My elderly father recently underwent cataract surgery, and it has lead to a dramatic improvement in his vision. But the true benefits go far beyond better eyesight. Now that he can see more clearly, he is participating in activities at his Florida continuing care retirement community more. He is spending time in his building’s library, reconnecting with his lifelong love of reading that in recent years had become more of a strain than a joy. And he is spending more time outside going for walks with friends.

By improving his vision, the surgery has ultimately improved the quality of his daily life. And a new study indicates it may also have reduced his chance of developing Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia.

The  study, from the University of Michigan Health System, reports that elderly people with untreated vision disorders are significantly more likely to develop Alzheimer’s. The study used Medicare data and shows that those with poor vision who visited an ophthalmologist at least once for an examination were 64 percent less likely to develop dementia.

The findings may create a new way of looking at poor vision in the elderly: as predictor of dementia rather than as a symptom after the diagnosis.

For the study, Mary A.M. Rogers, Ph.D., and her colleague Kenneth M. Langa, M.D., Ph.D.,analyzed data from the nationally representative Health and Retirement Study and records from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

“Our results indicate that it is important for elderly individuals with visual problems to seek medical attention so that the causes of the problems can be identified and treated,” Rogers says. The types of vision treatment that were helpful in lowering the risk of dementia were surgery to correct cataracts and treatments for glaucoma, retinal disorders and other eye-related problems.

Proper vision is a requirement for many of the activities that previously have been found to lower the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. These include reading, playing board games, other mentally stimulating activities, social networking, as well as physical activity such as walking and routine exercising. A visual disorder may interfere with normal mobility and may also hinder a person’s ability to participate in such activities, as it was in my father’s case.

“Many elderly Americans do not have adequate health coverage for vision, and Medicare does not cover preventative vision screenings for most beneficiaries,” Rogers says. “So it’s not unusual that the elderly receive vision treatment only after a problem is severe enough to warrant a visit to the doctor when the problem is more advanced.”

According to a survey conducted by the National Eye Health Education Program, less than 11 percent of respondents understood that there are no early warning signs for eye problems such as glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy. However, vision problems and blindness are among the top 10 disabilities among adults and can result in a greater tendency to experience other health conditions or even to die prematurely.

“While heart disease and cancer death rates are continuing to decline, mortality rates for Alzheimer’s disease are on the rise,” says Rogers. “So if we can delay the onset of dementia, we can save individuals and their families from the stress, cost and burden that are associated with Alzheimer’s disease.”

The study was based on the surveys and medical information from 625 people compiled from 1992-2005. Only 10 percent of Medicare beneficiaries who developed dementia had excellent vision at the beginning of the study, while 30 percent of those who maintained normal cognition had excellent vision at the onset of the study. One in five Americans who are over age 50 report experiencing a visual impairment, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Approximately 5 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease and the number has doubled since 1980. It is expected to be as high as 13 million by 2050.

Love is in the air – again. In my last post, I told you about a contest for love stories sponsored by Emeritus Senior Living. Now I found out about a Florida-based marketing & PR firm that is seeking submissions of senior love stories for a book. The Ehlers Group, a firm that specializes in marketing programs for senior housing communities, is kicking off its “365 Senior Love Stories” quest on Valentine’s Day.

“We are often inspired after meeting residents at our clients’ communities,” said Janis Ehlers. “They often have such rich histories. From their first meeting and courtship to when they married and their early lives, these are wonderful heartfelt stories that need to be written down.”

The idea for the book was sparked during a recent visit to The Carlisle, a retirement community in Naples, Fla. Residents Jim and Winnie Perrill shared the story of their second marriage with Ehlers, who thought the romantic couple’s life sounded like a Lifetime Television movie.

“They are so in love and happy,” said Ehlers. “Everyone enjoys hearing a great love story.”

Entries for 365 Senior Love Stories must be submitted by May 31, 2010. So you have three and a half months to interview mom and dad, or grandma and grandpa, and get it written (400 words is the limit and that’s really not much). What do you get for your effort? For the 365 chosen – the joy of seeing your work in a published book. In my opinion, whether your submission is chosen or not, you may find that the process of writing a small piece of your family’s history will be rewarding on its own.

Additional submission guidelines include:

1. At least one party must be at least 70 years at the time of submission;
2. Both parties be living when the submission is made;
3. The submission may be written by the couple, relatives or third-parties on their behalf;
4. Submissions must be no more than 400 words (include how the couple met, courtship, wedding ceremony, length of marriage, etc.);
5. Submissions must be typewritten and include the full names of the couple, address and telephone contact information for verification;
6. The published story will contain only first names and ages;
7. Submissions without telephone numbers cannot be considered;
8. Submissions may be rewritten, edited and shortened at the discretion of the book authors;
9. Book authors reserve the right to select the love stories for publication and will notify the submitters in advance of the selection;
10. If you would like to submit a photo(s), it could be a wedding photo, a picture of the couple when they met or a recent photo;

Pictures need to include the couples’ names and a photographer’s name if credit is required. Photographs altered in any fashion are not accepted. Pictures can not be returned.  Image requirements: JPEG file format and 300 dpi. Please provide pictures that avoid red-eye, busy backgrounds, etc. Image where the couple’s heads and eyes are on the same level are preferred.

To submit a Love Story, please email SeniorLoveStories@TheEhlersGroup.com. For more information, please call 954-726-9228 or visit 365SeniorLoveStories.blogspot.com.

As I’ve watched my father’s relationship with his dear friend Ginny grow closer and closer over the last 20 months, it has demonstrated to me that love really can blossom later in life.  He and Ginny are just one of the many happy couples I see when I visit their Florida continuing care retirement community. So with Valentine’s Day coming up in a week, I wanted to share this contest sponsored by a national senior living provider. Following is the information from their website:

In honor of Valentine’s Day, Emeritus Senior Living, a national provider of assisted living and Alzheimer’s and related dementia care services to seniors, is holding a Facebook contest that encourages fans to share personal and family love stories.

Emeritus’ “Lifetime of Love” contest gives fans the opportunity to share their own love stories, or family love stories that have been passed down from parents and grandparents. Fans are encouraged to post their love stories as comments to the “Valentines Day Contest” tab on the Emeritus Senior Living Facebook page. One grand prize winner will receive a $500 American Express gift card. Twenty additional winners will receive a $100 American Express gift card. All winners will be announced via Facebook on February 15th, 2010.

The inspiration behind the Emeritus “Lifetime of Love” contest comes from sharing the personal stories and journeys of many of the residents who live at its 316 communities across the country. Among the residents who have shared their heartwarming love stories with Emeritus are four Garden Grove, CA couples who are scheduled to renew their wedding vows at Emeritus at Garden Manor community in a group ceremony on February 12th, 2010.

Today is the first annual World Pneumonia Day. Nearly 100 health organizations worldwide have come together to call on governments to take action to address this deadly disease. This awareness campaign is focused on pneumonia in children; and rightly so since pneumonia kills more than two million kids worldwide every year, making it the leading killer of young children.

Let’s not forget, however, that the elderly are the second most-affected segment of our population when it comes to pneumonia. Community Acquired Pneumonia (CAP) causes about 500,000 hospitalizations in those older than 65 yearly in the US and is the 5th leading cause of death in people over 65.  Nursing Home Acquired Pneumonia (NHAP) is one of the most common causes of infection in chronic care facilities and is one of the most significant infection-related causes of mortality in such facilities.

The Centers for Disease Control reports that last year 60% of adults 65 and over received a pneumococcal vaccination, sometimes called PPV. The good news is that if you get the pneumonia shot at age 65 or older, you should be protected from the most common type of bacterial pneumonia for the rest of your life, and Medicare will pay for it. According to the CDC, seniors age 65 and older should consider getting vaccinated against pneumonia as well as the seasonal flu, because they are at risk for developing the two infections at the same time.

So if you have an elderly family member, particularly one living in a senior living facility, find out if they have  received a pneumonia vaccine. Some, such as my somewhat stubborn elderly father, may refuse to get the shot. But it is an important issue to raise with the individual and his or her doctor.

Most of Florida’s senior living facilities are concentrated around the state’s largest cities: Miami, Orlando, Tampa and Jacksonville. The Palms of Sebring is an exception – thriving for the past 50 years in the tiny town of Sebring, Florida. Located about 90 miles due south of Orlando, far from any interstate, Sebring is a small town in the middle of the state. And location is not the only thing that makes The Palms unique.

Tower apartments at The Palms at Sebring

The Palms of Sebring is Highlands County’s only retirement community offering three levels of living – independent living, assisted living and a nursing home. This senior living facility has approximately 70 units each in independent and assisted living, and 120 beds in the nursing home.

While many Florida continuing care retirement communities such as this require a large, up-front community fee, The Palms of Sebring only charges new residents a one-time fee of $750. After that, independent living residents choose whether to live in the full-service Tower apartments, where monthly rent starts at $1689 and includes utilities, all meals, housekeeping, and transportation; or the Poinsettia apartments, where monthly rents starts at just $901 and does not include meals or housekeeping. Recreational activities and wellness programs are included for residents in both buildings. Another unique feature of The Palms is that they do allow residents to have pets – cats and dogs in the Poinsettia Apartments and cats only in the Tower Apartments.

In addition, the dining room is open continually from 7am – 6pm. “So if you want a steak dinner at two in the afternoon, you can have it,” explains marketing director Janice Roberts. “Our executive chef is wonderful.”

Roberts also told me The Palms has a home health agency that provides services to residents in their Palms apartments, and also to individuals who do not live on property.

To learn about this Florida senior living facility, visit The Palms at Sebring. To search for other senior living facilities around Florida, visit Florida Senior Living Advisor.

My elderly father used to be quite the world traveler. Whether for his job with the U.S. Government, or for pleasure, he visited more corners of the earth than I will ever see. As I recall, his last overseas trip was to Paris about five years ago with my nephew. Now, at 84-years-old and a bit unsteady on his feet, he rarely leaves the grounds of his Florida senior living facility, much less travel out of the country, or even out of state. But I think with enough planning and accommodations, he could easily have some adventures in his future.

I recently came across this list of travel tips for wheelchair users and slow walkers. It is provided by Connie George Travel Associates, based in Pennsylvania. These tips are specifically tailored to a cruise vacation, but I think they can help to ensure a safe and enjoyable vacation of any kind.

• Be clear about what you need. Whether you are dealing with a travel consultant or directly with a cruise line, keep in mind that not everyone has exactly the same needs. A cabin feature that works well for most others may not meet your requirements. You are the best judge to know what works best and you need to relay that information rather than assume what you need is the norm.
• Think about all aspects of the trip. As well as an accessible cabin on an accessible ship, you may need accessible airport and pier transportation, an accessible hotel room before and/or after the cruise and accessible sightseeing options in the ports.
• Consider whether you need adaptive equipment in your cabin to be more comfortable. Some items may be offered by the cruise line while other equipment is available for rent from third party companies. If renting a transfer lift would make mornings and evenings easier for you and your traveling companion, consider adding it to your cruise plans.
• Check the itinerary for “tender” ports. Tendering means the ship will anchor in a bay and use a boat to shuttle guests into the port. Success in tendering depends on the cruise line’s policies on allowing and assisting guests who use wheelchairs to tender, the size and weight of your “wheels”, and sea conditions.
• Consider riding. If you are a “slow walker” with limitations on how long you can be on your feet in time or distance, consider renting a scooter. If it helps increase your stamina or gives you more flexibility to get around your large ship, it may make your vacation more enjoyable and relaxing.
• Consider downgrading your ride. If you use a scooter or power chair full-time and are able to use a manual wheelchair and perform transfers, you might want to consider bringing or renting a manual wheelchair for ports. Many ports don’t have accessible vehicles with ramps or lifts. In those cases, using a manual wheelchair and transferring onto the seat of a car can give you access to more sightseeing.
• Request a table location. Like banquet seating, tables can be a bit close. Request your dining table to be located near an entrance or pathway for ease in navigating to your table.
• Send a report. If your disability involves a chronic medical condition, consider obtaining a brief summary report from your physician. Request that the cruise line send a copy to the ship’s infirmary and carry an additional copy for you to have on hand. Ship physicians are hired from around the world so the report should use terms most used worldwide.
• Plug in. If you are traveling with a power chair, scooter, c-pap or other electric equipment, bring a power strip and an extension cord. Most cabins have only one outlet and it’s located at the vanity.
• Hire an advocate. That’s what you’re doing when you book through an agent who specializes in accessible travel. They have dedicated a lot of time and energy into learning about accessibility and have developed rapports with suppliers. They also devote a lot of resources to teaching suppliers about accessibility and in advocating for travelers who have disabilities. A specialist will go to bat for you, saving you time and concern so that you can look forward to your vacation with the same excitement that nondisabled travelers enjoy.

Today, on World Alzheimer’s Day, new data released estimates 35 million people worldwide – a 10% increase over 2005 – are living with Alzheimer’s and dementia, highlighting the urgent need for action and response. With 77 million American baby boomers reaching the age of greatest risk, it is clear that the crisis of dementia and Alzheimer’s cannot be ignored. Left unchecked, dementia and Alzheimer’s will impose enormous burdens on individuals, families, health care infrastructures and the worldwide economy. The impact is already being felt here in Florida, where 25% of our population is 65 or older. Individual families and senior living facilities are struggling to provide care to the growing number of people dealing with Alzheimer’s and dementia.

According to the 2009 World Alzheimer Report, newly released today from Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI), a London-based nonprofit, international federation, the number of people with Alzheimer’s or another dementia is expected to nearly double every 20 years, to 65.7 million in 2030 and 115.4 million in 2050.  It is estimated that there is a new case diagnosed every 70 seconds.

Much of the growth will be fueled by longer life spans and population growth, especially in developing nations.

“The number of people affected by Alzheimer’s is growing at a rapid rate, and the increasing personal costs will have significant impact on the world’s economies and health care systems. We must make the fight against Alzheimer’s a priority here in the United States and worldwide,” said Harry Johns, President and CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association.

According to Johns, some other countries, like the U.K., have a national Alzheimer’s plan in place. But in the United States, federal spending on research for Alzheimer’s is far lower than some other diseases, like cancer and AIDS. And, there’s no national plan in place that deals with long-term care for people with dementia, as well as “care coordination” of the many different health-care professionals who are often needed to care for patients with Alzheimer’s.

Although there is no cure, experts say that patients who receive active, early medical care may be able to delay progression and experience a higher quality of life. Also, caregivers who receive supportive services early on are better able to manage their loved ones’ illness at home and reduce institutionalization.

The Alzheimer’s Association website provides this very interesting interactive tour that shows how Alzheimer’s affects the brain. Inside the Brain: An Interactive Tour.

If you are trying to find care for a loved one with Alzheimer’s or dementia, many of the nursing homes and assisted living facilities in the Florida Senior Living Advisor database offer memory care services. Visit the individual websites or call for more information. Another option is in-home care, which I wrote about on this blog last week.

Last night, like most Sunday nights, my 84-year-old father came over for dinner. And as is usually the case, he was accompanied by his girlfriend  Ginny, an amazing 90-year-old woman who lives in his continuing care retirement community. We all have different ideas of what constitutes “old age” or “elderly”. Ask my young children, and they would probably tell you old age starts in your 50s. Most of my 30- and 40-something friends would probably say anyone 75+ falls in that category. But there would be little  debate that a woman of age 90, like Ginny, is elderly. After spending nearly every Sunday evening with her for the past eight months, I am here to tell you otherwise.

Ginny is a vibrant, fit, sharp-minded woman who exemplifies everything I hope to be if I am fortunate enough to live that long. And I’ve finally figured out her secret. Ginny has discovered the Fountain of Youth. It’s not a place, and it’s not in a cream or an injection or a surgical procedure. The Fountain of Youth is in her head – and in all of our heads if we allow it to be.

Ginny is always “up.” Everything is wonderful in her world. Every week when she comes over, she gushes about how the meal is the best she’s ever had (even when I opt not to cook and order take-out), my children are amazing (as she listens to my three girls argue over the Wii), the weather is beautiful (not the word I’d use on a sticky hot Florida summer night), etc. Her favorite phrase is, “This is such a treat” – and she uses it often. Last night as she was saying good-night, she touched my arm and said, “This is really heaven in this home. Your kids, your family, it’s just heaven.” She verbalizes positive thoughts and she says them with sincerity. I believe her optimism is the secret to her youthfulness, and it’s starting to rub off on the rest of us as well. When we first started hosting my father and her for dinner, I think we thought of it more as a favor to them, to give them a chance to get out of their continuing care retirement community and have a change of scenery and food. Now I realize that my husband and I are the ones reaping the benefits.

What Ginny has taught us – or at least reminded us – is that there really is power in focusing on the positive. She has had her share of heartache, outliving three husbands, her first who died fairly young. Through it all, though, she has never lost her love of life and living. She has held interesting jobs, traveled the world, and continues to seek out new experiences (she is currently trying to convince my father that they should take a trip to Key West). Until recently, Ginny was an avid swimmer; now she stays fit by using the equipment in her senior facility’s exercise room. According to this article from WebMD, exercise is a key to staying sharp in old age.

Thanks to Ginny, I have clear evidence that I don’t need to buy into the fancy creams and procedures to retain my youth. Those are only superficial treatments (and one way or another – by 90, the wrinkles are there). The real secret to a vibrant, youthful life comes from within, from fostering a positive  attitude and mental acuity. The Fountain of Youth is much closer than I ever thought!

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For a comprehensive online database of senior living facilities in Florida, visit Florida Senior Living Advisor.