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A New Way to Improve Caregiving: eCaring joins The Second Chance Radio Show
eCaring is excited to sit down with Dr. Diane Dike on her show, The Second Chance Radio Show, to discuss how real-time home care information makes caregiving easier.
If you have ever wondered, “Is Mom eating?” or “Did Dad take his medications?”, eCaring CEO Robert Herzog shares how easy-to-use care management and monitoring software can help.
Dr. Diane Dike is President, Founder and Director of Second Chance with Saving Grace (SCwSG), a 501c(3) nonprofit that helps hurting people and animals, and the Cryoglobulinemia Vasculitis Organization (CVO). Diane is an award-winning author, speaker, singer and humanitarian. After rescuing Gracie, an injured and homeless Italian greyhound, Diane trained her to become her service dog. Gracie helps her overcome and more safely live with cryoglobulinemia vasculitis, a life-threatening blood disease that almost took her life and limbs. Through outreach, books, and speaking Diane and her dedicated volunteers transform lives and make the world a better place.
Listen to the broadcast any time here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/dr-diane-dike/2013/05/16/a-new-way-to-get-real-improve-caregiving
Posted in Home Based Health Care, News
Tagged caregiving, dr. diane dike, ecaring, home care, robert herzog, the second chance radio show
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The Stages of Parkinson’s Disease: What to Expect
Parkinson’s disease is a rare, chronic, degenerative neurological disorder that affects the brain’s central nervous system and results in loss of muscle movement and coordination.
While the exact cause of Parkinson’s remains unknown, research suggests a combination of genetic and environmental factors may contribute to diagnosis.
Parkinson’s is most common among people age 65 and older, but about 10%-20% of those diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease are under age 50. Since PD is a progressive disease, symptoms worsen over time and the disease advances. Onset can happen slowly over the period of several years and it can take over two decades for the disease to advance.
Motor symptoms, including resting tremor, slowness of movement (bradykinesia) and rigidity are the cardinal symptoms of Parkinsonism and can be accompanied by secondary symptoms ranging from depression to urinary incontinence.
While the progression of PD is different for everyone, 5 main stages have been identified. The Hoehn and Yahr Scale helps define the various stages of Parkinson’s disease.
Stage I: Early stage Parkinson’s Disease
During the first stage of PD, symptoms are mild and confined to one side of the body. Most commonly, a tremor is seen in only one limb. Symptoms are inconvenient, interfering with a person’s ability to complete day-to-day tasks but are not disabling. Family members and friends may begin to notice subtle changes in posture, balance, and facial expressions.
Stage II
Symptoms become bilateral, affecting both sides of the body in Stage II of Parkinson’s Disease. The condition begins to impact posture and gait to the extent of detracting from the person’s ability to complete activities of daily living.
Stage III: Moderate Parkinson’s Disease
Stage III is marked by the development of significant disability as a result of Parkinson’s. Patients have encounter impairment walking straight or standing. There is noticeable slowing of movement and generalized dysfunction.
Stage IV: Advanced Parkinson’s Disease
During this stage, patients’ symptoms worsen in severity, rendering them unable to alone. While tremors may lessen, rigidity and bradykinesia are visible.
Stage V
The final stage of Parkinson’s is referred to as the “cachectic stage”, because as the disease takes over patients lose control of their movements and is completely invalid. The person cannot stand, walk or take care of him or herself. Round-the-clock nursing care is required.
In recent times, new research methods have opted to utilize a different scale, The United Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) which is more complicated yet evaluates non-motor symptoms as well. The UPDRS is subdivided into three scales including cognitive and mood aspects, motor aspects, and activities of daily living (ADL). The UPDRS is available at: http://www.mdvu.org/library/ratingscales/pd/
Posted in Chronic Illness, Home Based Health Care
Tagged Advanced Parkinson’s Disease, bradykinesia, Early stage Parkinson’s Disease, Hoehn and Yahr Scale, Moderate Parkinson’s Disease, parkinson's disease, resting tremor, stages of parkinson's disease, United Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale, urinary incontinence
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Healthcare Informatics names eCaring a 2013 Up-And-Comer in Healthcare IT
We are excited to share that eCaring was selected as a “2013 Up-And-Comer” by Healthcare Informatics.
As invaluable a resource as the Healthcare Informatics 100 compendium is, the “100” list encompasses only a small percentage of the total number of healthcare IT vendor companies active in the U.S. A much broader universe of smaller, dynamic vendor firms is always making inroads, and among that group are dozens of interesting companies worth knowing about.
eCaring is growing each and every day, and we are thrilled to have our successes highlighted with the healthcare IT community at large.
Read the full article here: http://www.healthcare-informatics.com/article/2013-and-comer-ecaring-llc
Caregiving 21st Century Style: eCaring CEO Robert Herzog on Boomers Rock Radio
Boomers Rock, hosted by Tom Matt, is a daily show chock full of enthusiasm, empowerment, and inspiration, all dedicated to helping boomers everywhere ignite their lives! With topics ranging from financial fitness to family, foundations, fun, and fitness, incredible national and local guest experts bring their wisdom to the conversation.
This week, Tom welcomed eCaring CEO Robert Herzog as a guest to talk about caregiving and health management for aging parents. As founder of eCaring, Robert took a personal situation with his mother and her caregiving situation and built his company to alleviate some of the issues he personally lived through.
Robert iterated many of the features and solutions that eCaring provides, for example:
- Real time stats for your loved one in a simple easy fashion
- Monitoring of in home critical events
- How this can help elderly who are low income receive outstanding services and care
- An easy to understand, Icon based format, simple, and logical
Robert talked about the “Blackhole” that can exist for some of our loved ones as far as their information and living arrangements, especially for long distance relationships, caregiving long distance style, what we all need is real information, that is what eCaring does and Robert Herzog describes.
Listen to the show any time from CoSozo: http://cosozo.com/radio-show-episode/ecaring-great-partners-health-management
And don’t forget to check out eCaring’s Melody Wilding talking about aging and technology on Boomers Rock, too!
Posted in News
Tagged aging parents, Boomers Rock Radio, caregiving, ecaring, elderly, health management, long distance caregiving, robert herzog
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12 Surprising Facts You Didn’t know About Parkinson’s Disease
Parkinson’s (also known as idiopathic parkinsonism, hypokinetic rigid syndrome/HRS, or paralysis agitans) was first discovered in 1817 by British doctor James Parkinson, and brought into public attention in the modern times by celebrities with parkinsonism including Michael J. Fox and Muhammad Ali.
Parkinson’s Disease is a brain disorder that results from the gradual degeneration of nerve cells in the neural area called the “substantia nigra”, which controls muscle movement and coordination through the production of the neurotransmitter dopamine. As the neurons die off, the amount of dopamine in the brain decreases, resulting in classic parkinsonism symptoms including muscle stiffness, tremor, weakness, and trembling. Because the condition is progressive in nature, symptoms gradually worsen over time. Beyond the physical manifestation of PD, the disease is often accompanied by mental health problems including depression.
While Parkinson’s affects millions of Americans, many know very little about the disease.
Here are 12 surprising facts about PD you need to know:
Each year, there are over 50,000 new cases of Parkinson’s in the United States.
One in every 200 individuals will be diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
Men are twice as likely to develop PD as compared to women.
Parkinson’s disease usually begins between around the average age of 56, affecting about 1% of the population aged 50-65.
The youngest person ever diagnosed with Parkinson’s is 12 years old.
Although it is claimed that Parkinson’s Disease becomes more likely with age, amongst the very oldest of people, those between 110 and 120 years old, Parkinson’s Disease is virtually unknown.
Diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease is difficult, since there is no blood or other laboratory test, which can confirm if someone definitely has the condition. A doctor can evaluate your symptoms and run a series of tests to rule out other disease to arrive at a PD diagnosis
Researchers believe genetics play a large role in PD. In studies, researchers have found that people with an affected first-degree relative, such as a parent or sibling, have a 4%-9% increased chance of having PD.
Parkinsonism may be caused by viral infection or exposure to environmental toxins including carbon monoxide, pesticides, and certain metals.
Other causes may include illicit drug use, adverse reaction to prescription medication, repeated head trauma, brain inflammation (encephalitis), and stroke.
The US spends over $25 billion on Parkinson’s Disease: the combined direct and indirect costs of the disease including treatment, social security payments, and lost income from inability to work.
Medication costs for an individual person with Parkinson’s average $2,500 a year, and therapeutic surgery can cost up to $100,000 per individual annually.
Do you have a family member, friend, or client affected by Parkinson’s Disease? What do you wish the public knew about PD?
Predictors of Hospitalization in Congestive Heart Failure Patients
Did you know heart failure is the leading cause of hospitalization in seniors over age 65?
Heart failure affects nearly 6 million Americans annually. 80% of cases occur in older adults. Each year congestive heart failure (CHF) is associated with 1 million hospitalizations, of which the majority are “re-admissions” or re-hospitalizations. Because of the high cost of hospitalizations in the United States, CHF is in part responsible for driving healthcare expenditures through the roof. Close to $35 billion dollars is spent on heart failure each year.
What is congestive heart failure?
Despite what the name suggests, congestive heart failure does not mean the heart has stopped working, rather it indicates that the heart is not pumping blood efficiently. The weakened heart pumps less blood to the body resulting in an oxygen shortage to organs and increased pressure within the heart chambers. Consequently, fluid builds up in the lungs, legs, abdomen, arms, ankles, and feet. The accumulation of fluids after the onset of heart failure is called congestive heart failure.
What symptoms of Heart Failure predict hospitalization?
Although sudden onset of heart failure symptoms may occur in some cases, gradual onset that grows in severity over time is more common. CHF symptoms that may lead to hospitalization include:
- Shortness of breath caused by fluid in the lungs following exercise, climbing stairs, or after eating. In advanced cases shortness of breath occurs even at rest.
- Severe fatigue, weakness, or dizziness due to a shortage of oxygen to muscles and vital organs including the brain.
- Edema (swelling) or the ankles, feet, and abdomen triggered by poor blood flow to kidneys
- Sudden or explained weight gain indicates fluid retention
- Bloating that may cause loss of appetite or nausea
- Frequent nighttime urination occurs because the kidneys are receiving an inadequate amount of blood.
- Dry, hacking cough as a result of congested lungs.
- Rapid or Irregular heartbeat because the weakened heart is struggling to keep up
If you or someone you know is experiencing one or more of the symptoms on the list below, make an appointment to see a physician immediately.
Congestive heart failure is a progressive, complex disease that is affected by a variety of medical and lifestyle factors. Documenting your symptoms can help prevent future hospitalizations and assist in managing your condition. Consider using a digital care tracking program to log your daily personal care, eating habits, sleeping patterns, medication use, and recreational activities. This real-time, electronic personal health record could be extremely helpful to you, your physician, and everyone involved on your care team.
