Benefits Check Up

I want to introduce you to a website for all seniors (older people) called Benefits Check Up. This service from the National Council on Aging has helped more than 2 million people find over $6.7 billion dollars worth of service.

The website streamlines the process of finding programs that can help you pay for prescription drugs, health care, meals, utility bills, and more. If you have never used the site, I suggest you go there and fill out the comprehensive service form. Once you fill out the form you will be taken to a list of services that are available to you or your loved one. This is an important service that could save you money and its free.

Benefits Check Up is the best site I have seen on the Internet for caregivers searching for help, ways to reduce prescription costs, and special services that are available nationally and locally. If you are a caregiver it is perfectly appropriate for you to fill out the form for another person.

You can also fill out forms for specific services. Please choose the appropriate link.

Comprehensive Check Up. Find programs that can help you pay for prescription drugs, health care, meals, utility bills, and other servcies.

Prescription Drug Assistance. Find programs that can help you reduce your prescription drug and health care costs.

Medicare Rx Extra Help. See if you’re eligible and apply for Extra Help paying for your Medicare prescription drug costs. If you are in the "doughnut hole" this service should be of particular interest. If you use the comprehensive form this help is included.

Senior Housing Locator. Find senior housing options, including assisted living, residential care, nursing & rehabilitation homes, CCRCs and independent living retirement communities.

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Trial Finds Counseling & Support Key To Alleviating Depression Among AD Caregivers

Counseling and social support are key to alleviating depression for family caregivers, even when their relatives with Alzheimer’s disease receive pharmacologic treatment.

Over the two years they were in the study, symptoms of depression decreased among caregivers who received the five sessions of individual and family counseling, while depression increased among those who did not receive counseling. The results provide evidence that a multi-component counseling and support program for caregivers, modeled after the NYU Caregiver Intervention, can have significant benefits in reducing symptoms of depression in caregivers whose spouses are taking donepezil.

1st 3-Country Randomized Controlled Trial Finds Counseling & Support Key To Alleviating Depression Among AD Caregivers

Counseling and social support are key to alleviating depression for family caregivers, even when their relatives with Alzheimer’s disease receive pharmacologic treatment. These findings are reported in “A Three-Country Randomized Controlled Trial of a Psychosocial Intervention for Caregivers Combined with Pharmacological Treatment for Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease: Effects on Caregiver Depression,” published in the November issue of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry (embargoed for Friday, October 31, 2008 at 5 p.m. EST).

According to lead author Mary Sherman Mittelman, Dr. P.H., of The William and Sylvia Silberstein Institute for Aging and Dementia at NYU Langone Medical Center, this is the first study to evaluate the effect of a pharmacologic intervention for patients combined with a psychosocial intervention for caregivers in three countries simultaneously. The study looked at change in symptoms of depression in a total of 158 pairs of spouse-caregivers and patients with Alzheimer’s disease at NYU Medical Center in New York City; the University of Manchester in Manchester, UK; and the Dementia Collaborative Research Centre, School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia.

All the Alzheimer’s patients were prescribed donepezil at no cost while they participated in the study. Half the caregivers were given a comprehensive psychosocial intervention that included two individual and three family counseling sessions within three months of enrolling in the study, and counseling on demand for two years after enrolling, generally on the telephone; caregivers in the control group only received resource information upon request. Symptoms of depression in the caregivers were measured at intake, and at follow-up assessments conducted at regular intervals for 24 months. The independent study was funded by an unrestricted grant from Pfizer, Inc.

Over the two years they were in the study, symptoms of depression decreased among caregivers who received the five sessions of individual and family counseling, while depression increased among those who did not receive counseling. The results provide evidence that a multi-component counseling and support program for caregivers, modeled after the NYU Caregiver Intervention, can have significant benefits in reducing symptoms of depression in caregivers whose spouses are taking donepezil.

“As we search for a cure or a way of preventing Alzheimer’s disease, we cannot forget about the millions of family members who are caring for relatives who are currently ill,” says Dr. Mittelman, noting that estimates suggest there are 9.8 million Alzheimer’s caregivers just in the United States. “These findings show that counseling and support of family members can be of significant benefit to Alzheimer’s caregivers even when the patients are receiving medications for the disease. Caregivers who are less depressed are better able to take care of their ill family members. Social support and counseling for family members of people with Alzheimer’s disease should be considered essential components of optimal comprehensive care.”

According to Dr. Mittelman, the benefit of the psychosocial intervention increased over the 24-month period caregivers were in the study, even though the scheduled individual and family counseling sessions occurred during the first three months. Participants remained in the study for as long as two years, or until the patients went into nursing homes or died. Almost all of the patients were in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease when they and their spouses entered the study.

Dr. Mittelman’s original study, which began in 1987 and lasted more than 20 years, included 406 spouse-caregivers enrolled over a 9-1/2 year period. With community partners, she is currently looking at how this intervention can work in a variety of settings. She has worked with service providers to replicate the original NYU Caregiver Intervention (NYUCI) in various parts of the United States and in the Netherlands. The partnership with the State of Minnesota, funded by the Administration on Aging, just received an award from the Roselynn Carter Caregiver Institute.

The William and Sylvia Silberstein Institute for Aging and Dementia is a center for the advancement of research, professional training and clinical care that brings together the knowledge and skill of researchers and clinicians at the New York University School of Medicine and the Nathan Kline Institute. The Center’s programs represent both basic and clinical research on brain aging and neurodegenerative diseases as well as services provided by healthcare professionals directly to patients and their families.

About NYU Langone Medical Center

One of the world’s premier academic medical institutions for more than 167 years, NYU Langone Medical Center continues to be a leader in patient care, physician education and scientific research. NYU Langone Medical Center is internationally renowned for excellence in areas such as cardiovascular disease, orthopaedics, pediatrics, skin care, neurosurgery, imaging, urology, cancer care, rehabilitation medicine, plastic surgery, minimally invasive surgery, transplant surgery, infertility, and women’s health.

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The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry is the official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry and can be found online at www.AJGPonline.org.

: Living Alzheimer's From the Front Row

Most people have difficulty dealing with change. The Alzheimer's caregiver deals with change on a daily basis. Never knowing for certain what is coming, but knowing fully it is coming. Informed caregivers try to get ahead of the curve so they can get prepared for these harsh, sometimes hard to comprehend changes. Knowing that your loved one is going to forget simple things like how to brush their teeth, how to take a shower, and even how to eat is not a pleasant thought. And, it is a worse experience. Knowing that the day is coming when they --won't know you-- is the most horrific feeling of them all.

Read More: Living Alzheimer's From the Front Row

Exercise may improve function in dementia patients

If you are a frequent visitor to this Blog then you know I believe one of the most important parts of Alzheimer's care is exercise. My mother, now 92, suffers from Alzheimer's disease. The first time she visited a gym she was 88 years old. There is no doubt in my mind that my mother would now be bedridden if not for exercise. The effect is so dramatic that my mother sometimes holds on to the walls or anything she can grab while walking into the gym. On the way out she stands up straight and walks out on her own. Most people that know her are shocked to see this. We get an added benefit when people stop to talk or smile at her. Socialization in the gym is an added benefit.

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Caregiver Stress Check

I wrote many times on this blog about caregiver stress. It is a real problem nationally. Feeling stressed? You can take the Caregiver Stress Test by following this link.