HELPFUL WEB SITES
The following web sites might be quite helpful to readers of our web site. They represent a core group of sites with current information on governmental resources, organizations or private groups, with very useful information. If you know of any sites that contain information for or about the elderly kindly e-mail us at either of the following e-mail addresses: hrubin12@nyc.rr.com or rubin@brainlink.com .
Access America for Seniors has become FirstGov for Seniors:
http://www.firstgov.govThis
site will lead you to all other U.S. Government sites on the net
that will be useful to you concerning matters of the elderly or
the aging. Recently the site has linked to all State sites giving
helpful web sites for information on the State level. We will
duplicate this listing for a short while, and thereafter it will
appear only under FirstGov.
Administration on Aging: http://www.aoa.dhhs.gov A
federal government site that has information for older Americans
to help provide opportunities and services to enrich their lives.
Airline Departure and Arrival Time at Any Airport: http://www.trip.com A free
service that will provide you with exact departure and arrival
times for any flight in the U.S. It also provides a free e-mail
service to notify you of the arrival time of any flight you so
indicate.
Alzheimer's Disease Education & Referral Center: www.alzheimers.org An
excellent source of information about Alzheimer's Disease.
Alzheimer's Disease Research from the American Health
Assistance Foundation: http://www.ahaf.org/alzdis/about/adabout.htm.
Another excellent source for all sorts of information about
Alzheimer's Disease.
Arthritis and Glucosamine
Information Center: www.glucosamine-arthritis.org
With alll the controversy these days over the COX -2 pain killer
medications, there are many medical experts who feel glucosamine
is a viable alternative to these medications. The site is free
and quite helpful
Arthritis-http://arthritis.researchalot.com
A resource site for everything to do with arthritis. Full
of newsletters, articles, links and other resources - ALL FREE -
in one easy to navigate site to save time and money.
Arthritis HQ:http://www.arthritishq.com.
An informative site that is easy to get around in that deals with
the whole area of arthritis. This site contains a wealth of
information on this topic.
Ask Mr. Modem: http://www.mrmodem.net Richard
A. Sherman is a syndicated columnist whose column we first read
in the paper "Senior News". His excellent syndicated
columns go under the title " Ask Mr. Modem". To quote
Mr. Sherman, " My focus is helping seniors with computers
and the Internet". He is also the author of the book "
Mr. Modem's Internet Guide for Seniors".
Assisted Living Directory:
http://www.assisted-living-directory.com
This is a comprehensive resource for assisted living facilities.
Any licensed facility may list their information, add facility
information, photos and/or video, and create an interactive
google map. Assisted Living Directory also provides videos
and > educational resources related to Alzheimer's and other
dementias, caregiving, and related industry news.
BigFix: http://www.bigfix.com
If you have problems updating your software or fixing bugs try
this site. The downloading is free.
Broadway Plays: www.audiencerewards.com
This site lets theatregoers learn more about Broadway shows
playing in New York and touring the country. Visitors to the site
can buy tickets from authorzed ticket sellers (such as Telecharge
or Ticketmaster) and order show merchandise.
Cardiff &Vale NHS Trust in association with Dementia
Services Development Centre, Wales- The Sign Post Journal-www.signpostjournal.co.uk
. Contains information to help improve the quality of life for
people with dementia, older people with mental health problems
and those who help them in their daily living. It is a non-profit
organization done in conjumction with the University of Stirling.
Careguide.com: http://www.careguide.com
contains a database for those seeking elder care and child
care providers.
Center for Drug Evaluation and Research: http://www.fda.gov/cder The
U.S. Governments site for learning all about drugs from their
labeling to their harmful side effects.
Center for Responsive Politics:www.crp.org If you need any
information about lobbying go to this site. It gives you the
specific dollar amount of who is giving, how much they're giving
and to whom are they giving.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov The federal
government's site covering anything and everything you wanted to
know about diseases.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) (this is
the new name for what used to be called the Health Care Finance
Administration (HCFA): http://www.cms.gov
This is the U.S.Governmental Agency that oversees Medicare and
Medicaid program. It is also the overseer of all accredited
Medicare and Medicaid Nursing Homes.
College Crime Statistics: http://www.ope.ed.gov/security
About 6,700 U.S. universities and colleges are required by
Federal law to report all crimes committed to the Department of
Education. The department in turn posts this information on this
site. Non reporting of a crime can result in a $25,000 fine for
each unreported crime.
Elder Care- www.Aging-Parents-and-Elder-Care.com,
contains a wealth of information ... a variety of articles,
comprehensive checklists and links to key resources ... that will
be very helpful to family caregivers and others.
Enabling Support Foundation: http://www.enabling.org A
terrific site. If you know of a special education classroom or an
organization dedicated to enhancing life for disabled or senior
citizens who could benefit from donated hardware we urge you to
take a look at this site.
Empire Medicare Services: www.empiremedicare.com.
Most Medicare claims in New York City are overseen by this
group.Empire is one of the largest Medicare contractors in the
country. As a Medicare Part A fiscal intermediary, it serves
beneficiaries and providers in New York, Massachusetts, Delaware
and Connecticut. As a Medicare Part B carrier, it serves a
16-county area in southeastern New York, and the State of New
Jersey.
FindLaw: www.findlaw.com.
One of the best sites to start from when doing any legal research
work on the web. The lawcrawler search engine searches for web
sites with legal content only. Other excellent sites when
researching the legal field are Martindale Hubbel: www.martindale.com and West
Legal Directory: http://www.lawoffice.com/
FirstGov for Seniors: http://www.firstgov.gov
This site will lead you to all other U.S. Government sites on the
net that will be useful to you concerning matters of the elderly
or the aging. Recently the site has linked to all State sites
giving helpful web sites for information on the State level.
Food Pyramid: http//www.mypyramid.gov
A site that shows the food pyramid based on the 2005 Dietary
Guidelines for Americans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture
and the Department of Health and Human Services
Friends and Relatives of the Institutionalized Aged (FRIA):
http://www.fria.org located at
11 John Sr., Suite 601, New York, N.Y. The phone number is
1-212-732-4455. An extremely helpful organization in connection
with all aspects associated with having a loved one in a nursing
home.
Gerontology Society of America: http://www.geron.org The society
was established in 1945 to promote scientific study of the
elderly.
Health and Human Services: http://www.hhs.gov This site
includes information on all U.S. governmental agencies under the
jurisdiction of the HHS. These include the FDA, the National
Instititute of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), the Administration for Children and Families,
and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Health Information: We at therubins would like
to thank Laurie Cooper for passing on the following site, which
is quite useful since it has a wealth of information on many
health issues: http://www.healthopedia.com
Lewy Body Dementia: www.lewybodydementia.org
LBD is a neurological disorder that includes symptoms associated
with Alzheimer's disease and clinical features of Parkinson's
disease. This excellent site will give you a terrific
understanding of what this disease is all about. To find out more
about this disease please see our article written by Gourete De
Sousa Libanio Broderick entitled Dementia with Lewy Bodies.
Long Term Care Information: http://www.LongTermCareInfo.com
Free Nursing Home and Home Health Care Agency Directory.
Long Term Care Resources: http://www.ltc-resources.com
A directory of all United States nursing homes, providing
additional information about Medicare, Medicaid, Advance
Directives, DNR, Resident Rights, Hospice, and financing long
term care.
Loving Care: http://www.lovingcare.net
Lovingcare.net is an excellent site that provides a single
comprehensive resource for seniors and their family.
Mature Resources: www.MatureResources.org.one
of the best sites for baby boomer through senior lifestyles and
news including financial planning, elder law, health and
wellness, pets, and a comprehensive Senior Section for caregivers
both local and long-distance.
Meals: http://www.homenutrition.com
An excellent site from Life Spring Home Nutrition that can be
used to provide healthy wholesome meals for a loved one-young or
old.
Medicare: http://www.medicare.gov
The U.S.Government's site for the Medicare Program
Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC)- http://www.medpac.gov The
Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) is an independent
federal body established by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (P.L.
105-33) to advise the U.S. Congress on issues affecting the
Medicare program. The Commission's statutory mandate is quite
broad: In addition to advising the Congress on payments to
private health plans participating in Medicare and providers in
Medicare's traditional fee-for-service program, MedPAC is also
tasked with analyzing access to care, quality of care, and other
issues affecting Medicare. The Commission's 17 members bring
diverse expertise in the financing and delivery of health care
services. Commissioners are appointed to three-year terms
(subject to renewal) by the Comptroller General and serve part
time. Appointments are staggered; the terms of five or six
Commissioners expire each year. For more information on the
commissioner appointment process, please click here. The Commission is
supported by an executive director and a staff of analysts, who
typically have backgrounds in economics, health policy, public
health, or medicine. MedPAC meets publicly to discuss policy
issues and formulate its recommendations to the Congress.
Our thanks to Margo Harrison, a research analyst at the
commission for emailing us with this info.
Medicare Rights Center: http://www.medicarerights.org
The Medicare Rights Center, a national, not-for-profit
organization located in New York City, is exclusively devoted to
ensuring that seniors and people with disabilities on Medicare
have access to quality, affordable health care.
Mesothelioma Lung Cancer: Thanks to our viewer
Sandy we pass along this terrific site about this disease that
afflicts so many hard working people: www.lifewithmesothelioma.com
National Citizens' Coalition for Nursing Home Reform: http://www.nccnhr.org Lists
publications and contact info on organizations concerned with
nursing home conditions.
National Institute of Aging, NIH: http://www.nih.gov
Latest health information from A to Z
National Institute of Health: www.nihseniorhealth.gov
a talking Web site created by the NIH in conjunction with the
National Library of Medicine and the National Institute on Aging
as a resource for information on health and medical research for
people over 60.
National Library of Medicine: http://clinicaltrials.gov
The U.S. government has opened its database on the web listing
all clinical trials for serious illnesses. The site contains an
explanation of how the experiment works and contains phone
numbers to call researchers if you want to enroll. The site has
the data on over 5,200 clinical trials primarily those sponsored
by the National Institute of Health. The library plans to add
trials sponsored by other federal agencies, by pharmaceutical
companies and by others in the private sector.
National Osteoporosis Foundation: http://www.nof.org All you would
want to know about osteoporosis.
New York City: http://www.ci.nyc.ny.us.
The site contains a wealth of information about New York City
and its agencies. You can order copies of birth certificates,
death certificates, immigration records etc. It enables you to
obtain different forms and tells you of coming events. It gives
the e-mail address of the various officials of the city. You can
also order for $25 a photograph of some of the 720,000
photographs available of any building in New York City taken as
part of a tax assessment project from 1939 to 1941. The phone
number is 212 788 8580.
New York City: www.nychanis.com A free
interactive Web site that contains a wealth of material broken
down into 65 categories for every neighborhood in NYC. This
databank includes information on housing, population, education,
etc., and is the design child of Michael H. Schill, director of
the Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy at NYU's
School of Law, and Denise Previttt, a former researcher at the
center. It was financed by a $457,000 grant from the U.S.
Department of Commerce, with matching contributions from local
foundations and banks. It is an invaluable aid to would be home
buyers, renters or community advocates. Nychanis stands for the
New York Housing City and Neighborhood Information System.
New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene- www.nyc.gov/html/doh To
find out how your NYC 24,000 neighborhood restaurant comes out
after an inspection by one of the city's 100 health inspectors go
to this site.
New York City Map- www.nyc.gov/citymap . The
CityMap includes City Council districts and Community Board
boundaries, links to results of restaurant inspections, locations
of subway entrances and exits, and aerial views of the city. The
tool also allow users to find addresses for the nearest wireless
Internet hot spots, senior centers, post offices, farmers'
markets , after-school programs and other services. Boundaries of
fire companies, police precincts and landmark and business
improvement districts are also included.
New York State's Consumer Protection Board: http://www.consumer.state.ny.us
You may register your phone number at this site if you do not
want to be called by telemarketers. There are certain exceptions
for certain organizations that will still be allowed to make such
calls. The telemarketing company may be fined up to $2,000 for
each call that it makes to a number on the registry. The phone
number for the board is 800 697 1220. The address for the board
is 5 Empire State Plaza, Suite 2101, Albany, N.Y. 12223.
New York State Department of Health: http://www.health.state.ny.us
or call 1-800-663-6114. This site shows you how to get birth,
death, marriage and any other vital statistic records from the
State of New York. You also can get the disciplinary record and
malpractice judgments of any medical doctor in NY State at this
site.
New York State Office for the Aging: The following are 3
excellent informative sites that can be applicable to residents
of any state:
New York State Ombudsman- Information
on nursing home complaints that have been resolved at a lower
level than those reported to licensing can be obtained. The
ombudsman tries to resolve the concerns at the lowest level,
therefore these would not be shown on the Medicare nursing home
surveys for example.
www.ombudsman.state.ny.us
Martha Haase, State LTC Ombudsman, NY State Office for the Aging
(518) 474-7329
Thanks to Linda Kelly for emailing this one in to us
New York State Partnership for Long Term Care: http://www.nyspltc.org New
York State's Long Term Care Insurance program wherein protection
may be afforded for the preservation of assets while under a long
term care program.
Northern Illinois University Gerontology Site: http://www.chhs.niu.edu/gero/
An excellent site containing a great deal of useful
information on the topic of gerontology.
Novartis Foundation for Gerontological Research: http://www.healthandage.com
This site contains many excellent educational articles which
are subdivided into 3 main sub-groups: Physicians and
Researchers, Other Healthcare Professionals and a Patient Area.
Osteoporosis Information and Prevention: www.osteoporosis-info.com
This site Offers clear, easy to read information on osteoporosis
and its prevention. Includes osteoporosis causes, risk factors,
signs and symptoms.
Patient's Rights: www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa
This is the site set up by the Department of Health and Human
Services that will give you information about your rights as a
patent under the Health and Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act (HIPPA).
Prescription Drugs-Comparitive Shopping: www.destinationrx.com
This is an excellent site if you want to find the best price for
a particular drug.
Prescription Drugs-http://www.acupharmacy.com.This
is an excellent site that goes into the whole prescription drug
question, and what is available out there to help you learn more
about it. It is quite extensive and covers a whole plethora of
issues on this matter.
Prescription Drugs and the Elderly: If you are
looking for information about what a particular state is doing to
help the elderly with prescription drug costs please go to the
site set up by the National Conference of State Legislatures
located at http://www.ncsl.org/programs/health/drugaid.htm.
Prostate Cancer- Malecare: www.malecare.com This site
shows the organization's prostate cancer information news that is
updated weekly. It contains unique article written by patients
and doctors. The organization facilitates prostate cancer support
groups and free lectures open to the public.
Refdesk.com: http//www.refdesk.com
This site contains links to about 20,000 dictionaries,
encyclopedias, newspapers and other useful referrence sites. It
was started in 1995 Bob Drudge, a former social worker and
librarian.
Reference Sites: Thanks to one of our viewers by
the name of John Cooper here are a few terrific referrence sites
that will help you find a lot of great information: For the
general index to all the information- http://www.allrefer.com/; for
referrence to heatlth matters: http://health.allrefer.com/
The Executive Branch - U.S. Government: http://www.whitehouse.gov/
At the White House Web site, users can send an e-mail to
President George W. Bush, reserve a campsite in a national
forest, apply for college financial aid and volunteer for the
Peace Corps. There is information about passports, on-time
performance of major airlines, presidential biographies and
weather forecasts for any U.S. city.
The Institute for Continuing Care: www.continuingcare.org
Non-profit research and educational organization established
to study the future of long term care for the disabled elderly.
The National Center for Health Statistics: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/howto/w2w/alphabet.htm
provides up-to-date information on where to write for birth,
death, marriage and divorce records in each State and Territory.
The Social Security Administration: http://www.ssa.gov A very
useful site containing all the latest information you need to
know about the Social Security Administration. To locate the
Social Security office closest to you, visit their Field Office
Locator http://www.ssa.gov/locator.
To get an updated copy of all Social Security program
publications try http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/englist.html
The U.S. Census Bureau: http://www.census.gov
Contains all the vital statistics that you would want to
know, and in addition includes health care, Medicare, Medicaid,
Nursing Home expenditures. Also helpful in this area is: http://factfinder.census.gov
.Click on "get data" under American Community Survey if
for example you wanted to get the poverty rate in your local
community.
United States Government
Printing Office-: www.gpo.gov/su_docs
.Contains a list of all the free publications from the various
governmental departments and agencies. It also includes a
compendium of over 10,000 books published by the governmental
agencies and the price for same.
United States Government:For all questions about
or information that you would like to have about the Legislative,
Executive or Judicial Branches of the U.S. Government please go
to http://firstgov.gov
United States House of Representatives-: www.house.gov
United States Senate: www.senate.gov
United States Senate Special Committee on Aging: http://www.senate.gov/~aging/
The Senate Committee headed by John Breaux(D-La) that holds
hearings and begins the legislative process for issues related to
the elderly. The site also contains links to the Senate and the
House of Representatives and their respective committees. You can
find the e-mail address for any Congressperson herein. You can
also see what the various committees are doing and what is
happening on the legislative agenda.
United States Supreme Court: http://www.supremecourtus.gov
Contains a searchable database of the court's docket,
showing the procedural history of all pending and recently
decided cases.
Visiting Nurse Service of New York: http://www.vnsny.org This
site leads you in turn to VNS Choice which is a comprehensive,
managed long term care program for adults age 65 and up who wish
to live at home but need assistance with day-to-day activities.
Wisconsin Geriatric Education Center: http://www.mu.edu/wgec A site
devoted to enhance the quality of life and promote wellness for
the elderly.
FOR AN INFORMATIVE AND PERSONAL ARTICLE ON PRACTICAL
SUGGESTIONS WHEN SELECTING A NURSING HOME SEE OUR ARTICLE "How to Select a Nursing Home"
To e-mail: hrubin12@nyc.rr.com or rubin@brainlink.com