Researchers examining quality of life for dementia patients and their caregivers are looking for participants in Iowa. Some families enrolled in the study will have access to around-the-clock consultations, online education and remote monitoring of dementia patients. The leader researcher is Dr. Steve Bonasera, who specializes in geriatrics at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.

“How does this approach work in urban settings, suburban settings, rural settings and frontier settings,” Dr. Bonasera says. “How does this work with people of different economic opportunities?” the study aims to recruit more than two-thousand families in a variety of locations to capture a snapshot of dementia care in the U-S. Researchers want to cultivate more cohesive care using web-based resources and by having navigators regularly check in with caregivers.

While those navigators have no formal medical training, Bonasera says they are taught how to triage problems specific to dementia patients. “Some of our navigators have spent two and three weeks trying different solutions to address specific problems until we finally iterate onto a solution that everyone can live with and that works,” he says.

In addition to Iowa, researchers are recruiting participants from Nebraska and California. The goal is to collect data on dementia care across several social, economic, geographic and racial populations. Bonasera says he hopes the study will help families be more proactive in caregiving and decision-making.

(Radio Iowa)

Marne Fire and Rescue responded to a reported single-vehicle accident this (Tuesday) morning on Interstate 80. According to scanner traffic, the vehicle went into the north ditch off I-80 westbound, at the 50.1-mile marker. The accident happened at around 4:55-a.m.

Airbags deployed in the vehicle. The two occupants requested medical assistance to be checked out. The victims refused transport to the hospital. The car was totaled in the crash.

Marne Fire and Rescue, Atlantic Fire and Medivac ambulance were initially dispatched to the scene. No other details were immediately available.

U.S. Senate candidate Rob Hogg — a Democrat from Cedar Rapids — says climate change won’t be the MOST important voting issue in 2016, but he says the “trend line” shows more and more people want politicians to offer solutions. “I think in general most Iowans, Democrats and Republicans, want us to act on climate change,” Hogg says. “Obviously the percentages are higher for Democrats and it’s getting pretty near close to unanimity among Democrats believing that we need to address climate change.” This week Hogg has embarked on what he calls a “Climate Solutions Tour” of the state.

“I want Iowans to know that we can solve climate change and have a prosperous economy. In fact, I think that’s the only way we can do it,” Hogg says. “The damage from climate change is real. It’s serious and we’ve got to act on the issue.” As for solutions, Hogg is an advocate of wind and solar power. He favors extending the federal wind production tax credit. Hogg visited a solar-powered company in Cedar Rapids and a so-called energy-efficient “green” building on the Central College campus in Pella Monday. This afternoon (Tuesday), Hogg will visit the Whiterock Conservancy in Coon Rapids.

On Wednesday he’ll visit Carroll and Ames. On Thursday, Hogg will be in Decorah and Charles City. Three other Democrats say they’re running in the U.S. Senate Primary in June. Bob Krause of Fairfield and Tom Fiegan, of Clarence, ran and lost in the U.S. Senate Primary back in 2010 and they’re running again in 2016. Ray Zirkelbach, a former state legislator and Iraq War veteran from Monticello, announced this past weekend that he would run, too.

(Radio Iowa)

Medical marijuana sales started Monday in the State of Illinois. Iowa law only allows possession of cannabis oil for the treatment of chronic epilepsy, which primarily afflicts children, but the oil is not sold in Iowa. This spring Governor Terry Branstad suggested Iowans with a state-issued card allowing possession of cannabis oil might be able to go to Illinois to buy it. But Branstad’s administration has not made progress on that idea.

“I don’t know that there’s been anything done on that yet,” Branstad says. Current Illinois law only lets Illinois residents buy medical marijuana products from dispensaries in that state. Medical marijuana sales began in Minnesota July 1st, but only Minnesota residents can buy it there as well. Iowa parents caring for children with intractible epilepsy say buying cannabis oil elsewhere is difficult, if not impossible, so the Iowa law that decriminalizing possession of cannabis oil needs to be changed.

Branstad says he has sympathy for those parents, but is concerned about what’s going on with RECREATIONAL marijuana in Colorado and Washington state. “We’re continuing to look at that very carefully,” Branstad says. “Certainly we have empathy for those people with epilepsy and want to make sure they are able to get it, but that only those people that have epilepsy are the only ones that are able to get it and those that have the authorization from their physicians.”

Medical marijuana dispensaries opened in Chicago and four other Illinois cities Monday after “cultivation centers” got the go-ahead to start shipping marijuana to retailers last week. In December, a medical marijuana dispensary is scheduled to open in Milan, Illinois — which is in the Quad Cities area.

(Radio Iowa)