News stories tagged with "aging"

(05/16/11) Last week, the US Census found that the New York population is aging much faster than the rest of New York state. The average resident in St. Lawrence County is forty years old. The number of young children in the county, below age five, dropped ten percent over the last decade.

In Hamilton County, the median age is even higher - more than 51 years old. That's thirteen years older, on average, than New York state as a whole. Brian Mann was in Hamilton County last week talking to people about the Census findings and what these numbers mean for their communities. He talks with Martha Foley.

(09/20/10) When a patient enters a hospice program at the end of their life, a lot of the focus is on their experience, their choices, and their preparations for death.

As part of our on-going series, called the Hospice Path, we've been profiling Bill Gallagher.

He began working with High Peaks Hospice after doctors told him that his lungs were weakening and couldn't be treated.

This morning, Brian Mann shifts the focus to Tomi Gallagher, Bill's wife. They've been married and caring for each other for nearly seven decades.

Tomi Gallagher says hospice is now offering her important help, while she and her husband navigate this difficult transition. more

(06/27/08) An education forum today at Paul Smiths College is looking at building communities for all ages. It's co-sponsored by Mercy Care for the Adirondacks. The keynote speaker is Dr. Nancy Henkin, founder and director of the Center for Intergenerational Learning at Temple University. Henkin told Todd Moe that with youth and elders making up an increasing proportion of the population, it's critical for the two groups to join together on issues like housing, education, transportation and healthcare.

(05/02/08) Todd Moe visits a spiritual care program at a nursing home in Kingston, Ontario, where the power of poetry is making connections with seniors. It's haiku that inspires and comforts people with dementia. The project has resulted in a book of haiku, Signs of Spring, and a series of murals in the home's garden patio. Todd talks with program coordinator Marjorie Woodbridge and Kingston haiku poet Philomene Kocher. They say it's not a cure, but the project does show the sense of humor, deep wisdom and capabilities of people with dementia. For more information about the booklet, "Signs of Spring - haiku poems by persons with dementia", contact Marjorie Woodbridge: mwoodbridge@cityofkingston.ca

(06/20/07) Mercy Care of the Adirondacks and Paul Smiths College will host a forum on Tuesday, June 26th, on creativity and creating elder-friendly communities. The guest speaker will be Dr. Gene Cohen, Director of the Center for Aging, Health and Humanities at George Washington University. Mercy Care of the Adirondacks Executive Director Donna Beal says many communities in the region are seeing changes in health and long-term care, and people are living longer. She spoke with Todd Moe.

(08/15/06) This year's Seaway Festival in Ogdensburg featured the 2nd annual Old Timers Softball game at Monnet Park. Jack "Chucker" Townsend explains how he learned to pitch, 57 years ago...

(05/15/06) Like many people of a certain age, commentator Paul Willcott is responsible for the care and nurturing of a parent in the last years of a long life. He's been writing down occasional reflections on this difficult time.

(02/28/06) A nursing home in Tupper Lake had to be evacuated last night after the boiler system failed, leaving the building with no heat on one of the coldest nights of the winter.
Patients at Mercy Healthcare Center in Tupper Lake were transported to Sunmount, a nearby mental health facility.
They spent the night on beds and mattresses laid out in the Sunmount community room. 94-year old Rita Chaisson described the experience.

(02/08/06) Paul Jamieson is a noted author, environmentalist, professor and avid canoeist. He was born in 1903 in Des Moines, Iowa. Jamieson spent his teaching career as a Professor of English at St. Lawrence University from 1929 through 1965, and his spare time climbing mountains in the Adirondacks and canoeing most of the waterways throughout the North Country. He's received awards for his work from the Adirondack Council, the Nature Conservancy, the Adirondack Mountain Club, the Sierra Club and the Adirondack Museum. He's the editor of The Adirondack Reader, the first comprehensive anthology of writing on the Adirondacks, and a crusader for recreational canoeing rights in the Park. His other books include Adirondack Canoe Waters: North Flow and an autobiography, Uneven Ground. Last year, Todd Moe spoke with Jamieson in his room at United Helpers nursing home in Canton. At 102, he told Todd that he'd traveled to Europe after college in the 20's, climbed mountains out west, but felt most at home in the Adirondacks.

(01/17/06) The federal government's new prescription drug plan for Medicaid patients took effect January 1st. And there have been widespread problems. People were denied their medications or charged exorbitant amounts as a result of flaws in the program. Governor Pataki suspended the new rules on Friday as have many other governors.

Mildred Giardano went a week without heart medication while the Franklin Office for the Aging worked on getting her signed up for a plan. Now she's getting her meds, but still paying more for her copay than she can afford.