Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/114320
2B Daily News – Saturday, March 9, 2013 FEATURES Communication can prevent re-hospitalization Lighten up to combat well. — Risa LavizzoDear Annie: As a geriaMourey, MD, President and trician, I know how thrilled CEO, Robert Wood Johnson patients are when they are Foundation released from the hospital Dear Dr. Lavizzoand how upsetting it is to be Mourey: Thank you so readmitted a few weeks, or much for sharing this practieven just days, later. cal and worthwhile informaOne in five older tion with our readers. Everypatients is readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of Annie's one going to the hospital should take this information leaving it. Each year, these with them. Please make sure repeat hospital visits add billions of dollars to nation- by Kathy Mitchell that you, a family member al health care costs. Fortu- and Marcy Sugar or a friend has all of the information before you are nately, there are things peodischarged. It could keep you from ple can do. Patients and their family mem- a return visit. Dear Annie: My brother just got bers should question their doctors, nurses and pharmacists about any- engaged. He and his girlfriend have thing they don't understand. If two kids. Usually, this is a happy questions aren't answered, miscom- time for families, but eight months munication or misunderstandings ago, my brother's fiancee cheated can lead to complications. Patients on him. We weren't sure the should repeat the instructions back younger child was my brother's, but to their doctors and nurses. That he took a DNA test that proved she demonstrates whether or not they is his little girl. At that time, my brother decided understand what to do. Most important, patients should leave the hos- to keep his family together and pital with a written plan that work things out, which I greatly includes information on how to take admire. But we just found out that care of their condition, when their his fiancee is talking, emailing and follow-up visits will be, what med- texting the guy she cheated with. ications to take and complications My brother still wants the wedding to go on and would like the rest of to watch for. We've put together a patient us to mind our own business. Annie, I really think this is a bad checklist and care transition plan that anyone can download at decision for my brother. I worry his www.CareAboutYourCare.org. girlfriend will continue to cheat and Thank you for sharing this informa- hurt my brother over and over. Do I tion and for helping people stay say something, or keep my mouth Mailbox shut and plaster on a fake smile? — Love My Brother Dear Love Your Brother: Say nothing more. Your brother knows how you feel, and he has asked you to accept his decision. He understands the consequences. We think he would greatly appreciate your support right now, and we hope you can plaster on that smile and provide it. Dear Annie: This is for all those retirees who don't know what to do with themselves. A year ago, my health forced me into an early retirement. All of my co-workers and most of my friends lived far from my home. During my first week off, I heard of a yoga class at the local senior center. As a baby boomer, I thought I was too young to go to a "senior" center. But that one class has led to a group of retired educators, like me, who go bicycling twice a week in good weather and meet for lunch in the cold season. I volunteer at the senior center, take painting classes at a local art center and meet lots of retired folks with similar interests. I have made some good friends, found a great traveling companion and have a lot of fun. Please point early retirees to senior centers. Remember that you need to go somewhere at least half a dozen times before you begin to feel at home. — Retired and Busy Are you turning 65? Passages Health Insurance Counseling & Advocacy Program (HICAP) is presenting a Welcome to Medicare workshop for those anticipating turning 65 this year and wanting to learn more about Medicare. The workshop is scheduled 1-3 p.m. Thursday, March 14, at Red Bluff Community Center. Registration is required by calling 898-6716. There are 10,000 baby boomers turning 65 every day. This free workshop is designed for boomers and others who will be new to Medicare this year who want to understand how their Medicare benefits work. Family members or caregivers are also welcome to attend. Important questions that will be answered include: What is Medicare?; How will my retiree plan work with my Medicare?; Are there pro- grams available to lower my Medicare health and prescription costs? People who are new to Medicare will be deluged with information from different insurance companies marketing their products. Tatiana Fassieux, program manager for Passages HICAP warns signing up with the wrong plan, or not doing anything may cost new Medicare recipients thousands of dollars, and they may not be able to make changes if enrollment deadlines are missed. For more information, call HICAP at Passages at 1-800-434-0222. If your group or agency would like a workshop, contact Natasha Coulter-LaTorre, Community Outreach Coordinator at 530-8986715. HICAP does not sell or endorse any insurance products. Free training on energy building codes Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is offering a free class on energy building codes for plans examiners and building inspectors. Titled, "Energy Code Training for Plans Examiners and Building Inspectors," the course will be held Thursday, March 14, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at Shelley's Creative Catering, 2565 Zanella Way, Chico. A continental breakfast and lunch will be provided. The one-day course is designed to provide knowledge and skills needed to quickly and effectively enforce energy codes for non-residential projects. Participants will receive a workbook and tools they can use on the job. The course is designed to provide participants with an understanding of building energy efficiency standards for nonresidential new construction, additions and alterations. The course will also cover the purpose of forms and documents, as well as how to effectively communi- cate energy efficiency concepts, compliance options and requirements to builders and clients. Registration is required. To register, visit www.pge.com/energyclasses or call (800) 244-9912. The program is funded by California utility ratepayers under the auspices of the California Public Utilities Commission and is designed to help local governments and their communities lower their energy bills and enjoy a cleaner environment. HOME SERVICES DIRECTORY Online: Publishes 24/7 $ 109 Print and Online Per Month No early cancellation, non-refundable www.redbluffdailynews.com Three additional online locations at no extra cost! In Print Every Tues. - Thurs.- Sat. Clock Repair Concrete Contractor CHAPMAN CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION When you want it done right ... Burrows Construction ing with a proDEAR DOCfessional who TOR K: It's that can monitor your time of year response. when the gloom Side effects of late winter are mild for sends my mood many patients, plummeting. but may be more What can I do of a concern for about seasonal affective disorDr. K others. In people who are vulnerader? by Anthony L. DEAR READ- Komaroff, M.D. ble, bright light may trigger a soER: Summer is a time when many of us called manic episode of elevated take vacations, and for abnormally That's why younger people, it's time mood. out of school. So lots of mood-stabilizing medpeople feel a pang of ications are often recregret when summer ommended while undergoing light therapy. ends. I always do. That's normal. But Likewise, since rashes some actually develop can result, let your docdepression with the sea- tor know about any skin son's change. This is conditions that seem to known as seasonal affec- be made worse by exposure to sun. tive disorder (SAD). Does light therapy SAD seems to be triggered by more limited work any better for SAD antidepressant exposure to daylight. than Typically, it comes on pills? There are few during the late fall or studies of this question. winter months and sub- For some of my patients, sides in the spring. the choice of light theraSymptoms are similar to py is based on a desire general depression. to avoid pills: Light They include lethargy, therapy seems more natloss of interest in once- ural. In my experience, pleasurable activities, interpersonal problems light therapy doesn't with friends and family work for everyone with members, irritability, SAD. Clearly, some peoinability to concentrate, ple are more likely to and a change in sleeping respond positively, but patterns, appetite or we don't yet have any way of knowing who both. The mainstay of SAD they are. One exception treatment is light thera- to that statement: If a py, also called pho- person has responded totherapy. This involves positively to light theradaily sessions of sitting py in the past, he or she close to a special light is likely to benefit again source that is far more in the future. If light therapy doesintense than normal indoor light. The recom- n't work for you, along mendation is typically to with antidepressants you get 30 minutes of expo- should consider a form sure to an intensity of of talk therapy called behavioral 10,000 lux (a measure of cognitive light) each day. But not therapy. For some peoeveryone needs that ple, combining these treatments with light much exposure. In this therapy, the therapy works better light must enter through than any one of them your eyes to be effec- individually. tive. Some people feel Dr. Komaroff is a better after only one light treatment, but most physician and professor Harvard Medical people require at least a at To send few days of treatment. School. go to Some people even need questions, or several weeks. You can AskDoctorK.com, buy light therapy boxes write: Ask Doctor K, 10 without a prescription, Shattuck St., Second but I recommend work- Floor, Boston, MA 02115. Your Clock Repair Shop Jim Paul 20910 Pebblestone Dr. Red Bluff 530-736-7079 Mechanical, Battery and Electrical clocks Call for appt. 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