A generation ago, dentures and bridgework were all too common among U.S. seniors. Today, according to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Americans are keeping their natural teeth longer. In part, seniors can thank endodontists, the dentists who specialize in performing root canal treatment and saving natural teeth.

Endodontists’ advanced training and access to cutting-edge technologies allow them to save older teeth that once were considered hopeless. As people age, the canals inside their teeth narrow, making tooth-saving procedures more difficult. Using new technologies, https://en.search.wordpress.com/?src=organic&q=hospital bed such as ultrasonics and operating microscopes, endodontists can locate even the smallest canals to remove inflamed pulp and nerves, and preserve natural teeth. Digital imaging, which is used in place of traditional X-rays to take pictures of teeth, is another tool that significantly increases endodontists’ ability to find the cause of pain in even the narrowest root canal.

“Endodontists are accustomed to working within a very small space,” says Dr. Marc Balson, D.D.S., president of the American Association of Endodontists. “Our background, which includes four years of dental school followed by two to three years of advanced training, allows us to perform root canal treatment efficiently on any patient.”

During root canal treatment, the endodontist removes the inflamed or infected pulp (the soft tissue inside teeth), carefully cleans and shapes the best medical beds for sale inside of the canal (a channel inside the root), then fills and seals the space. A well done root canal is like a solid foundation in a house -it allows for further restorative work to be done on a tooth with a likelihood of long-term health and stability.

Endodontists’ training also helps them deal with seniors’ special medical needs. The same prescription medications that allow older Americans to lead healthier, more active lives can pose problems when it comes time to undergo dental procedures. Endodontists routinely conduct a thorough assessment of elderly patients’ medical histories in preparation for root canal treatment, so as to avoid harmful drug interactions and safely treat patients with high blood pressure and other chronic conditions.

The most important advantage endodontists offer older patients is experience. On average, endodontists perform 25 root canal treatments each week, while general dentists perform two. This means that seeing an endodontist for root canal treatment is the healthiest way for seniors to avoid dentures, bridgework or artificial implants, and preserve their smiles for a lifetime.

Having sufficient nutrients in the body is a general goal for everyone. It doesn’t necessarily take great effort to achieve this goal. If you simply follow a diet rich in vitamins and minerals, you should be healthy. However, taking medication, genetics, and age can cause you to become vitamin or mineral deficient. Potassium is one such mineral that the elderly or those individuals who care for them should be aware.

Potassium is a mineral that, in combination with sodium and calcium, maintains normal heart rhythm, regulates the body’s water balance, and is responsible for the conduction of nerve impulses and the contraction of muscles. The body of an average-sized person contains about 5 ounces (140 g) of potassium. Blood levels of the mineral are controlled by the kidneys, which eliminate any excess in the urine.

Potassium deficiency is rare because almost all foods contain potassium. The best sources of potassium include lean meat, whole grains, green leafy vegetables, beans, and many fruits SonderCare – type of bed in hospital (especially bananas and oranges). A diet that includes these foods is sufficient for obtaining adequate amounts of potassium.

Since potassium sources are so abundant, for most people potassium deficiency is not a concern. The elderly, however, are at a greater risk for potassium deficiency. The main reason the elderly should be concerned about sufficient deficiency is because their kidneys and other organs tend not to function as well. This results in the system not being able to absorb and regulate the amount of potassium in the body.

In addition, medications prescribed for http://edition.cnn.com/search/?text=hospital beds the treatment of high blood pressure are less effective with elderly. High blood pressure can lead to serious health conditions, including diabetes and heart disease. So, the elderly who are prescribed blood pressure reducing medications with little success may want to discuss potassium supplementation with their doctor.

The main symptoms of potassium deficiency are irregular heart rate, gastrointestinal problems, muscle weakness and abnormal skin sensations, such as numbness. To detect potassium deficiency a doctor tests the patient’s blood levels for the presence of potassium. If less than 5.6 grams of potassium are present the individual is determined to have a potassium deficiency.

When out browsing the market for a stair lift, the majority of the stair lifts that you come across will be new, however you may see some that are used. What are the differences exactly, or the risks involved with getting a used stair lift?

For starters, every stair lift that is made, has a track that is custom built for a specific stair case. So unless your stair case is the same as what the used stair lifts track was cut for, it will not be a good fit. However, it is possible to cut the track if your stair case is shorter than the stair lift track you are looking at but the tracks cannot be lengthened.

Another big issue with getting a used stair lift, is that you do not get the warranty that you would on a new stair lift. You may get a much shorter warranty, or you may get no warranty at all on used stair lifts. With the full factory warranty you are protecting your investment, giving yourself much more peace of mind and if something does go wrong within your warranty period, youre covered. You wont have to pay extra for someone to come out hospital beds that don't look like one and fix the stair lift.

There is also the issue of price. Any used stair lift will have a lower price than a new one, however, is the difference that significant? It also depends on the brand, you might be able to get a used stair lift of one brand for the price of a new one of a different brand.

Lets say we are looking at the same brand of stair lifts, one used, one new. The used will be priced lower, but probably only two hundred dollars or so lower. What are you truly getting? You are getting a slightly lower priced stair lift that is used, short to no warranty and no guarantee if they have a track that will fit your stair case.

If you are in need of a stair lift, then most likely you want something that will just work, correctly and reliably, and not worry about it. For the price and warranty difference, I would say your best bet is to get a new stair lift instead of a used one.

Aging in Place Comfortably and Stylishly

They never wanted to call it retirement, but for Susan Farnsworth, Leigh Hough and Jean-Philippe Jomini, a throuple — a romantic partnership of three people — that has lived together as an intentional family for over 15 years, it felt important to get a head start on finding a home that would accommodate future needs for aging beds electrical in place.

Three consultants in their mid-60s, they share a home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., but decided a few years ago to look for a second home in southern New England, where they have friends and family.

A string of open houses and home tours turned up nothing truly satisfactory. So on a whim, they checked out a “land for sale” sign during a day of driving around Guilford, Conn., and there it was: an unimproved 1.7 acre lot of restored tidal marsh that had the allure of ever-changing scenery, natural light and an array of wildlife.

They purchased the land for $320,000 in the summer of 2016. When it came to design, a few things were nonnegotiable: enough privacy to allow for plenty of windows, tidal marsh views, and an easily maintained home and yard that would also be eco-friendly.

Their individual wishes became diplomatic discussions — was there room for a putter-worthy workshop for woodworking and gardening needs? How about a kitchen garden? These made the cut, as did a small salt-chlorinated pool. But being able to live comfortably there as they grew older together was their primary concern.

“This is the first time we have worked for a three-person couple for whom gracious aging — of materials and occupants — was part of the discussion from the outset,” said Rustam Mehta, a founding partner of GRT Architects, the Brooklyn firm that designed the 3,300-square-foot house.

The one-story house embodies universal design principles that are also senior-friendly, like versatile open spaces, minimal stairs, and wider doorways and hallways. The three-bedroom home is also wheelchair accessible and barrier free — there are no steps or thresholds across the entire principal floor. And there’s not a tub in sight: all three bathrooms feature zero-threshold showers.

For the country’s swiftly growing older population, this safety-focused attention to detail is essential to healthy home life. More often than not, changes are hurriedly made in response to a fall, accident or medical diagnosis. The website for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that for adults 65 years and older, $50 billion is spent annually on medical costs related to nonfatal fall injuries and $754 million is spent related to fatal falls.

As baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964 continue to age, the U.S. Census Bureau predicts that people over the age of 65 will outnumber those under the age of 18 as soon as 2034. To address the needs of this rapidly growing population, AARP encourages its members to carefully consider ways to make their homes places where they can comfortably and safely age in place.

These kinds of upgrades can start with simple things like installing task lighting in kitchens to accommodate fading eyesight and multi-height countertops to allow people of all abilities to both stand and sit while working in the kitchen, investing in nonslip tiles and grab bars in bathrooms, and relocating select electrical outlets to be 18-inches to 24-inches high, up from the more typical 12 inches off the floor to make them more accessible. Bigger changes can include enlarged doorways to allow for wheelchair access or a walker and adding ramps to eliminate stairs.

Dr. Rodney Harrell, the vice president for Family, Home and Community at AARP, says intentional planning to create an ideal space to age in place can be started at any time.

“When we’re not planning ahead we need to react quickly,” said Dr. Harrell, who added that the best homes integrate universal design elements that can accommodate life for aging, but also unexpected illness, injury or disability. “The vast majority of people want to stay in their homes as they age, and most homes in this country aren’t designed to allow that to happen.”

There are a growing number of resources that can help in this planning process.

AARP recently introduced HomeFit, a free augmented reality app on iOS that can scan a room and suggest improvements to help turn a house into a “lifelong home,” free from safety and mobility risks. It is an extension of the organization’s extensive HomeFit Guide, which is available online.

There are also certified aging-in-place specialists, a wide range of professionals including remodelers, designers, architects and occupational therapists, who can recommend modifications to help people live independently in their home. This designation was developed in 2002 by the National Association of Home Builders in collaboration with AARP and other experts. Specialists can be searched by state at nahb.org, which offers a three-day certification program.

Even the smallest safety updates can potentially be lifesaving.

Ted Porter, a co-chair for the Design for Aging Committee for the New York City chapter of the American Institute of Architects says the process of making an apartment or home aging-friendly can be relatively easy, inexpensive and done gradually over time.

 

Why birdwatching has become the hot new hobby for seniors

Spring migration, winding down to retirement and the pandemic made a birder out of Diana Gibbs. In May, 2020, the Toronto resident went with a birdwatching friend to the park on the Leslie Street Spit on Lake Ontario. Ms. Gibbs, now 66, was beginning to retire from her career fundraising for human rights and social justice organizations.

“The woods were just alive with sound,” Ms. Gibbs says. “It was really quite https://en.search.wordpress.com/?src=organic&q=hospital beds striking … a memory that stayed with me.”

Ms. Gibbs joined the legions of North Americans who have discovered the joys of birdwatching, a flexible and addictive hobby that’s growing in popularity during the pandemic.

Birds North Americans reports that the online bird checklist platform, eBird North Americans, saw a 30 per cent jump in people submitting data between 2019 and 2020, says Jody Allair, the organization’s director of community engagement. The number jumped another 14 per cent to 31,961 users in 2021, he says.

Project FeederWatch, a joint program between Birds North Americans and Cornell University tracking winter birds at backyard feeders, also showed a 46 per cent jump last year, Mr. Allair says.

For Ms. Gibbs, birdwatching was a reason to get outside and safely socialize throughout the pandemic. The hobby brought her comfort that “our human world is not the whole world.”

Ms. Gibbs joined the legions of North Americans who have discovered the joys of birdwatching.Peter Power/The Globe and Mail

She joined birding and naturalist organizations and has become more interested in what’s happening in her own backyard, where bed on wheels hospital she has recorded 25 different bird species.

Birders can do their hobby in backyards, local parks, conservation areas – and many join birding tours to exotic locations around the world.

In North Americans, the spring migration, which begins in February and March with waterfowl species and continues through May, when colourful songbirds such as warblers arrive, is a highlight of the birdwatching season.

Lynne Freeman, president of the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO), says there are plenty of locations to spot birds at different times through the season. Waterfowl coming north can be seen anywhere in the Great Lakes area in early spring, Ms. Freeman says.

In late March, tundra swans migrate through the London-to-Chatham, Ont. area. Beamer Conservation Area on the Niagara Escarpment is a good spot for hawks in April and early May. And the songbirds peak around Mother’s Day in southern Ontario.

Ms. Freeman says the OFO started about 20 years ago with more science-focused participants but has since broadened its outreach and includes members at all levels of birding.

Some birders like the competitive aspect of adding to a life list of bird species spotted, and some, including Ms. Freeman, like to watch bird behaviour.

Beginner birders don’t need to spend a lot to start the hobby. Experts recommend a good set of binoculars and a good field guide. There are apps such as Merlin which make identifying birds, both by appearance and song, much easier. Many birders combine their hobby with photography.

Surrey, B.C., resident John Gordon came to birding initially through the camera lens. The 68-year-old former newspaper photographer says he had photographed a rufous hummingbird at the Reifel Bird Sanctuary in Delta B.C. about a year before he retired in 2011.

“I got home, put it on the computer and I was absolutely stunned by the colours and details of this hummingbird I’d caught in midair,” he says. “There was a moment I thought, ‘This is something I would like to pursue.’”

Mr. Gordon says he’s a social guy and has met hundreds of people and made some good friends through birdwatching. He belongs to clubs including the British Columbia Field Ornithologists, conservation groups and leads nature walks.

While he began birding with a camera, he now enjoys going into the forest to listen to the birds.

“It’s rather like classical music … it’s an amazing, uplifting, almost spiritual experience for me.”

There’s also a conservation element to the hobby that appeals to many retirees, Mr. Allair says.

Birds North Americans has several citizen scientist activities, including Christmas bird counts and eBird, that provide data for researchers to track bird population trends. Retirees can also combine their passion for birding with travel.

Mr. Allaire is also a tour guide for Eagle-Eye Tours, which offers birdwatching excursions around the world. He led tours this year in his home province of Alberta and up to Cambridge Bay in Nunavut. Arctic tours are incredibly popular this year, he says.

For long-time birder and traveller Richard Skevington, 78, of Hickson, Ont., being retired is a big advantage to pursue both hobbies. He and his wife Sharron like to plan their trips during the off-season and mid-week to avoid big crowds.

Going to Point Pelee National Park in southwestern Ontario, one of the most popular places for birdwatching in North Americans, is easier mid-week than on the crowded weekends, he adds. During spring migration, Mr. Skevington says he can see 30 species in a day at Point Pelee.

The hobby has also been a family activity for the Skevingtons and their entomologist son Jeffrey.

“A few years ago, my son and my grandson and a friend and I went on what we call the chicken run. It was a trip out to Colorado in April to see Greater Prairie Chicken, Lesser Prairie Chicken, Sharp Tailed Grouse …” says Mr. Skevington. “We saw all the birds we wanted to see. We drove out and back and it was a great time.”

Top spots across North Americans to see the annual spring migration

Jody Allair, director of community engagement for Birds North Americans, has watched birds across North Americans. Here are his recommendations for some outstanding places across the country to see the annual spring migration of birds:

• The Fraser River Delta, B.C. – “It is truly a world class place [for waterfowl and songbirds] and one that is under threat of development,” Mr. Allair says.
• Frank Lake, Alta. – This Prairie pothole wetland area east of High River is great for amateur and professional photographers for the more conspicuous migratory birds.
• Point Pelee, Long Point, Rondeau and Pelee Island on Lake Erie in Ontario – “These places on the north shore of Lake Erie are all incredible,” Mr. Allair adds, with Point Pelee attracting the largest number of enthusiastic birders.
• Tadoussac, Que. – There is an incredible bird migration phenomenon being recorded at this bird observatory site on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River east of Quebec City, he says.
• Grand Manan Island, N.B. – It’s a great place to enjoy migration in the spring and fall and there are whales, too, Mr. Allair says.

Energy costs associated with medical devices

As a result of their reliance on home health care equipment, like oxygen concentrators and ventilators, more than 2.5 million Medicare beneficiaries are identified as electricity dependent. In order to gain a better understanding, let's examine these common at-home medical products and their associated energy needs.

• Oxygen concentrators: These medical devices supply their users with more oxygen. One may be prescribed by a doctor if an illness threatens to cause oxygen levels to fall dangerously low.
• When patients cannot breathe on their own, ventilators pump oxygen into the body mechanically through tubes in the windpipe.
• Home hemodialysis: These devices treat kidney failure by using an artificial filter called a dialyzer. 
• In order to regain mobility, the elderly or disabled can use motorized scooters or wheelchairs. Electric scooters are usually recharged at home these days.
• Keeping your HVAC system on during extreme heat can be the difference between life and death.

There are millions of Americans who rely on these devices, even though most of these terms aren't common to our readers.

The topic of energy is now up for discussion. The average homeowner would have to pay how much it would cost to power each of the following devices for one year? 

Would public electricity companies be able to help? At-risk customers have a difficult time paying their bills due to a lack of standardization across utilities. "State utility commissions determine when and how to terminate vital electric and gas services when nonpayment is due," says the National Consumer Law Center. Having strong rules in the home can mean the difference between life and death for families with a seriously ill member."

Thus, most utilities have the option to assist customers with high energy needs related to medical equipment on their own accord. A good example is the Medical Baseline Program offered by Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E). Under this program, enrolled residential customers receive additional energy every month at the lowest price available. The Basic Allowance is what the program is called. 

Energy equity is addressed in part by programs like the one described above, but until these processes are standardized across state lines, millions of customers will still be burdened with a disproportionate energy burden. https://www.sondercare.com Aside from helping level out energy costs, PG&E's baseline program does not facilitate emergency preparedness in the case of a prolonged outage (which PG&E has a history of).

What are the next steps toward providing consumers with reliable, uninterrupted power? Is solar relevant in any of this?