The government spends a fortune on health care for impoverished older Americans, especially for people who are known as "dual eligibles," meaning they qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid. There are about 2.6 million dual eligibles with measurable physical limitations when it comes to dressing, bathing, walking, preparing meals and more.

According to a 2010 study for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, about 300 million Americans in 2006 ran up roughly $1 trillion in health care spending. People with functional limitations accounted for 14 percent of the population, and nearly $475 billion was spent on their health needs, which accounts for more than 45 percent of the nation's total health care bill. The average annual tab for their care was $11,284 per person in 2006.

In 2006, those 2.6 million dual eligibles ages 65 and older led to $37 billion in health care spending, or an average of nearly $14,200 each, according to the study, "Individuals Living in the Community with Chronic Conditions and Functional Limitations: A Closer Look," conducted by health care consulting firm The Lewin Group.

[See: 12 Surprising Facts About Boomer Retirement.]

With the numbers of seniors ages 65 and older growing by an average of 10,000 people a day during the next 15 years, the frighteningly large proportions of dual eligibles could have a detrimental impact on the government.

There are no silver bullets in addressing these challenges. But there is a blessedly common-sense research effort underway in Baltimore that could act as a blueprint for improving the quality of life for millions of older Americans, while saving money for taxpayers in the process.

Many, if not most, low-income older Americans live in substandard housing, and they receive little preventive medical care. Even if they have exactly the right set of medications to deal with their health challenges, the odds are high that they make mistakes in following their drug regimens, and have no one to consult with when there are complications. Doctors and nurses will tell you errors are the norm, not the exception, when it comes to older patients being treated for multiple chronic illnesses and conditions.

Ultimately, a large percentage of these people will wind up moving into a nursing home and effectively become a very costly and long-term guest at the government's expense, as their illnesses may progress and require expensive care.

What if, instead, that same government could come into a person's home and provide a range of preventive health care services? What if this home-based intervention also included home improvements that allowed frail seniors to be more safe and secure in their homes?

[See: A Step-by-Step Guide to Homebuying.]

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The Newest Health Care Worker May Be Your Handyman

With the slow economy, folks are looking to save money wherever they can. But they still want to improve their surroundings. Whether considering remodeling their bathroom or just giving it a quick facelift, that grimy, chipped or cracked tub could be holding them back.

A local business might have the answer youve been looking for without the hefty bill that comes with a full tub and surround replacement.

Honey-Do Handyman, a full-service construction company started by Matthew Nish and his brother-in-law, Brian Bell, has recently added bathtub reglazing to its long list of specialty services.

Reglazing a tub consists of three steps, four if the tub needs repairs. First they will strip off the stains and grime, then one of the Tub King certified crew will prime the surface to ensure adhesion and finally paint on the new, glossy coating.

If the tub is chipped or cracked, the technician can patch the tub before priming and resurfacing. All of the technicians have attended the Tub King companys training program in Jacksonville, Fla., and are certified to apply this reglazing system.

The new surface can be cleaned as you would clean any other tub and carries with it a one-year warranty.

The process typically takes between three and four hours to complete and should be allowed to cure for 24 hours before using the tub.

The color of the glaze can be matched to any Sherwin-Williams hue, making it possible to conform to the walls or trim in your bathroom and satisfy your inner-decorators design whims on a budget.

Most bathtub replacements can cost thousands when factoring in labor and the cost of new fixtures. With this process the customer can expect a price tag of between $399 and $550 for what Nish says completely looks like a new tub, and he assures it will last as long as a regular tub.

If you want to go ahead and resurface the tub surround too, it is an additional $150.

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Company offering bathroom facelift without hefty bill

Published: 1/31/2014 8:16 PM | Last update: 2/1/2014 12:05 AM

Interfaith Housing Services has received a two-year, $360,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to launch a mutual self-help new housing construction program in rural communities of less than 30,000 people.

"Basically it's designed to help qualified families build their own home at a lot lower cost because of their sweat equity," said Interfaith Housing Director Julia Westfahl.

Westfahl said the program is being launched in Lyons, where the city has donated building sites and waived permit fees, and Interfaith President and CEO John Scott said they want to launch a similar project somewhere in Reno County soon.

Westfahl said they want to build three to five houses on adjacent lots at the same time, so the future occupants can help each other build their houses by contributing 25 to 30 hours a week of labor, less if more than one family member is working.

No family takes possession of its home until all the families' homes are completed, Westfahl said.

Scott said that the family's sweat equity will reduce construction costs. When the house is completed, it may appraise at $140,000, but the family may need only a $90,000 mortgage to pay off the construction loan, leaving them with $50,000 in equity in their new home.

Scott said the family's labor on their house will work out to be worth about $30 an hour in savings on the construction cost and ultimately the reduction in their mortgage.

"That's a pretty good part-time job," he said.

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Sweat equity is rewarded with building program

Miami park --> Feb. 01 --Say goodbye to the old, but not exactly revered, Coconut Grove Exhibition Center. The now-obsolete hall where Doors frontman Jim Morrison once (allegedly) publicly wagged what should remain private is coming down. Fast. Now say hello to our new little friend: Regatta Park , 12 acres of long-promised bayfront green space in the place where the last remaining sections of the exhibition center are now being reduced to rubble by demolition crews. It could be a significant addition to Miami's undernourished parks system -- if the cash-strapped city can figure out exactly what to put there, and then how to pay for it. Here's the dilemma: The new park, part of the so-called Sasaki Plan that was developed in 2008 to revamp the Grove's cluttered waterfront, would cost around $26 million to build as conceived, with a new pier, a grassy amphitheater, a new baywalk and a thick planting of trees. The amount the city has for the job? A mere $2 million . City officials say that's just about enough to install a watering system and some electrical connections, then cover the whole thing with nice sod, and maybe a few trees and furnishings. At least for now, that's what the new park will have to be, said Miami Commissioner Marc Sarnoff , a principal backer of the Sasaki Plan whose district includes the Grove. "My vision for it is the world's greatest field,'' Sarnoff said, somewhat tongue-in-cheek. "It will be open space with the best grass we can grow.'' The city still hopes eventually to build a full-fledged park. City planners are holding a series of public meetings to solicit ideas for park features and uses, though they say they can't say when or if anything beyond the stripped-down park would be built. "Right now, we don't have any answers,'' deputy planning director Cesar Garcia-Pons told a packed house at Miami City Hall last week during the first of three planned meetings. It's not the first time the city has had to scale back its ambitions for a new park because of fiscal constraints. Last year, an elaborate plan for a new Museum Park to accompany the new art and science museums downtown was scrapped for the time being. Instead, the park area at the foot of the newly opened Perez Art Museum of Miami , like Regatta Park , will consist of grass, trees and pathways. The ill-defined Regatta Park idea has upset some skeptical Grove residents, including some who say the city was too quick to demolish the exhibition center, until recently used to film interiors for the cable TV series Burn Notice, and which might have attracted other film work. The park launch also comes on the heels of a controversial citywide referendum in which voters easily approved a proposal -- furiously opposed by many Grovites -- to replace the adjacent Scotty's Landing, a popular rustic watering hole, and the landmark Chart House restaurant with glitzy new dining spots. Many remain angry at Sarnoff, who backed the plan, and suspicious of his motives. On an easel on which city planners asked attendees to write down suggestions, one demanded a "guarantee'' to rebut rumors that the land would be developed or fenced off for the private use of residents of new luxury condos going up across South Bayshore Drive -- something city officials say they have never contemplated. At least some attendees were willing to give the city credit for laying out the financial circumstances and seeking public input for the park. "I have to support that,'' said Grove activist Hadley Williams . "From that aspect, it's very positive.'' The keep-it-simple park idea actually sits right with some Grove residents concerned about commercialization of the historic village's waterfront and the current lack of easy access to the water for pedestrians and boaters. Several said the new park offers the city a chance to open up access to the shoreline, and called for an inviting, pedestrian-friendly space animated with a new dock and kayak and paddleboard rentals. "If you do that, you would see an explosion of rowers, kayakers and paddleboarders,'' said Andy Parrish , a longtime activist and small developer in the Grove. At very least, Sarnoff said, the new park would fulfill a key mandate of the Sasaki Plan, named after the renown landscape architecture firm that designed it after extensive public consultation: to open up bay vistas long blocked by the bulky exhibition center, and provide a green link between City Hall and Peacock and Myers parks directly to the south. It would provide another amenity that inspired the park's name -- to serve as staging area for the big sailing regattas held along the Grove waterfront, home to several sailing clubs and an Olympic training site, the U.S. Sailing Center. Unbeknownst to many Miamians, it's the main hot spot in the nation for winter sailing competitions, with some of the biggest regattas in the world taking place just offshore. The overflow of boat trailers drawn to the regattas now takes up a portion of the exhibition center parking lot, most of which will temporarily remain, as well as a swale bordering the popular running and cycling trail that runs along the east side of Bayshore Drive . But that swale space will disappear with upcoming plans to renovate and widen the trail, Sarnoff said. Another element of the Sasaki Plan calls for consolidating the U.S. Sailing Center and the Coconut Grove Sailing Club , now located to the south, in a modern facility at Regatta Park , though city officials say that's unlikely to happen anytime soon. But sailing advocates asked the city that, whatever they do at that spot, they remember to leave enough wide-open grassy space to accommodate them. "We are known as the best regatta launching place in the world,'' said Mark Kamilar , from the U.S. Sailing Center. "But it takes a tremendous amount of space.'' ___ (c)2014 The Miami Herald Visit The Miami Herald at http://www.miamiherald.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

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Out with old, in with new Miami park

Recorrida Gazebos (Mar de las Pampas, Pinamar, Villa Gesell y Caril) - Verano 2014
PedFactura #Arba #Verano2014 #VillaGesell #Pinamar #Caril #MardelasPampas.

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Feng Shui im Alltagstest - Teil 3/3

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Feng Shui Living In Harmony

By: Gandharva

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