Many people wouldn’t expect a wheelchair user to have an interest, or use, for yoga. But CNN reports that this just isn’t so! Mobility challenged individuals find that yoga helps them unstiffen muscles they cannot move on their own, reducing mobility limting impact on connected muscles that they do still have control of, as well as providing stress and depression relief.

Senior Spectrum Online introduces us to a new assistive technology site geared toward helping aging Californians stay independent longer. Consultation and assistance regarding finding and using assistive technology vendors and solutions providers is provided free of charge by AT Network.

Vitals.com, a New Jersey based startup, aims to take the guesswork out of finding a good physician by soliciting user reviews, certifications, and other risk factors for poor quality care. The site allows one to search out information on a particular physician, or to find a physician based on location, and specialty, and then see what his or her patients are saying about the quality of care they receive.

As many caregivers know, planning for long term care of a patient can be stressful, both mentally and financially. MassMutual has released a template that helps tame the task into something manageable and less overwhelming, to ensure that the needs of the caregiver and their charge are well met and planned for over the course of a lifetime.

Independent Living Technologies, a firm dedicated to bringing low cost assistive technology, products, and assembly services to the market has announced that everything will ship for free via UPS ground in the continental united states. While normally we wouldn’t pander for business for a particular firm, this one is worth the nod because they provide some *extremely* heavy and bulky items.

Is going to the doctor a pain? For a lot of mobility challenged individuals, not feeling well can mean a significant effort simply to get up and get to the doctor or hospital when you already feel bad. Honeywell recently won the 2008 Medical Design Excellence Award their Genesis DM Remote Care Device, an assistive technology which allows doctors to remotely assess a patient and recommend an appropriate course of action with as little disruption to the patient’s daily routing as possible.

Assistive technology and home retrofitting have made the difference between independence and continuous care to many individuals who have either permanent or temporary mobility challenges. Disability often has to be declared, insurance companies convinced, and frequently the things that just make life easier, simply aren’t covered.

With more and more baby boomers requiring home adjustments to continue independent lifestyles, The Wall Street Journal has produced an extensive article indicating the pros (and believe it or not) cons of retrofitting your home to fit changing needs.

Thousands of Medicaid beneficiaries who were previously limited to receiving care in an institutional setting may now be given the option to receive that care in their homes and communities, under a proposed rule published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) gave states a new option to provide home-and-community based services (HCBS) to Medicaid beneficiaries without applying for a demonstration waiver. The proposed rule provides guidance to states on how to implement this provision of the DRA.

The Chicago Tribune explores the benefits of traveling to India for radical or expensive surgery.