Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/612741
Ifyouwatchpeople pick up their prescrip- tions in a busy pharmacy, you will see the majority grab and go. Only a few take time to talk with a pharmacist about drug side effects or interac- tions. One reason people don't bother to consult with the pharmacist is that adverse drug reactions seem ab- stract. That attitude can lead to disaster, as this reader points out: "Last year we nearly lost our 85-year-old father to the interactions from the seven medications he was prescribed by three different doctors. None of his physicians was a real gatekeeper, monitoring all his medications. "We discovered the problem after a friend of his called us with con- cerns. I went down and found him to be nearly a walking vegetable. I wrote down his meds, went home and started re- searching. He was tak- ing aspirin, warfarin, di- goxin, Sensipar, terazosin, metoprolol and Vytorin. As I looked at each drug's side effects, it seemed that there was a tangled web of adverse reactions. "I found the 'Beers list' and a drug-interac- tion tool on the website of his preferred hospi- tal, plugged in his meds and got nine pages of po- tential interactions: eight with high potential for se- vere reactions and 16 with moderate potential for se- vere reactions. All but one of his prescriptions was filled at the same phar- macy, which never caught the potential problems. "We have changed my father's doctor to one who re-evaluated his meds, made changes and is re- ally overseeing his care. Happily, Dad is now back to his old self. "The caution to others with elderly parents is to keep an eye on them even if they tell you everything is fine. My father would tell each of his four chil- dren things were fine, 'not wanting to be a bur- den,' it turns out. We have to be overseers of their health care as well as our own." The Beers list this reader mentions is a com- pilation of drugs that pose special hazards for older adults. If possible, doctors should avoid prescribing Beers list drugs for their senior patients. The list, which was introduced by Mark Beers, M.D., in 1991, is frequently updated (Journal of the American Geriatrics Society online, Oct. 8, 2015). Another reader wrote about his experience: "I had heart bypass surgery in March and de- veloped atrial fibrillation a couple of days after the surgery. I was immedi- ately given amiodarone, which is Food and Drug Administration-approved only as a last-resort drug for ventricular fibrilla- tion, not for atrial fibril- lation. "I suffered amiodarone- induced major thyroid damage. I also was placed in grave danger when a doctor prescribed Cipro for an infection I devel- oped later. Thankfully, my pharmacist caught the warning about an amio- darone/Cipro combina- tion being potentially fa- tal, and I was switched to amoxicillin." Cases like these rein- force the need to dou- ble-check with prescrib- ers and dispensers about drug interactions. It could save your life. www.peoplespharmacy. com. PEOPLE'SPHARMACY Speedkillswhenyoupickupyourprescription Joe+ Teresa Graedon By Karen de Sa Bay Area News Group Vowing to raise its most traumatized children in committed family homes instead of residential facil- ities, California will soon stop warehousing kids in group homes where they often languish for years be- cause the foster care system has found no other place for them to live. Under a new law tak- ing effect in January, the state's Department of So- cial Services will begin a multiyear plan to replace privately run group homes with "short-term residential treatment centers" where youth will mostly stay no more than six months. "In theory, and in all our hopes, this will be a revolu- tionary change in the way foster care operates in our state," said Kyle Sporleder, policy director for the lead- ing foster youth advocacy group California Youth Connection. "But like with many, many large reform efforts, we all kind of have to wait with bated breath." Success of the plan — already three years in the works and now involving 25 full-time state employ- ees — relies heavily on find- ing enough family homes equipped with the skills to care for the state's most troubled youth. Will Lightbourne, direc- tor of the California De- partment of Social Ser- vices, is leading the reform effort backed by his depart- ment. He anticipates that the more than 5,800 foster youth now living in group homes — an alarming 1,000 for more than five years — could drop below 2,000 once the new law takes full effect. "What we have to have is children and youth nested in a family," Lightbourne said. "That has to be a core goal." Youth in group homes tend to have greater emo- tional and psychological needs than most foster kids. They are among the most likely children in foster care to have been moved multiple times, often with few last- ing connections to family or trusted supports outside of the parade of profession- als who govern their lives. The new legislation aims to treat children's specific challenges, such as trauma in youth who have been sex- ually exploited or the effects of clearly diagnosed mental illnesses. With indefinite stays no longer an option, social service workers will begin planning to place a child back in a family home as soon as he or she enters residential treatment. Almost $18 million is al- ready budgeted to expand, recruit and retain the ranks of foster parents and rela- tives who will receive spe- cial training and additional 24-7 support to care for youth now in group homes. An additional $30 million ensures that relative care- givers receive the full state foster care rate. So far, there is wide- spread support for the law from Assemblyman Mark Stone, D-Scotts Valley, to eradicate group homes, from the governor to the Legislature and groups rep- resenting foster youth and the group home industry. But the plan could take years to make a difference in the lives of the roughly 62,400 children now in Cal- ifornia's foster care system. Despite long-standing diffi- culty recruiting enough fos- ter homes, the plan relies upon vast new reserves and better trained foster par- ents and relative caregivers who will be patient and lov- ing enough to care for youth even through rough times when they may act aggres- sively or try to harm them- selves. What's more, many de- tails of the new law have yet to be finalized — such as precisely how individu- alized mental health care will be delivered to chil- dren in family homes. Cur- rently, there are 333 private agencies running a total of 1,022 licensed facilities in the state for foster youth in the child welfare and juve- nile justice systems, as well as for developmentally dis- abled children, whose group home care will not change under the new statute. This newspaper's investi- gation "Drugging Our Kids" found that foster youth in group homes are the most likely to be prescribed ex- cessive amounts of psycho- tropic medications, with more than half receiving court-approved prescrip- tions. Many of these drugs are commonly used to se- date troubled kids, often for the convenience of group homes, rather than any proven therapeutic benefit. Meanwhile, youth in group homes continue to suffer far worse outcomes than foster children raised with relatives or foster par- ents. Studies cited in a re- cent state report show they have higher rates of school dropout and arrest. Roughly two out of every three failed to attain basic proficiency in either English or math. Then, there are the emotional consequences. "If you're living in a group home, that's not a normal family, and it will give you the message, 'Maybe I don't belong in a normal family' — they're not normal situ- ations," said Sporleder, who raised his two siblings in the foster care system. "It makes them feel like they don't be- long in a family setting — thattheywillneverfitinany- where but an institution." Many group homes are not expected to meet the new, higher-level standards of care under Assembly Bill 403 and could go out of business. Others are ex- pected to adapt to the new treatment requirements, or to expand their programs to offer home-based services — wrapping care and treat- ment around kids in family homes, rather than moving them around in search of a residential facility. Stone's legislation joins three other foster care bills taking effect in January to curb excessive use of psy- chotropics. The bills step up oversight, monitoring and training about drugs that are too often used for be- havior management, rather than the mental illnesses for which they are designed, leaving kids to suffer debili- tating side effects. SOCIAL SERVICES State aims to stop warehousing foster kids in group homes By Sierra Buckley Digital First Media Whatever you're cele- brating this year, whether it's widely recognized or unique to your family, many of us look forward to our holiday traditions. From dressing up for a spe- cial meal to hanging out in pajamas all day, we expect certain things to happen as they always have. It's a shared experience to bond over, and comfort can be found in familiarity. But what happens when things start to change? Maybe this year, the whole family can't be together. Perhaps you are no longer in the family home where you celebrated years of hol- idays. As much as we ex- pect the holidays to unfold in a certain way, they are as unpredictable as life it- self. A few years ago, when a close relative suddenly became ill, my family and I found ourselves in the car on Christmas, making the long drive so that we could be with her. Changes like these can be stressful, worrisome, weird, sad, you name it. Whether or not by choice, things change. Sometimes they are all-at-once dras- tic, and sometimes it's a small change over time. The fires this year have brought many different el- ements of change to the community, and it takes no small amount of cour- age and grace to face those changes. Whatever situ- ation you face, there are ways you can keep your spirits lifted this season. Maketimeless traditions We may have some holi- day traditions that revolve around a specific physical object or place, and while these have their place, they also have their lim- its. Focus on creating tra- ditions that can be done anytime, anywhere. When my family's Christmas was unexpectedly spent in the car, we found com- fort in my dad's dorky hol- iday jokes (the same ones he tells every year). You probably know by heart the story your grandfa- ther tells at every holiday dinner. Incorporate tradi- tions that can be shared and passed down, such as favorite holiday songs, stories or recipes, and they will live on. Start something new Change, welcome or not, is an opportunity to start new traditions. This is a great time to implement the traditions you have al- ways wanted to do, but for some reason never got around to. Just as repeat- ing traditions helps form bonds, creating new tra- ditions can build bonds as well. It's a chance to come together as a family and talk about the things that would make the celebration special for each individual family member. Embrace the new, cherish the old When traditions change, it is OK to still tie in some elements of the old way. A big exchange of store- bought gifts has always been a focal point of our family holiday. This year, we decided to craft most of our gifts. It's fun to sur- prise family members with presents, and for our fam- ily, we found more mean- ing and less stress in creat- ing our own this year. This is a great way to bridge the gap between what once was and what works for you now. Remember what's important During difficult change, it can be easy to be caught up in negative feelings. Al- low yourself to grieve the change, and then ask your- self if you are in touch with what you value most. Year round, we celebrate val- ues like love, community and family, and the holi- days provide a special op- portunity to rejoice for the things closest to our heart. Connect with what is im- portant to you, and let that be a guiding light. Change is never easy. The more we allow our- selves to be open to change, the gentler the process. Compromise plays a key role, and you may even find you like the new way better than the old. Cherish your old tra- ditions in whatever way you can, and build strong, new, timeless traditions that enhance your expe- rience and make you feel connected to what really matters most this holiday season. HOPE RISING Embrace the change in holiday traditions DEOFERRER—DAILYDEMOCRAT Whatever situation you face, there are ways you can keep your spirits li ed this season. The Times-Standard For those less inclined to get a shot, the flu mist has arrived at the public health clinic, which is tak- ing appointments for the nasal spray vaccine, ac- cording to a release from the Humboldt County De- partment of Health & Hu- man Services. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that anyone over the age of 6 months old get a flu vaccine. The nasal spray is approved for use in people between the ages of 2 and 49 years old. "FluMist is great for chil- dren and adults who dis- like needles," said Susan Wardrip R.N., the clinic's immunization coordina- tor, in the release. According to the de- partment, it takes up to two weeks after receiving the flu vaccine to achieve the best protection. Flu season in the U.S. can last from October through May. Public Health offi- cials recommend getting the vaccine earlier in the season. In addition to getting the flu shot or nasal spray vac- cine, health officials also recommend practicing the "3 Cs": Clean your hands, cover your nose and mouth when you sneeze or cough and contain your germs by staying home if you're sick. ILLNESS PREVENTION Don't like flu shots? Try a nasal vaccine TIMES-STANDARD FILE PHOTO Humboldt County's Public Health Clinic is now taking appointments for the nasal spray flu vaccine. 750DavidAvenue,RedBluff•527-9193• www.tehamaestatesretirement.com findusonFacebook Tehama Estates The areas #1 Senior Housing Provider SeniorRetirementApartments •3DeliciousHealthyMealsEachDay • Daily Housekeeping • 24 Hour Staffing, 365 Days of the Year • Utilities Included (except phone & cable) • Transportation • Fun Activities and Events Call For Rent Special TehamaEstatesProvides: Offer Expires 12-31-2015 Call for details (530) 529-1220 100 Jackson St. Red Bluff $28 A Month HEALTH » redbluffdailynews.com Tuesday, December 8, 2015 » MORE ATFACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A4