Month: May 2012

Aging with Dignity and Independence

Aging with dignity and independence is the ability to live life to its fullest in the place you call home regardless of age, illness or disability. While we all like to picture ourselves growing older in a healthy way, the reality is that 70 percent of people over the age of 65 will need help with daily activities at some point in their lives — for an average of three years. This care can touch every aspect of your life — from how you live to where you live — and it can be very costly. Unfortunately, you never know when you or someone you love might need daily help, such as assistance getting groceries, help with transportation, or round the clock care, all of which require planning and coordination.

Older Californians Stand Tall, Avoid Falls

Falls are the number one cause of injury – and death – for seniors in California and across the nation. They are also the largest single contributor to nursing home admissions – a staggering financial burden for both families and governments who shoulder the high costs of assisted living. Yet a number of experts and programs around the state are helping California become a leader in fall prevention awareness and training. In a state whose over-65 population is expected to be more than 10 million by 2040 – nearly one in five citizens – this is welcome news.

Bringing sexual health awareness to API celebrations

Getting information out to Asian Pacific Islanders about sexual health and HIV is important, according to advocates, because the topics are taboo. “From my experience, as an Asian American, these are topics we don’t about, it’s hush, hush,” said Ethan Giang, an HIV program specialist with the Asian Americans for Community Involvement, a group within the Asian HIV/AIDS Collaborative of Santa Clara, which sponsored the San Jose event. “HIV, sexual health and homophobia it’s all a part of that.”

Removing the Stigma from Mental Illness

For Ron Oden, the imaginary conversations were the first sign that his wife Felicia was becoming mentally ill. He recently recalled his Felicia’s battle with paranoid schizophrenia at a Summit on Mental Illness hosted by the Coachella Valley Health Collaborative (CVHC) at Cal State San Bernardino’s Palm Desert campus. The Mental Health Summit is the first part of a campaign funded by a $100,000 grant from Riverside County to improve awareness of mental health issues, increase access to treatment, and reduce stigma.

Service offers low-cost rides to seniors, visually-impaired

By Melissa Flores

Judy Daniels, a Salinas senior, doesn’t drive anymore. Her family members live out of the area and she doesn’t like to impose on friends to drive her to the grocery store, doctors’ appointments or to do other errands. In January, her options for getting around her town increased with a nonprofit transportation service that allows seniors, the visually-impaired or others with limited mobility to get from point A to point B at a low cost. Independent Transportation Network Monterey launched in January and by March had tripled the number of rides they gave to members their first month.

Filling a need for bilingual health care

The growing number of immigrants from Mexico and other Spanish-speaking countries into Ventura County has led to a shortage of bilingual providers that the nonprofit Centers for Family Health are attempting to address. All of the receptionists at the 11 Ventura County Centers for Family Health speak Spanish, much to the relief of the clinics’ patients.

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