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CAREGIVING IN AMERICA is a monthly magazine published by Minnesota publisher Kay Sauck, premiered in December 2009 to address the needs and concerns of the 50 million caregivers of family and friends. 

The magazine and website, www.CaregivingInAmerica.com, will draw on a stable of experts in health and aging and two organizations devoted to caregiver support: the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving and the Aging with Dignity organization.

Local food is fresher and tastes better than food shipped long distances from other states or countries. Local farmers can offer produce varieties bred for taste and freshness rather than for shipping and long shelf life.

Shipping food for thousands of miles not only loses freshness and its related health benefits, but it increases use and dependence on petroleum for transportation -- which affects air quality, and soil and habitat health.  Local production of consumables is common sense, and this online local food locator can help you make buying local and fresh food practical.

The Buy Fresh Buy Local Campaign, a project of the Community Alliance with Family Farmers, helps consumers find and choose local products while building relationships between growers, food artisans, farmers' markets retailers, restaurants, and institutions.

Buy Local Buy Fresh:  http://guide.buylocalca.org/

"Sick building syndrome" is a terms used to describe homes and workplaces that have indoor contaminants that are not properly vented for healthful air quality maintenance.  Off-gasing is when paints, glues, finishes and manmade materials leach chemicals into the air.  These chemicals can accumulate in poorly ventilated spaces and cause human sickness -- sometimes minor irritation, and sometimes accumulating in the body to cause severe illnesses.

A recent concern is contaminated drywall that was manufactured with unhealthful levels of chemicals that are harmful to humans.

Contaminated Drywall

Since early 2009, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has been contacted by more than 1,000 residents of 27 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia about possible chemical emissions from imported drywall that was used when their homes were built or remodeled. Most calls were from persons in Florida, Louisiana, and Virginia.

At this time, experts believe that defective drywall imported from China was installed in homes built or remodeled after 2003.

The number and location of all affected or potentially affected homes are not yet known.

CPSC is leading the federal investigation into complaints about imported drywall. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) are providing technical support to CPSC and several state health departments. CDC and ATSDR are working with other federal and state agencies to identify what chemicals are in the drywall and if these chemicals are a health risk to persons living in homes containing this drywall.

How can I find out if my home has imported drywall?

Corrosion: Are any of your home's copper pipes, plumbing fixtures, or uninsulated electrical wires at light switches or receptacles corroded? Have your air conditioner evaporator coils failed early? Metal or copper corrosion of these types may mean there is defective drywall in your home.

Odor: Does your home have an odor that smells like rotten eggs, matches, or fireworks? A sulfur odor in the home might mean defective drywall is present.

Label: Can you see the back side of your drywall? Some drywall from China is stamped with "Made in China" on the back. However, some Chinese drywall does not have a label or markings.

The Florida Department of Health developed a guide for residents to help them identify drywall problems.

What has been found in the air of homes that contain imported drywall?

State and federal agencies are testing the air inside some homes in Florida, Louisiana, Virginia, Alabama, and Mississippi. They are testing homes in which homeowners suspect they have contaminated drywall and, for comparison, other homes in which no problems have been reported. State and federal agencies will evaluate these results to determine whether there is a health problem. This evaluation is expected in the fall of 2009.

How can Chinese drywall affect my health?

Some persons are more sensitive than others to possible chemical exposures. An exposure that causes no problems for some people can make other people sick or uncomfortable. Persons most likely to get sick from breathing contaminated air include the elderly, children, and people with asthma, allergies, lung disease, and heart problems. Until federal agencies get more information from the indoor air testing, it is not possible to determine if the symptoms people are experiencing are possibly from drywall.

What else should I do if I may be having health problems from imported drywall?

See or call a doctor if you are experiencing health problems and say that you are concerned your illness might be related to imported drywall. Tell your doctor about the health care provider fact sheet for imported drywall. A fact sheet from CDC tells your health care provider how to get more information.

• Go outdoors to get fresh air. Scientists do not know what, if any, benefit there is to opening windows to allow fresh air to come into the home.

Are there other problems I should watch for in my home that may be related to imported drywall?

• Some homes with imported drywall have had damage to exposed wiring. We do not know of any house fires that have occurred related to the drywall. If you experience unusual electrical problems in your home (such as appliances or light switches not working), ask a licensed electrician to check out the problem.

Where can I get additional information?

You can report a drywall problem to CPSC  by calling them at 1-800-638-2772.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has launched a new Web page containing product information on certain skin-applied insect repellents. EPA's goal is to provide the public with information on registered insect repellents and their effectiveness claims in a clear, consistent, and user-friendly format.

"EPA's release of information on the effectiveness of insect repellents will help American consumers select the right product for their needs and protect themselves and their children from potentially devastating diseases spread by mosquitoes and ticks, such as West Nile virus and Lyme disease," said Steve Owens, assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances. "This Web-based dissemination of information supports Administrator Jackson's goals of transparency and public access and protecting children's health."

The new Web page contains two tables listing insect repellent products that are registered by the agency: those that control mosquitoes and ticks, and those that only control mosquitoes. The Web page compiles publicly available information on protection times based on product effectiveness data reviewed by EPA, and presents it in a format that makes it easy for consumers to make informed risk management decisions to protect their health and that of their families and children. The Web page also contains information on vector-borne diseases such as West Nile virus and Lyme disease, and the importance of personal protection measures.

The Web page can be accessed at http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/health/mosquitoes/insectrp.htm

We all know that it's pretty common -- men and women become gradually less fit with age, with declines accelerating after age 45

Now, research confirms it, according to a report in the October 26 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

However, maintaining a healthy body mass index (BMI), not smoking and being physically active are associated with higher fitness levels throughout adult life.

"The U.S. population is aging and is becoming more obese and sedentary," the authors write as background information in the article. "It is well documented that the cardiorespiratory fitness of men and women declines with age and that body composition and habitual physical activity are related to cardiorespiratory fitness."

Low fitness levels increase the risk of diseases and interfere with older adults' ability to function independently.

Andrew S. Jackson, P.E.D., of the University of Houston, and colleagues studied 3,429 women and 16,889 men age 20 to 96. During the study, participants completed between two and 33 health examinations that included counseling about diet, exercise and other lifestyle factors along with a treadmill exercise to assess fitness.

Statistical models showed that while fitness levels declined continuously over time, the decrease was not linear or steady--cardiorespiratory fitness declined more rapidly after age 45. The decline for men was greater than that for women.

The results also "showed that being active, keeping a normal BMI and not smoking were associated with substantially higher levels of cardiorespiratory fitness during the adult life span studied," the authors write.

"Being inactive and having a high BMI were associated with a lower age at which an individual could be expected to reach threshold cardiorespiratory fitness levels associated with substantially higher health risks."

Given the high rates of obesity and low levels of physical activity previously observed in the general population, the results also suggest that more men and women will reach the fitness level designated by the Social Security Administration as representing disability at a younger age, the authors note.

CONCLUSION:

"These data indicate the need for physicians to recommend to their patients the necessity to maintain their weight, engage in regular aerobic exercise and abstain from smoking," they conclude. 

Editor's Note: The ACLS was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health.
Source: Newswise, Inc.

When our President was a Senator, Barack Obama worked a day with home health care worker Pauline Beck to learn the inside of the health care system. Interesting...

At the National Alliance for Caregiving's Lotsa Helping Hands website, visitors may create their own caregiving site to coordinate support needed for the caregiver and care recipient.

Most of us have experienced the crisis of a friend or loved one suddenly unable to function as they had for their family or themselves. Perhaps it's a debilitating illness, or post-surgery rehabilitation necessitating weeks or months of bed rest.

In many instances of long-term family caregiving or caring for an aging loved one, those affected must also cope with finding support for meal preparation, grocery shopping, transportation for themselves and their dependent family members.

But it is often difficult for patients and family caregivers to ask for help. And if help is offered, managing that help can be a significant part-time job: coordinating family, friends, neighbors, colleagues, and church or synagogue members who do not all know each other can be complex and time-consuming, with endless phone tag and forgotten commitments.

Private Group Calendar for Sharing Caregiver Tasks

Lotsa Helping Hands is a free caregiving coordination web service that provides a private, group calendar where tasks for which a caregiver needs assistance can be posted. Family and friends may visit the site and sign up online for a task.

The website generates a summary report showing who has volunteered for which tasks and which tasks remain unassigned. The site tracks each task and notification and reminder emails are sent to the appropriate parties.

To sign up for a free Lotsa Helping Hands account or to learn more, please visit the National Alliance for Caregiving's Lotsa Helping Hands website.

During a patient stay in a hospital, nursing home, or other health care setting, the staff will work with you to plan for the patient discharge. The patient and their caregiver are important members of the planning team. This is a checklist of important things you should know to plan for a safe discharge. To view the checklist, click here.

Examples of the items in the checklist include:

1.  Who will you contact to get care after you are discharged?

2. Do you understand your health condition(s)?

3. Do you know what problems to watch for...and how to handle them?

Check the checklist for more details.

Public agencies have resources available such as home-delivered meals and rides to appointments. Ask a social worker at your health care provider for more information about the local community services and support available in your area.

Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs)
Assist adults age 60 and older and their caregivers.  Call the Eldercare Locator at 800-677-1116 weekdays or visit their website at www.ElderCare.gov

Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs)
Assist people of all incomes and ages in 43 states.  Check the website to see if your area is served:  www.adrc-tae.org

Centers for Independent Living (CILs)
Assist people with disabilities. A state directory can be found at www.ilru.org

State Technology  Assistance Project
Information on medical equipment and assistive technology.  Contact the RESNA - Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America to get contact info for your state.  www.resna.org

State Medicaid Agency
Information about Medicaid. To find your local office visit www.nasmd.org/links/links.asp. It has a clickable map of the US.

Medicare
Call 1-800-Medicare (800-633-4227) or visit www.medicare.gov/LongTermCare/Static?Counseling.asp