What qualifies someone for hospice?

hospice

Definitions:

Hospice

A home that provides care for the terminally ill.  Cancer patients in their last stages and others who have six months or less to live, benefit from moving into a hospice as the hospice is geared to take care of their needs and ensure comfort and care.

Palliative care:

Palliative care refers to treatment given not towards curing an illness, but towards keeping the patient comfortable and pain free.

Looking after a loved one who is terminally ill is one of the toughest assignments one can have.  Firstly, unless one is a nurse or a doctor, one is not fully qualified for the task at hand.  Secondly, if the loved one is suffering, watching them from close quarters can be really traumatic and both emotionally and physically draining.

Under such circumstances, opting for hospice care may be the best thing one can do, for oneself and for the patient.  A hospice is geared to look after the terminally ill and will be able to keep your loved one as comfortable as possible.  In addition, many times, they will have licenses to procure and prescribe pain killers such as morphine, that are not available to others.  On top of that, this will give you the opportunity to spend quality time with the loved one rather than constantly worrying whether one is doing enough for the loved one.

In India, there are quite a few charitable organizations that run palliative centres.  Most of these however cater to the poor and destitute. They do the best that they can but given that they are charity run and are invariably filled beyond capacity, they may not be suitable for those that are willing to pay for better quality services.

Searching on google for “hospice”, “palliative care”, “terminally ill care” and similar words along with the name of one’s city will give one a quick overview of the available options.

It is important to remember that considering the option of hospice care for a loved one is not an act of abandonment, a sign that one is relinquishing one’s responsibilities or dereliction of duty.

Under such circumstances, it may be the right thing to do for one’s loved one.

Humanitarian Award for Probus Club of Chennai

Probus Club of ChennaiThe Probus Club of Chennai received the Humanitarian Award from the Thakkar Bapa Vidyalaya Samithi in recognition of the yeoman service that they did during the floods in Chennai in the year 2015.  The award was presented by Hon’ble Vice President of India, Shri Venkaiah Naidu and received by Probian President RT Namasivayam.

“Probus Club of Chennai, apart from fellowship among members, undertake projects for the benefit of the society.

During the floods in Chennai in the year 2015, the club collected contributions from members and donated the following.

1.1000 saris to slum dwellers in Mylapore.

2.Rs.70000 to Thakkar Bapa Vidyalaya Samithi, T.Nagar for purchase of machinery.

3.Rs.70000 to M P Aanandh Matriculation HSS for purchase of computers.

4.Rs.45000 to a NGO to construct a thatched house in a village in Cuddalore District.

5.Blankets to an old age home and an orphanage in Nanmangalam.

6.Free medical check up to senior citizens in Mylapore.

Apart from the above, Probus Club has revamped toilet facilities in Gopalapuram Boys’ HSS.

This Humanitarian Award from Thakkar Bapa Vidyalaya Samithi. The foundation for this school was laid by Mahatma Gandhiji.”

Wheelchairs and air travel

Wheelchairs and air travelI recently took my mother-in-law to Mumbai for a family wedding. While she can walk a bit, she finds standing for extended periods and walking long distances very painful, so I ordered wheelchair support for her at the time of check-in.

The Indigo airlines people (MAA-BOM) were very kind and helpful. They came and found us even before we reached the check-in counter and got her comfortably seated in a wheelchair. They then took her through security and ensured that she reached the gate well before flight time. They then came back at the time of boarding and made sure she got on to the plane before anyone else and was seated comfortably before the rest boarded.

Similarly at the Mumbai airport, after everyone had disembarked, they brought a wheelchair through the aerobridge and remained with us till we got into a pre-paid taxi. The person manning the wheelchair even took her to a disabled toilet before we got into the cab. He remained patient, courteous and kind throughout.

Our return was by Jet airways. The embarking process went smoothly with the wheelchair available to my mother-in-law from the airport entrance itself all the way to the aircraft. I was extremely happy with the service and it made my mother-in-law’s travel much less of an ordeal than it could have been without the wheelchair support provided by the two airlines.

At the Chennai airport, after the flight landed, we waited for everyone to disembark and then started to move forward towards the aerobridge when a flight attendant announced that wheelchair users should use the rear exit. We turned around and went there only to find a flight of steps down (no aero bridge). When we protested, they said please get down the steps and we will get you a wheelchair. So we helped her get down the steep stairs which she managed with a lot of difficulty. At the bottom, they said, please get into the bus and we will get you a wheelchair at the terminal. It was just another 20 meters and she was game, so we did not think too much about it. However, getting into the bus was something else! The first step of the bus is a good foot above the ground and she really found it difficult to climb in. Finally, my wife and I literally lifted her on to the bus while the ground crew stood around watching.

Not surprisingly, at the terminal end, there was no wheelchair waiting for us. We got her down from the bus and started making our way towards the baggage carousel. Just as we were almost at the carousel, the wheelchair finally arrived. As a saving grace, the attender stayed with us all the way to the pickup location a good 200 meters from the arrival hall.

When it comes to accessibility services, we are almost there, but not quite yet. The strength of a chain is that of the weakest link. Similarly, the final quality of the service depends not so much on the parts that you do well, but on the places where you drop the ball. In this case, the disembarkation process at the Chennai airport was a disaster in terms of service. Jet airways needs to take note and improve on their service.

I will be writing to them about this so they can really consistently do their job well. If you have a similar experience, please make sure you write to the concerned authorities so that they can improve upon their services. If we don’t tell them, how will they know they need to improve?

Towards a strength-based approach to elderly care

strength-based approach to elderly careA strength-based approach rather than a deficit-based approach towards ageing could well have an empowered senior citizen stepping into a journey of a “well-being” experience.

Strength is a capacity – a talent, ability, skills or multiple intelligences; whereas the deficits are the physical hurdles of old age that bring about various disabilities.

Kalpana Goel from School of Psychology, Social Work and Social Policy, Whyalla Campus, Australia, who was in the city for the ‘Healthy Ageing’ conference organised by the Rajagiri School of Social Sciences, said that “well-being” is not just a physical experience, but a “happy” state of mind and body.

The idea was explored by Vanessa Leane of St. John Ambulance Australia and Dr. Goel in a project that focussed on the strength-based approach to the older people.

“The idea was to generate the identity of the senior citizen in his or her strengths… to explore their strengths that they had accumulated by virtue of their lives,” said Dr. Goel. If their strengths are used as a resource to generate well-being, it removes the barriers created by the frailty of old age, environment and other constraints like lack of support or care. Their strengths, which make them happy, get buried because of loss of hearing, loss of spouse or loss of a close friend. The new digital world could be used to help them bring back their strengths, she said.

The governments should work out community programmes to explore the strength-based approach to well-being that would help the elderly give back to society the goodness they had accumulated.

Society should recognise the value of the strengths of the elderly, instead of focussing more on the physical needs of the ageing body, said Dr. Goel.

Society should recognise the value of the strengths of the elderly

Also, society should recognise the value of the strengths of the elderly, says Kalpana Goel from Whyalla Campus.

Click here to read the original article.( https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/Towards-a-strength-based-approach-to-elderly-care/article17011199.ece)

Understanding generic medicine

Understanding generic medicine

A gentleman I met recently thought that generic drugs were the same as spurious drugs. I was shocked and explained what generic drugs meant. Thought I should put down the explanation here for the benefit of others who may be thinking along similar lines.


A pharmaceutical company makes a medicine after years of research. It then files for a patent and sells the medicine under a brand name. During the period that the patent is valid, no other company can manufacture the same product. Obviously during this time, the cost of the medicine will be high as the company has to recoup all its expenses.

However, the patents issued are valid only for 20 years or so. After the expiry of patent, any other pharmaceutical company can take up the manufacture of the same medicine and sell it under a different name. This product is now called a generic equivalent of the original medicine.

In essence, Generic drugs are copies of brand-name drugs that have exactly the same dosage, intended use, effects, side effects, route of administration, risks, safety, and strength as the original drug. In other words, their pharmacological effects are exactly the same as those of their brand-name counterparts.

Generic drugs can be and usually are very much cheaper than their brand-name counterparts because the generic drug manufacturer has not put in any money on R&D, clinical trials, FDA approval, etc. which usually form the bulk of the cost. Their only costs include the cost of the ingredients that go into the medicine and the manufacturing and packaging costs, which are usually only a small fraction of the overall costs.

Spurious medicines, on the other hand, are fake products manufactured by illegal companies which look like the regular products but contain none of the original ingredients.

I hope now you are clear about the actual meaning of generic medicine.

Now why aren’t the generic drugs much cheaper than they are? Well, they should be, but market forces prevent them from being sold at that rate.

Another question you may have is why Doctors don’t prescribe generic drugs to you. Well, the pharmaceutical companies that hold the patents incentivize the Doctors to prescribe their drugs and hence the Doctors do so. On your part, you can always go to the pharmacy and ask for a generic equivalent and take that with full confidence.

Do you know generic drugs can be up to 80% cheaper than their brand-named counterparts!?
When more and more people become knowledgeable about generics, hopefully the market will wake up and start making generics more affordable. Just imagine, your medical bills could quite easily be halved!

Jashn’ – India’s largest senior citizen sports, cultural festival

Jashn’ – India’s largest senior citizen sports, cultural festivalIndia’s Largest Senior Citizen Sports and Cultural festival – JASHN 2016, will kick off on Saturday 15th – October in Lavasa with an underline theme of “High on Life”.

The two day event will witness participation of seniors from Ashiana’s five senior living communities namely Utsav Bhiwadi, Nirmay Bhiwadi, Utsav Jaipur, Shubham Chennai and Utsav Lavasa. One of its kind events in India, Jashn will act as a dais for a whooping over 600 senior citizens’ aged 55-85 participating this year.

The sports competitions, cultural and creative activities will take place at the activity centre of Utsav Lavasa. The sports competition will include Table Tennis, Badminton, Carom, chess and walking competition.

And the cultural competitions will include singing, dancing and much more. Besides creative competitions such as Salad making and Rangoli making will also be there. To keep up with the fun momentum, a glittering ramp show will also be organized where senior citizen will walk the ramp. The panel of judges would comprise of teachers/principals from nearby schools. The event will close on Sunday, October 16 with an awards ceremony.

“The zeal and enthusiasm witnessed in last two Jashn 2014 was one of its kinds and in Jashn 2015 it got even better. It’s so much fun to watch senior citizens performing; participating having fun and creating so much energy that it could put many college fests to shame. It’s the energy and participation of the senior’s which as a group keeps us motivated and organizes it every year.” says Ankur Gupta, Managing Director, Ashiana Housing Ltd.

“For those where everything is black and white, adrenaline rush at any age is exciting! Now is the time to do the things you love. I am very excited and looking forward for the two day event as I am certain the third edition like the last two will take excitement fervor to the hilt,” said Amita Shaw, Resident, Ashiana Utsav Bhiwadi and one of the participants.

Elders week: Chennai Metro falls flat on Accessibility

Chennai Metro falls flat on AccessibilityThe first week of October is marked as Elders week and a lot of programs are conducted around the country to highlight the fact that there is an elderly segment of population still living in India.

Pensioners Associations, senior citizens bureaus, Probus clubs, and several private organizations working in the senior citizens sector have been announcing various cultural and informative programs for the said elders.

While these organizations and their programs do bring elders and their issues to the fore, however transiently, whether any permanent improvements are happening is yet to be determined.

One telling article in Hindu illustrates the general apathy of Indians and the Indian Government when it comes to elders and accessibility issues.  This article documents the study conducted by the Disability Rights Alliance on the Airport Metro rail station in Chennai, a building that has just been completed.  Here are some of the results:

Entry issues

For Smitha Sadasivan, getting into the station itself was a challenge as the ramp was not level with the ground. Also, the ramp from the parking lot was steep and had no handrails, activists said.

Gaps in staircases

Gopi Krishnan and M. Veerappan, who have low vision, noted that there were gaps between the stairs, where their canes slipped in. “It makes us nervous when climbing up,” said Mr. Krishnan.

Incomplete signage

Signage was unclear and in many places, incomplete, the tactile paths were patchy and in the bathroom for the disabled, the flush behind the toilet could not be easily reached. Also, there was a difference in the level of the flooring at the entrance, making it hard to get in and out, said B. Meenakshi, an activist.

Levels of difference

On the platform, the tactile path did not extend towards the train, and wheelchair users had difficulty getting in due to the difference in the levels of the train and the platform. The warning strip on the platform near the train was inadequate for visually impaired persons using canes, the members said.

Lost in the lift

At Nanganallur, the team had problems due to lack of signage, inaccessible drinking water facilities and nobody answering the help button at the lift, said Sudha Ramamoorthy, a DRA member, “Also, there was no announcement of the doors opening and closing in the lift and the music is quite loud, making it difficult to hear anything when the help button is pressed,” she said.

A mixed bag

There was some progress though, said Vaishnavi Jayakumar, a DRA member. “The floor is not as slippery as it was at Alandur, making it easier for those on crutches, and it is of a different colour. The ticket counters are lower and more easily reachable and the ticket vending machines are also somewhat accessible. However, persons with visual impairment cannot use them,” she said.

To read the full article, go here.( https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/Chennai-Metro-Rail-flunks-accessibility-test/article15422243.ece)

Elders week – Accessibility still out of reach

Accessibility still out of reachIndia’s first accessibility audit failed to find a single public building or place that was completely accessible to people with disability!

That the first accessibility audit has been conducted decades after Independence is in itself a telling fact.  However, even this would not have happened except for PM Narendra Modi’s push for an accessible India.

The first phase of audit, launched across 31 cities as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet initiative Accessible India, threw up shocking results, revealing appalling state of toilets and other facilities for persons with disabilities in public buildings, hospitals, railway stations and educational institutions, and half-hearted attempts at building ramps in the name of accessibility.

The department of empowerment of persons with disabilities (Divyangjan) had entrusted the task of auditing public buildings across 31 cities to 11 empanelled auditors.

You can read more about it here.( http://globalaccessibilitynews.com/2016/08/24/indias-first-accessibility-audit-fails-to-find-a-single-accessible-building/ )

Employment Opportunities for seniors

A new company and website had come up focusing on job opportunities for the retired.  Aptly named NotRetired.in,  it aims to connect persons retired from formal employment with prospective employers to address the problem of finding a job/ activity.

Services Offered by NotRetired.in

Employers can search for candidates and directly contact them. They can also post their job requirements and view applicant’s information

Job seekers can search and apply for active jobs by simple registration process

Users can read articles on various topics related to them

Key benefits NotRetired.in offers to Job Seekers?

• Multiple job opportunities as we have tied up with big and small organizations who are looking for experienced resources from different sectors

We are also scouting through various websites/platforms for relevant job opportunities to present everything at one place. This will reduce the burden of job seekers to search at multiple places

Unlike other job portals, we are focused on the retired community. Thus, job opportunities on our portal are clear and rightly targeted, making a hassle free search for you

In order to help our Users who face difficulty in using technology, NotRetired.in has a dedicated team of professionals to facilitate them In signing up and finding jobs.

Key benefits NotRetired.in offers to Employers?

• NotRetired.in provides a variant database of the candidates starting from the age of 37 to 70 years with varied skillset from a wide range of sectors like Defense, Government, Banking, and Teaching etc.

• Since our portal only caters to the retired community, the database is more focused and highly sorted, if knowledge and experience at an affordable price is your requirement

Address:
#304, NotRetired Online LLP, V.V.Vintage Boulevard, Somajiguda, Hyderabad-82.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 9000 766 066

website:  www.notretired.in