If you could invest $56 billion each year in improving health care for older adults, how would you spend it? On a hugely expensive medication with questionable efficacy — or something else?

This isn’t an abstract question. Aduhelm, a new Alzheimer’s drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration last month, could be prescribed to 1 ...Read more

CASTINE, Maine — For years, Louise Shackett has had trouble walking or standing for long periods, making it difficult for her to clean her house in southeastern Maine or do laundry. Shackett, 80, no longer drives, which makes it hard to get to the grocery store or doctor.

Her low income, though, qualifies her for a state program that pays for...Read more

COLUMBUS, Ohio – For Columbus area senior citizens, the COVID-19 pandemic was marked by change, resilience and adaptability.

As the number of in-person gatherings shrank to zero, seniors — like the rest of us — began living mostly virtual lives. But now that the statewide health orders have been lifted and vaccination rates slowly ...Read more

Six months ago, Cindy Sanders, 68, bought a computer so she could learn how to email and have Zoom chats with her great-grandchildren.

It’s still sitting in a box, unopened.

“I didn’t know how to set it up or how to get help,” said Sanders, who lives in Philadelphia and has been extremely careful during the coronavirus pandemic.

Like ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Gene Dykes has done it again.

At 73, the runner from Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, shattered the 50-kilometer world record for his age group on Sunday, posting a time of 3 hours, 56 minutes, and 43 seconds.

That time was more than 19 minutes faster than the old record for that distance (just a shade over 31 miles). He maintained ...Read more

Patty Bausch isn’t a Medicaid expert, lawyer or medical professional. But she still thinks Connecticut legislators need her input when they consider bills affecting people like her — the roughly 18,000 residents who live in the state’s nursing homes.

With help and encouragement from Connecticut’s Long Term Care Ombudsman Program, Bausch...Read more

Ronald Lindquist, 87, has been active all his life. So, he wasn’t prepared for what happened when he stopped going out during the coronavirus pandemic and spent most of his time, inactive, at home.

“I found it hard to get up and get out of bed,” said Lindquist, who lives with his wife of 67 years in Palm Springs, California. “I just ...Read more

Alice Herb, 88, an intrepid New Yorker, is used to walking miles around Manhattan. But after this year of being shut inside, trying to avoid covid-19, she’s noticed a big difference in how she feels.

“Physically, I’m out of shape,” she told me. “The other day I took the subway for the first time, and I was out of breath climbing two ...Read more

Tensions were running high at PDX Commons, a cohousing community for adults 55 and older in Portland, Oregon. Several people wanted to keep visitors off-site until all 35 residents were vaccinated. Others wanted to open to family and friends for the first time in a year.

How do communities with dozens of members decide what to do during a ...Read more