Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST)

Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST), a standardized medical order form printed on brightly colored paper, indicates which types of life-sustaining treatment a seriously ill patient wants or doesn't want if his or her condition worsens. Too often, necessary conversations about end-of-life medical interventions and intensity of care don't occur. The POLST form, signed by both the physician and the patient, becomes a tool to capture these discussions and make them part of the patient's medical record. The form moves with the patient and must be honored across all settings of care. POLST is intended to avoid unwanted or medically ineffective care, reduce patient and family suffering, and ensure that patients' wishes are honored at the end of life.
Since January 2009, California law requires that POLST be honored across all settings of care and provides immunity to providers who honor a POLST document in good faith.
POLST is a vehicle to bring clarity around the difficult decisions for end of life care. When used with an advance directive that names a proxy decisionmaker, it would reduce the initiation of unwanted or medically ineffective care, reduce patient and family suffering, and ensure that patients' wishes are honored at the end of life.

Geriatric Assessment and Management: Finding the Right Care Manager

Geriatric Assessment and Management: Finding the Right Care Manager

Trends in Dementia Care

Did you know that exercise, prayer and a nutritious diet can help maintain brain health? Those are cutting edge trends in dementia care according to Dr Lena Smith from the National Association of Geriatric Care Managers Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Not only that but utilizing those positive lifestyle attributes can help a person with dementia cope better with the behavioral affects of the diagnosis.

Slow Medicine: conference topic

The topic of Slow Medicine really captures the essence of my care manangement practice. Dr. Dennis McCullough one of our keynote speakers the significance of the latter part of the lifespan through the mind body and spirit and the benefit of 'slow medicine'. Aggressive medicine dominates our healthcare system but is it really a good thing to 'capture' an older person and put them through the paces of the USA agressive medical system?

National Conference

Here I am in Albuquerque, New Mexico for the National Association of Geriatric Care Managers conference. Weather:warm, dry. Chile: hot. Love both green and red and good news is you can have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner(which I plan to do). I see California leads with the most GCMs in attendance followed by Florida. Tonight will be an opening reception always a nice time to get together and reaquaint with colleagues from accross the country. We will also get together will the planning committee for a toast to our efforts. Kuddos to Marty Brown and Jeff Pine our intrepid leaders.

Renoir:Portrait of an Artist as an Aging Man

Just returned from viewing: "Renoir in the 20th Century" exhibit at the LACMA. In 1913, at the age of 72 Renoir declared, "I am just learning how to paint". Some reviews of the exhibit had pooh pooed the fact that these were later works of the genius, beyond his peak Impressionist period. I found them all to be superb. His use of color and radiance are stunning. Luminescent and glorious are the way I describe them. It certainly doesn't hurt that his models have womanly curves and can even be described as fleshy with colors that radiate life. Part of the exhibit explained that Renoir was crippled by rheumatoid arthritis and in order to continue painting had to have the paint brushes strapped to his hand. Photographs showed him in a wheelchair with gnarly balled up fists, deformed and decrepit. But there he is at his easel with his palette painting each stroke. One picture had someone holding the clay as he molded his sculpture painstakingly. One of his last paintings completed before he died at the age of 78 is The Concert, glorious in hues of pink, orange, yellow and green. "A narrow range of harmonious colors to fuse the pictorial elements into a single effect." Glorious!

Concierge Pharmacist

Concierge Pharmacist
Led Medication Management Services
Age @ Home Home Elder Care Management is pleased to announce a value added service to our clients: Concierge Pharmacist led Medication management

Noelle Randall is originally from St. Louis, MO and went to college at the University of Iowa. At Iowa’s College of Pharmacy, she developed an interest in the special medication needs of seniors. She graduated with a Doctor of Pharmacy in 2008 and went to work as a pharmacist for Target in Chicago. In 2009, she married and with her husband Tim moved to San Diego.
Noelle, says, “As a pharmacist, I really enjoy reviewing patients’ medications, answering their questions, and making sure they are comfortable with their drug therapy plan. I am thrilled to get the opportunity to work for the clients of Age @ Home to assist with their medication management.”