Senior Living - Spring 2016

FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2016

A special supplement to the AUSTIN DAILY HERALD

Kathy and Ron Howard volunteered at Banfield Elementary School helping students in firstgrade classes with basic skills such as reading, writing or math, through the Senior Corps.

Common Good RSVP program. Jenae Hackensmith/jenae.hackensmith@austindailyherald.com

Volunteers give back through work with students Story and Photos by Jenae Hackensmith

K

athy and Ron Howards combined their love of giving back to the community with their love for children when they started volunteering with Senior Corps., Common Good Retired Senior Volunteer Program, or RSVP. “I would just say, we love children,” Kathy said. “We have six granddaughters, they don’t live here. We miss them and this kind of helps with our ‘kid fix.’ And really it’s such a blessing, we often times shed tears throughout the day just because of how much we are blessed.”

The Howards, both 68, volunteer at Banfield Elementary School, each in their own first-grade classroom. They come for one hour every Tuesday and work on basic skills with the students, such as reading or math.

Both are retired, though Ron works with the Seibel Center and Kathy works a few hours a week as a financial conservator for the county.

“I also read with individuals and some-

times really good readers and sometimes not so good readers,” Kathy said. “I guess the part I love about it the most are the ones that say ‘I can’t read’ and I really like to spend time saying, ‘Yeah you can read.’ And I think the extra encouragement that they get, it does make a difference.”

Ron agreed, and said they work not only with students struggling in a specific area but with all the students.

“For me, I spend time just reading, and have the kids read to me,” Ron said. “And it’s not only the kids that need help but just all the kids have had turns setting aside and getting special time reading, and just getting some feedback from somebody. It’s a good chance to get to know the kids and help them out a little bit if I can.

“If the words aren’t too big,” he joked.

“That’s why we do first grade. Second grade might be too hard.”

Kathy said it’s nice that the students are excited to see the volunteers each week.

See HOWARDS, Page 4-SL

“I guess the part I love about it the most are the ones that say ‘I can’t read’ and I really like to spend time saying, ‘Yeah you can read.’ And I think the extra encouragement that they get, it does make a difference.”

— Kathy Howards

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FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2016

Senior Living

AUSTIN DAILY HERALD

Caregivers of people with dementia face financial hardships

By Alejandra Cancino Associated Press

CHICAGO — Many relatives and friends providing financial support or care to people with dementia have dipped into their retirement savings, cut back on spending and sold assets to pay for expenses tied to the disease, according to a survey released Wednesday by the Alzheimer’s Association.

About one in five go hungry because they don’t have enough money.

“This was a big shocker for us,” said Keith Fargo, Alzheimer’s Association director of scientific programs and outreach.

Fargo said he didn’t expect so many families to be struggling. He said the survey shows that people are not prepared for the high costs of home care or nursing home care. The median cost of a home care aide is $20 per hour and the average cost of a semi-private room in a nursing home is $80,300 per year.

Nationwide, there are 5.4 million people with Alzheimer’s, the most common cause of dementia. The majority are older than 75.

As the dementia prog resses, patients often need help with daily activities, such as eating, getting dressed or bathing.

Roughly two out of five of the more than 15 million unpaid caregivers in the U.S. have a household income below $50,000, the Alzheimer’s Association says. Often the caregiving role falls on a daughter or a spouse.

Renee Packel, of Philadelphia, said that shortly after her husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 1999, she sold their car

and their two-bedroom suburban home. To keep costs down, they moved into a one bedroom apartment in the city.

“We needed money,” said Packel, 80.

Art Packel, who died last year, was in charge of the couple’s finances, and by the time she realized something was wrong, money was missing and they were behind on bills. Packel said she didn’t want her children supporting them, so she got a job as a receptionist at a title company, where she still works.

A s t h e d i s e a s e p ro gressed and her husband started falling and getting agg ressive, she moved him into a nursing home, where he lived for almost four years.

She was lucky, she said, that her husband’s veteran status granted him some benefits. But even with the gover nment’s help, she still paid for a year of nursing home care, about $800 or $900 per month.

“It was a bad time, but it was not a dire time,” Packel said, adding that selling their home helped her weather the storm.

The Family Impact of Alzheimer’s Survey was based on more than 3,500 interviews made in December. About 500 respondents said they provided caregiving and/or financial aid to someone with dementia. Ninety-three percent were family members and the rest were friends. On average, they spent more than $5,000 per year, mostly on food, travel and medical supplies, such as diapers. The highest expenses were incurred by spouses or partners.

Nearly half of respondents said they cut back

on spending. About 20 percent go to the doctor less often, while 11 percent don’t get all of their own medications. About 11 percent cut back on their children’s educational expenses.

Beth Kallmyer, Alzheimer’s Association vice president of constituent services, said people erroneously believe Medicare covers long-term care costs, when it doesn’t.

“There is no silver bullet in planning for (Alzheimer’s); the costs are too staggering,” Kallmyer said, but people who plan early can avoid crises.

Mark Donham, of Portland, Oregon, said that even with financial support from a relative and long-term care insurance, he cashed in about a third of his retirement funds while caring for his wife, Chris, who was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s in her 40s. He quit his salesman job in 2006, thinking he would be a full-time caregiver for up to three years. Chris lived for five years.

Donham said he eventually took on a part-time job to supplement their savings because he didn’t want to touch his retirement again. He feels lucky, he said, that the insurance paid for about two-and-ahalf years of Chris’ care in an institution.

Now 53, Donham said he’d likely have to work past 65 to build his retirement back up. He won’t be able to retire at the same level or in the same time frame he had hoped to, but he’s thankful, he said, that he got to take care of his wife.

“It was the right decision for us, as a family,” he said.

Senior Living

A special supplement to the AUSTIN DAILY HERALD

FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2016

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State seeing growing shortage of caregivers

From hot flashes to mood swings, menopause symptoms vary widely for women. In the new book “Mayo Clinic The Menopause Solution,” medical editor Dr. Stephanie Faubion, helps women understand what is happening to their bodies and what they can do about it

Help through change

New Mayo Clinic Book Guides Women through menopause with Clinically Proven, Practical Advice Sleep

Austin Daily Herald

newsroom@austindailyherald.com

ROCHESTER — As preteens, girls often take health classes to teach them about their changing bodies during puberty. For moms-to-be, classes deal with pregnancy and newborn care.

Yet, few classes are offered about menopause, a part of life that 6,000 U.S. women reach every day. A new book released today aims to address that gap.

“Mayo C l i n ic The Menopause S o l u tion” is subtit l e d “A Doctor’s Faubion Guide to Re l i ev ing Hot Flashes, Enjoying Better Sex, Sleeping Well, Controlling Your Weight and Being Happy!”

“This book serves to inform women about what’s happening to their bodies, what treatment options are available and how to remain healthy in the years past menopause,” says Stephanie Faubion, M.D., medical editor of The Menopause Solution and director of the Women’s Health Clinic and Office of Women’s Health at Mayo Clinic. Dr. Faubion, a North American Menopause Society-certified menopause practitioner, is one of the nation’s leading experts on menopause and regularly treats women with menopause-related conditions.

Menopause, which occurs 12 months after a woman’s last menstrual period, marks the end of menstrual cycles. Menopause can happen in a woman’s 40s or 50s, but the average age is

Optimizing bedtime habits, eating a good diet, limiting daytime naps and exercising can help women get a good night’s rest, Dr. Faubion says.

Weight gain

Weight gain happens to many women as they age.

Dr. Faubion clearly explains how and why this is happening, and offers strategies for controlling it.

Self-care

51 in the U.S., Dr. Faubion says. With increasing life expectancy, many women will spend up to 40 percent of their lives in the postmenopausal stage.

Mayo Clinic The Menopause Solution provides the latest clinically proven information and a reference tool for women seeking answers to questions about what is happening before, during and after menopause:

Common triggers for hot flashes include warm beverages and spicy foods.

Dr. Faubion encourages women to discover what their own triggers are so they can avoid or modify them.

Mood

Unfortunately, just because the menstrual cycle is over doesn’t mean mood changes are eliminated. Dr. Faubion adDuration dresses mood issues from Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit Most women think meno- depression to stress. organization committed to pause is a short-term conclinical practice, education dition, but symptoms can Sex and research, providing Ye s , t h e r e m a y b e expert, whole-person care last for a decade or more.

Although that may seem changes to sex drive, but to everyone who needs healdiscouraging, Dr. Faubi- don’t think sex is over ing. For more information, on outlines tips on how to when menopause hits. Dr. visit http://www.mayoclineliminate or relieve symp- Faubion outlines tech- ic.org/about-mayo-clinic or toms. “There is no one-size- niques to help women get http://newsnetwork.mayocfits-all approach,” she says. their sexy back. linic.org/.

SUBMIT YOUR MILESTONES Do you have a birthday, anniversary, wedding, birth or engagement announcement?

Submit them for the Austin Daily Herald’s Spotlight section each Sunday via e-mail, jenae.hackensmith@austindailyherald.com; fax, 507-437-8644; phone, 507-434-2236 Announcements are free.

The deadline is 5 p.m. Monday.

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Hot flashes

Dr. Faubion reminds women they need to take care of themselves now more than ever. She guides women through managing symptoms, such as hair loss, unwanted hair, dry eyes and skin changes, and she suggests ways women can pamper themselves.

“Understanding what is happening to your body and what you can do about it is key,” Dr. Faubion says.

“I often tell my patients, ‘The rules of your body have changed, and no one told you.’ That’s why this book was written: to tell you what’s happening to you and what you can do about it.”

Published by Oxmoor House, a division of Time Inc. Books, Mayo Clinic The Menopause Solution is available online and in retail outlets nationwide.

Mayo Clinic’s proceeds from the book will support medical education and research at Mayo Clinic.

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Minnesota communities are continuing to experience a growing shortage of senior care workers due to a fast-growing senior population and competitive local employment markets.

Minnesota Long-Term Care Imperative, which is a collaborative effort between state long-term care associations Care Providers of Minnesota and Leading Age Minnesota, recently conducted a survey regarding long-term care professionals.

According to the LongTerm Care Imperative’s 2016 Legislative Survey, the number of open nursing (RN and LPN) and nursing assistant (CNA) positions in Minnesota nursing homes alone grew by 11 percent in 2015 to 2,883 open full-time equivalent positions. Also, according to the survey, 50 percent of Minnesota care centers reported suspending admissions in 2015 because they lacked essential staff, impacting more than 4,400 people who needed post-acute or longterm care services.

As Minnesota’s senior population grows by 60,000 per year, attracting quality caregivers into the senior services field is the top priority of all providers.

However, providers are currently struggling to draw employees into their settings. While there was significant ground gained due to action taken during the 2015 legislative session

Katie Davis Senior Care

with investments and education supports, we know, due to sheer demographics, that last year’s investment will not be enough to meet the increasing need for senior care workers. Initial conversations with workforce stakeholders indicate strong support to help.

The goal of the Minnesota Long-Term Care Imperative is to create opportunities to bolster efforts to improve recruitment of caregivers in the older adult services field. Working with higher education to support exposure to potential careers in senior services through nursing programs is going to be key to improving recruitment of caregivers.

Obtaining grant funding from state agency partners to help promote older adult services careers is another goal of the Minnesota LongTerm Care Imperative.

As a long-term care professional, I take much pride in our profession and it excites me to know that Minnesota is taking a conscious effort of helping to attract employees to our profession.

Katie Davis is the campus administrator at Good Samaritan Society of Albert Lea.

Local resource helps older job seekers reenter the workforce Austin Daily Herald

newsroom@austindailyherald.com

ROCHESTER — Experience Works, a local nonprofit, has openings for interested applicants who need assistance getting back into the workforce.

Experience Works operates the Senior Community Service Employment Program or SCSEP in 56 Minnesota counties.

The U.S. Department of Labor-funded program is a stepping stone to employment and geared for people 55 and older who are unemployed and income eligible.

Those enrolled spend an average of 18 hours each week in paid community service assignments at public and nonprofit organizations, for which they receive the minimum wage. Examples

include performing clerical and administrative duties at nonprofits, sorting donations at food banks, preparing meals and recreation at senior centers, or assisting in classrooms and libraries. They also have access to a variety of training and supportive services such as developing a resume, improving interview skills, and identifying job opportunities.

According to Hoffman, there are a limited number of program openings in Dodge, Fillmore, Goodhue, Houston, Mower, Olmsted, Steele, Wabasha and Winona counties.

For more information or to schedule an appointment, contact Experience Works at 507- 289-2652, 507289-2652 or toll-free 855270-9660, 855-270-9660 free or visit www.experienceworks.org.

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Senior Living

FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2016

A special supplement to the AUSTIN DAILY HERALD

New push targets programs to keep seniors at home

By Alejandra Cancino Associated Press

Ron Howard, pictured above, and his wife, Kathy Howard, pictured below, accept an award recognizing his volunteer work at Banfield Elementary School on April 5. Photos by Jenae Hackensmith/jenae.hackensmith@austindailyherald.com

Howards: ‘We hope to continue it for many years to come’ From Page 1-SL “They like you! That’s really cool, isn’t it Ron?” she said to her husband with a laugh. “They’re just happy to see you.”

Gema Alvarado, success coach at Banfield, said the volunteer work is not lost on the children, who are excited to see the volunteers each week.

“The reason why it’s so important is because we have a lot of students who don’t have the academic support at home, or the teachers have over 20 students and some of the students need more individualized attention,” she said. “And this give the opportunity for those teachers to provide that support to those students.”

She said all the volunteer work is impactful, but simply providing a new face for the student’s support system is a good thing.

“We’re just really grateful to have this program here at Banfield and we hope to continue it for many years to come,” Alvarado said.

The volunteer work isn’t

only about seeing the children for the Howards, though, as Kathy and Ron enjoy giving back to their community.

“It gives you a good feeling,” Ron said. “For me, I’ve lived in Austin pretty much my whole life but when I was working I didn’t have a lot of time to do any volunteer work, and I like to try to give back to the community.”

This is their first year volunteering through the program, but they don’t see stopping anytime soon.

“This is our first year, this turned out to be an

enjoyable thing for us,” Ron said.

“It is so rewarding, it’s just a true blessing,” Kathy added. “I think just being around kids is so good for us.”

The Howards also volunteer through their church.

Other local programs that have RSVP volunteer opportunities include Hot Meals on Wheels Inc.; The Salvation Army food shelf, community meal server, Back Pack Program; Freeborn/Mower Habitat For Humanity build site, Restore and Brush with Kindness Program; Mower County Seniors, Inc.,

volunteer driver, respite, office assistant, chore assistant; Banfield, Southgate and Neveln Elementary Schools, K-6 grade classroom assistant/tutor; Semcac Meals on Wheels, meal deliverer. Contact Regional RSVP Coordinator Michael Maas for more information at 507-4501518 or mmaas@ccwinona.org.

CHICAGO — The federal government is pushing states to keep more low-income seniors out of nursing homes and, instead, enroll them in home and community-based programs.

The shift comes as demand for long-term care is rising. By 2050, the number of people older than 85 is expected to triple to more than 18 million. These seniors tend to have the highest disability rate and the greatest need for longterm care.

The tug-of-war between rising demand and controlling costs has advocates for seniors worrying about quality of care.

Medicaid is one of the largest expenses for states, and a it’s a program they look to for savings when budgets are tight. Medicaid spending on long-term care was $146 billion in fiscal year 2013, including nearly $89 billion just for seniors.

Advocates say programs for seniors often wind up on the chopping block.

For example, Illinois is considering changes to its home and community-based program that would reduce funding by about $200 million.

“I think that oftentimes people are afraid of change, regardless of what that change is,” said Andrea Maresca, director of federal policy and strategy at the National Association of Medicaid Directors. There’s room to improve the programs, Maresca said, and states are also trying to make sure seniors don’t lose access to services.

Loren Colman, of the Minnesota Department of Human Services, said it took that state roughly 25 years to shift from institutional care to home

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and community-based programs. The focus now is on helping older adults remain at home, delaying expensive nursing home care and supporting family caregivers.

To rein in costs, some states are changing payment systems from fee-forservice to managed care, which generally pays a per-person rate to providers who manage seniors’ health and social services.

Gwen Orlowski, an attorney at Central Jersey Legal Services, said New Jersey’s managed care program is an improvement over its previous system, but not without issues. She’s had to help some seniors appeal service cuts.

“I do worry that the delivery of services is beholden to the money that the managed-care companies are receiving (from the state) and the money they want to make,” said Orlowski, whose office provides free legal assistance to low-income seniors.

To address fears, new federal regulations have been proposed to strengthen protections for seniors in managed care, including help with appeals. A final rule is expected this spring.

Already, states are working on implementing earlier rules from 2014 aimed at improving quality of care across programs. In exchange for federal dollars, states must ensure that seniors have a say over where they want to live, and get treated with dignity and respect.

Robyn Grant, director of public policy and advocacy for the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long Term Care, said regulations are a “step in the right direction,” but there needs to be proper enforcement.

“Unfortunately, that’s very nebulous,” Grant said.

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