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A Hidden Epidemic Threatens Older Adults: Malnutrition December 4, 2024 by Mary Jacobs - For most of her life, Jenny Anne Horst-Martz’s mother worked hard to stay slender. But now, at age 90, her mother struggles to keep enough weight on. The problem started a few years ago when her mother was injured in…
The Burden of Getting Medical Care Can Exhaust Older Patients August 13, 2024 by Judith Graham - Susanne Gilliam, 67, was walking down her driveway to get the mail in January when she slipped and fell on a patch of black ice.
Dementia: A Diagnosis Too Often Delayed August 9, 2024 by Mary Jacobs - Last year, a bank officer phoned Kelli Brown’s brother with a concern: a lot of money was going out of their 87-year-old father’s bank account. Their father, a retired accountant, lived alone in Cincinnati. He seemed to be functioning well…
Medical Research Is Shortchanging Older Women July 27, 2024 by Judith Graham - In the past, scientists assumed that males and females were so much alike that the results of studies done on men applied to women as well. They don’t. For this article, journalist Judith Graham asked top doctors and medical researchers…
How to Navigate Our Fragmented Medical System July 3, 2024 by Mary Jacobs - For three years, Lil Banchero’s 86-year-old mother struggled with pain due to advanced arthritis. She tried yoga. Doctors prescribed medications and tried injections. Nothing worked. The pain got worse, and her mother became depressed. “Months passed,” said Banchero. “Nobody was…
Poor Hearing Can Be Frustrating, but So Can Some Hearing Aids June 27, 2024 by Judith Graham - 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.
Where Are All the Geriatricians? June 11, 2024 by Mary Jacobs - Even though he’s at retirement age, T.S. Dharmarajan, MD, continues to care for older patients as the clinical director of geriatrics at Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, NY. But he’s terrified of the possibility of becoming a patient himself one…
Health Risks Mount When Seniors Are Stranded in the ER June 4, 2024 by Judith Graham - It’s called “boarding” when patients who have come to an emergency room spend hours and hours, lying on a gurney in a hallway, waiting for a bed in the hospital. Studies show that seniors who have been boarded don’t do…
Are You Trapped in Your Medicare Advantage Plan? May 20, 2024 by Sarah Jane Tribble - In 2016, Richard Timmins went to a free informational seminar to learn more about Medicare coverage.
Should Older People Take the New Weight Loss Drugs? April 3, 2024 by Judith Graham - Corlee Morris has dieted throughout her adult life. After her weight began climbing in high school, she spent years losing 50 or 100 pounds then gaining it back. 
Don’t Forget Your Eyes March 21, 2024 by Bernard J. Wolfson - I vividly remember that late Friday afternoon when my eye pressure spiked, and I staggered on foot to my ophthalmologist’s office as the rapidly thickening fog in my field of vision shrouded passing cars and traffic lights.
When Is It Time to Move to Senior Housing? March 6, 2024 by Mary Jacobs - Even after a diagnosis of vascular dementia, Laura Brancato’s father was able to stay in his own home for years. 
In Later Life, Is a Little Excess Weight Such a Bad Thing? February 14, 2024 by Judith Graham - Millions of people enter later life carrying an extra 10 to 15 pounds, weight they’ve gained after having children, developing joint problems, becoming less active or making meals the center of their social lives.
Addiction in Older Adults: A Problem on the Rise February 6, 2024 by Mary Jacobs - Jane’s adult children worried she was sinking into dementia. Her behavior had changed. She wasn’t taking care of her physical appearance. She was forgetful and missing appointments. Maybe it was time, family members wondered, to move her into assisted living. …
Tips for Long-Distance Caregivers January 10, 2024 by Mary Jacobs - This is part 2 of a series about caregiving from a distance. Read part 1 here. Fern, 92, called her daughter in a panic. She couldn’t turn off her television because she couldn’t find the remote. Due to Fern’s hearing…
What to Expect as You Age December 28, 2023 by Judith Graham - How many of us have wanted a reliable, evidence-based guide to aging that explains how our bodies and minds change as we grow older and how to adapt to those differences?- Caring from Afar December 8, 2023 by Mary Jacobs - This is part 1 of a series about caregiving from a distance. Read part 2 here. A few years before he passed away, Maria Hood noticed that her father wasn’t shaving or showering regularly, which was unusual, because the retired…
Remote Work: An Underestimated Benefit for Family Caregivers October 31, 2023 by Joanne Kenen - For Aida Beltré, working remotely during the pandemic came as a relief.
More Older Americans Likely to Die of Heart Disease in the Future October 5, 2023 by Judith Graham - Cardiovascular disease—the No. 1 cause of death among people 65 and older—is poised to become more prevalent in the years ahead
The Cure Can Be Worse Than the Disease August 23, 2023 by Jyoti Madhusoodanan - In October 2021, 84-year-old Jim Yeldell was diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer. The first drug he tried disrupted his balance and coordination, so his doctor halved the dose to minimize these side effects, Yeldell recalled.
Dementia: A Diagnosis Too Often Delayed - Last year, a bank officer phoned Kelli Brown’s brother with a concern: a lot of money was going out of their 87-year-old father’s bank account. Their father, a retired accountant, lived alone in Cincinnati. He seemed to be functioning well…
The Pooled Income Trust - By the time my parents were in their mid-80s, they had gone through their savings and were living off Social Security. My mom received around $1,700 per month and my dad, who often worked as an independent contractor, received around…