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 HHS
To Provide Nursing Home Quality Information
HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today launched a quality initiative to help
people who rely on Medicare and Medicaid programs and their family members
find the best nursing homes for their needs.
Discounts
for Seniors
A reader wrote in asking about discounts for seniors.
There are several good sites for seniors, but none
of them are government sponsored, so the disclaimers apply (see
below). Try Friendly4Seniors
and click on "Discounts." Also try WiredSeniors.
The
Current Issue Of FDA Consumer Magazine
The November-December issue of FDA Consumer features:
 | Encouraging women to take
charge of diabetes
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| Holding your own against
colds and flu.
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| Home diagnostic tests.
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| Alternatives to
hysterectomy.
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| Full-body CT scans
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| Responding to terror
attacks
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| The "fda.gov"
column
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Jo
Anne B. Barnhart Is Sworn In As SSA's Commissioner
The new Commissioner of Social Security, Jo Anne B. Barnhart, was sworn
into office on November 14, 2001. She was nominated by President George W.
Bush on July 17 and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on November 2, 2001.
Nutrition.Gov
Has A Special Section For Seniors
We've featured them here before, but they keep getting better and
better. Visit their special section devoted to nutrition for seniors.
Korean
War Project
Find buddies you were with when in Korea and renew friendships through
this website. A valuable resource for senior Korean veterans.
Retirement
Living Information Center
Find housing that matches the
seniors lifestyle - also
books and online publications, tax information, a guide to state aging
agencies, retirement news, and more. An excellent site for seniors.
Social
Security Disaster Web Site
SSA's excellent web site has a comprehensive page on their emergency
procedures related to the disaster of September 11.
Psychotropic Drugs In Nursing
Homes Not a Pervasive Problem
The HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a final inspection
report on the use of psychotropic drugs in nursing homes.
This inspection was conducted in response to concerns expressed by
the Senate Special Committee on Aging about the use of psychotropic drugs
as inappropriate chemical restraints.
For another view, see a Letter to the
Editor on Drug Misuse.
Study
Shows That Aspirin And Warfarin Are Equally Effective For Stroke
Prevention
A study appearing in the November 15, 2001, issue of "The New
England Journal of Medicine" shows that aspirin works as well as
warfarin in helping to prevent recurrent strokes in most patients.
Great Seniors Sites
Readers brought a couple sites to our attention that
we thought you would like to know about:
| The
Virtual Retirement Index: a convenient and informative site where
you can discover and explore many retirement communities in one
central location.
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| Grand
Times: a unique weekly Internet magazine for seniors – a quirky,
entertaining and informative web site with a lot of nice surprises and
perspectives. |
Grandparents
Visitation Rights
Also at the request of a reader, here
are a couple sites that address the visitation rights of grandparents.
This is still a difficult legal arena, but the advice we found seemed very
sound:
FDA On Food Supply Safety
The Food and Drug Administration, in cooperation with several other food
and public health-related agencies, has created a gateway to federal and
state information on countering bioterrorism and other threats to the food
supply.
Anthrax
Findings Presented By NIH Researcher
An NIH Clinical Center researcher, in collaboration with physicians in
Maryland and Washington DC, has published a detailed assessment of the fatal
cases of inhalational anthrax that occurred in two District of Columbia
postal workers.
Study
Finds Heart Assist Device Extends And Improves Lives
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National
Institutes of Health report that despite several serious side effects, a
type of implantable heart pump can significantly extend and improve the
lives of terminally ill patients with end stage heart failure (ESHF) who are
not eligible for cardiac transplantation.
Airport
Security and People With Disabilities
Steps Taken to Ensure New Security Requirements Preserve and Respect
the Civil Rights of People with Disabilities
New
Office Of Public Health Preparedness
HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today named Donald A.
Henderson, M.D., to serve as director of a newly created Office of Public
Health Preparedness, which will coordinate national response to public
health emergencies.
Medicare
To Expand Coverage Of Treatment For Sleep Disorder
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced today it
intends to expand Medicare coverage of devices that help people with the
sleep disorder called obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
Cutting-Edge
Flu Research Featured On NIAID'S Web Site
With flu season once again upon us, it's time to visit an updated Focus
on the Flu, a web feature about cutting-edge influenza research
supported by the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
November
Is National Family Caregiver Month
People giving care are encouraged to contact state
or local offices for the elderly
FDA
Bioterrorism Page Debuts
A new page with links to bioterror-related information
from FDA, as well as from other authoritative sources such as the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Library of Medicine,
is now on FDA's Website. Also available separately online is related
information on labeling for two anthrax treatments and FDA warnings issued
to sellers of unapproved foreign Cipro.
Diabetes
Epidemic Surges
HHS And ADA join forces to fight heart disease, the leading
cause of death for people with diabetes. A new consumer campaign targets
blood glucose, pressure, and cholesterol.
Facts
About Age Discrimination
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA)
protects individuals who are 40 years of age or older from employment
discrimination based on age. The
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission web site has more information.
Also see the Department
of Labor site on Age Discrimination.
The Department of Education page
on Age Discrimination has more information about federal programs
including the Age
Discrimination Act of 1975, 42 U.S.C. § 6102 (1988), which prohibits
discrimination on the basis of age in federally-assisted programs.
Relationship Found Between
Stress Hormones and Arthritis, Multiple Sclerosis After Pregnancy
A sharp drop in stress hormones after giving birth to a child may predispose
some women to develop certain conditions in which the immune system attacks
the body's own tissues, according to researchers at the National Institutes
of Health.
HHS
Approves 13 New State Plans To Extend Medicaid To Women With Breast,
Cervical Cancer
On October 19 HHS approved 13 new states' requests to extend Medicaid
benefits to uninsured women who are diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer
through a federal screening program.
NHLBI
Study Finds High-Normal Blood Pressure Increases Cardiovascular Risk
High-normal blood pressure significantly increases the risk of heart attack,
stroke, and heart failure, according to a new study supported by the
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).
Medicare
Announces Payment Increase For Hospital Outpatient Service
Hospitals will receive a 2.3 percent increase in Medicare payments for
outpatient services effective Jan. 1, 2002, under a final rule announced
today by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
Announcing New Feature on FirstGov for Seniors Website
Today (10/23/01) we are debuting a brand new feature on the FirstGov for Seniors
website -- Letters to the Editor.
Here we'll post interesting letters we receive from our readers.
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