Great article with lots of photos in the Spokesman Review: http://www.spokesman.com/picture-stories/2010-spokane-festival-speed-historic-races/

Where: The Lincoln Center,  1316 N. Lincoln St., Spokane, WA 99201

When: Wednesday, May 18 2011 from 8a.m.  – 4:15 p.m.

Presented by:  Elder Services (509-458-7450) – Family Caregiver Support Program

Fee: No cost to UNPAID Caregivers!  All others $25 (no continuing education credit)

Goal: To provide unpaid caregivers with information and resources to support them in their caregiving role.

Speakers will present on a variety of topics throughout the day. Participants will have an opportunity to browse booths during check-in (8:00 a.m. – 8:45 a.m. ), morning break, lunch, and afternoon break.

Please consider participating in a discussion group with researchers from Washington State University and Providence Health Care.
We would like to improve the hospital discharge experience. By participating in this focus group, you will contribute to a ground-breaking study funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) that explores factors associated with medical error and subsequent medical malpractice suits.

Titled Transitional Care Medication Safety and Medical Liability: Closing the Chasm, the purpose of the study is to evaluate process and outcome factors associated with medication discrepancies and adverse events that increase medical liability.

We are asking you to participate in a “mock” focus group that will last 1 ½ – 2 hours and you will be paid $20 in appreciation of your time for attending and participating (date, time and location to be determined).

Why is this focus group being done? The purpose of this “mock” focus group is to help us improve the process we will use when we conduct actual focus groups with professionals who are
stakeholders in the outcomes of patients being discharged from the hospital. We believe the experience of conducting the “mock” focus group will help us streamline the procedures for upcoming actual focus groups so that our research process is more efficient and effective. For more information about participating in this research project, please call E’lise Balogh at (509) 324-7411. If no one answers, please leave a message with your name and phone number. Thank you!

Transitional Care Medication Safety

Principal Investigator:

Cynthia F. Corbett, PhD, RN

Washington State University College of Nursing

SNUR Office 422-D

P.O. Box 1495

Spokane, WA 99210

8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Monday- Friday:  (509) 324-7404

From the participant consent form:

Introduction

You are being invited to take part in a practice focus group that will mirror an actual focus group research study we are conducting about the hospital discharge process related to medications. We are interested in knowing how you, as a patient or care giving family member, might feel about the medication transfer process for patients transferring from hospital to home. Your participation in this practice focus group will help us practice the process of conducting the actual focus group, and help us streamline our format to be sure that we are conducting the sessions in an easy and understandable manner. Your agreement to take part in this practice focus group is voluntary and of your own free will. This consent form may contain words you do not understand. You should ask the people involved with the study to explain any words or information you do not clearly understand. You may discuss this consent form with family, friends, or faculty members before making a decision to join the study. The Institutional Review Board (IRB) -Spokane has approved this study. This study is funded by a grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

Why is this study being done?

The purpose of this practice focus group is to help us improve the process we will use when we conduct actual focus groups with other patients discharged from the hospital and care giving family members of patients discharged from the hospital within the last 6 months. We believe the experience of conducting the practice focus group will help us to streamline the procedures for upcoming actual focus groups so that our research process is more efficient and effective.

How many people will take part in these mock focus groups?

Approximately 8-10 other people who have been patients or had a family member who was hospitalized within the last 2 years will participate in one practice focus group to help us improve our methods for conducting the actual focus groups with patients and family members of patients who experienced hospitalization during the past 6 months.  Also, approximately 7-10 healthcare and law students will participate in another practice focus group to help us improve our methods for conducting the actual focus groups with healthcare and legal professionals (nurses, pharmacists, physicians, social workers, lawyers and health plan administrators).

What is involved with this study?

If you decide to be in the study, you will attend a practice focus group with 8-10 other people who have been patients or had a family member who was hospitalized within the last 2 years. To be in the study, you must be able to be at the meeting place (most likely Providence Holy Family Hospital) at a specific date and time to meet with the study personnel and other patients and care giving family members.  At the practice focus group, we will talk about some general problems people have with their medicines after being discharged from the hospital. We will also present an example of someone who had problems with medicines after being discharged from the hospital. We will then ask the group questions such as:

• “Tell us about your experiences with your or your family member’s medications at the time of discharge from the hospital.”
• “What could health care providers do to make this process better?”
• “What could you have done or what could you do in the future to make this process better?”
• “If a patient is permanently harmed because of a medication discrepancy, at what point should someone be responsible for that harm?”

The meeting will last about 1 ½ – 2 hours. The exact time depends on how much the group talks about each question.

If you decide to help with the study, when you arrive at the meeting room, we will ask you to sign this consent form. By signing this form you agree to participate in the practice focus group. You may choose to stop participating in the focus group at any time, and you may chose not to talk about certain questions. You only have to say something during the meeting when you want to. If you decide to participate in the practice focus group or not, or if you choose to stop participating in the meeting, it will not affect your relationship in any way with the current or future care you receive from Providence Health Care, with any health care provider, or with Washington State University.

How long will I be in the study?

You will be in the study from just prior to the meeting when you sign the consent form until the end of the meeting.

What are the risks of the study?

There are very few potential risks and discomforts related to being in the study.

Because it is a group meeting, there is a chance that what you say will not be kept confidential.  All participants at the meeting will be asked to keep the information confidential. However, the researchers cannot be sure that the other people at the meeting will keep from sharing the information. The meeting will also be tape recorded (voice only) to allow the researchers to review the meeting, and if necessary, to improve their processes. The audio tapes will be kept in a locked file cabinet in a locked office. However, there is always a rare chance that they could be misplaced or someone not involved with the research could obtain them.

Are there benefits to taking part in the study?

You will not receive any direct benefit from being in the study. By helping us improve our focus group processes, your participation may ultimately help the research team, Providence Health Care and other health systems improve their discharge processes related to medications.

What other options are there?

Participating in the practice focus group is voluntary. You can choose not to participate.

What would prevent me from being in this study?

Being under the age of 21 or not being able to speak or understand English would prevent you from participating in this study.  Not being able to drive or find a ride to the meeting at the specified date and time would prevent you from being in the study.

What are the costs?

There are no costs for you to be in this study except for transporting yourself to the study site.  To thank you for your time and to help pay for transportation costs to the meeting, you will be given $20 cash for participating.  You will be paid at the end of the meeting. If you participate in less than half of the meeting, you will be paid $10 at the time you leave the meeting.

Who pays for study related illness or injury?

Your risk of illness or injury while participating in this study is very small. If you do experience illness or injury during the time you are in this study, we will ask you to seek medical help or, if necessary, we will call 9-1-1. No funds have been set aside for treatment of injury or illness, either as a direct or indirect result of participating in this study. Any medical expenses will be billed to you or your insurance company. If you have questions regarding illness or injury related to this study, please feel free to discuss your questions with Cindy Corbett at (509) 324-7404 prior to the meeting or in person before the meeting starts on the day of the meeting.

What about confidentiality?

Every effort will be made to keep the information you share at the meeting private. All participants in the meeting will be asked to keep the information confidential, including the names of people who participated in the practice focus groups.  The tape recordings of the practice focus groups will be kept in locked files that can be opened only by the research team. At no time will your personal information be made available to anyone but the research team except as required by law. Certain state and federal laws allow boards that protect research participants to request access to study information for certain reasons. However, these boards will also keep the information confidential. Descriptions about practice focus group participants will be reported only in the aggregate without individual identifying information.

What are my rights as a participant?

Washington State University and Providence Health Care will receive compensation from the study sponsor for research related expenses. None of the investigators, Washington State University or Providence Health Care will benefit financially from the study or the study findings. If you have any questions about your rights as a participant in this research study, you may contact the Institutional Review Board-Spokane at (509) 343-2121.

Can I stop participating in the study?

The agreement to take part in this study is voluntary. If you agree to take part, you may choose to stop and withdraw your consent at any time. Your choice to not participate or stop participating will not affect your relationship in any way with Providence Health Care, with any health care provider, pharmacist or with Washington State University. You may choose not to answer some of the questions. Again, you may stop or withdraw from the study at any time. The researchers reserve the right to remove you from the practice focus group for your own safety or for the safety of the other research participants, or if you are disruptive or rude to other participants during the focus group.

Participant consent and legal rights

Your signature (on the form)  indicates that you have read, or had read to you, the above information, that you have discussed this research study with the research team, and that you have decided to participate based on the information provided.  Bysigning this consent, you give permission to Cindy Corbett and her research team to use the information and findings to improve their focus group processes.

You also understand that the researchers agree to protect the privacy and confidentiality of the information gathered during this study within the limits of Washington State Law. On signing this consent form, you understand that you are not waiving any of your legal rights and that you will be given a copy of this signed consent.

You may contact Cindy Corbett at (509) 324-7404 at Washington State University, to get information or ask questions that you may have about this study at any time.

April 7, 2011 in Washington Voices

Singing helps keep Parkinson’s effects at bay

Tremble Clefs helps members preserve voice, find support

Read the article here:

(Reuters Health) – People with diabetes may have a slightly increased risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, a new study suggests — though the reasons for the link, researchers say, are far from clear.

The study, of nearly 289,000 older U.S. adults, found that those with diabetes at the outset were more likely to be diagnosed with Parkinson’s over the next 15 years.

Of 21,600 participants with diabetes, 172 (0.8 percent) were eventually diagnosed with Parkinson’s. That compared with 1,393 cases (0.5 percent) among the 267,000 men and women who were diabetes-free at the study’s start.

When the researchers accounted for other factors — like age, weight and smoking habits — diabetes itself was linked to a 41 percent increase in the risk of future Parkinson’s.

That, however, does not prove that diabetes is a cause of Parkinson’s, and the reasons for the connection remain unknown, said senior researcher Dr. Honglei Chen, of the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

“Really, the evidence at this time is very preliminary,” Chen told Reuters Health.

People with diabetes, he said, should simply continue to do the things already recommended for their overall health — eating a well-balanced diet and getting regular exercise.

Chen and his colleagues report the findings in the April issue of the journal Diabetes Care.

Diabetes and Parkinson’s disease would seem, at first, to be unrelated.

Diabetes arises when the body can no longer properly use the blood-sugar-regulating hormone insulin. Parkinson’s is a brain disease in which movement-regulating cells in the brain die off or become disabled, leading to symptoms like tremors, rigidity in the joints, slowed movement and balance problems.

But Chen said the connection between diabetes and Parkinson’s risk could mean that the two diseases share some underlying mechanisms.

One possibility, he speculated, is chronic, low-level inflammation throughout the body, which is suspected of contributing to a number of chronic diseases by damaging cells. Oxidation – the process fought by anti-oxidants – is another.

On the other hand, Chen and his colleagues say, there might be something about diabetes – like a problem regulating insulin — that contributes to Parkinson’s. But that remains to be proven.

A few large studies have looked at the diabetes-Parkinson’s link before, with conflicting results.

The current study, Chen said, included a larger number of people with Parkinson’s. And unlike most past studies, it looked at the duration of people’s diabetes.

In general, Chen’s team found, the higher Parkinson’s risk was largely seen among people who’d had diabetes for more than 10 years before the start of the study.

That, Chen said, supports the idea that diabetes came first, before Parkinson’s, rather than the other way around.

But more studies, he said, are needed to understand why the connection exists, and what, if anything, can be done about it.

SOURCE: bit.ly/hrUWrc Diabetes Care, April 2011.

Evie Davis
Executive Director
Northwest Collaborative Care
Phone: (509) 999-4089
www.nwcollaborativecare.org

March 24, 2011

http://m.spokesman.com/stories/2011/mar/24/love-story-couple-made-family-world-travel-part/

We’ve been told that they have really missed us at Rockwood Retirement on the South Hill.    So, do your homework and get those great-sounding voices ready to sing LOUD so everyone there knows we are back!

We will be rehearsing for our March 29 performance.

Hope to see you Tuesday!

Walt & Shirley J.

Rockwood Retirement Community

2903 East 25th Avenue Spokane, WA 99223-4992
Phone: (509) 536-6650 (800) 727-6650

Here’s the article from WebMD:

Feb. 14, 2011 — Incorporating berries and other fruits in your diet may pay off by reducing the risk of Parkinson’s disease.

A new study shows men who ate the most foods rich in a group of antioxidants known as flavonoids were 35% less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease than those who ate the least. Major dietary sources of flavonoids include berries, apples, tea, red wine, chocolate, and citrus fruits.

“This is the first study in humans to examine the association between flavonoids and risk of developing Parkinson’s disease,” says researcher Xiang Gao, MD, PhD, of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, in a news release. “Our findings suggest that flavonoids, specifically a group called anthocyanins, may have neuroprotective effects. If confirmed, flavonoids may be a natural and healthy way to reduce your risk of developing Parkinson’s disease.”

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurological disease that causes symptoms including muscle tremors, shaking, and stiffness. The cause of the disease is unknown, and the risk of developing it increases with age.

Berries Blunt Parkinson’s Disease Risk

The study, to be presented in April at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in Honolulu, looked at the relationship between flavonoid intake and Parkinson’s disease in 49,281 men who participated in the Health Professional Follow-up Study and 80,336 women who participated in the Nurses’ Health Study.

The participants were followed for 20-22 years and filled out questionnaires about the foods they ate.

Researchers calculated total flavonoid intake based on the participants’ consumption of five flavonoid-rich foods included on the questionnaires: tea, berries, apples, red wine, and oranges/orange juice.

The results showed that men who ate the most foods rich in flavonoids had a 35% lower risk of Parkinson’s disease compared with those who ate the least. No link between overall flavonoid consumption and Parkinson’s disease risk was found in women.

But when researchers looked at specific sub-groups of flavonoids, they found both men and women who ate the most foods rich in anthocyanins, which are found primarily in berries and apples, had a 22% lower risk of Parkinson’s disease compared to those who ate the least.

The study doesn’t prove that berries (or flavonoids in any other food) prevent Parkinson’s disease. This was an observational study and therefore can’t establish cause and effect. Nor is it clear why the results differed for men and women.

This study will be presented at a medical conference. The findings should be considered preliminary as they have not yet undergone the “peer review” process, in which outside experts scrutinize the data prior to publication in a medical journal.

And this article from shreveporttimes.com gives even better information:

Written by Steven Reinberg
HealthDay

People who eat foods rich in antioxidants called flavonoids, especially berries, may be protecting themselves from developing Parkinson’s disease, a new study suggests.

In addition to berries, flavonoids are found in a variety of foods such as apples, chocolate, and citrus fruits. These compounds have been touted as protective against some diseases because of their antioxidant effects, researchers say.

However, not all flavonoids are created equal. Only those known as anthocyanins, found in berries and other red/purplish fruits and vegetables, protected both men and women, according to the results of this study, which was funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

“Although it’s too early to say that eating berries can reduce Parkinson’s disease risk, benefits of berries have been reported in several previous studies, for example, lowering risk of hypertension,” said lead researcher Dr. Xiang Gao, an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School. “So it is good, at least (doing) no harm, if we can have 2-3 cups of berries a week,” he said.

“When we combined all individual flavonoids together, total flavonoid intake was also associated with a significantly lower Parkinson’s disease risk in men — but not in women,” Gao noted. Only anthocyanins seemed protective for both sexes.

The results of the study are scheduled to be presented in April at the American Academy of Neurology’s annual meeting in Honolulu.

For the study, Gao’s team collected data on over 49,000 men who took part in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study and more than 80,000 women from the Nurses’ Health Study.

Participants filled out detailed questionnaires about their diets. Using that information, the researchers calculated the amount of flavonoids people consumed. In addition, they also looked at the consumption of tea, berries, apples, red wine and oranges and orange juice.

Over 22 years of follow-up, 805 people developed Parkinson’s disease. Among men, those who consumed the most flavonoids were 40 percent less likely to develop the neurodegenerative illness compared with men who consumed the least amount of flavonoids, the researchers found.