ArcaMax

For several years, Nicole Straight and Patricia Wood, who lived across the street from each other in Sausalito, California, were more neighbors than friends, exchanging sociable greetings and occasionally having coffee.

Then, last October, Wood took a fall, broke her neck, and spent three months in rehabilitation. When she returned to the house...Read more

For several years, Nicole Straight and Patricia Wood, who lived across the street from each other in Sausalito, California, were more neighbors than friends, exchanging sociable greetings and occasionally having coffee.

Then, last October, Wood took a fall, broke her neck, and spent three months in rehabilitation. When she returned to the house...Read more

Toni,

This is my first Medicare Open Enrollment Period, and a few weeks ago I read your article explaining what the fall enrollment time is about. I’m still confused about what I need to do.

I don't know anything about the open enrollment process or how I can make a change. How do I find out which options are right for me? I have health ...Read more

A tiny fish that lives only four to eight months is revealing that aging may unfold in distinct biological stages rather than as a slow, continuous decline — findings that could help scientists better understand how people can age better.

By tracking how more than 700 African turquoise killifish swim, sleep and feed — and how that behavior ...Read more

CHICAGO -- Englewood neighborhood native Deniece Rogers didn’t celebrate her 2011 bachelor’s degree, or her 2015 master’s degree. But when she crossed the finish line with her doctorate, she threw a party for herself because “that one, she felt.”

At 75, the Near North Side resident earned her Doctorate of Philosophy in Educational ...Read more

CHICAGO -- Englewood neighborhood native Deniece Rogers didn’t celebrate her 2011 bachelor’s degree, or her 2015 master’s degree. But when she crossed the finish line with her doctorate, she threw a party for herself because “that one, she felt.”

At 75, the Near North Side resident earned her Doctorate of Philosophy in Educational ...Read more

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Older adults may be better judges of their moment-to-moment mental sharpness than scientists once assumed, according to a UC Davis study — which relied on familiar technology: the smartwatch.

The study found that when an individual rated their mental sharpness below their own average, their performance on the objective ...Read more

On an August morning two years ago, Meredith Melville was crossing Piedmont Avenue in Oakland, California, to meet a friend at a cafe. While in the crosswalk, she noticed a car some distance away.

Perhaps she misjudged its speed, she said, because she’d walked only partway across the street when the car, a Toyota sedan, came bearing down on ...Read more

On an August morning two years ago, Meredith Melville was crossing Piedmont Avenue in Oakland, California, to meet a friend at a cafe. While in the crosswalk, she noticed a car some distance away.

Perhaps she misjudged its speed, she said, because she’d walked only partway across the street when the car, a Toyota sedan, came bearing down on ...Read more

Dear Toni:

I have decided to retire in October when I turn 65 and will need to enroll in Medicare Parts A and B. My husband, Paul, is 76 and was enrolled in Medicare Parts A and B on March 1, 2011, when he qualified for Social Security disability due to a Parkinson’s issue. He has remained on my company benefits due to his ...Read more

DALLAS — Can a bird-watching video game help train dementia patients' memory? A recent training program suggests it could.

Bird Watch, a neuroscience-based cognitive training game developed by a University of Texas at Dallas neuroscientist, was recently launched across three Texas senior living communities through a partnership between the ...Read more

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Grab bars are commonly recommended to help older adults avoid potentially life-altering falls, but basic Medicare does not cover them — a policy a new lobbying campaign hopes to change.

Grab bars — rails attached to walls, particularly in bathrooms — help provide balance and prevent falls, preventing serious injuries,...Read more

You could call my brief but blissfully unhurried interlude at The Cove in Islamorada, Florida, a midweek work break or a microcation reset. But I call it pure sensory salt-air delight—the kind that arrives quietly, like sunset stealing across the sky, and then stays with you long after you’ve returned home.

Three days of sun, sand, surf —...Read more

Hello Toni:

I am a critical care nurse. On a daily basis, I advise family members who are seeking medical assistance for their elderly parents or spouse during end-of-life issues, especially helping them to understand hospice.

Can you explain hospice in simple terms for your Toni Says Medicare column readers? I am sure this would help those ...Read more

It had been a rough few months. Cynthia Tompkins was hospitalized in May for osteomyelitis — a bone infection — then spent six weeks in a rehabilitation facility. “It was a struggle,” she said. “I didn’t bounce back too well.”

Tompkins returned to her home in San Diego, but she was still taking antibiotics, along with a host of ...Read more

It had been a rough few months. Cynthia Tompkins was hospitalized in May for osteomyelitis — a bone infection — then spent six weeks in a rehabilitation facility. “It was a struggle,” she said. “I didn’t bounce back too well.”

Tompkins returned to her home in San Diego, but she was still taking antibiotics, along with a host of ...Read more

Dear Toni:

Last week the Toni Says Medicare column was about changes to stand-alone Medicare Part D plans beginning Jan. 1. This caught my attention because I applied for a Medicare Part D plan in July and was denied. Medicare advised me to apply for a Part D plan during Medicare’s Open Enrollment. Help … I do not know what ...Read more