Amy Abbott Writes

HEALTH April 2016 Senior Wire News Service A Healthy Age By Amy Abbott  What are some of the ways the healthcare system is addressing these shortages and how can you get the care you need? It’s a mishmash, but here are four approaches: telemedicine, retail clinics and urgent care centers, mid-level providers, and delayed retirement. Whether […]

HEALTH March 2016 A Healthy Age By day, I’m a hospital administrator. In theory, I should understand the process. My weekend visit reminded me of things I can do to get the most out of the ER. By definition, a visit to the local emergency room is an emergency. I recently spent two days incarcerated […]

HEALTH March 2016 A Healthy Age  Perhaps this upcoming day, traditionally a capstone event as part of Older Americans Month, will motivate you to improve your health and fitness. * * * Vermont is the healthiest state for older adults with a 10% decrease in chronic drinking over the prior study. Other top states include […]

HEALTH March 2016 A Healthy Age Eden proponents believe personal growth can happen at any age. Homes which feature the Eden Alternative philosophy host pets, often dogs, cats, and sometimes even an aviary with colorful birds and plants. Residents can bond with the animals, feed and care for them. Dr. Bill Thomas is one of […]

HEALTH February 2016 A Healthy Age  As if seniors don’t have enough to worry out, the literature on drinking alcohol could confuse the soberest judge. James Bond, Agent 007, likes his martini “shaken, not stirred.” But if his countrymen at the United Kingdom’s Department of Health have their way, 007 will be drinking a kale […]

HEALTH February 2016 A Healthy Age While skin cancer is the greatest fear, winter sunburn can hurt and harm as much as the overindulgent first summer day at the beach. The face, ears, hands and arms are sneaky targets for Ole Sol we may not consider. With holidays a memory and summer far away, wearing […]

EALTH February 2016 A Healthy Age No one can remember all pills, potions, and products. If you do not believe me, do as I did. Drop all your pills on the floor from the pill minder, as I did with my mother’s. In 1963, I experienced several childhood diseases. Kindly old Doc Huffman made house […]

Since my son was diagnosed with autism in 1992, I’ve been involved with those who serve individuals with intellectual disabilities. I often read books by parents of children on the spectrum, the occasional clinical study, and many media articles on the subject. What sometimes bugs me about articles I read about autism is they sometimes […]

I write for multiple organizations in the health field, as a journalist and as a ghostwriter.  Below are links to some of my recent by-lined work for multiple clients. Surviving a Health Crisis as an Advocate Moving from Oral Meds to Insulin MS: Real Relapses vs. Pseudo Relapses Are My Kids Not Sleeping Because of […]

October 30, 2013 was my last day as Board Chair for the Easter Seals of Southwestern Indiana.  These are the notes of my remarks from the Annual Meeting. As we celebrate another successful year of serving our community, I draw your attention to a quote by anthropologist Margaret Mead.  She said: “Never doubt that a […]

In the fall of 1948, my mother was a senior in high school.  She competed in Original Oratory on the school’s National Forensics team. Her topic was Why We Need National Healthcare. Mom was seventeen. She died in a nursing home in 2012. Fortunately for her, she and my father lived in an independent apartment […]

The traffic around Capitol Hill has ebbed with Congress on a five-week summer recess. But, before leaving town,  the House slammed the Affordable Care Act yet again with the fortieth vote for repeal. In a ironic twist of history, 48 years ago President Johnson went to Independence, MO, the home of former president Harry Truman […]

Unless you’ve had a hot flash — that dizzying, toxic, sitting in a sweat-lodge feeling from the neck up — you may not understand why the recent news from Yale University about the estrogen studies of 2002 makes postmenopausal women take notice. Yale researchers believe that upwards of 50,000 women may have died unnecessarily after […]

March 13, 2013 — Three times this week, I’ve had a conversation with someone trying to help a family member navigate a health crisis … In my personal and professional life, I am tied to our healthcare system.  In my small business, I provide consulting and editorial  services to health care organizations. During the first […]

January 20, 2009 — Tonight I spoke to more than 100 women from our local Junior League. I am a parent volunteer at an Easter Seals center, and the staff asked me to share our family’s journey. This is an sensitive issue for me, so I had to write out my notes. As the parent […]

Today we celebrated our son’s birthday. He’s a fine young man and we are really proud of him. In less than a month, he will graduate from college. We are optimistic that the path he chooses will be a good one, and that he will make a positive difference in our world. Today, I’m not […]

It’s never too late for a warm weather skin regimen. Theresa Baggett, owner, Fusion Spa & Boutique, and Shelley Patterson, cosmetologist share some tips for enhancing and maintaining beautiful skin during extreme heat. The first guiding principle “applies” to everyone. “Use a sunscreen all year, but be particularly diligent during the summer and opt for […]

Obtaining Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) can be a time-consuming and stressful experience. Two out of every three applicants initially are denied. Diagnosed with ocular pharyngeal muscular dystrophy, Kelly Boyd Smith feared the future. She could no longer compete as an accomplished triathlete. A May 2008 attack of pneumonia found her dangerously ill on a […]

Obtaining Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) can be a time-consuming and stressful experience. Two out of every three applicants initially are denied. Positive thinking and daily exercise help Richard Velasquez to cope with Parkinson’s disease. After being denied SSDI twice, he found Coverage on the Internet. Read how Coverage did everything over the phone for […]

Working Mom Finds Relief from Financial Stress Obtaining Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) can be a time-consuming and stressful experience. Two out of every three applicants initially are denied. Charmyne Howell was a working mom with two boys before a medical expert diagnosed her with spondylolisthesis, a condition she was born with that had caused […]