Skype lets you talk and video conference over the Internet

"Enjoy the World, hobbies, crafts, creative pastimes, e-mail,web based Conversations, Blogs, Articles"

Skype is a little piece of software that lets you talk and video conference over the Internet with anyone, anywhere in the world for free while viewing each other on your computer screens.

This Listen-Zone describes one of several ways to set up and use Skype

Basic Requirements for Skype
# A high speed Internet connection
# a personal computer (Your computer must have Windows 2000, XP or Vista to run Skype)
# a webcam, a microphone (some web cams have a built in microphone) and speakers attached to your computer). Many lap-tops have built in speakers, some have built in webcam. If you are concerned with the audio being overheard you can use a headset with microphone
# first install the camera's software on your computer
# Then Connect the camera with the USB cable to any of the the computer's USB sockets (ports).
Many computers will automatically recognize that you plugged the webcam in and it will tell you there is a new device on the computer
# With the webcam connected you have also connected the microphone that is built into the webcam to the computer. You can now adjust the audio settings using the webcam controls or wait until you have installed Skype.
# The Logitech installer will guide you through the con figuration of the audio. You may download from the Logitech site or from Skype.
# Skype provides the software free of charge. After you have Skype installed they have additional services that you buy into.
# This article is limited to free services over the Internet to anyone, anywhere in the world for free while viewing each other on your computer screens.
# You will be asked to choose a Skype name
This the name or nickname that people will use to call you (connect with you) on using Skype. The Skype Setup Wizard will appear and guide you through the rest of the installation.
# Make certain peakers are plugged in and volume turned up. (or if using a head set plug it in)
# Now call the Skype Test service. It is an automated service that you call and it calls you back so that you know you are ready to Skype.
# Make your first call
Select your friend's Skype Name and press the big green call button.
# Sign up for a Google Account and for a Google gmail account

The number of unpaid family caregivers in the United States now tops 65 million

The Secret Caregivers

The Secret Caregivers

By Gail Sheehy, May & June 2010

Men care for their loved ones more often than we know. Why do they hide it? Inside their silent burdens and bittersweet rewards

The number of unpaid family caregivers in the United States now tops 65 million, involving more than three in ten households, according to "Caregiving in the U.S. 2009," a report conducted by the National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC) in collaboration with AARP, and funded by the MetLife Foundation. Despite a common stereotype that caregiving is women's work, one third of American caregivers are men, the report reveals.

Changing the perception and experience of aging

secondwinddreams

Second Wind Dreams® was formed in 1997, growing out of the work of geriatric specialist P.K. Beville, M.S. who co-authored Second Wind, a novel about people living in a nursing home. Over the last twelve years, SWD has become involved in more than 290 eldercare communities in 40 states, Canada and India. The mission of Second Wind Dreams® (SWD) is simple: through the fulfillment of dreams and the offering of innovative educational opportunities to caregivers and communities, SWD seeks to change the perception and experience of aging, empowering elders to age with dignity, hope and joy.

Second Wind Dreams focuses on those living in eldercare communities or in hospice care. These are our seniors who need our assistance most. Family support may be non-existent, money can be at a premium, especially for our Medicaid supported seniors, and these senior adults are often our frailest— the ones who need a dream fulfilled.

Raise your hand if you're a caregiver.

How Can Doctors and Caregivers Work Together?

from: HealthBridge's In-Home Care Blog

Dr. Pauline Chen took an insightful look at this topic in her "Doctor and Patient" column in the New York Times. She writes:

For all our assertions about the importance of caring in what we do, doctors as a profession have been slow to recognize family members and loved ones who care for patients at home. These “family caregivers” do work that is complex, physically challenging and critical to a patient’s overall well-being, like dressing wounds, dispensing medication, and feeding, bathing and dressing those who can no longer do so themselves.

Many of these caregiving tasks were once the purview of doctors and nurses, a central component of the “caring professions.” But over the past century, as these duties increasingly fell to individuals with little or no training, doctors and even some nurses began to confer less importance, and status, to the work of caregiving.

Communities are ill-prepared to meet the need for senior services

Communities south of Boston face dramatic increase in senior population, demand for elder services - The Boston Globe

“Tomorrow’s seniors are not your father’s grandfathers,’’ said Timothy G. Reardon, senior regional planner for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, which analyzed demographic trends including births, deaths, and migration and other factors to forecast the changes in populations. “COAs and other organizations that work with seniors must rethink the types of services they provide. It’s not going to be all meals on wheels and Sunday suppers at the COA hall.’’

"Where America Stands" on the growing Alzheimer's epidemic ..

Dr. Jon LaPook CBS alzheimers - Google News

CBS News chief medical correspondent, Dr. Jon LaPook speaks with CBSNews.com's Cali Carlin about "Where America Stands" on the growing Alzheimer's epidemic ..

Retirees - Seniors: connect family and friends during a serious health event, care and recovery

CaringBridge. A Nonprofit Web Service Providing Free Websites During Critical Illness.

About CaringBridge

CaringBridge is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing free websites that connect family and friends during a serious health event, care and recovery.

A CaringBridge website is personal, private and available 24/7. It helps ease the burden of keeping family and friends informed. The websites are easy to create and use. Authors add health updates and photos to share their story while visitors leave messages of love and support in the guestbook.

Death Panels, Alaska | Sarah's "Palin Care For Seniors" Worked Even Better than Death Squads

Why Use Death Squads In Alaska When Sarah Palin Had Palin Care For Seniors That Worked Even Better?

"Sarah Palin is worried about Death Panels but many Alaskans are worried about Palin Care. During her tenure from 2006-2009, 277 elderly died from the poor management under her command! The Anchorage Daily News reported about this story last July, the situation in the state’s Medicare and Medicaid funded in-home elder care program became so bad that the federal government had to step in and force Palin to make the necessary improvements."
"In one 2 1/2 year stretch, 227 adults already getting services died while waiting for a nurse to reassess their needs. Another 27 died waiting for their initial assessment, to see if they qualified for help."

http://ow.ly/169ijf

gift choices | useful, needed and something won't complicate their lives.

TIME GOES BY | Gifts for Elders on Your List... by Ronni Bennett

Gifts for Seniors on Your List....and perhaps as hints for family members who might not know what you would like to have.

Coaching someone who has never used a computer before

BBC - Wales - Ten things to show someone who has never used a computer before

As digital storyteller Huw Davies often tells novices: "What you need to be able to do is: open a file, do what you want to it, then save it somewhere where you'll be able to find it later."

Sharing bad news with an aging parent

http://oregoneldercareservices.com/?p=712

Crucial Conversations
So, here’s the big question. What can you do to make handing in his car keys something your father wants to do? Or something he is at least willing to tolerate?

Answer: Don’t equate taking away the keys with helplessness, boredom, and the complete loss of independence.

Kerry Patterson is author of three bestselling books, Influencer, Crucial Conversations, and Crucial Confrontations. Read the rest of his answer to this very important question here. http://ow.ly/15X2Vp

Visit Fifty-Plus Zone | http://www.listenzone.com/

Are you exploring living concepts-options, residence options, adult routine care, assistance, and access to services, avoiding admission to nursing homes or assisted living facilities, finding autonomy, individuality, social relationships and dignity? Everyone wants to avoid loneliness, helplessness and boredom.

"Enjoy the World, hobbies, crafts, creative pastimes, e-mail,web based Conversations, Blogs, Articles"

The Retirement Community website has a extensive directory of subjects retirees will want to browse: Active Adult Communities, Adult Day Services, Assisted Living, Alzheimers Care, Continuing Care, Home Care and Hospice Care, Independent Living, Senior Centers, Choosing a Retirement Community, Driver's Licensing, Medicaid Regulations by State, Property Taxes By State, Retirement Glossary, State Elder Affairs Agencies, Taxes By State, and Types-of-Senior-Housing.

Mass. Medicaid program has no job requirements for personal care attendants.

Home-care system leaves elderly at risk, auditor says - The Boston Globe
By David Abel
Globe Staff / October 15, 2009

Massachusetts state program that oversees home health care services for about 18,000 elderly and disabled residents is vulnerable to fraud and has employed personal care attendants who have committed felonies, including manslaughter, assault, and threatening to commit murder, according to a report released yesterday by the Office of the State Auditor.

The report also noted that the Mass. Medicaid program is one of only four out of 238 programs nationwide with no job requirements for personal care attendants.

The audit drew criticism from state health officials because it surveyed only 30 patients, whose cases had been previously reviewed for fraud by the federal government.

But State Auditor A. Joseph DeNucci said the findings illustrate why the state should establish job requirements for attendants, including training, education, and criminal background checks, which nearly every other program in the country requires.

“What we have found is that there are serious problems in the program,’’ DeNucci said in a phone interview. “We have to strengthen protections for vulnerable people. I think it’s very important.’’

The report also found that 14 of the 30 patients had hired attendants who either had been convicted of a felony or a court had found sufficient evidence to find them guilty. Of the 82 attendants who worked for the 30 patients between 2004 and 2008, seven had been in prison, 12 were involved in violent crimes, nine had been convicted of drug offenses, 10 committed robbery, nine had restraining orders against them, and four had outstanding warrants.

In all, auditors found 41 acts of violence, 29 crimes of theft, and 26 drug crimes, including heroin distribution and trafficking cocaine in a school zone.

State Representative Barbara L’Italien, an Andover Democrat and former attendant, introduced a bill this year that would allow patients to run a free criminal background check on attendants they hire, create an online database to help consumers find attendants, and establish a surrogate program to help those who cannot oversee attendants on their own. The bill has yet to emerge from committee.

“David Abel can be reached at dabel@globe.com.

The Johns Hopkins White Papers: Research on memory continues to grow.

Amazon.com: Memory (Johns Hopkins White Papers : Memory) (9781933087108): Peter V. Rabins: Books

Memory "Shakespeare called memory "the warder of the brain," charged with keeping watch over an individual's personal account of being..."

The Johns Hopkins White Papers are a series of in-depth special reports written by some of the nation's leading doctors, all specialists in their respective fields. Each White Paper summarizes the very latest research and findings from all of the major medical journals, in easy to use language for the lay person to understand. We currently have thirteen different titles.

Research on memory continues to grow. Every year, investigators learn more about the causes of memory problems and how to prevent and treat them. We review the past year's advances in the understanding of memory disorders like Alzheimer disease, and discuss how people who care for patients with dementia can cope better with day-to-day difficulties.

Senior Centers and Adult Day Care activities

Browsing the Web to see what many adult day care programs and Senior Centers were offering. I found the following:

Active floor and table games
Art Therapy,
Arts
Bingo
Card Games
Chair exercises
Chorus & Music Therapy
Cooking
crafts,
Daily Exercise
Discussion groups (books, films, current events)
Discussions: contemporary and devotional
Entertainment
Exercise classes personalized for individual levels of activity and ability.
Gardening
Group discussions on a wide range of subjects
Guest speakers from community organizations
Health awareness talks
health monitoring by a nurse to meet individual needs. There is a
Holiday and birthday celebrations
Horticultural Therapy
individual counseling,
Inter-generational Programs
Kosher Lunch
Local outings.
Mental stimulation games such as BINGO
miniature golf course on site
Music
Musical entertainment and sing-a-longs
nutrition education,
Nutritional Snacks
meals and snacks individualized for specific dietary needs.
field trips,
On Site Library
Organized games of bridge, bingo, cards and trivia,team events
personal care,
Pet Therapy
podiatry care,
Poetry Class
Pottery
quiet rooms with rest areas and television
recreational classes,
Relaxation time
Reminiscing
Spiritual Program
Stretching or other gentle exercise
Student Interns
Tai Chi Class
Talking about current events
Transportation
Volunteers
Weight Loss Club
Woodworking Shop

Motivation And Improving Health In Older Adults, Medical News Today

Boosting Motivation And Improving Health In Older Adults, With The Use Of A Simple Tool

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have identified a tool, the "Getting-Out-of-Bed (GoB) measure" to assess motivation and life outlook in older adults. The study, which appears in the October issue of the /i>Journal of Psychosocial Oncology, shows that the tool has the potential to be an easy-to-use measure to bolster motivation and thus, improve health behaviors and outcomes in the growing population of older adults.

Reverse mortgages may be the next subprime crisis

Reverse mortgages may be next crisis - The Boston Globe

NEW YORK - Reverse mortgages may be the next subprime crisis, according to the National Consumer Law Center.

Some of the same US lenders that helped drive the real estate boom with loans to home buyers who could not afford the payments are now targeting senior citizens, the center said. Brokers, who are given financial incentives to sell the loans, may be making misleading claims, according to a report titled “Subprime Revisited,’’ released yesterday by the Boston-based NCLC.

“This market is designed to serve seniors, so when we find abuses cropping up and migrating from the subprime market to the senior market, that sounds an especially loud warning bell,’’ said Rick Jurgens, an advocate at the NCLC who contributed to the report.

Reverse mortgages enable people 62 and older who are looking for extra cash to use the equity in their homes and receive lump-sum payments, periodic checks, a line of credit, or a combination of the three. Lenders are repaid from the sale of the home when the borrowers die or move.

<snipped>

Kohl and McCaskill released a government report in June that said some lenders falsely market reverse mortgages as “lifetime income’’ and sell mortgages coupled with other financial products, such as annuities, even though Congress banned so-called cross-selling in 2008.

The center’s study recommended enhancing borrower counseling prior to taking out a loan and holding lenders and brokers to a suitability standard.

Some times, dealing with AD, Caring-Partner, is worse than a room full of toddlers

Is Alzheimer’s Behavior Driving You Crazy? Keys to Deal with Difficult Alzheimer’s Issues « Mothering Mother and More

An excellent Read:
Carol D. O’Dell’s "Keys to Dealing with Difficult Alzheimer’s Behavior”

Carol is a Jacksonville University graduate, a family advisor at Caring.com She is alo syndicated on OpentoHopeCaregivers.com. visit her website is www.caroldodell.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/caroldodell.