Imagine a potentially deadly bacteria that infects about 1 million Americans every year. Vaccines exist to prevent it, but the CDC is potentially considering changing an important recommendation helping older people to get vaccinated against it. That bacteria is streptococcus pneumoniae. It causes pneumococcal disease, which is spread through coughs, sneezes and close contact. Pneumococcal disease…
Just 70 percent of Savannah seniors plan to get a flu shot this season, according to a new survey. That percentage, though surprisingly low, is higher than in the rest of the country, as polled by Clover Health, a health insurer focusing on the Medicare market. Nationally, 63 percent of seniors surveyed as part of…
An analysis of Medicare data shows that nearly half of Georgia nursing homes recently were found “below average’’ or “much below average’’ in their staffing levels of registered nurses. RNs are the highest-trained caregivers required to be on staff in a nursing home, and they supervise other nurses and aides. Medicare mandates that every facility…
Springfield Baptist Church in Sparta recently played host to a celebration for three local sisters — Tennie S. Henderson, 103, Lillie S. Lewis, 100, and Julia S. Williams, 98 — who have continued the state’s recent history of very old residents. Two Georgia supercentenarians (people who have lived to or passed the age of 110) made…
To the casual observer, he was a friendly guy with a cowboy hat who roamed the state Capitol to push legislation to help Georgia’s seniors. But to those who knew him well, Charles “Chuck’’ Ware was the consummate advocate, a man whose work touched countless lives. He passed away recently at age 88. “From accessible building codes…
Georgia’s death toll from Alzheimer’s disease has increased by 201 percent since the year 2000, and now exceeds 3,700 people annually. That jump was included in new statistics on the disease released Tuesday by the Alzheimer’s Association at a state Capitol news conference. An estimated 140,000 Georgians are living with Alzheimer’s, and the number is expected to…
Imagine being lost at 3 o’clock in the morning, approaching a house you think is your own, and then being fatally shot. That’s what happened to 72-year-old Ronald Westbrook, a man with Alzheimer’s disease who was mistaken for an intruder in Walker County in 2013. The shooter was a homeowner who opened fire after Westbrook failed to…
With sore legs and a swollen ankle, William Glass reached the end of his journey early Monday morning. A journey of more than 600 miles. On foot. Glass made the trek from Atlanta to Washington, D.C., to raise awareness of Alzheimer’s. His mother has the disease, and is a resident of an Atlanta long-term care facility with around-the-clock…
Georgia state agencies have ramped up efforts to crack down on elder abuse, with law enforcement training and a tougher criminal code. Read the full article: Associated Press
Georgia ranks 41st among states on older people’s health, down two spots from last year’s ranking, a new report says. The state improved on several measures despite the lower ranking, according to the fifth annual America’s Health Rankings Senior Report, produced by United Health Foundation. Georgia had a 12 percent decrease in senior poverty in…