Gray Matters Summer 2013

Gray Matters

OLLI & HSU’s Centennial Environmental Stewardship Save Money with HICAP Ombudsmen Needed

A quarterly publication of Area 1 Agency on Aging

A1AA Starts Home Visits to Help Locals with CalFresh Enrollment

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ore than 4 million Californians receive monthly CalFresh benefits, but only 10 percent of eligible seniors do. A local campaign to increase senior enrollment in CalFresh is determined to change that.

For the past six weeks, Area 1 Agency on Aging’s Senior Information & Assistance staff has been assisting with CalFresh applications, arranging for free meals after hospital discharge, piloting a food security assessment service and scheduling home visits to help people age 60 and older complete an application for what is known nationally as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

“Interest is picking up,” said Jeanie Ren, manager for

Information & Assistance, Caregiver Services, and Data.

“Older adults are starting to recognize that participation in CalFresh is good for them, their families and the economy.”

Hundreds of dollars a year in nutrition benefits are being left on the table locally by some of the state’s 60 and older residents, many of whom may be unaware of, misinformed about or unable to apply for a program designed to increase access to healthy food, decrease health care costs, and improve quality of life.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has shown that every dollar spent on SNAP generates $1.79 in economic activity.

“CalFresh gives the local economy a boost,” Ren said.

“Participation frees up money for other things and generates

tax revenue that food purchases don’t.”

According to a Feb. 2013 report by California Food Policy Advocates, 100 percent participation among eligible Californians would bring in an estimated $4.7 billion in additional federal benefits each year, and those benefits would generate an estimated $8.3 billion in additional economic

SUMMER 2013

activity.

In Humboldt County alone, the report estimates full participation would produce $25 million in additional annual economic activity.

“Our seniors are an under enrolled population in an under enrolled state,” A1AA Executive Director Maggie Kraft said.

“That needs to change.”  continued on page 8

Health Care Spending A 65 year-old couple retiring last year is estimated to need $240,000 to pay medical expenses during retirement, up 4 percent from last year. Here’s how it is spent: Source: Fidelity Investments. Does not include long-term care costs and most dental services. 

2 3 6 7

23% 32% 45%

Prescription drugs (outof-pocket expenses) Medicare Parts B&D premiums

Other out-of-pocket expenses, including co-pays, co-insurance and deductibles to Reduce Health Care Costs, see page 6 SPECIAL INSERT TO THE NORTH COAST JOURNAL • THURSDAY, JULY 4, 2013

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OLLI Focuses on the Klamath River, Membership Renewal, and Humboldt State Centennial

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2 SPECIAL INSERT TO THE NORTH COAST JOURNAL • THURSDAY, JULY 4, 2013

day-long community forum focused on the Klamath River controversy and a trip to Redwood National Park highlight the list of a dozen classes yet to begin on the summer schedule for Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.

But OLLI staff are already shifting to the fall with the midJuly unveiling of the upcoming schedule, an Aug. 17 Open House, and the annual drive for membership renewal.

“OLLI has always been an important link between the community and the Humboldt State campus, and that will be truer than ever this coming year as our fall curriculum features aspects of HSU history to honor its centennial,” said OLLI Director Sheila Rocker Heppe.

Programs and conversations about HSU with alumni and former faculty dot the fall schedule of about 70 classes.

OLLI membership also allows free participation in the fall/ spring drop-in brown bag luncheons at Humboldt Bay Aquatic Center on Wednesdays.

Redwood National Park was a brown bag topic during spring semester. Now, it will be the

destination for a field trip – paid pre-registration required – on Sat., July 13.

RNP ranger Jim Wheeler leads the trip to Orick to highlight the ongoing resource management projects discussed by spring brown baggers.

“The interpreters, scientists and ecologists who made those presentations will come on the field trip as a follow-up to the series,” Rocker Heppe said.

“It’s a chance to go to the sites members learned about during the brown bag presentations.”

The field trip is $75 for members, $100 for nonmembers.

Transportation is provided by OLLI vans.

The Klamath River forum that runs 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wed., July 10 costs $50 for members and $75 for nonmembers. Led

by Rollie Lamberson, HSU’s retired environmental systems graduate coordinator, it draws on the history, engineering, fisheries biology, and Native American perspective of various experts to explore the past, present and future of the Klamath River Basin.

Most OLLI courses are taught in Eureka at the Humboldt Bay  continued on page 5

Environmental Stewardship Interest Spikes at RSVP

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uilding a trail is manual labor at its best, but that shouldn’t deter the 55 and older crowd interested in environmental stewardship.

“I can find a job for anybody’s physical ability,” said Dennis Houghton, maintenance crew leader for Arcata’s Environmental Services Department.

Over the past few months, Houghton’s been grateful for an influx of volunteers 55 and older, many of whom have helped to establish trail lines by scraping duff and digging out ferns for transplant later.

“We can leave it to the younger folks in their 20’s and 30’s to do the shaping and carving to establish the trail bed,” he said. “People don’t have to be hesitant and worried that they’ll be up in the woods logging.”

A new national emphasis on environmental stewardship in the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program has led to greater collaboration with an assortment of agencies and programs. Programs such as Houghton’s need volunteers to supplement small, in-house staffs. Others, such as the Humboldt Trail Council and its Trail Stewards program, have

expanded to meet maintenance needs that are ongoing even when dollars are not.

RSVP, the nation’s cadre of 55 and older volunteers, is developing volunteering opportunities in energy and water efficiency, renewable energy use, at-risk ecosystems, pollution, recycling, water quality and gardening.

“From helping at a visitor center to gardening or building a trail, there is something for everyone,” said Maureen McGarry, project director for RSVP. “Involvement is tracked and sends a message to our legislators that the environment is an important aspect of North Coast life.”

For five successive Saturdays, all but one in April, Houghton relied on volunteers for 488 hours of labor he valued at $7,320 to remove invasive reed canary grass around Janes Creek and assist with construction of the 4.3 mile Ridge Trail from Sunnybrae to West End Road.

The latter is targeted for completion next year.

The Janes Creek project used to rely on grant funding and the California Conservation Corps, which worked for $15 an hour. CCC pulled grass from  continued on next page SPECIAL INSERT TO THE NORTH COAST JOURNAL • THURSDAY, JULY 4, 2013

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Environmental Stewardship continued from previous page

the creek and surrounding area, spread out burlap and cardboard to smother the grass, and cut holes through the grass cover to plant native plants and trees.

“That funding is gone, and I’m not getting any more paid staff, so now we rely on volunteers,” Houghton said. “Cardboard and burlap only last one year, so we’re experimenting with weed cloth, which we hope to last five years.”

The reed canary grass sends out runners through the roots.

Ultimately, it slows the water down, raises the elevation of the creek and chokes everything out, promoting flooding and impeding fish passage.

The City of Arcata maintains or improves 2,500 acres of forest stretching from Jacoby Creek Forest to Arcata Community Forest to the Arcata Marsh & Wildlife Sanctuary. Also included are the city’s open space areas, creek zones and green spaces.

“Usually, the general community that shows up to a work day in response to a public service announcement is in their 20’s and 30’s,” Houghton said. “But we had seven or eight people in their 50’s and 60’s show up the last couple of times.”

Houghton knows the older

group is often retired and able to work on weekdays, when the younger crowd is busy with work or school.

“We are still fine tuning how to cross the threshold from one-day volunteer to long-term volunteer,” Houghton said.

Environmental stewardship and membership in Trail Stewards has other benefits, Houghton said.

“By contributing ‘sweat equity’, there is a sense of belonging and giving something back,” Houghton said. “It gets more people out there to maintain places like the Hammond Trail and Manila Dunes.”

Also, those who hike with a Trail Steward vest get more eyes and ears out there.

“They can assist people with emergencies or directions, listen to those who say we have a problem somewhere and let us know about things like illegal camping,” Houghton said.

RSVP involvement with the Trail Steward program and other agencies also decreases isolation.

“It makes it more fun to work with different layers of the community,” Houghton said.

“Everybody collaborates and it’s a chance to meet new people of different ages.” 

Volunteer Focus: Environmental Stewardship What is it?

Shepherding and safeguarding the environment involves many projects, including those related to energy and water efficiency, renewable energy use, at-risk ecosystems, pollution, recycling, water quality, and gardening.

In 2009, Congress directed RSVP to make environmental stewardship one of its focus areas.

Where are the volunteer opportunities?

RSVP volunteer opportunities are available with California State Parks, the City of Arcata’s Environmental Services Department, Friends of the Dunes, Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Humboldt Redwoods Interpretive Association, Humboldt Trails Council, Humboldt Wildlife Care Center, Northcoast Marine Mammal Center, Potowat Community Garden, and Redwood National Park.

From as far north as Tolowa

Dunes and Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park down to Humboldt Redwoods State Park in the Avenue of the Giants in Southern Humboldt, volunteer opportunities abound, many of them outdoor activities. From helping at a visitor center to gardening or building trails, there is something for everyone.

Why volunteer through RSVP? RSVP volunteers receive modest mileage reimbursement, supplemental liability insurance, an invitation to the annual Volunteer Recognition event, and a chance to send a message to Congress that the work is important to the age 55 and older crowd that makes RSVP the nation’s largest volunteer organization.

For more information, call 442-3763 or check out our website at a1aa.org.

Last year, RSVP volunteers supported 65,000 organizations across America and served more than 60 million hours.

OLLI

continued from page 2

Aquatic Center, but courses have also been held in Ferndale, Garberville, McKinleyville, Fortuna, Arcata and Trinidad.

The courses vary in length and have no exams, no grades and no credit.

“They’re high interest and academically focused,” Rocker Heppe said.

OLLI members pay discounted rates of $30 to $95 for classes.

For example, it costs $75 for members and $100 for nonmembers to take a digital storytelling class from 2 to 5 p.m.

July 10, 17 and 24.

“Fingerpainting on an iPad,” set for Sat., July 13 from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., costs $50/$75.

“OLLI promotes education to people age 50 and older who want to stay connected and keep active, informed and learning,” said Maggie Kraft, executive director of Area 1 Agency on Aging. “How can we not embrace that effort? OLLI enriches our community and the lives of our older neighbors.”

OLLI membership is open to people age “50 and better,” as Rocker Heppe likes to call them, and has surpassed 1,000 for three straight years.

The membership year runs Aug. 1 through July 31. Cost is $35 for a single with one partner, friend, spouse or family member allowed

to join for an additional $25.

OLLI members also receive HSU student privileges. That means access to HSU facilities such as the library, discounts at the bookstore, and access to the HSU Student Recreation Center for $48 per term. A discounted 10-swim pass is also available for $45 to members.

Members that take at least one OLLI class are eligible for a Jack Pass. It allows unlimited bus rides on AMRTS, Redwood Transit and Eureka Transit System. The pass costs $30 for summer, $60 for fall and $60 for spring.

OLLI has been affiliated with Humboldt State University since the Bernard Osher Foundation initially funded the institute in 2005.

Once local membership hit 500, the HSU branch became one of the nation’s 115 OLLI programs to receive a million dollar endowment from the foundation, which funds OLLI at $50,000 annually.

Rocker Heppe is taking aim at a second endowment to double the funding to $100,000. Minimum requirements: a sustained membership of 1,000 and a robust fundraising effort in place.

“The Osher Foundation wants all the pieces in place for a selfsustainable institute at HSU,” 

continued on page 8

SPECIAL INSERT TO THE NORTH COAST JOURNAL • THURSDAY, JULY 4, 2013

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Make September Appointment with HICAP to Save Dollars Next Year

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he postcard reminder about Medicare’s annual enrollment period goes out next month, but that only reaches the mailbox of the roughly 2,000 families who made HICAP appointments in that last enrollment period.

The manager of A1AA’s Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program thinks a reminder on the calendar now could save hundreds of dollars for someone later.

“If you didn’t come in to see us last year during the annual enrollment period for prescription drug plans and Medicare Advantage, give us a call in September to book an appointment,” Martha Johnson said.

The annual enrollment period is Oct. 15 through Dec. 7.

“The people who have used us before know our value,” she said. “Once those postcards go out, we start filling up quickly. Just think what we could do if more people knew we were here.”

HICAP’s trained volunteer staff gave free, unbiased help to 3,200 people during last year’s enrollment period. Johnson said HICAP’s work through appointments, phone calls and mailed worksheets saved clients about $943,000 in fall 2012.

HICAP appointments are available in various locations in Humboldt and Del Norte counties.

HICAP also conducts annual enrollment workshops in September. Go to www.a1aa.org in August to find workshop dates.

“Anyone who has a Medicare Prescription Drug Plan or Medicare Advantage should compare the changes from year to year,” she said. “Every plan makes changes each year. We can help figure out the best plan to meet your

6 SPECIAL INSERT TO THE NORTH COAST JOURNAL • THURSDAY, JULY 4, 2013

needs at the lowest cost, but you have to call us.”

Tom Collins is a believer. He said HICAP’s counselors saved him $100 a month during the annual enrollment period and helped him join a working disabled program that linked him to Medi-Cal. “I tell anybody I know: talk to HICAP,” he said.

“I was at a loss deciphering Medicare options,” Crescent City’s Hope Wilder wrote in a survey.

“Excellent information was obtained from HICAP.” “We help people understand how Medicare works, the choices they have with other insurance, and the programs that offer extra help with costs,” Johnson said.

Fall is HICAP’s busy time, Johnson said, and appointments for the annual enrollment period likely will be gone by November.

Medicare will release information on drug plan changes on its website, www.medicare.gov, on Oct. 1.

“Some people will be able to go to the website and figure it out, but for many, it’s still very confusing,” Johnson said.

“The plans change, and the annual enrollment period is the chance to determine if your plan will work well for next year or if switching to another plan will save you money.”

HICAP’s number is 707-444-3000 in Humboldt County and 707-464-7876 in Del Norte County. It is located at 434 Seventh Street, Eureka, in the A1AA building and at 1765 Northcrest Dr., Crescent City, in the Del Norte Senior Center.

Medicare is also available 24 hours a day at 1-800-633-4227 (1-800-MEDICAR). 

Elderly Need Advocates in Skilled Nursing, Residential Care Facilities

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he local Long Term Care Ombudsman Program opened 300 cases in 2012, but with a bigger volunteer staff, it could do more to help the residents of skilled nursing and residential care facilities for the elderly.

“We are finding out about too many cases after the fact, particularly when it comes to residential care facilities for the elderly (RCFEs),” said Suzi Fregeau, manager of the program housed at Area 1 Agency on Aging.

Statewide, only 35 percent of such facilities received quarterly visits in 2010.

Fregeau said every RCFE on the North Coast receives at least three visits in a year.

But the closure of the local office of the Community Care Licensing Division that regulates RCFEs could lead to more work for her staff to do.

“I’m not confident licensing will be coming up to Humboldt and Del Norte as often from Rohnert Park,” she said. “They have a very good person up here (in June) dealing with a RCFE whose operator died.

She is placing residents and checking out places, but after that’s done, we’ll see. The analysts have a large geographic area to cover.”

Fregeau said she is also seeing an increase in financial abuse, which is the mismanagement of resident money, usually by a family member.

“Sadly, we must get two calls a month about the misuse of a resident’s resources by family, and that can be delicate to handle,” she said.

Financial abuse falls into the category of residents’ rights, a basket that catches more

than a third of the complaints statewide.

Closely behind are complaints about the quality of resident care (31 percent) followed by quality of life (21.5 percent), not against facilities (7.91 percent) and administration (5.5 percent).

Fregeau is a 35-hour per week employee.

She supervises a 10-hour-per-week data entry specialist and 13 volunteers, one of whom may soon be retiring. Together, the group visits six nursing homes with 463 beds in Humboldt County and one 99-bed facility in Del Norte.

They also visit the 18 RCFEs, 17 with 524 beds in Humboldt County and one with 63 beds in Del Norte.

“Ideally, we need 18 to 20 volunteers because three ombudsman per facility is my goal,” Fregeau said. “Three takes the pressure off a single person. It makes it much more likely that ombudsmen will talk to and observe all the residents, many of whom may have no other place to turn for help.”

In the case of financial abuse by family members, embarrassment and the desire not to alienate family members can lead residents to suffer in stressful silence.

“They play ostrich and hope it goes away,” Fregeau said. “It doesn’t, which is why it’s crucial to find ombudsmen who will build relationships with residents so they come to know us and trust us. That makes it more likely that they’ll share information with us even when they are embarrassed.”

To find out more about becoming an ombudsperson, call 707-269-1330. 

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CalFresh Home Visits continued from page 1

Following are responses to a few of the common CalFresh questions fielded by Ren. How do I apply for CalFresh?

Ren: “Call the Department of Health and Human Services Call Center at 1-877-410-8809 to request an application to be mailed to you. You’ll be prompted through a phone tree. A counselor will then answer and you can request an application be mailed. If you need help with the application once you get it or have significant difficulty leaving your home, call us at 4423763 to schedule an appointment, home visit and food assessment.

Or come down to see us at the corner of 7th and F Street, across from the Eureka Inn between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.”

What is a Food Security Assessment?

Ren: “A1AA Specialists can visit a client in their home to help identify barriers to good nutrition and see what we can do to remove

them. There are catalogs full of assistive devices that can ease or remove obstacles to eating nutritiously – vision impairment, severe arthritis, or the need to be able to prepare food with one hand, for example. Depending on the assessment, A1AA will be able to purchase certain assistive devices for people.”

How does CalFresh work?

Ren: “Every month, there’s money added to an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card that works just like a debit card at checkout.

In addition to most stores and supermarkets, you can use your EBT card at most Farmers Markets in Humboldt County, and get a market match at many of them.

That increases your buying power while supporting local agriculture.

You can purchase seeds and starters with it.”

What are the income limits?

Ren: “The current income limit is $1,640 for a two-person household and $1,211 for one, but in many cases the value of property, cars, savings, and retirement accounts aren’t considered income.

Even if Grandpa is living in another

household with a mom, dad and three children, in some cases Grandpa may be counted as his own household for CalFresh.”

I’m getting by and others need help more than me. Why should I enroll?

Ren: “The USDA wants to make sure that anyone who qualifies for CalFresh gets it. There is no shortage of money for this program, and for good reason.

The research makes it clear that good nutrition leads to good health and vitality, lower rates of hospitalization, and lower mortality rates. Everyone wins with increased CalFresh participation.”

What about the meal program after hospital discharge?

Ren: “The CalFresh partnership also includes short-term homedelivered meals for people once they have been discharged from the hospital and live within the service area or driving routes of Humboldt Senior Resource Center or Healy Center. If you are close to being discharged, call us, or have a member of your family call us, so things can be done beforehand.” 

OLLI continued from page 5

said Rocker Heppe. “We need to build a culture of renewal because our funding relies on members to engage with us every year.”

As for the culture of giving, 40 members are now listed a Friends of OLLI. “People love OLLI,” Rocker Heppe said. “We have a rich program, beautiful facilities and strong community interest. We are well on our way to bringing that second endowment here.”

To learn more about OLLI or to become a member, call 707-8265880 or go to www. humboldt.edu/olli/. 

Gray Matters is a quarterly publication of the Area 1 Agency on Aging.

Maggie Kraft, Executive Director • mkraft@a1aa.org Carol Harrison, Editor • cah5@humboldt.edu

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The next edition of Gray Matters is October 3, 2013.

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AIAA is located at 434 Seventh Street in Eureka, 95501, across the street from Eureka Inn. Phone: 707-442-3763