Center on Aging: External Links: Consumer Resources
Consumer Resources Links
On this page:
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Financial Topics [Includes Social Security & Medicare]
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Housing Issues [Includes nursing homes and assisted living facilities]
General
The Center to Advance Palliative Care [CAPC] Releases New Study and State by State Report Card on Hospital Palliative Care.
NEW Floods of 2008-Information and Resources
Iowa Attorney General's Consumer Protection Office: reducing crime against the elderly
FirstGov for Seniors
Elderhostel
Elderhostel is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to serving the educational needs of older adults, ages fifty-five and over.
SeniorNet
The nonprofit SeniorNet provides adults 50+ access to and education about computer technology and the Internet to enhance their lives and enable them to share their knowledge and wisdom.
InfoAging.org
Research-based information on healthy lifestyles, age-related diseases and conditions, and topics in the biology of aging
Resource Directory for Older People
An alphabetical listing of resources maintained by the Administration on Aging a governmental agency of the US Department of Health and Human Services. The Resource Directory for Older People is intended to serve a wide audience including older people and their families, health and legal professionals, social service providers, librarians, researchers, and others with an interest in the field of aging. The directory contains over 200 names, addresses, phone numbers, and fax numbers of organizations which provide information and other resources on matters relevant to the needs of older persons.
The Geriatrics Times
Features an extensive links page
Report on Livable Communities County-Wide Forum Held September 19, 2007
http://www.johnson-county.com/socialServices/aging.shtml
Advocacy Resources
NEW Website on Elder Abuse
AoA has established a new website for the National Center on Elder
Abuse: www.ncea.aoa.gov .
The National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA) serves as a resource center
dedicated to the prevention of elder mistreatment.
Click Here For More Information
The National Senior Citizens Law Center
The National Senior Citizens Law Center advocates nationwide to promote the independence and well-being of low-income elderly individuals, as well as persons with disabilities, with particular emphasis on women and racial and ethnic minorities.
National Council on the Aging: Advocacy Links
Alliance for Aging Research
The nation's leading non-profit organization dedicated to improving the health and independence of Americans as they age through public and private funding of medical research and geriatric education.
RESIDENT ADVOCATES
The Resident Advocate Committees (RAC) program is a state-mandated program that functions under the Long-Term Care Ombudsman in partnership with the Area Agencies on Aging. Resident Advocates are volunteers dedicated to helping residents and their families with concerns or problems regarding care and daily life in long-term care facilities.
RAC volunteers can:
* Answer questions for residents or family members
* Assist in presenting the concerns to the appropriate facility staff
* Work to help resolve the situation
* Meets at each facility quarterly to discuss residents' satisfaction and careVolunteers are assigned to a facility of their choice. They can not be employed by a facility, be related to anyone working in a facility, or own or have any financial interest in a facility. Support, training andmaterials for the RAC program are provided.
For more information go to the website at http://www.state.ia.us/elderaffairs/advocacy/rac.html
Caregiver Issues
Helping Older Parents: Assessing the Situation
As parents grow older, adult children face changes they may not know how to address. You may have concerns about your parents' safety and well-being and wonder how they can respect their parents' choices about independence and safety. This Consumer Fact Sheet will help you sort out what is happening and take stock of your family's situation.
The Eldercare Locator
AOA: "Because We Care: A Guide for People Who Care" (US Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Aging)
AOA provides this document as "[a]n online resource guide for the growing number of Americans who are caring for an older family member, adult child with disabilities, or older friend."
http://www.iowacaregivers.org/helpful_links/helpful_links.php
http://www.caregivereducation.org/
ELDERCARE ONLINE A VALUABLE STOP FOR FAMILY CAREGIVERS
Last Acts invites you to check out ElderCare Online. This online resource provides practical information, education, and support to help caregivers improve quality of life for both themselves and their aging loved one. ElderCare Online, and its sister website ALZwell Caregiver Support, offer families an extensive library of free articles on the entire range of cargiving issues, including Alzheimer's Disease & Dementia Care, Caring for the Caregiver, Death & Dying, and many more. ElderCare Online's interactive support groups are also among the longest-running and most educational available on the Internet. Caregivers can access the chatroom for regularly scheduled seminars and chat groups, or the daily message board to share insights and ask questions of others regardless of geographic location or time zone. All of ElderCare Online's leading-edge software is secure and privacy protected. To visit ElderCare Online, go to: http://www.ec-online.net To visit ALZwell Caregiver Support, go to: http://www.alzwell.com
Coping/Bereavement
Widownet
Information and support resources for, and by, widows and widowers. Grief, bereavement, recovery, and other information.
MedlinePlus: Bereavement
Iowa City Hospice
Includes bereavement care, programs and support groups
Death and Dying
Iowa City Hospice
Includes bereavement care, programs and support group
ACP-ASIM Develop Materials for Patients Near End of Life
Under the auspices of the American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine, a working group of physicians and patient advocates has developed a set of informational materials for patients nearing the end of life. These educational materials can be used to facilitate conversations between physicians, patients, and their families. Brochures are available in groups of 50 or can be downloaded from the web. The materials are companion pieces to three end-of-life care papers prepared for physicians. To learn more about these materials, visit: http://www.acponline.org/ethics/patienteducation.htm
Study Examines Prevalence of Hospital-Based Palliative Care Programs
The Hertzberg Palliative Care Institute at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Last Acts Partner the American Hospital Association (AHA) completed the first study examining the prevalence and characteristics of hospital-based palliative care programs. Among other results, the study found that a total of 2,015 unique hospitals nationwide that had either a pain management service or an end-of-life service available to patients. The results were published in the Journal of Palliative Medicine in the November 3, 2001 issue. The study received funding by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and its National Program Office - the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC). To learn more about CAPC, go to: http://www.capc.org/To learn more about the AHA, visit: http://www.aha.org/aha/index.jsp
Rites of Passage Set to Offer Unique Project on Grief and Loss
'Between Now and Forever', a new multi-media project by non-profit agency Rites of Passage, offers a unique and quietly powerful approach to loss and grief. Made up of three parts, it includes an extraordinary beautiful exhibit on loss, grief and healing (the stories, poems, photographs, artwork and music of 20 bereaved people), a documentary video for parents who have lost a child, and an important experiential component: a place for those who visit the exhibit to share their own stories of loss with others and an opportunity to participate in some very special grief workshops. The project is set to begin its journey to churches, libraries, universities, hospitals and community centers around the country in May 2002. To learn more about this project and Rites of Passage, go to: http://www.ktc.net/ritesofpassage/
Education Development Center Creates Guide to Accompany Instructional Palliative Care Video
Last Acts Partner The Education Development Center, Inc. recently produced a resources guide to accompany 'Ready or Not', a palliative care educational videotape produced by Emmy-Award winning filmmakers Pierre Valette and Bill Jersey. The film is an intimate, behind-the-scenes portrait of a small number of first-year medical students enrolled in the ground-breaking end-of-life course at Harvard Medical School, "Living with Life-Threatening Illness." The course, developed by palliative care experts Dr. Susan D. Block and Dr. J. Andrew Billings, pairs first-year medical students with terminally ill patients. The guide suggest ways medical educators might use the video, both to enhance students' comfort and skill caring for dying patients and, more generally, to enhance their ability to forge meaningful relationships with patients, no matter where patients are in their disease trajectory. To learn more about this film and the resources guide, go to: http://www2.edc.org/Innovations/ReadyorNot/
Finding our way: Living with Dying in America
Debating a Patient's Capacity to Decide to Die
Dying Well: Defining Wellness through the End of Life
“Means to a Better End: A Report on Dying in America Today”
The nation’s first state-by-state “report card” on end-of-life care released by Last Acts, a coalition working for better care and caring near the end of life.
Financial Topics (including Social Security & Medicare)
BenefitsCheckUp
This website created by The National Council on Aging is devoted to "helping seniors, their families and caregivers find the right benefits programs to meet their needs..." It is a free, easy-to-use service that identifies federal and state assistance programs for older Americans.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
MedlinePlus: Medicare
Social Security Administration
Medicare: the Official U.S. Government site for Medicare Information
For Women at www.ssa.gov/women
Aimed exclusively at women of all ages. Social Security Benefits are the same for both men and women; however, there are some situation that women are more likely to encounter because of their different work patterns and lifestyles.
Senior Health Insurance Information Program [SHIIP]
Can help you find answers to the important questions you have on Medicare supplement insurance, long term care insurance, and other health insurance issues. Created in 1990 by the State of Iowa, Insurance Division for those seniors in Iowa.
Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services: http://cms.hhs.gov/
Health Concerns
Information concerning a wide variety of health concerns ranging from Alzheimer's Disease to Urological Disorders is available at our Consumer Health Concerns page.
Home Care
HOMECARE Online
The National Association for Home Care's virtual headquarters. NAHC is committed in representing the interests of the home care and hospice community.
The Eden Alternative
Philosophy of building a healthy spiritual environment
around seniors and persons with disabilities, replacing the image of frailty
Housing Issues [Includes nursing homes, and assisted living facilities]
Nursing Home Facilities Report Card
Iowa Department of Inspection and Appeals webpage has search capabilities.
Nursing Home Complaint Violation Website
A searchable database of complaint violations for all 17,000 nursing homes in the country.
Search Senior Housing Net's comprehensive guide
State by State to retirement communities, assisted living residences, Alzheimer's facilities, and nursing homes nationwide
ElderWeb
This award-winning site is designed to be a research site for both professionals and family members looking for information on eldercare and long term care, and includes links to information on legal, financial, medical, and housing issues, as well as policy, research, and statistics.
ExtendedCare.com
Provides information, assistance and advice for families in selecting extended care options, and includes our searchable database of over 70,000 U.S. extended care providers.
SeniorResource.com
The "E-cyclopedia" of housing options and information for retirement, finance, insurance and care.
Senior Sites
Senior Sites is a web source of non-profit housing and services for seniors. With over 5000 listed communities, Senior Sites is a valuable resource for seniors and their families interested in exploring the non-profit housing option.
National Citizens' Coalition for Nursing Home Reform
American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging
A national nonprofit organization representing 5,600 not-for-profit nursing homes, continuing care retirement communities, assisted living residences and senior housing facilities and community service organizations for the elderly.
The National Center for Assisted Living
NCAL is the assisted living voice of the American Health Care Association, the nation’s largest organization representing long term care
Nursing Home Compare
The primary purpose of this tool is to provide detailed information about the performance of every Medicare and Medicaid certified nursing home in the country.
New Life Styles: Complete guide for senior living
Longtermcarelink.net
This site is designed to educate the public on long-term care, provide support and help to caregivers, and provide continuing education to care advisors and care providers.
Veterans Issues
Department of Veterans Affairs
Federal Benefits for Veterans and Dependents - 1994 Edition
Disabled American Veterans
From Resources for the Aging Network
To help people who work with older adults, Center on Aging at the University of Hawaii has created a series of modules to provide practical information. Adapted from the Complete Life Course, created by the Center on Aging at the University of Hawaii, it is available for reprinting with their permission. Please cite the UH Center on Aging on all publications.
* How to Make a Hospice Referral
http://www2.state.hi.us/eoa/eol/resource_htmahr.doc (Word format)
* The Problem of Pain and Suffering
http://www2.state.hi.us/eoa/eol/resource_tpopas.doc (Word format)
* Starting the Conversation
http://www2.state.hi.us/eoa/eol/resource_stc.doc (Word format)
* Talking About Death Across Cultures
http://www2.state.hi.us/eoa/eol/resource_tadac.doc (Word format)
* Talking About Death Across Cultures - Talking Points
http://www2.state.hi.us/eoa/eol/resource_tadactp.doc (Word format)
* Explanations and Definitions
http://www2.state.hi.us/eoa/eol/resource_ad_ead.doc (Word format)
* Values Clarification Worksheet
http://www2.state.hi.us/eoa/eol/resource_ad_vcw.doc (Word format)
* Commonly Asked Questions
http://www2.state.hi.us/eoa/eol/resource_ad_caq.doc (Word format)