Online Consumer Resources Related to Aging

Inclusion on this page does not imply endorsement by the Polisher Research Institute or the Abramson Center for Jewish Life. See our Local Resources page for a list of Area Agencies on Aging and services provided by the Abramson Center for Jewish Life. Comments, please e-mail Rachel Resnick, Research Librarian.

DIRECTORIES OF FACILITIES

Medicare Nursing Home Compare www.medicare.gov/NHCompare/home.asp
Medicare's site provides data on nursing homes that are Medicare or Medicaid certified. It is not a comprehensive list of nursing homes, as some choose not to become certified. For each facility listed, the site notes number of beds, staffing information, quality indicators, and results of state inspections. The site is searchable by state, county, city, or zip code.

Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations:
Quality Check database www.jcaho.org/quality+check/index.htm
JCAHO is a non-profit that accredits long-term care facilities. As with the Medicare site, this database does not include facilities that choose not to pursue certification. The site provides contact information, accreditation status, and date of accreditation decision.

PANPHA www.panpha.org/aboutpanpha.html
PANPHA is a membership organization representing 370 non-profit long-term care providers in Pennsylvania. Its online resource guide lists facilities by county and gives contact information, number of beds, and services provided. The site also lists questions to consider when choosing a facility or service.

Many state departments of health provide a list of licensed facilities on their Web sites. Both the Assisted Living Federation of America (www.alfa.org) and the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (www2.aahsa.org) have searchable directories of their members, which include various kinds of residential facilities.

HOUSING AND CARE CHOICES

An enormous number of web pages exist offering advice on choosing a care facility. There are sites explaining the various housing options, guides to choosing a nursing home or retirement community, and checklists for all kinds of facilities. Here are some chosen for their generality or comprehensiveness.

Alzheimer's Association: Residential Care: a guide for choosing a new home http://www.alz.org/ResourceCenter/FactSheets/guidenewhome.pdf
This brochure focuses on people with dementia. It offers questions to ask and things to look for in different kinds of facilities, including questions specifically related to dementia. There is a table listing types of housing, services each type provides, staffing, and regulations.

Assisted Living Federation of America: How to Choose a Residence http://www.alfa.org/public/articles/details.cfm?id=77
This article, written by a social worker, provides questions to ask about a potential residence and suggestions for visiting.

Better Business Bureau: Exploring Your Options: Housing Solutions for Seniors http://www.newyork.bbb.org/seniorsolutions/pdfs/bbb_srsol_options.pdf
This lengthy document explains a multitude of housing options with questions to consider for each option.

National Association for Regulatory Administration : Some Practical Tips for Selecting Adult Residential Care
http://www.nara-licensing.org/tipselarc.htm
This article helps identify a person's needs related to daily living, health care, and social relationships. It also provides advice on searching for an appropriate care facility and links to an "adult residential care selection worksheet."

National Citizens Coalition for Nursing Home Reform: Consumer Guide to Choosing a Nursing Home http://nccnhr.newc.com/uploads/NhConsumerGuide.pdf
This consumer advocacy group provides advice on how to research nursing homes and explains how to use several of the cites listed above as well as others. It has suggestions for evaluating nursing homes and for staying involved once your loved one becomes a resident.

CAREGIVER SUPPORT

Caregiving.com Caregiving.com
Denise Brown, of the Center for Family Caregivers, runs this site to support people caring for aged or ill family members. The site hosts 14 different support groups and an advice column, "Ask Denise," as well as offering tips and articles. Information on this site focuses both on helping caregivers stay emotionally well and on dealing with specific caregiving situations.

ElderCare Online www.ec-online.net
This online resource includes a free newsletter and many other articles. It organizes information into 8 "channels": Alzheimer's, Independent Living, the Caregiver, Insurance, Legal and Financial Issues, Wellness, Residential Options, and Transitions. Each channel includes advertisements for resources to buy, followed by free articles. The site also has links to support groups.

Family Caregiver Alliance www.caregiver.org
This site has a Resource Center and Clearinghouse, which both have informational pages on different issues in caregiving: care options, housing decisions, taking care of yourself, dealing with end-of-life. The fact sheets all list sources one can go to for more information.

Family Caregiving 101 www.familycaregiving101.org
Jointly run by the National Family Caregivng Association and the National Alliance for Caregiving, this site is designed to be a tool for caregivers to maintain their own mental health while providing quality care for a loved one. It contains answers to common questions, a description of the stages of caregiving, tips, statistics, and links to other resouces.

National Family Caregivers Association http://thefamilycaregiver.org
The National Family Caregivers Association was founded in 1993 to support, empower, and speak up for caregivers of chronically ill, elderly, or disabled loved ones. In addition to explanations of what constitutes caregiving and statistics on family caregivers in America, the site provides tips, guides, and education pages on topics related to caregiving. Topics include caring for yourself and communicating with healthcare providers. There is also a lengthy Resources section.

List of Topics

ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE

In addition to the links below, some sites listed under Caregiver Support and Housing Advice are targeted towards Alzheimer's Disease or have sections on this topic.

Alzheimer's Association www.alz.org
This research and advocacy organization has informational pages about Alzheimer's and caregiving. Its Resource Center has fact sheets and resource lists, available online, on a wide range of topics. Some of the more unusual topics are resources for children, novels involving Alzheimer's, and music therapy. Topics such as treatment, tips for caregivers, and understanding the disease are included as well.

Alzheimer's Disease Education & Referral Center www.alzheimers.org
ADEAR is run by the National Institute on Aging to provide information and referrals. The site has sections on caregiving and clinical research. The publications page lists materials from NIA for viewing online or ordering in print. Many are free. Each topical page has links to relevant publications listed on the right-hand side. The site also includes a clinical trials database.

Fisher Center for Alzheimer's Research Foundation www.alzinfo.org
The Fisher Center is a nonprofit that aims to be a comprehensive site for information and resources. To this end, the site maintains a large database of services, professionals, facilities, and government agencies. Users can search by kind of service and by zip code. The site also has informational pages on diagnosis, treatment, financial support, care options, grief, and research. A distinctive feature is a glossary, which provides small pop-up boxes with definitions for certain words.

EXERCISE

AARP Health and Wellness www.aarp.org/health
This section of the AARP site has information on eating, health insurance, prescription drugs, and staying active. The subsection on staying active contains articles on adding physical activity to one's life, choosing an activity, weight loss, and various specific activities. The site is mainly for people who are not in physical decline but includes some information on low-impact workouts or exercise for people with special needs.

Exercise: A Guide from the National Institute on Aging www.nia.nih.gov/exercisebook/toc.htm
This 80-page brochure from the National Institute on Aging has six chapters discussing kinds of exercise, benefits of exercise, and strategies. Appendix D lists resources for more information. Interested persons can request a free printed copy of the brochure.

Mayo Clinic Fitness & Sports Medicine Center www.mayoclinic.com (under 'Healthy Living')
This section of the Mayo Clinic site has basics on exercise, advice on choosing an activity and planning a fitness program. While not specifically designed for seniors, it has information on balance exercises and low-impact workouts. All articles contain links to related articles, some of which are in the Seniors Health section.

National Blueprint www.agingblueprint.org
The National Blueprint is a coalition of organizations creating a guide to increasing activity among the aged. The site's section on Publication Information and Tips has brochures and tip sheets from various national agencies on how to incorporate exercise into one's life, including some specific exercises.

President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports fitness.gov
The Reading Room on this site has fact sheets from different agencies. Some are for the general population; others focus on a specific population such as seniors. Topics include: how to create a fitness plan, fitness for older people, and specific exercises.

COMPUTERS

AARP Computers and Technology www.aarp.org/learntech/computers
The AARP site contains many articles on computers and technology, ranging from how to browse the Internet to advice on buying a scanner. The subsection called "Learn the Internet" contains basic and intermediate tutorials on browsing. There are subsections of "how to" guides, hardware and software reviews.

Microsoft Accessibility www.microsoft.com/enable
This site, while not geared towards the novice user, has many resources for adapting a PC to make it easier for seniors to use. Illustrated instructions help users adapt their computers to deal with vision impairment, decreased dexterity, or hearing impairment. See "Step by Step Tutorials" or "Guides by Impairment" in the lefthand menu. Guides are available for several editions of Windows, and all guides contain a text-only version as well as instructions for mouse-only or keyboard-only navigation.

SeniorNet www.seniornet.org
This non-profit organization with a mission of educating seniors to use computers provides tutorials on Internet skills. Click on "Web Courses" at the top. The tutorials begin at a very basic level, with practice exercises on using a mouse. There is also a glossary of Internet terms.

ARTHRITIS AND OSTEOPOROSIS

Arthritis Foundation www.arthritis.org
The "Resources" section of this site provides many articles on arthritis from a variety of angles. Within "Resources" is a Disease Center, Supplement Guide, Surgery Center, Tips for Living with Arthritis, and links to Arthritis Today magazine. The tips section seems to focus on active people, with topics such as arthritis in the workplace. The site allows visitors to order single copies of brochures for free.

The Arthritis Society www.arthritis.ca
This Canadian Web site has information on many kinds of arthritis, including some that are not commonly thought of as arthritis, such as Fibromyalgia, Lupus, and Raynaud's. With a joint mission of promoting research and public education, the Arthritis Society brings research information to a lay public. The site has fact sheets on arthritis as well as links to Cochrane reviews. There is also an advice column, news stories, and links to local (Canadian) programs. The main site is in English, but a French version is provided as well.

National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletel and Skin Disorders www.niams.nih.gov
This division of the National Institute of Health has several publications on arthritis and other diseases. The section on Health Information lists publications related to topics in arthritis. Many are available in Spanish. Visitors are allowed to order 25 copies of most publications.

National Osteoporosis Foundation www.nof.org
This non-profit "dedicated to promoting lifelong bone health" aims to increase public awareness and fund research on osteoporosis. The site gives facts about the disease, prevention, efficacy of various treatments, and descriptions of several medications. The sections on Osteoporosis, Prevention, and Patient Info are all at a reading level for the general public.

NIH Osteoporosis and Related Bone Diseases ~ National Resource Center www.osteo.org
This site has fact sheets for the general public as well as more scholarly material. The fact sheets deal with topics in osteoporosis, the intersection of osteoporosis with other health concerns, and osteoporosis in specific ethnic groups. Some items are available in Spanish, and there is one each in Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese. The site offers some bibliographies on particular topics, which cite articles from scientific journals. The newsletters provide a summary of recent research.

MEDICARE

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services www.cmms.gov
This site has extensive information about Medicare and Medicaid. There are links to specific state plans and informational pages about coverage, various initiatives, and research findings. There are also forms that can be printed out. The public affairs section has a searchable collection of press releases, testimonies, and fact sheets. There is also a list of acronyms and a glossary.

Center for Medicare Education www.MedicareEd.org
This site, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has resources for professionals who provide consumer education. Many of the site's documents could be suitable for consumers to read directly as well. The Publications and Resources sections have materials on "Choosing and Using Health Plans/Health Care Services" and "Coverage Options." The Publications are reports and issue briefs explaining Medicare coverage of different health needs. The Resources section has links to other organizations and consumer education materials from various sources. Most of the resources are links to other sites. These are sorted by kind of resource and topic.

Medicare www.medicare.gov
The home page of this site has links to numerous databases, allowing consumers to search for nursing homes, home health agencies, financial assistance programs, physicians, and health plans. The site has sections on eligibility and enrollment, plan choices, filing claims, and coverage for preventative services. The section on nursing homes includes checklists, Nursing Home Compare (see above), information on home care and resident rights.

Medicare Rights Center www.medicarerights.org
The MRC is an independent organization providing counseling and information through a hotline, education, press efforts, and public policy analysis. The Medicare Basics section of this site has many pages of information for consumers. A multi-part document called Medicare Answers explains what Medicare covers, plan options, and how to chose a plan. There is also information on HMOs and coverage for home care. The Medicare Q & A section has questions from the organization's hotline, with answers, indexed by topic. The Policy and Advocacy section of the site has a history of Medicare and policy briefs.

LEGAL ISSUES

American Bar Association. Commission on Law and Aging www.abanet.org/aging
Halfway down the homepage for the Commission on Law and Aging are links to various consumer publications. Resources cover range of legal issues such as advance care planning, finances, discrimination. There are ten worksheets to help consumers make decisions about advance care planning, as well as a state-by-state guide to legal resources.

National Association of Elder Law Attorneys www.naela.org
This nonprofit organization is a resource for people who work in legal services and also has materials for the public. The Law and Aging brochure series, at www.naela.org/naela/lawaging.htm, has materials on estate planning, age discrimination, power of attorney, and medical decision-making. There is also a bibliography of print materials at www.naela.org/public/readingmaterial.htm.

Nolo Law Center. Retirement and Elder Care http://snipurl.com/6a9m
Nolo offers articles, a write-in advice column, a legal dictionary, and several retirement calculators. The articles deal with legal aspects of retirement, social security, medical directives, Medicare, and estate planning.

LONG-TERM CARE INSURANCE

Health Insurance Association of America: A Guide to Long-Term Care Insurance http://membership.hiaa.org/pdfs/2002LTCGuide.pdf
Readers can download this 24-page guide from the HIAA website. The guide deals with basic issues such as what will be covered and what policies typically cost. The Health Insurance Association of America is a trade association of health insurers, which conducts research on various insurance-related topics. Some of their reports on long-term care insurance can be viewed online. The site, www.hiaa.org, has some FAQs on health insurance and how to find more information.

Insure.com http://info.insure.com/ltc
Insure.com provides consumer information for people who want to research their own insurance decisions. The site is "Entirely devoid of advertisers or commercial 'sponsorships,' [and] dedicated to providing impartial insurance information to consumers." The section on long-term care includes articles on many topics, such as how to find a plan or an agent, sales pitches to beware of, and how to protect against inflation. The introductory section has new words in italics and explains their meaning. There is also a checklist for comparing policies, a free quote service, and a list of links.

LongTermCareLiving.com http://Longtermcareliving.com/financial_information/index.htm
The site, sponsored by American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living, provides consumer information on long-term care. The financial information section includes two guides: Paying for Long-Term Care and Long-Term Care Insurance. Both guides are fairly brief introductions to the topic. The guide to insurance is five pages and describes who qualifies, how much it might cost, and what the insurance typically covers.

National Association of Insurance Commissioners www.naic.org
NAIC is an organization of insurance regulators who work to standardize policy. Their website has several resources on long-term care insurance in different sections of the site. Under Consumer Alerts is a one-page introduction. The Research Library includes an FAQ and a bibliography of many articles from mainstream newspapers like The Wall Street Journal. The Get Smart section has some general tips on insurance. NAIC has produced a booklet, A Shopper's Guide to Long-Term Care Insurance, and offers one copy free to consumers. The guide describes how to find a policy and how policies work. It also includes worksheets for evaluating policies.

HOSPICE AND PALLIATIVE CARE

Americans for Better Care of the Dying www.abcd-caring.org
This nonprofit is interested in promoting reform in end-of-life care and policy. Its Reading Room has excerpts from the consumer guide Handbook for Mortals, by President Joanne Lynn and Joann Harrold and from a sourcebook for providers. A links list covers issues such as illness, pain, and grief as well as end-of-life care.

National Hospice Foundation www.hospiceinfo.org
An introduction to hospice, with brochures explaining what it is and how to choose a program.

National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization www.nhpco.org
This companion site to the National Hospice Foundation has a listing of hospice programs in different states, research data, and papers about policy or issues in hospice care.

Growth House www.growthhouse.org
This is a portal to various kinds of information. The site includes annotated lists of websites on subjects such as eldercare and pain management. There are 90 fact sheets, mostly for professionals but potentially useful for patients and families as well. The fact sheets cover specific medications and health issues, and legal issues such as power of attorney.

Caring Connections www.caringinfo.org
This site was created by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization as a resource for the public. It contains information on pain management, hospice, advance directives, and grief.

GRIEF

AARP's Grief and Loss Center www.aarp.org/families/grief_loss/
This subsection of the AARP site has extensive information and resources for dealing with grief. The site includes articles on coping, helping people who are grieving, and planning a funeral. There is also information on AARP services, finding services in your community, and online discussions. There are sections dealing with specific relationships such as a parent or spouse.

GriefNet http://rivendell.org
GriefNet is a non-profit organization run by a psychologist. The site includes an annotated bibliography of books about grief in various circumstances and a collection of articles that various authors have submitted to the site. GriefNet sponsors 47 email support groups, which are described on the site. Although the site's audience is both adults and children, it also sponsors a companion site called KidsAid.

GENERAL AGING INFORMATION

Administration on Aging www.aoa.dhhs.gov
AoA is a federal agency for advocacy and information dissemination. The site has a newspaper-like feel to it. The “Press Room” section has fact sheets for professionals, policymakers, and older people as well as news stories. The “Elders and Families” section has various informational pages on topics such as health, housing, caregiving, and elder rights.

Benefits Checkup www.benefitscheckup.org
This service of the National Council on Aging is designed for people 55 and over. After answering a brief survey, users can see what programs they might qualify for and get contact information on these programs. There are two surveys: one of prescription drugs and one on other public programs.

Center for Disease Control, "Healthy Aging" page www.cdc.gov/aging
This page has information on healthy lifestyles and specific concerns related to health and injuries. The CDC has some online publications, which are mostly statistical reports.

Department of Health and Human Services, Aging page www.dhhs.gov/aging
This page is a compendium of links to various government websites, most of which are elsewhere in this list. Topics listed are caregiving, diseases, insurance, care facilities, and general health.

American Geriatrics Society - Patient Education Forum http://www.healthinaging.org/public_education/pef/
The forum consists of factsheets on medical topics and care decisions, published quarterly since 2000. Some topics are relevant to the relatively young old, such as influenza or memory loss, while others pertain to the end of life.

Eldercare Locator www.eldercare.gov
This database is a public service of the Administration on Aging. It lists referral agencies and area agencies on aging. (See our page on Local Resources for Pennsylvania agencies.) Users can search by state or issue. There is also a toll-free number for this service.

Kids Health (section on "Health Problems of Grown-Ups") www.kidshealth.org/kid/grownup/
This site for children deals with some of the very basic signs of aging, such as wrinkles and varicose veins, as well as with some more serious issues like Alzheimer's and stroke. There are not many topics on the site, but each is explained in a way that is simple yet informative. Along with each article there is a "Resource Room," which is a page of links to related organizations.

National Institute on Aging www.nia.nih.gov
NIA is a federal agency, and it is more research-oriented than AoA. This agency provides free brochures called Age Pages, which are available online. These are written for an elder audience and deal with health issues, memory loss, planning for long-term care, Alzheimer's, and fall prevention.

National Institute of Health, Senior Health Page http://nihseniorhealth.gov
This site says it will be adding more content soon. At the moment the only topics are Alzheimer's, Caregiving, and Exercise. There are short informational pages on these topics and several short videos that can be viewed on the computer.

GENERAL MEDICAL INFORMATION

Healthfinder www.healthfinder.gov
This resource is maintained by the Department of Health and Human Services. It is easy to use and has the special feature of linking to databases on various topics. The pages provide links to other websites created by the government and other organizations. A search will return a quite manageable number of results, all selected by people, with a description of each site.

MEDLINEplus www.medlineplus.gov
This is an extensive resource created by the National Library of Medicine. It provides links to information on various health topics, including Senior health. Other links include a dictionary, medical encyclopedia, drug information, and consumer-oriented libraries. For each health topic there is a page with links for general information, specific issues, legal information, databases, and statistics.

WebMD www.webmd.com
This site is created by physicians, journalists, and other professionals. The homepage looks like a news site with headlines, but the site also includes a "library" which covers many medical topics. Other features are a directory of support organizations for various medical conditions, an "Ask the Experts" section that publishes responses to write-in questions, and a directory of doctors. The site is a commercial venture and accepts advertising.

New York Online Access to Health (NOAH) www.noah-health.org
This site is a project of New York Public Library, New York Academy of Medicine, Metropolitan New York Library Council, and City University of New York. Users can search for a particular word, browse by general topic, or use an A-Z index. The site is a collection of numerous links to informational pages on a wide range of health issues.

Mayo Clinic www.mayoclinic.com
The renowned Mayo Clinic provides many articles on diseases, general health, and drugs. There is a section on senior health and one on Alzheimer's. The site is well organized, as each page provides links to relevant articles from other sections of the Mayo Clinic site. A distinctive feature is the ability to create a personal page that provides automatic updates on selected topics.

ADVANCE DIRECTIVES

Caring Connections www.caringinfo.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=1
This site contains valuable Question and Answer material on Advance Directives. Also links to NHPO state-specific directive documents as well as telephone help lines for assistance in filling out an advance directive. Other information includes sections on care-giving, pain and other end-of-life care issues.

American Bar Association Commission on Law and Aging www.abanet.org/aging/toolkit/home.html
This link is to the Consumer's Tool Kit for Health Care Advice Planning. The Tool Kit contains ten worksheet style evaluations to guide one in making end-of-life decisions.