The Old Refrain

 I came across this old Irish Song on "As Time Goes By and thought it had interesting lyrics, so I thought I would share it. On the link, you can listen to the melody and sing along with Fritz as he plays on his violin.Thoughts about grower older are the theme. 

Here is another perspective on ageing by Lola, in which she says, "One of the best books on aging I've read is Helen M. Luke's "Old Age" in which she uses literature (King Lear, the Odyssey, etc) to illustrate the point that one cannot continue to do and be the same person one was in midlife. She says old age is about something other than being and doing big things. It is about assimilation and reflection and reconciliation, it is a more internal process."

Author: Fritz Kreisler        

I often think of home Dee-ol-ee-ay 
When I am all alone and far away;
I sing an old refrain, dee-ol-ee-ay 
For it recalls to me a bygone day
It takes me back again to meadows fair 
Where sunlight's golden rays beam everywhere

My childhood joys again come back to me 
My mother's face in fancy too I see 
It was my mother taught me how to sing 
And to that memory my heart will cling 
I'm never sad and alone while on my way 
As long as I can sing Dee-ol-ee-ay

Though years have passed and gone, dee-ol-ee-ay 
And though my heart is young my head is grey. 
Yet still the echoes ring, dee-ol-ee-ay 
And dear old memories forever stay. 
This song will bring me visions full of light 
And sweetest dreams throughout the darkest night

Of all that life can give, that song is best
I'll take it with me when I go to rest 
And when at last my journey here is o'er 
'Twill ring more joyfully than e'er before 
For up to heavens I will take my lay 
The angels, too, will sing dee-ol-ee-ay

Health Care for Seniors

Two questions raised by Donna McCaw in a recent article merit some consideration. The second question is about serving the health needs of seniors

Canada still does not have any health policy at the federal or provincial levels to deal with an aging population. Baby Boomers may be healthier than the previous generation but subject to the slings and arrows of outrageous health fortune like others

My accountant told me that the biggest risk he sees in his older clients is lack of planning about health care. About two thirds of Canadians cite health as their biggest concern as they age but only about 22 per cent have planned or saved for a medical issue. 

A federal election is on the horizon but discussion or policy suggestions for health care for the coming increase in the aging population is not. Not yet, anyway.  The Canada Health Act is federal legislation which deals with transfer payments to the provinces who then organize and deliver care.  Those transfer payments are not increasing.

The number of dementia patients is expected to double by 2031 to 1.4 million putting great pressure on families and facilities and yet we have no plan.  Bill C-356, a bill to address some of the realities of dementia care, was proposed in 2011 and reached second reading in December of 2014 but it may fall by the wayside as we go to a Federal election.

The Canada Health Act (the Act), proclaimed in 1985, sets out the framework for Canada’s a national health insurance program. Although there is one national Act, the insurance programs that fund the services that make up the public health care system across Canada, are in fact 13 provincial and territorial plans. The Act sets out the common features that each provincial/territorial plan must meet for the province/territory to be entitled to its full share of funding from the federal government.

Our current government has taken steps to dismantle the Canadian Health Act by severely cutting funding. Prime Minister Harper turned this on its head by tabling a budget that will use federal transfers in order to eliminate national standards in health care.

Buried on page 279 of the 2014 federal budget is a measure that will make it next to impossible for provinces to provide health care services on equal terms and conditions. The purpose of this budget item is to strike a blow to the heart and soul of universal health care in Canada.

The Harper government is eliminating the equalization portion of the Canada Health Transfer (CHT) and replacing it with an equal per capita transfer. This means that less populous provinces with relatively larger and more isolated populations will have more and more difficulty delivering more expensive universal health service

Justice Emmett Hall, a principal architect of national health care in Canada, articulated the platform required to realize a national health care system. In order to establish and achieve high national standards for health services, the federal government needed to establish a funding formula that took into account the capacity of provinces (and territories) to achieve national standards. In other words: no equalization in health transfers, no national Medicare.

This regressive budgetary change will be matched with a second regressive measure. Beginning in 2017, the six percent annual increase for the health transfer will be replaced with a formula that links the health transfer to economic growth. This means that in times of high unemployment and economic downturn – when Canadians need access to care the most – the federal transfer will be reduced. This measure alone will result in a $36 billion cut in federal funding for health care over the next decade.

With Harper’s cuts to health care funding, the share of federal CHT cash payments in provincial-territorial health spending will decrease substantially from 20.4 per cent in 2010-11 to less than 12% over the next 25 years. This, according to the Parliamentary Budget Office, will bring the level of federal cash support for health care to historical lows. National Medicare was implemented across Canada by provinces and territories on the understanding that the federal government would contribute roughly 50 percent of the spending on Medicare.

The shrinking level of federal funding for health care will be matched by a withdrawal of federal enforcement of national standards contained in the Canada Health Act. The use of the spending power to establish national standards is common in all OECD federations. National Medicare will clearly not survive this ‘cut and run’ course being set by the Harper government. Instead, it will fragment into 14 separate pieces where access to essential care will depend on where you live and your ability to pay.

What does this mean for seniors who have come to rely on having a strong national health system? Health Care in Canada, 2011: A Focus on Seniors and Aging has some ideas Many seniors depend on strong primary health care and prescription medications to help manage an increasingly complex mix of health conditions and protect their health. While the majority of Canadians (95%) older than age 65 have a regular family doctor, some reported challenges accessing their doctor when they needed care. Visits to family doctors are more frequent among seniors with multiple chronic conditions.

Survey findings show that it is the increasing number of chronic conditions, rather than increasing age, that drives primary health care use. Data on the use of prescription medication echoes these findings, with the proportion of seniors taking multiple prescription medications rising in recent years. Nearly two-thirds of seniors on public drug programs have claims for 5 or more drugs from different drug classes, and nearly one-quarter have claims for 10 or more. More than half of seniors on public drug programs regularly use prescription drugs to treat two or more chronic conditions, and among this group, the most commonly used medications were for treating high blood pressure and heart failure (used by 65% of this group).

Health spending per capita on seniors is more than four times that of non-senior adults (age 20 to 64 years) in absolute terms, the rate of spending growth for seniors was actually lower over the past 10 years than the rates for non-senior adults.

Over the last decade, population aging has contributed relatively modestly to rising public-sector health care spending, adding less than 1% to public-sector health spending each year.

This result may appear counter intuitive when considering seniors’ use of health care services; compared with non-senior adults, seniors are proportionately higher users of hospital and physician services, home and continuing care, and prescription drugs.

The increasing number of seniors itself will not threaten Canada’s health care system, but it will require the system to adapt to meet changing health care needs. Among those challenges: to what extent the Canadian health care system has met seniors’ needs to date, how it will likely need to adapt to continue to meet these needs into the future and how Canadians’ health care needs may change as the population shifts over the next 20 to 30 years. However for this to happen we need to have strong Federal government support not a government which cuts transfer payments and weakens our Health Care programs across Canada.

Resources for Seniors

Here are some resources for Boomers and those that care for them:

Consumer information - International Council on Active Aging(Canadian Based)

is dedicated to changing the way we age by uniting professionals in the retirement, assisted living, fitness, rehabilitation and wellness fields to dispel society's myths about aging. We help these professionals to empower aging Baby Boomers and older adults to improve their quality of life and maintain their dignity.

Canadian Coalition for Seniors' Mental Health: CCSMH 

The Canadian Coalition for Seniors' Mental Health (CCSMH) is hard at work ensuring that seniors' mental health is recognized as a key Canadian health and wellness issue. Working with partners across the country, the CCSMH is busy facilitating initiatives to enhance and promote seniors' mental health. Below is a listing of what's new at the CCSMH, but there are always more projects in development. Please bookmark this site and visit us frequently for updates.

Public Legal Information on Elder Abuse (Canadian Based)

Providing care to an older person can be a demanding but rewarding experience. Education and support services are critical in preventing and addressing abuse and neglect and promoting overall wellness. To this end, the Government of Saskatchewan set out the following principles to guide policy and programming for older adults. The spirit and intent of many of these principles are already reflected in our laws and serve as a helpful starting point for any interactions with older adults in our communities.

National Clearinghouse on Family Violence Elder Abuse (Canadian Based)

This fact sheet provides information on abuse and neglect of older adults living in the community. It updates the 1990 fact sheet, Elder Abuse. The information will be of greatest interest to professionals and community service providers who want to learn more about abuse and neglect of older adults. Materials written for seniors and their families may be obtained from seniors' centres and other community resource centres. Information on abuse in institutions is the subject of Abuse of Older Adults in Institutions, another fact

sheet available from the Clearinghouse.

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (Canadian Based)

Good Information for Older Adults and their families about Anxiety,  Dementia and Depression

Elder Helpers (US Based)

This website is dedicated to the Elder Helpers program, which aims to match volunteers with elders in need of help within their own community.

Seniors Resource Network

There are some national organizations as well as the Canadian Government which offer services to seniors. This page lista those resources. 

National Resource Center on LGBTA Aging (US Based)

The National Resource Center on LGBT Aging is the country's first and only technical assistance resource center aimed at improving the quality of services and supports offered to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) older adults. Established in 2010 through a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the National Resource Center on LGBT Aging provides training, technical assistance and educational resources to aging providers, LGBT organizations and LGBT older adults. The center is led by Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE) in collaboration with 18 leading organizations from around the country

National Service Framework for Older People (Great Britain Based)

The ‘National Service Framework for Older People’ sets quality standards for health and social care. It will help older people to stay as healthy, active and independent as possible, for as long as possible. The NSF for older people will: ensure that older people are treated with respect, prevent unnecessary hospital admission, and support early discharge, reduce long term illness by providing specialist care, promote healthy lifestyles and independence for those in older age

Older People Day

October 1st is the International Day of Older Persons. People are living longer and 23% of the UK will be aged 65 and over by 2035. The main aim for this website is to celebrate the achievements and contributions that older people make to our society and tackle negative attitudes and outdated stereotypes.

Let’s Go For A Walk!

Why should dogs have all the fun? Many indoor cats would love to go outside and enjoy the sun but it is often far too dangerous to let them simply wander about as they please. Busy roads, large dogs and careless people are hazards many of us don’t want our cats exposed to. So why not teach him to walk on a leash? When I was younger we had a cat that used go on walks with us along the dykes and he seemed to enjoy the walks. I know that I could have kept him on a leash, but he came when we called and always followed us home. Unusual behaviour for a cat, I know but if you live in a big city or an area where there are dogs, you should train your cat to walk with you on a leash.

 But cats don’t walk on leashes! That’s the sentiment many people have when the idea is first introduced. It’s true that some cats will absolutely have nothing to do with the whole business. They apparently think it is entirely beneath them to be seen out of doors on a leash. What would the neighbors think! Fortunately, there are other cats willing to entertain the idea and some who actually come to like their walks. There really isn’t any way of knowing which way your cat will turn out unless you try. Let’s get started.

The first thing you will need is a properly fitting harness and a light weight leash. It doesn’t need to be fancy, just sturdy and well made. Trying to teach your cat with only a collar is not a good idea. Pressure around their necks seems to make some cats freeze. You want to teach him to move forward, not lock in place. The second thing you will need is a bag of treats. Preferably something he really likes but doesn’t often get. The third thing you will need is lots and lots of patience.

Begin training inside your home. Do not take him outside until he is walking freely and comfortably along with you on his leash. Place the harness on your cat and let him get accustomed to it. If your cat is particularly timid, you might want to leave the harness where he can investigate it and get used to seeing it first before you put it on him. Leave the harness on him for ten to fifteen minutes a day for the first few days. After that the period can be raised to fifteen to twenty minutes. Give him one or two treats during the time he is wearing the harness so that he associates it with good things. When he is fully comfortable with the harness, add the leash in the same manner, allowing him to drag it around for a slowly increasing period over several days. Don’t forget the treats.

By now, your cat is comfortable wearing both harness and leash. Pick up the end of the leash and just hold it. Don’t try to lead him anywhere. Follow him around if he moves. Do this exercise for a few minutes a day until he is comfortable with it. Now comes the big step, teaching him to follow where you lead. Place your cat to your left side, your leash should be in your left hand. Let your arm hang relaxed at your side. Take a treat in your right hand. Turn toward your cat and show him the treat. Now take a couple of step forward, continuing to show the treat. If he follows you, take a couple of more steps. If he follows to your new position, give him his treat and praise. If he is reluctant to move forward, place the treat closer to him. Praise him if he takes a step forward and give him the treat. If he doesn’t want to move forward no matter what you do, don’t drag him. Pick him up and take him somewhere else to take his harness off. Do not give him a treat since he didn’t do as you asked. Here is where patience comes in. Keep repeating the lesson every day, asking him to move farther each time.

When your cat is walking freely on leash with you all over the house, take him into your back yard and walk him around in it. If he freezes and refuses to move, don’t panic. Reassure him he is safe and take him back inside. Try again tomorrow. If he tries to take off on his own you can easily check him with your leash. Once he is comfortable in the yard you can start taking him farther. Before long you will be able to take nice walks wherever you choose.

Understanding Your Cat’s 5 Senses

Are you a cat owner who is curious about your cat and how they function on a daily basis?  Of course, you cat likely cannot comfortably survive without the food and shelter you provide him or her with, but you may be curious about their senses.  Do you ever find yourself wondering how well your pet can see or what their tastes are like?  If so, please continue reading on.

As for your cat’s hearing, have you ever heard that your cat’s ears are similar to a satellite dish?  There are many pet owner and veterinarians who make this comparison.  What does this mean?  It means that your cat does have a relatively good sense of hearing.  You may notice your cat turn their head and move their ears when you start talking or when they hear a noise outside.  This provides cats with the ability to hunt mice and other small, quite rodents.

As for your cat’s sense of touch, all pets are just like humans.  They have a fine sense of touch.  Whether you touch your cat’s whiskers, her paws, or her tail, it is a movement that she can notice right away.  The most sensitive part of your cat’s body is their whiskers.  As a cat owner, you should already know how important a full set of whiskers are to a cat.  Your cat’s paws are also a sensitive area on their body.

As for your cat’s sight, he or she has good vision.  It has been claimed that cats see at 1/5^th the intensity of humans.  Although cats cannot see perfectly in the dark, they are still able to make out distinctive shapes and movements.  Cats are also able to see movement quicker than humans are.  A movement that may appear as nothing to us, is a movement that a cat can notice.  However, during daylight humans do have a better sense of sight.

Depending on your cat and his or her eating habits, you may assume that cats have a sensitive sense of taste.  After all, many cat owners report their pets as being picky eaters.  Although it may appear as if your cat is a picky eater, they logically aren’t, at least for taste reasons.  In fact, cats are more likely to pick and choose their food based on smell, rather than taste.

Speaking of smell, this is the most heightened out of the five senses for your cat.  Cats have a much better sense of smell than humans do.  In fact, did you know that cats have about 200 million cells in and on their noses that are odor sensitive?  They do.  This is much more than us, humans, have.  In addition to using smell as a way to decide which food to eat, cats can also use smell to determine if an environment is safe to enter.  Smelling is also a method of communication for felines.  It has been said that cats can smell odors that humans can’t even detect.

Now that you know how your cat’s five main senses are, you may be able to better understand the behavior that your cat displays and the habits that they develop.  With that said, also be sure to use your best judgment.  If your cat is refusing to eat their food, it may be something more serious than them just not liking the smell of their cat food.  If your cat appears to lose or have problems with the above mentioned senses, you should consider scheduling an appointment with your veterinarian.

Issues for seniors Canada vs. Australia

In an earlier post I talked about issues and concerns for Seniors in Canada, while I was in Australia I was interested in seeing what the main issues facing seniors are to see if they were the same in Canada. In Australia, there seemed to me that the following were of interest and concern:

Employment, Superannuation (Pensions), Health Reform, Global Financial Crisis, Public housing and rent

In Canada, some of the issues facing seniors include: Working and participation in society, health and wellness, safety and security and income security discrimination and negative stereotypes, social participation and ethno cultural diversity, living arrangements, transportation, and social isolation and loneliness, family/informal caregiving 

In both countries, there are distinctive barriers faced by older workers, which outweigh the perceived disadvantages to employers, but in both countries, little is being done to help. In fact, seniors who cannot get by on the Superannuation they receive are not treated well by society. For example, a headline in a paper I saw in Australia was this: “The best form of welfare for seniors--get a job” Not all seniors may need to work for the money (but every little bit helps) I suspect that many of us work to participate in society and to feel useful. Older workers should be afforded equal treatment in the workplace and better access to retraining opportunities. 

Pension or Superannuation has long been an issue of major significance to seniors in both countries, and in the current period of reform this should be of major concern. The Canadian government and the Australian government as are other governments around the world are willing to reform .benefits to seniors, which means reducing benefits not increasing them.

Health and wellness is a major issue and the governments with short-term thinking have not yet tackled the issues of health reform that would benefits including greater access and more holistic approach to medicine use and awareness amongst seniors.

The impact of the global financial crisis on seniors across both Canada and Australia aged 50 and over is still being felt. Many of us have not yet recovered from the loss and it will take appropriate and timely action to provide assistance

Many seniors have to rely on public housing and assistance because they cannot afford the rents they once did.  In Australia, they are taking steps to help seniors who need this help, yet in Canada the issue is not being addressed.

The sandwich generation

In December, I received an email from Katelyn Roberts, Content Development Specialist
Assisted Living Today,  a Web publishing company that specializes in information about elderly living. The information on the website is  very good.

She thought a series of articles they publish on the subject of choosing the best care type for your loved one would be interesting and I agree.

Our generation has always had a unique way of making its way through the world. We now look after children who return home because the economic climate makes it impossible for them to make their way without help. We also have our parents living longer and we have to make decisions or help them make decisions about how and where they should live. In addition we have to start to pay attention to where we may end up.  The information on their site is useful for those making some tough decisions, the links and resources they provide are very good and I believe very useful in doing your research.  

I think that overall the information is generic enough to be of use, no matter where you live.

Assisted Living Today have created guides for each of five different care types, the aim of which is  to help people faced with deciding what type of care to choose for a loved one make the best possible decision.  They’re also designed to help those looking for care to determine which type of facility is best within a certain care type, and offer information like questions to ask, fees to look for, contractual issues you may run into, etc. The guides are below with links that will take you to the site.

• Assisted Living Care Guide

• Memory Care Guide

• Nursing Home Guide:

• Care Home Guide

• Independent Living Guide

Theyt also created this visual breakdown of the impact of growing elderly population and diminishing care home capacity: I would encourage you to take a look at this very interesting and valuable information.

GOOD ADVICE — but will we take it?

My thanks to Sheila Gair, Editor, of the Retired Teachers Magazine for the following post:

I was clearing a drawer the other day and found a yellowing newspaper clipping. I read it and realised why I had kept it, and felt it was worth sharing. It was from an Ann Landers column of decades ago and was from a reader in Buffalo, New York.

1. When my children tell me I should no longer drive, I will believe them and quit, because I know they love me.
2. When it becomes apparent that I need extra help, I will accept it from outsiders because my children cannot do everything. They have other obligations beyond my daily care.

3. It is up to me to make my life fulfilling. It is not my children’s responsibility. I must stay active and learn to entertain myself so I do not become a burden to them.

4. If my children tell me I am becoming confused and that it is no longer safe for me to be alone, I will believe them and not become defensive.

5. If I am unable to get along with my children, I will seek counselling so we can learn to manage the changes in my life together.

6. I will get my legal affairs in order and trust the advice of professionals so there will be no problems about money or property down the road.

7. I will not constantly complain about feeling poorly. My children cannot fix my health, and such complaints are emotionally draining for them to hear.

8. My children are not my indentured servants. I will remember to thank them for everything they do for me and I will do loving things in return.

9. I will avoid making my children feel guilty. Age is no excuse for insults and manipulative behaviour.

10. For as long as I can, I wifi take good care of myself physically, dress well and carry myself with dignity. Nothing saddens a child more than to witness parents who give up on how they present themselves.

Boomers aging well?

In one of the Blogs I read Boomers--A trip into the heart of the Boomers, the author Brent Green, talks about a speech he gave in Florida to a Boomer conference geared to business men and women who want to learn to market to us. I was struck by the following statements:

Individual men may feel powerless against external forces of unemployment, layoffs, downsizing and chronic diseases. But when a generation of men known to challenge authority confronts this evolving life-stage, transformative beliefs and actions can emerge. A generation of men that embraced feminism and racial inclusiveness can create new constructs for male aging, conceptions that are engaging, uplifting and liberating.


I agree with his assertion but I also suggest that this view should include the Boomer women; men accepted and embraced feminism, but the women were leaders because they lead the way for us men to follow. In these times of uncertainty that the writer above discuss, women as well as men feel powerless and women will live longer than us males, so they will need to construct new conceptions of aging, which we men will adapt to and embrace.

Brent Green, the author of the blog, goes on to say:  "Author Cogswell identifies Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 – 1900) as the “soul of existentialism,” a thinker who has influenced contemporary psychology, literature, spirituality, art and music. Nietzsche wrote that “society everywhere is a conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members.” And it seems true today that millions of Boomer men, vital and engaged as many now are, must nevertheless consider how traditional habits in western society could conspire to strip them of their opportunities to thrive beyond 60 and into bonus years promised so many....As the great writers about existentialism would urge, Boomer men must not become standardized old men.

Society has advanced and women are engaged in every aspect of society, so the ideas that Nietzsche and others argued, need to be expanded to include women. Nietzsche is right, society forces are conspiring against the boomers, and I agree but would argue that it will be both men and women boomers, that will not allow society to strip us of the opportunity to thrive beyond 60. (I suspect it will be the women who will lead this battle, not the men). We will find a way not be become seniors and to remain boomers!