Medicare provides a range of benefits for outpatient and inpatient care. But, an effort to prevent premature discharges from hospital stays has resulted in unintended consequences that can cost the patient thousands of dollars. We include information about this glitch in our Educational Workshops. NPR offers some even more detail. Some have found it effective to repeatedly insist on being admitted. A good reason to have a friend or relative as an advocate when going to the ER.

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/04/20/583338114/how-medicares-conflicting-hospitalization-rules-cost-me-thousands-of-dollars

A few weeks ago, I posted an article that mentioned this research in passing. It suggests that learning different types of dancing does more good for your brain than staying with just one style. Maybe it’s time to branch out and try something new. See
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-08-reverse-aging-brain.html if you want to learn more.

Here’s a NYT article with good information about aging well, including dancing.

https://www.nytimes.com/guides/well/how-to-age-well

And this article is specifically about the effects of contra dancing. ” A new study that compared the neurological effects of country dancing with those of walking and other activities suggests that there may be something unique about learning a social dance.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/29/well/walk-stretch-or-dance-dancing-may-be-best-for-the-brain.html

Based in Western North Carolina, the Center for End of Life Transitions offers Home Funeral Guidance and Assistance, as well as End of Life Educational Opportunities through workshops and retreats. See the website at: https://ceolt.org/

Information about upcoming workshops: https://ceolt.org/events/home-funeral-and-death-care-midwife-training/

Both this book and DVD reflect the philosophy and motivation of the Traditional Music and Dance Retirement Society and our pioneering vision of how we want to live in old age.

Many of us have seen a clip from ALIVE INSIDE; now the entire film is available to purchase or to stream from Netflix or I-tunes.

ALIVE INSIDE is a joyous cinematic exploration of music’s capacity to reawaken our souls and uncover the deepest parts of our humanity. Filmmaker Michael Rossato-Bennett chronicles the astonishing experiences of individuals around the country who have been revitalized through the simple experience of listening to music. His camera reveals the uniquely human connection we find in music and how its healing power can triumph where prescription medication falls short.

This stirring documentary follows social worker Dan Cohen, founder of the nonprofit organization Music & Memory, as he fights against a broken healthcare system to demonstrate music’s ability to combat memory loss and restore a deep sense of self to those suffering from it. Rossato-Bennett visits family members who have witnessed the miraculous effects of personalized music on their loved ones, and offers illuminating interviews with experts including renowned neurologist and best-selling author Oliver Sacks (Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain) and musician Bobby McFerrin (“Don’t Worry, Be Happy”). An uplifting cinematic exploration of music and the mind, ALIVE INSIDE’s inspirational and emotional story left audiences humming, clapping and cheering at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award.

“Being Mortal,” is a personal meditation on how we can better live with age-related frailty, serious illness and approaching death.  It is also a call for a change in the philosophy of health care. Gawande writes that members of the medical profession, himself included, have been wrong about what their job is. Rather than ensuring health and survival, it is “to enable well-being.”