What's happening this week and news you can use
Awards, grant opportunities & Medicare prescription drug prices
Hello KIRC family ~
It's Sunday, August 28, 2022.
Today KIRC is dishing up a few of the headlines you may have missed plus developments impacting family caregiving, health care, and potentially our pocket books.
Amazon Care Announces Shut Down
Courtesy: Getty Images/
New York (AP) - Amazon is shutting down the hybrid virtual, in-home care service it’s spent years developing, a surprising move that underscores the challenges it faces as it moves into health care.
The service, called Amazon Care, will end by Dec. 31, according to an email sent to staff by Neil Lindsay, senior vice president of Amazon Health Services.
Amazon Care was launched in 2019 for Seattle-based Amazon’s Washington state employees, who served as trial users before the company made it available last year to its workers in all 50 states.
What is Your Purpose?
Are you passionate and committed to helping others? Are you over age 50? Have you used your skills, talents and a life’s worth of knowledge to create a non-profit organization which is now helping lift up others?
Then you’ll want to make sure to check out the AARP Purpose Prize honorees for this year and consider applying for consideration.
For more information click here
ASA Rise Fellow to Receive Award
Keeping It REAL Caregiving would like to give another shout out to my fellow ASA Rise Program Fellow, Jennifer Horn.
Congratulations are now in order, as Jennifer has been recognized for her advocacy work with the Pikes Peak Area Agency on Aging, in Colorado.
She will be receiving a Champions in Advocacy award for her work within the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion space.
Way to go Jennifer!
If Jennifer looks familiar, it's because she was kind enough to share with KIRC an overview of the importance of establishing and protecting the rights of an aging LGBTQ population.
If you missed it, read the article here
Watch the video interview
Grant Announcement
Courtesy: Canva
From The John A. Hartford Foundation:
The goal of the pilot funding is to promote transdisciplinary research in geriatric emergency medicine that will advance emergency medical care for persons living with dementia and their care partners. The GEAR 2.0 research priorities are:
*Care transitions
*ED practices
*Detections
*Communication & Shared Decision Making
For more information click here
Census Bureau Invites Public Input on Designing 2030 Census
From the United States Census Bureau: The Census Bureau is in the early stages of planning for the next census – a process that includes years of research and testing to prepare for the complex task of counting every person living in the United States each decade.
You might wonder, what does this have to do with caregiving? Consider the statistics of our nation's aging population.
By 2030, U.S. Census data projections indicate every baby boomer will be older than age 65, which according to the Census means, 'This will expand the size of the older population so that one in every five Americans is projected to be retirement age.'
Let that sink in a moment.
If you are already a caregiver, about to become a caregiver, or are thinking about your own future as we age, then paying attention to the census count is crucial.
The Census count determines how federal dollars are distributed to communities across the country, for infrastructure, transportation, housing, education, health care and more.
And here's another sobering data point which directly impacts how we consider care:
Later that decade, by 2034, we project that older adults will outnumber children for the first time in U.S. history. ~ U.S. Census Bureau
To learn more and how to take part, read the press release here
What the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 Means for Medicare Prescription Drugs
Courtesy: Canva
There is a lot to unpack in the recent Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Justice In Aging breaks out at least one portion, with a clear and concise overview of how this new law impacts Medicare prescription drug prices.
Inflation Reduction Act Signed into Law
President Biden has signed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) into law. The final legislation includes historic Medicare prescription drug reforms that will save older adults money, cap their out-of-pocket costs, and expand eligibility for the full Part D low-income subsidy.
Justice in Aging has prepared an easy to understand and follow factsheet:
Keeping It REAL Caregiving Speaks at 'Aging with Grace: Healthy Resources'
I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the organizers and sponsors of this week's Aging with Grace: Healthy Resources event, held at the Butte Creek Country Club in Chico, California, Butte County.
The Butte-Glenn Medical Society, Passages and KIXE (PBS) Television joined forces to provide members of the community a free event to hear from local health providers across a range of topics.
I had the honor of sharing my personal caregiving journey, some of the lesson's learned and steps to consider taking for planning and preparing.
This event provided some personal motivation to continue on this path. One woman in the audience shared with me some of her fears.
This woman told me she recently lost her 90-plus year old mother who she had been caring for for many years. Now she asks, 'Who will be there to care for me?'
She added many of her contemporaries question why she has chosen to purchase a Long Term Care insurance policy.
She said the KIRC presentation, including The Practical Planning Guide and The 3 P's (more on how to access this information in an upcoming post) gave her additional information and validation for her choices.
And from the organizers:
KIRC welcomes submissions from Guest Essayist
Guidelines
Keeping it REAL Caregiving welcomes guest essayist columns, focused within the space of family caregiving and aging policy. Here are some guidelines:
KIRC will edit, post and share in our newsletter and website.
Your essays must be exclusive to KIRC, and no more than 600 words.
Please include your photo and email address for publication.
Please include a phone number so KIRC may reach you.
If your essay is selected for publication, we will ask that you sign a release statement, indicating you have read and accept our policy.
To submit a guest essay, please send your submission via email to:
Until next time~
