| STROKE NEWS all news is copied with permission of StrokeSmart magazine
and full credit is given to the said writer Brain Aneurysns by Pete Lewis Brain aneurysms must be taken seriously, but they are by no means, a death sentence. An estimated two million Americans, or three to five percent of the population have brain aneurysms, according to the Brain Aneurysm Foundation. Since many aneurysms show no symptoms and never rupture, many people lead long and healthy lives without ever knowing their aneurysm exists. About one in every 100 people with aneurysms experiences a rupture each year. For these people,the results can be devestating. "Fifty percent of people with ruptures die within a week," said Dr Christopher S Oglivy, director of Cerebrovascular Surgery and director of the Brain Aneurysm/AVM Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School. "Of the half who survive, about one-third will do well and return to life, one-third will do very poorly and have significant deficits and one-third will do somewhat better and be somewhere in between. Ogilvy said the greatest predictor of how well patients will recover is their clinical conditions when they arrive at the hospital. About half of the aneurysms that rupture do so with little or no warning. The others are preceded by a "warning" headache several days or a few weeks before the hemorrhage. These headaches, sometimes called sentinel headaches, are thought to be caused by a small amount of blood leakage prior to the actual rupture. COMPLETE ARTICLE ON BRAIN ANEURYSMS CAN BE FOUND IN THE MAY/JUNE 2003 ISSUE OF STROKE SMART MAGAZINE
Adult Day Services for long-term care by Pete Lewis Adult day centers fall into two general catagories. The social model provides a safe, monitored environment for adults who need assistance with eating, personal care, hygiene and medications. These centers, often called adult day service or ADS programs, provide group recreation and exercise activities, as well as individualized therapy. Adult day health care (ADHC) centers typically provide similar services along with more extensive health-related services and therapies. These centers often have nurses or nurse practitioners on staff. Most states require ADS and ADHC centers to be licensed, but state regulations vary. About 78 percent of adult day centers operate as not-for-profit organizations. Some are affiliated with community-based programs, churches or with nursing homes, assisted-living centers or home-care agencies. Although Medicare does not pay for ADS, the service sometimes is covered by Medicaid. Some states have integrated ADS into their standard Medicaid coverage, while others require a waiver from the federal government. These programs are usually available to lower-income individuals who are eligible for nursing home assistance. The Veteran's Administration recently added adult day health care (medical model) to its list of mandated services, but not all local VA centers have developed contracts with adult day programs, and there often are waiting lists. FULL ARTICLE ON ADULT DAY CARE CAN BE FOUND IN THE JAN/FEB ISSUE OF STROKE SMART MAGAZINE
www.stroke.org Backgrounds ©Karen & S*S*S*S | 
