by Lori Harasta

“I wish I had known about hospice sooner.” For those who have experienced it, this is probably the most common comment expressed. Too many people wait too long to discover what hospice is and what it can do for a patient and his/her loved ones.

Discover what it’s really all about at a seminar presented by Livingston Memorial Visiting Nurse Association on Friday, September 29th from 10:00-11:00 am at The Lexington Assisted Living, 5440 Ralston St., Ventura.

In addition to gaining insight into what it is and the goals for hospice, find out about the difference between hospice and palliative care and learn how to plan for end-of-life care.

Dr. Lanyard Dial, President/CEO and Medical Director of Livingston will address these issues and answer your questions.

“Without guidance and support for patients and families approaching death, there may be unnecessary conflict, confusion, and trauma that linger long after the passing of a loved one.”

“I now urge friends and acquaintances to have conversations with their aging parents and within their families while their parents are still relatively healthy and of sound mind.”
―Lisa J. Shultz, Author: A Chance to Say Goodbye: Reflections on Losing a Parent

“We thought hospice meant death, but as we watched you take care of her, we realized it really means celebrating life” –Mike M.

For more information and to RSVP, call Debra at The Lexington at 644-6710.

by Greg Dill- Medicare’s regional administrator for Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, and the Pacific Territories

Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage have different benefits and costs that you should consider based on your personal needs. So grab a cool drink and I’ll go over some of the differences. Medicare open enrollment season runs from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7, and it’s a good idea to know how the two types of Medicare work before you select one. If you’re still in doubt then contact a specialist provider in your area like Jacksonville medicare to discuss the best option for your circumstances.

With Original Medicare, you can choose any doctor, hospital, or other healthcare provider you want, as long as they accept Medicare. When you receive medical services or goods, Medicare pays the provider directly. About 70 percent of all people with Medicare have Original Medicare.

The other way to get your benefits is Medicare Advantage, which is a form of managed care, like an HMO or PPO. Medicare Advantage is provided by private insurance companies approved by Medicare. If you’re in Medicare Advantage, you generally must go to doctors and other providers in the company’s network.

If you go outside the network, you may have to pay more.

On the other hand, Medicare Advantage plans may offer some services – such as dental, hearing, vision, and prescription drug coverage – that Original Medicare doesn’t. If you’d like to learn more about Medicare plans check out websites similar to boomerbenefits.com.

Most people with Original Medicare pay a monthly premium. If you’re in Medicare Advantage, you may pay an additional monthly premium to the private insurer that covers you.

With Original Medicare, you or your supplemental insurance must pay deductibles, co-pays, and coinsurance.

To cover these “gaps” in Medicare, some people buy a type of supplemental insurance called Medigap. If you have a Medigap policy, Medicare pays its share of the covered costs, and then your Medigap policy pays its share. If you’re looking into this kind of supplemental insurance, be sure to stop by boomerbenefits.com online as part of your research into plans that work best for you.

Original Medicare doesn’t cover prescription drugs. If you want drug coverage, you can buy a Medicare Part D plan. Such plans are sold through private companies approved by Medicare. You have to pay an additional monthly premium for Part D.

Medicare Advantage companies must cover all of the services that Original Medicare covers. (However, Original Medicare covers hospice care, some new Medicare benefits, and some costs for clinical research studies, even if you’re in a Medicare Advantage plan.) In all types of Medicare Advantage plans, you’re always covered for emergency and urgent care.

You can join a Medicare Advantage plan even if you have a pre existing condition — except for End-Stage Renal Disease. People with ESRD usually are covered through Original Medicare.

Keep in mind that Medicare Advantage plans can charge different out-of-pocket amounts and have different rules for how you get service.

For example, you may need a referral to see a specialist. And you may need to stay in the plan’s provider network, unless you’re willing to pay more to go outside the network.

There’s a good comparison of Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage in the “Medicare & You” handbook. “Medicare & You” is mailed to all Medicare beneficiaries every fall. You can also find it online, at https://www.medicare.gov/medicare-and-you/medicare-and-you.html.

If you have any questions, call Medicare’s toll-free number, 1-800-MEDICARE.

by Patty Jenkins

Because you are not alone and this meeting is all about you! And you just might end up helping someone, too, by sharing your own experiences battling this more-than-challenging disease. The Ventura Parkinson’s Disease Support Group meets every second Wednesday of the month (except December) to learn more about Parkinson’s Disease, the latest research for a cure and better treatments, and also to hopefully learn helpful ways to deal with PD, support each other and maybe even make some new friends! We alternate throughout the year with round table meetings where we get to know each other and share our common challenges and unique coping solutions, along with a variety of speakers and presenters with helpful topics of interest including Movement Disorder Specialists, medical professionals and other professionals who educate us in many aspects about the resources available to help us organize and improve the quality of our lives that are suddenly confronted and changed by Parkinson’s Disease.

Please come and join the Ventura Parkinson’s Disease Support Group Wednesday, October 11 for a “Round Table” discussion from 1PM to 3PM at the Lexington Assisted, 5440 Ralston St. We welcome all of our members, their care-partners and new friends who find themselves in this battle with Parkinson’s Disease along with us. We have some presenters for our November meeting but you are the “presenters”!

Thanks to the generosity of the Lexington Assisted, we are able to have our meetings every second Wednesday of the. There is a drop-off/loading and unloading driveway in the front of their building . Extra parking is graciously available across the street from the Lexington in the Baptist Church parking lot. Please check in at the front desk for directions to the 3rd floor and sign-in at the meeting. For more information please call Patty at 766-6070 We are an independent and volunteer-organized group not affiliated with or a part of any other organization or group.

by AARP

Scammers across the country are calling Social Security beneficiaries, claiming they are due a cost of living increase. They just need to verify your Social Security number and bank routing information, along with other personal information. Then, the scammers contact the real Social Security Administration to try to change your direct deposit to their bank account. If you get a call like this, hang up!

Look out for fake genealogy sites on the Internet. These scam sites pull information from public databases to make it look like they have lots of information about you and your lineage. They lure you into signing up so they can steal your personal information – and your identity.

It’s a good idea to research the site before you sign up. Do an internet search on the site name with “reviews” and “scams” and see what comes up.

Tired of illegal robocalls? Report them to the Federal Trade Commission, which is doing something about them. The agency is posting a list of numbers it gets complaints about daily, along with the general subject matter. Then telecommunications carriers and other industry partners can use this information as they work on call blocking solutions, because those solutions rely on phone numbers that have been reported. The next time you get an unwanted robocall, report it at www.donotcall.gov.

Be a fraud fighter! If you can spot a scam, you can stop a scam.

Report scams to local law enforcement. Contact the AARP Fraud Watch Network at www.aarp.org/fraudwatchnetwork for more information on fraud prevention.

Ventura Post Acute, a local skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility, is hosting a Carnival to bring seniors to their community in order to provide much needed information on healthcare options like which clinic would be best to register with, for example, if you are in New Mexico you may turn to Southwest Care, compared to what Ventura here in California can offer you, each state has different clinics for you to research. They have brought together various healthcare providers to offer education and access to professionals in fields ranging from post-surgical recovery to end of life care. In a Carnival setting to mix in a little fun and bring smiles to the faces of the attendees.

When asked why the event was so important Ventura Post Acute, Administrator Renee Jones commented “The options for post hospital care are not always known to seniors before they are in crisis and this lack of knowledge can make a medical episode even scarier. By providing the opportunity to see the warmth in a Post Acute and rehabilitation facility like ours and have access to ask questions to healthcare providers ahead of time, gives senior more control over their long and short-term care needs.”

The Carnival will be held on Friday, September 22^nd from 11:00am to 4:00pm at Ventura Post Acute located at 4020 Loma Vista Road. This event is open to the public and encourages seniors and their families to attend to gain much needed information and to enjoy being a kid again. Along with education, attendees will experience Carnival themed food and games and opportunity drawings will be held throughout the day. Healthcare sponsors of this event include Mission Home Healthcare, College Care Pharmacy, Vertex Healthcare Solutions, Los Robles Homecare, Vitas Healthcare, Assisted Home Health, Integrated Home Health, Brightstar Care and Elite Home Care.

For questions on this event or more information regarding care and rehabilitation services, please contact Ventura Post Acute at 642-4196.

Ventura Post Acute is a 71 bed facility. It is owned by US Skilled Serve and has a 5 Star rating. The facility provides post hospital care including nursing and therapy that is covered by Medicare, Medi-Cal, Private Insurance and private-pay.

The Lexington will be hosting their 3rd annual special luncheon for our first responders to salute the men and women who serve our community every day. The invitees will include the police department, fire department, sheriff’s department and ambulance companies. The Lexington is located at 5440 Ralston Street. The event will be held Friday, September 22nd from 11:30am – 1:30pm.

For more information call 644–6710.

by Connie De La Rosa

Here are some things you might notice in an elderly loved one which could indicate financial abuse or being the victim of scams:

• Worrying about finances, having unanticipated financial problems
• Unexplained purchases, missing cash or valuables
• Difficulty explaining purchases or confusion over a purchase or service contract, excessive repairs or items being purchased for the home.
• Giving financial control to a new caregiver, neighbor or friend.
• Steps you can to help safeguard your elderly loved one:
• Regularly evaluate how they are doing by providing a periodic evaluation by calling in and visiting in person.
• Determine ways to simplify finances and possibly consider a system for oversight(regular review/access by a trusted professional or family member).

Share information about popular scams and when confronted with a salesperson over the phone or at their front door, your loved one should redirect them to a trusted family and state that they do not make these kinds of decisions to please contact the family which will help with your elder from being scammed.

For more information, resources and referrals please call 420-9608.

by Jayson Cohen, American Legacy Solutions

The average adult American has coverage less than four times his or her annual income. When you consider all the things that life insurance proceeds need to find and how long the money will be needed, you begin to realize that your try need for coverage is often 10 or 15 time your gross annual income, sometime more.

Since we are all in different stages in life there are different things to take into account. Here is a short list of expenses that Life Insurance similar to what Advance4life (http://www.advance4life.co.za/where-to-find/fnb-insurance/) offers proceeds can fund. To help I have broken these down into three categories, Immediate Expenses, Ongoing Expenses and Future Expenses.

Immediate Cost: Funeral costs; Uncovered Medicare expenses; Mortgage; Car Loans; Credit Card Debt; Taxes; Estate Settlement costs.

Ongoing Expenses: Food; Housing; Utilities; Transportation; Health care; Clothing; Insurance.

Future Expenses; College – child or grandchild; Retirement.

If we truly go through the process of analyzing the above expenses we never fall on a round number of life insurance. This also makes sure we are not under insured and not spending money on Life insurance I do not need. So how do I figure out how much I need. There are two simple ways to figure out how much I would buy. First is to simply add up the numbers of your immediate, ongoing, and future obligations. Then subtract that number by your spouse’s earning, your savings, investments and life insurance you already own. This final number will give you the amount you should purchase. If you would like an easy way you can also visit, www.alegacys.com/resources and use the life insurance calculator located on that page.

Bruce A. Woodling, M.D. is a graduate of the USC KECK School of Medicine in 1972. Dr. Woodling completed an 18-month internship in Obstetrics and Gynecology/Internal Medicine at the Los Angeles County/University of Southern California Medical Center, and a 2-year Family Practice Residency at the Ventura County Medical Center.

Dr. Woodling is Board Certified and Recertified in Family Medicine and is a Diplomat of the American Academy of Family Physicians. His current medical practice is in Family Medicine emphasizing in Geriatric and Senior Medicine.

As CEO of the nonprofit corporation “New Horizons Outreach”, Dr. Wooding has developed a series of regularly scheduled lectures and seminars titled “Taking Charge”. These lectures and training sessions focus on issues of senior health and medicine including: Common Geriatric Medical Problems, Senior Health Prevention Strategies, Memory Loss, Emotional Wellbeing, Health Optimization, Stress Management, and Senior Life Optimization.

“Taking Charge” presentations are sponsored by New Horizon’s Outreach in cooperation with The Ventura Townehouse Senior Living Community twice a month. The first of this series will be Friday, September 22nd from 1:30 PM to 3:30 P.M. The topic this month is Medicare & Hospital Care in Ventura. Refreshments will be served.

The Ventura Townehouse is located at 4900 Telegraph Road.

No RSVP is needed but seats are limited. 642-3263