“Hard-Won Advice in Books on Aging and Elder Care” (NYT)

This recent article in The New York Times is an overview of four books on aging and elder care:

* “Being Mortal,” by Atul Gawande
* “The 36-Hour Day,” by Nancy L. Mace and Peter V. Rabins
* “A Bittersweet Season,” by Jane Gross
* “Being My Mom’s Mom,” by Loretta Anne Woodward Veney

If you are interested in reading some excerpts from Atul Gawande’s book, see our blog post by longtime group member Helen Medsger, who offered some excerpts in January 2016.

And we have highlights of “The 36-Hour Day” posted to our blog post from 2012. Parts of the book are applicable to all caregivers, not just dementia caregivers.

I had never heard of the fourth book; it sounds well worth reading! Maybe we can get one of our faithful Brain Support Network volunteers to read it and offer us some advice from it.

Here’s a link to the full article:

www.nytimes.com/2017/08/18/your-money/aging-elder-care-books.html

Your Money
Hard-Won Advice in Books on Aging and Elder Care
By Ron Lieber
The New York Times
Aug. 18, 2017

Robin

Benefits of palliative care, and list of palliative care programs in Northern California

Recently I came across a research article on the emerging role of palliative care in multiple system atrophy (MSA) and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). The article makes the point that palliative care emphasizes “quality of life in progressive disorders” and is beneficial for all neurodegenerative disorders.

If you’d like to read the full article, check out this link:

www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S135380201630400X

Palliative Care and its Emerging Role in Multiple System Atrophy and Progressive Supranuclear Palsy
Parkinsonism & Related Disorders
January 2017, volume 34, pages 714

I had a feeling that if I shared this link, many of you would ask “where can I find a palliative care program?” Brain Support Network volunteer Denise Dagan created a list of as many palliative care programs as she could find on the Peninsula and in the South Bay. Since many of these medical clinics exist throughout Northern California — Sutter Health, Kaiser, PAMF, etc — this list should be useful to most of you on this list.

Robin

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PALLIATIVE CARE PROGRAMS ON THE PENINSULA AND IN THE SOUTH BAY
By Denise Dagan (Brain Support Network volunteer)
August 2017

California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC), in San Francisco, is part of Sutter Health. Information about their program can be found here: http://www.cpmc.org/services/palliative.html, or for more information contact Linda Blum, RN, NP, at 415-600-4576.

The Chinese Hospital, San Francisco Call 415-677-2349 for information.

Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula Ask your doctor for more information.

El Camino Hospital, Mountain View Call 650-988-7624 for information or visit https://www.elcaminohospital.org/services/palliative-care

Hospice By the Bay offers palliative care in collaboration with these hospitals:
Marin General, Sonoma Valley, Sonoma Acres and Broadway Villa Sonoma. Call 415-927-2273 for information.

Jewish Family and Children’s Services of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties offers palliative care through Seniors At Home. Call 844-222-3212 or visit the JFCS’ Seniors At Home website.

Kaiser Permanente offers palliative care at several locations around the bay:
Oakland – Inpatient 510-801-7246, Outpatient 510-752-1834
Richmond – Outpatient 510-752-1834
San Francisco – Outpatient 415-833-0204
San Jose – Inpatient 408-972-6888, Outpatient 408-972-7311
https://thrive.kaiserpermanente.org/care-near-you/northern-california/sanjose/departments/palliative-care/
Santa Clara – Inpatient 408-851-7578, Outpatient 408-851-0537,
https://thrive.kaiserpermanente.org/care-near-you/northern-california/santaclara/departments/palliative-care/

Laguna Honda Hospital, San Francisco Call 415-682-1230 for information or to arrange a tour.

Mission Hospice & Home Care, San Mateo, offers in-home palliative care. Call the Clinical Outreach Team 650-554-1000 for information or visit https://www.missionhospice.org/services/transitions/.

Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF) offers palliative care in several locations:
Dublin, Fremont, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Santa Cruz, and Sunnyvale

http://www.pamf.org/palliativecare/locations/

Pathways offers palliative care for any individual or private physician referral on the peninsula, south and east bay areas. Call 844-755-7855 for information.

Regional Medical Center, San Jose Call 877-868-4827 for information

St. Francis Memorial Hospital, San Francisco Call 415-353-6856 or 415-353-6180 for information.

St. Mary’s Medical Center, San Francisco Call 415-750-5907 for information.

San Francisco General Hospital offers inpatient palliative care in Comfort Care Suites. Ask your doctor for more information or visit http://hospital-zsfg.medicine.ucsf.edu/services/palliative.html.

San Mateo Medical Center, San Mateo County Health System Call 650-573-2381 for Information.

Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, San Jose Call 408-793-5974 for information.

Season’s Hospice and Palliative Care offers palliative care in both San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties. Call 855-812-1136 or email [email protected] for information.

Sequoia Hospital, in Redwood City, offers palliative care through Pathways. Sequoia Hospital is a co-owner of Pathways. Call 888-755-7855 for information.

Stanford offers palliative care in these locations:
Palo Alto – Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. Call 650-497-8963 for information.
Palo Alto – Palliative Care at Stanford Hospital. Call 650-724-0385 for information.
San Jose – Cancer Center South Bay. Call 408-426-4900 for information.

Sutter Health This page has a list of 33 palliative care doctors affiliated with Sutter Health (including, CPMC, Mills-Peninsula Medical Center, PAMF and Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation) in several locations:
Alameda, Auburn, Berkeley, Burlingame, Castro Valley, Fremont, Hayward, Modesto, Oakland, Palo Alto, Roseville, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, Sunnyvale, and Yuba City
http://www.sutterhealth.org/findadoctor/northern-california-hospice-and-palliative-medicine-doctors-results.html?Nao=0&recPerPage=100&Nao=0

UCSF Medical Center offers inpatient and outpatient palliative care at both Parnassus and Mission Bay, and inpatient palliative care at SF General Hospital. Call 415-502-6861 for more information.

Veterans Affairs (VA) offers palliative care at several locations:
Palo Alto VA Health Care System – contact them through [email protected]
San Francisco VA Medical Center offers hospice and palliative care through Geriatric Services. Call 415-221-4810, ext. 2-3224 for information.

Visiting Angels offers palliative care in several locations:
Burlingame – Call 650-344-2178 for information.
Fremont – Call 510-284-0000 for information.
San Jose – Call 408-241-5100 for information.
Sunnyvale – Call 408-735-0977 for information.

Vitas Healthcare offers palliative care in several locations:
Milpitas – Call 408-964-6800 for information.
San Francisco – Call 415-874-4400 for information.
San Mateo – Call 650-350-1835 for information.

With Grace Hospice and Palliative Care, San Jose Call 408-444-5500 for information.

 

“You’re Sorry for Someone’s Loss. But How Do You Say It?” (NYT)

This recent New York Times article contains some do’s and don’ts about expressing sorrow for someone’s loss.  The experts review these topics:

* digital condolences (social media and email)
* getting started (don’t procrastinate)
* draw on your memories (“share a memory of the person who died with the bereaved”)
* offer concrete ways to help
* what not to say (don’t refer to your own experiences with death)
* the importance of reaching out

The article mentions this webpage of sample condolence messages:

condolencemessages.net/condolence-messages

Here’s a link to the full article:

www.nytimes.com/2017/08/24/smarter-living/condolence-letters-how-to.html

Smarter Living
You’re Sorry for Someone’s Loss. But How Do You Say It?
By Christopher Mele
The New York Times
Aug. 24, 2017

Robin

 

“Caregivers and Grief and Loss” Webinar, Aug 29

Caregiver Teleconnection is hosting another telephone conference call for family caregivers. Details are:

Caregivers and Grief and Loss
Tele-Learning Session
Tuesday, August 29, 9AM – 10AM PT
Cost: No Charge

Speaker: Evalyn Greb, LCSW, social worker

Description:
This session will help participants understand that grieving is a process that may start at the diagnosis of a degenerative condition, that loss and grief are universal human conditions that cannot be avoided but must be endured, and that caregivers may grieve over long periods of time. Evalyn will discuss the techniques and resources that are available for help.

Registration

Registration required at least 24 hours in advance.

“Mourning the Imagined” – anticipatory grief (Caregiver Space)

This recent post from “The Caregiver Space” is about anticipatory grief. Here’s the key excerpt:

“When you love someone, you have dreams for them even though you don’t realize it. And when a caregiving journey begins, particularly for someone with a long term or incurable illness, those dreams die. And you can experience a very real sense of grief and mourning, even though the person is still alive. You mourn the imagined life, the one in which things take a “natural” course and allow you to plan our your life. You mourn the loss of that person’s contributions to the family, whether it be a special recipe, or wise counsel, or them simply being the backbone of the family unit. You’re forced to let go of how things are supposed to be, and live for the moment.”

Here’s a link to the full blog post:

thecaregiverspace.org/mourning-the-imagined/

Mourning the Imagined
by D. Southern

The Caregiver Space
July 24, 2017

Robin