January 2016 | Baltimore Beacon

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How to make better resolutions

Need accountability, support Lansing and her friends have the right idea about making successful resolutions, according to Steve Siebold, author of 177 Mental Toughness Secrets of the World Class, who also works with Fortune 500 management teams, entrepreneurs, athletes and other achievers in reaching their goals.

“One of the biggest problems with keep-

JANUARY 2016

I N S I D E …

PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER MYERS

By Carol Sorgen Several years ago, Nancy Menefee Jackson made a New Year’s resolution to “get a handle” on her family’s finances.

“It turned out to be a shock,” said the 57-year-old communications manager who lives in Perry Hall. “We owe THAT much?”

That sobering realization, however, led Jackson and her husband to start following a budget, significantly pay down their debt, and become savvier about their financial situation.

The success of that resolution led to yet another one. No more “time-stacking.”

That is, “No more running from one event to another to another,” Jackson said. “If we have three things on one day, choose one.

I can’t always manage it, but it has made my life much saner.”

Phyllis Lansing is also a fan of making New Year’s resolutions. Every New Year’s Eve, Lansing and an informal group of other residents at the Charlestown retirement community meet to write down their resolutions. They then follow up with each other to see if they were able to accomplish them.

“There usually are quite a few resolutions to lose so many pounds, exercise more, read more books, etc.,” said Lansing, 81. Last New Year’s Eve, she took a look at her largest closet and made a resolution to reorganize it.

“New Year’s Day I had a burst of energy and tackled that closet,” she said. “By evening it was done, and so was I, but I had met one of my resolutions! Maybe it is a good idea to include a resolution that is doable in a day. It felt so good.”

Lansing has been more consistent about making resolutions since she has been part of the group at Charlestown. “We report our successes, and find understanding and support for the ones we don’t accomplish,” she said.

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This time of year, many people reflect on ways to improve their lives. The act of making a New Year’s resolution helped Nancy Menefee Jackson put her finances in order. Psychologists say resolutions with specific goals — and ways to monitor progress — are more likely to be kept.

ing a resolution is that most people have no means of accountability or a support system in place,” he said.

“Go after your goals with a partner who really makes you push yourself. Even better, find someone who has already achieved what you are setting out after and have them coach you.”

New York advice columnist April Masini (“Ask April”) believes that making New Year’s resolutions is a great way to give structure to our lives.

“It’s so easy to let life slip by and live in the day-to-day flow,” she said. “By making a New Year’s resolution, you give yourself the opportunity to slow down and look at what you’ve done and where you are — and where you want to be.

“Making a resolution is the way you can put yourself back on track, or on track for a new adventure or goal. You can resolve to finish a degree, have a better relationship with a neighbor or a daughter-in-law, or [as Phyllis Lansing did] clean out a closet.”

Some eschew resolutions Not everyone is a fan of New Year’s resolutions. Baltimore City resident Andrew Der said, “I never make them. If they are needed, then there is no reason to start at [any particular] moment on the calendar.”

Or, as fellow Baltimore City resident Laura Dorn Foxworth said, “There is no time like the present.”

See RESOLUTIONS, page 7

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FITNESS & HEALTH 3 k Your meds can make you depressed k Pros and cons of knee replacement LAW & MONEY k Financial gifts for kids k How to invest in startups

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JANUARY 2016 — BALTIMORE BEACON

More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com

Out of your pocket Even drugs you may never take are (AP) investigation into Medicare’s costs for new treatments for hepatitis C — a viral costing you money. condition spread by contact Yes, that’s the way insurwith infected blood that afance (and Medicare) are supfects some 3 million Ameriposed to work: group healthcans (170 million worldwide). care coverage averages the It can cause severe liver discosts of the “many well” with ease, requiring expensive those of the “relatively few ill” transplants in advanced cases. to come up with a reasonable Until last year, there was no cost we all pay. single treatment that cured That is a good system, in most cases of hepatitis C, and general. Don’t we all prefer to even those that helped a numknow that, should we or someber of patients came with serione we love require a medical FROM THE ous side effects. treatment that costs, say, PUBLISHER By Stuart P. Rosenthal In 2014, Gilead Sciences $100,000 — or even $100,000 a obtained FDA approval for month — it will be available under our existing healthcare coverage Sovaldi (sofosbuvir), which when paired with existing drugs cures the condition in without bankrupting us?

Medicare routinely adds such new treat- 12 weeks for over 90 percent of patients. ments to its coverage, even when the Gilead currently charges $84,000 for one longevity benefit provided by some of course of the drug in the U.S. Gilead argues that cost is reasonable, these is measured in months. This fact is something we seem to have accepted as a given that lifetime costs of other treatments for the typical patient can be considerably society.

But what if it turned out that each new more than that, not to mention all the additreatment that extended some patients’ tional suffering those treatments entail.

However, the basic structure of the lives could cost everyone on Medicare an extra $40 a year or more out of pocket? drug was developed primarily through uniWould there come a point where this versity research underwritten by U.K. and U.S. government funding (including NIH would lead to a reconsideration?

This number and some more shocking grants). In India, where Gilead’s patent ones come from a recent Associated Press was rejected on the grounds that its under-

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• Publisher/Editor ....................Stuart P. Rosenthal • Associate Publisher..............Judith K. Rosenthal • Vice President, Operations........Gordon Hasenei • Director of Sales ................................Alan Spiegel • Assistant Operations Manager ..........Roger King • Managing Editor............................Barbara Ruben • Contributing Editor ..........................Carol Sorgen • Art Director ........................................Kyle Gregory • Advertising Representatives ............Steve Levin, ........................................................................Jill Joseph • Editorial Assistant ........................Rebekah Sewell

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lying technology had already been invented, the same treatment is available from generic manufacturers for $300.

Last fall, the AP asked Medicare’s Office of the Chief Actuary to calculate what this new hepatitis C treatment would cost Medicare in 2015. The actuary estimated that the Medicare Part D prescription drug program would spend $9.2 billion on hepatitis C drugs — a 96 percent increase from the $4.7 billion spent in 2014.

“That works out to nearly 7 percent of drug costs for all of Part D,” the AP reported, emphasis added.

How does such a sharp increase in the cost to treat one particular condition affect overall out-of-pocket costs of individual Medicare beneficiaries?

According to AP, “Because Medicare prescription benefits are delivered through private insurance companies, it’s difficult to tease out the effect on premiums.

“But another indicator called the Part D deductible gives a general idea. A deductible is the amount of drug costs that beneficiaries are responsible for each year before their insurance kicks in.

“In 2016, the prescription program’s standard deductible is going up by $40, to $360. It’s by far the largest increase in the deductible since the inception of Part D 10 years ago.”

And it’s not only new breakthroughs that are leading to huge increases in treatment costs. As has been widely reported, last September, Turing Pharmaceuticals raised the price of a long-time treatment for parasites from $13.50 to $750 per pill, literally overnight. Why? Because they could.

These cases raise some general ques-

tions that, fortunately, are starting to be discussed more widely: Should drug manufacturers be able to continue setting drug prices based solely on what the market will bear, particularly when taxpayer-funded research is utilized?

If not, what principles should guide us in imposing restrictions on the basic economic freedom to set prices?

Some private insurance companies and state Medicaid programs restrict which patients are covered for new treatments like Sovaldi. As consumers, should we expect or even encourage insurers, including Medicare, to limit usage of the most costly new drugs?

Should our willingness to share the economic costs of medical advances be conditioned on the amount or quality of benefit they produce? That is, should a cure, like Sovaldi, be treated differently from a treatment that extends the life of a cancer patient by a few months?

We live in an age of rapidly advancing medical knowledge and lengthening lives.

Many illnesses that once were fatal have become chronic diseases we can live with for many years.

The benefits are undeniable. As treatments proliferate and costs rise, however, we may find ourselves facing uncomfortable economic choices.

I invite you to share your opinion about these matters. Please write or email us. We will print as many responses as space permits in a future issue.

Letters to the editor Readers are encouraged to share their opinion on any matter addressed in the Beacon as well as on political and social issues of the day.

Mail your Letter to the Editor to The Beacon, P.O. Box 2227, Silver Spring, MD 20915, or e-mail to barbara@thebeaconnewspapers.com.

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Make your check payable to BCGS and mail to P.O. Box 10085, Towson, MD 21285-0085. The Baltimore County Genealogical Society is located at 8601 Harford Rd., Room 308, in Parkville. For more details, visit www.baltimoregenealogysociety.org or call (410) 665-8769.

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SPICE IS NICE Ginger and pepper can help you fight fat, while vanilla cuts appetite

Health Fitness &

PUNCHING UP FITNESS Fitness boxing provides aerobic exercise, improved coordination and more BUM KNEE: SURGERY OR PT? Surgery works, but first consider less drastic solutions for knee pain DIET AND ALZHEIMER’S Researchers think a higher-fat diet might help early Alzheimer’s patients

Are your meds making you depressed?

Be on the lookout for mood swings, sleeplessness and anxiety when starting certain medications.

We all get the blues from time to time.

But if signs of depression, such as prolonged hopelessness or trouble concentrating, seem to come out of nowhere, the cause may be in your medication regimen.

“I think most patients are not aware that some medications can cause depression,” said Dr. Laura Carr, a pharmacist at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital. “This side effect can be missed because sometimes patients hesitate to tell their doctor they are experiencing depression symptoms.”

medicines is greatest in people with a history of major depressive disorder, prior depression episodes, a family history of depression, or prior episodes of drug-induced depression.”

The symptoms of drug-induced depres-

sion are the same as for any kind of depression: feeling hopeless, irritable, anxious or angry; loss of interest in work, family or once-pleasurable activities, including sex; extreme fatigue; trouble concentrating; trouble sleeping; aches or pains, headaches,

cramps or digestive problems; trouble keeping up with responsibilities of work, family or other important activities; or increase or decrease in appetite or weight.

See DEPRESSION, page 4

Take a vacation without leaving your community.

Common culprits A wide variety of medications can affect your mood and lead to depressive symptoms.

One example is benzodiazepines, such as alprazolam (Xanax), diazepam (Valium), lorazepam (Ativan) and temazepam (Restoril), which are used to treat anxiety and insomnia.

“Benzodiazepines are central nervous system depressants. These medications can build up in the body, leading to side effects that can manifest as depression symptoms,” explained Carr. She said older people are more likely to experience the residual effects of these drugs because their bodies metabolize medications more slowly.

Other medications that may have a side effect of depression include • antibiotics such as levofloxacin (Levaquin) and ciprofloxacin (Cipro) • prescription painkillers such as oxycodone (Oxycontin) or fentanyl (Abstral) • hormone replacement therapy such as estrogen (Premarin) • corticosteroids such as prednisone (Deltasone) and triamcinolone (Aristocort) • beta blockers such as metoprolol (Lopressor) and carvedilol (Coreg) • statins such as simvastatin (Zocor) and pravastatin (Pravachol) • anticholinergic drugs such as dicyclomine (Bentyl) • anticonvulsant drugs such as gabapentin (Neurontin) and topiramate (Topamax).

Paradoxically, two medicines that are sometimes prescribed for severe depression can produce depression: aripiprazole (Abilify) and quetiapine (Seroquel).

Not surprisingly, said Carr, “the risk for developing depression as a side effect of

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JANUARY 2016 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Medicare to cover end-of-life counseling

By Lauran Neergaard Medicare will soon start paying doctors to help patients plan what kind of care they want at the end of life, an idea more broadly accepted today than six years ago, when it touched off a political uproar about “death panels.”

The policy change was urged by numerous physician and health groups. Some doctors provide this “advance care planning” to their patients without getting paid for the counseling time, and some private insurers already reimburse for it.

But the Obama administration’s policy change could make the talks more common among about 55 million Medicare beneficiaries.

The rule, proposed last summer and finalized in October as part of broader doc-

tor-payment regulations, takes effect Jan. 1.

The counseling is entirely voluntary, and could take place during seniors’ annual wellness visit or during regular office visits.

“As a physician and a son, I personally know how important these discussions are for patients and families,” said Dr. Patrick Conway, Medicare’s chief medical officer.

“We believe patients and families deserve the opportunity to discuss these issues with their physician and care team.”

Too much invasive care Most Americans say they’d prefer to die at home, with treatment to free them from pain.

But the landmark “Dying in America” report from the prestigious Institute of Medicine found the reality too often is unwanted inva-

sive care and not enough comfort — in part because too few people make their wishes known to their doctors and loved ones.

The movement toward what’s called advance care planning also reflects that this isn’t just an issue for people who already are seriously ill, but a process that may prompt different decisions at different stages of life.

Involving a doctor in those decisions can help people fully understand their options.

For example, a relatively healthy person might want all-out efforts to resuscitate them after an accident, but if diagnosed with advanced cancer might make different decisions as their health gradually worsened.

Medicare decided not to limit how often such counseling could take place, Conway said, in part because of feedback from doctors and the public that people may need repeat counseling as their health needs change.

“If you made a choice and you become more ill, you might want to have the discussion again,” Conway explained. “For some

patients, it may need to occur multiple times in a year if they’re quite ill and their circumstances change. For other patients, they may not need this service at all in a year.”

Medicare’s new policy “is a turning point in end-of-life care,” said Oregon Democratic Rep. Earl Blumenauer, a longtime congressional proponent of coverage for such counseling.

He said next steps include helping ensure that advance directives for all patients are easily accessible and updated frequently, and that doctors are trained to have these difficult conversations.

“Ultimately, the care provided must align with the patient’s stated goals, values and informed preferences,” Blumenauer said.

About three-quarters of the people who die each year in the U.S. are 65 and older, making Medicare the largest insurer at the end of life, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Depression

ness. And be on the lookout for new symptoms in the first month.

“With most medications, the onset of depression symptoms would generally occur during the first weeks or month of starting — or even stopping — a medication,” said Carr.

Report new symptoms immediately.

Your doctor will help you figure out if a change in dosage or a new medication might help resolve them.

Remember, too, that depression has many causes, and your medication may not be to blame. That makes it all the more important to talk to your physician, address your symptoms and find some relief. © 2015, President and Fellows of Harvard College. All Rights Reserved. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

From page 3

What you can do If you suspect that a medication you’re already taking may be causing depression, don’t be shy about reporting your symptoms.

“When I counsel people about their medications, I encourage them to speak openly with their doctors, and ask if their symptoms could be a side effect of the medication,” said Carr.

If you’ve just started a new medication, be proactive about tracking symptoms that develop. Keep a journal, and note the day, time and type of new symptoms you experience, such as mood swings or sleepless-

See COUNSELING, page 5

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Say you saw it in the Beacon | Fitness & Health

BALTIMORE BEACON — JANUARY 2016

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living wills and advance directives.

Momentum stalled with political outcry over including end-of-life conversations in President Barack Obama’s healthcare law, which some opponents termed “death panels.” The concern was that pressure would be put on older patients to agree to forego costly treatments that might extend their lives.

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Vanilla cuts appetite

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To get a similar effect and to help you avoid overindulging on holiday sweets, light a vanilla-scented candle in your kitchen or wear a vanilla-infused body spray or perfume.

EatingWell is a magazine and website devoted to healthy eating as a way of life. Online at www.eatingwell.com. © 2015 Eating Well, Inc. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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The most popular spice in the United States may be an ally in your battle against holiday weight gain. A substance in black pepper called piperine may help block the formation of new fat cells, according to a recent study on mice from the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

If you’ve hit the trails or gym a little too hard recently, a sprinkle of cinnamon may

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Pepper and ginger fight fat

that delicious aroma can also help put the brakes on your sweet tooth.

Overweight individuals who wore a vanilla-scented patch on the back of their hands for four weeks cut their intake of sweet foods (like sugary drinks and high-calorie desserts) in half, while people in the study who wore a lemon-scented patch or no patch showed no change in eating habits.

“Vanilla helps offset the pleasure derived from sweet foods,” said Catherine Collins,

F R E E

help you recover faster. Women who ate about 1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon (or ground ginger) every day for six weeks experienced a decrease in muscle soreness brought on by exercise, found research from the International Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Although you probably know ginger best as a stomach soother, it may also help you feel fuller and even burn more calories.

When overweight men ate breakfast with ginger “tea” (powdered ginger dissolved in hot water), they felt more satisfied and ate less throughout the day than men who were given the same breakfast with just hot water, said research in the journal Metabolism. Plus, the men who drank ginger tea burned about 40 calories more just digesting their meal.

I N F O R M AT I O N

By Karen Asp As the mercury drops, what better way to add warmth than by spicing up your favorite cold-weather foods?

Apple pie wouldn’t be the same without cinnamon; spicy ginger punches up soups; zippy black pepper jazzes up roasts; and aromatic vanilla adds extra oomph to baked goods.

But spices do more than just add flavor.

They also serve up unique health benefits.

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JANUARY 2016 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Fitness boxing punches up your exercise When you think of boxing, you may picture greats like Rocky Marciano duking it out with Jersey Joe Walcott.

But boxing isn’t just a spectator sport anymore. It’s also a popular way to stay fit among older adults, through a version known as fitness boxing.

There’s no getting into a ring or taking any punches, so there’s no risk of head trauma.

Instead, fitness boxing has adapted the movements of the sport into exercise routines.

“This kind of boxing has many health benefits, because it constantly requires you to think, change your position, and change your posture,” said physical therapist Linda Arslanian, director of rehabilitation services at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s hospital.

Unlike traditional boxing that requires you to spar with a partner, fitness boxing for older adults involves throwing punches at the air or at a punching bag, usually in a class.

Boxing set to music There are two main types of these exercise classes. In one, you follow a leader and do a series of boxing moves all choreographed to bouncy music, similar to an aerobics class. The moves include a combination of large, sweeping punches (crosses, hooks, uppercuts); smaller punches (jabs); squats (ducks); and short, quick steps forward and back.

The other type of exercise class involves strength training, stretching, and hitting a punching bag.

Don’t have the strength to stand and do boxing moves? Both types of classes are available for people who wish to remain seated while punching at the air or at a punching bag.

There’s no proof that fitness boxing is superior to any other type of exercise, but it does have many health benefits. One is strength.

“You’re swinging your arms, moving the muscles of your arms and shoulders, increasing your upper-body strength,” said Arslanian.

“And when you’re in the boxer crouch with a wide stance, with your knees slightly bent, you’re strengthening your core muscles, back and legs,” he added. Stronger muscles make it easier to get up out of a chair or carry a bag of groceries.

Excellent aerobic benefits Fitness boxing is also a great aerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise gets your heart pumping, and helps lower the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

It can also strengthen bones and mus-

cles, burn more calories, and lift mood.

Furthermore, aerobics can boost your endurance, which helps you climb stairs or walk farther, and is associated with improvement in certain brain functions.

Arslanian said boxing in particular is well known for improving eye-hand coordination, especially if you’re sparring on a bag, hitting padded targets, or even “shadow” boxing.

“There are studies that show trying to hit a target with your hands improves eyehand coordination and possibly makes you feel more alert and attentive,” she explained. Better eye-hand coordination may also translate into an easier time picking up a pill or a pen.

And one last benefit of fitness boxing, if you are able to stand while doing it: better balance.

“You’re changing your position and challenging your balance. The more you do that, the better your balance reaction becomes,” said Arslanian. “If you encounter a crack in the sidewalk, you may be more successful See BOXING, page 9

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Resolutions From page 1 “Resolutions aren’t for everyone,” Masini agrees, “but if you find you don’t make them because you keep breaking them, reconsider the challenge you’ve been giving yourself in the resolution, and consider making more appropriate ones.”

She suggests, for example, that losing 25 pounds is too big a challenge for many people. “But eating one salad a day (or even a week) is a better resolution, because it takes the focus off the scale, and puts it on the farmer’s market,” said Masini.

If you’re intent on making and keeping resolutions, Michael Kitchens, associate professor of psychology at Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pa., offers these suggestions: “Set a specific goal, such as, ‘I want to lose X number of pounds by Y date.’ People who set high goals tend to accomplish more, but this does not mean that your

goals should be unrealistic,” said Kitchens. “Set a goal that is challenging but manageable for you.”

Kitchens added that people are more successful when they monitor their progress. If your resolution is to lose weight, check your weight regularly. If it’s to save money, write down where you’ve spent your money.

“Monitoring those few, challenging goals will dramatically improve your success rate,” he said.

As we get older, our resolutions often change — and so they should, according to Jacke Schroeder, a licensed clinical social worker and director of Stop Abuse of Elders (SAFE).

“Younger people often have resolutions to become more mentally or physically fit,” said Schroeder. “But as we get older, our resolutions may shift to doing a life review (e.g., what will I do after retirement?), resolving to get your paperwork in order, or

HOW SAFE IS YOUR FOOD?

Do you keep and store your food properly at home? Take the “Safe or Sorry Quiz” in a fun program that tests your knowledge of home food safety. Prizes are available. The event takes place at the Ateaze Senior Center on Tuesday, Dec. 29 from 10:30 to 11 a.m. The center is located at 7401 Holabird Ave., Dundalk. Sign up at the front desk if you plan to attend, or call (410) 887-7233.

it is you’re good at and enjoy, or you might resolve to try something that you’ve always been interested in but never had the time to pursue.”

“Resolutions are not about beating ourselves up,” she said, “but about what is and what can be.”

Gentle Foot Care in Your Home Diabetic foot exams Corns/calluses Wound/infection care Toenail fungus

Resolutions change with age

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Dec. 29

healing your heart from difficult relationships or life experiences.”

Making resolutions in later years also can mean taking stock of competencies and successes, and building on those, said Schroeder.

“You can resolve to do more of whatever

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Knee replacement surgery vs. therapy

By Marilynn Marchione People with knees worn out by arthritis will get more pain relief from joint replacement surgery, but it has more risks and there’s a good chance that less drastic approaches also would help.

That’s the bottom line from the first study to strictly test other treatments against knee replacement — an operation done hundreds of thousands of times a year in the U.S. “It’s one of the great operations of the 20th century,” yet good evidence of its effectiveness has been lacking, said Dr. Jeffrey Katz, a joint specialist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

He wrote a commentary that appears with the results in the New England Jour-

nal of Medicine, and said the right choice will be different for each patient, depending on goals, overall health, and whether the person wants to have or avoid surgery.

More than 670,000 total knee replacements are performed annually in the United States, mostly for arthritis, which deteriorates cartilage in the joints.

Weight loss, PT can help Medical experts advise trying other things before considering surgery — such as weight loss, physical therapy, exercise and medicines — as many studies show these can help. But for how long is not known, nor are there good comparisons of side effects.

Researchers in Denmark assigned 100

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patients to either 12 weeks of non-surgical treatment — physical therapy, exercise, diet advice, special insoles and pain medicine — or surgery followed by 12 weeks of the other treatments.

After one year, the surgery group improved twice as much as the others did on scores for pain, activities of daily living, and quality of life. However, two-thirds of those not given surgery still had a meaningful improvement, and only one-fourth of them ended up having surgery within the year.

At the same time, complications were more frequent with surgery, including several serious deep vein clots, a fracture and a deep infection. And other studies show that surgery “is not universally successful,” and that 1 in 5 patients still have some pain six months later, Katz wrote.

Only surgery can help some Some viewed the results as a clear victory for surgery.

“This certainly adds to the evidence that what we’re doing is effective and improves patients’ quality of life,” said Dr. Joshua Jacobs, a joint surgeon at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and spokesman for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

Many people get relief with therapy, but will ultimately need surgery when arthritis worsens, he added.

Lynnette Friend, a retired mail carrier, tried joint-lubricating shots before having a knee replaced five years ago. She plans to have the other one done in January.

“This time I just went ahead and went See KNEE SURGERY, page 9

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Ongoing

MEMORY CARE COORDINATION STUDY

MIND at Home research study, conducted by Johns Hopkins Medicine, is testing an 18-month support program to help caregivers. The study offers free in-home nurse assessments, gift cards up to $100, information on home safety, managing behaviors, care skills, links to resources and care options, and caregiver support and problem-solving help. Those eligible to join must have Alzheimer’s or memory problems, be living at home in Baltimore or Central Maryland, and have a limited income. For more information, call (410) 550-6744.

Ongoing

ENERGIZE YOUR LIFE

The Baltimore County Department of Aging offers a variety of programs to help you get the most out of life, from belly dancing to gardening, tai chi, travel and more. Call (410) 887-2040 or visit www.BaltimoreCountyMD.gov/aging to find out more.

Ongoing

STATE HEALTH INSURANCE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

Trained volunteers are available to answer questions regarding Medicare A and B, Medicare Advantage Plans, Medicare Supplement Insurance (medigap), Medicare Prescription Drug Plans (Part D), Medicaid and potential Medicare frauds. Call (410) 887-2059.

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BALTIMORE BEACON — JANUARY 2016

Boxing

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Jan. 4+

HELP TO STOP SMOKING

Nicotine Anonymous meets each Monday from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at MedStar Good Samaritan, and offers ongoing support and education for smokers who want to quit. The program meets at the Good Health Center, 5601 Loch Raven Blvd., 2nd floor. The program is free, but registration is required. Call (443) 444-4100 for more information or questions.

Ongoing

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED AT BEANS AND BREAD

Beans & Bread Center offers a free breakfast Monday through Friday, and a mid-day meal 7 days a week. Individuals or groups of up to 7 people are needed to serve breakfast from 8 to 10 a.m., and lunch from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Volunteers can also prepare casseroles, breakfast bags, or fresh baked goods to be dropped off at Beans & Bread. For more information, contact Lena Gonzalez at (410) 732-1892, x111 or lena.gonzalez@vincentbaltimore.org to volunteer.

Ongoing

DONATE HOUSEHOLD ITEMS

Main Street Housing develops quality affordable rental housing for individuals and families with psychiatric disabilities. It is looking for donations of vacuums, brooms, small tables, lamps, snow shovels, rakes, washers/dryers, lawn mowers and trimmers. Visit www.mainstreethousing.org or call (410) 646-7840 (ext. 22).

Knee surgery From page 8 for the knee replacement,” she said.

“There’s not much that can be done when it really starts to deteriorate.”

Kenneth Rose, a retired Chicago police officer, also tried shots before having a knee replaced in 2011. When the other one worsened, he had it replaced in May, and now is able to lose weight and walk a couple miles a day with his wife.

“I wish I had done [the surgery] sooner,” he said. “It’s such a pleasure, really.

You don’t realize how great it is to be able to go outside and take a walk.”

Consider the trade-offs The results give “convincing” evidence that surgery helps, but that there are trade-offs on risks, said Dr. David C. Good-

man at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice. His advice: • Don’t feel pushed or locked into a choice. Get more than one opinion. And remember you can always choose surgery later if you try something else first.

• Consider how well you can handle the disruption of activity and rehabilitation needed after surgery, and how much help you’ll have at home.

• Get a clear estimate of what it will cost you. The operation runs $20,000 to $25,000, but research also suggests it saves money because it keeps people working and active and helps prevent other health problems.

For more information about the study, see http://bit.ly/knee_replacement_trial.

Further advice on joint replacement is at http://bit.ly/joint_replacement_trends.

— AP

From page 6 protecting yourself, because your strength and reaction time may have improved.”

Before you start Despite all the benefits, fitness boxing is not for everyone.

“I’d say you’d have to be very careful if you have osteoporosis or osteoarthritis of the hands. In that case, you should consider shadow boxing only, and make sure your hands don’t make contact with a target,” said Arslanian.

9

Also, as with any activity that is potentially aerobic, you should check with your physician before starting.

If you’re interested in trying this exercise to change up your routine, you’ll likely find classes at health clubs, community centers, or your local YMCA. And if you do sign up for a class, remember to take it slowly.

“You’ll want to start at a comfortable level of intensity and gradually increase, and stick with it,” said Arslanian, “It’s not about high intensity. It’s about consistency.” © 2015 President and Fellows of Harvard College. All Rights Reserved. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

10

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Health Studies Page

JANUARY 2016 — BALTIMORE BEACON

THE PLACE TO LOOK FOR INFORMATION ON AREA CLINICAL TRIALS

Study: how diet might affect Alzheimer’s Insulin resistance is a condition in which the body produces insulin — a hormone that helps the body convert digested food, or glucose, into energy — but does not use it effectively.

When people have insulin resistance, glucose builds up in the blood instead of being absorbed by the cells throughout the body, including the brain. That buildup can lead to high blood sugar, diabetes, brain fogginess, depression and more.

In addition, Alzheimer’s disease is associated with insulin resistance.

When there is not enough insulin in the

blood, the body may break down fat instead of glucose and use it for energy. Researchers believe a diet high in fat and low in carbohydrates may provide improved nourishment for the brain during the early stages of Alzheimer’s, and thus may slow or even reverse the cognitive decline associated with that disease.

A study being conducted by the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine is now looking at how two diets might impact Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

Testing two diets The first aim of the study is to examine the feasibility of implementing a modified Atkins diet in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or early Alzheimer’s.

This diet is high in fats, with moderate protein and a low amount of carbohydrate. It is referred to as a ketogenic diet.

The second aim of the study is to determine whether that diet results in better cognitive test scores than a healthy nonketogenic diet.

“The possibility that a safe, easy to implement and inexpensive dietary intervention might improve the functioning of persons with MCI or early AD — or possibly even alter the course of dementia for some patients — might be a real game-changer in the field of AD therapeutics,” said Dr. Jason Brandt, the principal investigator of the study.

In addition, the study will look at the role of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene in participants’ response to the modified Atkins diet. One version of the APOE gene increases an individual’s risk for developing late-onset Alzheimer’s disease.

Who can take part?

Researchers will include 50 people, age 60 or older, with MCI or mild probable AD. Each participant must have a study partner who is cognitively healthy, lives with the participant, and can help them adhere to the diet.

Those with multiple food allergies cannot take part, nor can people with strict diets, such as gluten-free or vegetarian. In addition, patients who have had a stroke, coronary artery or liver disease, or insulindependent diabetes cannot participate.

Participants will be randomly assigned to a 12-week trial of either the modified Atkins diet or a control diet based on the National Institute on Aging’s recommendations for senior nutrition, which includes a lot of fruit, vegetables and grains, but very little fat.

A research dietitian will teach participants and partners their new diets, and monitor participants’ adherence with food logs and urine testing. After an initial baseline visit, participants will also complete four in-person assessments.

Researchers hypothesize that the modified Alzheimer’s diet will be well tolerated by participants. They also believe that it will improve cognition more than the control diet, particularly for those participants who do not carry the variant of the APOE gene.

If the results are promising, a larger-scale, multi-site clinical trial will be designed.

Education, support and vitamin supplements will be provided free of charge; however, no compensation is offered for participation.

To learn more about the study, or to volunteer, contact Chandler Zolliecoffer at (410) 955-1647 or czollie1@jhmi.edu.

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11

Herpes virus carries killer drug to tumors

By Matthew Perrone Federal health officials have approved a first-of-a-kind drug that uses the herpes virus to infiltrate and destroy deadly skin cancer tumors.

The Food and Drug Administration approved the injectable drug from Amgen Inc. for patients with hard-to-treat melanoma — the deadliest form of skin cancer, expected to be diagnosed in 74,000 U.S. patients this year.

For now, the drug is approved only for melanoma tumors that cannot be removed surgically. The drug, Imlygic (em-LYE’gick), is injected directly into tumor tissue, where it uses herpes as a Trojan horse to slip past and rupture cancer cells.

The drug combines a gene snippet meant to stimulate the immune system with a mod-

ified version of the herpes simplex virus — the kind that causes mouth cold sores.

Limited effectiveness Despite the drug’s groundbreaking approach, FDA officials stressed it has not been shown to extend life.

Instead, company studies showed that about 16 percent of patients injected with the drug saw their tumors shrink, compared with 2 percent of patients who took more conventional cancer drugs. That effect lasted at least six months.

Regulators stressed that Imlygic had no effect on melanoma that had spread to the brain, lungs or other internal organs.

Amgen said patients should be treated with the drug for at least six months, or

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Ongoing

until there are no more tumors left to treat.

The company estimates one course of treatment will cost about $65,000, depending on the length of treatment.

Doctors give an initial round of injections, followed by a second dose three weeks later, and then regular injections every two weeks thereafter.

The drug — known chemically as talimogene laherparepvec, or T-VEC — divides into copies repeatedly until the membranes, or outer layers, of the cancer cells burst. Mean-

Over the years, scientists have explored altering various viruses, including measles and polio, to combat several types of cancer, including brain tumors, breast cancers See CANCER DRUG, page 12

The University of Maryland & Veterans Affairs of Baltimore are conducting a research study to better understand balance & prevent falls as we age.

With your participation you will receive: • Health evaluation • Balance, step, strength, and/or flexibility exercises • Compensation for your time

CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) provides court-

are also needed to become an advocate for children in foster care. Donations are

Like other cancer “vaccines”

Seeking Men and Women

HELP NEGLECTED CHILDREN

appointed volunteers to advocate for abused and neglected children. Volunteers

while, the gene snippet churns out a protein to stimulate an immune response to kill melanoma cells in the tumor and elsewhere in the body.

For Information, please call the Baltimore VA/University of Maryland Gerontology Recruitment Phone Line

410-605-7179

desired for tickets or coupons for children’s/youth events to enable CASA volun-

Mention code: LIFT

teers to take foster children on excursions. Visit www.casachildren.org or call

*You must be at least 65 years old and in good health *Participants will be seen at the Baltimore VA Medical Center and University of Maryland School of Medicine for approximately 41 visits for 1 to 4 hours of time per visit

(410) 828-0515.

DO YOU SUFFER FROM COPD? The Baltimore Early Phase Unit is currently seeking volunteers to participate in an Outpatient clinical research trial to evaluate a new investigational medication for COPD. WE ARE RECRUITING • Males and Females • Ages 40+ • No respiratory disease other than COPD

The study involves 1 screening visit and up to 6 outpatient visits.

If you qualify, you may receive up to $2,500.00 for completing the study.

© 2015 PAREXEL International Corporation. All rights reserved.

For more information, please visit our website www.parexel.com/baltimore or call 1-800-797-2448

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JANUARY 2016 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Advice for negotiating family boundaries Dear Solutions: Because of finances, I have to move in with my children. They’ve made a separate space for me, telling me I’m part of the family, and I should look at it as our home.

I’m very nervous, even though I get along well with my daughter, son-in-law and children. I was very independent, and I’m not sure how to make this work.

I never thought this hour would arrive.

Any advice?

— Evelyn Dear Evelyn: The hour may have arrived, but the “our” has to leave! Be very clear. It’s not “our” home — it’s theirs. It’s not “our” car — it’s theirs. It’s not “our” party, so don’t join in unless invited. And this above all: it’s not “our” argument — it’s theirs, and you should stay away.

If you give each other space and privacy, it will relieve everyone’s anxiety, and they

won’t go around mumbling “guess who came to dinner (and lunch and breakfast).”

Make dinner sometimes, invite the children into your space for TV or homework, and make this a love-in instead of just a live-in.

Dear Solutions: When I visit my son, I see my 11-yearold grandson getting into arguments with his father a lot. He gets very frustrated, storms off to his room, slams the door and doesn’t come out.

I worry that at his age he might do all sorts of things if he has no place to let out his frustrations. I want to tell him that when he’s feeling bad he can call me, and we can talk about what’s bothering him.

My wife thinks this is a bad idea and would lead to family arguments. Your thoughts?

— Bernard Dear Bernard: Sounds like a grand idea from a grandpa.

Eleven-year-olds can certainly use loving sup- she has such a warm heart. Do you think I should explain to him that I’m port — after all, what’s a grandpa for? not after his wife? What However, your wife is not enam I doing wrong? tirely wrong, so be careful. You — Tom must check this out with your Dear Tom: son and daughter-in-law first.

His cold shoulder must You must also be very clear to take precedence over her all concerned that you won’t warm heart! Cool it. It feels usurp the parents’ authority. flattering to you that she pays So be there for him, but be attention, and it feels flattering careful. Make sure you’re a to her that you give her gifts. mediator, not a meddler.

But it obviously feels threatenDear Solutions: ing to him.

My wife died recently, SOLUTIONS What are you “doing and my next door neighbor By Helen Oxenberg, MSW, ACSW wrong”?

You’re around all day, has been very kind. I’m reand he’s not. That’s enough. tired and home all day and Start looking elsewhere for (single) so is she, but her husband is still women friends. I assure you there are working.

Because she’s been so kind to me, many who also have warm hearts and are listening when I need to talk and every- willing, even eager, to share. © Helen Oxenberg, 2015. Questions to be thing, I’ve gotten her a few small gifts.

I’m beginning to get a bad feeling considered for this column may be sent to: from her husband, though. He doesn’t The Beacon, P.O. Box 2227, Silver Spring, say anything, but I can sort of feel his MD 20915. You may also email the author annoyance. He’s acting very cold to me. at helox72@comcast.net. To inquire about I’ve been giving her gifts because reprint rights, call (609) 655-3684.

Cancer drug From page 11 and others.

A 2013 review in the journal Molecular Cancer concluded that cancer-fighting viruses armed with genes that stimulate the immune system “are potent therapeutic cancer vaccines.”

The FDA has approved a string of new medicines dubbed immunotherapies, or immune-oncology drugs, that harness the body’s immune system to help attack cancer cells. The drugs have brought some of

the first significant advances in patient survival in many years for some cancer types, particularly lung cancer and melanoma.

Melanoma was long considered one of the toughest cancers to treat, with few drug options available up until a few years ago.

But since 2011, the FDA has approved seven new drugs for this form of skin cancer, including Merck & Co.’s Keytruda, and Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Yervoy and Opdivo. All three drugs work by blocking a protein found in certain tumors called PD-1, which inhibits the body’s natural response to cancer cells.

— AP

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JANUARY 2016 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Group homes provide family-like settings

By Carol Sorgen By late last year, Phillip Mullinix was unable to care for his mother’s multiple health issues at home. In December 2014, he said he was “blessed” to find her a place at Country Gardens Assisted Living, a group home in Highland, Md. “As soon as I drove up to the property, I knew this was the place for her,” he wrote in a letter to owner Carolyn Caswell. “The property was several acres of meticulously maintained landscaping. When we met Carolyn, you could immediately see and feel the care in her heart.”

When it comes to housing options for elderly family members, group home assisted living — also known as residential adult family homes, board and care homes, residential care or personal care homes — offer personalized service to small groups of adults.

These residential homes provide lodg-

ing, meal services and assistance with daily living activities, according to A Place for Mom, which connects families to senior living possibilities.

Country Gardens is one such residential care home in the greater Baltimore area. According to Carolyn Caswell, who opened Country Gardens in 1998, the facility offers “good food, good friends, and a family of well-being.”

Licensed for 15 residents, but currently housing 10, the home sits on nine acres in rural Howard County. Private and semi-private accommodations are available, though Caswell encourages residents to choose semi-private rooms because of the greater possibility of socializing.

The monthly fee begins at $2,650 and increases depending on level of care. Assistance with activities of daily living is included, as are various scheduled activities.

A doctor is available for on-site visits, and

On the cover: Country Gardens Assisted Living, in rural Howard County, can accommodate 15 residents. It is among the region's residential care homes, also referred to as group homes, that provide meals, help with activities of daily living, and provide social interaction in a small, family-like setting.

Photo courtesy of Country Gardens

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11196384

the ratio of staff to patients is 1:5.

“Small group homes are the best thing around,” said Caswell. “We’re one big family.”

That’s the feeling at Sterling Kosher Assisted Living as well, said assistant manager Pinchus Shnier. The 14 residents at the Upper Park Heights group home live in a family atmosphere and “get our full attention,” said Shnier.

The staff does “everything that needs to be done,” said Shnier. Residents receive three home-cooked kosher meals a day, assistance with daily living as required (all the way to hospice care if that’s needed), medication management, Sabbath and holiday services, activities and more.

“We treat everyone like our own,” said Shnier.

In neighborhood houses A Place for Mom often recommends residential care homes for their smaller, more home-like family setting. Care home residences are usually located in traditional homes and neighborhoods, and provide care for fewer patients than do full-size assisted living communities. The small number of residents is one of the factors in creating the home-like environment.

Meals are provided by culinary staff who are trained to meet their residents’ dietary needs. Individuals with diabetes or dietary restrictions are provided foods with those accommodations. Residents typically eat together and socialize.

Similar to larger assisted living communities, group homes provide varying levels of care, as needed. Though all assisted living communities are required to have a registered nurse available on a consulting basis, not all have full-time nurses on staff.

Some group homes accept residents who need memory care, while others

focus on other needs and do not accept residents with dementia.

Potential drawbacks There are some disadvantages to group homes as well, of course, according to David Besnette of the Assisted Living Directory Blog.

Among factors to consider are: • Small, residential homes can be self-financed, without a lot of “cushion” for lean times.

• Local Homeowners Associations might change their minds about having a care facility in their neighborhood.

• The home may not be equipped to transition to more involved care.

• Staff may become burned out and turn over quickly.

For more on Besnette’s concerns, see http://bit.ly/group_home_disadvantages.

As with any decision, there are pros and cons to consider, and factors to weigh when choosing a residential option for your loved one.

For more information on some of the residential care homes in the area, visit: A Place for Mom, www.aplaceformom.com, 1-855-433-9285 Assisted Living Management, which serves Baltimore and Anne Arundel Counties, http://www.assistedlivingmgmt.com/, (410) 653-3480 Country Gardens Assisted Living, www.countrygardensassistedliving.com, (301) 854-0006 Heart Homes, serving Lutherville and Anne Arundel County, www.hearthomes.com, (443) 871-3168 Ma Maison, in Perry Hall, www.baltimoreassistedliving.com, (410) 248-0545 Sterling Kosher Assisted Living in Northwest Baltimore City, www.sterlingassistedliving.com, (410) 318-8999

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Programs assist with home modification

By Carol Sorgen Most of us would like to remain in our own home as we age, but to make that possible, home modifications may be called for.

Fortunately, to help you adapt your home to suit your needs as you age in place, loans and grants are available from federal, state and local governments, as well as from the VA, nonprofit and private organizations, and other agencies.

Browse the Home Repair and Modification section on the Eldercare Locator website from the Department of Health and Human Services (www.eldercare.gov) for a comprehensive directory.

The website www.disability.gov also lists organizations and programs where you can find information about home modifications.

Some state housing finance agencies have loan programs that help people with disabilities (or who have a family member living in the household with disabilities) who are buying a home that needs accessibility modifications.

Many states, including Maryland, have home modification programs that are part of their state Assistive Technology programs. See www.mdod.maryland.gov.

These programs provide low-interest loans to buy assistive technology or to help pay for home modifications and adaptations to make your home safe and accessible.

According to Eldercare.gov, many minor home modifications and repairs cost between $150 and $2,000. Some home remodeling contractors offer reduced rates and charge sliding-scale fees based on a person’s income and ability to pay.

Also, some Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) have home modification programs, or can refer you to other organizations that can help pay for home repairs and modifications.

Below is a select guide to several grant and loan programs available throughout the region: The Maryland WholeHome Program through the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development can help you make valuable repairs and enhancements to your home that can lower your family’s monthly utility bills and improve your quality of life.

Maryland WholeHome grants and lowinterest rate loans can be used to upgrade to energy-efficient appliances, repair or replace heating and cooling systems, replace insulation, add accessibility features for seniors or those with special needs, remove lead paint, upgrade plumbing, and address structural and maintenance issues.

Loans and grants are based on what type of work is needed, as well as household income and ability to repay. The maximum interest rate is 4 percent and may be as low as zero. In addition, payments may be deferred and there is no application fee. For more information, visit www.dhcd.maryland.gov.

Rebuilding Together (www.rebuildingtogether.org) is a nonprofit organization that provides home repair and modification services for low-income families, people with dis-

abilities, seniors and veterans and military families, as well as helping families whose homes have been damaged by natural disasters. Contact the local affiliate in Baltimore at (410) 889-2710 for more information.

The National Resource Center on Supportive Housing and Home Modification (http://gero.usc.edu/nrcshhm/) promotes aging in place for seniors and people who are aging with a disability. The Center gives families and individuals the knowledge they need to plan for their housing, health and supportive service needs. Check your state’s listings for agencies and organizations near you that can help with home modifications.

Easy Access Housing for Easier Living is a brochure from Easter Seals that has tips on how to adapt your home to accommodate a person with a disability. The local Easter Seals chapter (http://www.easterseals.com/DCMDVA/) can provide you with information about possible financing

options to pay for modifications to make your home accessible.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) (www.va.gov) makes grants available to service members and veterans with certain permanent and total service-connected disabilities to help them buy or build an

adapted home, or modify an existing home to accommodate a disability.

The two grant programs are the Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) grant and the Special Housing Adaptation (SHA) grant. You See HOME MODIFICATION, page B-6

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Our many exceptional services and amenities include restaurant-style dining, a wide range of social and recreational activities, indoor pool, fitness center, well-stocked library, 24-hour staff, full-service beauty salon/barber shop, game room, wireless Internet, comfortable sitting areas, weekly outings, laundry, and housekeeping. Heartlands has been providing service to families in the area for over 27 years.

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JANUARY 2016 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Housing Notes

By Barbara Ruben

Kosher group home to open new facility Sterling Hospitality Kosher Assisted Living will open a new home in the Park Heights community in Baltimore in mid2016. The small, 14-bed facility, which opened in 1994, is moving to a new space, and the original location will close.

Sterling Hospitality has certified nursing assistants and medication administration technicians who are trained in first aid, CPR and dementia care and are on duty 24 hours a day.

The monthly fee starts at approximately $3,000, which includes room, personal care, medication administration, housekeeping, food, activities and assistance with activities of daily living. The final fee is determined by the room location and the level of care needed.

For more information, see www.sterlingassistedliving.com or call (410) 318-8999.

Sensors help maintain independence A new study found sensor technology and onsite care coordination successfully helps older adults remain independent and active longer.

Researchers at the University of Missouri found older adults stayed longer in

Home modification From page B-5 can apply online or call VA toll-free at 1-800827-1000 to have a claim form mailed to you.

You can also ask to speak to the Department of Veterans Affairs Home Loans Service.

The USDA’s Single Family Housing Repair program (www.marylandusda.com) provides loans to very low-income homeowners to repair, improve or modernize their

an independent living community using a technologically enhanced care coordination model than did older adults who lived in other senior housing across the nation.

Their length of stay is important because it indicates that older adults’ health remains stable enough for them to continue living independently rather than transferring to an assisted living facility.

At TigerPlace retirement community in Columbia, Mo., some of the residents have sensors in their apartments that monitor walking patterns for increasing fall risk, respiration rate, restlessness and pulse.

The sensors can also detect falls. The information is relayed to the care coordinators who can intervene to address changes before health issues become serious.

The researchers found the residents who lived with sensors had an average length of stay of 4.3 years, as compared to a stay of 2.6 years among residents living without sensors.

“The sensors help the nurse or the social worker focus on alerts to potential health problems. The alerts can also indicate potential depression, increasing confusion, and/or other problems the person may be experiencing,” said Marilyn Rantz, with the Sinclair School of Nursing at the University of Missouri.

“With the sensors, the nurses get a head’s up several days or weeks before the health condition becomes serious — before people will even detect it themselves and complain about it.”

The study was published in Nursing Outlook.

For more about new aging-in-place technologies, see “Technology to help you stay independent,” on page B-8.

homes. It also provides grants to elderly, lowincome homeowners to remove health and safety hazards.

The United Spinal Association (www.unitedspinal.org) offers a guide on home modifications that includes information about resources that can help people with spinal cord injuries pay for home modifications. The American Occupational Therapy Association (www.aota.org) has more information on this subject.

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JANUARY 2016 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Technology to help you stay independent

By Sally Abrahms Though the vast majority of people want to “age in place” by staying in their homes as they get older, safety and health issues and social isolation can interfere with that plan.

Fortunately, a growing number of stateof-the-art digital tools — including smartphones, GPS, voice activated and sensor technology — can better enable us to stay where we are indefinitely.

With these new products, which are affordable and easy to use, a family member can indirectly keep tabs on a parent or

child — tracking their daily activities on a cellphone, tablet or computer, and being notified by text or e-mail if something seems out of the ordinary.

Gadgets and apps can remind us to take our medications — and let others know if we don’t. Besides telling time, smart watches can provide feedback on one’s vitals, such as blood pressure, that can be relayed to professionals.

“The aging-in-place technology field is exploding,” said gerontologist Katy Fike, who co-founded San Francisco-based

Aging 2.0 in 2012 to advise start-ups geared to boomers and seniors. In the past few years, her company has met with more than 1,000 entrepreneurs in seven countries, aiming for a part of the market that is expected to reach $30 billion by 2017.

Chalk it up to longevity, millions of worried long-distance family caregivers, and a looming shortage of professional home aides. About 10,000 boomers a day are turning 65, and close to half of women 75 and older live alone.

Here are some of the products geared to helping older adults maintain their independence:

Safety and security systems PERS, an acronym for Personal Emergency Response Systems, are familiar to many people. You push an emergency button on a key chain or from a cord around your neck or wrist. An operator assesses your situation and can dispatch help or notify family.

But these medical alert systems are changing. They used to work only at home with a base station connected to a landline.

What’s new is the introduction of m-PERS (the “m” stands for mobile), which works wherever you are — on the golf course, out to lunch, in the garden, or visiting the grandkids in another state.

Rita Labla, 79, lives alone and drives, but she struggles with congestive heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. She’s also fallen.

“When she’s out of sight, you never know what’s going on,” said her daughter, Loretta Burke, 61, who lives three miles away. Last July, Burke gave her mother a GreatCall Splash m-PERS. “We were all concerned she wouldn’t use it. Instead, she has it with her all the time,” Burke said. “It’s like her bodyguard.”

Labla agrees. “I feel much more secure

with it,” she said. Labla knows she can press it if she thinks someone shady is following her in the parking lot, she gets lost on the road, or has a problem at home.

By checking their smartphones, tablets or computers, Burke and her siblings can track their mother via GPS. You can order a GreatCall Splash at www.greatcall.com or by calling 800-650-5921 ($50 for purchase, $35 activation fee, and monthly service starting at $20).

GreatCall plans to add a feature that summons help if it detects a fall — even if you haven’t pressed the button. Already, another go-anywhere medical alert system, Philips Lifeline’s GoSafe (www.lifelinesys.com, 1800-380-3111), offers a waterproof pendant with fall-detection capability — for a onetime fee of $149 plus $55 a month. MobileHelp (www.mobilehelp.com, 800-989-9863) has a similar system ($37, plus $50 a month; fall detection is an extra $10 a month).

Sensors are another way to make sure Mom or Dad is safe at home. Several wireless sensors placed around the house where a parent goes daily — perhaps the bed, the refrigerator, a favorite chair or the bathroom door — can tip you off if they aren’t triggered.

Sarah King, 83, lives in a basement apartment of her daughter Donita Kniffen’s home. Still, sensors from Evermind (https://evermind.us, 1-855-677-7625) have come in handy.

Kniffen, 52, programmed Evermind so she receives a text the first time her mom’s TV, microwave or reading lamp is turned on. She also gets an alert on her smartphone if none of the sensors has been triggered during periods of the day when her mother should be up and about.

Instead of calling every morning to See TECHNOLOGY, page B-9

BALTIMORE BEACON — JANUARY 2016

Technology From page B-8 make sure her mother is OK, Kniffen goes on her smartphone to check the sensors.

(The sensors come with a one-time cost of $199, plus a $29 monthly fee.)

Michael Demoratz, 54 and a social worker, chose a combination PERS/sensor system from BeClose (http://beclose.com, 1-866-574-1784) to keep tabs on his mother, who lives in Pennsylvania. He placed motion sensors in her living room, between the bathroom and bedroom, and on the cellar door, which was the site of two previous accidents.

Demoratz receives a daily e-mail. Green means his mom’s activity is ordinary, yellow signifies out of the ordinary, and red is abnormal.

If she were to press the panic button, Demoratz would get a text from the company. “My mother feels reassured because she knows I have been alerted,” he said.

BeClose’s ability to spot variations in behavior is the system’s most valuable feature, Demoratz said. “If I have objective data, my mother can’t just say she’s fine when I call,” he said. “I can tell her I notice she’s not getting up or out much, and is spending a lot of time in her chair. Then I can ask why she’s so sedentary.”

Every year, Demoratz takes a vacation to Europe. “This year, from my phone, iPad, desktop or anyone’s computer, I’ll know exactly what’s going on with my mom in real time — whether she’s sitting, in bed, in the bathroom, or if she’s left the house,” he said. “Talk about peace of mind.” (The system costs $499 for the equipment and $99 a month.)

Medication managers Taking pills at the right time, often multiple times a day, is critical to your health.

What if you forget? New products can provide reminders and let loved ones know whether you’re on track.

Lively (www.mylively.com, 1-888-7570711) recently came out with a safety watch that not only tells time, but also acts as a medication reminder and a medical alert system.

You attach a sensor to the pill dispenser, and the senior gets a reminder on a smart watch she wears. Remote caregivers get a notice by smartphone or computer when the medications are taken, or perhaps forgotten. The system also lets you push a button in an emergency.

A pedometer feature counts your steps, thus giving you feedback on your activity level. Colleen Sturdivant said her mother, Jane Kennedy, 76, likes the step-counting feature. Since her recent hip replacement, the step counter shows her that she’s getting stronger every day by increasing her steps.

Sturdivant likes the feature that notifies her of her mother’s whereabouts, which can be shared with her sister and two brothers through an online dashboard.

(The system costs $50, plus $28 to $35 a month.)

A more low-tech system is Reminder

Rosie (http://reminder-rosie.com, $130), a talking clock. You manually program it with your voice or a loved one’s voice, for the day, week or sometime in the future (perhaps, “time for my afternoon pills”).

Mike Gilman, 65, a retired New York state tax collector, takes eight pills a day at different times. “Rosie is the most fantastic thing,” he said. Besides jogging his memory about his medication, Gilman uses the device to remind himself when to send birthday cards to family and friends.

If you want a free app for your smartphone or tablet, CareZone (www.carezone.com) centralizes information about your medication and other important information, such as doctor appointments. You can share this information with family members. You can also set daily medication reminders that buzz your phone, followed up 10 minutes later if you forget.

Keeping in touch Even if devices can help you stay in your home, you can still get lonely. Technology

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can help you feel connected to friends and family — and sometimes even to medical professionals.

With an interactive touch screen from grandCARE Systems (www.grandcare.com, (262) 338-6147), you can look at a photo of a grandson’s Halloween getup or a video replay of his baseball home run. You can listen to music, play word games, read the news, or surf the Internet. No need to know how to use a computer.

Randall Schafer, 61, uses his grandCARE system to Skype with his mother, 90. (She just pushes a button to videochat.) “My mom is in love with our dog, Daisy,” Schafer said. Her “face lights up” when she sees the schnauzer, he said.

An added feature: The system can transmit health data — from glucose and blood pressure to weight and oxygen readings.

For example, a blood pressure cuff with a wireless Bluetooth medical device will record and relay the readings to caregivers.

(The system costs $699, plus $49 a month.)

Another system that offers social oppor-

B-9

tunities — as well as care coordination, calendar sharing and health-data collection — is Independa (www.independa.com, 1800-815-7829). All the information appears on a smart TV rather than on a computer or device screen.

You can be watching “Downton Abbey” on the TV, and up pops a screen saying your daughter wants to say goodnight. You can accept and videochat — or not, if you’re engrossed in the show. An adult child can go to the Independa caregiver portal via e-mail and send a message or upload photos to your TV screen.

One feature called “Life Stories” lets parents record their memories for their adult children. You or your parents can play the remembrances at any time, and email them to other family members. Independa has also introduced a mobile app for caregivers who have an Apple Watch.

The system costs $799 to $1,399, depending on your preferred size of LG See TECHNOLOGY, page B-11

B-10

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JANUARY 2016 — BALTIMORE BEACON

How to make a small room feel bigger

By Melissa Rayworth As the weather gets colder and we come indoors, it’s easy to wish your indoor space had some of the open, airy feeling of the outdoors.

It is possible to make a room feel larger than it really is: Choosing the right colors and finishes and arranging furniture properly can create the illusion of space.

Here, three experts on designing small living spaces share their strategies for making rooms feel larger and more open, without the expense of construction or major redecorating.

Mirrors work wonders That classic advice is really true: Strategically placed mirrors will make a room feel larger.

“They let your eye travel beyond the room,” explains Maxwell Ryan, founder of ApartmentTherapy.com. In small dining rooms, Ryan suggests, place a large, horizontal mirror along one wall, so that while entertaining, you’ll see the reflection of guests at your table and flickering candles.

But mirrors aren’t the only reflective option: New York-based designer Young Huh

uses reflective, glossy paint finishes on ceilings to make her clients’ rooms feel taller and more open.

Go big Surprising as it sounds, Huh recommends adding one oversize piece of furniture to a small room. Playing with scale by adding something large amid more modest-size furniture, she said, tricks the brain into perceiving that the room must be fairly large if it can hold something oversize.

Ryan said this works with art as well: Consider adding a large painting or other big piece of art to a room.

“It seems counterintuitive,” he said, “but our eye likes contrast. We like variation.”

Long, dramatic curtains can trick your eye in the same way.

“Hanging curtain rods all the way at the ceiling, using large art and big mirrors, and vertical stripes with paint are great ways to make your eye go up visually,” said Kyle Schuneman, co-author of The First Apartment Book: Cool Design for Small Spaces (Potter). This has the effect of “lifting the ceiling and making it feel more spacious than it actually is.”

Huh agrees: “Where you have small or low ceilings, definitely have curtains go all the way up to the ceiling.”

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“Decluttering and cleaning up is always essential,” Ryan said, but you don’t have to pare down your furniture. Instead, try rearranging it to let energy flow more easily.

“A room has good energy and good flow if you can vacuum it without moving any furniture, including at the corners,” Ryan said. “If you can’t get behind stuff, that’s a sign that the space is gonna feel a little crowded.”

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Create areas of interest “If you have just a studio or an open space, defining the areas makes it feel like there is more space,” Schuneman said, “because your eye is seeing multiple ideas.”

Try using several small rugs to define different areas for sleeping, dining and relaxing.

Or use different wall treatments, he said, like reclaimed wood or wallpaper, to further differentiate these areas.

And in a studio apartment, “try creating a nook for your bed,” Schuneman said, “making it feel like a room within a room.”

Dark or light?

This subject is open to debate. Huh has made clients’ rooms feel bigger with dark and bold colors.

“Dark colors recede,” she said, so if you paint a small room a rich chocolate brown or peacock blue, “you don’t notice how small the room is.”

But Ryan thinks light walls contrasted with a darker rug or dark-stained wood floor are also a strong choice. “Darkness contracts,” he said, while “lightness expands.”

Whether you choose light or dark colors, “consider painting the ceiling the same color as the walls,” Huh said. “It’s like that fashion tip: wearing the same color all over” makes you look taller.

See SMALL ROOMS, page B-11

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ture placement and see whether the room feels different.

“If your bed is pushed up against the wall on two sides,” Ryan said, it may make the room feel tighter. Try moving the bed out so you can step out either side, he said.

Ironically, losing a bit of actual space could make the room feel roomier.

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Technology From page B-9 smart TV embedded with Independa services. Or, if you have your own TV with an HDMI connection, which is now commonly used, you can hook it up to an Independa AnyTV Companion box, which costs $399. Both systems charge $30 a month.

A unique social engagement tool is the GeriJoy virtual care companion (www.gerijoy.com, 1-855-437-4569), which costs $249 a month. Consider it pet therapy with a twist.

A virtual “talking” dog or cat on a tablet screen interacts and converses with a loved one. Many people name their pet, which is operated around the clock by GeriJoy representatives who work remotely.

To start a conversation, you touch the dog on the tablet screen and talk. Your pet will “wake up” and start chatting. (Perhaps the pet will say, “Did you have a good sleep? You look fabulous today.”)

When you ask a question, your virtual companion responds immediately, even if it means the human helper has to look up an answer on the Internet. (“How did the Red Sox do last night?” for example.) Daily conversations and events are kept on a written log, which the family can access through a secure Web site.

Becky and Craig Jio bought GeriJoy for Craig’s mother, Lucy, who has Alzheimer’s disease and lives with them in Santa Clara, Calif. She doesn’t like to leave her room.

“GeriJoy is good company,” Craig, 45, said. She especially loves a silly picture that Becky uploaded of a man with an ultra-long nose and tongue. “When it pops up, she cracks up laughing,” Becky said.

The Jios are convinced that GeriJoy has improved her mood. When the system was down for a week with hardware problems, Craig said, “my mother got depressed.

Now that it’s back, she’s happier. That makes everyone happier.”

Coming down the pike In the future, a growing number of seniors will be connected remotely with service providers who’ll be able to detect changes in physical and mental health, as well as mobility, said David Lindeman, di-

Small rooms From page B-10

Brighten up “Your eye will only go where there’s light. It won’t go where there are shadows,” said Ryan. “So lighting is the most important thing.” It’s also easy to remedy, and “doesn’t require moving anything.”

The goal is to eliminate shadows.

rector of the Center for Technology and Aging, a research group in Oakland, Calif.

“We’re in a new era of connected aging,” Lindeman said. “We’ll be getting more and more information brought to us in a variety of ways so we can support our loved ones.”

Look for more developments in the “smart home:” — Entrepreneurs are working on a carpet woven from optic fibers that analyze your gait and help predict if you may fall or are physically declining.

— Consumer-friendly devices will enable long-distance caregivers, with the touch of a tablet or cellphone, to turn off Dad’s stove if he forgets, or to close the blinds.

Also on the horizon is the growth in “wearables,” including smart jewelry and clothing with sensors and chips woven into fabric. The sensors will track movement, collect health data and transmit to a mobile device.

Don’t like the look of today’s PERS pendants, wristbands and key chains? Cuff Inc. (www.cuff.io) is introducing products, priced from $29 to $199, that look like elegant jewelry. The gadget, which is inserted in specially made bracelets and necklaces, sends notifications, tracks activity and acts as a safety device.

Sensogram Technologies, based in Plano, Texas, is working on SensoTRACK (www.sensotrack.com), a device you wear on your ear. It captures oxygen saturation, respiration and heart rate, as well as mood. The goal is to prevent or to catch a problem early.

We will be seeing more social and caregiving applications, too.

Laurie Orlov, founder of Aging in Place Technology Watch (www.ageinplacetech. com), believes voice-activated robots might someday be good helpers and conversationalists.

“It is inevitable that companion robots will learn, adjusting responses to become the companion we need, responding to our commentary and reminding us to take our medication so that we can remain independent,” Orlov said. © 2015, Kiplinger. All Rights Reserved.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

“Make sure you have at least three points of light in every room,” Ryan said, preferably from floor and table lamps “so the light is down where you’re living.”

The light from ceiling fixtures doesn’t count. “It’s very far away,” he said, “and makes you look bad.”

But there is one exception to that rule: “Really good track lighting...if it’s directed, pointed at your walls or cabinets.” — AP

Pull out and save this special section, or share with a friend.

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COMPANION CARE

Absolute Companion Care 410-357-9640 www.absolutecompanion.com Talking to your parents about getting help at home: A recent study indicates 55% of Americans say being a burden on their family is their biggest concern during aging. Take this into consideration when approaching your parent about accepting in-home help. Explain to your parent how much you worry about them. If you have been acting as primary caregiver explain that it has become too much on top of career or parenthood responsibilities. You might say, “Mom, I worry about you…and even if you tell me I shouldn’t, it keeps me up at night.

Would you try having someone come in once a week for me?”

Call Absolute Companion Care to discuss this and other scenarios about honest conversations with elders.

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The value of experience. For 20 years, Oak Crest has provided financial security with their Refundable Entrance Deposit.* Learn More. Call 410-877-6624 for your brochure, or to schedule a visit. *Carefully read the Residence and Care Agreement for the conditions that must be satisfied before the Provider is required to pay the Entrance Deposit Refund.

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Your Life, Enriched

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Say you saw it in the Beacon

Money

13

Law &

Learn simple and effective ways to give children financial gifts, from 529 plans to fractional shares of stock, in the story below.

Four great ways to give investments to kids When Peggy Mangot began giving her nieces and nephews financial gifts more than a decade ago, the process was frustrating. Buying shares of individual stocks was costly and time-consuming; most mutual funds were out of reach because of high minimum-investment requirements; and purchasing a simple U.S. savings bond proved so difficult that Mangot gave up.

Sending checks to the young people accompanied by newspaper articles with suggestions of how to invest the money wasn’t ideal, either. “Sometimes the check would end up in a drawer,” said Mangot, now CEO of SparkGift, a San Francisco company launched in March to make it easier to give investments to kids. “It wasn’t fun or rewarding for me or for the kids.”

Giving financial gifts today is far simpler and more cost-effective, thanks to a growing number of investment options aimed at tech-savvy investors. However, the best option for any individual, regardless of age,

will depend on a variety of factors, including the goal of the financial gift.

“Ideally, you want to look at this as not only a gift, but a teachable moment,” said Stuart Ritter, a certified financial planner at T. Rowe Price who has three children of his own. “That lesson starts with what your goals are.”

For relatives and friends who want to buy a modest financial gift for a minor, here are four low-cost options.

1. Ugifts State governments that offer 529 college-savings plans have created “Ugifts” to help facilitate small one-time contributions to these tax-favored accounts.

Account holders (usually a child’s parents) provide friends and relatives who are interested in giving a Ugift a special code that identifies the child’s account without revealing the account number or recipient’s Social Security number.

Givers go to the gift-giving section of the

Web site, plug in the code ,and transfer money from their bank accounts. The account holder gets a message when the process is completed.

Givers can also download a gift card that allows them to e-mail a personal message to the parents, the beneficiary or both.

Fees: $0.

Who it’s good for. People who want to give modest gifts to a beneficiary who has an established account will like this. Many 529 plans accept Ugifts in denominations ranging from $15 to $50.

Why look elsewhere. If you don’t want to put limits on how the money is spent, avoid 529 plans. Withdrawals from these accounts are subject to income taxes and penalties if the money is used for anything unrelated to schooling.

Moreover, if you plan to give a substantial amount and live in one of the 34 states that provide tax breaks for contributing to a 529 plan, you have better options. (See “Open a 529” below.)

2. SparkGift Started by Mangot to address her financial frustrations, SparkGift makes giving stock and mutual funds as easy as buying a gift card.

The site lets you buy fractional shares in roughly 6,000 investments — from individual stocks, such as Apple (symbol AAPL) and McDonald’s (MCD), to shares in a variety of exchange-traded funds, including the popular Vanguard Total Market ETF (VTI).

The minimum investment is $20; the maximum is $2,000.

You can participate in one of two ways. If you’re a parent and want to create a SparkGift registry, you can upload a photo of your child, along with his or her goals and favorite investments. Share that registry with your friends and family, and they can use it like a wedding registry to follow your wishes explicitly or not at all.

If you’re a donor and want to give stock See GIFTS TO KIDS, page 14

Investing in startups will soon be easier

By Marcy Gordon For years, artists, charities and entrepreneurs have used the power of the Internet to generate money for projects. It’s called “crowdfunding,” and lets members of the public financially support those who are engaged in potentially worthwhile or profitable endeavors. However, the money sent is not technically invested: donors get no stock and don’t share in any resulting wealth.

But a new form of crowdfunding is coming soon that will allow startups to raise money by selling stock to Main Street investors.

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently adopted rules implementing a 2012 law that opened the door to securities crowdfunding. The vote was 3-1 at a public meeting.

An opportunity, but risky Starting in mid-2016, businesses will be able to offer investors a piece of their company by legally selling stock online. For investors, it’s a chance to make a small profit and possibly get in early on the next Twitter, Instagram or Uber.

But it also entails high risk, given that a majority of startups fail. About half of all small businesses shut down within the

first five years. Some critics also warn that investment crowdfunding is ripe for fraud.

The new SEC rules won’t prevent the types of fraud that can arise in conventional online scams, said Mercer Bullard, a law professor at the University of Mississippi who is a mutual-fund investor advocate.

“You can embezzle someone’s money in the guise of making a securities offering,” Bullard said in a telephone interview.

With an eye to protecting investors, the crowdfunding securities offerings can only be made through brokerage firms or new Internet funding portals that must be registered with the SEC. The portals will be expected to provide investors with materials explaining the process, investment limits and resale restrictions.

To reduce fraud risks, the portals are charged with vetting the companies and the prospective investors.

SEC Chair Mary Jo White said before the vote that agency staff “will begin immediately to keep a watchful eye on how this market develops.” They will assess what kinds of companies use the new crowdfunding offerings, how closely they follow the rules, and whether the new

practice promotes the raising of capital while also protecting investors.

The SEC proposed the crowdfunding rules two years ago. Waiting at the starting gate for the final rules to take effect: legions of startups in areas such as packaged food, medical and biotechnology, restaurants and real estate.

Lisa Fetterman, the founder and CEO of cooking equipment startup Nomiku, sees a potential opportunity “because banks aren’t going to give [startups] money,” she said. The company sells machines for sousvide cooking — a sort of vacuum method meant to cook evenly and seal in moisture — to both home cooks and restaurants.

Nomiku has raised about $1.3 million in the past few years through conventional crowdfunding on Kickstarter. Now with the SEC rule change, Fetterman sees about a 50-50 chance her company will plunge into investment crowdfunding. Key factors are the quality of funding portals and the extent to which they can vet investors, she said.

Investments are capped Under the new rules, people with annual income or net worth up to $100,000 will be

allowed to invest a maximum of 5 percent of their yearly income or net worth, or $2,000 if that is greater.

Those with higher incomes can invest up to 10 percent. But an individual can’t invest a total of more than $100,000 in all crowdfunding offerings during a 12-month period.

Investors generally will not be able to resell their crowdfunding securities for one year.

Under current rules, only “accredited investors” who meet certain wealth thresholds can fund startups. They must either have a net worth of $1 million, excluding the value of their primary home, or have generated income of $200,000 or more in each of the last two years.

For their part, companies will be allowed to raise a maximum of $1 million a year from individual investors without registering with the SEC. Companies will have to provide information to investors about their business plan and how they will use the money they raise, as well as a list of their officers, directors and those who own at least 20 percent of the company.

— AP

14

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Gifts to kids From page 13 to a child who doesn’t yet have an account, you pick the stock and the amount you want to spend, then provide the child’s name and the parent’s e-mail address. The site will then notify the recipients and have them set up a new account.

You don’t have to be concerned about the market price of the stock. The site will buy as many shares — or a fraction of a share — as your gift allows.

Fees. $2.95 per transaction, plus 3 percent of the gifted amount. (Mangot said the site is waiving the 3 percent fee through the holiday season, but will impose it after that.

The charge defrays the cost of credit card

interchange fees.)

Who it’s good for. If you want to give a financial gift and are not certain how the money will be used, this service gives the recipient the most options of how to spend their funds. It’s also one of the cheapest ways to buy small amounts of stock.

Why look elsewhere. If you anticipate that the accountholder will keep adding to the account in small increments, you may want to give differently, because those $2.95 charges can add up. In addition, you can’t use SparkGift to fund a tax-favored college account.

3. Capital One Investing Capital One Investing, once known as Sharebuilder and now a subsidiary of cred-

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Ongoing

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Ongoing

MEALS ON WHEELS INFORMATION

Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland provides community information about its program as well as resources for homebound individuals. Visit online at www.mealsonwheelsmd.org or call (410) 558-0932.

JANUARY 2016 — BALTIMORE BEACON

it card giant Capital One Financial, is essentially an online brokerage that charges $6.95 per trade. But Capital One has no minimum investment requirement, so it can be a good alternative for those who want to start a custodial account for a child.

Fees: $6.95 per trade.

Who it’s good for. Simple custodial accounts are a bit cheaper at SparkGift if you’re giving small amounts. But because of SparkGift’s 3 percent fee, Capital One becomes more cost-effective for those who give shares worth $135 or more.

Why look elsewhere. If you plan to make small regular investments, you have better options. At $6.95 a pop, you’re paying a huge commission, on a percentage basis, if you buy, say, a single share of a $25 stock.

4. Open a 529 Ritter, the T. Rowe Price financial planner, is a fan of giving through 529 plans, which are tax-deferred savings vehicles for education expenses.

These accounts have many advantages.

First, although Uncle Sam doesn’t allow you to take any deductions for contributions, 34 states — including Maryland and Virginia, as well as Washington, D.C. — provide account holders with some sort of tax break or matching program.

The federal government, meanwhile,

m 10a

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See GIFTS TO KIDS, page 15

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Ongoing EN E P O US ys rda pm HO u t 2 Sa

doesn’t tax the investment buildup in the account (unless the money is used for a purpose other than qualified education expenses).

Most 529 plans also offer the equivalent of a target-date fund: age-based portfolios that are well-diversified among stocks, bonds and cash and that become more conservative as the child gets older and closer to the first tuition payment.

Ritter thinks the concept of diversification is a lesson worth learning, even at an early age. Moreover, he likes the idea of talking about college and making it an economic priority when kids are young and impressionable.

Fees: Vary based on the plan selected.

Many plans charge no annual account fees but charge annual fees for asset management, much like any mutual fund. For a comparison of fund fees, go to www.savingforcollege.com/529_fee_study/.

Who it’s good for. If you are planning to give regular gifts earmarked for education and you live in one of the 34 states (or the District of Columbia) that provide tax breaks or matching contributions, starting your own 529 is the best bet. The tax breaks are generally reserved for residents who contribute to their own state’s 529 plan.

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Gifts to kids From page 14 Matching contributions of up to set amounts are made to the account for “qualified” recipients in some states. Qualified recipients are usually those with low incomes or those who meet certain requirements, such as opening the account before the beneficiary’s first birthday.

You are the account owner. This typically allows you to claim the tax breaks and control when the beneficiary gets the money.

(Every plan varies, so be sure to read the terms and conditions.) You can even change beneficiaries, if the original recipient changes his or her mind about college.

You can open a new account with as little as $250, and you may have no initial minimum investment requirement if you sign

Why donate appreciated stock to charity Despite recent market gyrations, it’s likely your portfolio is filled with stocks that have appreciated over the past few years.

If you want to make an end-of-year donation to a charity of your choice, consider giving some appreciated stock.

You’ll avoid the capital-gains tax on the appreciation, and can deduct the stock’s full market value at the time of the gift.

When you’re identifying stocks to donate, pay attention to asset classes in which you’re overweighted and need to cut back anyway. And only consider appreciated stock that you’ve held for more than a year. Taxpayers who donate short-term-gain property get a deduction only on the original cost.

Say you bought stock for $3,000 and donate it to charity 11 months later when it’s worth $5,000. In that case, you could only deduct $3,000. If you wait another month (so the stock’s appreciation qualifies as “long-term”), you can take the fair market value $5,000 write-off.

And don’t donate stock that has lost value. Your write-off is limited to its fair market value. If the stock’s price has declined since you bought it, you’re better off selling the shares to realize the loss (you can use it to offset gains in your portfolio), and then donating the cash to earn your charitable deduction.

Another good idea If you are providing financial help to your children or parents, consider giving them appreciated stock rather than selling the stock and handing over cash.

“You won’t have to pay capital-gains tax on the sale,” said Michael Eisenberg, a certified public accountant at Miller Ward & Company, an accounting firm in Encino, Cal. Instead, he said, your kids or parents, provided they are in a lower bracket, will pay tax at their tax rate when they sell the stock. © 2015 The Kiplinger Washington Editors

Say you saw it in the Beacon | Law & Money

up for automatic monthly contributions of as little as $25. You can find a comprehensive list of 529 minimum investment requirements at www.savingforcollege.com.

Why look elsewhere. If you are contributing a small one-time amount, or live in a state that doesn’t provide tax breaks for 529 contributions, you needn’t go through the trouble of starting a separate account.

Also, if you want to give a financial gift to someone who is over the age of 18, it makes little sense to lock the money up in a 529 plan. That’s because a young adult is likely to use the money well before he or she can benefit from the tax breaks and the long-term compounding of the investments.

Besides, 18-year-olds with bank ac-

15

counts have far more options — such as Robinhood, a free brokerage platform that operates via smartphone, and Acorns, an investment platform that charges just $1 per month to manage a diversified portfolio of exchange-traded funds.

Motif Investing, which gives account holders the ability to buy a theme-based package of stocks for $9.95, is another option for those willing to spend $300 or more to set up an account for a young adult.

Any of these three investment programs would make more sense for an 18-year-old who wanted to learn about money management.

All contents © 2015 The Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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JANUARY 2016 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Travel Leisure &

The 250-room Biltmore, in Asheville, N.C., is the largest private home in the country. Read about this and other attractions on page 18.

Monterey: natural and celebrity attractions

Cozy Carmel-by-the-Sea Located at the southern end of the peninsula, the town of Carmel-by-the-Sea looks as if it sprang to life from a book of fairy tales.

Cottages with peaked thatched roofs, curving eaves, rounded doors and asymmetrical stone chimneys designed by Hugh Comstock in the 1920s dot the town. The first two cottages, fittingly, were named Hansel and Gretel.

While some are private residences, oth-

ers house stores and restaurants, like Tuck Box, a tiny stucco restaurant with flower boxes and a red and white striped awning that serves lunch and afternoon tea. The Lilliputian House of Sweets, with stucco walls and a mossy roof, sells homemade fudge and licorice imported from Australia, Holland, Finland and many other countries.

Clint Eastwood served as mayor of the 3,800-resident town from 1986 to 1988.

However, he wasn’t the one who enacted some of its idiosyncratic laws.

For instance, wearing high heels over two inches requires a permit. While the local police do not cite those in violation of the ordinance, this peculiar law was authored by the city attorney in the 1920s to defend the city from lawsuits resulting from wearers of high-heeled shoes tripping over irregular pavement distorted by tree roots. No chain restaurants or stores are permitted within town limits.

Canine residents are king in Carmel.

They can run leash-free on the beach at the end of Ocean Avenue, which slopes steeply out of the business district down to the sea. They are welcome at some of the town’s 60 restaurants (by law they can’t be in the main dining area, but can hang out with their owners when they dine outside, in the lobby and lounges).

Animal lover Doris Day has co-owned the Spanish revival style Cypress Inn in Carmel-by-the-Sea for the last 30 years.

PHOTO © SEEMONTEREY.COM

By Barbara Ruben On a crescent of rock-strewn coast that juts from central California, John Steinbeck set one of his most acclaimed novels, Clint Eastwood was once mayor, Doris Day owns a hotel where dogs are revered guests, and actors like Bill Murray and Ray Romano tee off at a world-renowned gold course.

While the Monterey Peninsula has a celebrity pedigree, it is also famed for some of the state’s more spectacular coastline and home to some non-human icons as well, including back-paddling sea otters, barking sea lions, and cypress trees that thrive on moisture from coastal fog during the area’s long dry spells.

Located 120 miles south of San Francisco and 345 miles north of Los Angeles, the Monterey Peninsula includes four primary towns: Carmel-by-the-Sea, Pebble Beach, Pacific Grove and Monterey, each with their own personalities and attractions.

PHOTO COURTESY OF CARMELCALIFORNIA.COM

Carmel-by-the-Sea is home to more than 20 cottages that would look at home in a book of fairytales. Some are residences, and others house businesses, such as the Soiled Doves Bath House, which sells soap and other bath products.

That’s some water hazard at the Pebble Beach Golf Links! The course — one of three that overlook the Pacific Ocean in the area of Monterey, Calif. — has hosted five U.S. Opens and will host the next in 2019. It was ranked number one on Golf Digest’s list of America’s Greatest Public Courses this year.

“Pets may join their humans throughout the hotel,” the home page of the inn’s website states.

Home to writers and artists Carmel has also been a haven for artists and writers for the last century. Poet Robinson Jeffers built a house on Scenic Drive, which curves along the windswept edge of the ocean, using granite boulders from the shore of Carmel Bay. It was here he wrote most of his major works, and today, 65 years after Jeffers’ death, Tor House is open for tours.

Writer Jack London also lived in Carmel for a time, as did singer John Denver, who died here in 1997 when his single-engine plane nosedived into the ocean after takeoff from the Monterey Regional Airport.

The craggy coast also drew landscape photographer Ansel Adams, who moved to Carmel Highlands a few miles south of town and lived there for 20 years, until his death in 1982.

Renowned early-20th century photographer Edwin Westin extensively photographed Point Lobos, now a state reserve just south of Carmel, with gasp-worthy views of crashing waves, sun-bathing sea otters, twisted, flat-topped cypress

trees and hiking trails.

The work of both photographers is on view and for sale at the Weston Gallery, one of more than 90 galleries in town.

There’s even a gallery devoted exclusively to the art of Dr. Seuss.

Golf courses with a view Just north of Carmel, the unincorporated community of Pebble Beach is best known for its three golf courses that overlook the Pacific Ocean: Spyglass, Poppy Hills and Pebble Beach Golf Links. They are consistently ranked among the top ten courses in the nation. In 1919, green fees at Pebble Beach were $2 for men and $1.50 for women. Rates now range from $350 to $400 per 18-hole round.

The AT&T Pebble Beach National ProAm each February draws a host of celebrities for its last day of play. Last year, singers Michael Bolton and Huey Lewis took park, along with actors Craig T. Nelson, Bill Murray and Chris O’Donnell, not to mention former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Pebble Beach is also at one end of 17Mile Drive, which hugs the shoreline and See MONTEREY, page 17

BALTIMORE BEACON — JANUARY 2016

Monterey From page 16 is considered by some to be one of the most scenic drives in the world.

It is also one of only nine private toll roads in the country, and the only one west of the Mississippi. It’s worth it to pony up the $10 per car to drive a slow arc along the road, which ends in Pacific Grove. Between the views, which seem to get more spectacular around each bend, and the tourists (especially in the summer), be prepared to spend well over an hour on the drive.

Aquatic life Monterey dates back more than 400 years. Spanish merchant Sebastian Vizcaino was the first European to set foot on the Monterey Peninsula in 1602, and christened Monterey after the viceroy of New Spain, Count de Monte Rey. After changing hands a few times, the city of Monterey eventually served as the original capital of California when the state constitution was signed here in 1849.

The city’s biggest draw is the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which attracts nearly 2 million visitors each year to view the 300,000 marine plants and animals to be found there. One wing has a million gallon tank that depicts the open ocean. A three-story “kelp forest and deep seas” display features creatures never before brought to the surface.

Outside, the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary covers 5,312 square miles — one and a half times the size of the largest national park in the continental U.S. At its center is an underwater canyon twice as deep as the Grand Canyon.

It was in Monterey that native son John Steinbeck wrote Cannery Row. The novel is set in Monterey during the Depression, on a street lined with sardine canneries. In reality, nearly 250,000 tons of sardines were processed here in 1945, the year Cannery Row was published.

Preserved one-room cabins where the workers lived can be visited near the aquarium. The National Steinbeck Center, a 37,000 square-foot facility, is believed to be the largest facility devoted to a single American author.

Butterfly City USA Laid-back Pacific Grove lacks the glitterati of Carmel and Pebble Beach, as well as the busy streets of Monterey around its world-famous aquarium.

But here, you can visit the beach on a summer afternoon and only have to share it with maybe a dozen others.

Also, there are many hotels just a few blocks from the ocean (updated from their 1950s motel origins) that are much less expensive than ones in surrounding towns.

And the center of town boasts numerous Victorian homes, some of which are bedand-breakfasts.

Each October, the population of the city’s non-human inhabitants swells by tens of thousands as monarch butterflies cluster in pine and eucalyptus trees to spend the winter at the Monarch Grove Sanctuary. The sanctuary is run by volunteers and open to the public. It was created after residents voted on a butterfly tax to fund its upkeep, earning Pacific Grove the nickname Butterfly Town USA.

If you go Flights to the tiny Monterey Regional Airport (within a half-hour drive of all four towns) start at around $340 roundtrip on United Airlines from BWI in late January.

Or visitors can fly into San Francisco and drive two hours along the Pacific Coast Highway to the Monterey Peninsula.

There is an abundance of lodging throughout this tourist destination.

In Carmel-by-the Sea, Tradewinds Carmel has Asian-accented décor, including antique and custom designed furniture from Bali and China, fresh orchids and bamboo fountains.

Some rooms have fireplaces and partial ocean views. The hotel has been featured in Architectural Digest. Rooms start at $259 a night. See www.tradewindscarmel.com or call (831) 624-2776.

The building that houses the Casanova restaurant in Carmel-by-the-Sea once belonged to a cook for Charlie Chaplin. Diners can eat in a warren of dining rooms, or in a central indoor-outdoor room with a tree growing through the ceiling. The most intriguing room holds just one table — dined at by Vincent Van Gogh in his final days and imported from France.

Say you saw it in the Beacon | Leisure & Travel

The restaurant serves Italian specialties, such as a melt-in-your-mouth spinach gnocchi enveloped in parmesan cream sauce, and fettuccine with lobster, clams, mussels, prawns and white wine. Dinner entrees are $22 to $53.

For more down-to-Earth prices, try one of the many hotels in Pacific Grove. Sunset Lodge (www.gosunsetinn.com, 831-375-3529) is just a block from the beach and starts at $99 a night, while ocean-front Lover’s Point Inn (www.loverspointinnpg.com, 831-373-4771) starts at $119.

The 107-acre Asilomar Conference Ground (www.visitasilomar.com, 888-6355310) overlooking Monterrey Bay includes both modern and historic Arts & Crafts style lodging built between 1913

17

and 1928. Rates start at $159 a night.

While the hotel choices are abundant in Pacific Grove, restaurants are not. Head a few miles up the coast to Monterey for a variety of food in a range of prices. Hula’s Island Grill is a throwback to the tiki restaurants and bars of the ‘50s and ‘60s, popular with locals and tourists alike. Try the blackened ahi tuna steak sandwich with sundried tomato pesto aioli for $17. To learn more, see www.hulastiki.com or call (831) 655-4852.

Additional travel information is available from the Monterey County Convention and Visitors Bureau at www.seemonterey.com or 1-888-221-1010.

Also see the tourism website for Carmelby-the-Sea at www.carmelcalifornia.com or call 1-800-550-4333.

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JANUARY 2016 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Asheville, N.C. — more than the Biltmore

By Beth J. Harpaz Asheville, N.C., is an old soul of a city renewed by a hipster vibe. Attractions range from new beer breweries and a honey bar (!) to the 120-year-old Biltmore mansion.

You can see artists at work in the River Arts District, then go for a hike in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

For some time, Asheville’s funky River Arts District has been home to artists, entrepreneurs and eateries in the old industrial area around the French Broad River.

But the neighborhood continues to add interesting venues.

The Smoky Park Supper Club, built from recycled shipping containers and specializing in wood-fired cooking, opened in September. The Smoky Mountain Adventure Center, which features an indoor climbing gym as well as rentals for bikes, kayaks, canoes and other gear, opened in November.

And while the Asheville area already has more than two dozen beer breweries, a $175 million New Belgium facility with a tasting room is expected to be brewing by January. Other breweries range from the artsy hole-in-the-wall Wedge Brewing in the River Arts District, to the gleaming, modernist Sierra Nevada brewery near the airport. Sierra Nevada, which opened earlier this year, also has an excellent restaurant.

Downtown, the Black Mountain College Museum at 56 Broadway has expanded.

Through exhibitions and programs, the museum celebrates the ideals and legacy of a remarkable experimental college founded outside Asheville in 1933.

The school lasted just 24 years, but its faculty was a Who’s Who of avant-garde artists and intellectuals, including Willem and Elaine de Kooning, Merce Cunningham, John Cage and Buckminster Fuller.

Don’t miss the honey bar at the Asheville Bee Charmer, 38 Battery Park Ave. The shop sells 50 varieties of honey, many from North Carolina beekeepers, but also imported from France, Italy, Spain, New Zealand, Ireland and Scotland. You’ll be stunned by how different honey can taste — fruity, woodsy, earthy, spicy — depending on where bees collect their nectar.

The Center for Honey Bee Research and the “Bee City USA” initiative supporting pollinators and beekeepers are also headquartered in Asheville.

Classic attractions For a look at life in the Gilded Age, visit the 250-room Biltmore, built by George Vanderbilt. It’s the largest private home in the country, and it attracted 1.5 million visitors in the past year.

The grounds, designed by Frederick

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Law Olmsted, are also spectacular. They include waterways, winding roads, gardens, farms, a winery and gorgeous mountain views. The new Village Hotel on Biltmore opens on Dec. 1.

Nearby, the North Carolina Arboretum, located on 426 acres in the Pisgah National Forest, offers serene gardens, wooded trails, art exhibits, bonsai and more.

Downtown, take a stroll around Pack Square Park, and then tour the Thomas Wolfe Memorial, which includes the writer’s birthplace and a nearby boardinghouse run by his mother. Wolfe’s barely fictionalized depiction of his hometown in his 1929 best-selling novel, Look Homeward, Angel, upset the locals so much that it was initially banned in Asheville.

Actor Jude Law visited the memorial to prepare for his role portraying Wolfe in a movie due out early next year. The movie is called Genius, and it tells the story of Max Perkins, the New York editor who championed the work of Wolfe and other famous writers of his era, including F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway.

Fitzgerald also spent time in Asheville, notably at the Grove Park Inn, a beautiful old resort established in 1913 when Asheville was a destination for those seeking the healthful effects of mountain air.

Drop by the inn even if you only have time for a cocktail on the Sunset Terrace or a quick look at the lobby’s massive stone fireplaces and grandfather clock. The front desk offers free pamphlets for self-guided tours; displays tell the story of visits by presidents and celebrities.

If you go You can explore the River Arts District or downtown in a few hours, but you’ll need nearly a full day to do the Biltmore justice.

Arrive hungry: Asheville has great food.

Favorites include barbecue at 12 Bones Smokehouse, 5 Riverside Drive; upscale fare at The Admiral, 400 Haywood; fried chicken at Rocky’s, 1455 Patton Ave.; heavenly biscuits and comfort food at Tupelo Honey Cafe, 12 College St.; and cocktails at the sophisticated Sovereign Remedies, 29 N. Market St. Make time for the great outdoors. Even if all you do is drive a stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway, the scenic overlooks will lift your soul. For hike recommendations and other visitor information, go to www.exploreasheville.com.

Asheville is 470 miles from downtown Washington. The least expensive flights to Asheville’s small airport from the Washington area start at $255 roundtrip on Delta from BWI Airport.

— AP

BALTIMORE BEACON — JANUARY 2016

Say you saw it in the Beacon

Style

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Arts &

Allen Abend’s recent book, Baltimore’s Forgotten Women, looks at unheralded women painters over the last two centuries. See story on page 20.

Filmmaker explores best ways to stay young Tales of the Fixer (2012), Ready for Action (2015) and Moving Mountains (2014).

She participates in the annual Baltimore “48-Hour Film Project,” in which teams make a movie in a single weekend. Her team won the Best Acting award in 2014 for the film What Does It Matter?

Hewett, 46, is also a performer, producer and story consultant for Mortified, the Baltimore/D.C. Chapter, where adults regale audiences with stories about their lives “by sharing their most mortifying childhood artifacts (diaries, letters, lyrics, poems, home movies),” according to the Mortified website.

Trained as a psychotherapist, Hewett also teaches theater, improv and writing as creative therapy at Sheppard Pratt Hospital, teaches summer theater camp for the New Century School, and is a teaching artist for the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company.

Oh, and she is also a single parent, raising two precocious sons.

Being the lady in perpetual motion, Alex is now in the beginning stages of making a documentary film, or “perhaps a series,” that will examine people who, in terms of their boundless energy and expression, aren’t much different from herself.

She calls it the “How to Stay Young” project.

Beacon: What is the “How to Stay Young” project exactly?

What inspired you to take this on, and why is it important?

Hewett: I love stories. That is my mission as an artist: to write, perform, develop stories. I have been a psychotherapist for over 20 years. I have heard so many tragic and true stories.

Life is hard. Everyone experiences pain, tragedy and illness.

Some people get stuck, and some are resilient.

I want to explore the resilient.

I want to celebrate inspirational people who defy society’s perAlexandra Hewett is seeking local volunteers for a ception of aging, and have them documentary she is filming about the wisdom share their story on how they older adults have accumulated and their ideas about how to stay young. stay young.

This project will involve interviewing people who are young in spirit in know. (See https://storycorps.org — a nonprofit organization that records, pretheir 70s, 80s and 90s.

This is inspired by a recent Story Corps serves and shares stories of Americans interview I conducted with my father, who See FILMMAKER, page 21 is 87 and the most vibrant active person I PHOTO BY BRITT OLSEN ECKER

By Dan Collins Mention a “perpetual motion machine,” and one conjures up visions of a Rube Goldberg-like device of glittering gears and whirling wheels.

Turns out this mythical device is neither a myth nor a device at all, but a stylish sprite who describes herself with the following chain of adjectives: “blonde, lefthanded, first generation Polish/Belorussian, only child, Catholic-schooled, mother, actor, teacher, storyteller, muse, writer, psychotherapist, healer through art, yogi, runner, vegetarian, shoe addict.”

Meet New Jersey native and Baltimore resident Alexandra Hewett, whose newest project involves filming older adults about the wisdom they have gained and their views on how they stay young.

If you’re a fan of theater, film or television — in particular, programs like Investigation Discovery Channel’s “Kidnapped” and “House of Horrors” — you may know Hewett already.

You can find her on the world’s most popular and authoritative source for celebrity content, the IMDb website, which lists her film credits, including Dangerous Deception:

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JANUARY 2016 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Recovering Baltimore’s forgotten painters

Spotlighting women It also spurred him on to answer two questions: What was happening in the Baltimore art world during that time? And, was there a group of formally trained, talented, successful women artists like DeVeaux Clements — known for her series of

etchings of Baltimore city views — who called Baltimore their home?

The result is his recently self-published book, Baltimore’s Forgotten Women: Painters and printmakers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Abend found 16 of these little-known artists, most of them middle- or upperclass women of privilege who had the means to pursue an artistic career.

“These women were atypical for their day,” said Abend, observing that most women of that time lived a domestic life.

The majority of women he profiled were unmarried. Those who married did so later in life, and for the most part did not have children. (Only two married, and each had just one child.) “They didn’t fit the social norm of what women did then.”

As artists, the women also had to fight gender discrimination. “Art critics, and even their fellow male artists, were not always kind,” said Abend.

To overcome discrimination, after studying art in America, almost all traveled to Europe to study at major academies of art (where there were more educational opportunities for women), and/or with individual artists in Paris, London, Munich or in Holland.

“Their formal training gave them the credentials to be taken more seriously than

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they otherwise would have been,” Abend noted.

Within the 16 ar tists Abend found is a subgroup dubbed by Sunpapers’ art critics the “Baltimore Six.” These included the mostly forgotten Alice Worthington Ball, Camelia Whitehurst, Mary Kremelberg, Josephine Cochrane, Maude Drein Bryant and Ruth Anderson Temple.

Another painter he writes about, Marie de Ford Keller, is perhaps still remembered for her portrait of Cardinal James Gibbons, now located in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ALLEN ABEND

By Carol Sorgen Today, Baltimore’s art museums are internationally renowned. That wasn’t always the case, however, according to Allen Abend, a retired architect turned fine arts dealer and author.

“Baltimore was a late bloomer when it came to art institutions,” said the 70-yearold Baltimore County resident, noting that the city didn’t have a public art museum until the Baltimore Museum of Art was established in 1914. (Earlier private 19th-century ventures, such as the Peale Museum and the Maryland Academy of Fine Arts, weren’t financial or civic successes.)

By then, New York, Philadelphia and Boston were already major art centers with thriving museums and galleries.

In doing research for a book on the late 19th- and early 20th-century Baltimore artist Gabrielle DeVeaux Clements, Abend found that Baltimore was rarely mentioned in terms of its art institutions. “That annoyed me,” said Abend, an avid art enthusiast and collector.

Why they’ve been forgotten The women have largely been lost in obscurity for many reasons, according to Abend.

A m o n g t h e m : M a l e A recent book by fine arts dealer and author Allen artists have historically Abend, Baltimore’s Forgotten Women: Painters and been more celebrated, printmakers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and the majority of art highlights 16 little-known artists. teachers were men. The early 20th-century gallery system was not as favorSymphony Hall sits today.) able to women as to men. Additionally, Abend worked on the book for two and a some women were less willing to experi- half years, and admits that this isn’t a ment artistically. money-making proposition. “My purpose “Many of them, for example, concentrat- is to get their story out,” he said. “To have ed on portraiture of local elected officials, them remembered.” judges, successful businessmen, etc., so Baltimore’s Forgotten Women is available they could make a living,” he noted. (Some at the BMA Museum Shop, the Ivy Bookof the women, like DeVeaux Clements and shop, Wishbone Reserve, Millbrook AnMargaret Moffett Law, also taught art at tiques, and the Howard Street Antique the Bryn Mawr School for Girls — at that Row Stalls. Or you can order a copy by time located where the Joseph Meyerhoff emailing allen.abend@gmail.com.

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BALTIMORE BEACON — JANUARY 2016

Filmmaker From page 19 from all backgrounds and beliefs.)

What have the people you’ve interviewed thus far been like?

I’ve interviewed five people so far, all based in Baltimore, ages 70 and up. All are pretty amazing.

My oldest subject is 93, and he still drives, visits his girlfriend in Annapolis every weekend, plays golf, croquet, participates in a singing group, and more. I have a woman who is 74 and an author, artist and teacher.

What has struck you most about the stories you’ve heard? What challenges does it pose working with seniors?

Everyone has overcome something, some big hurdle in life, that seems to have inspired them to move forward. They are constantly moving; I’ve been struck by the amount of energy they have and their willingness to learn new things. There’s no stopping or retiring. They’re all so busy, it’s very difficult getting them booked for an appointment!

I’m encountering more women than men, so would like to add more men to my subject pool. I like to ask them, “What have you learned about love?” And I’m interested in hearing all the different points of view, to find out where they differ, but also connect where there is similarity.

You hold a Certificate on Aging from Johns Hopkins University, and you’re trained in counseling psychology. What do you find most intriguing about working with those who are 70+?

It seems the more you’ve been on this earth, the more you learn about life. I see this in the stories they tell. Our society often fails to celebrate people who are older, and this is one reason I want to share their stories.

One question I ask is, “What’s your earliest memory?” One interviewee said that

FROM PAGE 22 ANSWERS TO SCRABBLE

ANSWERS TO CROSSWORD A D A M L I L A I D A H L N E B E A R A N T M D U B O R I I W A N L A J O H N A G A G B R I E E R R

C O U R S E

I O T N A O O V N E E X

S T T U E F K A N

O N O R

C E R E B E R R I S C H O H O R E N N G U E O D S N E T

A T I R H N T E C L I P O I S E G I A N I N T T A I A G L D Y O D I O N E D Y A O R S M E A M

when she was 7, a neighbor presented her with a box turtle, and shocked her by smashing it on the concrete.

It affected her so much that even today, as an artist, she is driven to take broken things and put them back together, to make something lovely from the pieces.

She could have simply said, well, people are terrible and do terrible things. But her response has been to repair, to spend her life making things beautiful and whole.

You’ve found ways to marry your passions — your interests in theater and counseling. How do these two connect, particularly in regards to your work with seniors?

In my first job after grad school, I worked as a research assistant on a National Institutes of Health study about suicide and depression in the elderly. I found that many in their 50s were depressed, complaining. But the older participants, people in their 80s and older, were often very vibrant, had something to do, a book

YO U R

club to go to, and that stuck with me.

I was a therapist for 20 years and spent a lot of that time looking at the darkness and negativity of the human experience.

Now I’m seeking out the light. I love listening to these stories of older people staying young. I just love stories — and that’s true whether in the theater, in a therapy room, or in a concert hall with music.

What’s next for you and the “How to Stay Young” Project?

Currently, I’m in the process of shooting a trailer that would be used to attract grant funding. I’m working with my production team, Lions Eating Poets in the Stone Den,

T O Y O U

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which is handling the editing and tech side of things.

It’s definitely a film — that’s my favorite way of telling a story. In creating a film you can go back and revisit it, but with theater, once the performance is over, it’s gone. The subtleties are enormous in film, and I love that. What you can see in a human face and to capture that on film, it’s just tremendous.

And that’s what we’re doing with this project.

To learn more about the “How to Stay Young” Project, or if you know someone who might like to participate, contact Hewett at Alexhewett@msn.com.

Collins is a Baltimore freelance writer.

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JANUARY 2016 — BALTIMORE BEACON

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Crossword Puzzle

PUZZLE PAGE

Daily crosswords can be found on our website: www.TheBeaconNewspapers.com Click on Puzzles Plus Late December Back in ‘63

By Stephen Sherr 1

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BB1/16

29 33

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Scrabble answers on p. 21.

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1. First answerer 5. Sports org. a with Swiss HQ 8. “The storing 20’s” device 11. The color purple-ish 13. Common feature of “thirty-one” and “XXXI” 15. She played Carla on Cheers 17. 24 Across’ state 18. Conflicted 19. “This is only a ___” 20. It was total the night of 12/30/63 23. Nephew of Caligula 24. Capital of 17 Across 25. Championship result on 12/29/63 31. Homophone for “aunt”, to some 32. Energetic start 33. Carried along 34. Center of “dumdums” 35. “Evil cannot ___ without good” (Thomas Aquinas) 38. “Yes, Captain” 39. Bullwinkle’s arch-enemy 42. Low-maintenance “Pet” 44. “Pressure just makes you ___ little more; I kind of like pressure” (Joe Namath) 45. With a helping Hand, it invaded the US on 12/26/63 49. Today show host, starting in 1994 50. His biggest hit was Runaround Sue 51. His portrait was approved for a coin, on 12/30/63 55. Slapped with ___ order 56. Chills and fever 57. Cardiologist’s concern 61. Cheese for crackers 62. Silently approves 63. Besmirch 64. Overthrow first base 65. Part of a badminton set 66. Out of control

1. Clay, hardened 2. Took action 3. One below Tenn.

4. His Symphony No. 3 was first performed in 1902 5. One greata than theta 6. Words before off or about 7. Brainy prefix 8. Craftsman 9. US office building with most square footage 10. “If you make a ___, clean it up” 12. Series of obstacles 14. Concealed (neato abbreviation) 16. Went to the continental breakfast 21. Those above the law 22. The XVIth prime number 23. It has no dyes, curlers, uncurlers, beads, or gels 25. Disney film released during WWII 26. Create a permanent fund 27. Confound 28. Indicted East German leader Honecker 29. Birthday greeting words 30. Use an unopened bible 36. Network of The L Word and The Big C 37. Spanish keyboard feature 40. Madly 41. Oreo insides (it may be doubled) 43. Apparel company with slogan Impossible is nothing” 46. Technical analyst, briefly 47. Its state quarter features Crater Lake 48. Cellist who keeps coming back 51. Quick karate move 52. Mythological man-eater 53. Just out of the shower 54. Oriole or raven’s home 58. Stage of sleep 59. Chinese principle 60. Indiana Jones’ quest

Answers on page 21.

BALTIMORE BEACON — JANUARY 2016

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Health NEW GROUPS FORMING FOR COPING with chronic pain, stress management, anger management. Individual counseling available for a variety of issues. Groups start in Jan. 2016.

Call Crossan Counseling at 443-326-6217.

Wanted WE BUY JEWELRY, SILVER, GOLD, AND COSTUME. Coins, Paper Money Too. Watches, Clocks, Military Badges and Patches Old and New. Call Greg, 717-658-7954.

TO PLACE A CLASSIFIED Deadlines and Payments: Ad text and payment is due by the 5th of each month.

Note: Only ads received and prepaid by the deadline will be included in the next month’s issue. Please type or print your ad carefully. Include a number where you can be reached in the event of a question. Payment is due with ad. We do not accept ads by phone or fax, nor do we accept credit cards.

Private Party Text Ads: For individuals seeking to buy or sell particular items, or place a personal ad. Each ad is $10 for 25 words, 25 cents for each additional word.

Business Text Ads: For parties engaged in an ongoing business enterprise.

Each ad is $25 for 25 words, 50 cents for each additional word.

Note: Each real estate listing counts as one business text ad.

Send your classified ad with check or money order, payable to the Beacon, to:

The Beacon, Baltimore Classified Dept.

P.O. Box 2227, Silver Spring, MD 20915-2227 Wanted

Wanted

OLD AND NEW, WE BUY STERLING SILVER FLATWARE, Tea Sets, Single Pieces of Silver, Large pieces of Silver Plate. Attic, Basement or Garage. Call Greg, 717-658-7954. You have something to SELL, we are looking to BUY.

COLLECTOR BUYING MILITARY ITEMS: Helmets, weapons, rifles, shot guns, knives, swords, bayonets, web gear, uniforms, etc. from all wars and countries. Large quantities are okay. Will pay top prices for my personal collection. Discreet consultations. Call Fred, 301-9100783.

FINE ANTIQUES, PAINTINGS AND QUALITY VINTAGE FURNISHINGS wanted by a serious capable buyer. I am very well educated [law degree] knowledgeable [over 40 years in the antique business] and have the finances and wherewithal to handle virtually any situation. If you have a special item, collection or important estate I would like to hear from you. I pay great prices for great things in all categories from oriental rugs to Tiffany objects, from rare clocks to firearms, from silver and gold to classic cars. If it is wonderful, I am interested. No phony promises or messy consignments. References gladly furnished. Please call Jake Lenihan, 301-279-8834. Thank you.

VINYL RECORDS WANTED from 1950 through 1985. Jazz, Rock-n-Roll, Soul, Rhythm & Blues, Reggae and Disco. 33 1/3 LPs, 45s or 78s, Larger collections of at least 100 items wanted. Please call John, 301-596-6201.

CASH BUYER FOR OLD COSTUME JEWELRY – pocket and wrist watches (any condition). Also buying watchmaker tools and parts, train sets and accessories, old toys, old glassware & coins. 410-409-4965.

Thanks for Reading!

BEACON BITS

Ongoing

JOIN SENIOR BOX OFFICE

Senior Box Office offers complimentary and discounted tickets to members for courses, educational and entertainment events, and travel opportunities. Those 60 and older are eligible to join. Membership runs through September 30, 2016. Annual membership dues are $30 per household with brochures delivered electronically; $38 per household with printed brochures delivered by regular mail. Information and applications are available online at www.seniorboxoffice.org, call (410) 887-5399, or email sbo@seniorboxoffice.org.

ADVERTISERS IN THIS ISSUE Clinical Research Studies

Brain Imaging Study . . . . . . . . . .12 COPD Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Falls Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Memory & Diet Study . . . . . . . . .10 Mind At Home Study . . . . . . . . . .10 Parkinsonics Study . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Financial Services

Bennett Senior Services . . . . . . . .15 Debt Counsel for Seniors and the Disabled . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Good Fixed Rates . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 PENFED Credit Union . . . . . . . . .5

Hearing Services

Hearing & Speech Agency . . . . . . .7

Home Health Care

Absolute Companion Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .B-8, B-11 Genesis Select Care . . . . . . . . . .B-4 Independent Home Care . . . . . . . .9 Options for Senior America . . . . .19

Housing

Angels Among Us Assisted Living . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Atrium Village . . . . . . . . .B-5, B-11 Buckingham’s Choice . . . . . . .B-10 Charlestown . . . . . . . . . . .B-4, B-6 Christ Church Harbor Apts. . . . .B-6 Cove Point Apartments . . . . . . .B-9 Evergreen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .B-9 Fairhaven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .B-10 Gatherings at Quarry Place . . . . . .3 Greens, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .B-9 Heartlands at Ellicott City . . . . .B-6 Homewood at Frederick . . . . . . . .20 Integrace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .B-10 Linden Park Apts. . . . . . . . . . . .B-8 Oak Crest . . . . . . . . . . . .B-4, B-11 Park Heights Place . . . . . . . . . .B-10 Park View Apartments . . . . . . . . .21 Shangri-La Assisted Living . . . . .14 St. Mary’s Roland View Towers . . . . . . . . . . . . .B-10 Weinberg Senior Living . .B-6, B-12 Westminster House Apts. . . . . . .B-8

23

Housing Referral Services

Shopping

Oasis Senior Advisors . . . . . . . . . .8 Senior Placement Service/Care Patrol . . . . . . . . . . .17

Adjustable Bed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 Radio Flea Market . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Legal Services

CommuniCare Health . . . . . . . . . .6 Holly Hill Nursing & Rehabilitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Manor Care Health Services . . . . .8

Disability Support Services . . . . . .4 Frank, Frank & Scherr Law Firm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Medical/Health

Dr. Richard Rosenblatt, DPM . . . .7 Mishpacha Dental . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Skin Cancer EB of Maryland . . . . .9 Stuart Goldman, DPM . . . . . . . . . .6

Movers

Custom Moves . . . . . . . . . . . . . .B-5

Pharmacies

Professional Pharmacy Group . . . .4

Real Estate

The Bob Lucido Team . . . .B-2, B-3

Skilled Nursing & Rehabilitation

Theatres/ Entertainment

Toby’s Dinner Theatre . . . . . . . . .19

Travel

Eyre Tour & Travel . . . . . . . . .B-17 ShantiTravel.com . . . . . . . . . . .B-17

Volunteers

Meals on Wheels of Central MD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

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More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com

JANUARY 2016 — BALTIMORE BEACON

Introducing the “Just My Height™” Adjustable Bed...

A Recliner for The Bedroom

Lately there has been a lot of press about the many benefits of a good night’s sleep. When you wake up rested, everything from your memory and focus to your diet and stress levels can improve. Some even believe it can help you live longer. Unfortunately, many older Americans have to choose between comfort and safety in a bed. If it’s too high or too low, getting in and out of bed (particularly in the middle of the night) can be dangerous. Hospital type beds feature adjustable heights and railings, but they are hardly comfortable. Now, thanks to innovative design and superior engineering, you get the best of both. Plus, with an infinite number of positions controlled by remote control, you can pick a custom position for sleeping, reading watching TV or just relaxing with your feet up! It looks just like a regular bed… not institutional, and the mattress is luxurious and features a natural bamboo quilted cover that’s anti-bacterial, deodorizing and breathable.

Considering we spend (or should spend!) a third of our life sleeping, why spend another restless night or risk injury getting in and out of bed?

Call now and find out more. Call today!

NEW!

Sit-up, Lie down or anywhere in-between with just the touch of a button---for the most comfortable, restful night’s sleep you’ve ever experienced.

Plus, it can be raised, or lowered(also with the touch of a button) to allow you to easily and safely enter and exit the bed.

Call now to find out how you can get the

“Just My Height™” Adjustable Bed Please mention code 102762 call toll free for our lowest price

1-877-499-6569 © 2015 firstSTREET for Boomers and Beyond, Inc.

82902

This height-adjustable bed raises or lowers to a level that makes it easier to glide into or out of bed—even when transferring from a wheelchair, rollator or walker. When you’re ready to get up, you adjust the bed height with the wireless remote control until you can place both feet firmly on the floor. What a great aid to safety and independence! The mattress height adjusts from 28” to 18” and anywhere in between.