Sub-Topics Aging Nursing Homes Retirement Also Try Diseases and Conditions Economy Electric Golf Carts Longevity Medical Directories and Search Engines Medicare Obesity Prevention Software for Internet Text-to-Speech and More Women Wrinkles Lists -Organizations for Seniors (Center for Healthcare Information) Provides a list of agencies serving seniors by state, county, and area code. Try specifying state alone first. 11-99 Alzheimer's Disease (Awesome Library) Provides articles. 7-04 Golf Carts for Streets (Awesome Library) Provides sources of street golf carts. Street golf carts may comply with new federal standards for use on public streets. Local laws will need to be checked to see if a vehicle compies with laws in your neighborhood. 6-01 Organizations Providing Case Management Services (Center for Healthcare Information) Provides a list of agencies by state, county, area code, keyword, and zip code. Try specifying state alone first. 08-07 Parkinson's Disease (Awesome Library) Provides articles. 6-03 Tricycling (Awesome Library) Provides sources of tricycles and quadcycles (four-wheels) for adults. These cycles can provide safe transportation and exercise, as well as haul items. Safer from falls, more comfortable, and more powerful than a bicycle. If a fuel cell is added for additional power on hills, these cycles might provide good general transportation that is very inexpensive. 6-01 Materials Awesome Talking Library (Awesome Library) Converts online text into spoken words through the Awesome Talkster program. Awesome Talkster has one of the clearest synthesized voices on the Web. Converting online text into speech has many uses. For example, Talkster can speak online stories or books to children while an adult supervises. The voice can be put in "Boy" or "Girl" mode to add a character with a bubble over his or her head. The bubble will show each word as it is spoken and the voice can be put on "slow" for your child to follow. Talkster can thereby assist your child in learning how to pronounce words while reading. Talkster is also useful for adults. It can speak news articles to you in one open browser while you are searching for information in another browser window. For persons with visual impairments or poor coordination, Talkster can be navigated with keystrokes. The Web can be navigated using a version of Awesome Library in a different language, such as Spanish, while using a voice for that language that is available through the Awesome Talkster. Links to different language versions of the Awesome Library are available at the bottom of most Awesome Library pages. Links to free voices for different languages can be found on the Awesome Talking Library's help page. 9-02 Coupons for Discounts (Awesome Library) Provides coupons for discounts in thousands of retail stores. Also includes a coupon for a free 8x10 JCPenney portrait, including a free sitting, for Awesome Library visitors. 06-06 News -01-12-05 Poll: Public Not Sold on Bush View of Social Security (ABC News) "As noted, the administration also faces a challenge in simply getting the public to share its sense of urgency about Social Security. Bush declared last week, 'The crisis is now.' In this poll, however, just 25 percent say Social Security is in crisis, actually down from 34 percent in an ABC/Post poll in 1998." 01-05 -02-16-06 Risk of Death May Soar When Spouse Disabled (LiveScience.com) "When a person over 65 is debilitated, the odds of dying within a year can increase dramatically for the spouse, a new study shows." 2-06 -02-18-06 Study: Sick Spouses, a Warning to Be Careful (MSNBC News) "A husband or wife with a debilitating illness can hasten your own death, a study suggests." "The researchers blame the stress and the loss of companionship, practical help, income and other support that can occur when a spouse gets sick." 02-06 -04-19-08 Study: Old Age Is the Happiest Time (Time.com) "That's according to eye-opening research that found the happiest Americans are the oldest, and older adults are more socially active than the stereotype of the lonely senior suggests." 04-08 -04-20-05 Seniors Will Outnumber Children (USA Today) "The elderly population in every state will grow faster than the total population, and seniors will outnumber school-age children in 10 states in the next 25 years, population projections released today by the Census Bureau indicate." "The boom in the number of elderly portends dramatic shifts in political dynamics as competition intensifies for tax dollars to finance programs for the old and the young. More than one in four residents will be 65 and older in six states by 2030: Florida, Wyoming, Maine, New Mexico, Montana and North Dakota." 4-05 -04-29-08 Study: Nursing Home Costs Are Up (Time.com) "Costs for nursing homes, assisted living facilities and some in-home care services have increased for a fifth consecutive year, and could rise further if a shortage of long-term care workers isn't resolved, a new study indicates." "The study found that the average annual cost for a private room in a nursing home rose to $76,460, or $209 per day, this year, a 17 percent increase over the $65,185 cost in 2004. Nursing home costs this year ranged from $515 per day in Alaska to $125 per day in Louisiana, the study found." 04-08 -05-12-06 High Tech May Replace Some Caregivers (ABC News) "Across town, Louise — who uses a walker to get around — shows us how the system works. Her apartment is rigged with a series of motion detectors that track her movements and then transmit that information over the Internet to her family members." 05-06 -06-08-06 Exercise May Reduce Symptoms of Menopause (MSNBC News) "Though the research is still thin, many health experts say even moderate exercise can help relieve the problems of menopause in some women, including anxiety, insomnia and night sweats." 06-06 -06-21-06 Happiness Comes with Age for Many (ABC News) "In his latest study, carried out with Heather Lacey, a postdoctoral fellow with the Veterans Administration's Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ubel found that most people are happier in their later years than they were when they were young, although they may not have expected that to be the case." 06-06 -07-23-05 Huge Bills for Long-Term Elderly Care (ABC News) "Currently, roughly 9 million elderly Americans require some kind of long-term care. By 2020, that number will have jumped to 12 million." "It's a subject a lot of people don't like to think about. A recent study found four in 10 Americans don't know what steps to take to prepare for their own long-term care, which can easily run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars." 7-05 -09-02-07 Essential Medical Screening (CBS News) "For most of the diseases we're going to talk about screening for, many patients wouldn't have any symptoms at all to alert them that there was a problem. So routine screening allows you to make a diagnosis before symptoms arise and early enough to actually be able to do something about it." 09-07 -10-24-07 Seniors Sleep Worse and Other Myths of Aging (USNew.com) "To researchers’ great surprise, it turns out that sleep does not change much from age 60 on. And poor sleep, it turns out, is not because of aging itself, but mostly because of illnesses or the medications used to treat them." 09-07 03-23-04 Medicare Will Be Broke by 2019 (Bloomberg.com) "Hospital payments for the elderly under the U.S. Medicare program will exceed income for the first time this year, nine years earlier than anticipated, and the federal program's assets will dry up in 2019, seven years sooner than expected, trustees for the program said." 3-04 09-23-04 Artificial Life Support Debate (CBS News) "The Florida Supreme Court has struck down a law that blocked Terri Schiavo's husband from removing the brain-damaged woman's feeding tube." "Terri Schiavo, 40, suffered brain damage in 1990 when her heart stopped beating, a condition brought on by an eating disorder. She left no written instructions in the event she became incapacitated." 9-04 Growing Old Together in a New Kind of Commune (New York Times) "Opting for old age on their own terms, they were starting a new chapter in their lives as residents of Glacier Circle, the country's first self-planned housing development for the elderly — a community they had conceived and designed themselves, right down to its purple gutters." 02-06 Health News and Resources for Seniors (Health and Age) Provides health news (from Reuters) and consumer information on topics such as Alzheimer's Disease, depression, heart disease, impaired mobility, diabetes, and more. Papers "Green" Graves Growing in Popularity (USA Today) "At Greensprings, where a plot costs $500 plus a $350 fee to dig the grave, bodies cannot be embalmed or otherwise chemically preserved. They must be buried in biodegradable caskets without linings or metal ornamentation. The cemetery suggests locally harvested woods, wicker or cloth shrouds. Concrete or steel burial vaults are not allowed. Nor are standing monuments, upright tombstones or statues." 07-06 -Prevention of Major Medical Problems With Diet (Fisher) Provides recommendations to combat osteoporosis, cancer, heart disease, and Alzheimer's Disease with diet. 9-05 15 Ways to Take Care of Elderly Parents (U.S. News) "According to the Family Caregiver Alliance, the number of "unpaid family caregivers" is set to reach 37 million by 2050, an 85 percent increase from the year 2000. You can help your parents stay happily independent as long as possible if you start those tough conversations now and do some thorough preparation." 08-08 Alternative Health Care (On Health) Describes alternative health care practices, such as acupressure, naturopathy, and more. Alternative Nursing Home Care (PBS News Hour -Dentzer) Describes an alternative type of nursing home that includes animals, many plants, children, and "home cooked" style meals. This style of nursing home is called the Eden Alternative. "In long term care, love matters, and institutions cannot provide it." 4-02 Arthritis (About.com - Eustice) Provides core reference resources for arthritis. 3-01 Back Pain (DrKoop.com) Provides information on diagnosis of disc problems associated with lower back pain, including MRI procedures for locating ruptured discs. 5-00 Cancer - Research on Cancer and Foods (Fisher) Provides recommendations to reduce susceptibility to cancer through diet. Care Giving Suggestions and Fact Sheets (Family Caregiver Alliance) Caregiving Issues Related to Seniors (Family Caregiver Alliance) Cell Phones for Seniors (U.s. News) "Not all of us want or need the vast power of today's wireless wonder wands, despite fast-growing demand for smart phones. Seniors, in particular, lag in adopting cellphones. And that's a potential tragedy, say advocates for the aged. The Senior Coalition recently urged seniors to quit viewing cellphones as a luxury but as a wireless lifeline to emergency help." 07-08 Cycle Cars (RhoadesCar.com) Describes the product. The one-person, four-wheel cycle weighs 75 pounds and is 37 inches wide. Has an optional 36 gear drive, canopy, lights, padded seat with armrests, and more. Has four wheel suspension for off-road driving. Designed for comfort and stability, not speed. Awesome Library does not endorse these products, but only provides them as examples. Sometimes called four wheel or four-wheel bicycles. 6-01 Donations Through Wills (LeaveaLegacyOregon.org) Provides information on leaving a legacy. 1-02 Dying - On Death and Dying (PBS) Editorial: Stimulus Package for Seniors (U.S. News) "How about the reinvention of our communities to fit the needs of an aging population? That's an infrastructure program even more important than repairing bridges, sewers and roads. By spending billions of dollars to stimulate the economy today, we will improve the way society supports our parents and grandparents tomorrow. Let's call it the Sustainability for Seniors Act (think of it as the new SSA)." According to two academics, Maurizio Antoninetti and Mario D. Garrett, 'Communities are not prepared for an aging population, especially in the areas of transportation, housing, land-use planning, public safety, parks and recreation, work force development and volunteerism/civic engagement.' 02-09 Electric Tricycles (Awesome Library) Describes tricycles, quadricycles, golf carts, and other forms of transportation that may be appropriate for seniors. 1-04 Financing for Seniors Fitness for Seniors (U.S. News) "We'll analyze where people are with some basic field tests. Can the person stand on one leg? Can he or she squat? It's a very simple assessment. Then we'll take it from there and build until people are comfortable. I might first just make a target on the floor and say, stand right in the center of that and do a single-leg balance. We might progress to a pad that's an inch off the ground, then, in three or four workouts, be bouncing on the BOSU ball [a piece of equipment that looks like a beach ball cut in half]. That's like play, and that's the goal. We hear the first part of 'working out' and it becomes a turnoff for older folks. They've worked hard all their lives!" Going Abroad for Surgery (U.S. News) Provides a consumer's guide to medical travel. 04-08 Health and Happiness After 70 (Guardian Unlimited - Hill) Describes the results of a study on happiness and age. The surprising result was that persons over 70 are the happiest. 11-01 Heart - Angina (National Library of Medicine - Medline Plus) Provides information on diagnosis and treatment. 11-99 Heart Muscle Regenerates (National Institutes of Health - Roberts) Provides a very technical description of a major medical finding, that a heart can repair itself after a heart attack. Before this, scientists and doctors believed that heart muscles could not be restored after they were damaged in a heart attack. 6-01 Hockey into their 80's (CNN News) "At age 80, Lewis' team now is the the Quincy Bald Eagles, a group of senior players who meet three times a week at a local ice arena outside Boston, Massachusetts." 06-09 Lou Gerhig's Disease - Treatment Provides information on the latest treatments for Lou Gehrig's Disease, (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). 1-04 Lou Gerhig's Disease Provides information on Lou Gehrig's Disease, (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). 1-04 Multiple Sclerosis - Fact Sheet (Family Caregiver Alliance) "Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is one of the most commonly occurring chronic neurological diseases. MS affects the central nervous system (CNS)—the brain and spinal cord—and is thought to be caused by a disorder of the immune system, or auto-immune disorder. About 400,000 people nationwide, and possibly 2.5 million people worldwide, have MS. The disorder affects people of all ages, but onset is most likely to occur between the ages of 20 and 40. Women are twice as likely as men to develop MS." 1-04 Neurotrophic Factors (Brain Briefing) Provides information on the factors associated with the regrowth of nerve tissue, an area of research related to Lou Gehrig's Disease (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, and other neurological afflictions often associated with aging processes. 6-99 Obesity Is Now the Top Preventable Health Problem (Rand - Cook) Provides results from a study that shows that more people are now have health problems as a result of excess fat than from smoking, drinking, or conditions related to poverty. 6-01 Parkinson's Disease - Progressive Subnuclear Palsy (Washington Post - Tucker and Grunwald) Describes the rare degenerative disease associated with Parkinsons's Disease. Dudley Moore, a famous actor and musician, was diagnosed with the disease. Uses PDF format. 3-02 Preparing for Long-Term Care (ABC News) "Jointly funded by the federal and state governments, Medicaid provides health insurance to the poor as well as those who are 65 years and older, disabled or eligible for other government aid. Medicaid offers Medicare beneficiaries assistance with their out-of-pocket expenses and also covers the costs of prescription drugs, eyeglasses and hearing aids as well as other services not covered by Medicare. A key benefit of Medicaid is that nursing home benefits outlast those offered by Medicare which always end after the first 100 days in each benefit period." 04-06 Program to Help Prevent Ageism (CBS News) "As CBS News Correspondent Mark Strassmann reports, it's a common gripe among seniors: that doctors practice age-ism, often treating older patients like children." 2-04 Prostate Cancer (Awesome Library) Provides resources on prostate cancer. 02-06 Putting Off Knee Surgery (New York Times) "For years, people with worn-out knees were told to wait as long as possible before opting for replacement. Wait until you are older, the thinking went, so the joint will outlive you." "But medical experts say doctors and patients are pushing the limits of their old joints too far." 11-08 Reflux - Gastroesophogeal Reflux Disease (Merck) Regular Exercise Can Reduce Risk of Dementia (MSNBC News) "Older people who exercise three or more times a week are less likely to develop Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia, according to a study that adds to the evidence that staying active can help keep the mind sharp." "Researchers found that healthy people who reported exercising regularly had a 30 to 40 percent lower risk of dementia." Senior Care Search (Toddlerwatch.com) Provides centers by city. Also has a more personalized search, but it requires registration. 2-01 Seniors - Health Articles (Advocate Health Care) Provides news of interest to seniors, such as research on the effects of walking as exercise, latest cancer research, and more. 10-00 Seniors Dating (MSNBC News) "More middle-aged people than ever are single, and they're finding the rules have changed. STDs and Internet dates. Aging bodies and kids at home. Who knew?" 02-06 Seniors Need to Work Out (US News) Harris, though, is the exception to the rule. Despite the age-defying benefits of getting fit, seniors are the least physically active of all Americans—40 percent of women and 30 percent of men over 70 report that they never exercise. Beyond protection against heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers, numerous studies suggest that regular exercise can lower the risk of decline—the dementia, the frailty—that spells the end of independence. Brisk walks around the neighborhood make a great start. But more is needed to prevent falls and retain strength and mobility. In August, the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association issued new exercise guidelines for seniors that call for several workouts a week incorporating resistance training, stretching, and balancing as well as aerobics. 10-07 Seniors Resources (Krueger and Associates) Provides information on housing, finance, and insurance for seniors. Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) and Seniors (Time.com) " 'It used to be that you encourage parents to talk to their kids," says Lee, "but now we're encouraging kids to talk to their parents — and grandparents.' " 07-08 Strength Amplification Exoskeleton (CNN News) Descsribes a project for the army to help soldiers become stronger. Would a modified version, with much less amplification, help someone with Parkinson's? 05-08 Study: What Is the Death Experience? (MSNBC News) "Many reports of near-death experiences sound the same: a welcoming white light and a replay of memories. But now scientists aim to study what really happens to the brain and consciousness when someone is on the verge of dying." "The AWARE researchers want to find out what happens to the brain when a person's body has started to shut down, whether it is possible for people to see and hear during cardiac arrest, and what's going on during out of body experiences." 05-08 Taxes - Federal Tax Filing - Older Americans Tax Guide (IRS) Provides instructions for filing designed for older, disabled, or retired Americans. 1-04 Tips for Dating After Age 50 (U.S. News) "Dating can be an unnerving experience at any age. But dating after age 50 presents a unique set of challenges." 02-09 Wills and Estate Planning Law (Nolo.com - Legal Encyclopedia) Provides basic information for persons who are not legal professionals and is organized by topic. 7-02 Periodicals Cancer (Healthfinder) Rated the number three education site by Web 100. 1-04 Medical Literature Guide for Professionals (AMEDEO) Provides individualized selection of medical journals for keeping up with a topic, such as Parkinson's Disease or Alzheimer's. Includes individualized emails with links to abstracts. Sometimes visitors misspell as Altzheimer's. Senior Leisure Activities (Senior.com) Rated the number one education site by WEb 100. Projects Longevity (Northwestern Mutual) Provides life expectancy, based on factors that you provide. 1-04 Purchase Resources Herbs, Vitamins, and Minerals (Whole Health Discount Center) Allows purchase of herbs, minerals, vitamins, and more online at discount prices. Rated by Bizrate as first in customer service for online Health and Beauty stores. 6-99 Seniors - Hip Protectors (Plument.com) Provides pads to help prevent broken hips in senior citizens. Awesome Library does not endorse these products but lists them as examples. 11-02 Walker for Seniors With Poor Balance (Merry Walker Corporation) Provides a walker that allows seniors to walk without more restrictive devices, such a wheelchairs. Designed for persons who have poor balance (ataxia), weakness, leg injuries, or other conditions that would make ambulation difficult. Persons who are of smaller build may find the Pediatric version a less restrictive alternative. 2-01 Trips Seniors Online (Age of Reason) Provides opportunities for senior citizens to host each other for inexpensive travel, find other seniors, and find other senior citizen links.

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