Women’s Independent Press

Business Program Series

July 2011

Programs are held on Thursdays at 12:15 pm at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh – Downtown & Business, 612 Smithfield Street, Downtown. They are free and open to the public.

Thursday, July 7 Other People’s Money: How Vanguard’s John Bogle Wants to Fix the Mutual Fund Industry and Wall Street
Lewis Braham, Author – The House That Bogle Built

The public’s opinion of Wall Street has almost never been lower than it is today. What went wrong and how can it be fixed? John Bogle, the founder of Vanguard Funds, sees the problem as a shift from an ownership society in which shareholders came first, to an agency society in which Wall Street is out for its own financial gain. Join us as Lewis Braham, author of The House that Bogle Built, discusses Bogle’s vision for a better investment world and how Vanguard Funds is different from its competitors.

Thursday, July 14 Organizing for Success
Dennis Snedden, Time Management Services

If you feel overwhelmed and underorganized and want to get more done, have a greater sense of satisfaction from what you’ve accomplished or go home on time more often, this program is for you! When you follow Mr. Snedden’s practical suggestions, you’ll discover how quickly they can increase productivity in both your professional and personal life.

Thursday, July 21 What is Emotional Intelligence and Why Does it Matter?
Nancy Stampahar
Silver Lining Solutions

Whether at work or home, your ability to at least adapt or thrive in any given situation will be determined by your intrapersonal and interpersonal skills. Ms. Stampahar will explain why having a highly developed Emotional Intelligence (EQ), also known as people or street smarts, can contribute to your success, happiness and fulfillment.

Thursday, July 28 King Corn: You Are What You Eat
(DVD – 90 minutes)

When two friends from Boston realize that corn or corn syrup is used in most of the products they eat, especially junk food that can shorten their life span, they are determined to find out more about “King” corn. They set out for Iowa and persuade a local farmer to lease them one acre of his land for a year, where they plant corn and follow it through the year to harvesting. In the process, they learn about farm subsidies, genetically engineered seeds, and why most of Iowa’s corn will eventually be used to produce cattle feed, ethanol, and high-fructose corn syrup.

Here are a few tips to make life easier and simpler for the one(s) who cleanup and for those of you looking to declutter……

1) Put a shoe bench near the entryway where family members can take off and stash shoes conveniently. This will keep your floors
cleaner too.

2) Sort through your mail on the way back from the mailbox. You naturally look at it then anyway many times, don’t you? Immediately discard advertisements that don’t interest you into the trash can or your personal shredder. Don’t set them down for later.

3) When family members read the newspaper, have them lay it directly in a newspaper recycle basket. If other family members are interested in reading it, they can retrieve it and also return it to here. Make it a routine to drop the newspapers into a recycle bin either once a week on the way to work or school or when the newspapers fill the bin.

4) Get rid of excess and duplicates in your kitchen such as seven mixing bowls, five spatulas and ten frying pans. You don’t have to keep just one but you don’t need that many of each. Clean up will be easier too when family members realize they must wash the existing cooking utensil versus using every last one until none are clean and then washing them.

5) Monitor your impulse spending. A lot of items will catch your eye in the stores. But do you really need them all? Learn to live simple. If you don’t know what’s in your home without doing some digging, you might just have too much stuff.

If you need a hand sorting through your “stuff”, give me a call. I can help you declutter and organize the things that are most important!

Happy Spring!

Carole Brecht
412.418.4978
cebrecht@hotmail.com
www.organizeyourlifenow.net
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Organize-Your-Life-Now/167825409901347

By Marianne Schnall
www.womensmediacenter.com

Members of the Nobel Women’s Initiative are marshaling their collective
wisdom and experience to tackle the challenge of ending rape as a weapon
of war.”Violence starts in the mind, so we have to start by changing the minds of
men and women all over the world.” Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi,
democracy leader in Burma, participated in the conference by video.
Certain topics have always been hard to talk about—rape and sexual abuse
ranking high up on that list. And yet we must speak up more because of the
many women affected. According to conservative UN estimates, “worldwide,
one in five women will become a victim of rape or attempted rape in her lifetime.”
It is likely that sexual assault has happened to you, or to your friend, your mother,
your daughter, your sister—the girl next to you on line at the grocery store, to
scores of women reading these words right now. In too many cases, the secret
lies buried deep within us for the rest of our lives.

But six women who are Nobel peace laureates want to not only break the silence
but also to spearhead a global campaign to end rape. Who better to take on this
challenge than this group who have individually overcome enormous odds?
Nobel Peace Laureates Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi, Wangari Maathai, Rigoberta
Menchu Tum, Betty Williams and Mairead Maguire have already created a global
organization to “work together for peace with justice and equality.” As part of this
effort, the Nobel Women’s Initiative just released a report that finds that rape as a
weapon of war is a crime occurring “on a massive scale” and is a threat to global
peace and security. War on Women: Time for Action to End Sexual Violence in
Conflict examines studies of sexual violence in five regions of the world, explores
the leading causes of such heinous acts, assesses actions taken by the international
community and offers some ways individuals and governments can move forward to
end sexual violence.

“Waging war on the bodies of women has got to stop,” says Jody Williams, the 1997 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for her work to ban landmines. “Like any tactic of war, it can be eliminated.”

Rape is only one of many manifestations of the global pandemic of sexual violence—what some at the UN call a “global scourge”—that includes sexual slavery, forced prostitution, mutilation, as well as forced pregnancy and sterilization. Women may be targeted as members of a different tribe, to force their families off mineral-rich lands or to silence their voices raised to defend human rights. Whatever the reason, the scale and scope of the problem is growing. In places such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Darfur, Rwanda, Bosnia and Burma, mass rapes have been used as a deliberate and strategic tactic of war—as an effective way to terrorize civilians and tear the basic fabric of society.

According to a report in May in the American Journal of Public Health, almost two million women and girls have been raped in the Congo, at an alarming rate of approximately 1100 a day, 48 women every hour. In the 1990s, more than 500,000 women were raped in the Rwanda genocide, and some 40,000 during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We should allow that information to go beyond our eyes and our brains and sink into our hearts, to feel the suffering of a girl as young as two months or a woman as old as eighty. These women may have been raped in front of family members, their bodies violated with broken glass bottles or rifles, leaving them permanently mutilated or pregnant or infected with HIV and other diseases. While the perpetrators rarely suffer any repercussions, the women are often sentenced to a lifetime of misery—ostracized by their communities and rarely getting the medical and psychological support they need.

To kick-start its effort to mobilize the world community, the Nobel Women’s Initiative organized a three-day international conference last month in Canada of more than 120 activists, academics, security experts and corporate leaders from some 36 countries. Participants at “Women Forging a New Security: Ending Sexual Violence in Conflict” shared ideas and developed strategies to join together as an organized movement, ending with a day of action, in which they called upon the public to pressure their elected officials to “take a stand.”

There is no single solution to stopping the use of sexual violence in conflict zones; it is entangled with many other thorny issues that face the world locally and internationally.

However the peace laureates can speak with authority of non-violent means to resolve conflicts and to begin to look with an honest, open heart at its roots—at the cracks in the culture and the people in places where violence, and particularly sexual violence, thrives.

How is it that human beings have grown so disconnected from each other, from our sense of compassion and empathy for the suffering of another human being, that such savage and brutal crimes can be routinely committed on such a grand scale?

This profoundly disturbing problem nevertheless offers the potential for hope and transformation,
for the world community to, as Nobel Laureate Maguire Maguire puts it, “create a civilization with a heart.”
Says Maguire, who won the peace prize in 1976 for her efforts to end violence in Ireland, “Sexual violence is not just happening in far away places, it is happening in our own homes.
We need to recognize that this is not someone else’s problem but an issue to be faced by the whole human family. Working together, we can bring these horrific crimes to an end.”

By Robert Smith
Social Security Social Security Manager in Pittsburgh

At Social Security, our goal is to make sure you are paid the correct amount, on time, every month.

Some things have made that job easier over our more than 70 years of paying benefits, such as direct deposit and electronic application systems. But some of the factors that determine your payment amount still depend on good old fashioned human intervention.
And in some cases, getting the correct payment amount depends on you.

You certainly don’t want to be paid less than you’re entitled to receive. But what can be even more difficult, in the long run, is to be overpaid — in which case you’ll probably have to pay us back, cutting your payment down each month until the debt is repaid.

What can cause an overpayment? Sometimes an overpayment (or even an underpayment) occurs because the person receiving benefits did not report a change to us.

For example, if you receive Social Security retirement or survivors benefits and are under your full retirement age and working, we usually ask you to estimate your earnings for the year.
If you realize your earnings will be higher or lower than you estimated, let us know as soon as possible so we can adjust your benefits.

If you receive Social Security disability benefits, you should tell us if you take a job or become self-employed, no matter how little you earn. You also need to report if you begin receiving or have a change in any worker’s compensation or other public disability benefits —
or if your disabling condition improves.

If you receive SSI, you need to report any changes that can increase or reduce the amount of your benefit, such as changes in address (even if you get electronic payments), changes in living arrangements, income, or increased savings that inch over the resource limit
($2,000 for an individual, $3,000 for a couple). Any changes in your living arrangements, income,or resources could change your SSI payment amount.

Learn more about the kinds of things you need to report when you receive Social Security retirement and survivors benefits by reading our online publication: www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10077.html

Read about reporting responsibilities for people receiving Social Security disability benefits here:
www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10153.html

Learn all about the sorts of things to report when you receive SSI by reading over this online publication:
www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/11011.html

If you’re underpaid in any given month, once we verify the information that caused you to be underpaid,
we will send you any money you are due. If you’re overpaid, read our online fact sheet to learn what
happens next: www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10098.html

With your help and by diligently reporting any applicable changes, we’ll achieve a goal we can all agree on: paying you the right amount, on time, every month.

I awoke this morning thankful to see another day.
If we take the time, we all can think of things to be thankful for, but do we?
The more we express our gratitude, even to just ourselves, the better our
attitude will be toward all circumstances in life. A recent article in Scientific
American Mind, states that showing gratitude can increase your own
happiness by as much as 25%.

When you open your eyes in the morning remember that there are those
who thought they would receive the gift of a new day, but did not.
So many of us actually live in ABUNDANCE, but without the keen sense of
gratitude that concept may not be clear. I look at what I consider basic needs
to initiate my barometer of abundance. Take clean drinking water for instance.
For most of us, when we are thirsty, we need only turn on the water in a sink to
quench our thirst. Food is a basic need. Just think of how much food we throw
away and waste while over 33 million people starve to death each year.

When you awaken to that precious new day, are you in a bed, with sheets,
blankets and pillows? Did you have new pajamas to put on before you
climbed in the night before? Did you even think about the security you have
in your house or the fact that you have heat to keep you warm while you dream?
Many of these comforts go unnoticed by us while others sleep in refugee tents
for decades.

I have proclaimed this my year of gratitude. Every day I strive to remember all
that is good in my life. When I take the time and intensify my senses, the gifts
in life are overwhelming.
I challenge each of you to do some brain training and find all you have to be thankful
for each day. The world will be a better place for each of our efforts.
More Gratitude = Better attitude

Learning Never Ends
www.julieannsullivan.com

June 2 – Happy Hour to Benefit Cystic Fibrosis – 5- 8 PM - Andora Restaurant, 1928 Cochran Road Pittsburgh - $10 donation will get you delicious hors d’oeuvre’s from Andora Catering, Signature drinks, and amazing specials – Raffles for Larrimor’s, Andora, and Spa Jema – for tickets contact Dixie at 412-915-9667 or Dixie@andoracatering.com

June 7 – “Women for a Healthy Environment’s 1st Fundraiser, FACE IT…Healthy Beauty from Inside Out” – Phipps Conservatory – 5:30 – 8:30 – Featured Guest: Jessa Blades – Tickets $25 – To register: http://www.womenforahealthyenvironment.org/events/view/40 - Contact Michelle at 412-420-2290 for additional information
June 8 - Volunteers of America of Pennsylvania, 1650 Main Street Pittsburgh - Brown Bag Lunch – FREE - 12:00 – 1:00 PM - Speaker: Don Pytel, Owner of Spider Commerce - Topic: Getting A Business Capable Website On A Budget. -Your business needs a website, and you need to get the most out of your time, effort and expense. Don Pytel will cover the important steps you should understand and the options you should consider when meeting with a web designer. Learn about choosing a domain name, planning and designing a site, creating content, marketing a site and adding valuable tools - RSVP: 412.782.5344 x 209 or volunteersofamerica@voapa.org

Wednesday, June 8th from 6-8pm
Social Networking For Business…Should You Be LinkedIn?
This hands-on workshop teaches how to use your LinkedIn Profile
as a tool to establish your credibility, expertise and attract new business.
Join Me for a LinkedIn Workshop
Learn how to use LinkedIn to Grow Your Business &
Position Yourself as an Expert
Location: Giant Eagle Market District Robinson,
100 Settlers Ridge Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15205
Register Online: www.PittsburghProfessionalWomen.com

June 9 - Command New Confidence for Your Next Business Lunch, 12:15-1:15 PM
-Carnegie Library, Business Branch, 612 Smithfield Street-412-281-7141, no registration needed

June 10 - Women Business Leaders Breakfast Series - 7:30-9:00 AM
Speaker: Vonda Wright, MD, Creator and Director, Performance and
Research Initiative for Masters Athletes(PRIMA) - Topic: “Guide to THRIVE: Four Steps to Body, Brains, and Bliss”
Venue: James Laughlin Music Center, Chatham University Shadyside Campus
Cost: $25.00 - Register online: www.chatham.edu/cwe

June 10 - Cash Flow Solutions Workshop: Understanding Cash Flow to Grow Your
Business - 9:30-11:00 A.M. (Immediately following Vonda’s Presentation)
- James Laughlin Music Center, Chatham University Shadyside Campus - $10.00 – Register online: http://chatham.edu/cwe
All proceeds from this workshop go to Dress for Success® Pittsburgh
June 14 - Kudos for Pittsburgh, Business for You - Featuring Jill Lublin, Best Selling Business Author - Get the Good News Out About Pittsburgh, get business for yourself - Early Bird Special $35.00 before May 31, 2011, After May 31, 2011, $45.00, Price Includes Pittsburgh Dinner, additional info at: http://pplmag.com - Villa South Side, 1831 E. Carson St Pittsburgh - 412-431-3535 - `5:30 to 8:30 PM - Learn to Get Your Pittsburgh Google On! Networking, Local Media Panel
Pittsburgh Foods, Pittsburgh Beers, Pittsburgh Martinis, Pittsburgh Manhattans and Pittsburgh Special Guests, TBA

June 16 - Volunteers of America of Pennsylvania, 1650 Main Street Pittsburgh - Disability Resource Breakfast - 8:30 – 9:30 AM - Speaker: Chris Engler & Joseph Jelinski, Eruption Athletics - Topic: Fitness IS For People With Disabilities - Meet two trainers/coaches for Special Olympics athletes and learn about the support that is available to increase physical fitness workout activity year-round for people with special needs who want to exercise - RSVP: 412.782.5344 x 209 or volunteersofamerica@voapa.org

June 17 - Women’s Power Lunch—Pittsburgh Chapter - 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.
Eleven Restaurant, Smallman St., Strip District, Downtown -Cost: $30.00 (Prepayment Required) - Cash payment at the door will be $35.00 -RSVP: Suzanne@womenspowerlunch.com - Or pay online at www.womenspowerlunch.com

June 24 - Women’s Power Lunch—Westmoreland County - 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.
Solstice Restaurant, 911 Green St. Greensburg - Cost: $30.00 (Prepayment Required)
Cash payment at the door will be $35.00 - RSVP: Melanieansell@comcast.net or
412-848-0165

FYI

Every Wednesday - “Downtown Divas” Girl Netwoking and Girl Jazz weekly event-presented by PositivelyPittsburghLive and NAWBO Pittsburgh - Villa Southside -1831 E. Carson St. Pittsburgh -Divas and Business Divas with Networking and live performances -The good ol’ girls club, but we let the guys in - Come out to promote your business and find the groups that will promote you - Listen to music, dance and have a girls night out. - Every Wednesday from 6 PM to 9 PM - Networking and presentations from 6 PM to 7 PM - Music by 7 PM to 9 PM - Half price on select appetizers and $3.00 of all wines by the glass.

PA CareerLink - Major retraining efforts for dislocated workers are through the Community College of Allegheny County. No information is out yet about Fall 2012, but the contact number to the Career Transition Center is 412-788-7351. Here are a few leads on specific programs for fields in demand:

-Machinists, 412-227-4172, Info Session on June 2
-Mortgage Services, 412-809-3523, program begins May, but fliers were still advertising it this past Friday
-Biotechnology, 412-237-2540

Save the Date

August 17 - Please Join The Musuneggi Financial Group & Single Steps Strategies for an Evening Of Wine, Conversation, Networking & Education -While we are “Wine-ing” down the summer - 6:00 PM - Crowne Plaza Hotel, South 164 Fort Couch Road Bethel Park - Complimentary But Donations To “Dress for Success” Are Always Welcome
- To register for you and your guest log onto www.singlestepsstrategies.com, e-mail info@singlestepsstrategies.com or call 412-341-2888. - Registration deadline is August 8th - Seating is limited so register early ** Women Business Owners: Tables will be available for you to share information about your products and services. Please let us know if you would like to participate when you register.

September 19 – Fall Employment Opportunities Conference – Carnegie Mellon - The Employment Opportunities Conference is a job fair for all students from all majors — whether they are seeking full-time or internship opportunities. We had over 160 employers and well over 1800 students connecting at our Spring EOC event. We hope you’ll join us this Fall! -12 - 6 - University Center Gym and Rangos Ballroom
To register, just log into TartanTrak and click on “events”. The registration fee is $700 and Partner levels exist from $1200 to $10,000 and up with benefits such as: Membership on our advisory board, lunch with faculty and a dynamic presence on our website. Click her to view the Career Partners Page.
While you are in TartanTrak, don’t forget to book your spring recruiting dates! Log into TartanTrak and click on “Request New OCR Schedule” under shortcuts and choose the Spring 2012 Session to get started. If you want to book rooms for the day after one of our job fairs, just choose that session on the reservation form.

The Womansplace 17th Annual Golf Outing to End Domestic Violence
Our mission at Womansplace is to end the cycle of domestic violence and change social norms through education and systems advocacy. In order to fulfill our mission, we need your support!

The 17th Annual Womansplace Golf Event will take place on Friday August 27, 2010 at Youghiogheny Country Club in McKeesport, PA. The event raises awareness to the pervasive epidemic of domestic violence and the urgency to bring communities together and fight against this crime. It also raises the much needed funds so that we may continue to provide programs and services to the community.

Sponsorships and individual contributions play an important role in the success of this event. Without your support we would not be able to continue the important programs and services that we offer to victims and to the community.

Your participation can help end the cycle of domestic violence and save lives!

Register online at www.womansplace.org or contact Fran Trimpey at ftrimpey@womansplace.org

or (412) 664-7146 x200 for individual and corporate sponsorship

Pittsburgh Symphony Community Partners Concert
Thursday, June 24, 2010, 8:00 pm - Heinz Hall
The Pittsburgh Symphony makes it possible for local charities to benefit from this evening of fine music. Enjoy an evening with the Queen of Disco Gloria Gaynor and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and help the Food Bank!

The U.S. Women’s Open
The 2010 U.S. Women’s Open at Oakmont is July 5 – July 11. Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank needs volunteers to work concessions. Charities work the concession tents along the course, and then share all the proceeds. Volunteers can watch the tournament before or after their volunteer shift for free. If you are interested in volunteering for the U. S. Women’s Open, email volops@gpcfb.org.

The 16th Annual Pittsburgh Blues Festival comes to Hartwood Acres July 23-25. The Food Bank’s largest fundraiser of the year brings the best in national and local blues music to Pittsburgh and helps feed thousands of families in need. www.pghblues.com

Mylan Classic Golf Tournament - “ANSYS Tickets Fore Charity”
The Mylan Classic is coming to Southpointe Golf Club August 30 – September 5. 100% of your ticket price for this PGA tour of the “Stars of Tomorrow” goes to the charity of your choice - like the Food Bank!

Golf S.O.M.E. (So Others May Eat)
Save the date for the Food Bank’s charity golf outing October 4th at the gorgeous Wildwood Golf Club in Allison Park. Your entry fee includes lunch, 18 holes with cart, snacks and beverages on the course, cocktails and dinner, and extracurriculars like a putting contest, hole-in-one challenge, prizes for the winning foursome, and a silent auction to benefit the Food Bank. The first 50 registrants for Golf S.O.M.E. will receive a weekly Clubhouse ticket (valued at $50.00) to the Mylan Classic! Register at www.pittsburghfoodbank.org

Business Program Series Calendar
June 2011
Programs are held on Thursdays at 12:15 pm at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh – Downtown & Business, 612 Smithfield Street, Downtown. They are free and open to the public.

Thursday, June 2 Duties of an Executor
Erik V. Scully, Esq., CPA
Scully & Scully, LLP, Attorneys at Law

Mr. Scully will discuss the duties and responsibilities of an executor from the opening of the estate until its completion, including locating the will and other important documents; notifying all beneficiaries; establishing an estate account for paying outstanding bills and understanding tax consequences before assets are distributed.

Thursday, June 9 Dining Etiquette: Command New Confidence at Your Next Business Lunch
Karen Litzinger
Litzinger Career Consulting

Not sure which bread plate is yours? Whether you are dining with customers or colleagues, your dining etiquette can make a lasting impression. In addition to the etiquette of eating, Ms. Litzinger will discuss the proper way to arrange and conduct a business meeting over a meal. This is also an important skill for mealtime interviews.

Thursday, June 16 Downsizing Your Home Clutter – How to Start, Finish and Stay Organized!
Jill Revitsky, PHR, CPO
Discover Organizing Inc.

Jill Revitsky of Discover Organizing will reveal the best ways to start the seemingly overwhelming process of decluttering large and small spaces in your home. She’ll discuss ways to get started, the best products to use, and how to develop the habits that will help you stay organized. Jill’s sense of humor and lively group interaction will motivate you to be clutter-free once and for all!

Thursday, June 23 Maxed Out
(DVD – 87 minutes)

James Spurlock, director of the award-winning documentary Maxed Out, set off in search of ordinary people who were overwhelmed by debts they could never pay back but agreed to be interviewed for this film. Although there are many reasons that drive people to the verge of bankruptcy, Mr. Spurlock places much of the blame on major lending institutions who issue credit cards (with hefty fees attached) that encourage customers to spend instead of save.

Thursday, June 30 No Program – Enjoy the long July Fourth weekend!

The Stop and Go Fast Food Nutritional Guide”
by Steven G. Aldana, Ph.D.

ISBN 13 978-0-9758828-4-9
Maple Mountain Press
935 East 900 North
Mapleton, UT 84664
135 pages
$6.95

In creating “The Stop and Go Fast Food Nutritional Guide,” Steven Aldana has sought to fill an important informational gap in the fat-laden “western” diet (so called because of its prevalence among western industrialized nations). Although packaged foods are required to exhibit nutritional information, restaurants are not.

Enter Aldana’s book. “Stop and Go” lists the nutritional content (i.e., calories, fat, cholesterol, sodium and fiber) of almost 3,500 different entrees from a total of 69 fast food restaurants. The title phrase “stop and go” refers to the clever and quickly comprehended layout of the book: healthy entrees are coded in green, borderline foods with yellow and those the highest in calories, saturated fats and trans fats are coded with (guess what?) red.

Trans fat (that is, hydrogenated vegetable oil), looms large in “Stop and Go.” Aldana relates that the consumption of trans fat is responsible for at least 30,000 to 100,000 heart disease-related deaths each year. Since there is no safe level for trans fat consumption and since most fast-food restaurants utilize trans fats in some (if not all) of their cooking, “Stop and Go” is an informational windfall for those who eat fast food but are also concerned about their health.

Although the consistent redness of almost every McDonald’s entree (including many salads) didn’t surprise this reviewer, the many “red” Taco Bell entrees did. Trans fats are so dangerous that if an entree contained even 2 grams of trans fat, it received a red code. And so, the very delicious Nachos Bell Grande side dish, which contains a whopping 10 grams of trans fat is unfortunately but definitely red while the equally delicious spicy chicken soft taco received a green light for bearing only one gram of trans fat.

Although healthy fast-food eating may sounds like an impossible oxymoron, “The Stop and Go Fast Food Nutritional Guide” can make this a reality and should be placed in the glove compartment of every fast food restaurant patron.

The volume of medications that older adults are taking is high and so are the risks. Improper use of medications can lead to disaster. A survey of future caregivers conducted for the Home Instead Senior Care® network revealed that nearly half of their parents (48 percent) have three or more factors that put them at risk for medication-related problems. Among those risk factors – for 37 percent of seniors – is vision problems or poor eyesight.

That’s why the Home Instead Senior Care network has worked with Humana Points of Caregiving to introduce the Caring for Your Parents: Senior Emergency KitSM information management tool and website. The website provides access to resources that encourage older adults to keep all of their information in one spot so that family caregivers have ready access to these vital details in the event of a medical emergency. The resources are part of the Answering the CallSM program, designed to help families be ready for an emergency with their senior loved ones.
“Adverse drug reactions are very common and not always recognized by patient or physician as side effects of a drug,” said Thomas Clark, RPh, MHS, CGP, director of Clinical Affairs for the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists and the ASCP Foundation, who served as an expert source for the Answering the Call program. According to Clark, “Many symptoms may be considered drug side effects unless proven otherwise.”

Following are the eight most common types of medication-related problems that could befall seniors, from the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists.
1. Untreated conditions – The patient has a medical condition that requires drug therapy, but is not receiving a drug for that condition.
2. Drug use without indication – The patient is taking a medicine for no medically valid condition or reason.
3. Improper drug selection – The patient’s medical condition is being treated with the wrong drug or a drug that is not the most appropriate for the special needs of the patient.
4. Subtherapeutic dosage – The patient has a medical condition that is being treated with too little of the correct medication.
5. Overdosage – The patient has a medical problem that is being treated with too much of the correct medication.
6. Adverse drug reactions – The patient has a medical condition that is the result of an adverse drug reaction (ADR) or adverse effect. In the case of older adults, ADRs contribute to already existing geriatric problems such as falls, urinary incontinence, constipation and weight loss.
7. Drug interactions – The patient has a medical condition that is the result of a drug interacting negatively with another drug or a food.
8. Failure to receive medication – The patient has a medical condition that is the result of not receiving a medication due to economic, psychological, sociological or pharmaceutical reasons.

For fifteen years, the Home Instead Senior Care® franchise network has been devoted to providing seniors with the highest quality care in their own homes, and to arming families with the information they need to make the best decisions about caring for aging loved ones. Family caregivers can visit the Senior Emergency Kit Website for more information and resources to help them track their seniors’ medications.
Until next time, if you, or any organization of which you are a part, is interested in learning more, please contact our office. We would be happy to speak to your group free of charge about this subject, our services, or even employment opportunities.

Sincerely,

Rebecca Champagne, Human Resource Coordinator
Home Instead Senior Care
1102 S Braddock Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15218
Phone: (412) 731-0733
Rebecca.Champagne@HomeInstead.com