From the Paper
"This paper discusses the devastating physical and emotional effects that Dementia of the Alzheimer's Type (Alzheimer's disease) has on the patient and their family. It explores the current ways people affected by this illness are treated by the medical community, and how necessary information is not readily disseminated by the doctors, who are the initial contacts. It examines the coping skills and support systems used by family caregivers, and looks at what is involved in obtaining care from facilities outside of the home. Finally, suggestions are proposed to make improvements to the current systems."

From the Paper
"Nursing home care and its alternatives continue to be issues which face the elderly, their families, and the social workers who assist them. Families must struggle with the decision of what kind of help to give their elderly loved ones, while at the same time, social workers must try to accommodate an increasingly geriatric population.

Nursing homes have become part of the solution and part of the problem. Nursing home care has always been expensive, and state legislatures, concerned with the fact that people are living longer and at greater expense, have pursued ways of making the public dollar stretch further. Social workers, lobbying groups such as the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), legislators, and the elderly themselves have attempted to find alternatives to..."

Tags: AGING

From the Paper
The long-term care facilities industry is characterized by consolidation and acquisition as companies seek to expand their market share by growing through mergers. The industry is also characterized by a number of regional companies that focus on their immediate geographic area, and which are reluctant to break out of that area by incurring the costs which go with starting up a new facility.

Revenues in this industry come from private patients who have insurance coverage, or from Medicare and Medicaid patients. Few individuals are able to privately fund the large amounts it takes to sustain residence in a long-term care facility. Some companies have as their goal the eventual discharge of their patients, with the result that they must constantly market their services to obtain ..."

From the Paper
"This paper discusses the importance of taking a health history and doing a complete physical exam for older (65+) females who have no acute signs of distress and whom are living alone. First, it can be noted that, according to Ebersole and Hess (1990), health history and physical exam information has two primary functions.

First, this information can alert health care professionals to the presence of undetected disease or to the likelihood that certain diseases are at risk of being developed. Second, these assessment data provide health care professionals with the kind of baseline data needed to develop an individualized program of health promotion which Ebersole and Hess (1990) define as behaviors and activities designed to increase health and well-being."

Tags: AGING

From the Paper
"As a result of the combination of factors (increasing costs of health care, changing societal values, and advances in treatment therapies to name but three), the delivery of health care services in the United States is undergoing rapid and important change (Salmon, 1993, pp. 1674-1678). One of the more significant of the changes occurring involves the direct delivery of health care services by non physician health care professionals. A second significant change involves a trend toward the delivery of health care in non institutional settings?including the home. There exists both substantial support for these changes, as well as substantial opposition to them (Hupcey, 1993, pp. 181-185)."

From the Paper
"INTRODUCTION

The objective of this research is to consider the manner in which the death of a spouse affects the surviving spouse, how people cope with the strain, and what sorts of services and professionals are available to help them through this difficult time. Various theorists have noted that there are stages of grief, and research has shown that these stages can be found not only in a situation where the spouse has died but also in situations where the spouse is facing death or otherwise triggers a grieving process and a sense of loss, as happens with older couples when one partner has Alzheimer's and is thus being effectively taken away without actually dying. Everyone will have to experience this sense of loss someday. For most people, if they are the surviving spouse, the death of a spouse will be a ..."

From the Paper
"Introduction
This research focuses on opportunities for achieving greater cost-effectiveness in the provision of health care services to the elderly through the practice of preventive medicine. The first major section reviews issues associated with the health care requirements of the elderly segment of the population. This review is followed by an explanation of the value of preventive medicine in the delivery of cost-effective health care. The major portion of this research, then, is devoted to an examination of opportunities for the practice of preventive medicine in the delivery of health care services to the elderly segment of the population in the United States.

Background
The most cost-effective strategy that can be implemented in the delivery of health car.."

From the Paper
" Introduction
The purpose of this paper is to describe and discuss the American Geriatrics Society (AGS). To this end, the discussion covers four basic dimensions: (1) AGS history, mission, and objectives; (2) AGS current organizational structure;
(3) Characteristic AGS advocacy activities; and (4) AGS' organizational degree of success.
AGS History, Mission, and Objectives
According to Meyer (1992), the AGS was originally formed in 1942 by a group of thirty physicians as an advocacy organization with the mission of promoting research in geriatric medicine. In an effort to fulfill this mission, the society formulated the following objectives:
(1) Encourage and direct physicians and researchers to more.."

From the Paper
"OLDER ADULTS COPING WITH HIV/AIDS
Introduction
This is a concept paper examining how older people with HIV/AIDS cope with the disease. To this end, the paper begins with an examination and definition of the general concept of coping; this examination is followed by: (1) a review of the literature on the general coping mechanisms and strategies of older adults; and (2) a review of the literature on the specific coping mechanisms and strategies used by older adults to cope with HIV/AIDS. The reviewed literature in both categories is then critiqued from the perspective of their characterization of coping.

Following this critique is a discussion of the relevance of the concept of coping for older people and an investigation of.."

From the Paper
"DELIVERING LONG-TERM CARE FOR THE ELDERLY THROUGH MANAGED CARE
Introduction
Trends in the health care delivery system in the United States are toward a shift in funding of the delivery of long-term Care (LTC) for the elderly from a heavy dependence on tax-supported programs, principally Medicaid, to managed care companies. This trend has become a controversial issue. The issue is considered in this research.
Discussion of the Issue

LTC for the elderly financing in the United States has changed and will change further. These changes will affect the operations of LTC facilities. Funding for long-term care has shifted from an almost total reliance on out-of-pocket spending by fixed-income elderly, to a dependence on tax-supported.."

From the Paper
"OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY AND LONG-TERM CARE FOR THE ELDERLY
Introduction
This research provides an overview of the role and setting of occupational therapy in long-term care for the elderly. Other issues relevant to occupational therapy also are addressed.
Description of the Environment of Practice

Occupational therapy is a health profession providing service to people whose lives have been disrupted by physical injury or illness, developmental problems, the aging process, or social and psychological difficulties. The goal of occupational therapy is to assist each individual in achieving an independent, producing, and satisfying life.
Most elderly persons receiving occupational therapy in the.."

From the Paper
" NUTRITION & THE ELDERLY: CALCIUM AND BONE HEALTH
Introduction
Older adults have chronic diseases (as many as 85 percent) that could benefit from nutritional interventions. Improved nutritional status in osteoporosis patients decreases fractures and associated morbidity. The role of calcium nutrition in bone health has been established.

Elderly Bone Health & Calcium
Osteoporosis is stated as a disease of bone fragility; more than 25 million Americans are afflicted with it per year, with a cost to the United States of approximately 13.8 billion per year. Patients with osteoporosis tend to be older and malnourished who are in need of nutrition assessment and intervention. Nutrients of interest include calcium, salt, and protein. The Nationa.."l

From the Paper
"The purpose of this research is to examine the consequences of retirement in American society for persons aged 62 to 65 and above. The plan of the research will be to set forth the context in which issues of retirement assume significance in the contemporary culture and then to explore the sociological consequences of retirement, which can involve social-role changes, changes in marital and family interaction, changes in economic, psychological, and physical health, as well as differences in experience according to sex.

The United States government has sponsored two major studies of myriad aspects of retirement in the last thirty years. In 1969, the so-called Retirement History Survey (RHS) began tracking the experiences of a group of men and unmarried women aged 58 to 63. The data-gathering process ended in 1979, when.."

From the Paper
"One of the principal challenges for the leisure profession in the next few decades will be the provision and management of learning programs for the elderly. The past two decades have witnessed an enormous growth in the demand for leisure education and as the population ages the need will become much greater. Since the 1970s education researchers have shown, however, that adult learning differs considerably from children's learning. In general adults are self-motivated, self-directed learners and ordinary pedagogical approaches do not fare well with such individuals. The term andragogy is used to describe "the process of helping adults learn or facilitating self-directed activities" and leisure professionals need a comprehensive understanding of andragogical principles as they apply to leisure education (O'Dell, 1997, p. 46). A review of the characteristics of ..."

Abstract
This research paper explores the reasons why Congress imposed in 1997 caps on reimbursement under the Medicare program of charges for various types of outpatient rehabilitation services, the specific content of such caps, proposals for removing such caps and the rationales therefor.

From the Paper
"MEDICARE CAP ON REHABILITATION SERVICES

This research paper explores the reasons why Congress imposed in 1997 caps on reimbursement under the Medicare program of charges for various types of outpatient rehabilitation services, the specific content of such caps, proposals for removing such caps and the rationales therefor.

Caps Imposed by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997
Under Part B of the Medicare program, full reimbursement was available, subject to a 20 percent coinsurance payment by the beneficiary and a $100 annual deductible, for rehabilitation services provided to eligible patients on an outpatient patient by qualified medical service providers. To be eligible for home health care generally under Medicare, the beneficiary would have to show that they were homebound and needed intermittent care."