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Bellyful of Laughs a rip-roarin' success
Last Saturday, more than 400 people braved bitter temperatures to attend our annual Bellyful of Laughs comedy event to support Meals on Wheels. Well-known local comedians Tony V and Jim Colliton kept the audience in stitches and the staff of Anthony's in Malden made sure that everyone got their bellyful. Audience members bought raffle tickets for hometown goodies and some lucky duck walked away with over 50 bottles of wine!
The event brought in over $24,000 to support the Meals on Wheels program. MVES is grateful to all those who attended. We hope to see you again in the spring when the Stoneham Theatre presents 42nd Street to benefit our MVES Gap Fund!
New hospital visitation guidelines allow patients to designate their own visitors
New hospital regulations took effect on January 19 which ensure that any Medicaid or Medicare participating hospital must respect the rights of patients to designate who can visit them.
These new regulations have the primary goal of ensuring that the partners and loved ones of LGBT patients are not blocked from visiting due to outdated hospital definitions of family. Ultimately, the regulations will have a strong positive impact on all patients by allowing them to receive visits from close friends, non-family caregivers, and other companions . They will also allow visitations from members of religious orders.
In April, when President Obama announced that he would ask for these new regulations, he said:
"There are few moments in our lives that call for greater compassion and companionship than when a loved one is admitted to the hospital. In these hours of need and moments of pain and anxiety, all of us would hope to have a hand to hold, a shoulder on which to lean – a loved one to be there for us, as we would be there for them."
What is health care reform doing for seniors?
Question: For almost a year now, ever since the health care reform law passed, I’ve been hearing how it’s going to make my health care and prescriptions even more expensive and how it’s going to interfere with my ability to keep my own doctors. Last week, when the House of Representatives voted to repeal the health care reform law, I wasn’t sure what to make of it. As a senior citizen who depends on Medicare for my health care, what should I believe? Is the health care reform law going to make life easier or harder for me? Should I support repeal of the law or should I fight to keep it?
Answer: It’s no wonder that you’re having trouble figuring out what health care reform, called “the Affordable Care Act,” can do for you. Politicians and commentators all present different versions of what will happen under the new law, and the law itself is long (over 900 pages), complex, and written in tiresome legalese.
For those of us who work in elder services, though, the Affordable Care Act is definitely a triumph. It means new services, improved services, lower health care costs for seniors, and more elders getting the care and attention they need.
Meals on Wheels help keep elders independent and healthy
Through our
Meals on Wheels program, Mystic Valley Elder Services provides nutritious hot and cold meals to 1,700 elders in eight communities five days a week. This program is supported through the donations of friends like you.
At our recent Bellyful of Laughs comedy event, our supporters signed this banner to declare their support for elders in their community.
Make any donation to the MVES Meals on Wheels program and we'll add your name on our lunchbag banner to be displayed in our MVES headquarters all year long.
Local businesses & employees make the season bright for elders
This year, individuals from Comcast, Marriott International, and Cross Country Automotive Services and businesses Andy Boy Produce, Beacon Fruit and Produce, Bonafede, Comcast, De Marco Produce, Listino Produce, New England Coffee, Savings Bank of Wakefield, Strock, Yellow-Glow Bananas, and Wakefield High School put some more cheer in the holiday season for more than 400 elders served by MVES. Working closely with our care managers, these community partners put together baskets filled with fresh fruits, coffee, and cookies and some even stocked with personalized treats for delivery to elders who most needed an extra show of care and warmth this winter.
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Exceptional case manager of 2010
The Massachusetts Council for Home Care and Services, Inc. awards one outstanding elder services case manager with the Cathe Madden Award each year. This year, the recipient was MVES case manager Izabella Borada. MVES case manager Maureen Breslin was also nominated for this award.
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Bank manager by day
Jodi Lloyd is a branch manager for The Savings Bank in Lynnfield. For the past two years, Jodi has donated her time and skills to elders in her community through the MVES Money Management program. Jodi works with two elders (including Peggy Logan, above) to help them balance their checkbooks, pay bills, sort mail, and keep their finances in order. Jodi's work helps to protect elders from financial exploitation while respecting their independence.
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From MVES Executive Director Dan O'Leary
When Addition Can Be Subtraction
You may recall that I wrote about the “3Cs” (caring, compassion, and commitment to excellence) in the December Beacon Bits issue. Here we are in the first month of 2011 and already there’s an opportunity to increase those 3Cs for the elders in our community.
State Senator Patricia Jehlen, representing Medford and surrounding communities, and Representative Alice Wolf, representing Cambridge, have proposed a new law: “An Act Regarding Cost Savings in Elderly Care.” While cost savings is what everyone seems to be interested in these days (and rightly so), the bill is equally about giving consumers choice and presenting them with the home care options they want.
As you know, most elders would prefer to live at home independently as long as they can. It’s not often that we can discuss cost savings in the context of providing tax payers with what they need and prefer, but here’s one time when we can add to elders’ options while subtracting from the state’s health care costs.
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There's an app for that
Baby boomers are the largest segment of the population serving as caregivers for elders, and also one of the largest demographics to use smartphones. It's about time that technology caught up with their needs.
The Wall Street Journal recently reported on some of the best smart phone apps for caregivers, including medication trackers, visual dialers, and medical record access. Featured apps include Tell My Geo for Android, Personal Caregiver and iBiomed for iPhone, and Pain Care for Android, iPhone, and Blackberry.
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