Elderly People

Residents of the Northway implored a City Council committee last night to block a bill that would allow a Virginia developer to convert the grand North Baltimore apartment building into a residence exclusively for elderly people.The land-use committee hearing on the fate of the Northway, which was built in 1932 in the 3700 block of Charles St., lasted about three hours in a crowded council chamber.Morningside Development recently bought the property and proposes to convert the 11-story building into nearly 150 units -- most equipped for assisted living -- for the elderly.

Earl Scriven was writing a letter in his Baltimore Highlands home when he heard a knock at the door.It was a woman, asking to borrow a pen and paper.As he handed the woman a pen, she started pushing her way into his home. A cool-headed 88-year-old, Scriven pushed back as three other women appeared behind the first woman. He stomped on the first woman's foot and slammed the door.Scriven is one of the lucky ones, said Baltimore County police, who are seeking help from the public to identify suspects responsible for deceiving elderly people to burglarize their homes.

TIRANA, Albania -- One month after the start of the Kosovo refugee crisis, officials of relief organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross are beginning to focus on the special needs of the elderly refugees, especially the hundreds of the most vulnerable among them -- those who lost contact with their families in the rush to get out of Kosovo.For many such people, according to Red Cross spokeswoman Dalani Carlisle, family reunification is a matter of life or death."What we are finding as we go deeper and deeper in the community is that this one group is particularly vulnerable," Carlisle said.

Joe Hatcher and Al Hopkins are playing at a picnic table in Sandy Point State Park surrounded by an admiring crowd of onlookers."Oh no, wait," Hopkins says, blocking Hatcher. "You've got to separate these." He fiddles with the clump of jacks, but that doesn't stop Hatcher from tossing the ball and plucking 10 jacks triumphantly from the tabletop.Margaret Koenig of Cape St. Claire needles Hatcher: "No wonder we can't find the police. They're out playing jacks."Or helping with the senior citizens quilt raffle.

Two elderly women in the Wilkens area were bilked of more than $25,000 last month, and Baltimore County police are seeking a woman and two men in the thefts, officers said yesterday.Police said an arrest warrant had been issued for Angela S. Richardson, 27, of the 4700 block of Wrenwood Ave.Richardson was arrested March 10 and charged with grand theft in two cases and attempted theft in a third after three elderly people were tricked out of several thousand dollars this year. Police said she was released on bail in mid-April, police said.

WASHINGTON -- House Republicans offered a $16 billion plan to provide health care for uninsured children yesterday, but they said they could not completely fulfill their promise to set aside $1.5 billion to help low-income elderly people pay health insurance premiums.The Republicans said they had been unable to find all the money needed to keep that promise, which is part of the bipartisan budget agreement reached last month by President Clinton and congressional leaders.The agreement said that Congress would provide $1.5 billion in the next five years "to ease the impact of increasing Medicare premiums on low-income beneficiaries."

In separate actions yesterday, the Baltimore County Planning Board put new restrictions on the location of group assisted-living homes for the elderly and on the width of townhouses, but postponed a vote on changes to laws governing home-based occupations.If enacted by the County Council, the board's recommendation on homes for the elderly would restrict the location of homes with more than 10 people in residential neighborhoods -- reversing the direction of a law enacted in 1994, when there were no such homes in the county.

THE NEXT DECADE poses a huge challenge for advocates for the elderly. Howard County, which has the state's fastest-growing elderly population, "is scrambling to keep up with the need" for services to senior citizens, says the chairman of the local Commission on Aging. The county's population of residents 60 and older is expected to rise from about 20,500 now to 35,000 in 10 years.An aging population in an aging community will need bold initiatives from government, the private sector and nonprofit groups to provide social services in the years ahead.

A partly completed housing complex for the elderly in Severna Park that is not expected to open until spring has drawn several dozen inquiries about room openings.Construction crews have erected turret-style roofs and exterior walls of the three-story, 137-suite Sunrise at Severna Park, adjacent to the Severna Park library on West McKinsey Road.Fifteen apartments in the 60-unit independent-living center have been reserved, and 47 people are on a priority list to rent the others, said Leslie L. Leppado, executive director of the complex, which is being built by Sunrise Assisted Living Inc. of Fairfax, Va.Two suites in the 77-unit assisted-living center have been reserved, and eight people are on a list for other units, she said.

Partners in Care offers help to elderly, disabledPartners in Care Inc., a service exchange program, provides occasional volunteer assistance such as transportation to medical appointments or grocery shopping for elderly people and disabled adults.The volunteers get credit for their hours and may exchange them for services they need or donate them to others.Partners in Care operates a satellite office at Brooklyn Park Health Center in the 300 block of Hammonds Lane.Information: 553-8054.Pub Date: 7/29/96

Scams targeting the elderly have become so pervasive that officials in Baltimore County are boosting efforts to prevent them. But with older people living longer, the swindles are multiplying faster than anyone can track. "We're struggling to keep up," county Police Chief James W. Johnson said during a meeting of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council yesterday in Towson. He estimated that he soon will need eight to 10 more officers just to deal with the problem. "We're seeing a significant increase in fraud cases involving elderly victims," Johnson said, citing statistics that show there were 184 reported fraud crimes against elderly people in the county in the first nine months of last year, compared with 149 during the same period in 2007.

WASHINGTON - Millions of elderly or disabled Americans who may be entitled to financial help through Medicare's new prescription drug benefit will receive applications for that assistance this month, Health and Human Services Secretary Michael O. Leavitt said yesterday. About 14 million people - a third of Medicare's 43 million beneficiaries - are expected to be eligible for aid to reduce the program's premiums, deductibles and co-payments, which can amount to hundreds of dollars a year.

A Boston University researcher thinks he has found a way to reduce the falls that injure and kill thousands of elderly people each year. Vibrating insoles. James J. Collins, a professor of biomedical engineering, found that coin-sized vibrators installed in the shoes of elderly test subjects improved their sense of balance - a key to keeping them on their feet. Collins reported in a study published this fall that people in their 70s sway more than people in their 20s, but the elderly regained their balance when imperceptible random vibrations were sent shooting through the soles of their feet.

If there's an elderly person in your life, you must take extra precautions to ensure his or her well-being during hot weather. Older people are more likely to become overheated and dehydrated, says Lila Sherlock, a geriatric clinical specialist at Greenwich Hospital in Connecticut. There are several reasons for this. "The older a person is, the less body water they have, a lower muscle-to-fat ratio," Sherlock says. "If there is less body water to start with, they can dehydrate easier."

Wendy and David Tracey are concerned. Their son Jacob, who has severe cerebral palsy, is 22 years old. They want him to live at home as they all get older, but preparing the house to better accommodate their needs has been difficult and frustrating. Luckily, the Traceys own a rancher. Single-floor living will help as Jacob and his parents age. Even so, seemingly normal design details become flaws, and they are magnified every day. A single step down from the back door to the patio is a challenge for Jacob's wheelchair - and the person assisting him. Jacob also needs help bathing, and his parents must lift him in and out of the tub - something they won't always be able to do. Plenty of other things would help, too: automatic door openers, low-inclined ramps and wider doorways.

HACKENSACK, N.J. - Concerned that most Americans are unaware of the high rate of suicide among senior citizens, researchers have issued an alert to the elderly, their families, caregivers and physicians. Leading scientists have taken a closer look at the reasons people 65 and older commit suicide at a higher rate than any other age group. Although older Americans make up about 13 percent of the population, they account for nearly 20 percent of all suicides. The new research confirms what scientists have long identified as contributing factors to elderly suicide: depression, mental impairments, better access to firearms, and social isolation.

Abuse and neglect are the dark secrets of the elderly. In nursing homes, assisted living facilities and private homes, senior citizens are beaten, robbed and left without proper food or medication, say advocates for the elderly. As a result, the Baltimore County Department of Aging has begun a yearlong campaign to urge more people to report crimes against the elderly and to teach how such acts can be prevented. The campaign - "Elder Abuse Is A Crying Shame" - began this month. The department has publicized it with billboards in Essex and Catonsville and in a brochure with a cover showing a shattered pair of eyeglasses.

PHILADELPHIA - My mother is a "geezer geek." Computer geek, that is. She uses her computer to e-mail her friends in Florida and to research travel destinations, beauty products and restaurant menus. My mother (I'm sworn to Survivor-type secrecy about her precise age) is not alone, but there should be many more older people using computers. For many elderly people, computers can be a vital link to the outside world. Seniors are the fastest-growing group of Internet users in America, according to International Data Corp.

Dear Mr. Azrael, What are the steps in adding a name to a deed on a home? I know an elderly lady, recently disabled, who wants to add one to her deed. Robert Scherer Baltimore Dear Mr. Scherer, When elderly people add another person's name to a property deed, it's usually because they want that person to own the property when the older person dies. There are several ways to add another person's name to a deed. Each method has different legal consequences, so it's important to do it correctly.

Residents of the Northway implored a City Council committee last night to block a bill that would allow a Virginia developer to convert the grand North Baltimore apartment building into a residence exclusively for elderly people.The land-use committee hearing on the fate of the Northway, which was built in 1932 in the 3700 block of Charles St., lasted about three hours in a crowded council chamber.Morningside Development recently bought the property and proposes to convert the 11-story building into nearly 150 units -- most equipped for assisted living -- for the elderly.