Category: Articles

  • Center Helps Seniors Get Back to Work

    Meaningful employment is one of the best ways to keep fit in every way as we age — socially, mentally and even physically. But some of Waikīkī Community Center’s clients had difficulty finding employment. Retirees also found that the way people look for work has changed significantly. Others felt employers didn’t want to hire them…

  • Get ’Extra Help’ With Medicare Drug Costs

    Assistance is available for some people with limited income and assets who may be eligible for a program called “Extra Help.” It’s a Medicare health plan that assists in paying costs related to a Medicare prescription drug plan. This can include monthly premiums, annual deductibles and prescription co-payments. Extra Help is estimated to be worth…

  • Service Employment Program in Action

    Many seniors approaching retirement age have not built up adequate savings in their Social Security accounts. By finding employment before taking SS withdrawals, seniors can build up accounts and ensure a healthier retirement payments when the time comes. The Honolulu Community Action Program Inc. administers the Senior Community Service Employment Program for low-income seniors who…

  • A Support Group for the Caring Giver

    Are you caring for someone over 60 who is living at home? Then, Project Dana has a special program just for you, called the “Caring Giver Support Group” or CGSG. Using education and group training sessions, CGSG helps caregivers to better understand their loved ones while learning to care for themselves, as well. Group sessions…

  • Medicare Health Plans & Caregiving

    With National Caregivers Month quickly approaching, let’s remember former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, who said it best in 2012—“There are only four kinds of people in the world: those who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers and those who will need caregivers.” As a caregiver, what questions should…

  • Prostate Cancer Support Group

    Most men seem to have little knowledge about prostate cancer, even though it is one of the most common cancers found in men in the U.S. Until diagnosed, most of us tend to ignore the issue entirely. I was no different some six years ago — before I was diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer. I…

  • Understand Your Medicare Options

    Hawai‘i has 268,000 Medicare beneficiaries in 2019 — nearly 19 percent of the state’s total population. About 45 percent of Hawai‘i’s beneficiaries select Medicare Advantage plans. The remaining 55 percent are covered under Original Medicare. Every year during Medicare’s Annual Election Period, Medicare beneficiaries can add, drop or switch plans. Medicare health plans and prescription…

  • Dementia Activity Ideas

    Planning activities for a Person Living With Dementia (PLWD) isn’t easy. I’ve found it challenging to identify activities that peak and maintain the interest of a PLWD. The Positive Approach to Care philosophy states that PLWD need a balance of activities that include leisure, productivity, restoration and self-care. There are variations of engagement for everyone…

  • Senior Exercises for the Mind & Body

    Through daily exercise, seniors can combat illnesses such as arthritis and osteoporosis, which can afflict them in their golden years. And as physical health declines, untreated depression can decrease the quality of life. So seniors must remain, mentally and physically active for optimum health. For example, strength training is useful to combat the loss of…

  • Repetitive Questioning in Alzheimer’s

    In home care, a question I often get asked is how to care for someone with Alzheimer’s who asks the same questions over and over again. To better understand and manage what’s going on, it helps to first know a bit about Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Alzheimer’s is a type of dementia that affects memory,…

  • Protect Yourself With a Flu Vaccination

    Due to the weakening of the immune system, people 65 years and older are at high risk of getting seriously ill from the flu. During most flu seasons, adults 65 years and older experience the greatest burden of severe flu and complications. Between about 70 and 85 percent of flu-related deaths in the United States…

  • Healthy Aging & Hearing Loss

    As we age, our hearing often loses its edge. Clinical research suggests that hearing loss can have a negative effect on some key measures of healthy aging as cognitive, physical and social functioning decline. A study by the National Institute on Aging indicates that people with untreated hearing loss are significantly more at risk of…