
Senior Advocate
Martha Shapiro, Director of Programs at Senior Concerns, authors a weekly column for the Ventura County Star titled “Senior Advocate,” focusing on issues affecting seniors and their family caregivers.

Martha Shapiro, Director of Programs at Senior Concerns, authors a weekly column for the Ventura County Star titled “Senior Advocate,” focusing on issues affecting seniors and their family caregivers.
Q: What is Ageism Awareness Day? A: Ageism Awareness Day is October 9th and is a day to bring awareness to the impact of ageism in our society. The American Society on Aging (ASA) is leading the 2024 Ageism Awareness Day campaign. Ageism refers to stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination towards oneself or others based [...]
A: Medicare Open Enrollment is a set time each year when anyone who has Medicare health insurance can change their health plan and their prescription drug plan. Open Enrollment starts on October 15th and ends on December 7th. Any changes you make will become effective on January 1st of 2025. Not only is this [...]
Q: How can I reduce my stress as a working family caregiver? A: Caring for a loved one can be a full-time job and feel stressful on its own. For those who are also managing a job outside the home while providing care for a loved one, it can sometimes feel unmanageable. Finding ways [...]
Q: I am moving my mother into an assisted living facility next week. How can I make the transition easier for her? A: A move into an assisted living facility can be filled with emotions. While there can be excitement about a new home that has meals provided and activities and socialization included, there [...]
Q: My worrying has become so much worse this last year and now I feel like I cannot relax. I worry about my health, my family, the state of the world and everything in between! What can I do to help relax? A: Worrying as we age is very common. As you mentioned, there [...]
A: Hospice and palliative care both include interdisciplinary teams that come to the home with the goal of providing comfort, stress reduction, and physical and psychosocial relief. Palliative Care is under the home health umbrella and strives to palliate a person's symptoms and disease management while still allowing them to pursue curative measures and diagnostics. [...]
A: Building your strength and working on your balance is an excellent way to reduce your risk of falling. This is so important because the statistics about falls for older adults are very sobering. In fact, it is reported that every half hour an older adult dies as the result of a fall. Simply [...]
A: It is not the hearing loss itself that increases the risk of dementia, but rather when the hearing loss is not addressed and corrected the risk of dementia goes up. In fact, it was recently found that vision loss also increases the risk for dementia. Both hearing and vision loss are sensory impairments and, [...]
A: As we get older aches and pains are very common. It is normal for our muscles to feel tighter and for our tendons and ligaments to be less flexible. This may be caused by weak muscles, or you may be under or overusing them. You may have osteoarthritis, which causes the cartilage between [...]
A: While there is no prescription for a Parkinson’s Disease specific diet, a healthy lifestyle is a big part in improving your overall health and wellbeing. The right foods, along with the right medications, can help ease your symptoms and help maintain your overall health. Keep in mind when looking at your diet, the [...]