Senior Living

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Health

Alejandro A. Alvarez/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

North Philly is home to one of DoorDash’s busiest pickup spots in the world

PHILADELPHIA -- In the parking lot of the Share Food Program warehouse in Phildadelphia's Hunting Park neighborhood, stacks of food boxes marked for low-income area seniors were being loaded into the cars of drivers for DoorDash, the online food-ordering and delivery service.

After one car was filled, the next one rolled up, the operation rapid...Read more

Alejandro A. Alvarez/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

North Philly is home to one of DoorDash's busiest pickup spots in the world

PHILADELPHIA -- In the parking lot of the Share Food Program warehouse in Phildadelphia's Hunting Park neighborhood, stacks of food boxes marked for low-income area seniors were being loaded into the cars of drivers for DoorDash, the online food-ordering and delivery service.

After one car was filled, the next one rolled up, the operation rapid...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Say that again: Using hearing aids can be frustrating for older adults, but necessary

It was an every-other-day routine, full of frustration.

Every time my husband called his father, who was 94 when he died in 2022, he’d wait for his dad to find his hearing aids and put them in before they started talking.

Even then, my father-in-law could barely hear what my husband was saying. “What?” he’d ask over and over.

Then, ...Read more

John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune/TNS

'We're not unicorns': Husband donates kidney to wife, showing possibilities for kidney transplants after age 70

CHICAGO -- Jon and Carol McCabe were in the Galápagos Islands with their family for the trip of a lifetime. The couple from Clarendon Hills, Illinois, shared 30 meals with their children and grandchildren and admired diverse wildlife.

But Carol’s health rapidly declined during the trip. She struggled to walk long distances and needed lots of...Read more

Mary Ann Thomas/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette/TNS

This leap year baby is about to turn 92 -- or is it 23?

PITTSBURGH — If Ethel Jean "E.J." Bergad Bonder hits the lottery, she plans to buy a Porsche for her granddaughter because they will both turn 23 years old this year.

Yep, Ethel was born on Feb. 29, 1932, and will technically turn 23 Thursday. She's a leap year baby.

The Gregorian calendar is based on 365.25 days — the amount of time it ...Read more

Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader/TNS

Disabled, elderly rely on this transportation program. It’s leaving them behind

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Tom Newsome likes to stay busy.

Newsome, who has an intellectual disability, goes to Employment Solutions, an organization that provides a host of services for people with disabilities, a few times a week for adult day training.

He enjoys archery and takes ukulele lessons, said Peggy Petrilli, Newsome’s mother. Newsome was ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Study looks at the overwhelming cost of dementia care in senior homes

ATLANTA -- Thousands of families with loved ones who have dementia have turned to senior care homes for help, and a new study from Georgia State University details the heavy financial toll that care in these facilities can place on those with the condition.

The paper, which was done in conjunction with researchers from the University of ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Study: More older adults are using cannabis post-pandemic

A new study, published in the Cannabis and Cannabinoids Research journal, found more older Americans are using cannabis today than before the pandemic. According to researchers with the University of Michigan’s Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, roughly 1 in 8 Americans over 50 currently use the substance.

“As the stress of the...Read more

Tom Gralish/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

These older women are feeding Philadelphians in poverty. What happens when they’re gone?

PHILADELPHIA -- Gloria White, 74, can’t remember precisely how long she’s been volunteering at the food pantry at the Second Antioch Baptist Church in West Philadelphia.

“Thirty, maybe 37 years,” said White, a retired investigator for the Consumer Product Safety Commission. “It’s a calling.” White, who now lives in Townsend, Del.,...Read more

Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Older drivers reveal strategies for passing that 'ridiculous' California DMV renewal test

LOS ANGELES -- I wouldn't call it an atmospheric river, because those come and go. DMV mail falls in a never-ending rain, without regard to seasons.

Not that it's all bad news from readers who, like good soldiers, dutifully report every development from the front lines of the battle to renew their driver's licenses.

Rosa Maria Juarez, 94, ...Read more

Oona Tempest/KFF Health News/TNS

Do we simply not care about old people?

The COVID-19 pandemic would be a wake-up call for America, advocates for the elderly predicted: incontrovertible proof that the nation wasn’t doing enough to care for vulnerable older adults.

The death toll was shocking, as were reports of chaos in nursing homes and seniors suffering from isolation, depression, untreated illness, and neglect....Read more

Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Climate change is not just a risk for our grandkids

Young people are often the most vocal and concerned population regarding climate change, but it is increasingly becoming an issue for those of us age 50 and older.

Older adults face unique challenges and heightened health risks from a warming climate. It’s not just future generations that will be affected during some distant date in the ...Read more

Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Retirement home residents face losing some or all entrance fees as facility struggles to pay debts

BARTLETT, Ill. -- Continuing care retirement communities offer seniors their own home, meals and activities, and assisted living or nursing if they need it. They can accommodate residents who range from being independent to those who require 24-hour care.

Also known as life plan or life care communities, they require a hefty entrance fee, often...Read more

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Dreamstime/TNS

Preparing to hang up the car keys as we age

Lewis Morgenstern has made up his mind. When he turns 65 in four years, he’s going to sign an advance directive for driving.

The directive will say that when his children want him to stop getting behind the wheel, Morgenstern will follow their advice.

“I recognize that I might not be able to make the best decision about driving at a ...Read more

Tommyandone/ID
126159757
© Tommyandone
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Dreamstime/TNS

Preparing to hang up the car keys as we age

Lewis Morgenstern has made up his mind. When he turns 65 in four years, he’s going to sign an advance directive for driving.

The directive will say that when his children want him to stop getting behind the wheel, Morgenstern will follow their advice.

“I recognize that I might not be able to make the best decision about driving at a ...Read more

America’s health system isn’t ready for the surge of seniors with disabilities

The number of older adults with disabilities — difficulty with walking, seeing, hearing, memory, cognition, or performing daily tasks such as bathing or using the bathroom — will soar in the decades ahead, as baby boomers enter their 70s, 80s, and 90s.

But the health care system isn’t ready to address their needs.

That became painfully ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

America's health system isn't ready for the surge of seniors with disabilities

The number of older adults with disabilities — difficulty with walking, seeing, hearing, memory, cognition, or performing daily tasks such as bathing or using the bathroom — will soar in the decades ahead, as baby boomers enter their 70s, 80s, and 90s.

But the health care system isn’t ready to address their needs.

That became painfully ...Read more

Hyoung Chang/THE DENVER POST/TNS

The nation’s first VFW isn’t a smoky bar with vets telling war stories. Here’s what Post 1 in Denver is doing instead

DENVER — The art gallery on Santa Fe Drive teemed with people on a December night, part of the district’s signature First Friday art walk that takes over the funky strip south of downtown Denver.

Families, young professionals and retirees — some with drinks in hand — took in the myriad works gracing the gallery’s walls, chatting ...Read more

Kiddietotes/Kiddietotes/TNS

Travel Trending with Kathy Witt: Hit the road with this travel gear

New year, new travel gear: Here are some functional, versatile and sustainably made products to elevate the travel experience no matter where adventures take you.

From water bottles to backpacks

Lean and green, Solo’s Re:Fresh Machine-Washable Backpack ($49.99) has a slim silhouette and well-padded exterior to protect contents. A comfortable...Read more

DREAMSTIME/TNS

Grocery cards, gas money, golf lessons: Medicare Advantage plans stretch limits

ATLANTA -- Grocery cards, gas money, golf lessons. Entry fees for social clubs. Hunting licenses or park passes. Cold hard cash. Those are just some of the incentives now being pitched to the elderly as part of private, commercial health insurance plans called Medicare Advantage.

Advocates say these benefits are incentives for health. Skeptics ...Read more