One transportation alternative for our clients is Metro Transit’s Access program. Access is a curb-to-curb service for the disabled. If we think that a client is eligible for Access, we recommend they sign up for the service. Access works very well for some of our clients, but not as well for others. One of the biggest problems is that Access requires a large time window. It may be hours before a client is picked up; and, it may take hours for their trip to be completed. When clients are frail, their ability to withstand the long waiting periods may be difficult.

To be eligible for the program, clients must go to Harborview Hospital and be evaluated – and Access will provide the ride. One of our clients signed up. As is typical of the program, the pick-up time was an hour later than what they told her – and then they did another pick-up and drop-off along the way. By the time they arrived at Harborview, she wasn’t feeling that well at all.

Metro staff began the evaluation. As a part of the eligibility test, she had to walk one block on her own. She collapsed halfway through.

The upside of this incident is that she passed the test – she is now eligible for Access! But the downside is this – that an elderly woman had to keel over on the street before she could use the public transportation system that is specifically for people like her.

What if our transportation program disappeared, and if all our clients used Access instead of our volunteer transportation program? According to Metro, the cost of the Access service averages $38 per trip. Based on that figure, and the number of trips our volunteers drove last year, we have saved Metro Transit – and the taxpayers – over $130,000. Remember, we receive no federal, state, or county funding. We depend on contributions from our generous supporters – like you – to keep our services going.

And while many Access drivers are kindly and personable – which type of service would you want, as a frail elder? A long wait and then a curb-to-curb bus ride? Or an efficient door-through-the-door service from your volunteer friend?

But there is another cost of social isolation in our health care system that is more hidden.

Family practice physicians and gerontologists know that seniors are often “treated” and their primary symptom is the need for human contact. A senior who visits medical providers may receive attention that is desperately craved. The health care system may be paying for unnecessary visits – what the elderly person really needs is a friend, not a doctor. For different reasons, family members may pay attention to their elderly relatives only when they perceive the person is sick, and disengage when it appears the individual is physically healthy.

At the same time, Americans only get an average of 18 minutes with their primary care physician during each visit. Dr. Yeates Conwell, a professor at the University of Rochester, researches suicide among the elderly. Getting to the emotional state, underlying sadness and hopelessness, is often very difficult for the primary care doctor, Conwell says, especially when they are caring for someone with numerous medical conditions and medications. Meanwhile, patients from an older generation are more likely to talk to their physician about their physical aches and pains, and not their psychological or emotional state. Primary care doctors play a critical role in helping prevent suicide among the elderly because older people, especially older men, are reluctant to seek out and accept mental health services. But they are often seen by family doctors and nurses within days or weeks prior to killing themselves, Conwell says.

Our health care system needs to figure out how to get this right: to ensure that seniors get the right kind of help – medical, social, and psychological. We believe that our volunteers, and volunteer caregivers across the country are part of the solution, providing a friendly face and a welcoming hand to isolated elders in need.

Have you ever had a time in your life when you’ve been lonely?  Well, 10% of people over 65 years old are “chronically lonely”.  And the health effects are profound. Health risks associated with social isolation is equivalent to smoking a pack of cigarettes each day. Loneliness has significant links to a range of chronic conditions; including hypertension, depression, and increases the risk of developing Alzheimer’s by 50%. According to a study that appears in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry (

With a senior population 30% higher than the United States, Great Britain has in recent years undertaken numerous health initiatives to address loneliness among elders in particular.  Their government has funded an effort to research and address loneliness, and we in the United States can learn from them. As defined by The Campaign to End Loneliness, elderly loneliness and isolation is an issue because:

• Loneliness and isolation worsens mortality and morbidity (morbidity is the percentage of people in a population who get sick from a particular disease)
• Reducing loneliness and isolation will help to address health inequalities
• Demographic change could worsen the problem
• It means a poorer quality of life for older people
• Addressing it will improve the integration of services and result in stronger partnerships
• Addressing it will result in stronger communities in which older people play a greater role
• Effective prevention is relatively low cost
• It results in increased use of expensive health and social care services

Being alone much of the time is a recipe for depression and other chronic health conditions. Programs like ours help give isolated seniors greater community connections, allowing them to live happier and healthier lives. For more information and tools to combat loneliness, please see the Campaign to End Loneliness Tool Kit at http://campaigntoendloneliness.org/toolkit/.

The next Caring Hearts are scheduled to occur at:
10:00 AM, Wednesday, May 22, 2012
Mary Queen of Peace, 1121 228th Ave SE, Sammamish
May Postcard

Thursday, June 13, 2013 10:00 AM
St. Madeleine Sophie Catholic Church, 4400 130th Pl SE, Bellevue
June Postcard

To RSVP, please email us at: teresa@eastsidefriendsofseniors.org.

Thank you, and we’ll see you there!

Su Development is planning to host these focus groups on 5/15 and 5/22 in downtown Bellevue. The first focus group, which will be next Wednesday, is aimed at seniors and potential users of senior living communities. The second focus group will be held the following Wednesday (5/22), and is aimed at family members looking for senior housing for their loved ones. As a token of their appreciation, dinner will be provided free of charge at both focus groups.

More information may be found here: http://suresearch.tumblr.com/

“This opportunity was less about the volunteer hours than it was the experience when I first started. Social interaction has never been a strong suit of mine, so this year I wished to focus on opportunities that would expose me to some level of interaction with other people. I have noticed a bit of neglect towards the senior community, so this opportunity in particular intrigued me – and I cannot be happier that I chose to follow through.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with the woman I have been helping out (cleaning her house and companionship) and have a newfound sense of respect for the elder generation. There is so much they have to go through alone, yet sometimes not capable to doing basic things we take for granted.

Thanks so much for this experience and I wish your agency the best of luck in the future!”

Hanna J.

Thank you to Hanna and to all of our volunteers – we are so grateful to you for the many hours that you dedicate to our clients. 

The most common causes of hospital readmission do not occur in the hospital; they happen after the patient has gone home. Eastside Friends of Seniors has a role to play in keeping these rates down. Here are some ways we can supplement your readmission prevention program and help decrease your hospital’s readmission rate.

Transportation

Post-hospital routines often include follow-up appointments with physicians and rehabilitation sessions with physical therapists, plus trips to the pharmacy. Unlike a cab or a bus, clients are not dropped at the curb. Instead, our volunteers provide door-through-the-door transportation services– they are escorted to their destination and helped back home. This type of transportation not only gets the client to the health care appointment, it also provides social support and greater safety and security.

Fall Prevention

After a long time in bed anywhere, people are often unsteady on their feet. Medication can make people dizzy or their vision can become blurry. Any number of causes can lead to a fall, which often leads to a hospital stay. Our team of volunteer handymen can make home modifications and improvements to prevent falls, such as installing grab bars, toilet lifts, or stair railings. Even just replacing burnt out light bulbs in the ceiling can help a senior see better and be less likely to fall.

Relieving Family Caregivers

Having a loved one in the hospital is an emotionally-charged experience for many family members. They may have increased care-taking responsibilities for an aging relative upon the patient’s return home. Many family caregivers are in the “sandwich generation”, who still have responsibilities for their own children, as well as an aging loved one. Why not have Eastside Friends of Seniors be a part of the discharge plan? By having a volunteer help with home chores or transportation, family members are not stretched as thin. Family visits can be more about the relationship, and less about getting through a long to-do list. Stress on everyone is reduced.

The initiative will seek to find new answers for Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, stroke, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the control of prosthetic limbs. These conditions affect many Americans. Alzheimer’s disease affects one in eight Americans over 65 and half of those over 85 – more than 5.4 million people. Right now, Alzheimer’s is the 6^th leading cause of death in America. And more than one million Americans have Parkinson’s disease.

Obama’s BRAIN initiative and President Ronald Reagan’s Human Genome Project (launched in 1988) share similarities. Genome research has led to significant progress on brain-related diseases. The Genome Project began with a $28 million investment; the total project cost of $3.8 billion has since generated an economic output of $796 billion. The BRAIN initiative may have similar economic impact. Millions spent today may help reduce trillions in the future, for care and treatment. According to Alzheimer’s Association 2013 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures, the total payments for health and long-term care services for people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias will total $203 billion in 2013 and a staggering $1.2 trillion by 2050. The BRAIN initiative also has an immediate local benefit: the Allen Institute for Brain Science, founded by Paul Allen, will be one of the organizations conducting the research.

We applaud this initiative. The elderly struggle with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, dementia, stroke and other afflictions of the brain. Their loved ones struggle too: the stress of caregiving someone aging in place with these conditions can mount, causing the caregiver’s health to be endangered too.

Eastside Friends of Seniors volunteers can help. Depending on the depth of the affliction, they can provide transportation or other help, easing the primary caretakers’ responsibility. Ramona, our client services coordinator, can also provide referrals to other agency’s programs that provide additional resources for caretakers, and referrals to assisted living, and specialized housing for those with dementias. However, it would be wonderful to be in a world where Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, dementia, stroke and other afflictions of the brain were more effectively treatable, and ultimately, curable.

An estimated 1 million people in the United States are affected by Parkinson’s disease, and there is currently no known cure for the condition. Because of this, it’s imperative for those with Parkinson’s to be familiar with the most effective treatments, many of which can help manage symptoms of the disease. The NPF’s campaign hopes to shed some light on some of these options, whether it be doing yoga or eating a healthy diet.

“It is never too late to see improvements in one’s daily life,” said Joyce Oberdorf, the president and CEO of NPF. “This campaign brings to light the many ways that anyone can take action, and arms them with the resources they need to live their best life with Parkinson’s. It speaks to the core of our mission to improve care, and improve lives.”

Eastside Friends of Seniors services integrate well into this campaign. How?

• You can’t have a healthy diet with fresh fruits and vegetables if you can’t get to the grocery store. Transportation for grocery shopping is one of our standard services.
• Fall prevention – our handymen can make home improvements such as installing grab bars or handrails, to keep a Parkinson’s patient on his or her feet.
• Housework – our volunteers perform many hours of housework for our clients as those who suffer with Parkinson’s find it very difficult or impossible to do housework.  In this way, we help a Parkinson’s patient to maintain quality of life by making life easier and safer at home.
• When you have more people looking out for you, your stress is lower. Having a good support system is essential for people with Parkinson’s. Our volunteers can be part of the care team for a Parkinson’s patient, providing practical help, as well as friendly visiting.

For more information on Parkinson’s, please visit http://www.parkinson.org/home.aspx.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, more than five million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease. At much higher incidence is dementia – and it is estimated that 50% of people over 85 have some form of dementia. According to the National Institute of Health, dementia is loss of thinking, memory, and reasoning skills to such an extent that it seriously affects a person’s ability to carry out daily activities. Dementia is not a disease itself but a group of symptoms caused by certain diseases or conditions such as Alzheimer’s. People with dementia lose their mental abilities at different rates.

Symptoms of dementia may include:

•  Being unable to remember things
• Asking the same question or repeating the same story over and over
• Becoming lost in familiar places
• Being unable to follow directions
• Getting disoriented about time, people, and places
• Neglecting personal safety, hygiene, and nutrition

Two of the most common forms of dementia in older people are Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia, which is related to Alzheimer’s but impairment often occurs more suddenly. These types of dementia have no cure at this time, although prescription drugs may slow or diminish symptoms.

Memory loss, on the other hand, may not include dementia. Symptoms of memory loss may include:

• Challenges in planning or solving problems
• Difficulty completing familiar tasks
• Confusion with regard to time or place
• Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships
• New problems with speaking or writing words
• Misplacing things and inability to retrace steps
• Decreased or poor judgment
• Withdrawal from work or social activities
• Changes in mood and personality

Medical professionals are now becoming more aware that memory loss or confusion, can occur as a result of prescription drugs. If you are a senior or have a senior in your life, before meeting with your health care provider, make a list of every drug, dietary supplement, commonly used herbs and spices, and regular foods. Many, many drugs interact with one another, and it is not uncommon for people who receive prescriptions from more than one health care provider to have conflicts. Having all prescriptions filled by the same pharmacy may prevent these problems because the pharmacist will have a record of all prescriptions. However, if someone has been admitted to a hospital, the doctors may not have a full record of all previously prescribed medications, and inadvertently dispense medications that cause complications. Having a written list available may help your health care provider avoid these problems.

It’s helpful to understand the differences between dementia and memory loss so you can recognize the symptoms and be better prepared when asking for help for the senior in your life.

For more information:

http://www.nia.nih.gov/health/publication/forgetfulness-knowing-when-ask-help
http://www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers
http://www.nia.nih.gov/health