24 THE QUEENS COURIER • HEALTH • DECEMBER 2, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
health
City expands $100 vax incentive to include SOMOS sites
BY BEN BRACHFELD
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
New York City’s vaccination
rate for adults is approaching
90%, but the city is still
expanding its incentive program
to goad skeptics into
getting the jab.
Mayor Bill de Blasio
announced last week that the
$100 incentive for those getting
their fi rst dose at a cityrun
site is now available to
those who get inoculated at
SOMOS Community Care
locations.
SOMOS, a network of hundreds
of health care providers
across the city, largely operates
in low-income neighborhoods
in the outer boroughs
where many don’t speak
English as a fi rst language.
All of the network’s care is
paid for by Medicaid, and it
touts the fact that its providers
“speak your language and
understand your culture.”
“We’ve now tapped into this
great network of health care
providers, and we’re creating
the ability for them to vaccinate
people in their offi ces,
with the $100 incentive,”
Hizzoner said at his daily
press briefi ng Monday. “Th is
is a new way of using the $100
incentive to reach everyday
New Yorkers.”
Th e city has been off ering
the $100 sweetener to fi rstdose
recipients since July, settling
on cash incentives aft er
previously off ering everything
from MetroCards to Mets
tickets to a free ride on the
Cyclone. Th e state recently
announced that kids who get
vaccinated can enter a lottery
to win a full-ride scholarship
to a SUNY or CUNY school.
Th e city and state began
implementing mandates this
summer aft er incentives failed
to move the needle as much
as offi cials hoped, and the city
now mandates COVID vaccination
for almost all of its
public employees as well as
for anyone wishing to enjoy
an indoor dinner and a movie
(plus other public accommodations).
Th ose receiving a booster at
a city-run site are not eligible
for the $100 incentive.
Catastrophic reactions and aging
BY DR. SHELDON ORNSTEIN
Th e researcher Goldstein, coined the
term “catastrophic reaction” to describe
the overreaction to minor stresses which
occur in patients with advanced dementia.
It is precipitated by fatigue, overstimulation,
an inability to meet expectations,
and persistent misinterpretations.
According to Goldstein, “When
the environment is misperceived and
one feels threatened, the following signs
are noted:
• Threatening gestures
• Striking out
• Increased voice volume
• Agitation
• increased restlessness
• Hostility
According to the researcher Mace,
“Intervention becomes necessary to
avert or minimize these reactions.” Any
sudden deterioration in cognitive function
with worsened behavior should be
considered as a warning that the patient
may be physically ill and will act out.
• Action to be taken – Maximize the
individual’s medical status with an
appropriate physical evaluation and
if necessary, medication for severe
behavioral issues. Also recognize that
these behavioral symptoms are not to
be viewed as willful. Further, recognize
the person with dementia who may not
be able to control their behavior and
will require staff intervention.
• Action to be taken – Simplify tasks,
requests, or the environment so that
the confusion does not become overwhelming
for the patient with dementia.
• Action to be taken – Recognize the
impending signs of a catastrophic reaction
by close observation of outbursts
that are oft en preceded by restlessness.
• Action to be taken – Remove the
individual, when warranted, from an
unwanted stimulus by withdrawing the
individual to a quiet room or space.
Suggest going for a walk, which may
allow time to calm down or even a
chance to distract and or forget what
may have caused the patient to act out.
• Action to be taken – Plan a consistent
daily schedule of several uncomplicated
routines that may include increasingly
diffi cult tasks for when he or she
feels best and can willingly comply
with a request.
• Action to be taken – Grossly disoriented
persons oft en may appear helpless
and hopeless but may briefl y respond
with warmth and pleasure when stimulated.
For them, the goal is not just
orientation but rather human contact.
Care should be directed toward fostering
good general health, improved
motor skills function in all areas of
behavior.
• Action to be taken – Listening with
respectful attention for any opportunity
to create dialogue. Communication
is an essential component of care. Th is
can include the technique of reminiscence,
even though one may not fully
remember the names of their spouse
or children.
According to the researcher
Hellebrant, “Care that is based on the
premise of what is left is uniquely human
and should be protected and preserved
as long as possible.”
Th e researchers Katz and McArdle
summed it up this way, “Must we be held
hostage by this dread threat of old age?
Can we remember that life is more than
momentary cerebral synapses. It is the
total piece that has been woven and if at
the end there are rugged edges, are they
fault or fringe?”
We know full well the strain that loved
ones endure when their beloved is out
of touch with reality and incapable of
behaving in socially acceptable ways. Yet,
when in the depth of despair, we can be
reminded of the better times and celebrate
them for the joy they brought and
the memories that remain.
Sheldon Ornstein Ed.D, RN, LNHA
Dr. Sheldon Ornstein is a
registered professional nurse
with a doctoral degree in nursing
organization. He has specialized
in the care of older adults and has
published many articles on the
subject. He has done post-graduate
work in gerontology and has
taught at several universities. In
2013, he was inducted into the
Nursing Hall of Fame at Teachers
College, Columbia University.
REUTERS/Mike Segar
A healthcare worker administers a shot of the COVID-19 vaccine at a SOMOS Community Care pop-up vaccination site.
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