Caregivers

Alzheimer's Disease Virtual pillbox for dementia patients Balance , available for iPhone The pillbox, which sorts medications by dosage and day, is getting a digital makeover. Balance , an iPhone app ($3.99), was released last month by the New York-based National Alzheimer Center as a way to track dosages of medications used to treat Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia, which can affect a person's memory and behavior. A virtual pillbox, the app lists...

RICHMOND, Va. — The Commonwealth Council on Aging is honoring innovative caregiver programs in Virginia. The council's top 2013 "Best Practices" award went to the "Caring for You, Caring for Me" program at Riverside Center for Excellence in Aging and Lifelong Health in Williamsburg. Families and professional caregivers share ideas and discuss common issues. A program designed to help older adults remain in their homes and communities received the second place award. The Growing Younger program...

The tragedy of those three little girls who were placed with an allegedly abusive adoptive mother ["Charges Upgraded Against Bowman," Metro, Oct. 23] is an example of a system that fails to place enough emphasis on supporting family members who could keep children within a family framework -- if they are given enough support. In my work as a clinical social worker and child therapist, I have encountered many grandparents and other family members who are struggling to keep children within their families.

Al-Anon/Alateen groups For relatives and friends of alcoholics. 703-534-4357. www.alanonva.com/meetings . Overeaters Anonymous More than 50 meetings a week in Northern Virginia. 703-823-6682. www.oa.org/membersgroups/find-a-meeting . Take Off Pounds Sensibly Weight loss support groups. 703-430-3764. www.tops.org/findameeting.aspx . $28 yearly membership. Breast-feeding support group Thursday, 10-11 a.m. Inova Fairfax Hospital, Inova Fairfax Women's Center, seventh floor, 3300 Gallows Rd., Falls Church.

The Sept. 18 Metro article "Court Gives Child Agency in D.C. 2 Weeks to Form Plan" made me think of my own situation and that of many others like me in the District. I am a grandmother raising my 4-year-old grandson, Isaiah, on my own. I never thought that as a 50-year-old I would be raising children again. But I am the sole caregiver for Isaiah, who suffers from chronic lung disease and was recently diagnosed with autism. I love him dearly and am committed to taking care of him. But times are rough, and we struggle every day just to get by....

We can thank the people at Medicare's call centers for a new Web portal specifically designed for caregivers. Medicare's main site ( http://www.medicare.gov ) is so packed with information for beneficiaries and doctors in addition to caregivers that finding the precise nugget you need can be difficult. The new site ( http://www.medicare.gov/caregivers ), says Kerry Weems, acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, aims to answer basic questions that Medicare staffers have been fielding by...

Once again, my husband and I have joined the millions in this country providing care for an elderly relative. A few years ago, we cared for my husband's father. But he insisted on returning to his home. The situation worked for a while. Then it became clear that my father-in-law would need to move back in with us. There is joy in caregiving. Yet it's also a tough job, and it can bring on lots of stress, anxiety and a strain on your finances. And in our country's never-ending battle to contain health-care costs, caregivers are increasingly...

THURSDAY, Aug. 28 (HealthDay News) -- Older adults who live with and provide direct care during the night for someone with dementia have significantly worse sleep than other older adults, U.S. researchers say. The study compared 31 caregivers and 102 noncaregivers, ages 60 to 89. Caregivers slept about 33 minutes less per night than non-caregivers and took about 10 minutes longer to fall asleep. Caregivers also had more variable sleep from night-to-night, reported lower sleep quality, more daytime...

FRIDAY, May 2 (HealthDay News) -- There's a significant difference in sleep disturbances experienced by Alzheimer's disease patients and the sleep woes of their caregivers, new research shows. A team from the University of Washington, in Seattle, found that poor sleep in either a patient or caregiver aren't always connected. The researchers studied 44 older adults, aged 63 to 93, with probable or possible Alzheimer's disease and their adult family caregivers, aged 21 to 87. One week of sleep-wake activity for the...

THURSDAY, Nov. 20 (HealthDay News) -- The stress of providing care for a loved one with Alzheimer's results in 25 percent of family caregivers having at least one emergency room or hospital visit every six months, says an Indiana University study. It's long been recognized that family care of an Alzheimer's patient is difficult, but the Indiana University researchers said their study is the first to actually measure the stress and examine how it affects the physical and mental health of caregivers.

Alzheimer's Disease Virtual pillbox for dementia patients Balance , available for iPhone The pillbox, which sorts medications by dosage and day, is getting a digital makeover. Balance , an iPhone app ($3.99), was released last month by the New York-based National Alzheimer Center as a way to track dosages of medications used to treat Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia, which can affect a person's memory and behavior. A virtual pillbox, the app lists...

When the mind goes I appreciated the articles on dementia in the April 9 Health section. My 93-year-old mother lives nearby in a small nursing home, and we have gone through so many of the experiences the articles mention. Janice Lynch Schuster's story ["When the mind starts to go"] about her grandmother reporting that she'd seen giraffes in her yard was where we were several years ago, after we had moved Mom to an assisted living facility. There were no giraffes,...

Diana Denholm, a licensed mental health counselor in West Palm Beach, Fla., and the author of " The Caregiving Wife's Handbook, " offers the following advice about caregiving. Denholm has been a therapist for more than 30 years and was her husband's primary caregiver for 11 1 / 2 years. How does caring for a spouse differ from caring for a parent? With a parent, there's a natural progression, an expectation that they will die before you, so it's not as shocking when a parent needs care.

Weight Loss Exercise DVDs for the new year Various releases It's Jan. 1, the first day of countless resolutions to lose weight and get fit. To help those eager to embark on a new exercise plan — or shake up an old one — the Maryland-based company Acacia has released a slew of workout DVDs and box sets. " Dr. Lisa: Yoga Blast " is a compilation of three 20-minute workouts featuring Lisa Masterson of the TV show "The Doctors. " Masterson and...

Weight-loss surgery workshop Presentations on bariatric procedures. Thursday, noon-1 p.m. Providence Hospital Ross Auditorium, 1150 Varnum St. NE. 877-993-7422. Free. Registration requested. Blood pressure checks and HIV screenings Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Community Education Group mobile medical unit, William O. Lockridge/Bellevue Library, 115 Atlantic St. SW. 202-243-1184. Adult-children caregivers support Thursdays, 6:30-8 p.m. Iona Senior Services, 4125 Albemarle St. NW. 202-895-9448.

Anita Acosta, 64, a nanny and caregiver for several families in the Washington area, died Nov. 13 of kidney cancer at the Methodist Home in Washington. Her death was confirmed by Susan O'Connell, a friend and employer. Ms. Acosta, who lived in the District, was born in Lenguazaque, Colombia. She came to the United States in the 1970s and began working as a caregiver and nanny in private homes in the area. She became a U.S. citizen in 1992. She was a member of the Catholic Church of the Annunciation in Washington, where attended Mass...

Children and their caregivers can participate in the Green Hour, an event featuring numerous egg-themed activities. Advance reservations are required. 10 a.m. Saturday. Battle Creek Cypress Swamp Sanctuary, 2880 Grays Rd., Battle Creek. $10 per family; Battle Creek Nature Education Society members, $5. 410-535-5327. Poet Aracelis Girmay reads selections from her work, "Teeth" at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow. College of Southern Maryland, La Plata Campus, Center for Business and Industry, 8730 Mitchell Rd. $2. 301-934-7864 or 301-870-3008,...

"You have nothing to do," instructor Susan Young reminded her yoga students last week as they lay on their backs in savasana. And at that moment, she was right — no one in the room was responsible for doing anything other than enjoying the peaceful sensation of being in a yoga position known as relaxation pose.  Most of the time, it's a vastly different situation for Young's students at Hope Connections for Cancer Support . Since 2007, the Bethesda center has offered free programs to help participants cope with...

I watched my father-in-law take his last breath. Since midsummer, my husband and I had been caring for his father, who was 83 and had lung cancer. A nurse working for the hospice company had warned us that we might not have much more time with him. I had feared that a business trip would keep me from being there. I arrived home an hour and half before he passed away. He waited for me. I believe that was his gift to me — to be able to have closure. I'm so grateful that I was with him, along with my husband and the...