The events of recent days ─in Texas, Louisiana, and Minnesota─ have been so tragic that it’s easy to despair. Here are four health-related people stories worth reading to remind us of humanity’s enduring better side: In the horrors of Syrian combat, medical Samaritans strive to maintain some kind of care First, let’s stipulate that there’s….
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South Dakota accused of bias in confinement of sick and disabled
Severe diabetics, the blind, and the mentally ill all too often get sent to sterile and restrictive group or nursing homes by South Dakota officials who can’t seem to find other care options because they discriminate against thousands of the disabled, the federal government says. The Justice Department is investigating the state under federal laws….
Continue ReadingA glimmer of good news in U.S. crisis in care for dementia patients
With the United States getting grayer by the day and a national crisis looming in dementia- and senior-care, new information from one of the larger, longer running, and more significant health studies has offered a glimmer of optimism. Experts say dementia risks are showing a decline─by as much as 20 percent. They’re uncertain exactly why…..
Continue ReadingNew research may surprise about expense of end-of-life care for Americans with cancer
Americans are legend for their discomfort in discussing death. That makes conversations about end-of-life care a big challenge, even though the medical attention paid to the dying can drive up health care costs. A quarter of traditional Medicare spending for health care is for services provided to program beneficiaries in their last year of life—a proportion….
Continue ReadingWhat Is “Home” for a Mentally Disabled Person?
Letters to the editor in the New York Times come with the provocative headline: “Can There Be Good Mental Asylums?” As the father of a 25-year-old son with severe autism, I think about this a lot. Our son Brendan now lives in a group home which we helped set up in Silver Spring, Maryland. It….
Continue ReadingThe Myths of Health Care at Home
Most patients would prefer to receive care at home instead of in an institution. But home health service, according to some professional observers, is the victim of misinformation. Writing on KevinMD.com, Dr. Michael Fleming, former president of the American Academy of Family Physicians and chief medical officer of a home health and hospice service, says….
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