 a day for ten hour days," said Julia Crews. She wants to be an extra in the movie, along with 250 others who responded to the casting call at the Neptune Beach Senior Activity Center this week.
The movie needs thousands of people to be extras for crowd shots and to play the role of protesters.
Chuck Marquadt is ready for the cameras to roll.
"The buzz around the group was looking for people who could play angry senior citizens," said the 73-year-old Hollywood hopeful.
Movie producers plan to begin filming in Jacksonville in early October. September 22, the main casting call for the movie will be held downtown.
By Roger Weeder
Copyright: First Coast News
USA: 25th Anniversary Mark Elusive for Many Couples
NEW YORK (New York Times), September 20, 2007:
More than half the Americans who might have celebrated their 25th wedding anniversaries since 2000 were divorced, separated or widowed before reaching that milestone, according to the latest census survey released on September 19, reports Sam Roberts. For the first time at least since World War II, women and men who married in the late 1970s had a less than even chance of still being married 25 years later.
The survey by the Census Bureau, in 2004, confirmed that most Americans eventually marry, but they are marrying later and are slightly more likely to marry more than once. Among adults 25 and older who had been divorced, 52 percent of men and 44 percent of women were currently married. On average, people who marry again typically do so in about three-and-a-half years. Second marriages that end in divorce last about 8.6 years for men and 7.2 years for women.
In 2004, 12 percent of men and 13 percent of women had married twice. Three percent each had married three or more times. The oldest baby boomers recorded the highest divorce rates. Among people in their 50s, 38 percent of men and 41 percent of women had been divorced. In 1996, the comparable figures were 36 percent and 35 percent.
One factor that also affects the marriage trends is that people are living longer. As a result, the median age at which women in a first marriage were widowed rose from 57.8 in 1996 to 60.3 in 2004. Among men, the median age increased from 59.6 to 61.3.
The latest census results released last week also confirmed the finding by demographers earlier this year that more American women were living without a husband than with one.
Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company
More than half the Americans who might have celebrated their 25th wedding anniversaries since 2000 were divorced, separated or widowed before reaching that milestone, according to the latest census survey released on September 19, reports Sam Roberts. For the first time at least since World War II, women and men who married in the late 1970s had a less than even chance of still being married 25 years later.
The survey by the Census Bureau, in 2004, confirmed that most Americans eventually marry, but they are marrying later and are slightly more likely to marry more than once. Among adults 25 and older who had been divorced, 52 percent of men and 44 percent of women were currently married. On average, people who marry again typically do so in about three-and-a-half years. Second marriages that end in divorce last about 8.6 years for men and 7.2 years for women.
In 2004, 12 percent of men and 13 percent of women had married twice. Three percent each had married three or more times. The oldest baby boomers recorded the highest divorce rates. Among people in their 50s, 38 percent of men and 41 percent of women had been divorced. In 1996, the comparable figures were 36 percent and 35 percent.
One factor that also affects the marriage trends is that people are living longer. As a result, the median age at which women in a first marriage were widowed rose from 57.8 in 1996 to 60.3 in 2004. Among men, the median age increased from 59.6 to 61.3.
The latest census results released last week also confirmed the finding by demographers earlier this year that more American women were living without a husband than with one.
Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company
ZAMBIA: Government Discards the Elderly, says NGO
LUSAKA (UN Integrated Regional Information Networks), September 20, 2007:
Zambia's elderly population are faced with a double jeopardy: They are either shunned by communities as witchcraft practitioners or, with little or no understanding of the disease, are burdened with caring for HIV/AIDS orphans, says a non-governmental organisation concerned with their wellbeing.
"Our elderly people are facing a very big problem in Zambia; it is either they are abandoned by the community and their relatives on allegations of practising witchcraft, or they are forced to look after their grandchildren, whose parents die of AIDS without leaving anything for these old people, who become [surrogate] parents," Rosemary Sichimba, president of the Senior Citizens Association of Zambia, told IRIN.
About one in five Zambians, or 1.6 million of the 10 million population, are infected with HIV/AIDS, many in the productive age group of 18 to 45.
According to the government's Central Statistical Office, about 500,000 people are aged 65 years or older, but independent analysts claim this is a conservative estimate, as it is difficult to ascertain the actual number of elderly people living in rural areas.
"We might have up to 800,000 old people in Zambia, but we are afraid such a number may soon be reduced by HIV/AIDS because the elderly are not taught any specialised skills or given protective clothes to help prevent them from contracting HIV as caregivers and traditional birth attendants," said Sichimba, whose organisation fights for the upliftment of the elderly.
"Since old people are often very caring, they do not even bother to avoid coming into contact with the blood of the [HIV/AIDS] infected, which is sad, because if such a person is infected, falls sick and goes to the hospital, she won't be tested for HIV. The doctor will assume she is not sexually active and just say, 'it is old age'," she said.
The senior citizens organisation is calling on the government to introduce more elderly-friendly voluntary counselling and testing [VCT] services, which are generally youth orientated and administered by the young, who often shun the aged. Contrary to popular perception, "some of our colleagues are still sexually active", Sichimba commented.
Burdened by loss
Modester Kalonde, 79, who lives in the capital, Lusaka, cares for her 8-month-old grandchild, who began displaying illnesses associated with HIV/AIDS at four months old.
"I now have to be at home all the time, or most of the time. I cannot go to church, attend funerals or even visit my friends because I have to be with her [the daughter] and also look after her child, who is my grandchild - I only go out briefly when some Good Samaritans visit us," Kalonde told IRIN. The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society provides shelter and supportive services to older persons and others in need.
"I don't know what to do, because my other two children are still in the village [outside of Lusaka]; I just came to visit. At the clinic, the doctor told me to take her [daughter] for injections every day, but I have no money because she has spent everything she had on buying medicine and food."
Despite being a signatory to several international conventions on the elderly - including the 2002 Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, which calls on governments to recognise the rights of older people - Zambia has no legislated policies for the aged.
Community development minister Catherine Namugala said government was in the process of formulating a policy on the aged that would outline key intervention measures, including a policy on HIV/AIDS and the elderly.
"We are doing everything possible to ensure that the policy comes into effect by December this year [2007] or early next year, so that we can be properly guided as a nation in dealing with issues affecting the aged. At the moment, we are just offering support under our Social Welfare Department to a number of institutions taking care of the vulnerable citizens, most of whom are the elderly," she told IRIN.
No retirement for most
The retirement age in Zambia is set at 55 years, and the average monthly pension for a retired public servant is about US$10, but it only applies to people who have worked in the formal sector. About 400,000 people are employed in the formal sector, both public and private.
Rental for a three-bedroom house in Lusaka's medium-cost residential accommodation ranges from $180 to $300 a month, with many landlords demanding a deposit of between three and six months' rent. There is no pension arrangement for people who have not worked in the formal economy.
Government has introduced a free medical scheme for people aged 65 years and older, but Andrea Masiye, 70, a practising lawyer, dismissed this because "only consultation is free in essence; there are no drugs and we are all told to buy our own medicines after prescription".
"Many of us are forced to work for a lifetime because there is no policy to take care of the aged. Otherwise, we would all have to end up in hospices after being abandoned by communities, and this is what has led to the overcrowding of hospices because government simply can't take care of its own senior citizens," Masiye said.
Most old people here have either lost their relatives to HIV/AIDS or have been abandoned by their communities. There is a need to restore the dignity of the old people
Judith Bozek, a sister-in-charge at Cheshire Divine Providence, a faith-based institution looking after orphans and elderly homeless people in Lusaka, told IRIN: "We are overwhelmed by the high numbers of people coming here.
"Most old people here have either lost all their relatives to HIV/AIDS or have been abandoned by the communities. There is a need to restore the dignity of the old people by empowering them with some reasonable income, so that even when looking after their infected relatives they will not strain so much," she said.
"Other countries have the universal cash transfer policy, which entitles the elderly to some disposable income, and I think the same should be done in Zambia to end these problems that the elderly are facing."
Editor's Note: This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations. Publication does not imply total endorsement of views expressed.
Copyright © 2007 UN Integrated Regional Information Networks.
allAfrica.com).
Zambia's elderly population are faced with a double jeopardy: They are either shunned by communities as witchcraft practitioners or, with little or no understanding of the disease, are burdened with caring for HIV/AIDS orphans, says a non-governmental organisation concerned with their wellbeing.
"Our elderly people are facing a very big problem in Zambia; it is either they are abandoned by the community and their relatives on allegations of practising witchcraft, or they are forced to look after their grandchildren, whose parents die of AIDS without leaving anything for these old people, who become [surrogate] parents," Rosemary Sichimba, president of the Senior Citizens Association of Zambia, told IRIN.
About one in five Zambians, or 1.6 million of the 10 million population, are infected with HIV/AIDS, many in the productive age group of 18 to 45.
According to the government's Central Statistical Office, about 500,000 people are aged 65 years or older, but independent analysts claim this is a conservative estimate, as it is difficult to ascertain the actual number of elderly people living in rural areas.
"We might have up to 800,000 old people in Zambia, but we are afraid such a number may soon be reduced by HIV/AIDS because the elderly are not taught any specialised skills or given protective clothes to help prevent them from contracting HIV as caregivers and traditional birth attendants," said Sichimba, whose organisation fights for the upliftment of the elderly.
"Since old people are often very caring, they do not even bother to avoid coming into contact with the blood of the [HIV/AIDS] infected, which is sad, because if such a person is infected, falls sick and goes to the hospital, she won't be tested for HIV. The doctor will assume she is not sexually active and just say, 'it is old age'," she said.
The senior citizens organisation is calling on the government to introduce more elderly-friendly voluntary counselling and testing [VCT] services, which are generally youth orientated and administered by the young, who often shun the aged. Contrary to popular perception, "some of our colleagues are still sexually active", Sichimba commented.
Burdened by loss
Modester Kalonde, 79, who lives in the capital, Lusaka, cares for her 8-month-old grandchild, who began displaying illnesses associated with HIV/AIDS at four months old.
"I now have to be at home all the time, or most of the time. I cannot go to church, attend funerals or even visit my friends because I have to be with her [the daughter] and also look after her child, who is my grandchild - I only go out briefly when some Good Samaritans visit us," Kalonde told IRIN. The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society provides shelter and supportive services to older persons and others in need.
"I don't know what to do, because my other two children are still in the village [outside of Lusaka]; I just came to visit. At the clinic, the doctor told me to take her [daughter] for injections every day, but I have no money because she has spent everything she had on buying medicine and food."
Despite being a signatory to several international conventions on the elderly - including the 2002 Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, which calls on governments to recognise the rights of older people - Zambia has no legislated policies for the aged.
Community development minister Catherine Namugala said government was in the process of formulating a policy on the aged that would outline key intervention measures, including a policy on HIV/AIDS and the elderly.
"We are doing everything possible to ensure that the policy comes into effect by December this year [2007] or early next year, so that we can be properly guided as a nation in dealing with issues affecting the aged. At the moment, we are just offering support under our Social Welfare Department to a number of institutions taking care of the vulnerable citizens, most of whom are the elderly," she told IRIN.
No retirement for most
The retirement age in Zambia is set at 55 years, and the average monthly pension for a retired public servant is about US$10, but it only applies to people who have worked in the formal sector. About 400,000 people are employed in the formal sector, both public and private.
Rental for a three-bedroom house in Lusaka's medium-cost residential accommodation ranges from $180 to $300 a month, with many landlords demanding a deposit of between three and six months' rent. There is no pension arrangement for people who have not worked in the formal economy.
Government has introduced a free medical scheme for people aged 65 years and older, but Andrea Masiye, 70, a practising lawyer, dismissed this because "only consultation is free in essence; there are no drugs and we are all told to buy our own medicines after prescription".
"Many of us are forced to work for a lifetime because there is no policy to take care of the aged. Otherwise, we would all have to end up in hospices after being abandoned by communities, and this is what has led to the overcrowding of hospices because government simply can't take care of its own senior citizens," Masiye said.
Most old people here have either lost their relatives to HIV/AIDS or have been abandoned by their communities. There is a need to restore the dignity of the old people
Judith Bozek, a sister-in-charge at Cheshire Divine Providence, a faith-based institution looking after orphans and elderly homeless people in Lusaka, told IRIN: "We are overwhelmed by the high numbers of people coming here.
"Most old people here have either lost all their relatives to HIV/AIDS or have been abandoned by the communities. There is a need to restore the dignity of the old people by empowering them with some reasonable income, so that even when looking after their infected relatives they will not strain so much," she said.
"Other countries have the universal cash transfer policy, which entitles the elderly to some disposable income, and I think the same should be done in Zambia to end these problems that the elderly are facing."
Editor's Note: This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations. Publication does not imply total endorsement of views expressed.
Copyright © 2007 UN Integrated Regional Information Networks.
allAfrica.com).
USA: Volunteer, 93, Is Michigan State's Senior Citizen of the Year
SPRING LAKE TOWNSHIP (MichiganLive), September 20, 2007:
Edward Bares is a Tuesday regular at International Aid's warehouse. The 93-year-old Grand Haven Township man repairs wheelchairs with three other volunteers. The International Aid work is among many contributions Bares has made during his 30-year retirement.
Such selflessness is the reason the retired engineer was named one of two state Senior Citizens of the Year by the Michigan Office of Services to the Aging, the Michigan Commission on Services to the Aging and the Michigan State Fair. The other recipient was Dr. Karl Gregory of Southfield.
Bares is "very outgoing (and) very modest, but helpful to all the other guys," said Barbara McNab, International Aid volunteer coordinator. "He's always the one pitching in."
When she saw him coming "through pushing a wheelchair with another volunteer in it, a younger woman, and he was giving her a little tour of International Aid, I thought, 'This guy is spectacular.'"
Bares doesn't view what he does as being special. He volunteers as a designer, CAD and engineer for E2 technologies of Grand Haven, which his son owns. Besides International Aid, Bares visits and runs errands for homebound adults, and provides transportation for those who no longer drive. He also has worked with the Grand Haven Jaycees, Grand Haven Aviation Club, First Presbyterian Church, and the Grand Haven Toastmaster's Club.
Bares said volunteering has been good for him since Vera, his wife of 57 years, died in a Dec. 13, 2003, traffic accident.
A 32-year-old Huron County pickup driven by a woman ran a red light at Comstock Road and 168th Avenue in Grand Haven, striking the minivan driven by Edward and killing Vera.
"My wife (Vera) was a volunteer and she was the one who pushed me to get into this kind of work," he said. "I remember before she passed away, she mentioned, 'Try to do as much good as you can. Don't sit home after I'm gone.'"
He has done just that.
"At my age, you think you can't learn anything. But it's here. (There are) lots of things a person can gain in addition to giving."
David Dekker of the Office of Services to the Aging said: "The fact that Bares is still volunteering at his age is a good example to others and an inspiration."
By Martin Visser
The Grand Rapids Press
© 2007 Michigan Live
Edward Bares is a Tuesday regular at International Aid's warehouse. The 93-year-old Grand Haven Township man repairs wheelchairs with three other volunteers. The International Aid work is among many contributions Bares has made during his 30-year retirement.
Such selflessness is the reason the retired engineer was named one of two state Senior Citizens of the Year by the Michigan Office of Services to the Aging, the Michigan Commission on Services to the Aging and the Michigan State Fair. The other recipient was Dr. Karl Gregory of Southfield.
Bares is "very outgoing (and) very modest, but helpful to all the other guys," said Barbara McNab, International Aid volunteer coordinator. "He's always the one pitching in."
When she saw him coming "through pushing a wheelchair with another volunteer in it, a younger woman, and he was giving her a little tour of International Aid, I thought, 'This guy is spectacular.'"
Bares doesn't view what he does as being special. He volunteers as a designer, CAD and engineer for E2 technologies of Grand Haven, which his son owns. Besides International Aid, Bares visits and runs errands for homebound adults, and provides transportation for those who no longer drive. He also has worked with the Grand Haven Jaycees, Grand Haven Aviation Club, First Presbyterian Church, and the Grand Haven Toastmaster's Club.
Bares said volunteering has been good for him since Vera, his wife of 57 years, died in a Dec. 13, 2003, traffic accident.
A 32-year-old Huron County pickup driven by a woman ran a red light at Comstock Road and 168th Avenue in Grand Haven, striking the minivan driven by Edward and killing Vera.
"My wife (Vera) was a volunteer and she was the one who pushed me to get into this kind of work," he said. "I remember before she passed away, she mentioned, 'Try to do as much good as you can. Don't sit home after I'm gone.'"
He has done just that.
"At my age, you think you can't learn anything. But it's here. (There are) lots of things a person can gain in addition to giving."
David Dekker of the Office of Services to the Aging said: "The fact that Bares is still volunteering at his age is a good example to others and an inspiration."
By Martin Visser
The Grand Rapids Press
© 2007 Michigan Live
USA: Kindness of Strangers Enriches Heart of a Family Man
LOS ANGELES (Los Angeles Times), September 20, 2007:
It was the kind of thing that popular myth says happens in America's hamlets, not its urban centers. The kind of thing that small-town friends do for friends when misfortune strikes, not something big-city strangers do for people they've never met.
But at an otherwise nondescript meeting Tuesday of the Garden Grove chapter of the AARP (American Association of Retired Persons), the members turned all that on its ear. They filled several tables in a community room at City Hall with items long past their prime, the kind of stuff you'd either throw away or bury in the closet.
So, it certainly wasn't with any pretension that the members laid out the stuff. A 3-D jigsaw puzzle, a Dixieland record album, candles, a stuffed animal, a strand of beads, a Stephen King novel, some cookbooks, a dusty old cassette.
They were all for sale. Some had tags on them for a dollar or so; an aging TV that appeared to be a 12-inch model was going for $15. Some members in the room also bought raffle tickets -- seven for $3. If they held winners, they were allowed to snag an item.
I hear your question: Uh, so you're writing about a white elephant sale today?
Yes, with pleasure.
Here's why: As the sale was going on, I was talking outside the room with Josh Matua, a 37-year-old construction worker and bar manager. As improbable as it seemed to him, he was the reason for the sale.
Matua, his girlfriend and their infant son were living in a home on Mac Street in Garden Grove when a glowing bit of fireworks landed on the roof July 4 and set it on fire. The woman and boy weren't home at the time, but Matua and longtime friend Mike Gentile, who owns the home, were. They escaped, but Matua says the fire did extensive damage to his family's possessions, which weren't insured. Gentile had insurance and plans to restore the house.
Enter the Garden Grove AARP, which strongly opposes fireworks in the city. But rather than merely sympathize with Matua, it opted to connect to him with a richness of deed that it may not fully grasp.
Members decided to hold the sale. They knew that selling jigsaw puzzles and outdated books likely wouldn't put much of a dent in Matua's need for family clothes and furnishings.
But they tried.
The effort wasn't lost on Matua. "My heart cries right now," he says outside the meeting room where about 45 seniors -- one as old as 91 -- were gathered. "I do not know anyone in there. They have poured their hearts out, bringing things they own to help build something. They've gone out of their way to help my family."
He was touched because he knows most of the seniors aren't wealthy. "Look in there," he says. "The aura in there is to help."
That's a good aura. It seemed to me that the seniors were distilling generosity to its purest form.
"I told Josh that we were going to have a white elephant sale for him, but that we probably wouldn't raise a lot of money," chapter Vice President Sharon Tanihara says. "When I told him we weren't going to make much money, he said, 'All I want is a hug.' That just blew me away."
One of the members who donated and bought was Joyce Eastman. She donated a couple of pictures, a broach and a vase. "Because seniors don't have that much money, they have something like this so they can make some money," she says. "They can help someone in need, where just asking them to give could be hard."
She ponied up $3 for the string of raffle tickets and won. Her haul: a pocket calculator and a couple books. She gave a look that said, "I don't really need them."
Precisely the point.
Matua thanked the group and offered his services. "I'm big, I'm strong," he told them, quite convincing at 320 pounds. "I can lift a rock."
What he meant was, he could do yardwork or chores. He and his girlfriend and 7-month-old son now are in a one-bedroom apartment in Westminster.
When all was said and done, the group raised $542, including a contribution of $100 from its treasury, and bolstered by donations from other people who heard of the sale. I overheard one conversation in whichsomeone said he put $100 in the jar.
I hope I'm making the point that this isn't about money. It surely wasn't to Matua.
"Someone shaking your hand, putting their hand on your shoulder," he says. "Do you know how good that feels? I try not to put my problems on anybody, but I'm just so thankful. It's a breath of fresh, fresh air."
By Dana Parsons
Copyright 2007 Los Angeles Times
It was the kind of thing that popular myth says happens in America's hamlets, not its urban centers. The kind of thing that small-town friends do for friends when misfortune strikes, not something big-city strangers do for people they've never met.
But at an otherwise nondescript meeting Tuesday of the Garden Grove chapter of the AARP (American Association of Retired Persons), the members turned all that on its ear. They filled several tables in a community room at City Hall with items long past their prime, the kind of stuff you'd either throw away or bury in the closet.
So, it certainly wasn't with any pretension that the members laid out the stuff. A 3-D jigsaw puzzle, a Dixieland record album, candles, a stuffed animal, a strand of beads, a Stephen King novel, some cookbooks, a dusty old cassette.
They were all for sale. Some had tags on them for a dollar or so; an aging TV that appeared to be a 12-inch model was going for $15. Some members in the room also bought raffle tickets -- seven for $3. If they held winners, they were allowed to snag an item.
I hear your question: Uh, so you're writing about a white elephant sale today?
Yes, with pleasure.
Here's why: As the sale was going on, I was talking outside the room with Josh Matua, a 37-year-old construction worker and bar manager. As improbable as it seemed to him, he was the reason for the sale.
Matua, his girlfriend and their infant son were living in a home on Mac Street in Garden Grove when a glowing bit of fireworks landed on the roof July 4 and set it on fire. The woman and boy weren't home at the time, but Matua and longtime friend Mike Gentile, who owns the home, were. They escaped, but Matua says the fire did extensive damage to his family's possessions, which weren't insured. Gentile had insurance and plans to restore the house.
Enter the Garden Grove AARP, which strongly opposes fireworks in the city. But rather than merely sympathize with Matua, it opted to connect to him with a richness of deed that it may not fully grasp.
Members decided to hold the sale. They knew that selling jigsaw puzzles and outdated books likely wouldn't put much of a dent in Matua's need for family clothes and furnishings.
But they tried.
The effort wasn't lost on Matua. "My heart cries right now," he says outside the meeting room where about 45 seniors -- one as old as 91 -- were gathered. "I do not know anyone in there. They have poured their hearts out, bringing things they own to help build something. They've gone out of their way to help my family."
He was touched because he knows most of the seniors aren't wealthy. "Look in there," he says. "The aura in there is to help."
That's a good aura. It seemed to me that the seniors were distilling generosity to its purest form.
"I told Josh that we were going to have a white elephant sale for him, but that we probably wouldn't raise a lot of money," chapter Vice President Sharon Tanihara says. "When I told him we weren't going to make much money, he said, 'All I want is a hug.' That just blew me away."
One of the members who donated and bought was Joyce Eastman. She donated a couple of pictures, a broach and a vase. "Because seniors don't have that much money, they have something like this so they can make some money," she says. "They can help someone in need, where just asking them to give could be hard."
She ponied up $3 for the string of raffle tickets and won. Her haul: a pocket calculator and a couple books. She gave a look that said, "I don't really need them."
Precisely the point.
Matua thanked the group and offered his services. "I'm big, I'm strong," he told them, quite convincing at 320 pounds. "I can lift a rock."
What he meant was, he could do yardwork or chores. He and his girlfriend and 7-month-old son now are in a one-bedroom apartment in Westminster.
When all was said and done, the group raised $542, including a contribution of $100 from its treasury, and bolstered by donations from other people who heard of the sale. I overheard one conversation in whichsomeone said he put $100 in the jar.
I hope I'm making the point that this isn't about money. It surely wasn't to Matua.
"Someone shaking your hand, putting their hand on your shoulder," he says. "Do you know how good that feels? I try not to put my problems on anybody, but I'm just so thankful. It's a breath of fresh, fresh air."
By Dana Parsons
Copyright 2007 Los Angeles Times
U.K.:Help The Aged Launches Sponsor A Grandparent Website
LONDON (Help The Aged), September 19, 2007:
Help The Aged, U.K., has announced the launch of a new website for Sponsor a Grandparent, as the first part of a major campaign to raise awareness of the programme.
The organisation developed the "Sponsor a Grandparent programme" over 30 years ago, creating a unique way for people to help disadvantaged older people and their communities overseas. Over 26,000 of the most vulnerable grandparents are helped through this programme, but there are thousands more who still need help, says the charity.
"For £15 a month, you can make a real difference – a difference you'll be able to see when you receive updates from your grandparent, telling you all about their progress and letting you know how their community is also benefiting from your help.
Help the Aged's Sponsor a Grandparent programme is designed to give direct help to some of the most vulnerable people in developing countries. Older people in these countries rarely receive pensions and can be overlooked by aid programmes. By sponsoring a grandparent, the donor can be ensuring that both they and other valuable members of the community receive support, "at the time in their life when they might need it the most."
It costs £15 a month to sponsor a grandparent and it can provide basic essentials like food, water, clothing, shelter and healthcare. It can help fund long-term projects, such as income generation schemes, helping grandparents to get back on their feet and regain their independence. It can restore dignity and hope for grandparents and their communities. It gives an older person and their community a direct link with someone who cares and the sponsor gets a direct link with the community helped, says Help The Aged.
Chris Martin is Editor of the Website at http://www.sponsoragrandparent.org.uk/
Help The Aged, U.K., has announced the launch of a new website for Sponsor a Grandparent, as the first part of a major campaign to raise awareness of the programme.
The organisation developed the "Sponsor a Grandparent programme" over 30 years ago, creating a unique way for people to help disadvantaged older people and their communities overseas. Over 26,000 of the most vulnerable grandparents are helped through this programme, but there are thousands more who still need help, says the charity.
"For £15 a month, you can make a real difference – a difference you'll be able to see when you receive updates from your grandparent, telling you all about their progress and letting you know how their community is also benefiting from your help.
Help the Aged's Sponsor a Grandparent programme is designed to give direct help to some of the most vulnerable people in developing countries. Older people in these countries rarely receive pensions and can be overlooked by aid programmes. By sponsoring a grandparent, the donor can be ensuring that both they and other valuable members of the community receive support, "at the time in their life when they might need it the most."
It costs £15 a month to sponsor a grandparent and it can provide basic essentials like food, water, clothing, shelter and healthcare. It can help fund long-term projects, such as income generation schemes, helping grandparents to get back on their feet and regain their independence. It can restore dignity and hope for grandparents and their communities. It gives an older person and their community a direct link with someone who cares and the sponsor gets a direct link with the community helped, says Help The Aged.
Chris Martin is Editor of the Website at http://www.sponsoragrandparent.org.uk/
USA: Peggy Ewing Waxter, Social Activist, Dies at 103
Peggy Ewing is shown celebrating her 102nd birthday last year. Waxter, a social activist who agitated for civil rights causes, died September 18 of complications related to old age at her Roland Park home. She was 103. Baltimore Sun Photo 2006 by Chiaki Kawajiri.
ROLAND PARK, Baltimore (Baltimore Sun), September 19, 2007:
"People are scared at becoming old. But they shouldn't," she told a Sun reporter last year. "It's the most irresponsible time in your life. You can do anything you want and get away with it," reports Jacques Kelly.
The wife of the late Judge Thomas J.S. Waxter Sr., for whom the Waxter Senior Citizens Center is named, she joked she was "the most honored person who never graduated from a school."
Copyright: Baltimore Sun
CHINA: Non-Profit Cafeteria for Seniors Opens in Beijing
BEIJING (CCTV New), September 19, 2007:Chinese society is getting older. And in big cities like Beijing, many senior citizens live on their own. They are often too weak to buy food to cook at home for themselves. But a non-profit cafeteria has opened in a residential community in the capital to serve this special group of people.
In the cafeteria, a number of senior citizens have started their meals. Today's menu includes two dishes, one soup and rice.
"I have come to bring some food back home, because my wife's is not well enough to come here." said a senior citizen.
Senior citizens here say cooking is too tiring a task for them. And keeping a nutritionally balanced diet is a major concern. The cafeteria is an answer to their dilemma.
Another senior citizen said, "Food nutrition is balanced here. Everyday we are provided with different dishes. It's near my home and the food tastes good."
At the same time, the senior citizens can find partners to chat with during meals. The residential committee in this community invested 100,000 yuan to set up the cafeteria in August. The funding comes from prize-money the community won in a national competition showcasing residential areas. But financial pressure on the cafeteria is growing.
Huang Junkun, director of Community resident committee,said, "We charge the senior citizens seven yuan each for a lunch. We will not charge more. Although we are meticulous in the use of the budget and manpower, we still can't make ends meet. We hope the government can give us preferential policies so that this cafeteria for senior citizens can survive." The director also hopes that corporations will lend a helping hand in keeping the cafeteria up and running.
Editor: Zhang Ning
© 2005 China Central Television.
INDIA: Goa Government to Review Monthly Dole to 92,000 Seniors
MARGAO, Goa (oHeraldo), September 19, 2007:
The state government of Goa has decided to engage an agency to review all cases under its social security scheme and ensure benefits of the scheme go only to the needy people. The review survey will start from Pernem taluka and will cover all talukas of the State, say officials of the social welfare department.
Social Welfare Director, Kankar Velip told Herald here on Monday that till such time the review survey is not completed, government will not sanction the 8000-odd fresh applications received from the senior citizens for the monthly dole.
The government is currently paying Rs 1000 a month to 92,000 senior citizens in the State, 17,000 of them from Salcete.
The proposed survey is to ascertain whether the beneficiaries really require government financial assistance. This follows widespread reports that the scheme has been misused with even well-to-do families availing benefits and with politicians giving benefit of the scheme to their supporters and cronies.
© Herald Publications
The state government of Goa has decided to engage an agency to review all cases under its social security scheme and ensure benefits of the scheme go only to the needy people. The review survey will start from Pernem taluka and will cover all talukas of the State, say officials of the social welfare department.
Social Welfare Director, Kankar Velip told Herald here on Monday that till such time the review survey is not completed, government will not sanction the 8000-odd fresh applications received from the senior citizens for the monthly dole.
The government is currently paying Rs 1000 a month to 92,000 senior citizens in the State, 17,000 of them from Salcete.
The proposed survey is to ascertain whether the beneficiaries really require government financial assistance. This follows widespread reports that the scheme has been misused with even well-to-do families availing benefits and with politicians giving benefit of the scheme to their supporters and cronies.
© Herald Publications
JAPAN: Sixty Years of Respect-For-The-Aged Day
Japan's daily Asahi Shimbun of September 17 and International Herald Tribune/Asahi of September 18, 2007 have published an editorial to mark the national Respect-for-the-Aged Day.
Illness and Aid, Loneliness and Isolation Are Biggest Worrying Points today
A little village in Hyogo Prefecture held a gathering in 1947 to show respect for the elderly and to ask them to share their wisdom and life experiences. It is said that this was the origin of the national holiday--Respect-for-the Aged Day.
It has been exactly 60 years since then. At that time, the average longevity in Japan was roughly 50 years old. Now, the expected life span is 79 for men and 85 for women. Japan is a exceptional country in terms of life expectancy.
Not only are Japanese people living longer, their lifestyles in old age are beginning to change. What is especially striking in recent years is the rapidly increasing number of people over 65 years old living alone. There are as many as 4 million of them.
With the increase of the "nuclear family," fewer people live with their grown children. There are those who live alone after bereavement, and those who chose not to marry. Living alone allows certain freedoms and few hassles. Some people are good at living on their own, and enjoy the benefits of their lifestyles to the hilt.
But there is another aspect to living alone that cannot be ignored. Many elderly people living alone actually want to be with people, but they have no chance to mingle with neighbors or have no friends.
A Cabinet Office survey of elderly citizens showed that more than 60 percent of those over 65 years who are living alone had some sort of worry in their everyday lives. The most prevalent concern was over "illness and aid," but the second most common concern was about being "alone with no one to rely on."
Moreover, it is often elderly men living on their own who tend to be cut off from their communities. One in four said they did not mingle with their neighbors, and over 40 percent said they "had no close friends."
Nearly 20 percent of those men have no one they can consult with, even if they have worries or problems.
All of these numbers are strikingly higher than those for elderly women living alone. This means that men who had been work-oriented are finding it difficult to find their place in their communities after retirement.
When elderly people lead solitary lives, there are many causes of concern. They may fall prey to illegal business practices. If they cannot ask anyone for help when they get sick, they risk dying a solitary death. To prevent these things from happening, it is not enough to rely solely on the government or welfare services.
First of all, it is important for each citizen take a look around and make a point of asking their elderly neighbors about their health or any kind of trouble. Such a small extra effort to make sure they're OK makes life so much easier for our elderly neighbors.
Newspaper deliverers, mail carriers and those who check on gas and water meters would also be able to help keep an eye on the elderly people's well-being.
Elderly people who want to have more contact with their neighbors must not just wait around for a chance to come along. They could go to the local community center and join a hobby group, for example.
Making a point of talking to your neighbors is a good thing, and not just for the elderly. Communication helps to create a safer community, and will be the first step toward creating an atmosphere that's comfortable for everyone. On Respect-for-the Aged Day, those are the kind of things we would like to think about again.
Copyright 2007 The Asahi Shimbun Company
Illness and Aid, Loneliness and Isolation Are Biggest Worrying Points today
A little village in Hyogo Prefecture held a gathering in 1947 to show respect for the elderly and to ask them to share their wisdom and life experiences. It is said that this was the origin of the national holiday--Respect-for-the Aged Day.
It has been exactly 60 years since then. At that time, the average longevity in Japan was roughly 50 years old. Now, the expected life span is 79 for men and 85 for women. Japan is a exceptional country in terms of life expectancy.
Not only are Japanese people living longer, their lifestyles in old age are beginning to change. What is especially striking in recent years is the rapidly increasing number of people over 65 years old living alone. There are as many as 4 million of them.
With the increase of the "nuclear family," fewer people live with their grown children. There are those who live alone after bereavement, and those who chose not to marry. Living alone allows certain freedoms and few hassles. Some people are good at living on their own, and enjoy the benefits of their lifestyles to the hilt.
But there is another aspect to living alone that cannot be ignored. Many elderly people living alone actually want to be with people, but they have no chance to mingle with neighbors or have no friends.
A Cabinet Office survey of elderly citizens showed that more than 60 percent of those over 65 years who are living alone had some sort of worry in their everyday lives. The most prevalent concern was over "illness and aid," but the second most common concern was about being "alone with no one to rely on."
Moreover, it is often elderly men living on their own who tend to be cut off from their communities. One in four said they did not mingle with their neighbors, and over 40 percent said they "had no close friends."
Nearly 20 percent of those men have no one they can consult with, even if they have worries or problems.
All of these numbers are strikingly higher than those for elderly women living alone. This means that men who had been work-oriented are finding it difficult to find their place in their communities after retirement.
When elderly people lead solitary lives, there are many causes of concern. They may fall prey to illegal business practices. If they cannot ask anyone for help when they get sick, they risk dying a solitary death. To prevent these things from happening, it is not enough to rely solely on the government or welfare services.
First of all, it is important for each citizen take a look around and make a point of asking their elderly neighbors about their health or any kind of trouble. Such a small extra effort to make sure they're OK makes life so much easier for our elderly neighbors.
Newspaper deliverers, mail carriers and those who check on gas and water meters would also be able to help keep an eye on the elderly people's well-being.
Elderly people who want to have more contact with their neighbors must not just wait around for a chance to come along. They could go to the local community center and join a hobby group, for example.
Making a point of talking to your neighbors is a good thing, and not just for the elderly. Communication helps to create a safer community, and will be the first step toward creating an atmosphere that's comfortable for everyone. On Respect-for-the Aged Day, those are the kind of things we would like to think about again.
Copyright 2007 The Asahi Shimbun Company
JAPAN: World's Oldest Man Wants to Live Forever
Tomoji Tanabe receives flowers from Mayor Makoto Nagamine on his 112th birthday September 18 at his home in Miyakonojo, Miyazaki Prefecture. Kyodo Photo
MIYAZAKI (The Japan Times - Kyodo), September 19, 2007:
Tomoji Tanabe, recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's oldest man, celebrated his 112th birthday on September 18 at his home in Miyakonojo, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan.
"I thank you all," Tanabe said, responding to Miyakonojo Mayor Makoto Nagamine, who had asked him how he felt turning 112. Tanabe appeared to be in good shape as he walked around the house with a paper fan in his hand.
Asked how many years he would like to live, he said: "I want to live indefinitely. I don't want to die."
Tanabe lives with his fifth son, Motoori, 67, and Motoori's wife, Fujiko, 60. Tanabe keeps a diary, reads the newspaper every day and lives without any major assistance or care from others apart from getting a little help when he takes a bath, according to his family.
Tanabe, who was born September 18, 1895, was presented in June with a certificate for being the world's oldest male from Britain's Guinness World Records.
Copyright. The Japan Times
(C) All rights reserved
USA: Could Your Grandchild Have ADD?
Is it the age of distraction, or could your grandchild have Attention Deficit Disorder?
NEW YORK (Grandparents.com), September 18, 2007:
Remember when getting a McDonald’s happy meal in five minutes was considered fast? Now, have to wait five minutes for a burger and your grandchild, who's been deftly texting buddies and jamming to his iTunes will ask, "What took so long?" Kids today. If they aren't handed everything now, now, no-w-w-w-w-w they get fidgety and bored.
Because life itself has become so multi-tasked, there's a group of children in the Now Generation who may struggle with heightened distractability and hyperactivity may be considered just be considered a product of their culture; whereas they may actually have Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD, which we’ll call from here on AD/HD to include hyperactivity disorder; according to the Attention Deficit Disorder Association, the difference in the two is mainly one of terminology).
The condition can turn everything from a child’s homework performance to everyday social interactions into seemingly insurmountable obstacles. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that more than 4 million children ages 4-17 have been diagnosed with the disorder by a health care professional.
But, what are ADD/ADHD really?
Dr. Charlotte Amenkhienan, a counselor at Virginia Tech’s Cook Counseling Center, defines the condition as “a brain-based disorder that affects all aspects of one’s life. It is characterized by inattention and/or hyperactivity, which is more frequent and severe than typically observed in individuals at a comparable level of development."
Amenkhienan goes on to point out that unless properly diagnosed and treated, ADHD could interfere with one’s academic achievement, self-esteem, and relationships.
For full text of the report log on to Grandparents.com.
By Eric Butterman
© 2007 Grandparents.com LLC
JAPAN: Spotlight on Village Mayor For 50 Years of Free Health Care for Seniors
NISHIGAWA, Iwate Prefecture (Asahi Weekly), September 18, 2007:
Japan's first village mayor to make health care free for seniors is now regaining full media attention half a century after his efforts.
A documentary film is to be made about Masao Fukazawa, the late mayor of what was then Sawauchi. The village merged two years ago to form Nishiwaga. At the same time, the Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK) is planning to air a program about him in mid-September. Local residents are also joining in the chorus of praise for their former mayor.
It all started with the making of the documentary. Twin brothers Takuya and Shinya Todori--residents of Kitakami--found a book about Fukazawa's life titled "Soncho Ariki" (There is a mayor) in a used bookstore in Tokyo.
They were so moved by Fukazawa's respect for human life that the 24-year-olds decided to make a movie about him. They spent a year shooting in Nishiwaga and are scheduled to complete the film, called "Inochi no Saho" (The etiquette of life) within the year.
Fukazawa was mayor of a town suffering from heavy snow, poverty, numerous deaths and illnesses. Against the odds, he made health care free for seniors and managed to bring the infant mortality rate to zero.
The prefectural government at the time opposed Fukazawa's policy, claiming it was against the National Health Insurance Law to make health care free. But Fukazawa insisted that his policy did not violate the Constitution and decided to take the fight to the Supreme Court.
Local residents formed a support group to promote the retelling of Fukazawa's story in late June. The group has 50 members and was recognized as a non-profit organization on Aug. 28.
The group plans to interview people who were involved in Fukazawa's policy and gather data in order to paint a full picture of a municipal government that cherished life. The organization plans one day to build a museum in Fukazawa's memory.
The revival of interest in Fukazawa is happening at a time when Japan is facing a crisis about how to look after its aging citizens, said Kazuo Oikawa, 73, author of Fukazawa's life story "Soncho Ariki."
"Fukazawa's policy--which tried to keep seniors healthy by combining health insurance, medical care and welfare--is now looking really ideal in today's aging society."
The Todori brothers, who produced the documentary, agree.
"Medical technology has advanced but it's difficult to say that sanctity of human life is more respected, considering the lack of doctors and the imbalance in doctor's availability according to region as well as the widening gap in income," said one of the twins.
"We're creating a story that makes sense in modern day Japan. It's not just a story about the olden days."
Fukazawa served as mayor between 1957 and 1965. Because it was so long ago, few people still know about his administration's efforts.
His supporters are afraid that his efforts will be completely forgotten.
"More and more locals are unaware of Fukazawa's policies," said Kodo Sasaki, 51, vice chairman of the support group. "We believe this is our last chance to spread the word about Fukazawa's achievements and concepts." Sasaki runs an auto repair shop. To help pass on his message, he installed a large billboard describing Fukazawa's achievements.
Copyright: Asahi Shimbun Company
Japan's first village mayor to make health care free for seniors is now regaining full media attention half a century after his efforts.
A documentary film is to be made about Masao Fukazawa, the late mayor of what was then Sawauchi. The village merged two years ago to form Nishiwaga. At the same time, the Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK) is planning to air a program about him in mid-September. Local residents are also joining in the chorus of praise for their former mayor.
It all started with the making of the documentary. Twin brothers Takuya and Shinya Todori--residents of Kitakami--found a book about Fukazawa's life titled "Soncho Ariki" (There is a mayor) in a used bookstore in Tokyo.
They were so moved by Fukazawa's respect for human life that the 24-year-olds decided to make a movie about him. They spent a year shooting in Nishiwaga and are scheduled to complete the film, called "Inochi no Saho" (The etiquette of life) within the year.
Fukazawa was mayor of a town suffering from heavy snow, poverty, numerous deaths and illnesses. Against the odds, he made health care free for seniors and managed to bring the infant mortality rate to zero.
The prefectural government at the time opposed Fukazawa's policy, claiming it was against the National Health Insurance Law to make health care free. But Fukazawa insisted that his policy did not violate the Constitution and decided to take the fight to the Supreme Court.
Local residents formed a support group to promote the retelling of Fukazawa's story in late June. The group has 50 members and was recognized as a non-profit organization on Aug. 28.
The group plans to interview people who were involved in Fukazawa's policy and gather data in order to paint a full picture of a municipal government that cherished life. The organization plans one day to build a museum in Fukazawa's memory.
The revival of interest in Fukazawa is happening at a time when Japan is facing a crisis about how to look after its aging citizens, said Kazuo Oikawa, 73, author of Fukazawa's life story "Soncho Ariki."
"Fukazawa's policy--which tried to keep seniors healthy by combining health insurance, medical care and welfare--is now looking really ideal in today's aging society."
The Todori brothers, who produced the documentary, agree.
"Medical technology has advanced but it's difficult to say that sanctity of human life is more respected, considering the lack of doctors and the imbalance in doctor's availability according to region as well as the widening gap in income," said one of the twins.
"We're creating a story that makes sense in modern day Japan. It's not just a story about the olden days."
Fukazawa served as mayor between 1957 and 1965. Because it was so long ago, few people still know about his administration's efforts.
His supporters are afraid that his efforts will be completely forgotten.
"More and more locals are unaware of Fukazawa's policies," said Kodo Sasaki, 51, vice chairman of the support group. "We believe this is our last chance to spread the word about Fukazawa's achievements and concepts." Sasaki runs an auto repair shop. To help pass on his message, he installed a large billboard describing Fukazawa's achievements.
Copyright: Asahi Shimbun Company
INDIA: There's Wealth In Health
NEW DELHI (The Hindustan Times), September 18, 2007:
Health is wealth. In a nation like India, where there is no worthwhile social security system in place (notwithstanding high tax rates), healthcare and health insurance assume magnified importance. Without this, even the loudest screams and chest-thumping on the 'India growth story' will sound hollow.
One of the fastest growing and most potent sectors in India is the health-care sector. India is fast becoming a preferred medical destination for patients in the Middle East, Africa and even the West.
There is now growing global realisation that Indian hospitals can provide world-class care at competitive rates. Today, India has big names in healthcare like the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Apollo Hospitals and Shankara Netralaya.
The sector today has a radical outlook with major emphasis on high skill sets that can leverage technology and medical science, and needs to cater to a critical and inevitable customer needs at affordable costs.
India has the relevant skill-sets with adequate human resources to become the preferred healthcare player in emerging countries across the globe. Increasing urbanisation, superior demographics, better health consciousness and higher life expectancy have enhanced the demand for quality healthcare.
Although the public sector has taken initiatives for the development of healthcare facilities, it has been unable to do too much, thus bringing the private sector into the picture. This in turn, has brought in more capital, better technology and management skills.
The recent Union budgets, too, have been favourable to the healthcare sector. There has been a reduction of customs tariffs on life saving medical equipment, reduction of excise duties on certain critical drugs and the abolition of duties on drugs and materials imported for clinical trials.
Permissible depreciation rates for medical equipment under income tax laws have been increased to enhance cash flows of corporate hospitals in the private sector. Interest on lending for private sector hospitals exceeding 100 beds will improve access to low-cost funding for hospitals.
Notwithstanding healthy competition, several big corporate houses have ventured in and the Indian healthcare sector is slowly but surely, coming of age. The entry of big pharmaceutical companies is a clear sign of strong corporate focus on this sector.
By Ashok Kumar
© Copyright 2007 Hindustan Times
Health is wealth. In a nation like India, where there is no worthwhile social security system in place (notwithstanding high tax rates), healthcare and health insurance assume magnified importance. Without this, even the loudest screams and chest-thumping on the 'India growth story' will sound hollow.
One of the fastest growing and most potent sectors in India is the health-care sector. India is fast becoming a preferred medical destination for patients in the Middle East, Africa and even the West.
There is now growing global realisation that Indian hospitals can provide world-class care at competitive rates. Today, India has big names in healthcare like the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Apollo Hospitals and Shankara Netralaya.
The sector today has a radical outlook with major emphasis on high skill sets that can leverage technology and medical science, and needs to cater to a critical and inevitable customer needs at affordable costs.
India has the relevant skill-sets with adequate human resources to become the preferred healthcare player in emerging countries across the globe. Increasing urbanisation, superior demographics, better health consciousness and higher life expectancy have enhanced the demand for quality healthcare.
Although the public sector has taken initiatives for the development of healthcare facilities, it has been unable to do too much, thus bringing the private sector into the picture. This in turn, has brought in more capital, better technology and management skills.
The recent Union budgets, too, have been favourable to the healthcare sector. There has been a reduction of customs tariffs on life saving medical equipment, reduction of excise duties on certain critical drugs and the abolition of duties on drugs and materials imported for clinical trials.
Permissible depreciation rates for medical equipment under income tax laws have been increased to enhance cash flows of corporate hospitals in the private sector. Interest on lending for private sector hospitals exceeding 100 beds will improve access to low-cost funding for hospitals.
Notwithstanding healthy competition, several big corporate houses have ventured in and the Indian healthcare sector is slowly but surely, coming of age. The entry of big pharmaceutical companies is a clear sign of strong corporate focus on this sector.
By Ashok Kumar
© Copyright 2007 Hindustan Times
USA.: Elderly Are Highest Risk Population For Suicide
PORTLAND, Oregon (Associated Press - The Guardian, U.K.), September 18, 2007:
Not long after 72-year-old Anne Beale Golson had retired on disability from her job as a librarian, she put a stack of paid bills out for the mail, hung up a freshly pressed outfit and taped a note to the front of the house.
"Don't come in by yourself. Get somebody to come with you. Sorry, Love Beale."
Her niece arrived at the house they shared in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to find police already there. Golson had killed herself with a gunshot to the head.
"Every single day it makes me feel like I wish I could have done something," Jane Golsan Ray said, recalling her aunt's death eight years ago. "I wish I could turn back the clock and prevent it. It doesn't get any better, it hurts every day."
The elderly are the highest risk population in the country for suicide. But few suicide-prevention programs target them - a result, advocates say, of scarce funding and lack of concern for older Americans. And mental heath experts say the number of elderly suicides is likely to climb as baby boomers enter their twilight years.
The overall U.S. suicide rate is 11 per 100,000 people. But for those 65 and older, that figure rises to 14 per 100,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which based its findings on 2004 data, the most recent available.
Older adults are less likely to seek help and are more lethal in their suicide attempts. So experts say special care is needed to reach out.
Dale Smith, 67, said he might not be alive if not for a suicide-prevention program in Spokane, Wash. Two years ago, he attended a meeting at his retirement complex where everyone filled out a screening form for depression, a key risk factor for suicide. Based on his answers, a caseworker and psychiatrist later visited Smith at his home, where they discussed what turned out to be a lifetime of depression. They developed a plan of medication and therapy that Smith says probably saved his life.
"I'm not unique. I think there's a lot of individuals out there who do suffer from depression and they have no clue," he said. ``They just know they're not happy. They are tired, they want to pull the covers over their heads and not look at the world, and they don't know what it is."
But many older Americans have fewer options for treatment than younger people.
"It's a not-so-subtle social-political assignment of resources," said Donna Cohen, a professor in the Department of Aging and Mental Health at the University of South Florida.
Ten states passed laws last year intended to curb suicide among children and young adults. But only two - New Jersey and New Mexico - passed laws addressing suicide among the elderly, according to Suicide Prevention Action Network USA, a national advocacy group based in Washington, D.C.
Depression is underdetected at all ages, mental health groups say. But much more funding is available for treating younger people, including $82 million in federal money approved in 2004.
The situation prompted Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, who lost his father to suicide, to propose funding more suicide-prevention programs for the elderly and changing a Medicare coverage rule that forces seniors to pay more for outpatient mental health services than other medical care.
Some advocates and mental health workers say they also have to battle a prevailing notion that depression is a normal part of aging.
"It is not natural and should be treated at all times," said Dr. Paula Clayton, a psychiatrist and medical director for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
Janice Hodge of Sandy, Ore. said she didn't realize until after her 91-year old father, Anthony Liberto, died that he had been depressed.
He was struggling to care for his 85-year-old wife, who suffered from Parkinson's disease. He did not work and he could no longer play golf, his favorite pastime. Friends and family still visited, but they say he spent much of his time lying on the couch and growing frustrated with suggestions that he place his wife of 62 years in a nursing home.
Eventually, he shot his wife and killed himself, leaving a note that read: "Sorry we had to leave this way, forgive me. Love, your Dad."
Experts say there need to be services tailored to the elderly because they handle depression differently than younger patients.
In Spokane, the program that helped Smith, called Elder Services, trains people who come in contact with the elderly - from bank tellers to postal carriers - to notice signs of trouble, such as mail piling up or bills going unpaid. Those people can then notify social workers.
In San Francisco, Patrick Arbore founded the Friendship Line in San Francisco in 1973 after seeing the lack of understanding some suicide hot line workers displayed for older people.
The line, which lets people call just to talk or get support, now handles more than 3,000 calls a month. About one-quarter of the callers have suicidal thoughts, a staffer said. But most just want a compassionate listener.
"It's about reminding people that they are still a part of their community," Arbore said. "Those connections bind us to life."
By Sarah Skidmore
Associated Press
Not long after 72-year-old Anne Beale Golson had retired on disability from her job as a librarian, she put a stack of paid bills out for the mail, hung up a freshly pressed outfit and taped a note to the front of the house.
"Don't come in by yourself. Get somebody to come with you. Sorry, Love Beale."
Her niece arrived at the house they shared in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to find police already there. Golson had killed herself with a gunshot to the head.
"Every single day it makes me feel like I wish I could have done something," Jane Golsan Ray said, recalling her aunt's death eight years ago. "I wish I could turn back the clock and prevent it. It doesn't get any better, it hurts every day."
The elderly are the highest risk population in the country for suicide. But few suicide-prevention programs target them - a result, advocates say, of scarce funding and lack of concern for older Americans. And mental heath experts say the number of elderly suicides is likely to climb as baby boomers enter their twilight years.
The overall U.S. suicide rate is 11 per 100,000 people. But for those 65 and older, that figure rises to 14 per 100,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which based its findings on 2004 data, the most recent available.
Older adults are less likely to seek help and are more lethal in their suicide attempts. So experts say special care is needed to reach out.
Dale Smith, 67, said he might not be alive if not for a suicide-prevention program in Spokane, Wash. Two years ago, he attended a meeting at his retirement complex where everyone filled out a screening form for depression, a key risk factor for suicide. Based on his answers, a caseworker and psychiatrist later visited Smith at his home, where they discussed what turned out to be a lifetime of depression. They developed a plan of medication and therapy that Smith says probably saved his life.
"I'm not unique. I think there's a lot of individuals out there who do suffer from depression and they have no clue," he said. ``They just know they're not happy. They are tired, they want to pull the covers over their heads and not look at the world, and they don't know what it is."
But many older Americans have fewer options for treatment than younger people.
"It's a not-so-subtle social-political assignment of resources," said Donna Cohen, a professor in the Department of Aging and Mental Health at the University of South Florida.
Ten states passed laws last year intended to curb suicide among children and young adults. But only two - New Jersey and New Mexico - passed laws addressing suicide among the elderly, according to Suicide Prevention Action Network USA, a national advocacy group based in Washington, D.C.
Depression is underdetected at all ages, mental health groups say. But much more funding is available for treating younger people, including $82 million in federal money approved in 2004.
The situation prompted Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, who lost his father to suicide, to propose funding more suicide-prevention programs for the elderly and changing a Medicare coverage rule that forces seniors to pay more for outpatient mental health services than other medical care.
Some advocates and mental health workers say they also have to battle a prevailing notion that depression is a normal part of aging.
"It is not natural and should be treated at all times," said Dr. Paula Clayton, a psychiatrist and medical director for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
Janice Hodge of Sandy, Ore. said she didn't realize until after her 91-year old father, Anthony Liberto, died that he had been depressed.
He was struggling to care for his 85-year-old wife, who suffered from Parkinson's disease. He did not work and he could no longer play golf, his favorite pastime. Friends and family still visited, but they say he spent much of his time lying on the couch and growing frustrated with suggestions that he place his wife of 62 years in a nursing home.
Eventually, he shot his wife and killed himself, leaving a note that read: "Sorry we had to leave this way, forgive me. Love, your Dad."
Experts say there need to be services tailored to the elderly because they handle depression differently than younger patients.
In Spokane, the program that helped Smith, called Elder Services, trains people who come in contact with the elderly - from bank tellers to postal carriers - to notice signs of trouble, such as mail piling up or bills going unpaid. Those people can then notify social workers.
In San Francisco, Patrick Arbore founded the Friendship Line in San Francisco in 1973 after seeing the lack of understanding some suicide hot line workers displayed for older people.
The line, which lets people call just to talk or get support, now handles more than 3,000 calls a month. About one-quarter of the callers have suicidal thoughts, a staffer said. But most just want a compassionate listener.
"It's about reminding people that they are still a part of their community," Arbore said. "Those connections bind us to life."
By Sarah Skidmore
Associated Press
KOREA: Age Discrimination at Work to Be Banned
SEOUL (Korea Times), September 18, 2007:
Discrimination by age in recruitment or employment procedures will be prohibited from late next year and from Jan. 1, 2010, "ageism in all areas" - salary, pay increases, retirement or dismissal - will also be strictly banned. Employers who violate the rule will face up to 30 million won in fines.
Under the revision of the bill on employees' status passed at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday, employers cannot discriminate against employees through wages, bonuses, fringe benefits, education, training and positions at workplaces without good reasons.
Also, those who have experienced unfair treatment can file a petition to the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, which will impose correctional measures on employers. The labor minister will issue a restraint or correctional order if the advice is not acted upon.
Those who refuse to submit documents on the outcome of the correction to the ministry will be fined up to five million won. If a whistleblower is punished for his or her action, employers will be imprisoned for up to two years or fined up to 10 million won.
However, differences in salary according to length of service and some specific fields, will be excluded from the regulations.
The government's decision was designed to remove all discrimination at the workplace stemming from a workers' age. Also, the Ministry of Labor expects the system to enhance the employment of seniors, who will make up a large portion of the population in the near future.
However, the move is expected to bring about employers' protest. When the government came up with the basic outline in April, leaders of the nation's five major business organizations including the Korea Employers Federation and the Federation of Korean Industries called for its withdrawal in May.
They asserted it would weaken corporate investment and force companies to reduce employment. They said that the government is pushing too hard for the protection of workers disregarding the reality of the market as well as individual company's policies, imposing a greater burden on corporate management and causing conflicts and confusion in management.
They also complained that the government is representing only the interests of workers without consulting management organizations.
By Bae Ji-sook
Copyright: KoreaTimes.co.kr
Discrimination by age in recruitment or employment procedures will be prohibited from late next year and from Jan. 1, 2010, "ageism in all areas" - salary, pay increases, retirement or dismissal - will also be strictly banned. Employers who violate the rule will face up to 30 million won in fines.
Under the revision of the bill on employees' status passed at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday, employers cannot discriminate against employees through wages, bonuses, fringe benefits, education, training and positions at workplaces without good reasons.
Also, those who have experienced unfair treatment can file a petition to the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, which will impose correctional measures on employers. The labor minister will issue a restraint or correctional order if the advice is not acted upon.
Those who refuse to submit documents on the outcome of the correction to the ministry will be fined up to five million won. If a whistleblower is punished for his or her action, employers will be imprisoned for up to two years or fined up to 10 million won.
However, differences in salary according to length of service and some specific fields, will be excluded from the regulations.
The government's decision was designed to remove all discrimination at the workplace stemming from a workers' age. Also, the Ministry of Labor expects the system to enhance the employment of seniors, who will make up a large portion of the population in the near future.
However, the move is expected to bring about employers' protest. When the government came up with the basic outline in April, leaders of the nation's five major business organizations including the Korea Employers Federation and the Federation of Korean Industries called for its withdrawal in May.
They asserted it would weaken corporate investment and force companies to reduce employment. They said that the government is pushing too hard for the protection of workers disregarding the reality of the market as well as individual company's policies, imposing a greater burden on corporate management and causing conflicts and confusion in management.
They also complained that the government is representing only the interests of workers without consulting management organizations.
By Bae Ji-sook
Copyright: KoreaTimes.co.kr
USA: Senators Seek Retirement, Health Care Reforms
WASHINGTON (Reuters), September 18, 2007:
The U.S. Senate's top budget overseers joined forces to tackle escalating costs of retirement and health care programs they say threaten to bankrupt the government, but they would wait until after next year's elections for recommendations to be made public.
"We're headed for a cliff," Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, a North Dakota Democrat, told reporters, citing a looming "explosion" in "baby boom" retirees who will automatically qualify for expensive federal benefits.
Members of the huge baby boom generation were born roughly from 1946 to 1964. Senators said they would push legislation this year establishing a bipartisan task force to look into reforms. But hoping to avoid congressional and presidential campaign politics that could doom their efforts, the task force report would not be delivered until December 9, 2008. National elections are a month earlier.
Baby boomer demands for Social Security retirement benefits and Medicare and Medicaid health care "will start to hit in 2010 and reach full force in 2025." Those senior citizens will create "a $62 trillion unfunded liability" for the U.S. government, Gregg said.
Supporters say they are willing to consider all remedies, tax increases and other new revenues would cause heartburn for Republicans and benefit cuts could be troubling to Democrats. President George W. Bush has advocated private investment accounts to fix Social Security, but that idea met stiff opposition from Democrats and never got off the ground.
By Richard Cowan
© Reuters 2006.
The U.S. Senate's top budget overseers joined forces to tackle escalating costs of retirement and health care programs they say threaten to bankrupt the government, but they would wait until after next year's elections for recommendations to be made public.
"We're headed for a cliff," Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, a North Dakota Democrat, told reporters, citing a looming "explosion" in "baby boom" retirees who will automatically qualify for expensive federal benefits.
Members of the huge baby boom generation were born roughly from 1946 to 1964. Senators said they would push legislation this year establishing a bipartisan task force to look into reforms. But hoping to avoid congressional and presidential campaign politics that could doom their efforts, the task force report would not be delivered until December 9, 2008. National elections are a month earlier.
Baby boomer demands for Social Security retirement benefits and Medicare and Medicaid health care "will start to hit in 2010 and reach full force in 2025." Those senior citizens will create "a $62 trillion unfunded liability" for the U.S. government, Gregg said.
Supporters say they are willing to consider all remedies, tax increases and other new revenues would cause heartburn for Republicans and benefit cuts could be troubling to Democrats. President George W. Bush has advocated private investment accounts to fix Social Security, but that idea met stiff opposition from Democrats and never got off the ground.
By Richard Cowan
© Reuters 2006.
CHINA: Bitter Foods Secret of Longevity?
BEIJING (China Daily - Nanchang Evening News), September 18, 2007:
A centenarian from a small village in Jiangxi Province, who looks after herself and still does her own embroidery work, has revealed the secret of aging gracefully.
The 105-year-old Chen Jinlan was born on August 20, 1902. She lives alone, cooks and cleans for herself every day.
She can remember century-old songs and even plays games with neighbors. Chen said the secret of longevity is working hard and eating healthy foods like fish, fruits and vegetables. Bitter foods are her favorites.
Copyright 1995-2007 China Daily
A centenarian from a small village in Jiangxi Province, who looks after herself and still does her own embroidery work, has revealed the secret of aging gracefully.
The 105-year-old Chen Jinlan was born on August 20, 1902. She lives alone, cooks and cleans for herself every day.
She can remember century-old songs and even plays games with neighbors. Chen said the secret of longevity is working hard and eating healthy foods like fish, fruits and vegetables. Bitter foods are her favorites.
Copyright 1995-2007 China Daily
USA: As Vitamins Go, D, You Are My Sunshine
Vitamin D is best known for building strong bones, but it may have another benefit: LONGEVITYWASHINGTON (Washington Post), September 18, 2007:
In a recent analysis of more than 18 studies involving nearly 60,000 people, those who took vitamin D supplements had a 7 percent reduction in mortality from all causes compared with those who didn't take the vitamin. The numbers improved slightly for people who took vitamin D for three years or more. They had an 8 percent lower risk of dying.
"The results are remarkable," notes Harvard School of Public Health's Edward Giovannucci in an editorial published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, where the study also appeared this month.
Even better, the study found no "negative surprises" from taking vitamin D, as long as doses were kept between 300 to 2,000 international units (IU) per day.
That's key because recent excitement over the health benefits of vitamins has been tempered by sobering results: Scandinavian studies, for example, found that smokers who took beta carotene -- converted in the body to vitamin A -- had an increased risk of developing lung cancer compared with those who didn't take the supplements.
These new findings add to the growing interest in vitamin D -- often dubbed the "sunshine vitamin" because in its natural form, the vitamin is produced by the skin under the sun's ultraviolet rays.
Beyond its proven bone benefits, vitamin D is critical for immunity, prompting production of antimicrobial substances that seem to act like natural antibiotics and antiviral agents.
Some experts think that the reduced sun exposure during winter could help account for the seasonal ebb and flow of colds and influenza. "It's always been a mystery why influenza disappears in the summertime," notes John J. Cannell, a psychiatrist at Atascadero State Hospital in California who heads the nonprofit Vitamin D Council.
Emerging research also points to a role for vitamin D in cancer prevention, particularly against breast, colon, prostate and lung tumors. Vitamin D could help with cancer treatment. One recent study found that lung cancer patients who either got a lot of sun or had a high intake of vitamin D had three times the survival rate of their counterparts with lower vitamin D levels.
Another possible benefit of vitamin D is prevention of Type 2 diabetes, which affects an estimated 17 million Americans. And in an upcoming paper, Cannell speculates, based on population studies, that vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy may play a role in the worldwide increase of childhood autism.
So how could one vitamin have so many potentially wide-ranging effects? Unlike other vitamins, D acts both as a vitamin and as a hormone that can be activated as needed by the body.
This wider role of vitamin D has led scientists to weigh whether the current recommended daily intake is high enough. In the meantime, a growing number of experts, including Harvard's Giovannucci, advise routine measurement of vitamin D blood levels to detect deficiencies that aren't severe enough to produce clinical signs.
"Given the high probability of benefit, and the low likelihood of harm, it seems prudent that physicians measure" levels in their patients, he writes.
Doing that will be costly: Vitamin D testing runs at least $100 per test. There are other drawbacks, too. No optimal blood levels have been set for the vitamin. (Unlike the international units used to gauge intake of vitamin D, blood levels are measured in nanograms per milliliter.) Giovannucci proposes 30 to 40 nanograms per milliliter as a "reasonable target."
Others aren't so sure. "At the moment, it's really difficult to be able to pinpoint whether a particular level can be used in all circumstances to say this person has the best level of vitamin D that they can have," says Ann Prentice, director of the Medical Research Council's Human Nutrition Research Laboratory in Cambridge, England. "Most of the work has been in the disease of old age and largely in Caucasians. We really don't know that those levels of vitamin D would provide the same benefits in children and pregnant women, or in different ethnic groups. There are lots of reasons to think that they probably wouldn't be."
So for now, Prentice lets her skin produce vitamin D by having brief bouts of sun exposure both in the U.K. and in Western Africa, where she does research.
But she advises her mother to take a vitamin D supplement. That's because her mother doesn't get much sun exposure, and with age, the skin's ability to produce vitamin D drops significantly. Adults 65 or older make only 25 percent of the vitamin D produced by those ages 20 to 30.
Here's how you can make sure you get enough vitamin D:
¿ Eat salmon or mackerel. Just 3.5 ounces of either provides 90 percent of the daily value for vitamin D. Other foods naturally rich in vitamin D include sardines, tuna, eggs and liver. Foods fortified with vitamin D include milk, margarine and some breakfast cereals.
¿ Grab a few rays. Emphasis here is on "few," since prolonged sun exposure increases risk of skin cancer significantly. Just 20 minutes of sun exposure without sunscreen enables the skin to produce about 20,000 IU of vitamin D. "You'd have to drink about 400 glasses of milk to get that same amount," Cannell notes. And contrary to taking mega doses of dietary supplements, it appears that sun exposure does not cause toxic levels of vitamin D.
¿ Take a vitamin D supplement. The National Academy of Sciences sets 200 IU per day as the adequate intake for those 19 to 50 years old; 400 IU for adults 51 to 70; and 600 IU for those 71 or older. In the latest study that showed the 7 percent reduction in mortality, the average intake was about 500 IU per day.
Too much vitamin D can be toxic -- the reason the National Academy of Sciences sets 2,000 IU per day as the tolerable upper limit for adults.
Multivitamins provide vitamin D, but the amount varies widely, so read the labels: Men's One-A-Day contains 400 IU; Centrum Silver has 500 IU; Women's One-A-Day contains 800 IU; and Nature Made Multivitamins provides 1,000 IU.
Many calcium supplements also contain vitamin D, providing between 200 and 400 IU. And single vitamin D supplements are another option. Just make sure that the combination of dietary supplements and food sources of vitamin D don't exceed the upper limit. Signs of toxicity, which include bone loss and kidney problems, begin at about 10,000 IU daily.
By Sally Squires
© 2007 The Washington Post Company
NEW ZEALAND: Call To Link Taxes On Homes Of Elderly With Inflation
TAURANGA, North Island (New Zealand), September 18, 2007:
A Tauranga City Council candidate is proposing a rates scheme he says could help elderly homeowners throughout the country struggling with crippling rate increases.
Graham Skellern, one of 28 candidates standing for a general seat in the coming city elections, wants rate rises limited to the equivalent of the consumers price index (CPI) for pensioners who own their own home.
At a public meeting yesterday, Mr Skellern said rising property values coupled with rates increases of up to 20 per cent were making life difficult for elderly homeowners in Tauranga.
"The beauty of my scheme is that people can carry on living in their houses in their retirement without the threat of being priced out of their homes by rising rates," he said.
Mr Skellern's proposal, called SkellyVision, is based on a similar scheme in California. Under it, superannuitants would make a claim to the council to stabilise their rates at the existing level. The maximum increase the homeowner would be required to pay until the house was sold, or he or she died, would be the CPI equivalent. The rates would then revert to the standard system, and if other senior citizens bought the house, they could make a claim based on the current levy.
Mr Skellern, 55, has calculated that 20 per cent of Tauranga's 45,000 households would qualify.
A senior business writer at the Bay of Plenty Times newspaper, he said rates affordability was one of the main issues facing elderly homeowners not just in Tauranga, but throughout the country.
Government statistics showed nearly 62 per cent of people aged 65 and over had little income other than superannuation. While admitting that Tauranga had a proportion of elderly ratepayers who were wealthy and unlikely to suffer as a result of rate rises, he said the majority were "feeling the pain".
"Something needs to be done to give them a bit of relief."
Mr Skellern said SkellyVision would not affect pensioners' eligibility for rates rebates and he believed the scheme would not substantially disadvantage the council.
Only about $700,000 a year would be lost as a result of removing elderly homeowners from the current rating system.
Tauranga MP Bob Clarkson was at the meeting and said he had spoken to Mr Skellern about the scheme after seeing it working overseas.
However, several of the group of about 30 people who attended the meeting said that while it might help 20 per cent of ratepayers, it would disadvantage the other 80 per cent, who would be left to pick up the bill.
By Juliet Rowan
Copyright ©2007, APN Holdings NZ Ltd
A Tauranga City Council candidate is proposing a rates scheme he says could help elderly homeowners throughout the country struggling with crippling rate increases.
Graham Skellern, one of 28 candidates standing for a general seat in the coming city elections, wants rate rises limited to the equivalent of the consumers price index (CPI) for pensioners who own their own home.
At a public meeting yesterday, Mr Skellern said rising property values coupled with rates increases of up to 20 per cent were making life difficult for elderly homeowners in Tauranga.
"The beauty of my scheme is that people can carry on living in their houses in their retirement without the threat of being priced out of their homes by rising rates," he said.
Mr Skellern's proposal, called SkellyVision, is based on a similar scheme in California. Under it, superannuitants would make a claim to the council to stabilise their rates at the existing level. The maximum increase the homeowner would be required to pay until the house was sold, or he or she died, would be the CPI equivalent. The rates would then revert to the standard system, and if other senior citizens bought the house, they could make a claim based on the current levy.
Mr Skellern, 55, has calculated that 20 per cent of Tauranga's 45,000 households would qualify.
A senior business writer at the Bay of Plenty Times newspaper, he said rates affordability was one of the main issues facing elderly homeowners not just in Tauranga, but throughout the country.
Government statistics showed nearly 62 per cent of people aged 65 and over had little income other than superannuation. While admitting that Tauranga had a proportion of elderly ratepayers who were wealthy and unlikely to suffer as a result of rate rises, he said the majority were "feeling the pain".
"Something needs to be done to give them a bit of relief."
Mr Skellern said SkellyVision would not affect pensioners' eligibility for rates rebates and he believed the scheme would not substantially disadvantage the council.
Only about $700,000 a year would be lost as a result of removing elderly homeowners from the current rating system.
Tauranga MP Bob Clarkson was at the meeting and said he had spoken to Mr Skellern about the scheme after seeing it working overseas.
However, several of the group of about 30 people who attended the meeting said that while it might help 20 per cent of ratepayers, it would disadvantage the other 80 per cent, who would be left to pick up the bill.
By Juliet Rowan
Copyright ©2007, APN Holdings NZ Ltd
INDIA: Senior Citizens Are The Wealthiest Consumers
MUMBAI (Rediff.com), September 18, 2007:
The 50-plus generation, also defined as the silver generation, is the wealthiest and fastest growing group of consumers in India. Their population is expected to increase from 80 million, at present, to 96 million by 2011, according to a study by Harmony for Silvers Foundation (HSF), a local non-governmental organisation.
"Even if marketers focus on the 25 per cent in the urban areas, it is a huge segment," said Tina Ambani of Harmony. "Though the sheer number of silvers in India makes them a huge force to reckon with as they have a huge spending power, companies have not paid enough attention to this segment," said Ambani.
While everyone from economists and management consulting firms use the promise of a "Young India" as a compelling argument to pit India against an "Ageing China", the study says marketers might be missing the big picture.
"The silvers might not splurge on luxury products, but it is incorrect to assume that older consumers are resistant to change," she said. "They are the charmed generation, which has a level of spending power unlikely to be matched by future generations."
According to the study, around 1.2 million silver generation consumers own cellphones. Categories such as apparel, shoes or even sanitaryware could develop products designed to suit the needs of the silver generation, according to Ambani.
By Prasad Sangameshwaran
The 50-plus generation, also defined as the silver generation, is the wealthiest and fastest growing group of consumers in India. Their population is expected to increase from 80 million, at present, to 96 million by 2011, according to a study by Harmony for Silvers Foundation (HSF), a local non-governmental organisation.
"Even if marketers focus on the 25 per cent in the urban areas, it is a huge segment," said Tina Ambani of Harmony. "Though the sheer number of silvers in India makes them a huge force to reckon with as they have a huge spending power, companies have not paid enough attention to this segment," said Ambani.
While everyone from economists and management consulting firms use the promise of a "Young India" as a compelling argument to pit India against an "Ageing China", the study says marketers might be missing the big picture.
"The silvers might not splurge on luxury products, but it is incorrect to assume that older consumers are resistant to change," she said. "They are the charmed generation, which has a level of spending power unlikely to be matched by future generations."
According to the study, around 1.2 million silver generation consumers own cellphones. Categories such as apparel, shoes or even sanitaryware could develop products designed to suit the needs of the silver generation, according to Ambani.
By Prasad Sangameshwaran
SINGAPORE: Going Soft on National Longevity Insurance Scheme?
SINGAPORE (TODAYonline), September 18, 2007:
The idea of a "longevity insurance" makes much sense for Singapore's rapidly ageing society. But add an element of compulsion to it, and many start viewing the proposed annuity scheme in a less favourable light.
In a tacit acknowledgment of public concerns over the plan, the Government has given its strongest indication yet that it would adopt a flexible approach in implementing the National Longevity Insurance Scheme.
Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen told Parliament on September 17 that a new committee would be formed to study how best to roll out the scheme.
Dr Ng said the Government recognises that each Central Provident Fund (CPF) member has different needs when it comes to saving for their old age.
"We should be flexible in accommodating the different circumstances of members, and offer different ways to provide for their full life expectancy.
"He can do this either by buying longevity insurance or by stretching out his RA (Retirement Account) money to last longer and so reduce the need for longevity insurance. So long as he has provided for his old age, and will not run out of savings prematurely, we should be satisfied," said Dr Ng.
For Full Report visit:
http://www.todayonline.com/
By Lee U-Wen
Copyright ©2005 MediaCorp Press Ltd
The idea of a "longevity insurance" makes much sense for Singapore's rapidly ageing society. But add an element of compulsion to it, and many start viewing the proposed annuity scheme in a less favourable light.
In a tacit acknowledgment of public concerns over the plan, the Government has given its strongest indication yet that it would adopt a flexible approach in implementing the National Longevity Insurance Scheme.
Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen told Parliament on September 17 that a new committee would be formed to study how best to roll out the scheme.
Dr Ng said the Government recognises that each Central Provident Fund (CPF) member has different needs when it comes to saving for their old age.
"We should be flexible in accommodating the different circumstances of members, and offer different ways to provide for their full life expectancy.
"He can do this either by buying longevity insurance or by stretching out his RA (Retirement Account) money to last longer and so reduce the need for longevity insurance. So long as he has provided for his old age, and will not run out of savings prematurely, we should be satisfied," said Dr Ng.
For Full Report visit:
http://www.todayonline.com/
By Lee U-Wen
Copyright ©2005 MediaCorp Press Ltd
CUBA: Rising Elderly Population Creates Greater Need For Resources
Cuba's many elderly are creating greater need for resources. By 2025, 26 percent of Cuba's population will be 60 or older, making it one of the top countries in the world for percentage of elderly population.
HABANA, Cuba (Cuba Headlines - Ciudad Habana), September 18, 2007:
The ladies at Havana's Siervas de San Jose Home for Elderly Women laugh and chat in the sunny courtyard of the historic mansion, clapping their hands and singing when visitors arrive.
"I like to speak English, but Spanish is sweeter," said Marianne Blanco,89, a small, sprightly woman with curly white hair and a face somehow girlish despite her age.
The residential home for seniors is somewhat rare in Cuba, where families traditionally care for their aging relatives in the home. But with scarce resources and a growing elderly population, Cuba faces a challenge in coming years in caring for its seniors.
Government officials estimate that by 2025, 26 percent of Cuba's population will be 60 or older, making it one of the top countries in the world for percentage of elderly population.
"In a few years, it is almost certain that the demand for senior citizen centers, dining halls, homes and other senior citizen facilities will exceed the new factories and schools," Cuba's leading newspaper, Granma, reported last year.
It is a story not unlike those running in the U.S. press, where a huge generation of baby boomers will soon retire, raising concerns about the solvency of the Social Security system and how society will provide for the elderly.
In some ways, the challenge in Cuba is because of the communist island's claims of success in the public-health field. While its per capita income is low Cuba has managed to vault past other Third World countries by raising the life expectancy of its citizens to 77 years, on a par with the United States and ranking well among prosperous nations.
Cuban officials point to their public-health system and preventive care as explanations, although critics say the island's poor often have trouble obtaining care and medicines, and the life expectancy figures are padded by a low birth rate and high level of emigration.
A leader in Cuba's geriatric field is Dr. Eugenio Selman, who in 2003 founded the "120 Years Club," claiming that Cubans -- and other people around the world -- can live to the ripe old age of 120. "The possibility exists," said Selman, still forceful at 77 and president of the club, which has about 5,000 members in countries around the world. "Our 2002 Census showed Cuba now has over 2,000 people who are past 100 years old."
Selman advocates a program much like that of other researchers, insisting that good diet, motivation, exercise, good health care, culture and a healthy environment are keys to long life.
At the Siervas de San Jose Home, Sister Paquita Pedrido, a Spanish Catholic nun who runs the facility, says she has been impressed by Cuba's concern for the elderly.
"Cubans often live long lives," she said. "We had one grandmother who lived to 101. I believe it is because they worked hard all their lives and they have the support of their families and the community."
The home -- which Pedrido said is aided by funds from the Cuban government-- has about two dozen full-time elderly residents who no longer have families to take care of them. Another 30 or so women come to the home each day for meals and activities, then return home to their families in the evening.
"I believe the health and education systems in Cuba are also factors in people living long lives," Pedrido said. "Families here get lots of information on preventive care, and they take a great interest in health."
Still, the challenge facing Cuba and its growing population of elderly is significant. Retired workers expect support from the state, and as their numbers increase, the burden on the government will grow.
Selman believes the state will meet the challenge of caring for the elderly, and says his experience in promoting the 120 Years Club convinces him there will be a growing global movement, too.
"We announced the formation of our club on a Friday," he said. "On Monday morning, we had 321 e-mails from people wanting to join, from as far away as Nigeria and Japan."
By Mike Williams, Orlando Sentinel
Copyright 2006-2007 Cuba Headlines
HABANA, Cuba (Cuba Headlines - Ciudad Habana), September 18, 2007:
The ladies at Havana's Siervas de San Jose Home for Elderly Women laugh and chat in the sunny courtyard of the historic mansion, clapping their hands and singing when visitors arrive.
"I like to speak English, but Spanish is sweeter," said Marianne Blanco,89, a small, sprightly woman with curly white hair and a face somehow girlish despite her age.
The residential home for seniors is somewhat rare in Cuba, where families traditionally care for their aging relatives in the home. But with scarce resources and a growing elderly population, Cuba faces a challenge in coming years in caring for its seniors.
Government officials estimate that by 2025, 26 percent of Cuba's population will be 60 or older, making it one of the top countries in the world for percentage of elderly population.
"In a few years, it is almost certain that the demand for senior citizen centers, dining halls, homes and other senior citizen facilities will exceed the new factories and schools," Cuba's leading newspaper, Granma, reported last year.
It is a story not unlike those running in the U.S. press, where a huge generation of baby boomers will soon retire, raising concerns about the solvency of the Social Security system and how society will provide for the elderly.
In some ways, the challenge in Cuba is because of the communist island's claims of success in the public-health field. While its per capita income is low Cuba has managed to vault past other Third World countries by raising the life expectancy of its citizens to 77 years, on a par with the United States and ranking well among prosperous nations.
Cuban officials point to their public-health system and preventive care as explanations, although critics say the island's poor often have trouble obtaining care and medicines, and the life expectancy figures are padded by a low birth rate and high level of emigration.
A leader in Cuba's geriatric field is Dr. Eugenio Selman, who in 2003 founded the "120 Years Club," claiming that Cubans -- and other people around the world -- can live to the ripe old age of 120. "The possibility exists," said Selman, still forceful at 77 and president of the club, which has about 5,000 members in countries around the world. "Our 2002 Census showed Cuba now has over 2,000 people who are past 100 years old."
Selman advocates a program much like that of other researchers, insisting that good diet, motivation, exercise, good health care, culture and a healthy environment are keys to long life.
At the Siervas de San Jose Home, Sister Paquita Pedrido, a Spanish Catholic nun who runs the facility, says she has been impressed by Cuba's concern for the elderly.
"Cubans often live long lives," she said. "We had one grandmother who lived to 101. I believe it is because they worked hard all their lives and they have the support of their families and the community."
The home -- which Pedrido said is aided by funds from the Cuban government-- has about two dozen full-time elderly residents who no longer have families to take care of them. Another 30 or so women come to the home each day for meals and activities, then return home to their families in the evening.
"I believe the health and education systems in Cuba are also factors in people living long lives," Pedrido said. "Families here get lots of information on preventive care, and they take a great interest in health."
Still, the challenge facing Cuba and its growing population of elderly is significant. Retired workers expect support from the state, and as their numbers increase, the burden on the government will grow.
Selman believes the state will meet the challenge of caring for the elderly, and says his experience in promoting the 120 Years Club convinces him there will be a growing global movement, too.
"We announced the formation of our club on a Friday," he said. "On Monday morning, we had 321 e-mails from people wanting to join, from as far away as Nigeria and Japan."
By Mike Williams, Orlando Sentinel
Copyright 2006-2007 Cuba Headlines
INDIA: Senior Citizen Red Carpet Good Health Policies Now Available On Line
CHENNAI (Financial Express), September 17, 2007:
If you are aged between 60 and 69, Star Health & Allied Insurance Ltd, the standalone health insurer, has started selling its Star Senior Citizens Red Carpet policies through its website, www.starhealth.in.
Policies sold on its website don’t require medical check-ups or paperwork. After answering a few questions, consumers get to know the premium and they can define their terms of coverage. They will need to fill an application form online and pay through a credit card. An e-copy of the policy will be delivered to them in minutes, the physical policy a few days later.
Star has also launched an exclusive policy for senior citizens, Star Senior Citizens
Red Carpet, for individuals of 60-69 years of age. The policy doesn’t require a medical check-up.
© 2007: Indian Express Newspapers (Mumbai) Ltd.
If you are aged between 60 and 69, Star Health & Allied Insurance Ltd, the standalone health insurer, has started selling its Star Senior Citizens Red Carpet policies through its website, www.starhealth.in.
Policies sold on its website don’t require medical check-ups or paperwork. After answering a few questions, consumers get to know the premium and they can define their terms of coverage. They will need to fill an application form online and pay through a credit card. An e-copy of the policy will be delivered to them in minutes, the physical policy a few days later.
Star has also launched an exclusive policy for senior citizens, Star Senior Citizens Red Carpet, for individuals of 60-69 years of age. The policy doesn’t require a medical check-up.
© 2007: Indian Express Newspapers (Mumbai) Ltd.
CZECH REPUBLIC: Providers Urge Seniors Away From Pension Cliff Edge
PRAGUE (Czech Business Week), September 17, 2007:
The current pay-as-you-go Czech pension system is simply not sustainable. The low performance of the pension budget, the country’s aging population and the inability of the Parliament to pass any significant pension reform has made it inherently obvious for years that it is on the verge of collapse, experts say.
In line with the published findings of a Ministry of Finance expert group headed by Vladimír Bezděk that was assembled in July 2005 charged with analyzing variants of pension reform, the prevailing overall consensus is that the Czech Republic’s social security system will not survive another 20 years.
Investment research division Standard & Poors, a part of the McGraw-Hill Companies, said last year that at the current rate of increasing liability the pay-as-you-go system is racking up debt levels that would rise to 413 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 2050 if left unimpeded.
Observers therefore conclude that it could not be more apparent that the pension reform issue has been put on the political back burner, and that it is time for Czechs to research the best option for themselves to ensure they have a realistic retirement plan.
By Steven Meister
For Full Report Visit: http://www.cbw.cz/
©2004 - 2007 Stanford, a. s.
The current pay-as-you-go Czech pension system is simply not sustainable. The low performance of the pension budget, the country’s aging population and the inability of the Parliament to pass any significant pension reform has made it inherently obvious for years that it is on the verge of collapse, experts say.
In line with the published findings of a Ministry of Finance expert group headed by Vladimír Bezděk that was assembled in July 2005 charged with analyzing variants of pension reform, the prevailing overall consensus is that the Czech Republic’s social security system will not survive another 20 years.
Investment research division Standard & Poors, a part of the McGraw-Hill Companies, said last year that at the current rate of increasing liability the pay-as-you-go system is racking up debt levels that would rise to 413 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 2050 if left unimpeded.
Observers therefore conclude that it could not be more apparent that the pension reform issue has been put on the political back burner, and that it is time for Czechs to research the best option for themselves to ensure they have a realistic retirement plan.
By Steven Meister
For Full Report Visit: http://www.cbw.cz/
©2004 - 2007 Stanford, a. s.
JAPAN: Retirees Have Money, But No Idea Where To Spend It!
Japanese women clad in kimonos arrive at a Kabuki theatre in Tokyo
TOKYO (International Herald Tribune - Reuters), September 17, 2007:
When Hisashi Negishi retired, he paid off his mortgage and bought himself a $6,000 flat-panel TV and a new car to last the rest of his life. That was two years ago. Since then, he hasn't bought much of anything.
"There's nothing else I really want to buy, and I have no idea how to spend my money," the 63-year-old former businessman said. "There's not that much out there for seniors."
Negishi's dilemma is also the growing challenge facing much of corporate Japan as it grapples with the task of marketing to and making money from the world's most rapidly aging population.
It is not that Japanese seniors, whose numbers are set to jump as the nation's baby boomers start to retire this year, have no money.
Negishi said that with the house and the kids' education paid for, he and his wife probably have more disposable income than before. Like Negishi, many will go through an initial bout of spending that represents a pat on the back for decades of work.
But luring retirees, who have one eye on their potential to live for many more years, to part with their money beyond shopping for daily goods is for many companies a new and difficult exercise in enticement.
"The senior market is not an easy one," said Yoshiaki Saito, general manager at Nomura Research Institute's consulting division. "Seniors don't spend big, they have a lot of time to pick and choose and, if they don't like what they get, they complain."
To be sure, Japan has been aging for some time, and a sprinkling of innovative products have emerged.
Nintendo's "Brain Age" mind-training game is a golden example - a success among the grandparent set that has also caught on among young people, with sales of the series at 14 million units worldwide.
"There are big opportunities for products that can claim to help retard the aging process - for example, to help prevent Alzheimer's," said William Hall, president of the market research firm Synovate Healthcare Japan.
Kanebo, a cosmetic unit of Kao, has won over customers with its Evita line of cosmetics that target the over-50 market with "50+" emblazoned on the package in large characters. Kanebo hopes to develop it into a brand with sales of more than ¥10 billion, or $85 million, by 2010.
Other examples include "easy phones" from Fujitsu that have bigger buttons and clearer sound quality for the hard of hearing. Toto sells the "Toilet Lift," a motorized device that fits between the toilet seat and bowl and helps push up elderly bottoms for those with wobbly legs.
But reality often fails to match expectations. The tech sector has developed and continues to work on a array of robots to help the elderly, but successful examples are hard to find.
Industries like home renovation, wealth management and golf, touted as benefiting from the legion of retiring baby boomers, are still waiting for significant growth.
There is also no getting past the fact that Japan's low birth rate and shrinking population mean a smaller market.
Toyota Motor may be trouncing the competition abroad, but at home, like other Japanese carmakers, it has seen sales fall for the past two years. For many larger firms the response is to seek more growth overseas.
Japan Tobacco cited an aging and shrinking population for its purchase of the British company Gallaher - the biggest acquisition of a foreign firm by a Japanese company. The Japanese brewer Kirin Holdings and the retail giant Aeon have also made it clear that they intend to expand abroad.
But not every firm is in a position to pursue an aggressive overseas expansion policy, and in sectors like retail, seen as the hardest hit by the exit of baby-boomers from the work force, major changes in strategy are afoot.
Department stores cited the nation's changing demographics as a key factor behind recent mergers, with Isetan taking over Mitsukoshi and two others joining hands to form J. Front Retailing.
In the convenience store sector, where industry same-store sales have fallen for the past nine years, Lawson has taken the bull by the horns with its new "Lawson Plus" brand stores.
When located in areas dominated by seniors, they offer hair dye, false teeth cleansers and flowers to place on graves as well as fresh vegetables. Some also have areas for people to sit and chat, massage chairs and machines to check blood pressure.
Sales have jumped at the revamped stores, and Lawson says the brand may grow to account for one-third to half of its outlets.
The most successful products are perhaps most visible in the mundane essentials of life.
Mizuno expects sales of its senior-friendly walking shoes to jump 25 percent this year and again in 2008 to 500,000 pairs.
And an underwear brand for ladies in their 60s, made by Wacoal, has registered double-digit growth for the past five years, offering long girdles that support the knee and camisoles that improve posture.
By Edwina Gibbs
Copyright © 2007 International Herald Tribune
TOKYO (International Herald Tribune - Reuters), September 17, 2007:
When Hisashi Negishi retired, he paid off his mortgage and bought himself a $6,000 flat-panel TV and a new car to last the rest of his life. That was two years ago. Since then, he hasn't bought much of anything.
"There's nothing else I really want to buy, and I have no idea how to spend my money," the 63-year-old former businessman said. "There's not that much out there for seniors."
Negishi's dilemma is also the growing challenge facing much of corporate Japan as it grapples with the task of marketing to and making money from the world's most rapidly aging population.
It is not that Japanese seniors, whose numbers are set to jump as the nation's baby boomers start to retire this year, have no money.
Negishi said that with the house and the kids' education paid for, he and his wife probably have more disposable income than before. Like Negishi, many will go through an initial bout of spending that represents a pat on the back for decades of work.
But luring retirees, who have one eye on their potential to live for many more years, to part with their money beyond shopping for daily goods is for many companies a new and difficult exercise in enticement.
"The senior market is not an easy one," said Yoshiaki Saito, general manager at Nomura Research Institute's consulting division. "Seniors don't spend big, they have a lot of time to pick and choose and, if they don't like what they get, they complain."
To be sure, Japan has been aging for some time, and a sprinkling of innovative products have emerged.
Nintendo's "Brain Age" mind-training game is a golden example - a success among the grandparent set that has also caught on among young people, with sales of the series at 14 million units worldwide.
"There are big opportunities for products that can claim to help retard the aging process - for example, to help prevent Alzheimer's," said William Hall, president of the market research firm Synovate Healthcare Japan.
Kanebo, a cosmetic unit of Kao, has won over customers with its Evita line of cosmetics that target the over-50 market with "50+" emblazoned on the package in large characters. Kanebo hopes to develop it into a brand with sales of more than ¥10 billion, or $85 million, by 2010.
Other examples include "easy phones" from Fujitsu that have bigger buttons and clearer sound quality for the hard of hearing. Toto sells the "Toilet Lift," a motorized device that fits between the toilet seat and bowl and helps push up elderly bottoms for those with wobbly legs.
But reality often fails to match expectations. The tech sector has developed and continues to work on a array of robots to help the elderly, but successful examples are hard to find.
Industries like home renovation, wealth management and golf, touted as benefiting from the legion of retiring baby boomers, are still waiting for significant growth.
There is also no getting past the fact that Japan's low birth rate and shrinking population mean a smaller market.
Toyota Motor may be trouncing the competition abroad, but at home, like other Japanese carmakers, it has seen sales fall for the past two years. For many larger firms the response is to seek more growth overseas.
Japan Tobacco cited an aging and shrinking population for its purchase of the British company Gallaher - the biggest acquisition of a foreign firm by a Japanese company. The Japanese brewer Kirin Holdings and the retail giant Aeon have also made it clear that they intend to expand abroad.
But not every firm is in a position to pursue an aggressive overseas expansion policy, and in sectors like retail, seen as the hardest hit by the exit of baby-boomers from the work force, major changes in strategy are afoot.
Department stores cited the nation's changing demographics as a key factor behind recent mergers, with Isetan taking over Mitsukoshi and two others joining hands to form J. Front Retailing.
In the convenience store sector, where industry same-store sales have fallen for the past nine years, Lawson has taken the bull by the horns with its new "Lawson Plus" brand stores.
When located in areas dominated by seniors, they offer hair dye, false teeth cleansers and flowers to place on graves as well as fresh vegetables. Some also have areas for people to sit and chat, massage chairs and machines to check blood pressure.
Sales have jumped at the revamped stores, and Lawson says the brand may grow to account for one-third to half of its outlets.
The most successful products are perhaps most visible in the mundane essentials of life.
Mizuno expects sales of its senior-friendly walking shoes to jump 25 percent this year and again in 2008 to 500,000 pairs.
And an underwear brand for ladies in their 60s, made by Wacoal, has registered double-digit growth for the past five years, offering long girdles that support the knee and camisoles that improve posture.
By Edwina Gibbs
Copyright © 2007 International Herald Tribune
USA: Life Expectancy Hits New High
WASHINGTON DC (Voice of America News), September 17, 2007:
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released figures that show Americans are living longer. Experts attribute the longevity to better treatment for heart disease, cancer and stroke - and also that Americans may be taking better care of themselves. But as VOA's Melinda Smith reports, the U.S. lifespan is still behind the longevity rates of some other countries.
Laughter has special benefits for the elderly
America in the 1950s: the average life expectancy of a baby born in 1955 was 69 years old. Forty years later - in 1995 - longevity in the United States was up to 76 years of age. The latest numbers from the National Center for Health Statistics put life expectancy at a new high. A baby born in 2005 -- the latest year for records compiled in the U.S. -- can now expect to live at least to 78 years.
Robert Anderson of the National Center for Health Statistics says it is part of a decades-long trend. "Over a century, life expectancies [have] increased and I don't really have any reason to expect that it won't continue to do so."
Americans are living longer
Doctors believe the longevity rate is up because fewer people are smoking and more people are taking medications to cut back levels of cholesterol and blood pressure. The result: lower death rates from heart disease, stroke and cancer of the lung, breast and colon.
Dr. Bruce Johnson is with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. He says, "People are listening. They are getting themselves screened. They are having their cancers identified at an earlier stage, when more effective treatments are available, and they are also seeking treatments to prevent it from coming back."
Americans also seem to have gotten the message that exercise is good for the body and brain, says dance teacher Lynne Osborne. "Use it or lose it. [exercise often]. And that is very, very true."
While many Americans are living longer, they are not living as long as people in some other countries. The United States is way behind Japan, Singapore, much of Europe and Jordan. Researchers say socialized medical care, available to all in many countries, is a major factor. In the United States, there are still a number of Americans who cannot afford the cost of private health insurance.
Those babies born a half century ago -- who are part of the baby boom generation born after World War Two -- are now getting old. Experts say that may be why there has been an increase in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, two diseases that often occur among the elderly.
By Melinda Smith
Copyright VoA News
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released figures that show Americans are living longer. Experts attribute the longevity to better treatment for heart disease, cancer and stroke - and also that Americans may be taking better care of themselves. But as VOA's Melinda Smith reports, the U.S. lifespan is still behind the longevity rates of some other countries.
Laughter has special benefits for the elderly
America in the 1950s: the average life expectancy of a baby born in 1955 was 69 years old. Forty years later - in 1995 - longevity in the United States was up to 76 years of age. The latest numbers from the National Center for Health Statistics put life expectancy at a new high. A baby born in 2005 -- the latest year for records compiled in the U.S. -- can now expect to live at least to 78 years.
Robert Anderson of the National Center for Health Statistics says it is part of a decades-long trend. "Over a century, life expectancies [have] increased and I don't really have any reason to expect that it won't continue to do so."
Americans are living longerDoctors believe the longevity rate is up because fewer people are smoking and more people are taking medications to cut back levels of cholesterol and blood pressure. The result: lower death rates from heart disease, stroke and cancer of the lung, breast and colon.
Dr. Bruce Johnson is with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. He says, "People are listening. They are getting themselves screened. They are having their cancers identified at an earlier stage, when more effective treatments are available, and they are also seeking treatments to prevent it from coming back."
Americans also seem to have gotten the message that exercise is good for the body and brain, says dance teacher Lynne Osborne. "Use it or lose it. [exercise often]. And that is very, very true."
While many Americans are living longer, they are not living as long as people in some other countries. The United States is way behind Japan, Singapore, much of Europe and Jordan. Researchers say socialized medical care, available to all in many countries, is a major factor. In the United States, there are still a number of Americans who cannot afford the cost of private health insurance.
Those babies born a half century ago -- who are part of the baby boom generation born after World War Two -- are now getting old. Experts say that may be why there has been an increase in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, two diseases that often occur among the elderly.
By Melinda Smith
Copyright VoA News
USA: Gene Abnormality May Lead to Parkinson's
WASHINGTON (Globe and Mail - Reuters), September 17, 2007:
Scientists found a genetic abnormality that may greatly raise the likelihood of developing early Parkinson's disease, and said on September 17 their finding could lead to new treatments for the fatal brain ailment.
Lorraine Clark of Columbia University in New York and other researchers looked at the genes of 278 people who have Parkinson's and another 179 people who do not.
Mutations in a gene, dubbed GBA, were present in 22 per cent of those whose Parkinson's began before age 50, compared to 10 per cent of those whose Parkinson's began after age 50, as it does in most instances, the study showed.
On average, those with the gene abnormality developed Parkinson's almost two years sooner than people without it.
Mutations in the gene were seen in 14 per cent of the people with the disease and 5 per cent of those who do not, the researchers wrote in the journal Neurology.
"This gene probably is one risk factor for early-onset Parkinson's disease, and may turn out to be one of the most important genes identified to date, based on the frequency of the mutations we are findings in early-onset cases," Dr. Clark said in a telephone interview.
While the condition most often develops after age 65, 15 per cent of those diagnosed with it are under age 50, according to the National Parkinson Foundation.
Parkinson's affects nerve cells in the area of the brain responsible for muscle movement, and is marked by a shortage of the brain chemical dopamine. Its symptoms worsen over time.
The main symptoms include trembling, muscle rigidity, slow movement and impaired balance and co-ordination. It progresses to virtual paralysis and death. There are treatments, but they stop working after time.
By Will Dunham
© Copyright 2007 CTVglobemedia Publishing Inc.
Scientists found a genetic abnormality that may greatly raise the likelihood of developing early Parkinson's disease, and said on September 17 their finding could lead to new treatments for the fatal brain ailment.
Lorraine Clark of Columbia University in New York and other researchers looked at the genes of 278 people who have Parkinson's and another 179 people who do not.
Mutations in a gene, dubbed GBA, were present in 22 per cent of those whose Parkinson's began before age 50, compared to 10 per cent of those whose Parkinson's began after age 50, as it does in most instances, the study showed.
On average, those with the gene abnormality developed Parkinson's almost two years sooner than people without it.
Mutations in the gene were seen in 14 per cent of the people with the disease and 5 per cent of those who do not, the researchers wrote in the journal Neurology.
"This gene probably is one risk factor for early-onset Parkinson's disease, and may turn out to be one of the most important genes identified to date, based on the frequency of the mutations we are findings in early-onset cases," Dr. Clark said in a telephone interview.
While the condition most often develops after age 65, 15 per cent of those diagnosed with it are under age 50, according to the National Parkinson Foundation.
Parkinson's affects nerve cells in the area of the brain responsible for muscle movement, and is marked by a shortage of the brain chemical dopamine. Its symptoms worsen over time.
The main symptoms include trembling, muscle rigidity, slow movement and impaired balance and co-ordination. It progresses to virtual paralysis and death. There are treatments, but they stop working after time.
By Will Dunham
© Copyright 2007 CTVglobemedia Publishing Inc.
JAPAN: Celebrating 'KEIRO no Hi' or Respect-for-the-Aged Day'
Some senior citizens celebrate their longevity with their family. Photo: Akira Murakami.Monday, September 17, 2007 is a national holiday in Japan, called Keiro no Hi, or Respect-for-the-Aged Day.
When it was first named a day for elderly citizens in 1951 it was called Toshiyori no Hi, or old people's day. It was designated a national holiday in 1966, and its name was also changed. Keiro no Hi is a day when one shows respect to long-time contributors to society, celebrates their longevity, prays for their health, gains greater awareness and understanding of welfare issues confronting the elderly, and thinks about how welfare services can be improved.
Artist: Akira KajiuraBecause Respect-for-the-Aged Day is a relatively new holiday, there are no customs particularly associated with this day. Usually, though, cultural programs and athletic events spotlighting the elderly are held in the community. In some elementary schools, kids draw pictures or make simple handicraft items to present to their grandparents or residents of nursing homes. The Tokyo metropolitan government usually holds a ceremony to honor the older residents of the prefecture and also sponsors a number of events. The governor of Tokyo visits centenarians and presents them with commemorative gifts.
Japan has the longest life expectancy of any country in the world.
CANADA: How Do I Ensure Independent Help Is There When I Need It?
VANCOUVER (Canada.com - The Province), September 17, 2007:
What's the best way to save or plan (financially speaking) for the possibility of one day needing long-term care? Several of my friends have recently become very reliant on their family for support, and I'd like to be able to provide for myself.
This is quickly becoming a huge concern for many seniors, especially here in British Columbia. As the number of seniors is expected to double over the next 10 to 15 years, government-backed programs for senior care could become even more strained. The longer we live, the more likely we'll need some form of long-term care in our later years.
Recently, a number of Canadian insurers have introduced long-term-care insurance (LTCI). Although it's expensive and somewhat complex, this type of coverage is a viable alternative for many adults sharing your concerns -- seniors or otherwise.
LTCI is designed to provide income if you become unable to care for yourself as a result of an accident, illness or deteriorated mental abilities. Even though many of the policies available now appear similar at first glance, a little homework reveals that different companies offer substantially different coverage. For instance, one insurer will reimburse eligible expenses (to a limit) while another will make a daily or monthly allowance available for you to allocate as you wish (even to a helping family member).
To be sure, considering what tradeoffs (giving up part of your disposable income now) and risks you are prepared to live with is no easy decision.
Consulting a specialist to help you find the plan most suitable for you would be a good start towards making an informed decision.
By Chris Carter, The Province
© The Vancouver Province 2007
What's the best way to save or plan (financially speaking) for the possibility of one day needing long-term care? Several of my friends have recently become very reliant on their family for support, and I'd like to be able to provide for myself.
This is quickly becoming a huge concern for many seniors, especially here in British Columbia. As the number of seniors is expected to double over the next 10 to 15 years, government-backed programs for senior care could become even more strained. The longer we live, the more likely we'll need some form of long-term care in our later years.
Recently, a number of Canadian insurers have introduced long-term-care insurance (LTCI). Although it's expensive and somewhat complex, this type of coverage is a viable alternative for many adults sharing your concerns -- seniors or otherwise.
LTCI is designed to provide income if you become unable to care for yourself as a result of an accident, illness or deteriorated mental abilities. Even though many of the policies available now appear similar at first glance, a little homework reveals that different companies offer substantially different coverage. For instance, one insurer will reimburse eligible expenses (to a limit) while another will make a daily or monthly allowance available for you to allocate as you wish (even to a helping family member).
To be sure, considering what tradeoffs (giving up part of your disposable income now) and risks you are prepared to live with is no easy decision.
Consulting a specialist to help you find the plan most suitable for you would be a good start towards making an informed decision.
By Chris Carter, The Province
© The Vancouver Province 2007
CANADA: National Seniors Council Holds Meetings on Elder Abuse
TORONTO, Ontario(Human Resources & Social Development Canada), September 17, 2007:
Today in Toronto, the National Seniors Council (NSC) will bring together experts and stakeholders to engage in a discussion concerning elder abuse and how to better address it.
The National Seniors Council was established to advise Canada's New Government on seniors' issues of national importance, and to help ensure that federal government policies, programs and services continue to meet the evolving needs of Canada's aging population. Elder abuse is one of its first priority issues.
"Elder abuse remains largely hidden behind closed doors because many seniors who experience abuse are isolated or reluctant to speak out. In holding these meetings, we are exploring ways to address elder abuse in all its ugly forms," said the Honourable Marjory LeBreton, Leader of the Government in the Senate and Secretary of State (Seniors).
"Most importantly, our government is intent on breaking down the barriers and showing seniors and all Canadians that elder abuse exists, and it is not tolerated. It is important that people know that there is help available in our communities."
According to the World Health Organization, elder abuse usually occurs in relationships where there is an expectation of trust. Abuse can take many forms including physical, emotional, verbal or financial. Neglect is also considered a form of abuse.
"The abuse of older adults is undeniably a sensitive matter," said Mr. Jean-Guy Souliere, Chair of the National Seniors Council. "Participants in these meetings represent a range of views and the broad interests of seniors and community organizations. By listening to the voices of experience, I know we can find ways that will make a difference."
Later this year, the National Seniors Council will submit a report to the Government providing details of the meetings' discussions.
The Government of Canada already has in place a number of initiatives to help combat elder abuse:
- Budget 2007 announced the expansion of the New Horizons for Seniors Program by $10 million per year, with a portion of the new funding to be used for education about elder abuse and fraud.
- In addition, the Family Violence Initiative (FVI)(http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/ncfv-cnivf/familyviolence/initiative_e.html), coordinated by the Public Health Agency of Canada, consists of 15 member departments, and promotes public awareness of the risk factors of family violence, and the need for public involvement in responding to it. The FVI has identified the abuse of older adults as an issue warranting specific attention. As well, the Agency's Population Health Fund is supporting a project by the University of Toronto to enhance community capacity and respond to abuse and neglect in long-term care.
- Through the Forum of Federal-Provincial-Territorial Ministers responsible for Seniors, the Government of Canada has collaborated with other jurisdictions in the development of materials for the annual World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, June 15, to help promote awareness of abuse and neglect of older adults. These resources may be found on the Canadian Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse's Web site at www.cnpea.ca.
National Seniors Council regional meetings on elder abuse are also planned for Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary and Moncton in the coming weeks.
© 2007 Marketwire, Incorporated
Today in Toronto, the National Seniors Council (NSC) will bring together experts and stakeholders to engage in a discussion concerning elder abuse and how to better address it.
The National Seniors Council was established to advise Canada's New Government on seniors' issues of national importance, and to help ensure that federal government policies, programs and services continue to meet the evolving needs of Canada's aging population. Elder abuse is one of its first priority issues.
"Elder abuse remains largely hidden behind closed doors because many seniors who experience abuse are isolated or reluctant to speak out. In holding these meetings, we are exploring ways to address elder abuse in all its ugly forms," said the Honourable Marjory LeBreton, Leader of the Government in the Senate and Secretary of State (Seniors).
"Most importantly, our government is intent on breaking down the barriers and showing seniors and all Canadians that elder abuse exists, and it is not tolerated. It is important that people know that there is help available in our communities."
According to the World Health Organization, elder abuse usually occurs in relationships where there is an expectation of trust. Abuse can take many forms including physical, emotional, verbal or financial. Neglect is also considered a form of abuse.
"The abuse of older adults is undeniably a sensitive matter," said Mr. Jean-Guy Souliere, Chair of the National Seniors Council. "Participants in these meetings represent a range of views and the broad interests of seniors and community organizations. By listening to the voices of experience, I know we can find ways that will make a difference."
Later this year, the National Seniors Council will submit a report to the Government providing details of the meetings' discussions.
The Government of Canada already has in place a number of initiatives to help combat elder abuse:
- Budget 2007 announced the expansion of the New Horizons for Seniors Program by $10 million per year, with a portion of the new funding to be used for education about elder abuse and fraud.
- In addition, the Family Violence Initiative (FVI)(http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/ncfv-cnivf/familyviolence/initiative_e.html), coordinated by the Public Health Agency of Canada, consists of 15 member departments, and promotes public awareness of the risk factors of family violence, and the need for public involvement in responding to it. The FVI has identified the abuse of older adults as an issue warranting specific attention. As well, the Agency's Population Health Fund is supporting a project by the University of Toronto to enhance community capacity and respond to abuse and neglect in long-term care.
- Through the Forum of Federal-Provincial-Territorial Ministers responsible for Seniors, the Government of Canada has collaborated with other jurisdictions in the development of materials for the annual World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, June 15, to help promote awareness of abuse and neglect of older adults. These resources may be found on the Canadian Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse's Web site at www.cnpea.ca.
National Seniors Council regional meetings on elder abuse are also planned for Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary and Moncton in the coming weeks.
© 2007 Marketwire, Incorporated
U.K.: Elderly 'Addicted' To Nintendo Wii At Care Home
Flossie Chambers, 89, playing ten pin bowlingBIRMINGHAM (The Telegraph), September 17, 2007:
The bridge games have been abandoned and the crosswords put to one side. Instead, the elderly residents of one retirement home in a Birmingham suburb have opted for a slightly more advanced means of entertainment.
Pensioners aged 80 and above at the Sunrise Senior Living Centre in Edgbaston are now hooked to the Nintendo Wii, the latest hi-tech video games console. Taking it in turns with the hand-held controls, the pensioners go head to head against one another in the various games. The console, which costs about £200, reacts to body motion. The games require each player to carry out appropriate actions depending on what they want their character to do. For example Wii Tennis, one of the most popular games, requires players to swing their controls as if they were holding a racquet. The golf game works in a similar way.
The craze at the home all started three weeks ago when one of the chefs brought in a console belonging to his son and lent it to staff for the weekend.
Residents, who are aged between 80 and 103, were so enthralled by the games that they demanded that staff purchase one immediately.
Diane Rudge, the executive director at the centre, said: "They were absolutely hooked. "They're up of their armchairs and moving about and there's a real team spirit. "We're going to invest in a whole library of games so they don't get bored."
Bowling has proved to be the most popular game at the home where 90-year-old Barrie Edgar is emerging as a keen star. Mr Edgar said: "It's fiercely competitive. We're all addicts and it's really bridged the generation gap. "I'm so glad they got us one of own."
Next month staff are organising a special tournament amongst the residents with a prize of gift vouchers on offer for the winner. The games system has proved to be such a success that executives at Sunrise Senior Living are now planning to buy one for each of their 15 residential homes.
If this goes ahead, inter-care home tournaments would take place with teams of elderly residents travelling to other care homes via mini-buses for matches.
Dr Lorna Layward, research manager at Help the Aged, said: "Anything that gets elderly people up off their feet and trying something new is a very good thing. "There have been no studies into the health benefits effects of this game on the elderly, but we are always encouraging them to stay physically and mentally active."
Such games consoles have already been shown to burn up calories and help weight loss. Earlier this year a study by John Moores University in Liverpool found that regular use could help shift 27lb (12.25kg) a year.
By Sophie Borland
© Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2007.
JAPAN: Population Ageing At Unprecendented Rate
TOKYO (Reuters), September 17, 2007:
Japan's population is ageing at an unprecedented rate, stirring concerns about economic growth and living standards.
Below are some key facts about Japan's people:
- Japan's total population peaked at 127.8 million in 2005 and is forecast to fall by 30 percent to just under 90 million by 2055.
- As of 2005, 20 percent of Japan's people were 65 years or older, while the working age population aged 15-64 accounted for 66 percent and children aged 0-14 for 14 percent.
- The population over 65 will jump sharply between 2012-2014, when baby-boomers born between 1947-1949 will turn 65.
- Population projection by the Japanese government, in millions (with percentage share in brackets):
Year.........2005................2015.............2035..............2055
Total.......127.8................125.4...........110.7..............89.9
Over 65......25.7 (20%)..........33.8 (27%)......37.2(34%).........36.5(41%)
15-64........84.1 (66%)..........76.8 (61%)......62.9(57%).........46.0(51%)
0-14........17.5 (14%)..........14.8 (12%)......10.5 (9%)..........7.5( 8%)
- Japan's proportion of elderly is the highest in the world. In the United States, 12 percent of people were over 65 in 2003; in the United Kingdom, 16 percent were older than 65 in 2006.
- Japan is suffering a pincer effect of longer lives and fewer babies. Japanese girls born last year can expect to live to an average age of 85.8 years, making them the longest lived in the world, and this is projected to climb to 90.3 by 2055. Males have an average life expectancy of 79.0 years, rising to an expected 83.7 year by 2055. The current life expectancy for Japanese men is second only to Icelandic men at 79.4 years.
- The fertility rate, or the average number of children a woman bears, hit a record low in 2005 at 1.26 and recovered slightly to 1.32 in 2006. A rate of 2.07 is needed to keep the population from shrinking, demographers say.
- Japan's latest government forecasts suggest there will be 1.3 workers per older person by mid-century, down from 3.3 in 2005.
Sources:
Reuters/Cabinet Office, Government of Japan(www.cao.go.jp)/
U.S. Census Bureau (www.census.gov)/
U.K. Office of National Statistics (www.statistics.go.uk)
© Reuters 2007
Japan's population is ageing at an unprecedented rate, stirring concerns about economic growth and living standards.
Below are some key facts about Japan's people:
- Japan's total population peaked at 127.8 million in 2005 and is forecast to fall by 30 percent to just under 90 million by 2055.
- As of 2005, 20 percent of Japan's people were 65 years or older, while the working age population aged 15-64 accounted for 66 percent and children aged 0-14 for 14 percent.
- The population over 65 will jump sharply between 2012-2014, when baby-boomers born between 1947-1949 will turn 65.
- Population projection by the Japanese government, in millions (with percentage share in brackets):
Year.........2005................2015.............2035..............2055
Total.......127.8................125.4...........110.7..............89.9
Over 65......25.7 (20%)..........33.8 (27%)......37.2(34%).........36.5(41%)
15-64........84.1 (66%)..........76.8 (61%)......62.9(57%).........46.0(51%)
0-14........17.5 (14%)..........14.8 (12%)......10.5 (9%)..........7.5( 8%)
- Japan's proportion of elderly is the highest in the world. In the United States, 12 percent of people were over 65 in 2003; in the United Kingdom, 16 percent were older than 65 in 2006.
- Japan is suffering a pincer effect of longer lives and fewer babies. Japanese girls born last year can expect to live to an average age of 85.8 years, making them the longest lived in the world, and this is projected to climb to 90.3 by 2055. Males have an average life expectancy of 79.0 years, rising to an expected 83.7 year by 2055. The current life expectancy for Japanese men is second only to Icelandic men at 79.4 years.
- The fertility rate, or the average number of children a woman bears, hit a record low in 2005 at 1.26 and recovered slightly to 1.32 in 2006. A rate of 2.07 is needed to keep the population from shrinking, demographers say.
- Japan's latest government forecasts suggest there will be 1.3 workers per older person by mid-century, down from 3.3 in 2005.
Sources:
Reuters/Cabinet Office, Government of Japan(www.cao.go.jp)/
U.S. Census Bureau (www.census.gov)/
U.K. Office of National Statistics (www.statistics.go.uk)
© Reuters 2007
JAPAN: People Age 80 And Over Top 7 Million
TOKYO (The Japan Times - Kyodo News), September 17, 2007:
The number of people in Japan at least 80 years old has topped 7 million for the first time, accounting for 5.6 percent of the population, the government announced on September 16.
The population of octogenarians and older rose by 390,000 from last year to 7.13 million as of Saturday, according to figures released by the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry ahead of Monday's
Respect for the Elderly Day holiday.
The ministry said the number of people aged 65 and older increased by 870,000 to 27.44 million, accounting for 21.5 percent of the population, a 0.7 percentage point increase. In that category, the number of men totaled 11.69 million, accounting for 18.8 percent of the entire male population, while the number of women came to 15.75 million, making up 24.1 percent of the overall female population. The number of women aged 80 or older stood at 4.78 million, roughly twice the number of men in that age bracket.
The ministry compiled the figures on the basis of the 2005 census.
The number of people working at age 65 and beyond has been rising steadily every year, reaching 5.1 million in 2006, the ministry said. Of them, 1.15 million, or 22.5 percent, were engaged in the agriculture and forestry industries.
According to a ministry survey, the number of people aged 65 or older who said they had accessed the Web between October 2005 and October 2006 came to 3.73 million, meaning one out of every six people in that age bracket surfed the Net
The Japan Times
(C) All rights reserved
The number of people in Japan at least 80 years old has topped 7 million for the first time, accounting for 5.6 percent of the population, the government announced on September 16.
The population of octogenarians and older rose by 390,000 from last year to 7.13 million as of Saturday, according to figures released by the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry ahead of Monday's
Respect for the Elderly Day holiday.
The ministry said the number of people aged 65 and older increased by 870,000 to 27.44 million, accounting for 21.5 percent of the population, a 0.7 percentage point increase. In that category, the number of men totaled 11.69 million, accounting for 18.8 percent of the entire male population, while the number of women came to 15.75 million, making up 24.1 percent of the overall female population. The number of women aged 80 or older stood at 4.78 million, roughly twice the number of men in that age bracket.
The ministry compiled the figures on the basis of the 2005 census.
The number of people working at age 65 and beyond has been rising steadily every year, reaching 5.1 million in 2006, the ministry said. Of them, 1.15 million, or 22.5 percent, were engaged in the agriculture and forestry industries.
According to a ministry survey, the number of people aged 65 or older who said they had accessed the Web between October 2005 and October 2006 came to 3.73 million, meaning one out of every six people in that age bracket surfed the Net
The Japan Times
(C) All rights reserved
SINGAPORE: When Providing A Better Chair Is All That It Takes
Sheralyn Tay reports on recent seminar on Financing Ageing Population in the Asean Community
SINGAPORE (NEWSToday), Septemberr 17, 2007:
Employers may now be more willing to hire older workers, but much more needs to be done to retain them - such as providing better lighting and more ergonomic chairs.
Nominated Member of Parliament Kalyani Mehta said: "I have known of cases of older workers going into a job, but after a few months, they leave because they find the environment is not age-friendly."
Making the point at a recent seminar on Financing Ageing Population in the Asean Community, the National University of Singapore associate professor said that ageist attitudes, inter-generational gaps and even physical surroundings might contribute to less-than-conducive work environments.
For example, younger people may be impatient while older people may need more time to finish their tasks. Or, they may have a supervisor who does not understand the needs of such workers.
Some may have dependants at home and are thus unable to stay late at the office. Others, who may have existing medical conditions and need regular medication, may need to arrange their schedules around this.
"Company policies and physical environment adjustment are very important," she said. "They should encourage social activities to help workers of all ages get ogether and chit-chat."
Informal bonding sessions will translate into better teamwork, she added. But physical factors are also important.
"If a four-storey building has no lifts, it may be difficult for workers to walk up and down," Assoc Prof Mehta told Today. "But companies can tap on Government funds like the Advantage Scheme to make modifications such as better lighting and more ergonomic chairs."
The Advantage Scheme was introduced in late 2005 by the Singapore Workforce Development Agency in partnership with the National Trades Union Congress and the Singapore National Employers Federation to facilitate the hiring of older workers. Each company can secure grants of up to $400,000 to implement systems and processes to recruit, retain or rehire them. She also urged more employers to adopt flexible work arrangements. Working from home is a common option in many countries and these arrangements can translate into better productivity and efficiency.
Job sharing is another option worth considering. Jobs in which computers are used for a large part of the work lend themselves well to this kind of work, she said. To retain older workers, Assoc Prof Mehta added: "We need some flexibility and creativity. At the end of the day, what you are aiming for is for jobs to give people financial security and independence."
Dr Rajagopal Dhar Chakraboti, a University of Calcutta expert on ageing, suggested during the recent Asean Gerontology Course that more ingenuity was needed to improve efforts to finance old age. While lauding Singapore's efforts in instituting a "savings culture" with the CPF scheme, he noted that withdrawals for housing and other payments have meant that some people do not have sufficient balances for retirement.
"As life expectancy is rising rapidly, Singaporeans are seeing it as a problem in their old age," he said. An area he thinks should be looked into is the redistribution of resources from the richer sections of society to the economically weaker sections.
"One way could be to pay a lower rate of interest for those with higher CPF balances and more interest for the lower income groups," he said.
Additional Reporting By JASON LEE
SINGAPORE (NEWSToday), Septemberr 17, 2007:
Employers may now be more willing to hire older workers, but much more needs to be done to retain them - such as providing better lighting and more ergonomic chairs.
Nominated Member of Parliament Kalyani Mehta said: "I have known of cases of older workers going into a job, but after a few months, they leave because they find the environment is not age-friendly." Making the point at a recent seminar on Financing Ageing Population in the Asean Community, the National University of Singapore associate professor said that ageist attitudes, inter-generational gaps and even physical surroundings might contribute to less-than-conducive work environments.
For example, younger people may be impatient while older people may need more time to finish their tasks. Or, they may have a supervisor who does not understand the needs of such workers.
Some may have dependants at home and are thus unable to stay late at the office. Others, who may have existing medical conditions and need regular medication, may need to arrange their schedules around this.
"Company policies and physical environment adjustment are very important," she said. "They should encourage social activities to help workers of all ages get ogether and chit-chat."
Informal bonding sessions will translate into better teamwork, she added. But physical factors are also important.
"If a four-storey building has no lifts, it may be difficult for workers to walk up and down," Assoc Prof Mehta told Today. "But companies can tap on Government funds like the Advantage Scheme to make modifications such as better lighting and more ergonomic chairs."
The Advantage Scheme was introduced in late 2005 by the Singapore Workforce Development Agency in partnership with the National Trades Union Congress and the Singapore National Employers Federation to facilitate the hiring of older workers. Each company can secure grants of up to $400,000 to implement systems and processes to recruit, retain or rehire them. She also urged more employers to adopt flexible work arrangements. Working from home is a common option in many countries and these arrangements can translate into better productivity and efficiency.
Job sharing is another option worth considering. Jobs in which computers are used for a large part of the work lend themselves well to this kind of work, she said. To retain older workers, Assoc Prof Mehta added: "We need some flexibility and creativity. At the end of the day, what you are aiming for is for jobs to give people financial security and independence."
Dr Rajagopal Dhar Chakraboti, a University of Calcutta expert on ageing, suggested during the recent Asean Gerontology Course that more ingenuity was needed to improve efforts to finance old age. While lauding Singapore's efforts in instituting a "savings culture" with the CPF scheme, he noted that withdrawals for housing and other payments have meant that some people do not have sufficient balances for retirement.
"As life expectancy is rising rapidly, Singaporeans are seeing it as a problem in their old age," he said. An area he thinks should be looked into is the redistribution of resources from the richer sections of society to the economically weaker sections.
"One way could be to pay a lower rate of interest for those with higher CPF balances and more interest for the lower income groups," he said.
Additional Reporting By JASON LEE
USA: Warning: Prescription Drugs Aren't Harmless
Prescription drugs used illegally can cause nausea, seizures, even death.
KINGMAN, Arizona (The Mohave Daily News), September 16, 2007:
The common misconception of prescription drugs is most people think since these drugs are prescribed by doctors, they're safe to use. However, the abuse of prescribed drugs is becoming more and more common.
Dr. Cynthia Brennan of the Silver Creek Family Practice in Bullhead City said she has heard of a group of patients who go “doctor-shopping” or going from doctor to doctor for prescribed drugs.
Other people often share medications with friends thinking drugs as prescribed by a doctor would be safe compared to illegal drugs.
“They don't understand what they are doing is wrong,” Brennan said. “It can be very dangerous sharing medications.”
Brennan also said people who abuse prescription drugs could be any age, gender or economic status. She theorizes seniors, who are in their 60s and 70s and came of age in the 1960s during the drug culture, may be tolerant of taking drugs.
It is the pharmacy's responsibility to notify doctors if a patient obtains prescribed drugs from another doctor. Some drugs may interact with other drugs. It is also a physician's responsibility to know the effects of drugs such as oxycodone.
A doctor in Florida was recently convicted of the murder of a 21-year college student for overprescribing that drug.
Brennan said she sometimes offer her patients non-narcotic drugs, chiropractic, acupuncture or alternative medicines.
Dr. Alan Barton, a Fort Mojave pediatrician, said in the past year he has seen an increase of young people abusing prescribed drugs such as OxyContin, which he said physicians falsely tout as less addictive.
Barton said he has four female patients addicted to Soma, a pain reliever. His youngest patient is a 13-year-old who uses cough medicine and marijuana. Others are known to huff inhalants such as computer keyboard cleaner.
“It's not illegal so they don't think there is anything wrong,” he said.
Kimberly Landero, a substance abuse counselor with ABC Therapy Counseling Center, said because Mohave County has a large senior population, children and grandchildren have easy access to their parent or grandparent's prescription drugs. Prescription drug abuse among seniors is also a growing and largely unreported problem.
Patients who go to a doctor for a broken leg, illness or some other reason should tell their physician if they have a family history of addiction. Doctors can then give their patients non-narcotic medicines reducing the chance for addiction. Some physicians commonly over prescribed medicines to their patients, Landero said.
According to Ron French, crisis intake adult services clinical director at Mohave Mental Health Services, it is fairly common that people come to facility for treatment as the result of becoming addicted to prescribed benzodiazepines or medications such as Xanax
“Prescription drug abuse is common and definitely is a public health issue in our adult population including the elderly,” French said.
Some physicians are sending more patients to pain management physicians, who limit the amount of prescription medication available to a 30-day supply. It also means the patient has to be physically seen by the physician on a regular basis and the prescription cannot just be called in to the pharmacy, Mohave County Deputy Probation Officer Len Frisch said.
The physical effects of abusing prescription drugs include seizures, heart attacks, brain and liver damage. Other symptoms include dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, and slow breathing, according to the Arizona chapter of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America
Soma, Ritalin, Vicoden, Xanax, Percodan and OxyContin are some of the most commonly abused prescription drugs.. Most come in pill form and can be swallowed or crushed then snorted or injected. DXM or dextromethorphan is found in cough syrup and acts as a hallucinogen.
Some effects of Soma are drowsiness, weakness, temporary vision loss, vomiting and mental or physical impairment. Percodan can cause vomiting, dizziness, nausea, sedation and light-headiness. Vicoden can cause drowsiness, moodiness, decreased mental or physical abilities or hearing loss. Ritalin can cause paranoia, hallucinations, tremors, seizures or strokes. OxyContin causes respiratory depression, weakness, dizziness, headaches and nausea.
Besides prescription drugs, the use of inhalants among eighth-grade students in Arizona has increased by 27 percent. Parents rarely mention inhalants when talking to their children about drugs or cigarettes not wanting to tell them about inhaling. Abusing inhalants in fact can be fatal. Students use inhalants such as nail polish remover, metallic paint, paint thinners, lighter fluid, cooking sprays, air fresheners, bug spray and even deodorants. .
By Jim Seckler
The Mohave Valley Daily News
KINGMAN, Arizona (The Mohave Daily News), September 16, 2007:
The common misconception of prescription drugs is most people think since these drugs are prescribed by doctors, they're safe to use. However, the abuse of prescribed drugs is becoming more and more common.
Dr. Cynthia Brennan of the Silver Creek Family Practice in Bullhead City said she has heard of a group of patients who go “doctor-shopping” or going from doctor to doctor for prescribed drugs.
Other people often share medications with friends thinking drugs as prescribed by a doctor would be safe compared to illegal drugs.
“They don't understand what they are doing is wrong,” Brennan said. “It can be very dangerous sharing medications.”
Brennan also said people who abuse prescription drugs could be any age, gender or economic status. She theorizes seniors, who are in their 60s and 70s and came of age in the 1960s during the drug culture, may be tolerant of taking drugs.
It is the pharmacy's responsibility to notify doctors if a patient obtains prescribed drugs from another doctor. Some drugs may interact with other drugs. It is also a physician's responsibility to know the effects of drugs such as oxycodone.
A doctor in Florida was recently convicted of the murder of a 21-year college student for overprescribing that drug.
Brennan said she sometimes offer her patients non-narcotic drugs, chiropractic, acupuncture or alternative medicines.
Dr. Alan Barton, a Fort Mojave pediatrician, said in the past year he has seen an increase of young people abusing prescribed drugs such as OxyContin, which he said physicians falsely tout as less addictive.
Barton said he has four female patients addicted to Soma, a pain reliever. His youngest patient is a 13-year-old who uses cough medicine and marijuana. Others are known to huff inhalants such as computer keyboard cleaner.
“It's not illegal so they don't think there is anything wrong,” he said.
Kimberly Landero, a substance abuse counselor with ABC Therapy Counseling Center, said because Mohave County has a large senior population, children and grandchildren have easy access to their parent or grandparent's prescription drugs. Prescription drug abuse among seniors is also a growing and largely unreported problem.
Patients who go to a doctor for a broken leg, illness or some other reason should tell their physician if they have a family history of addiction. Doctors can then give their patients non-narcotic medicines reducing the chance for addiction. Some physicians commonly over prescribed medicines to their patients, Landero said.
According to Ron French, crisis intake adult services clinical director at Mohave Mental Health Services, it is fairly common that people come to facility for treatment as the result of becoming addicted to prescribed benzodiazepines or medications such as Xanax
“Prescription drug abuse is common and definitely is a public health issue in our adult population including the elderly,” French said.
Some physicians are sending more patients to pain management physicians, who limit the amount of prescription medication available to a 30-day supply. It also means the patient has to be physically seen by the physician on a regular basis and the prescription cannot just be called in to the pharmacy, Mohave County Deputy Probation Officer Len Frisch said.
The physical effects of abusing prescription drugs include seizures, heart attacks, brain and liver damage. Other symptoms include dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, and slow breathing, according to the Arizona chapter of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America
Soma, Ritalin, Vicoden, Xanax, Percodan and OxyContin are some of the most commonly abused prescription drugs.. Most come in pill form and can be swallowed or crushed then snorted or injected. DXM or dextromethorphan is found in cough syrup and acts as a hallucinogen.
Some effects of Soma are drowsiness, weakness, temporary vision loss, vomiting and mental or physical impairment. Percodan can cause vomiting, dizziness, nausea, sedation and light-headiness. Vicoden can cause drowsiness, moodiness, decreased mental or physical abilities or hearing loss. Ritalin can cause paranoia, hallucinations, tremors, seizures or strokes. OxyContin causes respiratory depression, weakness, dizziness, headaches and nausea.
Besides prescription drugs, the use of inhalants among eighth-grade students in Arizona has increased by 27 percent. Parents rarely mention inhalants when talking to their children about drugs or cigarettes not wanting to tell them about inhaling. Abusing inhalants in fact can be fatal. Students use inhalants such as nail polish remover, metallic paint, paint thinners, lighter fluid, cooking sprays, air fresheners, bug spray and even deodorants. .
By Jim Seckler
The Mohave Valley Daily News
USA: State Offers Financial Incentive To Help Elders Avoid Nursing Home
Care in the family
BOSTON, Massachusetts (Boston Globe), September 16, 2007:
Her paintings are of fairies and unicorns. Her memories hold far darker images. Rockport artist Louisa Poole has never forgotten the vision of her mother, with a broken hip and suffering from dementia, strapped to a bed in a nursing home. Until recently, Poole, 69, lived independently in senior housing, despite severe arthritis, curvature of the spine, and other health problems.
But a July heart attack changed all that.
Poole stopped breathing, suffered brain damage from the lack of oxygen, and was hospitalized for two weeks as doctors warned her family that she likely wouldn't pull through. But she did. And when Poole regained consciousness, the first thing she asked her daughter was whether she would have to go to a nursing home.
The family was determined not to let that happen. Poole's only child, Mindy Cabral, a single mother of two sons, ages 17 and 20, quit her full-time job as a kayak instructor and moved her bedridden mother into her Rockport home, setting up her painting studio all around her in the cramped living room. Emotionally they were intact. Financially, they were struggling.
Then a friend told Cabral about a new state program that would pay her about $18,000 a year, tax free, to take care of her mom at home. Cabral, 49, was just accepted into the program, called Enhanced Adult Family Care.
"This has allowed us to continue to eat and pay the mortgage," said Cabral, who works part time as Rockport's dog control officer.
It hasn't been easy. Cabral sleeps on a couch by her mother's bed, so she can help Poole to the bathroom as needed during the night.
"She can't walk for any amount of time without collapsing," Cabral said. "Even before the heart attack, I was over at her apartment all of the time - it's only two blocks away - doing her shopping and stuff."
The state's Executive Office of Elder Affairs expanded its rules last December, and for the first time allowed most family members to act as home caregivers. It also increased payments to participants who are caring for more seriously ill adults.
Precisely how many families have chosen these new options is tough to pinpoint. Jennifer Bergeron, who oversees the program at the elder affairs agency, said the state has not yet compiled all of the figures. She said 200 people have signed up since December to be caregivers and to receive the state's top-tiered payment of about $18,000. But the state does not know how many participants are caring for family members and how many of those cases involve seniors.
For Cabral, the details of daily life have become much more specific, including how much medication to give her mother and what time to dispense it - she is taking at least 10 prescriptions. Under the Family Care program, Cabral keeps a daily journal of each activity she must help her mom perform, from bathing, dressing and walking to eating and physical therapy.
"Last night, we had a steak," she said. "I had to cut her steak."
After weeks of being completely bedridden, Poole's muscles have atrophied. So Cabral helps her mother with daily physical therapy, holding her mom's walker while Poole grips the handlebars and gingerly rises to her toes a few times to rebuild her leg muscles. Poole's personal care plan was developed by Gloucester-based Adult Foster Care of the North Shore, one of a network of agencies helping disabled adults find community-based care.
While many senior advocates applaud the state's rules change, allowing families to take care of their elders, they say layers of complex new guidelines, coupled with income and asset restrictions that shut out many middle-class families, have made it difficult to get people into the program in a timely manner.
"We have to look at clinical eligibility, financial eligibility, what kind of relative you are, what degree of relation are you; it gets a little challenging," said Rosanne DiStefano, executive director of Elder Services of the Merrimack Valley, which serves 23 cities and towns from Newburyport to Dunstable. So far, the agency has enrolled just a handful of families in the new program, according to DiStefano.
"Meanwhile, the doors are wide open to nursing-home care. There are vacancies," DiStefano said. "But at $60,000 a year for nursing-home care, on the average, our policies are encouraging people to take that option, because those doors are wide open and our doors are not only not wide open, they have these hurdles in front of them you have to climb over."
By Kay Lazar
© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.
BOSTON, Massachusetts (Boston Globe), September 16, 2007:
Her paintings are of fairies and unicorns. Her memories hold far darker images. Rockport artist Louisa Poole has never forgotten the vision of her mother, with a broken hip and suffering from dementia, strapped to a bed in a nursing home. Until recently, Poole, 69, lived independently in senior housing, despite severe arthritis, curvature of the spine, and other health problems.
But a July heart attack changed all that.
Poole stopped breathing, suffered brain damage from the lack of oxygen, and was hospitalized for two weeks as doctors warned her family that she likely wouldn't pull through. But she did. And when Poole regained consciousness, the first thing she asked her daughter was whether she would have to go to a nursing home.
The family was determined not to let that happen. Poole's only child, Mindy Cabral, a single mother of two sons, ages 17 and 20, quit her full-time job as a kayak instructor and moved her bedridden mother into her Rockport home, setting up her painting studio all around her in the cramped living room. Emotionally they were intact. Financially, they were struggling.
Then a friend told Cabral about a new state program that would pay her about $18,000 a year, tax free, to take care of her mom at home. Cabral, 49, was just accepted into the program, called Enhanced Adult Family Care.
"This has allowed us to continue to eat and pay the mortgage," said Cabral, who works part time as Rockport's dog control officer.
It hasn't been easy. Cabral sleeps on a couch by her mother's bed, so she can help Poole to the bathroom as needed during the night.
"She can't walk for any amount of time without collapsing," Cabral said. "Even before the heart attack, I was over at her apartment all of the time - it's only two blocks away - doing her shopping and stuff."
The state's Executive Office of Elder Affairs expanded its rules last December, and for the first time allowed most family members to act as home caregivers. It also increased payments to participants who are caring for more seriously ill adults.
Precisely how many families have chosen these new options is tough to pinpoint. Jennifer Bergeron, who oversees the program at the elder affairs agency, said the state has not yet compiled all of the figures. She said 200 people have signed up since December to be caregivers and to receive the state's top-tiered payment of about $18,000. But the state does not know how many participants are caring for family members and how many of those cases involve seniors.
For Cabral, the details of daily life have become much more specific, including how much medication to give her mother and what time to dispense it - she is taking at least 10 prescriptions. Under the Family Care program, Cabral keeps a daily journal of each activity she must help her mom perform, from bathing, dressing and walking to eating and physical therapy.
"Last night, we had a steak," she said. "I had to cut her steak."
After weeks of being completely bedridden, Poole's muscles have atrophied. So Cabral helps her mother with daily physical therapy, holding her mom's walker while Poole grips the handlebars and gingerly rises to her toes a few times to rebuild her leg muscles. Poole's personal care plan was developed by Gloucester-based Adult Foster Care of the North Shore, one of a network of agencies helping disabled adults find community-based care.
While many senior advocates applaud the state's rules change, allowing families to take care of their elders, they say layers of complex new guidelines, coupled with income and asset restrictions that shut out many middle-class families, have made it difficult to get people into the program in a timely manner.
"We have to look at clinical eligibility, financial eligibility, what kind of relative you are, what degree of relation are you; it gets a little challenging," said Rosanne DiStefano, executive director of Elder Services of the Merrimack Valley, which serves 23 cities and towns from Newburyport to Dunstable. So far, the agency has enrolled just a handful of families in the new program, according to DiStefano.
"Meanwhile, the doors are wide open to nursing-home care. There are vacancies," DiStefano said. "But at $60,000 a year for nursing-home care, on the average, our policies are encouraging people to take that option, because those doors are wide open and our doors are not only not wide open, they have these hurdles in front of them you have to climb over."
By Kay Lazar
© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.
INDIA: Don't Dump Your Parents: Kirron Kher
CHANDIGARH (The Hindu - Press Trust of India), September 16, 2007: Photo: BBC News.Veteran actor Kirron Kher, who essays the lead in 'Mummyji', a bilingual film about a Punjabi woman shuttling between kitchen and club, today urged the younger generation not to "dump" their parents.
"Though we live in a modern age and it may not be always possible for children to live with their parents all the time; that does not mean they can dump their parents," Kher, here for the promotional of Pammi Somal's directorial debut, told reporters.
The actor plays the title role in the film that she dubs "a new-age Mother India" and which looks at urban India's behaviour towards senior citizens.
Kher's parents, Bollywood actors Jackie Shroff, Kanwaljit and Punjabi pop singer Gurdas Mann also act in 'Mummyji', which premiered last night.
"The film is set in Chandigarh and follows 'Mummyji' from the kitchen to the club house. It's about a new-age 'Mother India', with today's grandeur, intensity, humour and emotions, wherein a Punjabi urban mother balances tradition with her own value system," said Kher.
The stage-cum-screen star said the film dwells on the central character's relationship with her husband and children and with a Sikh neighbour (Shroff) "who admires her completeness".
Journalist-turned filmmaker Somal cast Kher's mother and father in the film as she had lost her own parents some time back and wanted to relive their memories.
Copyright © 2007, The Hindu.
USA: Seniors Volunteer at Nevada City Archeological Dig
NEVADA CITY (Bozeman Daily Chronicle), September 16, 2007:
Carol Dyer of Whidbey Island, Wash., spent Friday morning in an alley, sifting dirt through a wire sieve to see what man-made objects would turn up. Mostly, she found twisted nails and a few scraps of what might have been leather.
“Nothing real exciting, but it might be,” Dyer said.
Nearby, 18 other volunteers, all senior citizens, dug square-shaped holes in a carefully staked-out section of ground, creating what resembled a checkerboard carved into the earth. The workers filled buckets with dirt and then carried them over to the sieves where the dirt could be filtered and any artifacts plucked out and cataloged.
Darrell Dyer, of Washington, sifts through a sample of soil in search of historic relics in Nevada City.
Photo: Erik Peterson/Chronicle
The dig was part of an archeology project in Nevada City using volunteers from Elderhostel, a nonprofit organization providing learning adventures in the United States and across the world for people ages 55 and older, according to its Web site.
In many cases, volunteers pay to travel to locations far away from home and be put to work, because they feel that, in a small way, they're doing some good.
“We just like the people we meet,” Dyer said. “You just meet really interesting people who like giving back to society.”
Nevada City and neighboring Virginia City are among the state's most-popular tourist destinations, but they're also places where historic preservation and archeological fieldwork are taking place.
Virginia City has hosted Elderhostel groups for three summers using state money, site archeologist Cecile Gevock said. The program also is hosted through the University of Montana-Western, in Dillon.
Friday's dig was sandwiched in the alley between the Nevada City Hotel and the Music Hall. Most of the buildings at Nevada City are not original to the site, having been brought in from across the state by the Bovey Family, who owned the historic buildings before the state bought them 10 years ago.
Still, there might be a couple centuries worth of history buried at Nevada City. Workers there have turned up some small items, such as beads, that might date before the Gold Rush, but Gevock said she won't be able to confirm that until some results from carbon dating tests come in.
Being put to work for vacation might not seem like the most relaxing way to spend free time, but the volunteers said they all share a love for history.
“It's just an interesting thing - a fun way to spend a vacation,” Lorna Greenwood of Hood River, Ore., said of archeology.
Many volunteers were retired teachers, such as Carolyn Williams of Milwaukie, Ore., who taught English and U.S. history in high school. She is among those who sees the work as a way of giving back.
“Besides that,” she said, “I like playing in the dirt.”
By Walt Williams
Copyright 2007
Carol Dyer of Whidbey Island, Wash., spent Friday morning in an alley, sifting dirt through a wire sieve to see what man-made objects would turn up. Mostly, she found twisted nails and a few scraps of what might have been leather.
“Nothing real exciting, but it might be,” Dyer said.
Nearby, 18 other volunteers, all senior citizens, dug square-shaped holes in a carefully staked-out section of ground, creating what resembled a checkerboard carved into the earth. The workers filled buckets with dirt and then carried them over to the sieves where the dirt could be filtered and any artifacts plucked out and cataloged.
Darrell Dyer, of Washington, sifts through a sample of soil in search of historic relics in Nevada City.
Photo: Erik Peterson/Chronicle
The dig was part of an archeology project in Nevada City using volunteers from Elderhostel, a nonprofit organization providing learning adventures in the United States and across the world for people ages 55 and older, according to its Web site.
In many cases, volunteers pay to travel to locations far away from home and be put to work, because they feel that, in a small way, they're doing some good.
“We just like the people we meet,” Dyer said. “You just meet really interesting people who like giving back to society.”
Nevada City and neighboring Virginia City are among the state's most-popular tourist destinations, but they're also places where historic preservation and archeological fieldwork are taking place.
Virginia City has hosted Elderhostel groups for three summers using state money, site archeologist Cecile Gevock said. The program also is hosted through the University of Montana-Western, in Dillon.
Friday's dig was sandwiched in the alley between the Nevada City Hotel and the Music Hall. Most of the buildings at Nevada City are not original to the site, having been brought in from across the state by the Bovey Family, who owned the historic buildings before the state bought them 10 years ago.
Still, there might be a couple centuries worth of history buried at Nevada City. Workers there have turned up some small items, such as beads, that might date before the Gold Rush, but Gevock said she won't be able to confirm that until some results from carbon dating tests come in.
Being put to work for vacation might not seem like the most relaxing way to spend free time, but the volunteers said they all share a love for history.
“It's just an interesting thing - a fun way to spend a vacation,” Lorna Greenwood of Hood River, Ore., said of archeology.
Many volunteers were retired teachers, such as Carolyn Williams of Milwaukie, Ore., who taught English and U.S. history in high school. She is among those who sees the work as a way of giving back.
“Besides that,” she said, “I like playing in the dirt.”
By Walt Williams
Copyright 2007
USA: Out of Darkness Program Dedicated To Preventing Suicide Among Seniors
NEWTON, Massachusetts (The Boston Globe), September 16, 2007:
Simply by virtue of his age, 93-year-old William Rose of Newton is at heightened risk of death. But the threat that came closest to taking his life was not old age, or illness.
According to the Massachusetts Coalition for Suicide Prevention, men age 85 and older have the highest suicide rate in the state. So when Rose told his home healthcare aide that he was thinking of killing himself after his daughter died, she took it seriously.
Fortunately, Rose's aide, Elina Dubovsky, knew what to do. She had attended a program on how to help prevent suicide in seniors, offered by the Geriatric Institute of Jewish Family and Children's Services in Waltham.
The training offered helped Dubovsky recognize depression in her patients, including Rose.
"They stop their regular activities, don't eat, some of them stop taking their medications," said Dubovsky. "They may tell you they're OK, that they're taking their medication, but when you test their blood pressure or blood sugar, you see they don't take their medications."
Rose has the usual complaints about being old - difficulty getting around, the deaths of relatives and friends his own age. But in general, he said during an interview in the lobby of his Chestnut Hill high-rise, "I had a good life. I can't complain." He can acknowledge the positive things in his life: He's been with his girlfriend for more than 20 years, and he just came back from a 10-day cruise to Bermuda.
But this past February came what he still calls "a disaster" - his daughter died unexpectedly in her sleep.
After that, he said, he started to see his long life as a curse, a punishment. He felt alone. He missed being strong, healthy, and active. He worried about how much more he would lose if he became seriously ill. In fact, that concern still troubles him.
The thought of killing himself hasn't disappeared, but he said he wouldn't do it now.
His path away from suicide began after he confided his feelings to Dubovsky. She connected him with a medical social worker. He began seeing a psychologist, and says that he now feels more in control of his depression. He said Dubovsky's visits help keep him going, because he sees her between one and three times each week - more often than he does his doctors.
The Geriatric Institute began running its suicide prevention program for the elderly last year, said Kathy Burnes, the institute's project manager. It's one of several programs aimed at translating research on the elderly into practical solutions to the problems of old age. The Jewish family services agency also runs a general mental health program, and one of the motivations in creating the geriatric suicide prevention program was the discovery that about 60 percent of the mental health clients were 55 or older.
The institute is nonsectarian and works with clients regardless of their religion. Its suicide prevention program, adapted from research and materials from Cornell University's Homecare Research Project, began by training agency home healthcare aides on how to recognize symptoms of depression in the seniors they cared for. The training was expanded to aides affiliated with two Boston agencies, Midtown Home Health Services and Kit Clark Senior Services. It also holds sessions to teach doctors and nurses how to train other healthcare workers. So far, the program has trained 400 home health aides, doctors, and nurses. The materials have been translated into Russian, French, Spanish, Chinese, and Vietnamese.
"The thing we're really trying to communicate is that depression is not a normal part of aging. It's a serious medical illness," Burnes said. "Seniors who have disability, medical illness, and pain are more likely to be depressed, but many are experiencing major depression for the first time in their lives, and this is not something that they'll get over [without help]."
One of the program's primary goals is to destigmatize depression for the healthcare workers as well as the patient. Sessions include brain scans comparing the brains of depressed and nondepressed people, to reinforce the idea that depression is not an issue of willpower or a character flaw. A "tool kit" of brochures and fact sheets describes to health workers signs of depression - sleeping more than usual, crying easily or often, and losing interest in going outside or doing usual activities, for example. It also gives hints on how to determine whether a patient is suicidal, and if so, what the home healthcare worker should do.
But Burnes said that one of those next steps - referral to a mental healthcare professional - can be the most difficult to accomplish. There's a nationwide shortage of psychologists, psychiatrists, and counselors, particularly those who can deal with non-English-speaking patients. Medicare and other insurance programs sometimes offer only low reimbursement rates for mental health services.
"You want to know, once you make that determination, that there will be someone there actually following up. You really want to hope that there are referrals that you can make stick, but it's tough out there, not just for elders, but for all ages," Burnes said.
Sy Friedland, The Jewish Family and Children's Services executive director and the holder of a PhD in clinical psychology, said this shortage is one reason training of home healthcare aides is important. Although they can't provide treatment themselves, they can play an important role in monitoring whether that treatment is working.
"Doctors have a rough job. They only have 20 minutes with you," said Rose. "Elina is there all the time."
By Stephanie V. Siek, Globe Staff
© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company
Simply by virtue of his age, 93-year-old William Rose of Newton is at heightened risk of death. But the threat that came closest to taking his life was not old age, or illness.
According to the Massachusetts Coalition for Suicide Prevention, men age 85 and older have the highest suicide rate in the state. So when Rose told his home healthcare aide that he was thinking of killing himself after his daughter died, she took it seriously.
Fortunately, Rose's aide, Elina Dubovsky, knew what to do. She had attended a program on how to help prevent suicide in seniors, offered by the Geriatric Institute of Jewish Family and Children's Services in Waltham.
The training offered helped Dubovsky recognize depression in her patients, including Rose.
"They stop their regular activities, don't eat, some of them stop taking their medications," said Dubovsky. "They may tell you they're OK, that they're taking their medication, but when you test their blood pressure or blood sugar, you see they don't take their medications."
Rose has the usual complaints about being old - difficulty getting around, the deaths of relatives and friends his own age. But in general, he said during an interview in the lobby of his Chestnut Hill high-rise, "I had a good life. I can't complain." He can acknowledge the positive things in his life: He's been with his girlfriend for more than 20 years, and he just came back from a 10-day cruise to Bermuda.
But this past February came what he still calls "a disaster" - his daughter died unexpectedly in her sleep.
After that, he said, he started to see his long life as a curse, a punishment. He felt alone. He missed being strong, healthy, and active. He worried about how much more he would lose if he became seriously ill. In fact, that concern still troubles him.
The thought of killing himself hasn't disappeared, but he said he wouldn't do it now.
His path away from suicide began after he confided his feelings to Dubovsky. She connected him with a medical social worker. He began seeing a psychologist, and says that he now feels more in control of his depression. He said Dubovsky's visits help keep him going, because he sees her between one and three times each week - more often than he does his doctors.
The Geriatric Institute began running its suicide prevention program for the elderly last year, said Kathy Burnes, the institute's project manager. It's one of several programs aimed at translating research on the elderly into practical solutions to the problems of old age. The Jewish family services agency also runs a general mental health program, and one of the motivations in creating the geriatric suicide prevention program was the discovery that about 60 percent of the mental health clients were 55 or older.
The institute is nonsectarian and works with clients regardless of their religion. Its suicide prevention program, adapted from research and materials from Cornell University's Homecare Research Project, began by training agency home healthcare aides on how to recognize symptoms of depression in the seniors they cared for. The training was expanded to aides affiliated with two Boston agencies, Midtown Home Health Services and Kit Clark Senior Services. It also holds sessions to teach doctors and nurses how to train other healthcare workers. So far, the program has trained 400 home health aides, doctors, and nurses. The materials have been translated into Russian, French, Spanish, Chinese, and Vietnamese.
"The thing we're really trying to communicate is that depression is not a normal part of aging. It's a serious medical illness," Burnes said. "Seniors who have disability, medical illness, and pain are more likely to be depressed, but many are experiencing major depression for the first time in their lives, and this is not something that they'll get over [without help]."
One of the program's primary goals is to destigmatize depression for the healthcare workers as well as the patient. Sessions include brain scans comparing the brains of depressed and nondepressed people, to reinforce the idea that depression is not an issue of willpower or a character flaw. A "tool kit" of brochures and fact sheets describes to health workers signs of depression - sleeping more than usual, crying easily or often, and losing interest in going outside or doing usual activities, for example. It also gives hints on how to determine whether a patient is suicidal, and if so, what the home healthcare worker should do.
But Burnes said that one of those next steps - referral to a mental healthcare professional - can be the most difficult to accomplish. There's a nationwide shortage of psychologists, psychiatrists, and counselors, particularly those who can deal with non-English-speaking patients. Medicare and other insurance programs sometimes offer only low reimbursement rates for mental health services.
"You want to know, once you make that determination, that there will be someone there actually following up. You really want to hope that there are referrals that you can make stick, but it's tough out there, not just for elders, but for all ages," Burnes said.
Sy Friedland, The Jewish Family and Children's Services executive director and the holder of a PhD in clinical psychology, said this shortage is one reason training of home healthcare aides is important. Although they can't provide treatment themselves, they can play an important role in monitoring whether that treatment is working.
"Doctors have a rough job. They only have 20 minutes with you," said Rose. "Elina is there all the time."
By Stephanie V. Siek, Globe Staff
© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company
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