Dear Ken,
Welcome to the January 2010 issue of Along the Way! |
Five Wishes
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"Five Wishes" is a document that you can fill out to let your family and doctors know: who you want to make health care decisions for you, the kind of medical care you want or don't want, how comfortable you want to be, how you want people to treat you, and what you want your loved ones to know. More than 14 million copies of "Five Wishes" are in circulation across the country, and the document meets all legal requirements in 42 states (is useful in all 50).
"Five Wishes" is available in 23 different languages. For more information about Five Wishes, and to obtain a copy of the Five Wishes booklet, click on the numeral five below.
A limited supply of the booklets are available in non-English languages from the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program at SeniorCare, Inc. (Portuguese, Spanish, Russian, Polish, French) Please call 978-281-1750 or toll free 1-866-927-1050.
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Action, Inc. Now in Ipswich and Rockport
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Thanks to funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), Action, Inc. community action program, headquartered in Gloucester, has opened two satellite offices to assist its consumers, one in Ipswich and one in Rockport. Though Action has served residents of both these communities for many years, providing services such as job training, emergency shelter, fuel assistance, and home care, having the satellite offices makes services easily accessible to more people. Click for more information on Action Satellite Offices.
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 Valentine Breakfast Fundraiser
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 HELP US KEEP THE MEALS COMING BY
JOINING US AT THIS EVER POPULAR EVENT
36th AnnualSeniorCare Meals on Wheels
Valentine Breakfast Fundraiser
February 12, 2010 7-9:30 AM
The Gloucester House Restaurant
Gloucester, MA
Click on the box of chocolates for more information!ALSO --- COMING SOON - "MARCH FOR MEALS" |
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Nursing Home Ratings and Advocacy |
Families often struggle with the decision whether to place an older relative in a nursing home, and even more with deciding upon the best facility to meet their loved one's needs once the decision is made. The Massachusetts Department of Health and Human Services provides a Nursing Home Consumer Information Page and Medicare provides a Nursing Home Compare Tool that can assist families in making the right choice.
Member of the Family provides nursing home ratings in a color coded, easy to read format, including ratings for out of state homes, which is a great help for long distance care givers.
Life in a nursing home, or rest home, is not always easy. Many residents feel powerless. SeniorCare's Long Term Ombudsman Program can help. The Long Term Care Ombudsman Program helps with residents' quality of life and rights, so that they can live their lives with dignity and respect. Ombudsmen work within the system, and volunteers and staff of the program are certified by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs. This federally funded program is a mandated service through the Older Americans Act, and provides information and assistance to consumers in selecting a long term care home, as well as advocating for positive change to the long term care system in Massachusetts.
Consumers should contact the Department of Public Health (DPH), Division of Health Care Quality, for suspected cases of abuse, misappropriation, mistreatment or neglect, in DPH licensed homes, and request an investigation. DPH can be reached toll free at 1-800-462-5540 or at 1-617-753-8000.
At SeniorCare, the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program is directed by Michele Gaythwaite. She says,"Preserving and promoting a rich quality of life for residents is just as important as providing outstanding quality of care. We strive toward a philosophical shift from care and protection of the body to support of people in obtaining lives of personal satisfaction."
Ombudsmen do not provide direct care to residents. They are the impartial listeners, who hear and investigate issues to work toward cooperative resolution with the staff and consent of the resident - being solution oriented, rather than problem oriented. To contact SeniorCare's Ombudsman Program, call 978-281-1750 or toll free 1-866-927-1050.
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Sincerely,
SeniorCare, Inc.
5 Blackburn Center
Gloucester, MA 01930
978-281-1750
Toll Free 1-866-927-1050
Fax: 978-281-1753
TDD: 978-282-1836
www.seniorcareinc.org
srcare@seniorcareinc.org
SeniorCare is the regional elder services agency serving Beverly, Essex, Gloucester, Hamilton, Ipswich, Manchester-by-the Sea, Rockport, Topsfield, and Wenham Massachusetts.
ELDER SERVICES ~ INFORMATION ~ SOLUTIONS
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RSVP of the the North Shore, which is sponsored by SeniorCare, Inc., is partnering with three new local agencies to help keep people warm this winter... Our Project Warm Friend Program is making a difference. This year, 27 volunteers in this program gave more than 5,145 hours of service to help others!
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PROJECT WARM FRIEND
rsvp@seniorcareinc.org
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