Presenter:  Carol Bertsch - Elder Law Attorney 

What do you do when the person you are caring for is no longer able to stay in their own home and they do not have the resources to pay for a nursing home on their own?  While the laws can differ from state to state, elder law attorney Carol Bertsch explains what it takes to qualify for nursing home care with Medicaid. With real life scenarios - this informative video clearly explains this complex process of how Medicaid can help those without the financial resources to pay for nursing home care. 

Additional Videos Presented by Elder Care Attorney Carol Bertsch:

• Powers of Attorney - Give the Power to Someone You Trust
• Who Decides When You Can't? Advanced Directives

Presenter:  Dr. Thomas Weiss, Geriatric Psychologist

Loneliness can be described as the discrepancy between a person's desired and actual social relationship. It's a unique situation in which a person perceives themselves to be socially isolated even when among other people. This condition causes a person to be irritable, depressed, self-centered, and can lead to a 29% increase in premature mortality. It's estimated that 1/3 of the population suffers from loneliness and is especially prevalent among seniors.

Dr. Weiss's presentation will help you to better understand this widespread condition with the following information:

• How to Diagnose Loneliness
• The Risk Factors 
• Health Effects 
• The Biology of Loneliness
• Treatment Options 

"Loneliness breaks the spirit." - Jewish Proverb

Presenter:  Bill Pemberton 

Poor communication between doctors and patients, and between doctors and nurses, is discussed relatively frequently. But what about confusion between the teams of doctors who share patients in the hospital or clinic?

Miscommunication between a patient’s physicians is a major contributor to treatment and diagnostic mistakes as well as major frustration on the part of the patient.

Bill Pemberton tells his personal story of his two weeks in the hospital and dealing with multiple treating doctors who did not always communicate well with each other. These glitches in communication forced him to stay on top of his medical situation and be his own advocate to help bridge the gaps in communication among the hospital staff.

Presenter:  Dr. Thomas Weiss

Convincing someone to see a psychiatrist can be challenging and awkward. Sometimes you need to get creative with how you approach this difficult situation for it to go smoothly and without incident. With his usual wit and humor, Dr. Weiss, a geriatric psychiatrist, will walk you through some ideas for carefully approaching this delicate subject with your loved one. 

Presenter:  Dr. Thomas Weiss

Always a difficult situation - you feel your loved one is no longer safe to operate a vehicle and they insist they are fine.This loss of independence can be devastating to many. How do you insist that your aging loved one stop driving - for their safety as well as the safety of others? Geriatric Psychiatrist Dr. Thomas Weiss gives you samples and real life scenarios for tackling this difficult situation.

Presenter:  Natasha Dinani - Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant

When mobility isn't what it used to be due to increased age, injuries from falls, or joint replacements - assistance may be needed to fulfill many of our activities of daily living.

This video will guide you through six adaptive devices that will assist you with bathing and dressing.

• Dressing Stick
• Reacher/Grabber
• Long Handle Shoe Horn
• Button Hook
• Sock Aid
• Long Handle Sponge

The presenter will also cover upper body and hand strengthening exercises that will assist you or your aging loved one to increase strength and gain independence in fulfilling activities of daily living. 

Presenter: Carol Bertsch - Elder Law Attorney, San Antonio, Texas

Attorney Carol Bertsch gives an overview of what older adults and their families should consider related to advance care planning. Her presentation provides a foundation for individuals and families to use as they consider what they want to do in terms of advance care planning.

• What are advance directives?
• What do they do?
• Who needs one? 

Chronic Pain Management 

Chronic Pain the most common reason that people visit a doctor's office in the USA. This is especially true for aging seniors. People are searching for ways to manage chronic pain. Alexander Peralta, Jr., MD walks us through this complex issue of how and why this is a public health crisis as well as answering the following questions and more:

What is Chronic Pain and how is this impacting the U.S.?
What are the risks and benefits of opioid therapy in managing chronic pain?
Where are we going with chronic pain managment?
Is there a role for non-pharmacologic managment?

Hepatitis C is the most common blood borne infection.This common yet often undiagnosed virus can lead to liver failure and cancer if not detected early.

Learn more about the regulatory agenda to reduce the inappropriate use of anti-psychotics in long term care. Dr. Smith will cover the following:

• Defining inappropraite antipsychotic use
• Brief History of Anti-Psychotic Reduction in LTC
• BPSD Treatment
• Ways to decrease inapprpopriate Anti-Psychotic use in a LTC facility.

Psychoactive or psychotropic medications are any medications that are meant to affect your mind, emotions and/or behavior. Because these drugs can alter a person's behavioral tendencies or urges they can be described as "Chemical Restraints". Many of these medications have significant side effects and long-term consequences. Certified Geriatric Pharmacist Carrie Allen explains what drugs are considered psychotropic drugs, tips for evaluating behaviors, and the importance of limiting the use of these over-prescribed drugs in long-term-care facilities.