Denver Caregiver Alert – Common infections and Alzheimer Link
Published March 19, 2010The Alzheimer’s Society funded research at the University of Southampton in the UK which examined cognitive abilities of people with Alzheimer’s. It found a possible link between high levels of protein in the blood and increased memory loss. People with respiratory, gastrointestinal or other similar infections were more likely to have an elevated protein level linked to inflammation-like reactions in the brain. Research showed that people who caught an infection, such as a simple cold or stomach bug, had twice the rate of cognitive decline as healthy people.
The potential link between inflammatory processes and Alzheimer’s is not yet totally understood. Much more research is needed; however, the research that has been done establishes the importance that people with dementia treat any kind of infection seriously and seek medical help promptly.
The research from this study was published in Neurology journal, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. It raises the viewpoint that common anti-inflammatory drugs like aspirin and ibuprofen could be used in the fight against Alzheimer’s.
Gerri Tyber, Operations Manager
Barton Home Care – Denver caregiver
Impact on Seniors — Medicare Fraud
Published December 28, 2009Unfortunately, Medicare fraud is outrageously profitable and rather low risk. Miami is the current Medicare fraud capital of the country. Schemes that are launched there are perfected and then exported to other parts of the nation. Situations could involve setting up health care clinics (many often just empty storefronts or post office boxes) and then charging Medicare millions of dollars for therapies that were never actually performed. Criminals learn to submit their bills correctly for bogus claims, and they are compensated in full and in a timely manner by a computer, with no human interaction at all.
Individuals running these scams obtain Medicare numbers by stealing or buying them from doctors, clinics or patients. In one documented circumstance, one Medicare number in the wrong hands triggered payment of more than $1 million for phantom care.
Estimates of losses due to national Medicare fraud range from $11 billion to $60 billion. Arriving at an exact figure calculated by industry experts is difficult.
Medicare’s vulnerability to crooks is due somewhat to the fact that the enrollment program is based on an honor system that is evidently broken. Medicare’s anti-fraud budget is obviously inadequate. This year Congress is allocating an additional $200 million for that budget with another $300 million scheduled for 2010. Hopefully, this money will help the agency upgrade its computer software to flag suspicious bills, to call for more investigations of dubious claims, and to make more random visits to providers. The Obama administration feels that health care reform can be significantly financed with anticipated savings derived from cracking down on Medicare fraud.
Gerri Tyber, Operations Manager
Barton Home Care
Senior Home Health Care Denver – A Better Understanding of “Empathy”
Published September 1, 2009Senior Home Health Care Denver – My Journey to Understanding the Challenges of our Seniors
The transition from a normal, independent middle-aged person to one with incapacitating Guillian Barré Syndrome is not a pleasant one. A three-week hospital stay and countless diagnostic tests resulted in my GBS diagnosis. This is an insidious immune system disorder that causes severe nerve and muscle damage. My case is much less severe than many who are afflicted with it, but it still caused a paralysis that made me fall numerous times ultimately resulting in a broken ankle.
I’m glad to finally be home, but I currently have to rely on a walker to move around. Daily mundane tasks like running the vacuum, driving a car and watering plants are still out of my ability range. My feet and hands are not working properly; the broken ankle is the least of my problems.
On a positive note, this experience has given me a new appreciation for the challenges that so many people face every day. I’ll never look at a person using a walker or a cane in the same way again; I will always wonder what chain of events led them to that predicament. Severe illness can take you to a dark place. I have been fortunate, until now, to be a very healthy adult and never visited this very frightening place before—one that forces you to realize that circumstances beyond your control can result in a loss of your independence.
Even though very little is known about the causes of GBS and there is no cure for it, the nerve damage generally reverses itself. The time frame for the reversal varies from individual to individual. There is hope for full recovery; many other illnesses do not offer this hope. This experience has taught me to “empathize” with those who are dealing with severe health issues. I have a better understanding of their fears and their hopes for recuperation.
Gerri Tyber, Operations Manager
Barton Home Care
