Caregiver

Loss of muscle strength, speed and dexterity is a common consequence of aging and a well-established risk factor for death, disability and dementia. Yet, little is known about how and why motor decline occurs when it is not a symptom of disease.

By Micha Shalev About 5 million Americans, or 10 percent of those over 65 years of age, suffer from Alzheimer’s disease according to the Fischer...

The old-fashioned house call is starting to make a comeback as part of an effort to improve care for some of Medicare’s most frail and expensive patients.

Both family and paid caregivers may overlook various barriers to effective communication with impaired older adults and consequently misinterpret verbal and behavioral messages.

By Jim Fitzgerald
 CHESTNUT RIDGE, N.Y. — At the Fellowship Community’s adult home, workers are paid not according to what they do, but what they need....

What does Massachusetts have against spouses? Judging by reactions on Beacon Hill, this is not a “spouse-friendly” state. I have been on a campaign for years now, urging state lawmakers to add spouses to the list of family members who can be paid caregivers. Under Medicaid rules, a person who wants to hire her aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, son, daughter, grandmother or grandfather---can pay them for personal care services at home. But not their husband or their wife.

Here’s why it’s an issue: Many people have brain plaques, suggesting they might be developing Alzheimer’s even if they don’t have any symptoms.

Welcome to the virtual house call. It’s increasingly getting attention in the United States as a way to conveniently diagnose simple maladies, such as whether that runny nose and cough is a cold or the flu.

By David Crary
 VERONA, N.J. — Retirement communities may have their perks, but Beryl O’Connor said it would be tough to match the birthday surprise she...

David Hilfiker knows what’s coming. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s so early that he’s had time to tell his family what he wants to happen once forgetfulness turns incapacitating.