One agency with three programs that advocate for seniors in long term care facilities and Medicare beneficiaries who want unbiased individual help and advocacy.
Senior Advocacy Services Executive Director, Crista Barnett Nelson, has joined Supervisor Shirlee Zane and Adult and Aging Services Director Paul Dunaway to call for action on a statewide level to support Long Term Care facilities during Covid. Check out this letter detailing direct ways to make a difference in how facilities respond.
Zane Letter to KJohnson_CDSS_Residential Care
Every year EVERYTHING CHANGES when it comes to Medicare.
MEDICARE CAN BE complicated.
It’s easy to make mistakes when signing up that could result in lifelong penalties or coverage gaps, and people who lose their jobs after age 65 have an extra layer of complexity. Everyone on Medicare has the opportunity to choose a Medicare Part D or Medicare Advantage plan during open enrollment each year, and the plan you select could make thousands of dollars of difference in your out-of-pocket costs.
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS HELPING US HELP SENIORS
Senior Advocacy Services (SAS) is staying on the front-line providing support to isolated seniors. With your matching donations, you are doubling your impact.
Our staff visit care home residents, help connect families and loved ones, respond to reports of abuse, provide training and increase awareness about what our older adults are experiencing during COVID.
Seniors are suffering, and you can help.
THANK YOU!
Aurora Santa Rosa Hospital
Traditions Behavioral Health
Advanced Pharmaceuticals Consultants
Ceilume
Coastal Products
Peter and Marianne Estournes
F & M Steel
Flynn Development Group, LLC
From the Heart Senior Services
Galanti & Copenhaver, Inc.
Harvest Card
Kebok Foundation
Mercy Wellness
Moss Adams
Lerdahl Management Services
The Heck Foundation
Traverso Chambers
Tweeten Eldercare Advisors
For many people, signing up for Medicare Part B doesn’t require you to leave the comfort of home. Here is what you need to know and how to make it happen.
June 25, 2020 – July 30, 2020
Description:
Join the Sonoma County Long Term Care Ombudsman and other professionals serving older adults to discuss how to partner with facility staff to connect to your loved one living in long-term care:
• You are an important part of your loved one’s Care Team!
• The Virtual Family Council will discuss residents’ rights to visitation and restrictions in place due to COVID-19.
• Jennifer Watson, Program Director for Primrose Alzheimer’s Living, will describe how they partner with family members to facilitate family connections, and share best practices you can look for at your loved one’s facility.
Sonoma County Virtual Family Council Zoom Meeting
Thursday, June 25, 2020 at 4:30 p.m.
Join us online or by phone.
Call the Long-Term Care Ombudsman at (707) 526-4108 for more information.
https://senioradvocacyservices.org/event-registration/?ee=355
June 25, 2020 – June 25, 2020
| Register
Description:
Join the Sonoma County Long Term Care Ombudsman and other professionals serving older adults to discuss how to partner with facility staff to connect to your loved one living in long-term care:
• You are an important part of your loved one’s Care Team!
• The Virtual Family Council will discuss residents’ rights to visitation and restrictions in place due to COVID-19.
• Jennifer Watson, Program Director for Primrose Alzheimer’s Living, will describe how they partner with family members to facilitate family connections, and share best practices you can look for at your loved one’s facility.
Sonoma County Virtual Family Council Zoom Meeting
Thursday, June 25, 2020 at 4:30 p.m.
Join us online or by phone.
The same Zoom link works for every meeting.
If this is your first meeting, register at https://senioradvocacyservices.org/ for the Zoom link or call-in number.
Call the Long-Term Care Ombudsman at (707) 526-4108 for more information.
Connecting you with your loved one who is living in long-term care
Does someone you care for live in a long-term setting such as
assisted living or a nursing home?
Join us online or by phone to discuss how you can connect with
your loved one and speak up for the quality of their care.
Meet the Sonoma County Long-Term Care Ombudsman who
advocates for your loved one’s rights.
Sonoma County Virtual Family Council
Zoom meeting
Thursdays, June 18, 25 and July 2,9, 16 and 23, 2020
4:30 p.m.
Email info@sasnb.org for a call-in number or a link to the Zoom meeting.
Call (707) 526-4108 for information.
Join the Facebook group at
https://www.facebook.com/groups/SOCOVirtualFamily/
Our Agency and staff are here for you, as during other times, to serve our community advocating for older adults and providing needed services. Staff are answering calls and responding to messages while working remotely. Here are some ways our programs continue to serve our community:
· Ombudsman are calling residents and staff of long term care facilities as well as receiving and responding to reports of abuse.
· HICAP staff are answering calls, returning voicemails within 2 hours and setting up virtual appointments. They are currently developing a Medicare Fundamentals Seminar that can be presented via Zoom with question & answer interactive capability.
· Elder Justice is still here to address system challenges in the safety net of services to support older and dependent adults. While many challenges will become apparent following our community response to COVID-19, we’d still like to hear about challenges related to the prevention and response of elder and dependent adult abuse and neglect.
· SASk us about Volunteering! We still need volunteers for our vital programs and are developing remote training opportunities for HICAP and Ombudsman that would allow new volunteers to train remotely and be ready to jump into action when we are past social distancing and staying at home.
· Pick of the Vine. One of the more challenging decisions that SAS had to make was to cancel Pick of the Vine for 2020. Our focus is to honor the health and wellness of our supports and friends. We’ll resume in 2021.
· Mother’s Day Flowers. A SUCCESS! We re-invisioned this event to honor the shelter in place mandate. We put together kits of mugs and flowers. Volunteers pulled up in their cars, we loaded kits, they created bouquets in the safety of their homes and delivered to the front door of facilities.
Thank you to all our supporters and partners during this difficult time. Senior Advocacy Services is doing our part to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and are hoping for a timely return to normal activities in a healthy world. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to our staff if we can support you in any way.
You can reach us at (707) 526-4108 or email info@sasnb.org
Would you like to Donate a Tablet? Drop it off at 5787 Desoto Drive in Santa Rosa or call (707) 526 – 4108 for pick up. South County Location now available at 1825 Nicola Dr. in Petaluma. Please reset your tablet to Factory Settings before donating and provide the power cord.
Loneliness in seniors may be fatal. Studies show the feeling of loneliness and emptiness causes suffering for seniors but can lead to serious health problems and even death. With the isolation created by the COVID-19 virus, our elderly living in Skilled Nursing Facilities are alone. For many, families can no longer visit, listen to their stories, or give hugs and loving affection.
Ombudsman have a plan to help in these extraordinary times. Can you donate a tablet? We will help set up with access to games, social media apps, YouTube, free video conferencing and more. You can help connect a senior in need with the tech we rely on so heavily now.
Donate by delivering your device at 5787 Desoto Drive in Santa Rosa (Rincon Valley) just east of Safeway (Calistoga Rd./Highway 12). Please put the tablet along with its power cord in the box slot as labeled – it will be sitting on a table with a balloon for easy visibility.
If you are unable to drop-off your tablet, call Senior Advocacy Service at (707) 526-4108 to arrange for a staff member to come pick up. As a small, local non-profit we do not have the ability to refurbish these tablets. We are asking for working devices that have already been reset to factory settings with the passwords, pins, cellular service etc. removed. If you donate an ipad, turn off the “find my ipad” before restoring it to factory settings. Help us by donating tablets ready to be given to an isolated senior in need. New or gently used devices are welcome, as are smart phones that can function without mobile/cell service subscription.
Some unscrupulous sales people are trying to get Supplemental Medigap policyholders to switch from Plan F to Plan G in order to make a commission. Don’t be pressured to change your plan. Choose the right coverage for you.
Medigap coverage is guaranteed renewable. As long as the policyholder pays the premium, the coverage cannot be cancelled. Some policyholders are being told that…
