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COVID-19 crisis threatens beleaguered assisted living industry

David Aguirre jumped in his truck and drove toward the hospital in the predawn darkness the minute he got the news: His 91-year-old mom was being rushed from her Texas assisted living facility to the emergency room.

9 Apr 2020

Retiree-rich Palm Beach County leads Florida in COVID-19 deaths

No place in Florida has recorded more deaths from COVID-19 than Palm Beach County, the tropical vacation and retirement destination that bills itself — chutzpah notwithstanding — as "The Best of Everything."

8 Apr 2020

Pandemic delays federal probe into Medicare Advantage health plans

Federal health officials, citing a need to focus on the COVID-19 pandemic, have temporarily halted some efforts to recover hundreds of millions of dollars in overpayments made to Medicare Advantage health plans.

8 Apr 2020

Inside meals on wheels’ struggle to keep older Americans fed during a pandemic

In the best of times, Meals on Wheels faces the herculean task of delivering 200 million meals annually to 2.4 million hungry and isolated older Americans.

7 Apr 2020

Marijuana vaping usage up among American teenagers

A new study published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics in April 2020 shows that more and more American teenagers were turning to vaping and ingesting marijuana in various forms over the period 2015 to 2018. This is a disturbing trend given the increasing evidence that chronic marijuana use at this age does cause abnormal development as well as causing social consequences.

6 Apr 2020

Young people weigh pain of job loss against risks of virus

Emilio Romero, 23, has mixed feelings about losing his job. It's a major financial setback, but with two previous hospitalizations for pneumonia, a restaurant was not the safest place for the recent college graduate as the COVID-19 pandemic mushroomed.

6 Apr 2020

‘Staying away from grandma’ isn’t an option in multigenerational homes

The Walker family never thought having an age range of 3 to 96 under the same roof would be risky.

6 Apr 2020

Researchers develop a computer simulator that helps study evolution of COVID-19 in Europe

A team of Spanish researchers have designed and validated a simulator to enable study of the evolution of the COVID-19 illness in Spain and in all Europe, based on parameters such as climate, social distancing policies and transportation.

3 Apr 2020

Unilever supports global and national efforts to tackle COVID-19 pandemic

Unilever, the consumer goods manufacturer of brands including Dove, Knorr, Omo and Lifebuoy, has announced a wide-ranging set of measures to support global and national efforts to tackle the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

From Unilever PLC 3 Apr 2020

As the country disinfects, diabetes patients can’t find rubbing alcohol

While the masses hunt for toilet paper, Caroline Gregory and other people with diabetes are on a different mission: scouring stores for the rubbing alcohol or alcohol swabs needed to manage their disease.

3 Apr 2020

Guidelines and best practices to provide care for seniors during COVID-19 pandemic

Older adults are at elevated risk for complications from COVID-19 and are dying at a higher rate than younger patients.

31 Mar 2020

Should you bring mom home from assisted living during the pandemic?

Dr. Alison Webb took her 81-year-old father out of assisted living, to live.

31 Mar 2020

How to boost your immune system to fight coronavirus

As the world struggles with the coronavirus pandemic, more and more people are trying to protect themselves against the virus by all means possible. There are currently no vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), so boosting the immune system by way of diet, regular exercise, and sleep are sensible measures.

31 Mar 2020

Rice University and Metric Technologies develop ventilator costing less than $300

Rice University and Canadian global health design firm Metric Technologies have developed an automated bag valve mask ventilation unit that can be built for less than $300 worth of parts and help patients in treatment for COVID-19.

27 Mar 2020

California lawmakers struggle to conduct business amid COVID-19 lockdown

The weekend before California shuttered its Capitol building, Senate leader Toni Atkins spent hours on the phone - taking the roles of a student learning from epidemiologists and a legislator discussing with colleagues how the country's most populous state should respond to the COVID-19 crisis.

25 Mar 2020

Are vital home health workers now a safety threat?

As a hospice nurse in Seattle, Diane Speer said giving out hugs to patients and family members was a routine part of home visits.

25 Mar 2020

Nearly all older Americans support including dental coverage in Medicare

Nearly all older Americans support adding a dental benefit to the Medicare program that covers most people over age 65, according to a new national poll that also reveals how often costs get in the way of oral health for older adults.

24 Mar 2020

Does everyone over 60 need to take the same coronavirus precautions?

She knew it wasn't a good idea and her daughter would disapprove. Nonetheless, Barbara Figge Fox, 79, recently went to four stores in Princeton, New Jersey, to shop for canned goods, paper towels, fresh fruit, yogurt, and other items.

24 Mar 2020

As coronavirus spreads widely, millions of older Americans live in counties with no ICU beds

More than half the counties in America have no intensive care beds, posing a particular danger for more than 7 million people who are age 60 and up - older patients who face the highest risk of serious illness or death from the rapid spread of COVID-19, a Kaiser Health News data analysis shows.

20 Mar 2020

Near Trump’s Florida home, drive-thru COVID-19 testing gets off to rocky start

A much-needed drive-thru coronavirus testing site opened here Monday, just a few miles from the Mar-a-Lago Club, home to the country's most high-profile COVID-19 exposure.

17 Mar 2020