Familywize - Immediate Savings on Prescription Drugs for Everyone

 In Darke County the Familywize cards are distributed by United Way but you can also print a card from the Familywize web site or pick one up at the Kmart pharmacy.
http://www.familywize.org/index.aspx

PRESCRIPTION DRUG SAVINGS PROGRAM     

IT'S FREE: This is a free resource from the FamilyWize community service partnership. Use this FamilyWize card to start saving money on your prescription drugs today.

IT'S EASY: Simply present your card and prescription to a participating pharmacy to obtain the discounted price. You always receive the lower of the discounted price or pharmacy's retail price.

HOW MUCH YOU SAVE: This card can save you and your family an average of up to 30% or more on 8 out of 10 prescriptions. Click here to see the discounted price of medications using this card.  (Note - that this says prices at CVS may be significantly higher, even for generic drugs) It pays to price shop.

NO RESTRICTIONS: Use your card as often as you need, for any prescription, for everyone in your family. There is no income limit, age requirement, eligibility or registration required.

$1 BILLION IN SAVINGS: The goal of this community partnership is to reduce the cost of medicine for children, families and individuals with no prescription drug coverage by $1 billion. FamilyWize cards are being distributed free of charge nationwide by participating United Ways, community and faith-based organizations, county agencies, doctors, businesses, some pharmacies, and individuals like you. The discounts and savings are provided voluntarily by the more than 55,000 participating pharmacies that have agreed to accept this card. Please remember to thank your pharmacy for its participation and those helping to give out the cards for the difference they are making for you, your family and your community.

HOW YOU CAN HELP: Did you know that more than one out every five people in the United States has no prescription drug coverage? Please email, text and tell your friends, family members, co-workers, and members of groups you know a link to this website, place a link to this site on your websites and web pages, and print cards for the people you know that do not have Internet access. And please click on the Volunteer Center to get cards and flyers to distribute in your area. Together, we can make a difference! THANK YOU!

THIS IS NOT HEALTH INSURANCE: Discounts are available only at paticipating pharmacies.

Diabetes - Low Carb Fruits And Vegetables

25 Fruits & Vegetables with Lowest Carbs = Click Here

Understanding Bronchitis and How It Is Treated

Happiness Increases After 50 - Gallup Poll Finds

For all who have dread "the golden years", a new Gallup poll suggests that happiness increases after 50!

Who knew?

http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/health/2010/06/01/2010-06-01_happiness_increases_after_age_50_gallup_poll_finds.html

A "Black Box" for Humans to Monitor Health

The day is coming - the technology that was developed to monitor the vital signs of the astronauts may soon be used in homes to monitor our heart and respirations! Thanks to technology, when this type of technology is used, the "black box" will help save lives (and money) by providing the data of what happened and when!

Stroke's No Joke. Time Lost is Brain Lost - Get Informed

Photo from -

http://www.healthline.com/blogs/outdoor_health/2008/10/rapid-treatment-for-stroke.html

Know the warning signs of stroke and teach others.

Every minute counts so being informed can help you save your life or that of others.

Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
Sudden, severe headache with no known cause

Immediately call 9-1-1 or the emergency medical services (EMS) number so an ambulance (ideally with advanced life support) can be sent for you.

Also, check the time so you'll know when the first symptoms appeared. It's very important to take immediate action. If given within 3 hours of the start of symptoms, a clot-busting drug called tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) may reduce long-term disability for the most common type of stroke.

tPA is the only FDA-approved medication for the treatment of stroke within three hours of stroke symptom onset.

Stroke is the 3rd leading cause of death (right behind heart disease and cancer) and the number one cause of adult disability in the United States. The more risks factors you have, the greater your risk.

The brain is an extremely complex organ that controls various body functions.  If a stroke occurs and blood flow can't reach the region that controls a particular body function, that part of the body won't work as it should.

Risk factors are traits and lifestyle habits that increase the risk of disease. Extensive clinical and statistical studies have identified several factors that increase the risk of stroke. Most of them can be modified, treated or controlled. Some can’t.

This link includes a risk assessment tool, please use it.
http://www.powertoendstroke.org/strokesnojoke.html

Beautiful headwraps for women with hair loss

Ohio StateUniversity Extension - Dining with Diabetes Program

Ohio State University Extension, in partnership with community health professionals, offers a program to help individuals learn to better manage their diabetes through knowledge of healthy food choices, healthy versions of familiar foods that are quick and easy to prepare, portion control, self-management
techniques, and strategies for healthy meal planning.

Dining with Diabetes is both a cooking school and a nutrition education program for people with diabetes and their family members or caregivers. The three-class series includes discussion, tasting of healthy delicious foods, and demonstrations. Topics include carbohydrates and sweeteners,
fats and sodium, and vitamins and minerals. The classes are taught by a Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Educator and Registered Dietitian or Certified Diabetes Educator. A reunion class is held several months later as a follow-up to the series, and program participants are asked to share their
 behavior changes through a program evaluation.

Dining with Diabetes reaches more than 2,000 Ohioans annually and has helped individuals lower their blood sugar levels, lose weight, and increase physical activity. Comments from participants include: “You take a complicated subject and make it easy,” “I always learn something new every time
I come to class,” and “There’s no one to tell new diabetics what they need to know. Dining with Diabetes is definitely needed—it fills that void.”

For additional information about Dining with Diabetes, contact your local OSU Extension office or Monadine Mattey at mattey.1@osu.edu

Adult Day Services

Darke County is very fortunate to have an Adult Day Center. The Shuff Adult Day Center, located on the campus of Brethren Retirement Community, is a newly renovated, modern, "home away from home" for adults who are not able to be alone during the day.

Some adults come for the social aspects of adult day care, others have family caregivers who work and must be gone during the day, still others come for a respite break or a change of scene.

Call today to schedule a tour and get more information. 

 937-547-7600

Adult Day Centers provide benefits for the participants as well as the family caregiver, often providing a respite  break to allow the caregiver to run errands, visit the doctor, shop etc.

Adult Day Centers are very affordable - not only do they care for loved ones in a safe, secure environment, they also provide meals and snacks and help with hygiene, if needed.  Transportation, if needed, can be arranged.

If you are not familiar with Adult Day Care Services, click here to access an article on Adult Day Services, published by Ohio State University.

Click here to access Brethren Retirement Community's web site

Food as Medicine for Older Adults

Source: http://www.extension.org/pages/The_Question_of_Food_as_Medicine

By Linnette Mizer Goard, Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Sciences, Ohio State University Extension, Lorain County.

As people age they typically need less food (fewer calories), but about the same amount of most vitamins and minerals. This means that older adults need to focus on eating nutrient-dense foods—those high in vitamins and minerals—at a lower calorie “cost.” Nutrient-dense foods include most fruits and vegetables, low fat or fat-free dairy foods, lean meats, legumes, and whole grains. As one eighty-five year old put it, “I need more carrots and less coconut cake.”


Increasingly, research is finding that specific foods—typically the more colorful, plant-based foods—have disease-fighting capabilities. Blue, purple, and red foods, such as berries, are rich in phytochemicals that may reduce risk for some cancers.

Dark green, leafy vegetables, such as spinach and kale, may be beneficial in preventing or slowing the disease of macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in aging adults.

Buying nutrient-dense foods means shopping with color in mind. Upon entering the grocery store, start with the produce section and select a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables, especially those in season. Buying produce in season is important for taste and nutrition, and it is economical. Spend as little time as possible in the aisles with processed or canned foods. Those generally contain ingredients like sugar, salt, and fat, which add calories but few or no micronutrients that are important for good health.

Start slowly and select one or two appealing vegetable items, then identify a variety of simple, tasty ways to prepare them. The options abound.

Even something less well known, such as kale (the curly-edged, dark green, leafy vegetable often used as garnish in restaurants), has tasty possibilities. Consider making “kale chips” by washing and thoroughly drying the kale and cutting it into chip-size pieces with kitchen shears. Be sure to remove the middle rib on each leaf of kale. Place on a baking sheet. Drizzle the pieces with a little olive oil and sprinkle them with a seasoning (such as turmeric, nutmeg, or a salt-substitute). Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. Another approach might be to place cut-up, well washed, and dried kale leaves in a blender or food processor and turn them into flakes. Store those flakes in the freezer in a sealable bag. Regularly add a spoonful of kale flakes to soups or sprinkle on salads. Those are just a few of the type of ideas found on Oregon State University’s recipe web site http://healthyrecipes.oregonstate.edu/.

The question of food as medicine? Deliciously so.

Systems to Keep Track of Taking Medications

Many seniors take several medications so it is essential that they develop a system to keep track of taking their medications.

Some do it by using pill boxes with the day of the week.........others do it by using a box marked with the time of day the pill is to be taken - and the appropriate meds are in each box.

The Ohio State University and the Ohio Aging Network Professionals has a link to an article that lists several different systems.

Find one for you.
Make sure your spouse/children know which one you use.
Update it whenever you have new medications or stop taking a medication.
Keep a list of what you take, with the dosage, and why you take it - in your wallet.

Click here to access The Ohio State University article.

I'm a New Diabetic, Now What Do I Eat?

Learning to manage your diabetes certainly has a learning curve but, like anything else, if you break it down in small bites, it is much easier to learn and less overwhelming. Food is a factor in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes management but the way it is used to manage the disease is different.

Let's take a look at Food and Diet by Diabetes Type



Type 1 Diabetics - base their insulin dosage in part on what they eat.

Type 2 Diabetics  often use their dietary choices as a method of controlling their blood glucose levels.




Type 1 Diabetics
Learning how to calculate carbohydrate grams and account for other important food factors, such as fiber intake, is essential to good blood glucose control for people with type 1 diabetes.

From dlife.com

"If you are on standard insulin therapy (i.e., your insulin doses stay the same from day-to-day), you need to consume roughly the same number of carbohydrate grams daily to avoid blood sugar highs and lows. People on standard insulin therapy generally use simple carbohydrate counting, which sets a certain number of insulin units for every 15 grams of carbohydrates eaten (15 g=1 carb choice).

Your healthcare team can help you determine the appropriate amount of daily carbohydrates for your particular insulin regimen. People who are overweight or obese have weight loss issues to take into account when developing an eating plan. A registered dietitian experienced in diabetes management can help determine the optimal daily amount of carbohydrate and calorie intake.

Those with type 1 diabetes who are controlling their diabetes with flexible insulin therapy are able to adjust the amount of insulin taken before a meal to counteract, or “cover,” the grams of carbohydrates that are about to be eaten, which also allows them to vary their carb intake from day to day. Insulin dose is calculated based on an “insulin to carbohydrate” ratio that establishes a set number of insulin units for a certain quantity of carbohydrate grams. The insulin to carbohydrate ratio varies from person to person; work with your healthcare team to determine what ratio is right for you.



Type 2 Diabetes and Diet

One of the main treatment approaches for type 2 diabetes is medical nutrition therapy (MNT). In simplest terms, MNT is adjusting dietary intake to minimize dramatic highs and lows in blood glucose and keep levels within a safe target range. Carbohydrate counting if a useful tool for keeping diabetes under control.

In addition, as weight and body mass decreases in type 2 patients, so does insulin resistance, so MNT and any medication regimen should be constantly re-evaluated to ensure blood glucose levels stay within a safe range.

Exercise is anintegral part of any weight loss routine, so patients with type 2 diabetes should work with their healthcare team to create a safe and effective individualized fitness plan.

Diabetic? Consider joining dLife

You will become a member of the largest diabetes support community!

dlife.com

 By joining dLife you have a powerful resource to help you manage your diabetes life or that of a loved one.  You'll get a free eCookbook and access to a lot of online resources!

Have a smart phone and want to use it to help manage your diabetes?

Handicap Parking - Don't Judge By Appearances

Lend A Helpful Hand, Not A Hurtful Heart

Not everyone who has a handicap parking permit has a visible handicap. By that, I mean they may not walk with a limp, use a cane or be in a wheelchair. Many disabilities are invisible to the eye.

People with cardiac and pulmonary disease are often winded by walking even short distances but they don't always walk with a walker or have an O2 tank. 

Whether or not you are able to see their disability, without the special reserved handicap spaces, simple tasks would be overwhelming, painful, if not impossible.

If you or a loved one have an "invisible disability" take a look at the Invisible Disability web site for information and education.

Boomers Face Retirement Crisis

As more and more Boomers reach retirement age, they find themselves with too little assets and are now facing a retirement crisis.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Baby-boomers-near-65-with-apf-654311409.html

Family Caregiver - Making an Occupied Bed

Why Vital Signs are Important in Elder Care

10 Things You May Not Know About Colds

Did you know the average 75-year old adult has had about 200 colds in their lifetime? That's TWO years spent with the sniffles, sneezes and cough!

How do you tell a cold from the flu? How do you keep yourself healthy and avoid getting sick?

Researchers continue to study colds - click here for 10 things you may not know about colds.

Spotlight on Aging - Who Are the Caregivers?

The FAMILY - the caregivers in the family, are the primary source of help for the aging. In the U.S., we have over 22 million non-paid family caregivers.

It's best to have a plan in place, ahead of time, before you need it. There are many services available, but you need to know about them BEFORE you need them.



Eldercare Locator

Portobello Mushroom Burger

Here's an easy and delicious hot sandwich recipe that comes in handy during all the Christmas rush.