If I am denied coverage from Medicare for a service, supply or prescription drug, do I have any rights to appeal their decision? Please explain how to go about this.
Eastbrook Healthcare Center recently completed the first part of an ongoing renovation to upgrade and modernize the skilled nursing facility. With a new owner in 2015 came the mantra – out with the old and in with the new – for the aging facility.
“The upgrades to our short-term rehabilitation unit, such as new state-of-the-art equipment and aesthetically pleasing decor, will make each patient’s stay more comfortable and pleasant,” says Shilo Dewald, administrator, Eastbrook Healthcare Center.
Eastbrook is a skilled nursing facility that provides long- and short-term care for the following needs:
Dewald adds that “the new look and comfort features incorporated into the renovation will enhance the care we provide for our patients every day.”
One of the biggest misconceptions I hear is that people over age 60 are out of touch with today’s technology. While older adults may not be snap-chatting each other, they are far from being left behind in the tech world. In fact, older adults are figuring out new ways to make the most of tech gadgets and adapting them to their particular needs.
The Euclid Family YMCA's 2nd Annual Senior Health and Wellness Fair will be held on Wednesday, April 26th 10am-1pm. Health screenings provided by Cleveland Clinic Euclid Hospital will include blood glucose checks, cholestrol checks, blood pressure checks, and hearing screenings as well as many other health driven vendors. This is event is open to the public, and we encourage the Euclid community to come and experience the YMCA atmosphere. For more information or to become a vendor please contact our Ami Bray (Active Older Adult Coordinator) at 216-731-7454 or email at abray@clevelandymca.org
Hilltop Village, located at 25900 Euclid Ave, just earned the award for 2017 Best Senior Living, presented by SeniorAdvisor.com. This award is based on ratings of family members who have loved ones living at senior care facilities across the US and Canada, and places Hilltop Village in the top one percent of all facilities. This includes places that offer assisted living, in-home care, independent living, skilled nursing or Alzheimer's care.
I’m on Medicare and a fixed income. I’m having trouble affording my prescription drugs. Do you know of any help that’s available for me?
Wills alone do not provide tax benefits, whereas Revocable Living Trusts do!
Revocable Living Trusts include specific provisions to be implemented when a spouse becomes legally incapacitated, incompetent, or dies, and how estate assets can be managed by a surviving spouse or other Successor Trustee, including important provisions for spouses, children and other loved ones.
A Revocable Living Trust is a contract between one or more individuals, also called maker(s), Trustor(s) or Grantor(s), and the Trustee. The Trustor provides detailed instructions concerning the retention and disposition of all trust assets. These instructions specify how the assets are to be held and distributed during the maker’s lifetime, and during disability or incapacity, as well as upon death. The term "Revocable" means that the Trustor, or maker, has the legal reservation, right, and ability, to amend or revoke the trust as he or she directs. The maker(s) may also be the Trustee(s).
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With so much talk today about Medicare benefits, this is a good time to clear up some common misconceptions about Medicare coverage. Many people are under the impression that once they sign up for Original Medicare, they are ‘home free.’ They think all their future medical cost will be covered.
While the open enrollment window has closed for most people for 2017, there are a number of exceptions. Opportunities to enroll or make changes are available in the following situations:
I received a notice from my Medicare Advantage Plan (HealthSpan) informing me that my plan is being discontinued and that they are automatically enrolling me in a new Medical Mutual Advantage Plan for 2017. I'm looking at the costs. Do I have to go along with this change or do I have other options?
You do not have to accept this automatic change.
HealthSpan policyholders have the right to return to Original Medicare or shop for an Advantage plan that suits their budget and includes their preferred doctors, hospitals and other health care providers.
HealthSpan policyholders who take no action will automatically be enrolled in a Medical Mutual Medicare Advantage HMO plan effective January 1, 2017, and will have to start using the doctors and other providers in this new plan’s network. All policyholders should have received information on their new premiums, co-pays and other costs for the new plan.
If you wish to decline this coverage you have two options:
You can shop and compare other Advantage plans right now, during Medicare’s Open Enrollment period and sign up before December 7, 2016. Coverage for a plan you enroll in during open enrollment will take effect on January 1, 2017 so you will not have any coverage gaps.
Residents of one of the largest senior living complexes in the country now have free, fresh produce delivered to them monthly in a new push at curbing hunger and malnutrition among the elderly.
Q. I’ve been satisfied up to now with my Original Medicare insurance. Don’t Medicare and all the private Medicare Advantage Plans provide about the same coverage? Why should I change to a Medicare Advantage Plan?
Editor’s note: The following news, sports, and other items were culled from the pages of a 1966 edition of the Euclid News-Journal, the city’s former weekly newspaper.
Q. HealthSpan is my current insurance provider. They have informed me they will be automatically enrolling me with another insurance company for 2017. How do I know this is the best plan for me? Do I have to accept this?
I hope you enjoy reading Bob’s Corner each month. I come to you today with a special request. I am asking for a donation to help us continue serving hot lunches at the Senior Center through the end of the year.
I was stopped at a red light today, and I looked over at the car next to me and saw that the lady driving the car was crying. She wasn’t just shedding a tear, she was bawling her eyes out. Maybe a loved one just died, or she got some bad news about test results. Perhaps the most important relationship in her life is disintegrating, or she lost her job. Whatever it was, it was obviously bad – real bad. My heart went out to her.
At this moment in my life everything is good. I am happily married to my best friend, we are healthy, our children are doing well and I have fulfilling work. For whatever reason, her experience of life at that moment was quite different.
We pass hundreds of people each day. We are living our life, and they are living theirs. For the most part we don’t give much thought to things when they are not happening to us. But sometimes, our worlds collide.
Most people take balance for granted, assuming that navigation occurs without effort, thinking or fear. When a child falls, he is able to shake it off and continue moving. When an older adult falls, however, there are often consequences. Sometimes a broken bone might be the result. A broken bone limits mobility, which can lead to a general decline in health. Thousands of older Americans die each year as the result of a broken hip due to a fall. Even if a recovery is made from a broken bone, a resulting decrease in confidence and independence can still occur.
Recently, much discussion has taken place regarding the “Silver Tsunami,” which is associated with our senior population.
Greater Cleveland Volunteers is proud to announce that they will be operating the AARP Foundation Experience Corps literacy training program in the Euclid City School District this school year.
The Encore Campus program at Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C®) begins a new session of classes Sept. 23 to enrich the minds and lives of those ages 55 and older.
Editor’s note: The following news, sports, and other items were culled from the pages of a 1966 edition of the Euclid News-Journal, the city’s former weekly newspaper.
He said. She said.
Entertainment
Fourth in a series. Note: The following news, sports and other items were excerpted from editions of the 1966 Euclid News-Journal, the city’s former weekly newspaper.
FEB. 24, 1966 -- In response to complaints from neighbors, the Euclid Recreation Commission denies permission for two fund-raising events at Memorial Park – a circus that was to be sponsored by the Euclid Rotary Club and the Euclid Lions Club’s “Free Fair.”
As a result, Rotary Club President Dr. Frank Houser reports the organization is investigating other possible sites for the May 5th Mills Brothers Circus -- complete with clowns, lions, and trapeze acts. And Dr. Russell Baldwin, a long-time Euclid optometrist and past president of the Lions Club, declares: “If we can’t hold the Free Fair, then the Lions Club will ask City Council for an ordinance to abolish carnivals anywhere in Euclid.”
The Euclid Jaycees, apparently now stuck with a $500 “Dunk the Dolly” display that the group purchased for the Free Fair, express concern that the commission’s policy might prevent use of Memorial Park for the annual Fourth of July picnic and fireworks festival. (Only long-time city residents will remember the grand July 4th events that the Jaycees once sponsored and subsidized.)
“There’s no place like home.” While Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz was certainly right about this sentiment, there are definitely places that can provide a good substitute while getting you back on your feet, and back in your own front door. Today’s seniors are forced to make a decision following an illness or a recent surgery. They must decide whether they have the support and resources necessary to recover at home, or whether they need to enter a rehabilitation center temporarily to receive the necessary care. Home care, while very appealing, can be more expensive, more restrictive, and more slowly paced then receiving care in a rehab center with skilled nursing care. Rehab centers provide on-site, high level, round-the-clock nursing care, in addition to on-site physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy, as often as necessary. Rehabilitation centers can provide safety and privacy, while providing professional, compassionate care, exercise, appropriate nutrition, controlled medication, and social stimulation. This enables residents to achieve their highest quality of life potential quickly, and safely, so that they can return home and resume their previous lifestyle. Investigating local rehab centers BEFORE you need one enables you to make an informed, low pressure decision. Call and research local facilities, such as Mount St. Joseph Rehab Center in Euclid, and ask for a tour and an introduction to the rehab staff to give yourself the best possible information before you need to make a decision about future care.
Fresh produce, cooking demos, nutritional information and a Registered Nutritionist is really nice when it is gratis? The Indian Hills Senior Community in Euclid, Ohio is getting just that with Greater Cleveland Food Bank direct educational and food support like one would typically expect at a Church or School, yet this is better because it is a senior community backyard.
Juanita Edwards, Activity Director, at Indian Hills Senior Community has been helping with events, programs and tireless dedication to seniors since 2008. She said this week in an interview,
“I am so excited it makes me even look good. After all, you are in a great place when you keep smiling from ear to ear. We have made a lot of new improvements in our community and granted we needed new things like flooring, roofs, gym equipment, and effective programs that AIY Properties has brought since they purchused us last summer but this event just makes the community feel special. We are on a roll.”
SENIOR MARKET - June 14thA Free Event of Food, Facts & Fun for Seniors
This community has a spirit that makes you smile even if you just stop in to visit to spread some good energy. Seniors are so often happy in spite of many many hardships they face day after day without letting on. Grace after all is putting a smile on your face when you don’t feel like it but doing a good dead can do it so naturally. If someone or a group would like to help with volunteering, food items or educational support please reach out to Juanita Edwards for more details.
Juanita Edwards
jedwards@aiyproperties.com
In life there will always be people who are better-looking, stronger, smarter and richer than you. There will be people who have more things, people who are luckier and people who are more creative. Truthfully, that doesn’t matter much because there is only one you, and that makes you infinitely valuable.
In all of human history there has never been, and there never will be, another you. You are wholly unique. One of a kind. No one will ever have the exact same experiences. No one else will know your particular thoughts and struggles. And, no one else will have your many joys and successes.
But, there are two things in life that can keep us from experiencing happiness; living in the past and comparing ourselves with others. Both of these are a waste of your precious time.
FEBRUARY 10, 1966 ….
Swamped with orders for jet engine components, the TRW headquarters plant in Euclid reports that it has hired 2,100 new employees in the past seven months…. The story points out that a serious problem for most large industrial plants is the difficulty in finding qualified employees. “Even the unskilled are in short supply,” notes Frank Jobes, manager of placement and development for the TRW plant, which established a new training center to prepare the influx of new employees for their jobs.
The scarcity of industrial workers is a nationwide issue, Jobes notes. “And our high schools are not preparing their students for these jobs.” …. (Hmmm, haven’t we heard that criticism in recent years as well? And where is TRW headquartered today? Not in Euclid, that’s for sure.)
Spring is the perfect time to increase your activity level after a long, sedentary winter. Regular exercise is the most important thing that you can do to delay the aging process and remain healthy.
The future is rarely a sure thing.
That’s a tough lesson. Life happens, people change, situations come up that you never dreamed of, we get older, loved ones die. It can feel like you have no control.
I wondered how my friends at the Center viewed this, so I asked. Many said that they have lived a good life, but they know they are on the downside of the hill. It’s a reality that they see every day when they look into the mirror.
When I talked with them about it, here’s the comments that I heard.
- Don’t take life too seriously….it’s not permanent.
- Do good while you can. In life, what goes around does come around.
- I don’t have the time to grumble or complain.
- I don’t know what the future holds, but I know Who holds the future.
- Dying is easy. It’s living that’s tough.
Clearly there is a joy in the journey, and life has a strange way of bringing opposites together. Stability and change, happiness and loss are all interwoven into the tapestry of a lifetime. Most have learned to see beauty, even in difficulty. They’ve found that what matters most isn’t our limitations,but what we can do to help others who share the walk with us. So, our lunch tables are filled with light hearted conversations. Laughter erupts as older bodies play chair volleyball and do line dancing. Smiles brighten faces when you see your friends, shoot pool and play cards or bingo. Our Center provides a place for all of that.
Yes, life is too short and full of twists and turns. But in the end, it’s our relationships that provide meaning and support.
Thanks for being part of Euclid Senior Programs.
We currently have 5 very slow computers, and one broken computer, in our computer room. Each of them is at least 11 years old. By today’s technology standards they are dinosaurs.We recently received the very generous donation of 8 computer monitors from the Elk and Elk Law Firm. That helps tremendously, and it gets us half way to our goal of replacing all of the computers/monitors in the computer room.
Do you know of a generous person, or company, that would be willing to donate 6 computer towers to the Center?
Every Tuesday is Movie Day at the Center. Join us at 1:00 p.m. in the Library for popcorn and a movie. Sponsored by Euclid Senior Programs.
March 8th – Non-Stop
March 15th – High Society
March 22nd – St. Vincent
March 29th – The Quiet Man
In separate conversations this week, three of our seniors complained of deep regrets in life.
Let’s get this straight. Absolutely everyone makes mistakes. It’s part of being human and living your life. Constantly beating yourself up over something that happened long ago, something you cannot change, is not healthy. Guilt is good for one thing – changing behavior. If you’ve done something wrong, make it right as best you can and don’t do it again. Ruminating over a years’ old mistake only ensures that you will not enjoy the present moment. And quite honestly, the present is the only place where you can find happiness. Life is way too short to constantly dwell and reflect on your past errors.
So today, quit scratching the scab and let the wound heal. Stay present to life and what is going on at this moment. Breathe deeply, engage with those around you, and do something positive. You may just find that peace of mind that you are seeking.
Chair Yoga-Mondays at 9:00 and 10:00 a.m. AC
Yoga – Thursdays at 9:00 a.m.
Annex Room $ 3.00 per class.
Billie Exercise Class – (Chair)
Tuesday & Thursday 10:00 a.m. – Computer Room
Line Dance - Thursdays at 1:00 p.m.
Free Blood Pressure Checks
Tuesdays & Thursdays mornings 10:00-11:00 a.m. Please give your name to the volunteer and she will issue you a number. Wait in the hallway until your number is called.
We are expanding!
We have started taking bus trips with the Wickliffe Senior Center. The joint effort gets us a reduced cost (and even money back on the upcoming Rocksino trip). Have an idea for a trip? See Monica.
Upcoming Trips
2016 – The year of the big bus trips with Wickliffe Senior Center.
March 14 – Rocksino/Hardrock trip. Bus picks up here. Cost is $25, but you get $20 in slot play. Make checks payable to Wickliffe Senior Center. Sign-up at the front desk. See Monica with any question
April 14 – Vera Bradley Factory Outlet Sale (limited seats)
April 26 – Presque Isle.
“Hearing loss is the third most prevalent chronic condition in older adults and has important effects on their physical and mental health. Despite these effects, most older patients are not assessed or treated for hearing loss.” (According to Scientific Review and Clinical Applications, April 16, 2003, Bevan et. al.) Living on a fixed income leads things like food and prescriptions to take precedence over hearing health. Hearing loss also tends to be subtle and progress slowly over time, as a result it is a health condition that is many times overlooked or ignored. To address hearing health in the Collinwood neighborhood the Rose Centers for Aging Well Lakeshore is partnering with CVS Audiology to host a FREE hearing screening day! On Tuesday, March 8 starting at 12:30 we will have an audiologist on site to conduct hearing screenings, check hearing aid function, and to provide hearing aid cleaning. Any questions please call the center directly at 216.373.1680.
Come visit our snack bar within the senior center located at 16600 Lakeshore Blvd. the Rose Centers for Aging Well. Open Monday through Thursday starting at 10:00 am. We serve coffee, tea, hot chocolate and snacks. Best prices in Collinwood! You might also meet some very interesting people.
We have a Nearly New store within our senior center, Rose Centers for Aging. This store sells gently used clothing, shoes, purses, hats and household items. Not a single item is more than $3. The official store hours are Tuesday and Thursday from 10:00 am to 11:15 am. However if you want to shop and can’t make it on those days or hours there is usually someone available to let people in to shop Monday through Thursday from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. Come check us out!
Don’t have a computer at home but need to use one occasionally? Please come visit our computer lab at the Rose Centers for Aging Well. We have 7 computers, all with internet access, and a printer. We can help you set up an e mail account, you can shop on line, research or just play games!