Dutchess County Office for the Aging’s AGING NEWS For the week of August 15

 

Dutchess County Office for the Aging’s

AGING NEWS

For the week of August 15

Golden Living . . . News for Senior Citizens

Todd N. Tancredi, Director

Dutchess County Office for the Aging

 

THE MOST COMMON KILLER YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF

Sepsis, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control, is the body’s overwhelming and life-threatening response to an infection, which can lead to tissue damage, organ failure, and death. Roughly half of Americans have never heard of it, even though the CDC reports sepsis affects over 1.1 million Americans every year, kills over a quarter-million of them, and is a factor in over half of all hospital deaths nationwide.

Sepsis appears as a combination of symptoms that can easily be mistaken for symptoms of other infections, including sore throat, vomiting, and diarrhea, as well as any of these symptoms listed by the CDC in memorable order:

S—Shivering, fever, or very cold;

E—Extreme pain or general discomfort;

P—Pale or discolored skin;

S—Sleepy, difficult to rouse, confused;

I—”I feel like I might die”;

S—Shortness of breath.

There’s more information available at www.cdc.com/sepsis.

While sepsis can originate as a complication of any infection in people of any age, it’s most common in the elderly, babies and very young children, people with compromised immune systems, people suffering severe burns or wounds, and those with chronic illnesses, such as diabetes, AIDS, cancer, and kidney or liver disease. Notable figures for whom sepsis is listed as the ultimate cause of death include boxer Muhammad Ali, U.S. Presidents William Henry Harrison and James Garfield, actor Christopher Reeve, and Pope John Paul II. Sepsis, often a term used interchangeably with “septicemia” and “blood poisoning,” is also listed as the single most expensive condition treated in U.S. hospitals, with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reporting an annual price tag in excess of $24 billion and growing at an annual rate of almost 12 percent. The higher costs are typically driven by a high risk of complications and long hospital stays, but healthcare leaders and researchers are working to improve survival rates with timely diagnosis and treatment, which will have the added benefit of lowering costs.

The New York-based IPRO, a Medicare Quality Improvement Organization (www.stopsepsisnow.org),  is currently working on a two-year initiative funded by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to improve awareness of sepsis in the general public and among non-hospital health care providers, working with skilled nursing and home health agency nursing staff to provide educational training programs about sepsis. IPRO reports having trained over 5,000 clinical and non-clinical staff, and they’d like to train even more, as well as provide informational presentations at senior centers. If your organization would be interested in such a presentation, contact Office for the Aging outreach coordinator Brian Jones at bjones@dutchessny.gov or (845)486-2555 and he can put you in touch with the resources you’re seeking.

Golden Living is prepared by the Dutchess County Office for the Aging, 27 High Street, Poughkeepsie, New York 12601, telephone (845)486-2555, email: ofa@dutchessny.gov  website: http://www.dutchessny.gov/CountyGov/Departments/Aging/AGIndex.htm

 

SENIOR EXERCISE VOLUNTEER WANTED IN BEACON

Help your senior friends and neighbors stay active by stepping up to lead a senior exercise group in Beacon. No experience is necessary and all training will be provided – all you need is an enjoyment of exercise and working with seniors. All exercises are done either sitting in a chair or standing behind a chair. For more information, get in touch with the Office for the Aging at (845) 486-2555, or email bjones@dutchessny.gov.

A FEW $20 FARMER’S MARKET VOUCHERS LEFT

New York State’s distribution window for Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program $20 vouchers closes in a matter of days, but the Dutchess County Office for the Aging does have a few vouchers left – and it would be a pity were they to go unused. If you’re 60 or older, and low-income, you may be eligible to receive Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) checks. Eligible seniors receive a booklet with five $4.00 Senior FMNP checks that can only be used to purchase local, fresh, unprocessed vegetables and fruits at participating farmers markets and farm stands – and there are participating markets all over the county. We only have a few left, and they’ll be given out on a first-come, first-serve basis. Call(845) 486-2555 to find out more.

 

OTHER AGING NEWS ONLINE

A new federal law that took effect this month requires hospitals to notify patients of a quirk in Medicare law that could leave recipients on the hook for massive bills: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/07/us/politics/new-medicare-law-to-notify-patients-of-loophole-in-nursing-home-coverage.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FElderly&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=collection&_r=0

 

Homelessness among veterans has dropped by almost half in the past six years: http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/veteran-homelessness-dropped-50-since-2010/

 

Volunteering has social, emotional and mental-health benefits, and a new study indicates those benefits really kick in after age 40 – with a 12% boost in mental health for volunteers between the ages of 76 and 80. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2016/08/09/volunteering-is-not-beneficial-until-you-hit-40-study-finds/

 

If you’ve read the Aging News this far, keep reading – it’s good for you! But have a book handy for after you’re done:https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/aug/08/book-up-for-a-longer-life-readers-die-later-study-finds

 

Senior birthdays this week:

Mon 8/15: Actress/singer Rose Marie (93)

Tue 8/16: Actress/dancer Julie Newmar (83)

Wed 8/17: Actor/director/Hudson Valley resident Robert De Niro (73)

Thu 8/18: 41st First Lady Rosalynn Carter (89)

Fri 8/19: Yankees second baseman Bobby Richardson (81)

Sat 8/20: Boxing promoter Don King (85)

Sun 8/21: Actor/director/screenwriter Melvin Van Peebles (84)

 

Questions, comments, and any advice for grandkids entering kindergarten, middle school, high school and/or college can be addressed to outreach coordinator Brian Jones as noted below.

 

 

Brian Jones
Outreach Coordinator

Dutchess County Office For the Aging

27 High Street

Poughkeepsie NY 12601

Author: Harlem Valley News