A recent Yale study revealed that fully 75 percent of patients 65 or older don’t understand their medication routine after leaving the hospital — or they get an incorrect prescription at discharge. No wonder one of every three seniors ends up back in the hospital!  In fact, many older patients overdose on meds their first day or two at home. Here’s what happens: patients get a dose of medicine at the hospital before discharge, then they take it again at home “at their usual time.” Sounds crazy, but the hospital’s medication record often gets buried in the sheaf of discharge papers, [...]

I recently read a book that had a profound effect on me as a father. I thought that “Tell My Sons…” by Mark Weber would be an ideal volume to share with you to mark this Father’s Day. I also want to take this opportunity to honor a man I’ve come to respect greatly. I met Lieutenant Colonel Mark Weber a few months ago, around the time I first started working at CaringBridge. Mark has had a CaringBridge Site, so I knew something about his situation and his book through his Site’s Journal entries, his book website, social media channels [...]

In her new book “Hope Conquers All” (Center Street/Hachette Book Group, August 2013), Sona Mehring reveals that the illness and death of her friends’ infant in 1997 was the catalyst for the very first CaringBridge Site. Today, her nonprofit organization enables millions of people each year to share information during health events, streamlining communication between countless family members and friends. “When that precious little girl lost her battle for life, I knew I couldn’t let the concept die along with Brighid,” writes Mehring. “To my surprise, dozens of people thanked me directly for keeping them informed and giving them the [...]

When you can’t place a name or you forget why you walked into a room, have you ever wondered “Is it Alzheimer’s?” In fact, memory loss can be caused by many different factors, from normal aging to stress, drug side effects, excessive drinking and brain injury. So should you worry? Every situation is different, but a good rule of thumb is to worry about behaviors that represent a change from your point of view. In general, experts tend to agree that the following three situations can be suggestive of the cognitive changes of Alzheimer’s or another type of dementia: 1. [...]

Every month, CaringBridge likes to recognize a caregiver or family of the month that exemplifies our mission to amplify love, hope and compassion in the world. After Ava’s diagnosis with cancer in 2012 and an unexpected and extended stay in the hospital, Jeff and Janell, Ava’s parents, used CaringBridge. Primarily using their site on-the-go, they were able to create instant updates anytime, anywhere notifying their community of any changes with Ava. “The first three months, while we were displaced in Minneapolis, CaringBridge was our voice to the outside world…we saw only the inside of the hospital, and for me, the highway [...]