Dementia Care Coordination Challenge Award Winners Announced
This post on the National Institute of Health’s website announced winners in dementia care coordination. They highlight some of the latest technology that is helping people today care for loved ones suffering from dementia.
MapHabit, Inc. won first place for their app that helps people with dementia follow basic tasks throughout the day like taking pills, brushing teeth and more. First prize was $250,000.
Second place was won by a team from University of California, Los Angeles for their Dementia Care Software platform ($100,000) and third place was won by North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Greensboro and their team that created The Caregiver 411 mobile device app that offers dementia caregivers to foster social connections through a messaging center.
Read the details here:
A Great Piece on The Importance of a Home Inspection AND Setting Realistic Negotiation Expectations
The home inspection is CRITICAL for any home buyer. You want to know what you are getting into and if you need to return to the negotiating table based on what is discovered in the inspection process. I have heard in today’s market that many buyers are taking a list of items and sending that list to the seller to remedy before purchase. The issue there is the realistic expectations one should have when getting that list of items back from an inspector.
They give some good advice in this post on the Washington Post. Review that list and weigh it against everyday wear and tear or big ticket expenses. The theory is that the price of the home should meet expectations what what the market should bear (i.e. a non-updated house should not be priced at the same level as an updated or new construction house). So it’s unrealistic to expect a seller to do things like refinish floors, paint walls, etc.
If you are in the market to buy or considering to sell, this is a good high level look at how the inspection should be used by both sides for the negotiation process.
Healthcare Reform Begins With Making Better Lifestyle Choices
We all know this to be the case, but I want to call out this particular quote in the article: “Yet, even though these genetic and environmental factors are important, they don't change the fact that most of our health status is determined by our lifestyle behaviors and personal choices. Science backs this fact. A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine in 2017 found health-related lifestyle factors, including physical inactivity and cigarette smoking, accounted for 74 percent of the variation in life expectancy across U.S. counties. The healthcare services that people received, on the other hand, accounted for only about one quarter of the variation. “
By making better choices throughout our lives, we can greatly improve our long term prognosis. I don’t think this means everyone get on a raw diet and stop having “fun”, but it does mean that if we want to be “less likely” to need expensive treatments and medications in the future, we need to start treating ourselves better today. We are often a “band-aid” society - fixing things as they appear rather than changing the underlying root problem. We do it in environmental legislation, healthcare reform and more.
The question is how do we get the momentum to make cultural shifts? Some bad habits can be legislated out, but often at the expense of sacred freedoms and rights we hold dear. How can we change a nationwide mindset?
25 Objects You Didn't Know You Were Using Wrong
On the lighter side - here's a slide show on MSN today that is kind of fun to scroll through. 25 things you may have been using incorrectly throughout your life...how about ceiling fans having seasonal directions???
