COLUMBUS, Ohio – As the Food and Drug Administration strives to expand COVID-19 recall eligibility, AARP Ohio works to eliminate confusion about the process for seniors, especially those living in nursing homes.
More than eight thousand Ohioans in long-term care facilities have died from COVID-19 since April 2020.
But Latoya Peterson, associate state director of advocacy with AARP Ohio, noted that vaccines played an important role in saving lives, preventing the deaths of around 1,800 Ohio seniors in the early days. from 2021.
She noted that there was a lot of agreement on which groups would benefit the most from a recall.
“These are immunocompromised people and adults 65 years of age or older,†Peterson said. “African Americans are also likely to have an underlying medical condition such as diabetes, obesity, or chronic lung disease that puts a higher risk of severe cases of COVID-19.”
AARP Ohio has a six-question booster injection checklist that family caregivers can use if they have a loved one in a nursing home. It is available online at aarp.org/Ohio.
Peterson said people with a spouse, sibling, parent or other loved one in long-term care are rightly concerned about their well-being during the pandemic.
“So we hear questions about the safety of their loved ones and just about transparency in the nursing facility,†Peterson said. “They really want to make sure that their spouse, their parents, their relatives or their mother are safe and that they are taken care of.”
She encouraged them to ask health facilities what they are doing to educate residents about booster injections, and to get answers on transparency as well.
“How does the facility communicate when a loved one receives the reminder? Peterson asked. “Will there be a notification?” Will their medical records be updated? There are also questions about prioritization. Does the facility start with residents most at risk? And what can be done to make sure a loved one receives a reminder? “
The AARP COVID-19 dashboard shows a sharp drop in deaths from COVID-19 after vaccines were made available earlier this year.
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RICHMOND, Virginia – Thursday was National Rural Health Day, and Rural Health Virginia conference presenters described the health and race disparities in rural areas, but also highlighted their strengths.
Michael Meit, director of research and programs at East Tennessee State University’s Center for Rural Health Research, pointed out that poverty underlies inequalities in areas like Appalachian Virginia. He believes the media sometimes paint negative images when reporting on these shortcomings, which could cause business leaders to forgo investing there.
“The phrase that is often used to describe our rural communities, and I think it’s great for advocacy, but it’s terrible for attracting investment, is ‘older, poorer and sicker’,” he said. Meit observed. “And, frankly, we have to get away from that. And we have to start talking about the strengths of our rural communities. They are creative, they work hard.”
He noted that his center had conducted a study on the positive aspects of rural America. He found a strong sense of community, strong support networks and a wealth of innovation and creativity in solving their own problems.
Despite the rural resilience, Meit stressed that the region has not experienced improved health over time like the rest of the country. In Virginia, for example, a country man is 2.2 times more likely to die from lower respiratory disease than a man in a metropolitan area, and about 65% more risk of dying from cancer or heart disease.
One of the reasons, he said, is the lack of well-paying jobs.
“If you live in poverty, you will probably have substandard housing, you probably cannot afford health care,†Meit explained. “So this element of economic stability, I think, is the most important determinant that we can look at. “
He is convinced that one of the main reasons for the disparities is that rural areas have not rebounded after the Great Recession, while urban areas have experienced a better recovery. He believes creating more jobs and investing in rural communities could help close the health gap.
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HARTFORD, Connecticut – Drug overdose deaths across the country are on the rise, and a new pilot program starts this month in Connecticut to help clinicians better treat injured workers and opioid addiction.
A collaboration between the Yale Program in Addiction Medicine and The Hartford Insurance Company includes training for healthcare providers to help them identify and treat acute and chronic pain, as well as disorders related to the use of opioids. It also emphasizes preventing stigma among healthcare professionals.
David Fiellin, director of the addiction medicine program at the Yale School of Medicine, said that with chronic pain and addiction both strongly stigmatized, they can prevent people from seeking treatment.
“For example, drugs for opioid use disorders are strongly stigmatized,” Fiellin observed. “However, they also reduce death rates by 50%. And so, we want to make sure that people understand this medical condition, the role of these drugs, their effectiveness.”
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows the number of overdose deaths in a 12-month period ending last April topped 100,000 for the first time.
The Hartford sees an increase in the prevalence of opioid use disorders among injured workers. Opioid prescriptions can begin with a diagnosis of chronic pain.
Adam Seidner, chief medical officer at Hartford, said treating chronic pain requires a multidisciplinary approach, including behavioral and drug therapy.
“When properly managed, many people can get their lives back,†Seidner pointed out. “And that is really going to depend on finding good and appropriate pain care, because you can prevent chronic pain.”
Seidner added that it’s important for healthcare professionals to understand why people abuse substances like opioids. He noted that there is a misconception that people do it just to get high.
“They are not looking to alter their mental state because of all of this,” Seidner said. “They’re just trying to be and feel normal, so they can function. And I think that’s probably the most important thing, is to understand the emotions, the impact of the pain, and really to have all the tools available to manage them. ”
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – November is Diabetes Awareness Month, and state health experts say they are working to educate individuals on ways to reverse prediabetes and prevent the onset of diabetes through healthy lifestyle changes, despite the challenges posed by the pandemic.
Dr Morgan McDonald, deputy commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health, explained that with prediabetes, a person’s blood sugar level is above normal, but has not peaked. high enough to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes and often has no symptoms.
She added that healthy eating habits and increasing physical activity can help prevent illness.
“We have good evidence that taking early action is helpful in preventing diabetes, both with lifestyle changes and sometimes with medication as well,†McDonald said.
To find out if you’re at risk for prediabetes, McDonald’s recommended taking a one-minute test online at cdc.gov/diabetes/takethetest.
According to state data, more than 710,000 Tennessee residents have been diagnosed with diabetes and nearly 10% said they learned they had prediabetes. Experts say the numbers are probably underestimated.
McDonald’s also pointed out that the pandemic has increased risk factors for chronic diseases such as diabetes in Tennessee children.
“Certainly, children have had less access to nutrition in many cases and have been more sedentary,†observed McDonald. “This increased weight gain in our pediatric population quite significantly.”
She noted that managing diabetes often requires regular doctor visits and testing, and recommended that as COVID cases continue to level off, now is the time to book preventative care appointments.
“We really want to take this month to highlight the importance for people across the state of getting tested, keeping up to date with their screenings, keeping up to date with those doctor’s visits and vaccinations. that they missed, and take the time to exercise and plan meals, â€McDonald advised.
Research has found a link between diabetes and an increased risk of serious infection with COVID-19. A study found that more than 14% of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 and recovered were also diagnosed with type 1 or type 2 diabetes.
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