By Matilda Charles

As it stands now, if Congress doesn’t act immediately, many of us will be faced with a big increase in our Medicare Part B cost in 2016. Even if Congress acts to stop the increase, consider this fair warning that it could happen in the future.

Here are some of the figures:

Most of us currently pay $104.90 for Medicare Part B, and it’s taken directly out of Social Security checks before we even see the money. The new costs for many of us are slated to jump up 52 percent, up to $159.30. The deductible is likely to jump from $147 to $223.

Seventy percent of us fall under the “hold harmless” rule, which means there will be no increase because there likely will be no Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) in 2016. Those people are covered. It’s the other 30 percent who will shoulder the increased costs of Medicare for everyone else. (It’s been calculated that if the costs were spread equally, everyone would pay $120.70 per month.)

Those who will pay extra:

* Anyone who signs up for Medicare for the first time in 2016,

* People who are direct billed for their premiums,

* Those enrolled in Medicare but not Social Security because they’re still working.

Bringing mobile senior services to the community
By Connie De La Rosa

Many seniors today have difficulty with mobilizing to services they may require due to limited mobility, not feeling well or minor confusion due to early stages of dementia.

Bringing “Mobile Senior Support Services” to the residents of Ventura is the effort of a few businesses who have come together as a “network” in order to provide a free presentation, demonstration or consultation in a service they may need. Businesses involved include estate planning attorney/information and education, marriage, family therapist education and information, exercise coach, hand/arm massage therapist, medi-care representative/education and information, dental hygienist education and information, Alzheimer’s/dementia education and information, County of Ventura veteran representative information and assistance, Skin Care along with many other businesses and new business.

If a senior chooses to use a particular service, businesses will give them a negotiated rate and maintain services in the comfort of their own community. The goal is to provide the information and services available to their communities making it more convenient and comfortable for our aging population. The Mobile Senior Support Service will provide services in a community about three months or longer, depending on the needed education/information and will be rotating to the different Senior communities in Ventura.

Currently, the Mobile Senior Support Services is located at the Lexington Independent and Assisted Living in Ventura. Lexington welcomes the public to attend any of the in-service presentations being offered from October through December 2015. 200-7756 for dates and times on any of the informational services you are seeking.

Photo by Michael Gordon
The in-house produced production of “Follies”, written, directed, produced, and choreographed by Marion Doane, a Cypress Place resident was recently presented at Cypress Place Senior Living .  Cast members included residents and staff members of Cypress Place. It was a standing room only crowd, and the performers brought down the house.

Q. What programs does the City provide for active adults and seniors

A. The City of Ventura’s Parks, Recreation and Community Partnerships department offers a variety of programs citywide. You can choose art, computer tutoring, cooking, dance, exercise, gardening, music, photography, swimming, and other classes. And new this fall we’ll have additional program space for adults to enjoy classes in partnership with the Housing Authority, located at the Buena Vida Apartments Community Room (9050 Telephone Road.)

We have so many wonderful classes and programs that we created a monthly newsletter called the “Silver Tsunami” to keep you up-to-date about our offerings.  One of our most popular new programs is a tutoring class for adults to learn basic computer functions. Whether you enjoy art and learning how to paint with acrylics or if you prefer gardening or cooking, we have a class for you.

We’re able to provide a wide selection of programs because we have various facilities throughout the city to accommodate these activities. On the east side, we have a state-of-the art aquatic facility at the beautiful Ventura Community Park (901 S. Kimball Road.)

Many of our classes are held at the Barranca Vista Center  (7050 E. Ralston Street).

If you’re looking for gardening opportunities, consider growing your own food at our Cornucopia Community Garden (Telephone Road between Johnson and Ramelli Avenue.)

On the Westside, we have the Ventura Avenue Adult Center (550 N. Ventura Avenue) and we recently restored the Bocce Courts and league at Harry A. Lyon Park (De Anza Drive at Cameron Street.)

For folks who like being near the water, we offer Standup Paddle Boarding, Fly Fishing, and guided walking tours of the Santa Clara River Estuary.

We make every effort to offer dynamic programs that will be enjoyed by active adults and seniors throughout our community. To keep informed about classes and upcoming events, please sign up for our monthly Silver Tsunami newsletter at www.cityofventura.net/enewsletters or pick up a copy at any of the locations I listed above.  Visit us online at www.cityofventura.net/adult or call the Parks, Recreation and Community Partnership Office, 658-4726.

By James Appleby

September was national Pain Awareness Month. And one of the major issues policymakers, healthcare providers, and average citizens alike need to focus on is how to improve pain management among older Americans.

Unsurprisingly, this population experiences more pain than younger Americans. Among active seniors, it’s estimated that 25-50 percent experience persistent pain. For these Americans, finding ways to manage pain without reducing quality of life is essential. Among seniors residing in nursing homes or receiving in-home hospice care, as many as 85 percent experience persistent pain.

Plus, older Americans account for an outsized shared of American drug consumption. People 65 years and older make up just 13 percent of the U.S. population, yet they’re responsible for a full third of all pharmaceutical purchases.

And seniors rely heavily on opioid-based treatments, which are extremely powerful but come with elevated risks of addiction and abuse. Since 2007, the number of opioid prescriptions for patients aged 60 years or older has jumped by nearly a third. That’s double the rate of growth for middle-aged patients during that same period.

Of course, responsible prescription drug use – opioid-based based or otherwise – can be transformative for patients, alleviating chronic pain, speeding up post-operative recovery, boosting emotional well-being, and enhancing cognition.

However, opioid drugs can also cause huge, potentially fatal, problems for seniors. Elderly patients tend to be taking other drugs that can interact with opioids and cause adverse side effects. Their physical frailty exacerbates these problems. And opioid overuse can slow post-surgery recovery and speed up cognitive function decline. Due to the growing interest and research surrounding cannabis and cannabis-based products such as CBD, many seniors are looking towards CBD and medical cannabis products as an alternative choice when it comes to pain management. Particularly those who are interested in home remedies and want to explore self-medicating. Luckily, there are many doctors who are open to discussing the idea with their patients, and there are also CBD and medical cannabis establishments, such as Nature and Beyond that can share information with those who want to explore that option.

Abuse also puts senior patients at much higher risk of falls, which can cause serious bone fractures and shorten life. In fact, a 2010 paper in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that Medicare patients using opioids were four times more likely to suffer a fracture than enrollees using non-opioid treatments.

These risks are a big reason that the Joint Commission, a national non-profit that certifies healthcare organizations, specifically warns that opioids may not be appropriate for all patients. This is why alternative medicines have come about more nowadays because of the rising problems with current prescription meds, websites such as stateside wellness provide medical marijuana to patients who have a card to purchase this medicine, it may be a good idea for seniors to have access to this type of medicine to alleviate their reoccurring pains, and to lessen the number of opioids used by them. For those aren’t interested in smoking medical marijuana, CBD Oil could be a useful alternative to ingest the chemicals that work to alleviating their reoccurring pains.

The Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee, which is run by the federal Department of Health and Human Services, recently published a comprehensive strategy for improving pain management that includes specific steps for helping seniors. Policymakers should heed its recommendations.

Avoiding addiction and overdose requires careful care management and regular dialogue between doctors and their senior patients.

Caregivers need to adopt treatment protocols that can help prevent addiction, such as using drugs with the fewest adverse effects first. Providing non-opioid pain medication before and after surgery can also help, such as with some states beginning to embrace cannabinoid based solutions such as https://mykush.ca/product/ghost-bubba/ and other more medicinal forms of the drug. This is due to the CBD chemical that alleviates pain.

Likewise, caregivers should embrace proven non-opioid pain management alternatives, such as intravenous acetaminophen and over-the-counter painkillers like ibuprofen. These medications can be just as effective at reducing patient suffering without running the high risks of addiction. And even non-pharmaceutical pain management techniques such as yoga, stretching, massage, or acupuncture can help relive senior suffering.

All courses of treatment should begin with an honest and open conversation between patients and their caregivers about how pain affects them, how they are prepared to deal with pain, and how their ideas can be woven into treatment.

James Appleby is the executive director and CEO of the Gerontological Society of America. This piece originally appeared in The Tampa Tribune.

Hans is a perfect fit for his job
Photo by Daniel Ingram

By Es Cole

Some people in our amazing Ventura are outstanding at what they do.  I have been fortunate to meet a few.

Recently I met Hans Hormann, Director and Coordinator for Ventura Avenue Adult Center(VAAC). Hans is a perfect fit for his job; he spent 13 years attending six universities until he found a specialty that suited him — recreation. He spent another five years seeking a job that would/could challenge his abilities and use his ideas. He traveled to Europe and other foreign places to broaden his experiences of exotic cultures and ethnicities.

Eighteen months ago, the City of Ventura grabbed that gold ring, Hans, and made him Director of VAAC.

Hans is a civil servant, employed by Ventura, and very civil he is. He directs and coordinates VAAC. He seeks out new programs and boldly goes where others were too timid to venture.  He contracts with professionals to teach classes in their specialties. He not only feeds the curious minds of the Centers’ active adults, but he also arranges to feed their bodies at the daily lunch that is offered.

I don’t know how Hans does all the things he does. I do know he is well-organized, physically fit, and nice to old people. I am an old people, and he was very nice to me.

Hans’ most recent professional teacher is Carin Wofford, co-founder of The Time Binders, and  another of those outstanding people who are expert at what they do. Carin has 20 years’ experience writing personal histories. Starting this Fall, she will conduct  family history writing classes, documentation techniques, and ancestry research at the Ventura Avenue Adult Center.

Other auxiliary classes like hand bookbinding and graphic arts are also in the works. Imagine: you can write the stories of your personal history, design and hand construct your own book to personalize your stories, and you can learn to illustrate the stories you record.

We are so lucky to have Hans Hormann who has the energy, the imagination, and the contacts to put all these elements together in one convenient location. Please call VAAC for up-to-date schedules at 653-5592.

Hans says he loves his job. You can bet that all the adults and seniors at VAAC love him back.

The Ventura Avenue Adult Center is located at 550 N. Ventura Ave.

Mayor Heitmann was at the opening of the new Saticoy Library with grandson 4-year old Gavin.

You are invited to “Coffee with the Mayor” at the Ventura Townehouse who will be hosting Ventura’s Mayor Cheryl Heitmann on Thursday, October 22nd starting at 10am. It will be held in the Dining Room Lounge at the Ventura Townehouse, 4900 Telegraph Road.

The hour-long event does not require an RSVP but seating might be limited. “Coffee with the Mayor” is an informal gathering for residents to express their concerns, ask questions of the Mayor and provide ideas. The Mayor will also speak about the plans for the City of Ventura’s 150th Anniversary Celebration.

Cheryl Heitmann was first elected to the Ventura City Council in November 2011. She was appointed to the role of Mayor by her colleagues in December 2013, and served as Deputy Mayor for the first two years of her four-year term. Among her many accomplishments Cheryl Heitmann served as the Executive Director of the Ventura Music Festival from 2006-2012. She is a licensed clinical social worker and had a private practice for 18 years.

Adrienne Stephens brings a strong background in fundraising, marketing and public relations to the job.

The Ventura Hillsides Conservancy (VHC) recently added two new employees to its staff.  They will assist the membership-based nonprofit with its work of permanently preserving and providing access to the open space resources in the Ventura region.

Adrienne Stephens joined the VHC in August as their development coordinator. Adrienne, a UCSB graduate and 25-year Ventura resident, oversees member and business relations, fundraising activities, special event planning and community, press and social media outreach.

Flemming Bertelsen joined VHC as their new preserve manager in September. Flemming, who recently returned to the area from Southern Utah, has extensive experience in land management, conservation, wildland fire management, and law enforcement. He graduated from Humboldt State University with a B.A. in Recreation Management, and has worked protecting and restoring public lands in many locations.

“We are very pleased to have Adrienne and Flemming join the VHC team,” said David Comden, president of the VHC Board of Trustees.

The Ventura Hillsides Conservancy has a full agenda moving into 2016 including Ventura hillside land negotiations, tree planting initiatives along the Ventura River Parkway and its popular annual Wild and Scenic Film Festival. For more information about VHC, visit www.venturahillsides.org.

Mom’s Reflections
By Jan

My beauty days have dwindled fast
While Nature will outshine, outlast
Since furtive glances at age 18
Unearned attention was routine

I peer ahead with vague visions
Pondering possible health decisions
My gait now stable but next a hobble
Robust touch a clumsy wobble

Must I embrace a decline so slow
I’ve watched two generations do so
All didn’t have our Grandmother’s patience
Some did find her same “compensations

Maybe that “good night” is a bounty
After dwindling verve and beauty
A predicted path I now face
Ancestors, see my effort with grace