Improving Care for the Nation's Elderly Focus of SCAN Health Plan's Tenth Annual Leadership and Management in Geriatrics Conference

LONG BEACH, Calif., Jan 30, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Healthcare professionals concerned with responding to a growing need in an aging society will gather in Long Beach, California, on March 30 to discuss creative approaches to better caring for America's expanding senior population.

"In two decades one of every five Americans will be 65 or older, and our job is to make sure that the healthcare community is well-equipped to serve these older adults," said Dan Osterweil, M.D., course chair of the Leadership and Management in Geriatrics (LMG) Conference. "If care for the elderly is to be more efficient and less costly, healthcare professionals need to hone their leadership and management skills, and that's what this conference is all about."

Now in its tenth year, the LMG Conference helps fill what is widely acknowledged as a serious gap in the professional development of those who work in clinical and academic settings related to geriatric care. This two-day conference is sponsored by SCAN Health Plan in collaboration with the UCLA Academic Geriatric Resource Center and the California Geriatric Education Center.

Unique in its setting and approach, the conference encourages participants -- physicians, nurses and allied health professionals -- to consider novel business approaches to geriatric care. It also provides attendees the opportunity to spend focused, highly interactive time with, and be mentored by, leaders in the field of geriatric medical management as they explore topics critical to caring for the nation's elderly.

"Our goal is to actually change behavior in ways that lead to a better patient experience," said Dr. Osterweil. "It is important that participants leave the conference with the ability to apply leadership and management skills to the practice of geriatric medicine. This real-world knowledge is essential if they are to succeed both in running a successful practice and in better serving their patients."

As a health plan dedicated exclusively to seniors and others on Medicare, SCAN's sponsorship of the conference is part of its ongoing commitment to better understand the aging process and advocating on behalf of the needs of seniors. In addition to the LMG Conference, SCAN offers healthcare professionals an array of online courses on such topics in chronic kidney disease in the elderly, stroke prevention and management, palliative care, prevention and management of atrial fibrillation, and many others. The website -- www.scancme.com -- also provides clinical guidelines, assessment tools and literature regarding common geriatric medical conditions, all designed to assist healthcare professionals in better managing their older patients. SCAN also produces an e-newsletter that focuses on performance-improvement education in geriatrics and features monthly interviews with experts in geriatric care.

For 35 years SCAN Health Plan has been focusing exclusively on the unique needs of seniors and others on Medicare. The company currently has nearly 130,000 members in California and Arizona. 

Further information may be obtained at scanhealthplan.com

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR CAREGIVER OF THE MONTH

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR CAREGIVER OF THE MONTH:  Aurellia Gonzales has been a part of our Home Instead Senior Care family since September 2010.  She is a hard worker, dedicated to her clients.  She is a CAREGiver who loves working and caring for other s which is the foundation for being an awesome CAREgiver.  We want to honor and express our gratitude to Aurellia.  Congratulations Aurellia for being the CAREGiver of the Month!

Controlling Blood Pressure is One Key to Heart Health for Older Adults

High blood pressure can lead to more than just heart problems. Among other things, it is directly related to decreased cognitive functioning, according to research. That’s why is important to carefully monitor a senior with high blood pressure.

Q. My 75-year-old widowed mother just had a physical and her doctor said her heart is in great shape. She does have borderline high blood pressure, though, so the doctor has prescribed a medication. Are there other things she could do?

It sounds as if your mother has taken good care of herself if her heart is in such a healthy condition. One important component of good heart health is blood pressure, and the risk of high blood pressure does seem to increase with age, according to the American Heart Association. In fact, 90 percent of Americans over the age of 50 have a lifetime risk of high blood pressure.

High blood pressure can lead to other problems, too. Increased blood pressure in older adults is directly related to decreased cognitive functioning, particularly among seniors with already high blood pressure, research reveals. This means that stressful situations may make it more difficult for some seniors to think clearly.

Dr. Jason Allaire, an assistant professor of psychology at North Carolina State, who co-authored a study on high blood pressure and cognitive function, explains that study subjects whose average systolic blood pressure was 130 or higher saw a significant decrease in cognitive function when their blood pressure spiked. However, Allaire notes, study subjects whose average blood pressure was low or normal saw no change in their cognitive functioning — even when their blood pressure shot up.

So how do you navigate around high blood pressure and its consequences? Your mom’s doctor will be her best source of information for lifestyle and diet changes.

“High blood pressure remains an epidemic in the United States, but it can be prevented,” said Lawrence Appel, M.D., lead author of an American Heart Association scientific statement, published in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association. “By improving their diet, people can reduce their blood pressure and put a major dent in their risk of stroke, coronary heart disease and heart failure,” said Appel, a professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.

The statement also recommends combining an overall healthy diet with weight loss, eating lots of fruits and vegetables, limiting alcohol consumption, lowering salt intake and increasing potassium intake.

The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute Health Information Center recommends following its Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) plan. The DASH eating plan is rich in fruits, vegetables, fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products, whole grains, fish, poultry, beans, seeds and nuts. Talk to your doctor about whether the DASH plan will work for you. The plan also recommends being moderately active for at least 30 minutes on most days of the week.

If your mother lives alone, you might want to consider a companion for her. Encourage her to develop a relationship with someone who shares some of her same health interests and concerns. Or contact the local Home Instead Senior Care^® office. The organization employs CAREGivers^SM who can help seniors with meal preparation, errands and shopping, and serve as companions.
Here’s hoping your mother has many more years of healthy heart living.