**sub**Assistive Technologies to Improve Function**endsub**
Helen Hoenig, MD, Assistant Professor, Division of Geriatrics, Department of Medicine, Duke University, and the Center on Aging and Human Development, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, began by discussing several categories of assistive devices. These mechanisms include mobility aids, walkers, and canes; bathroom equipment, such as raised toilet seats, bathtub benches, and hand-held showers; self-care devices, including reachers, long-handled sock aids and button aids; and augmentative devices, such as hearing aids and eye

Michael D. Cantor, MD, JD, Special Assistant to the Director, National Center for Ethics, Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, DC, discussed when and if food and water can be withheld from a nursing home resident. There are three important considerations when making this determination: autonomy, surrogate decision-making, and the best-interest approach.

Dr. Cantor used a case discussion to illustrate a person who fits the common profile of someone who resides in a nursing home. Mr. Smith is an 89-year-old resident with advanced Alzheimer’s disease (AD) who is dependent for all of

**sub**Investigation of Health Care Fraud Among Long-Term Care Practitioners **endsub**
Stuart Silver, a Supervisory Special Agent of the FBI, Atlanta, GA, who heads a squad of agents investigating health care fraud in Atlanta and monitors all health care fraud activity in the state of Georgia, began his presentation by quoting a startling figure of $100 billion as an estimate of the sum that is lost to health care fraud each year. He explained that this figure is obtained by calculating 10% of annual health expenditure in the country. While health expenditure is now at approximately $1.35 b

**sub**Benign Prostate Diseases **endsub**
Tomas Griebling, MD, Assistant Professor of Urology and Assistant Scientist for the Center on Aging at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, spoke about prostate disorders. He reviewed benign conditions of the prostate that affect older adults, including benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostatitis.

Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia
Benign prostatic hyperplasia affects almost all men over the age of 40 in the U.S. Symptoms most commonly consist of urinary urgency, frequency, a decreased force in the urinary stream, nocturia, a feeli

Lawmakers continue to debate the politically-charged issue of prescription drug coverage for seniors. The U.S. House of Representatives, on a near party-line vote of 221-208, approved a GOP-backed $350 billion Medicare reform package on June 28. House Democrats strongly oppose the Republican prescription drug plan contained in the bill and introduced their own 10-year drug benefit plan estimated to cost between $800 billion and $1 trillion. However, the GOP leadership blocked Democrats from offering their proposal on the House floor.

At press time, the Senate was expected to consider a dr