Martha Stewart Cooking, Martha Stewart Home Decor, Martha Stewart Eldercare?

Martha Stewart at the 2009 premiere of the Met...
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I was a bit surprised when my niece told me about an article she read in one of her magazines. She told me that Martha Stewart has a center geared towards the elderly — It’s called the Martha Stewart Center for Living.

Martha Stewart donated $5 million dollars to develop this center in 2007 in coordination with Mt. Sinai Medical Center. She says she wanted a center different from typical, “sterile” and overcrowded clinics.  Individualized care is stressed as seniors have different needs.

Active Aging

This is their “one-stop-shop” principle. Not only do they receive primary care, they also get a treatment of yoga, art and health education. They key here is to obtain a high quality of life. Few places in the country offer care which includes a holistic approach to elderly care. The clinic itself excudes calmness. Everything is spacious, no sterile white colors — Martha chose earth-tone colors finishes, large windows and stone flooring. This gives it a more “homey” feeling.

This is reminiscent to the Gesundheit Institute founded by Hunter “Patch” Adams where the focus is on the person and not the disease. I think it’s a great thing and I hope that clinics around the country will follow suit. Many times people forget that although an elderly person may be sick, it doesn’t mean that their quality of life has to focus on medication and sustenance. Why? They should be able to feel good too? If they feel good, studies have shown that it can bring biological changes. While it may not cure Alzheimer’s, a good, happy and healthy spirit can do wonders for mental and physical health. How about lower blood pressure? Reduction in depression? What do you think?

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Home Physicians- Convenient Medical Care

by Rose Broyles

If you have a hard time bringing your parents to the doctor, you live far, or no viable transportation is available then a physician making a house call might be the key to convenience and safety.

Services Provided

Services will depend on the provider, but normally your visiting doctor can confer with your primary doctor to go over your medical history, physical exams and treatment. Together, they can plan yours or your loved one’s treatment. Other services include:

  • Medical Refills
  • Xray, CT, EKG, and possibly other types of scans. *a licensed Radiographer will accompany the visiting MD to perform these services.
  • Physical Therapy and Rehab
  • General Wellness Check
  • Blood draws and Urinalysis
  • Coordination with other health services: pharmacy delivery, medical supply delivery, etc.

Why Home Care?

There was a time when doctors routinely made house calls. You’ve seen the movies! But as healthcare costs grew and more services were needed, the home became replaced by emergency rooms and doctor’s offices.  Access is a major concern for many home-bound seniors. If seniors do not get the care they need, then what happens? Their health fails and medical costs skyrocket.

These patients are “high cost” users with five or more chronic conditions. Studies show that 10% of all Medicare beneficiaries consume 60% of Medicare expenditures (“Chronic Conditions: Making the Case for Ongoing Care,” p. 19, Partnership for Solutions, Johns Hopkins University, for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (December, 2002); CBO report (May, 2005).

Wealth doesn’t matter , because primary care access increases medical costs. Instead of receiving appropriate, timely primary care for acute declines or new problems, they opt for expensive ER’s and inpatient units. Over 50% of Medicare beneficiaries admitted to a hospital are readmitted within 60 days, so oftentimes a patient’s first hospital visit is not their last.

A house call program with 91 clients in a Nevada Social HMO produced 62% reduction in hospital stays. You can read more about these studies at Home Care Physicians.com

How to Pay

Healthcare is the hot topic in the news lately. Hopefully President Obama’s health reform will include much needed services such as these. In fact, I think if home services are encouraged by more health professionals then we can save our country millions in healthcare costs based on these studies.

Most typically, home care physicians will charge:

  • self-pay
  • certain HMOs
  • PPOs
  • Medicare (Part B)

You’ll have to contact the home care physician company to determine what they accept  as payment.

Find a Home Care Physician

Home physicians can be found in almost every state. You can go to the American Academy of Home Physicians to find a visiting MD near you.

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