Did you know …
By the year 2030, 25% of Minnesota residents will be 65 years or older? 
That number is more than double what it is today.

Aging: everybody does it. 
 
But as the baby boomers begin to retire and become a larger proportion of our population, what does it mean to our community?
 
What resources and programs are available and necessary to ensure older adults have a high quality of life and enables seniors to maintain their independence?
 
How is our community capitalizing on the wealth of knowledge and skills of older adults as they retire and leave the traditional workplace?

Join us as our panelists discuss how the issue of aging is changing in our community. 
Spend your lunch hour finding out how United Way and its partners are helping to improve people’s lives.

DATE:  Friday, April 29, 2011
 
TIME: Lunch begins at 11:45; Program from Noon – 1
 
LOCATION: South Central College’s Conference Center A 
1920 Lee Blvd., North Mankato, MN
Parking in Blue Lot (North side of building). Enter through Door 15.

This event is free of charge, open to the public, and lunch will be provided thanks to sponsorship by Subway and Pepsi.  Please RSVP by Monday, April 18th to mankatouw@mankatounitedway.org.

This AARP article also provided a checklist of items that make staying in your home easier …
– A full bath on the main level
– A bedroom on the mail level
– An entrance without steps
– A sidewalk in front of the home
– Door-handle levers instead of knobs
– Doorways wider than standard 

Additionally, if the time comes that a person living in their own home needs daily living assistance or home health care,  Class-A licensed home care agencies in Minnesota are able to provide a level-of-care in people’s own homes that is comparable to the care provided in nursing homes and assisted living residences.  Also, the cost of home care is similar to the alternative long-term care options.

So, for those of you that say ‘I want to stay home,’ it is most likely that you can!

Below you will find a description of the proposed cuts in funds that assist family caregivers and assist older adults to live at home.  People are encouraged, if they choose to and are approved by their agency,  to contact the members of the Senate HHS Committee, with specific focus on the Chair – Senator Hann, to express their opinion on the cuts and the impact they will have on seniors and their caregivers.  Contact with the conferees to the Conference  Committee on S.F. 760  is also encouraged.  A list of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee members, and the conferees for both the Senate and house, with contact information, is available by emailing michelle@baywoodhomecare.com.  

Rally at the Capitol- Please mark your calendars for a rally at the Capitol the morning of May 3^rd.  More information to be available later this week.

 Family Caregiver Support Eliminated In Senate HHS Budget 

• The total elimination of State Caregiver Grants (FY12 $496,000 and FY13 $456,000; $952,000 for the biennium) zeroes out $2.1 million annually ($4.2m for the biennium) in Older Americans Act federal funds due to Maintenance of Effort requirements. This is the entire federal OAA Caregiver Support allocation. 
• The loss of state and federal caregiver support funds directly impacts 8,436 people who need help to care for a frail older person at home.  
• Supporting family caregivers is critical.  Providing caregivers with respite and consultation lengthens their ability to keep their spouses or parents with dementia and physical disabilities at home – the least expensive option to the state.  Without support, caregivers are at greater risk for placing their spouse or parent in a nursing facility at a much greater cost to public payers.  
• Family caregivers are essential to the state’s long-term care system.  According to the Minnesota Board on Aging, 92% of care is provided by family members.  The state saves $30 million for every 1% of long-term care provided by family members.  Spouses and adult children are already giving of their time and cash resources to support their loved ones at home.  Many working caregivers count on the respite and other support they receive to help them maintain their jobs and income to provide for their families and to continue in their caregiving role. 

Senior LinkAge Line Capacity Reduced 50% in Senate Budget 

• The elimination of the Prescription Drug Grant (FY 12 $960,000 and FY 13 $882,000; $1.842 million for the biennium) would reduce the total capacity of the Senior LinkAge Line (SLL) by half.  This means that 66,500 contacts that seniors and their families make to find community services and get their Medicare Part D questions answered could not be addressed. 
   
• Services of the Senior LinkAge Line to help older adults return from nursing homes to the community and to make informed decisions about housing options (Return to the Community, Section “Q” MDS 3 Assistance, and Transitional Consultation) are designed to save Medical Assistance funds.  These services build on the Senior LinkAge Line infrastructure. They could no longer be fully implemented if LinkAge funding is cut, and the projected savings to the state would be reduced. 

House and Senate Proposals Offer Short-Sighted Savings and Disregard Proven, Least–expensive Strategies to Support Seniors at Home 

• Major cuts in caregiver support, prescription drug assistance and transportation threaten essential community-based services that help families keep their seniors out of higher cost facilities.
   
• Capping Elderly Waiver will push some seniors into nursing facilities immediately, and many more over time.
   
• Provider rate cuts undermine the sustainability of community-based long-term care services and supports at the same time that a demographic shift increases demand.
   
• The major proposed policy and budget changes don’t have description adequate for neutral sources to forecast their financial impact unlike previous practice. 
   
• Cuts to any Linkage Line (Aging, Disability, Veterans) affect all three Linkage Lines due to the high levels of coordination of the systems. This coordination makes the Lines highly efficient programmatically and financially.
   
• With the reductions currently being proposed, as many as half the families and older people contacting Senior LinkAge for information about community services to keep their loved ones or themselves out of nursing homes will not receive a response.

You are invited to participate in this free event to foster global recognition of elder and vulnerable adult abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation. Don’t forget to wear purple!

WHEN: Wednesday, June 15, 2011
7:30am – 8:15am Registration
8:15am – 5:00pm Event
LUNCH: Lunch is on your own. Maps of options nearby will be available.
WHERE: William Mitchell College of Law, Auditorium (Second Floor)
875 Summit Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55105
*Parking is free in the William Mitchell lot and on surrounding streets.

To register for the event, please use the following link (or paste in your browser):
http://survey.dhs.state.mn.us/surveylogin.asp?k=130028321849

 Event Breakout Sessions Include:

The Challenge of Self‐Neglect
(Hennepin County Adult Protection)

Characteristics of Hoarding: Behavior and Solutions
(Animal Humane Society of Minnesota)

Chemical Dependency Treatment: The Boomer Generation
(Fountain Centers of Albert Lea)

The Civil Commitment Process
(Ombudsman for Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities)

Communication Strategies for Clients with Dementia
(HealthPartners Neurology and Alzheimer’s Research Center)

End of Life Care and the Problem of Medical Futility
(William Mitchell College of Law)

Ethics in Adult Protection: Risk vs. Self‐Determination
(Barb Doherty, Consultant on Aging and Adult Protection)

Home and Community Care Programs for Veterans
(Veterans Affairs Medical Center)

Investigating Maltreatment: Effective Partnering Strategies
(St. Paul Police Department, Stillwater Police Department)

Lottery, Sweepstakes, and Prize Scams
(Dept. of Public Safety – State of Minnesota Anti‐Fraud Unit)

Papers and Books and Feces – Oh My!
(Ramsey County Public Health Agencies)

Prescription Medication Abuse
(Department of Human Services)

Prevention of Sexual Violence in Facilities
(Dept. of Health, Ombudsman for Long‐Term Care, Family Advocates)

Promising Practices to Combat Financial Exploitation
(Center for Elder Justice and Policy)

Protecting Native American Vulnerable Adults
(Carlton County Adult Protection, Fond du Lac Tribe, Wm. Mitchell)

Top Ten Estate Planning Strategies to Avoid Exploitation
(Long, Reher and Hanson and Maser, Amundson and Price)

As services for seniors expand, entrepreneurs are preparing for more scrutiny from regulators

By John Tozzi

Home-care companies aren’t regulated in about two dozen states, and just a handful require licenses for companies that provide nonmedical services.  (Note: In Minnesota, Home Care Companies are licensed and regulated by the MN Dept. of Health) Today the industry faces a hodgepodge of inconsistent rules that advocates say puts vulnerable people at risk of financial exploitation or physical abuse. In states that require licensing, many operators ignore regulations because the costs of complying are high and the risk of getting caught is low, people in the industry say.

Advocates of home care say it is more compassionate and less expensive than nursing home care. More than 45,000 companies offered home health care or other aid in 2008, including 2,800 small outfits that pay franchisers for a brand name, training, and support, researcher Frandata estimates. They’re targeting a $55 billion market that will surely grow as the number of Americans 65 and older increases by 79 percent in the next 20 years, to 72 million, according to Census projections.

A report by the Senate Special Committee on Aging notes that “addressing elder abuse in home-based care settings is becoming a growing concern.” Much of the worry centers on how thoroughly companies vet workers before sending them into people’s houses. The Senate report says that after seven states began requiring comprehensive background checks for caregivers in institutions and private homes, 4.3 percent of the 220,000 applicants were disqualified because of a history of serious crimes. Some 92 percent of nursing homes employ at least one worker with a criminal conviction, according to a Mar. 1 report by the U.S. Health & Human Services Dept. Not all crimes preclude workers from employment

Continue reading this article at: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_13/b4221060286462.htm

What is a Geriatric Care Manager?
A Geriatric Care Manager is a health and human services professional, such as a gerontologist, social worker, counselor, or nurse, with a specialized body of knowledge and experience related to aging and elder care issues.  A Professional Geriatric Care Manager (PGCM) is a geriatric care manager who is a member of the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers (GCM) and had committed to adhering to the GCM Pledge of Ethics and Standards of Practice.  The PGCM assists older adults and persons with disabilities in attaining their maximum functional potential.  The PGCM strives to respect the autonomy of the individual and delivers care-coordination and support services with sensitivity to preserve the dignity and respect of each individual.  In addition, the PGCM is an experienced guide and resource for families of older adults and others with chronic needs. 

Do I Really Need a Geriatric Care Manager?
Before making the effort, step back a moment and try to determine whether you actually have a problem in which a professional geriatric care manager needs to be involved.  Do you have time, inclination, and skills to manage the problems yourself?  If you are not sure, ask your clergy, your doctor, a social worker, your financial advisor, or a trusted friend to help you decided if an elder care expert may be helpful in this situation.  Enlisting the support of other family member to consult a professional is a good way to build a consensus on the solutions.  Other questions that you may wish to consider are:

•  Are the problems that you or your loved ones are facing becoming larger and more complex than you can comfortably manage?
• Are other demands and responsibilities now so great that you are not able to provide the desired level of supervision and attention to your loved one’s problems?
• There are many places to find a care manager in your city or state. This website includes a searchable directory of professional geriatric care managers who belong to GCM. You may also want to check with local agencies or hospitals to obtain a list of local referrals. MN Home Health Care professionals and elder law attorneys are other excellent referral sources.

How Do I Benefit From Using a Care Manager?
Care management services are offered in a variety of settings.  Professional Geriatric Care Managers (PGCMs) can serve the needs of their clients with the following services:

• Short-term or on-going assistance for long distance caregivers or other requiring assistance.
• Personalized and compassionate services focusing on the individual’s wants and needs.
• Accessibility:  Care is typically available 24 hours a day; 7 days a week.
• Continuity of care management by facilitating family communication, reducing the burden on families and preventing unnecessary expenditures.
• Efficiency and flexibility based upon a client-centered approach eliminating bureaucratic constraints.
• Cost containment by avoiding inappropriate placements, duplication of services, and crisis intervention to avoid hospitalizations.
• Quality control: care management services that follow GCM’s Standards of Practice.

March 17, 2011 || Saint Paul, MN: Begin Here: helping survivors manage, the definitive resource on what to do when a loved one dies, enters into its second stage. What began as a personal spreadsheet has become an invaluable tool for others in the same boat. As proof of the need for just such a resource, overwhelming demand has warranted a 2^nd Edition, just released in the first quarter of 2011.

This hands-on workbook guides survivors through the seemingly overwhelming practical and necessary tasks that remain after a death, from residential to financial to personal. Author Kat Reed based the guidebook/toolkit on her own experiences after her mom’s death. Discovering the lack of resources available to help her and her predominantly deaf dad with these tasks, Reed was forced to research and investigate solutions to the practical matters for herself. In turn, she self-published her user-friendly book in 2009 as a way to ease this burden for other survivors.

According to 2008 preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control, between 1979 and 2008, approximately 6,131 individuals died every single day in the United States. The survivors of these deaths are the foundation of this book. “When someone dies, there are countless organizations around the world that offer grief support, but none that provides the product that we offer,” Reed explains. “Helping Survivors Manage was created on the foundation of most new ventures: a void in the market. We hope to fill that need with our experienced team of subject matter experts (those who have been through it, as well as funeral directors, professional organizers, hospice, home health care, and death care professionals) to help others through this difficult time.”

Begin Here: helping survivors manage has garnered national attention and earned acclaim as a 2009 Book Award Finalist in the Midwest Independent Publishers Association and a winner in the North American Bookdealers Exchange Fall 2010 Pinnacle Book Achievement Award. A dozen local and national mainstream and industry-specific publications have also recognized the book’s immense value and shared positive reviews and endorsements, including the following:

• Mary Divine, Pioneer Press: “It covers everything from whom to notify at the time of death to how to delegate.”
• Bill Ward, Star Tribune: “A guidebook/workbook covering everything from bills and pills to wills.”
• Kim Stacey, Association of Women Funeral Directors: “I can’t say enough about the value of this book.”

 As of this press release, Reed has sold over 1,450 units with no marketing budget, only using Facebook, LinkedIn and her own website and blog to generate interest. Sales are attributed to word of mouth, press coverage and speaking engagements. The book is available on her website (www.HelpingSurvivorsManage.com), select bookstores in Minnesota and New Mexico, and a few online stores. The website also provides online forms and letters at no cost.

 ###

 ABOUT THE BOOK

Begin Here: helping survivors: ISBN 978-1-61623-273-3, spiral bound, sturdy soft cover, 52 pages, 7”x9”, $24.00. Order at www.HelpingSurvivorsManage.com.

CONTACT:
Kat Reed
Helping Survivors Manage
Saint Paul, MN
612-293-6407
Kat@HelpingSurvivorsManage.com

In Minnesota, caregivers for people with dementia spend 223,324,620 unpaid hours caring for those affected by this disease.   The economic value of this time spent caregiving is $2568,233,134.

Alzheimer’s is not a normal part of aging, although the greatest known risk factor is increasing age.  The majority of people with Alzheimer’s are 65 and older; but, Alzheimer’s is not just a disease of old age.  Up to 5 percent of people with the disease have early-onset Alzheimer’s (also known as younger-onset), which often appears when someone is in their 40′s or 50′s.

Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia.  Dementia is a general term for memory loss and other intellectual abilities serious enough to interfere with activities of daily life.  Alzheimer’s disease accounts for 50 to 70 percent of dementia cases.

The Alzheimer’s Association’s annual Gala raises funds to support the many programs and services of the Association and is also a time to celebrate the lives of loved ones with Alzheimer’s and related diseases.  At the 2010 Gala, approximately 750 people came together to raise more than $390,000.
This year’s gala event is Saturday, April 16, 2011
Marriott City Center Ballroom, Minneapolis, MN

Follow this link to learn more and register: http://www.stagetimeproductions.com/alz/

The article says that much of this senior-to-senior bullying takes place in senior centers, nursing homes, or assisted living facilities as these are places where seniors are spending a lot of time together and have to share resources.  Resources could be dining room tables, television time, or attention from staff. 

In this article, you meet Mary Noriega, a 64-year-old from Phoenix, who says she has had run-ins with a group of “mean girls” at the senior complex where she and her husband moved a year and a half ago.  “I’ve endured a lot of bullying,” she says. “There’s a clique here of probably 20 women and they feel they control the property. I’m their kicking stone.”  Read the full article at : http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41353544/ns/health-aging/

It is important for anyone who is considering moving someone they love to a facility, such as a nursing home or assisted living or independent senior housing, that they research more than one facility or consider home health care before making the move.  The effects of bullying on seniors can be devastating, just as it is to children and young adults.  Home Health Care typically makes it possible for a person to stay living in their own home and participating in their current community and social circle, as an alternative to assisted living.  Or, if an assisted living home is preferred, some facilities may have residents that are more welcoming versus others where residents might have already formed social cliques.  If you decide to tour facilities, whether it’s adult day care, assisted living, or a nursing home, it is a good idea to go early or stay late and talk to residents and their families who live in the building to find out what their experiences have been like.

If you have any of the following questions that you are seeking answers to, then you are invited to attend this free seminar.
When should I start planning for my long-term care?
What are my options for long-term care?
What does long-term care cost?
What is long-term care insurance (LTCI)?
Who utilizes LTCI?
What will Medicare pay for, what is out of pocket, and what will LTCI cover?
How can I remain living at home, with a high quality of life, into my elder years?

On Wednesday, April 27, 2011, you are invited to get the answers to these questions and more.
7:45am – 8am   Registration, Coffee, Bagels
8am – 9am          Presentation by Diane Dhal, M & I Bank and Michelle Lano, Baywood Home Care
9am -9:30am    Question & Answer

Location:
Park Place West Office Building
1st Floor Conference Room
6465 Wayzata Blvd.
St. Louis Park, MN 55426
Located on the South side of Highway 394 between Louisiana Avenue and Highway 100.

Please RSVP.  Space is limited.
Michelle Lano, Baywood Home Care
(763) 546-8899
michelle@baywoodhomecare.com