Diary - October 1, 1943

DIARY - Friday, October 1, 1943.
Our 2nd Bomb Group went on their first mission over Germany today. The target was the Messerschmitt plant at Augsburg. This would be a maximum range mission for the B-17’s - even with the “Tokyo” wing tanks installed. Refueling on the return trip would be available in Sardinia.
The Group had to return, before they got to the target, because of bad weather. The three B-24 Groups stationed here also flew a mission. Their target was an aircraft factory at Wiener-Neustadt, near Vienna. They had a very rough mission - losing 14 aircraft, and having 52 planes damaged by flak and fighters. The remainder of the B-24’s returned to England, after the raid.
Redbird, and I, stayed at the Transatlantic Hotel in Tunis last night. We saw the movie “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”. Tonight, we saw the movie “Nice Girl”, and had some ice cream afterwards. We had supper back at the field. Then, we went back into town. We went up to Burt’s room at the Claridge and shot the bull. (we all are waiting for our orders returning us to the States.) We stayed in town tonight.

DIARY

DIARY - Monday, September 27, 1943.
Soupy ground this morning - after last night's rain. I turned- in my equipment to Supply, and then sorted through my “junk”.

Tuesday, September 28, 1943.
I went in to Tunis this afternoon.

Wednesday, September 29, 1943.
I went in to Tunis this afternoon (about 18 miles). I saw a stage show. Then, tonight Les, Redbird and I saw Johannesen at the Red Cross. Also, saw “Ziegfield Girl."

September 26, 1943.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1943.
Doc Hall, our Flight Surgeon, gave me a physical this morning. Then,
I went to 12 o’clock mass over at Group. The Catholic Chaplain that presided, came down with the 378th Group of B-24’s from England. He’s from Cincinnati. Afterwards, I went in to La Goulette ,with Jack, Redbird and Hank.
We went swimming in the Mediterranean, and then had a feast of : American hot dogs, pickles, doughnuts and beer. The orchestra played some jive to lighten things up.
Then we came back to Base, and went to the show at Group. We saw Abbott and Costello in “Who Done It?”. During the show, we got rained out - the first “dew” in a long time over here.

AGING SUMMIT - 2 - (Conclusion).

SUMMIT-2.
WHEN ROLES REVERSE.
PANEL:
Peggy Phelps - Yolo Adult Day Health Center.
Will Tift - Area 4 Agency on Aging.
Ted Puntillo - Yolo County Veterans’ Service Officer.
Paul Driver Shimada - Yolo County Commission on Aging.
Veterans’ Administration -
They have the second largest federal budget, second to the Defense Department. Their services include Medical; Compensation and Burial. Local veterans have free burial in the Dixon Military Cemetery.
The Department has 100,000 employees.
The veterans cost for prescription drugs is limited to $8 a month for each prescription. For service-connected hearing and sight loss, the veteran can receive free hearing aids and glasses.
The V.A. will help to pay for assisted living - dependent on income.
BARRIERS TO SERVICE:
1.Indepndent living in your own area. You will need monitoring supervision. Some elderly say that they don’t want help. They should have this conversation with their children.
2. An incident happens, and a diagnosis of dementia is similar to that of cancer. (This is the denial stage). There is need of acceptance - both by the individual as well as the family.
3. Hands-on care giving. This is very important! You need other resources - especially, if you are home alone. Many needy elderly will say, “I don’t need that” (as Mother told me when I suggested a hearing aid - a life-line emergency system - and some one to stay with her for a few hours, so that I can get out and do things that I like to do.) Don’t ever tell your loved one that “I’ll never put you in a rest home!” Because the best choice may be not to care for them at home. Too, people (especially women) don’t like people coming into their home.
Elder Care - This is assistance with one’s “Activities of Daily Living” (ADL). The local Area Agency on Aging tries to keep people in their home, through their In Home Supportive Services (IHSS) unit. However, when you are seeking a caregiver, you are largely on your own.
It is estimated that the cost to employers for employee care giving is 17 billion dollars a year! A source for working caregivers is - working caregivers.com. Employers should treat Elder -Care benefits just like they have treated Child -Care benefits.
Barriers to V.A. Benefits. (Every County has a Veterans’ Service Officer.)
The veteran benefits aren’t known.
There are 15,000 working caregivers in Yolo County - one in four! In 20 years, this ratio will be 1 in 2!
“It takes a village to take care of everyone!” - Peggy Phelps.
You can register “wandering” people with dementia.
We need a private “Registry” for “Referrals” and “screening”.

AGING SUMMIT -1 (Cont.)

Summit 1C.
AGING AND HEALTH.
PANEL:
Dr. Beth Ober - Chair, UC Davis Human & Community Development.
Dr. Jon Caldwell - Adult Psychiatrist, Yolo County Alcohol, drug and Mental Health Services.
Dr. Jeff Yee - Medical Director, Woodland health Care.
Dee Dee Gilliam - Yolo County Public health Nursing.
De. Louise Betner - Psychologist, Faculty, John F. Kennedy University; Moderator.
Dr. Ober:- Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia - a cognition problem. About 85 % of the aging population show a normal cognitive function. Memory shows some decline in normal aging.
Most people have a memory of recent events and episodes (short-term memory). This is a mental time travel of personal events. Long-term memory is composed of semantics, world knowledge and facts’
The hippocampus in the brain, is involved with Alzheimer’s disease.
Dr. Yee:- Levels of Care
1. What happens in the doctor’s office - medications; instructions; follow-up?
2. What is the care outside of the doctor’s office? This is more important in defining the health of older patients.
Nurse Gilliam:- The primary service of public nursing is Prevention through intervention, such as education, diabetes, blood pressure and dietician.
Dr. Caldwell:- MediCal is a mandated health care provider. The patient needs a collaborative effort between care services. If you improve mental health, you improve physical health.
THE PANEL:
Mental Health Main Issues:
Evaluating the cognitive function status - get tested.
How do the patients present their care? (their lists to doctor)
Does the family member think that it is a problem? And why bring it up with the doctor? (memory screening).
(My note: If dr. Reynoso is Pete’s Gatekeeper, what other medical service will he refer her to? We would certainly use this service.)
There is a big fear among seniors of Alzheimer’s disease(just like cancer). People don’t recognize that they have a problem. It is a family member who detects something wrong. Memory loss has a high profile, with a high fear factor.
There is a disparity between the level of testing and ability to live in the community. Cognitive testing may not correlate with actual conditions.
Environmental support - Post-it reminders.
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) - if caught early enough, you can minimize the effects, or push out their deterioration.
Highly trained nurses (Home Health Nursing) could evaluate mental health in the home. Early intervention makes it easier to mitigate problems - “user friendly”.
Medication problems are one of the biggest correctible situations.
Types of Dementia:
1. Alzheimer’s
2. Multi-infarct (stroke)
3. A combination of 1 and 2.
Talk to your doctor about “functional improvement”
The use of “In Home Supportive Services” is very important and much needed. (see your local Area Agency on Aging.)

AGING SUMMIT

YOLO COUNTY AGING SUMMIT
Woodland Community & Senior Center
September 20, 2007.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER:
Dr. Michael McCloud - UC Davis. “ The Silver Tsunami”.
Dr. McCloud was very interesting and provocative. A summary of his talk follows:
The care of older adults is similar to the care of children.
In 1946, the birth rate increased by 20%! Between 1946 and 1965, the increase in the birth rate was 12%! There were 78.2 million babies born during those 18 years! We call them the “Baby Boomers.” 56,000 of them celebrate their 60th birthday every week. “Life Expectancy” has increased 8 years since 1960! The “Life Expectancy” during Ancient Rome was 23 years! Babies born in 2007, can look forward to living about 80 years!
We describe this group by - : “dream big; can be anything you want to be; cynicism; after Viet Nam - a distrust of the establishment; give me choices - I want options.” The boomers bought sports utility vehicles, which have never been off the road - the “Boomers” need them to drive to fitness classes! The Supreme Court nominees, for the next 20 years, will be Boomers! Labeling them as the “ME” society is a myth, for they are generous “givers”
When Dr. McCloud was born (circa 1950), there were 2,000 centenarians. Today - there are 60,000! The fastest growing segment of the population is 85 and older.
30 % of the Boomers are living pay -check to pay -check, with none having a net worth over $1,000. The medication contribution of the U.S. government will increase by 40% over the next 75 years! The dependency ratio - old and young vs. workers will change dramatically over the years.
Boomers will work beyond the normal retirement age. One in 50 will have Alzheimer’s disease. During the heat wave in Yolo County last July, 250 Seniors died! We must do a better job of planning.
Goals of Boomers:
1. Keep them working. The Seniors will not retire, but stay employed.
The Seniors will need the money, and society will need their knowledge and skills.
2. Keep them healthy.

Less than 2% of physicians have Geriatric credentials. Of the 125 medical schools in the U.S., only 6 have Geriatric departments!
- coumadin, lithium, digitalis and insulin.
There needs to be some incentives to produce more - give loan forgiveness to medical students in Geriatrics.
We need more health care workers - pharmacists, nurses, physical therapists, health aides etc. We need Geriatric Assessment clinics, that will provide better care than general practitioners.
“Prescription Cascade” - trial and error excessive use of medications.
There are four drugs that land the most people in Emergency Departments:
The brain produces images when vision is impaired by cataracts.
A cause of disabilities is over-mediation. Doctors and pharmacists need more “training in a list of portentously inappropriate medication for adults.” We need mandatory reporting of these preventable occurrences. There is more emergency care for such inappropriate drug use than there is for motor vehicle accidents!
We need to see more healthy-older adults aging in place.
Train people to be their own “geriatrician” - to age gracefully in place. What to ask your doctor? These topics are covered by Dr. McCloud in his Mini Medical School course at UC Davis. What a unique opportunity for seniors to learn more about their health and aging - and best of all - no Registration fee!
Dr, McCloud went on to say - “We need Adult -Day Health Centers - social workers and job consultants etc. on site.

CLOTHESLINE

Clothes Line.
I read an interesting, and provocative, human-interest story in today’s (9/18/07) Wall Street Journal.
A lady in Bend, Oregon, put up an outside clothesline. While this sounds pretty innocuous to me, I don’t live in a neighborhood such as hers. There was a big brouhaha with her neighbors! They claimed that she violated the Neighborhood -homeowner associations’ rules. While the violator was cognizant of the covenants, she thought that her reasoning trumped those regulations. She rationalized that “clotheslines are one way to fight climate change, using the sun and wind instead of electricity” in response to Global warming. This sure makes sense to me - but apparently, not to the developer’s lawyer.
The article went on to quote statistics, and other related data, such as:
Clothes dryers account for 6% of total electricity used by U.S. families (at an average cost of $80 a year); third behind refrigerators and lighting!
I grew up in Michigan, and Ohio, with these contraptions! Clotheslines are sturdy-“tee” posts, imbedded in concrete, located in backyards, with rope or wire lines strung between them. (occasionally, we would get “necktied”, when we forgot to duck, when running below the lines!)
The clothes, dried outside in the sun, had a nice smell, and felt softer when I folded them. On rainy days, or in the winter, the clothes were hung on rope lines, fastened beneath floor joists, in the basement. Residents from these “gated communities” must shudder when they travel out of the country. Such clothes drying is standard practice. I remember our Tour Guide in Italy referring to all the wash hanging outside as “Italian flags.”