One of life’s challenges for seniors who didn’t grow up with personal computers is trying to understand how such an intimidating piece of machinery operates. Their children and grandchildren are always harping on them to share pictures and emails with them. Now there is a product that can be installed on anyone’s computer to provide a simple interface for performing the most popular tasks.

BigScreenLive is a software application. The unique feature is that, when launched, it takes over the entire screen on your Windows PC. This means once you have started the program you are immersed in the BigScreenLive world. The application provides simple, user-friendly screen view which provides quick access to the most popular things people do with computers:

• Send and Receive Emails
• Share pictures back and forth with loved ones
• Surf the Internet
• Read the News Online
• Go Shopping Online
• Even Play Games Online

The software developer deliberately made the Menu items LARGE for Low Vision seniors. There is even a button to click to increase the size of the Text on the screen.  Most importantly, the “Action” buttons to click on are labeled to make sense to someone who is unfamiliar with PC lingo. There are fewer options to choose from in order not to confuse the novice user, yet the basic functions of email, picture storage and transfers, and cruising the internet are just one click functions making it simple for the user.

Note from the developer: “We designed BigScreenLive to be really easy to navigate and use with a minimum of mouse interaction. You’ll notice you don’t have to scroll in many places on BigScreenLive and there are no ‘pull down’ widgets in our interface. We also make everything you need to ‘click’ big and easy to target with your mouse. So, BigScreenLive is easy for senior ‘mouse novices’ to use.”

This product could help reunite families with an elderly loved who is constantly challenged by today’s technology. To learn more about BigScreenLive software please visit the website.

Caregiver injuries due to turning and repositioning of larger elderly patients are far too common and oftentimes result in chronic problems for the caregiver and possible injury to the patient.

In fact, an estimated 52 percent of caregivers experience musculoskeletal injuries as a result of lifting or moving patients. Many caregivers do not have the physical strength to properly turn or reposition a large elderly person. Also, most private caregivers are unaware of the standard professional procedures used to reduce injury to both the caregiver and patient.

Diane Sewell, an Assistant Director of Nursing at a long-term care center with 30 years of geriatric care experience states, “Most of the causes of injuries to home caregivers are back injuries caused by improper body mechanics when it comes to lifting. If a patient is receiving physical therapy at a facility that is aware of a situation where a family member is going to be taking care of an elderly parent at home, they will often suggest that the caregiver join in a therapy session to learn how to correctly transfer the person in different care scenarios.”

There is a new and innovative product for turning and positioning patients in bed that enhances quality of care while at the same time helping to reduce risk of injury to both patients and caregiver or staff. It is called the Turn2® Turning Aid™. The inventor, Barbara Perry, experienced the pain and suffering of taking care of her own parents, and was especially challenged at turning and repositioning her parents when they were in bed. Barbara decided to build a few prototype devices that would assist her in turning and rolling over her parents and at the same time would significantly reduce her personal strain and struggle during the process.

In 2004 Barbara finally came up with the Turn2® Turning Aid™ that today is used in nursing homes and assisted living centers, as well as private residences. This simple, effective tool allows the caregiver to apply the device to the bed prior to occupancy. When it comes time to turn or reposition the patient it only takes a few minutes to adjust the device which allows safe movement for both the patient and caregiver.

This easy-to use device will reduce the pain and struggle many caregivers endure when taking care of their aging loved ones.

To learn more about the caregiver aid visit their website at: Turn2® Turning Aid™

By Tom Ratcliff

Today there are 38 million seniors in the USA and by 2030 that number will rise to almost double that – 75 million.  On average, seniors 65 to 69 years old take nearly 14 prescriptions a year and individuals aged 80 to 84 take an average of 18 prescriptions per year.  The two greatest dangers to seniors who are taking that many medications are Polypharmacy side effects and not taking their medications as prescribed by their physicians.

As a result of the aforementioned dangers, seniors are suffering from a pronounced increase in serious adverse drug events. A serious adverse drug event means an event that resulted in death, disability, hospitalization, or a life-threatening occurrence that required medical intervention to prevent harm. Seniors who are taking so many medications on a daily basis can be easily overwhelmed and confused by their hard to manage drug schedule. NOW, there is a valuable pharmacy service that can literally save lives. The service is called AccuPax – a specialty pharmacy that sorts, combines and packages a thirty day supply of medications in individual packets for each date and time of day, all in accordance with doctor instructions. Prescriptions are first pre-sorted and packaged by dose time using a high-tech, highly accurate computer software system, and are then double and triple checked personally by a Pharmacist and a Pharmacist Technician.

The AccuPax system can help to reduce the chances of any medication interactions.  With one Pharmacist to oversee all of a patient’s medications (often from multiple Physicians) as well as vitamins, supplements and non-prescription medications, possible problems can be identified easily.  And because each day’s dosage schedule is separately packaged with clear instructions on the package, there is no longer any worry about taking too little or too much medication or when to take it during the day – each packet has the dosage time clearly marked.  The easy open packets even have a pre-cut notch requiring little hand strength/flexibility for opening.

The AccuPax service is provided by a registered pharmacy. Seniors can just turn their doctor’s prescriptions over to them like any other pharmacy except they are delivered directly to their door already “prepackaged” for safe administration. The company accepts most major insurance carriers, including Medicare. Medication pricing is equivalent to that at a retail pharmacy. The only additional charge is the $7.95 monthly fee for postage and handling, which can even be waived in some cases, such as for multiple clients at the same address (in an Assisted Living Facility, for example).  Shipping may even be covered by insurance in cases where the patient has limited mobility. It is well worth the cost when considering the potential costs of serious side-effects caused from errors or omissions in a senior’s daily medication regimen.

The benefits of the AccuPax system, along with the services offered by home health care providers and Geriatric Care Managers, can make it possible for people to safely stay in their homes for a lot longer, and offer great peace of mind for their families.

Please visit their website to learn more about this service and how to sign up for the ACCUPAX program.