>>
Coming up on "Need to Know" think of those addicted
to drugs
or alcohol and the last person you may imagine is a senior
citizen but the numbers of older Americans who are adistricted
is growing.-
We will look at that and look at the problem and put a cap on
the elections and we will have the latest edition of the
business section of the Democrat Dell.-
That is all on the way on "Need to Know."-
-
[Captioning Made Possible by the U.S. Department of Education]-
(For "Need to Know")-
-
>> Thanks for joining us.-
I'm Michael Caputo.-
We will get to the so-called invisible drug problem of seniors
being addicted in a moment but first you know all about the
results of the 2003 election, the biggest race turned out to
be
no race at all.-
Republic Maggie brooks defeated bill Johnson handyly and will
be the next county executive but inherits more than few
problems as she takes over the county administration.-
Here to talk about that is AM-1370's Mark Giardina.-
How are you doing?-
-
>> Good, mike.-
How are you?-
-
>> I'm all right.-
Let's talk about what she faces.-
What is the initial problem she will face?-
My guess is fiscal.-
-
>> She inherits jack Doyle's budget.-
Whatever that will be.-
We still don't know what that will be.-
Doyle proposed a $972 million budget that included a sales tax
increase of 6 tenths on the penny.-
Democrats and some Republicans said there will be no sales tax
increase.-
What they are talking about is going into certain programs and
either reducing funding for the programs or either possibly
eliminating some of the programs, county programs.-
-
>> So there is no thought that Maggie brooks will be involved
-- there was a lot of talk about her being directly involved
with advising, counseling in the budget.-
-
>> About.-
-
>> Not going to happen?-
-
>> No.-
This is jack Doyle's budget.-
Even if bill Johnson won the election he would have inherited
that budget.-
It is whoever is in office and it is jack Doyle.-
That is his budget and the person who takes over January 2,
2004 inherits that budget.-
-
>> But what happened last year, what happened this year,
I
guess with jack Doyle is he found that the revenues were
falling short.-
This could happen again to Maggie brooks.-
So that's what I mean by fiscally.-
Not so much trying to work on the budget but what she gets when
she takes office if things are falling short she has to plug
the hole.-
That is going to be a matter for her and the Alexandria
Appalachian to deal with next year.-
-
>> It depends on what the economy is like.-
The economy could suddenly boom and there could be more revenue
coming into the county of Monroe.-
We could have another terrorist attack and the economy could
bottom out.-
It is a guessing game.-
-
>> Tell me about the relationship between her and bill
Johnson.-
Three were -- they were two rivals.-
-
>> Maggie said she would like to sit down and meet with
bill
and talk about the problems of Monroe.-
The hope is that somehow they can develop a ra rapport, a
professional rapport where they will put aside partisan
politics and work for the best of the community.-
Mark Giardina, thank you.-
If you want to keep abreast.-
Latest news tune into WXXI AM-1370 or log on to WXXI.org.-
Now let's look at the hidden problem of substance abuse of
senior citizens.-
According to the substance abuse administration the fastest
group of alcohol and substance abusers in the nation are those
over 55.-
The need for substance abuse treatment for older Americans is
expected to nearly triple by the year 2020.-
The federal administration on aging says that while older
Americans make up 13% of the population, they receive 25 to
po
30% of all prescription drugs and account for half of those
hospitalized for drug reactions.-
This problem is being recognized locally.-
Lifespan recently started a program and they are discovering
this is not so much a physical problem as it is a societal
one.-
"Need to Know's" Alicia Claussell explains.-
-
>> When we think of our later years in life we hope to
be
active and healthy and enjoy every moment to the fullest.-
But sometimes growing he would olderer can bring on physical
and mental health problems.-
And more than ever Americans 55 and older are turning to
alcohol and drugs to deal with the issues according to those
who care for our senior citizens.-
As our population ages, the increasing number of seniors who
use is being called everything from the invisible epidemic nick
to the silent problem.-
Dr. Patricia Bomba/Excellus BCBS is a well-known doctor with
Blue Cross blue she would.-
She says there are physical and social factors that push people
to addiction.-
-
>> There are many normal aging processes that occur with
individuals that people need to deal with, loss of
independence, a family that may not be in the same area.-
Loss of a loved one.-
Needing to deal with death.-
Perhaps loss of a job.-
Many older individuals want to continue to work.-
All of those losses can be difficult to deal with and
unfortunately sometimes people turn to alcohol as a means of
dealing with it and it may not just be alcohol.-
It may be prescription medication.-
It may be over the countermedication.-
And unfortunately it can sometimes be a combination of all of
them.-
-
>> Conditions like the dementia, Alzheimer's and memory
loss
can be confused with alcohol and substance abuse.-
-
>> Often people experience pain.-
And they can experience those physical pain and emotional pain
and if they are experiencing physical brain they may seek out
medications or they may not seek medications and may turn to
alcohol to deal with their physical pain.-
The other part, they may have emotional pain and they may look
to alcohol to ease some of their emotional pain.-
Pain is really underrecognized and undertreated in the elderly
as is depression.-
So I think that is becoming part of the begins.-
The other issue to consider is that sometimes the use of
alcohol is, or with certain medications can mimic depression,
anxiety or other geriatric problems or syndromes that we see.-
So there's a lot of interactivity that make you have to think
of it in terms of mental health.-
-
>> Adding to the dilemma adult surgeons and caregivers
have the
attitude of why bother changing things now.-
How much can a drink hurt.-
There's also the stigma of drug abuse and alcoholism in older
adults as being viewed as a moral failing.-
Either of these mind sets can lead to a dangerous dismissal
of
the problem.-
At the -- as awareness grows it is evident there is a lack of
programs for seniors.-
Mr. m is in his 70'S and is a recovering alcoholic.-
He says senior citizens have unique needs and require programs
designed to meet the needs of -
>> The older people find it very difficult to associate
with
the younger people and they find it more at ease to be with
people of their own age, their own classifications, their own
problems.-
-
>> Mr. m points out perhaps what is the most obvious reason
for
this growing epidemic.-
-
>> Because we are living longer and we are around longer.-
And what happens, many of us have to end up with medication
for
our health and start using alcohol or chemicals with this
medication and the two of them collide.-
And that makes it very difficult.-
-
>> Let's pick up the topic with our two guests, Carol
D'Agostino director of the geriatric addiction program at
lifespan and Richard Russell assistant professor of social work
at Nazareth college.-
Let's talk more about being older and having this problem.-
How is it that we can be so dismissive of seniors?-
-
>> It is a real problem in society with a lot of the stigma
surrounding aging and chemical dependency and it plays out more
heavily in the older population because they are adults, they
have the right to pick and choose what they do.-
So it makes it more difficult.-
-
>> Why do we not see the problem?-
Why do we, you know, the children of those, doctors perhaps,
why are we not seeing the problem?-
-
>> I think one of the reasons is that first of all we
not only
do not see it but when we do we start to deny it.-
We start to overlook the fact that it may be a problem.-
There's the attitude that a person is 70 or 75 and continues
to
drink that is all they have got.-
What in fact is happening is that this person has, is taking
part in a very diminished quality of life and it depends to
be
overlooked.-
-
>> People don't understand no matter what age you are
if you
have an addiction suffering is suffering.-
-
>> But on the flip side of the fact that people might
be lax in
recognizing the problem when an older person makes what I would
call a mistake, a mistake like this, they -- basically what
you
are looking at is people are harder on them.-
So what I'm getting at is an older person who gets addicted
to
drugs or alcohol you say wait a minute, these are older folks,
how could they be doing it?-
If you are 20 or 25 I can understand.-
Doesn't that make it a problem of hide being the older person
and the older person doesn't want to be embarrassed?-
-
>> Absolutely because the group we are working with has
gone
through the prohibition days and depression days add they are
under the mentality of pull yourself up.-
So to have a feeling that they are failing and they are
socially inappropriate to society makes it very difficult for
them to come into their doctor around say I think I have a
problem.-
They are not usually in the workplace so they are not having
problems with work.-
Marital problems are not popping up the way they were if they
were in the community more.-
-
>> I think another part of this cohort effect that Carol
mentioned is a lot of people who are in the elderly population
were World War II veterans and post-World War II folks.-
And attitudes toward alcohol use, toward social alcohol use
was
different than now.-
I mean I think there's probably a little bit more discretion
used with social drinking or drinking in social situations.-
-
>> The other piece, a lot of client are females and the
issue
surrounding females and alcoholism in aging there is so much
stigma around aging in general, especially with females, then
to throw the complexity of the alcohol problem, medical
problems and just the failing health in general is one big
complex issue.-
-
>> Talk about mental health.-
The way I would like to get into that is when we talk about
denying or not being aware of the problem, we sometimes confuse
an addiction with dementia.-
-
>> We can confuse addiction with dementia.-
First of all, I think that there is a, there's this perception
that chemical again si and mental health difficulties are two
separate issues when they are not.-
Alcohol use and dementia present sometimes a very complicated
picture because there can be this pseudo-dementia where alcohol
and depressionlike create this picture of dementia.-
And once the alcohol is taken away if it is a pseudo-dementia
type of situation, the symptoms of dementia will lift, too.-
-
>> Depression.-
-
>> Yes.-
-
>> Depression has to be one -- a lot of peel medicate
themselves when they are feeling that.-
-
>> Yes.-
And one of the most difficult parts of that is that if you
drink to chase depression you are chasing depression with a
deprent.-
-
>> Right.-
-
>> Underlying some of this alcohol related pseudo-dementia
is
often a real dementia.-
In fact, in later stages dementia can be alcohol related.-
-
>> Are homes recognizing this?-
Many seniors are in institutions.-
What is their role?-
-
>> We are having more phone calls from nursing homes primarily
clients that are going that the rehab units, people that
suffered strokes or hip fractures and they go to the nursing
home.-
A lot of times the screening for the alcoholism is not done
appropriately prior to surgery.-
Once the pain medications wear off and they are in the rehab,
suddenly you have someone in alcohol withdrawal or exhibiting
problems because they are craving.-
So we are going on the unit and not only working with the
client trying to stabilize them but educating the staff.-
-
>> I would lf to talk about the geriatric addictions program
and the concept that you use is something called harm
reduction.-
Would you explain that?-
-
>> Harm reduction is not a user friendly worth yesterday
statewide or nationally.-
People like to say alternative services.-
What we do is allow the client to continue drinking or using
prescription medications while we work with them, which flies
in the face of traditional treatment.-
-
>> Right.-
Usually we are talking about cut it off cold turkey.-
That would be controversial.-
-
>> It is very controversial.-
What we are finding with this population is it is a very needed
tool to have in the bag of resources.-
Because if I approach these folks and say I think you are
powerless over alcohol, you need treatment three or four days
a
week, you need to be in three aa meetings a week they say
goodbye.-
If I look at all of the things going on in their lives as far
as they can't pay bills, they are not eating three meals a day,
not getting to doctor's appointments.-
If I allow them to keep drinking as a back door while I educate
them on the harm they are bringing themselves with the
interaction of prescription medication, lack of nutrition and
the alcohol, it makes more sense to them.-
These folks don't want to end up in a nursing home so they will
listen more to that approach.-
-
>> I think we will have to visit that whole concept of
harm
reduction down the line.-
I appreciate your being in with us to talk about this issue.-
It is is newer alternative turn to weigh.-
In write as you the WXXI.org/NTK or email us at
NEEDTOKNOW@WXXI.org.-
And we welcome your calls to your response line at 258-0250.-
>>
With us is Ellen Rosen business editor for "THE
DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE."
Hi,
Ellen.-
-
>> Hi, Michael -
>> Let's talk about this billionaire guy Karl Icahn and
a guy
buying up stock in Eastman Kodak.-
Why would he do this?-
-
>> It is hard to say.-
If you go back there was a lot of research done on him and he
usually measures carefully and he is not signaling what his
intentions are but you have to know that he brings fear into
the heart of corporate boards.-
He is very smart, he has a lot of experience in this area and
he has taken on a lot of big companies including Trans World
Airlines, R.J. Nabisco in which he bought large stakes and
tried to control or successfully changed the direction of the
company.-
-
>> So this is what he is doing is fixing it up or -- -
>> What he is about is making money for himself.-
He is an investor and primarily he looks for companies that
are
undervalued or things where he thinks he can have some effect
and it end up being more money in his pocket.-
Whether he buys Kodak and sells it after whatever changes he
makes or whether he tries to take a bigger stake, it isn't
clear.-
The "Wall Street Journal" is reporting this morning
that Dan
carp, the C.E.O. will meet with Mr. Icahn on Monday.-
We have not confirmed that yet.-
But it could be -- it has to be making a lot of people
nervous.-
-
>> And I wanted to ask you what does it mean.-
Nobody knows.-
-
>> Nobody really knowles.-
-
>> Nobody has any idea?-
-
>> He could have a lot of different intentions.-
You know the bottom line is make money and he is a very smart
businessman.-
What that means to Kodak, likely not a buyout.-
They are a very large company.-
Doesn't mean a takeover.-
Probably too big for him to buy.-
It is worth many billions of dollars.-
But he he would be able to influence influence it and you have
the other piece which is the institutional shareholders that
have gotten together and are trying to dissuade Kodak from
moving ahead with the digital strategy and maximizing profits
on photo.-
He says he is not part of the same movement but you have these
two forces that could put them under a lot of pressure.-
-
>> When you are a worker there, you have already been
on notice
for changes coming, be prepared for them.-
You have to be ready to change.-
So this probably doesn't shake them up because they have been
told it is coming.-
-
>> That's probably true but how his actions accelerate
what's
going to happen, it depends on which business plan it takes
and
how things go and whether he has an effect on affecting
management, who is at the head of Kodak.-
All of those things could determine how quickly the changes
come.-
-
>> Let's talk a little bit about the local impact if there
is
job losses from Tyco.-
They made an announcement.-
What is the local impact?-
-
>> It said it is getting out of these businesses that
are not
central to its business purpose which is pretty much everything
but the plastic side of the business.-
There are three companies here that Tyco has, are Tyco.-
One is A.D.T. a call center business.-
That's one of the businesses that they are getting rid of and
Tyco plastic and adhesive .-
They say her not getting rid of that but there may be cutbacks
and changes.-
What it will mean they have not targeted which businesses and
in which cities they will sell or closing.-
They have not said what their plans are.-
That is forthcoming.-
-
>> In is a more national story, the mutual fund problem.-
I wouldn't mind for a minute if you could talk to the local
investor here.-
What should they make of this?-
-
>> There was a story done on it the other day and what
has
investors disturbed it is more funds.-
People got used to the janus fund problem and it seems every
day there's questionable trading every day.-
But brokers are saying not to get that excited.-
That their checks are in place.-
You should keep an eye on what your investments are but they
are saying it is not the tip of the iceberg, it is the tip of
the ice cube.-
Not that enormous of a problem.-
Don't be that worried but they are.-
Particularly senior citizens who have a lot of, banking on
their retirement.-
-
>> Tell us what is coming Sunday.-
-
>> Our special feature on the top 100, Rochester's fastest
growing privately owned companies.-
The program that is done by the Rochester business alliance
and
kpmg and we will announce who the one, two, three and top 100
companies are.-
-
>> So you need to buy it just to know.-
-
>> Yes, the companies know they are on the list but they
don't
know where they rank.-
So they will find out when any pick up the Democrat and
chronicle Sunday.-
-
>> Tonight we want to resume a series on "Need to
Know" that
looks at us that came from other lands to work and live this
Rochester Rochester T. is called "Our stories."-
Earlier this week thousands gathered it mark the tenth
anniversary of the U.S. holocaust museum in Washington and
included thousands of survivors.-
Tonight we will introduce you to two Russian immigrants that
survived the concentration camps and the prejudice that came
after the war to find a life here.-
-
>> I remember when the Germans invaded our city.-
It was July 8, 1941.-
The disturbance was all over the city.-
My father was worried.-
He tried to listen to radio and cracked his knuckles.-
Many people were arrested and murdered in the first days of
the
war.-
It was a horrible time.-
-
>> We got into the cab.-
All of our family.-
Father, mother,.-
I was five and my baby sister was one-month-old.-
The cab was specially organized to build Hitler's bunker near
this city.-
-
>> In the end, the Nazis wanted to kill all of those who
were
left alive in the camps.-
But some people saved us.-
For five days we were hiding in the pit, the potato pit.-
I was sick those days and I thought my coughing would give us
up.-
All 25 people who were there hiding with us.-
But somehow we survived.-
-
>> On the second day after liberation we came back to
our
city.-
My father was called to the army.-
I went to school.-
I remember the hunger of 1947.-
People were dying right in the streets.-
-
>> Two years I couldn't get into university because of
the
quota.-
-
>> What kind of quota?-
-
>> Only a certain number of Jewish people were able to
become
students in the Soviet Union.-
Well, I became a teacher after graduating from university.-
Even though I had great grades, I had no chance to go to
science and to mathematics because I was Jewish.-
-
>> After graduating from high school I tried to get into
the
university of technology in the city.-
I tried twice.-
Then I tried to get in at Odessa.-
Finally I went to work two years to developing a occur.-
After that I served three years in the army and only after
that, five years after graduation, I became a student at a
university.-
I worked on problems of management of manufacturing and
production.-
Because of that, I had connections throughout the Soviet
Union.-
The Soviet Union was preparing the first program of
privatization and I was one of those people who worked on that
program.-
And in 1991 I was invited for a big meeting with Gorbachev as
a
representative.-
-
>> We were alone in the destroyed country after the Soviet
Union collapsed.-
It was clear that it was not possible to live a normal life
over there.-
I was very sick and got into the hospital.-
The doctors thought I was going to die.-
After we came to the United States, we found out that the
diagnosis wasn't right.-
But I still needed surgery.-
I had the surgery in December of 1992.-
It was the beginning of my second life, in my second country.-
-
>> I came into the U.S. in December of 1992.-
I left behind everything.-
I was actually doing pretty well financially.-
But there was anti-Semitism.-
They were saying send review Russians over the river but the
Jews into the river.-
-
>> I volunteered at the the adult learning center where
I had
the chance to improve my English.-
They knew that I was a teacher and asked me to help.-
It was a GED class and I was teaching math three times a week.-
-
>> I know foreign languages but had never spoken English
so
when I came to America I became deaf, dumb and blind.-
I was very active before.-
Here I was completely isolated.-
I concentrated all my energy on studying English.-
It was a happy day when I was finally able to go to the
library.-
-
>> I am helping our Russian guys who are going to M.C.C.-
It is such a difficult transition from the Russian educational
system to the American.-
That's why I'm helping them.-
We are free in my own apartment.-
I want to help people.-
-
>> I've been writing a book about my life in the Soviet
Union.-
The title of that book, which is finished not yet published
is
"Under three empires."-
I'm showing my life under the Nazis, my life in the Soviet
Union, and my life here in America.-
After immigration.-
-
>> How do you remember the past?-
-
>> I remember it very often because no one can escape
the
past.-
-
>> She is these interviews are part of a larger documentary
written, produced and directed by Mikhail Gershteyn.-
If you want to learn more about the experiences of Rochester
area holocaust survivors St. John's college is presenting
picture exhibits by Lou Ouzer.-
Give us your response on 258-0250.-
The elections are over but democracy remains in action.-
Next we can week we will look at how Legislature is delishting
a tough budget and how Latino leaders are come together on the
future of our region.-
Please join us.-