The BayPath Bulletin
All the News You Need ASAP
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BayPath Elder Services, Inc.'s mission is to be a trusted partner in providing an array of services and programs to older adults, caregivers, and persons with disabilities to support their independence and dignity.
BayPath offers home care and related services enabling people to live independently and comfortably in their homes while promoting their well-being and dignity.
Founded in 1977 as a nonprofit corporation, BayPath has nearly 40 years experience serving and advocating for the needs of older adults as a designated Massachusetts Aging Services Access Point and
a designated Area Agency on Aging.
Visit BayPath's website
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BayPath Elder Services, Inc. serves the following communities:
Ashland
Dover
Framingham
Holliston
Hopkinton
Hudson
Marlborough
Natick
Northborough
Sherborn
Southborough
Sudbury
Wayland
Westborough
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BayPath continues to expand to meet the needs of clients and programs, and this past month witnessed four more additions to our staff.
Adriana Armani joins the agency as an I&R Specialist, while Barbara Donovan comes aboard as a Registered Nurse and Steven Davis and Amber Wolfgram join the SCO department as GSSCs.
Congratulations and welcome aboard.
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Carol DeRienzo named President of BayPath Board for Fiscal 2017
With the agency about to enter a new fiscal year on July 1, BayPath Elder Services announced its new officers for the Board of Directors for Fiscal 2017.
Carol DeRienzo will take over as President, with Patricia Tabloski serving as Vice President, George Barrette as Treasurer and John Beeler remaining as Clerk.
Congratulations to all of our new officers and thank you very much for the time, energy and passion you provide to our organization.
We would also like to express our appreciation for the work and dedication of the current officers, President Brenda Costa, Vice President Larry Griffin, Treasurer Jerry Anderson and Beeler.
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Elder care management rates raised as $4.8 million added
The Executive Office of Health and Human Services announced this month new care management rates, with significant increases for basic home care management and the Enhanced Community Options Program (ECOP). The new rates will bring an additional $4.8 million through June 2017.
The basic home care rate is rising from $120.24 to $124.09 (retroactive to Jan. 1, 2016), then to $131.45 on July 1, 2016. That's a 9.32 percent increase from the Dec. 2015 rate.
The ECOP rate rises from $209.24 to $215.90 (retroactive to Jan. 1, 2016), then to $233.37 on July 1, 2016. That's an 11.53 percent increase for that program.
The rate hikes come from a Ch. 257 rate reserve, not from the budget line items currently being debated in the Fiscal Year 2017 Conference Committee.
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| BayPath Elder Services wishes you all a happy and healthy Fourth of July! |
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Caregiving MetroWest adds news section for LGBT caregivers
June is Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month, and Caregiving MetroWest is celebrating the occasion with a new section on the site dedicated to helping LGBT caregivers.
LGBT caregivers experience many of the same responsibilities, demands and rewards of caring for a loved one that all other caregivers experience.
But LGBT caregivers and anyone caring for a loved one in the LGBT community also face some unique issues and concerns.
In the latest addition to our site, Caregiving MetroWest introduces a new section on LGBT Caregiving. The page features some introductory information about the issues LGBT caregivers can encounter, connections to resources to help LGBT caregivers and links to further information.
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BayPath Earns Pair of Grants
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MetroWest Health Foundation funds will expand dementia-friendly program, upgrade website
BayPath Elder Services has received funding from the MetroWest Health Foundation to expand and enhance two of its most important and innovative programs.
The Foundation awarded $18,720 to BayPath to expand its Come2B Dementia Friendly program to two more communities, with Westborough and Sudbury joining the fold after this past year's initial efforts were begun in Marlborough, Hudson and Northborough.
"We are pleased to announce that the MetroWest Health Foundation is funding Phase II of our dementia friendly communities project," said BayPath Elder Services, Inc. Executive Director Christine Alessandro. "We will be working with the communities of Sudbury and Westborough with the four-phase Act on Alzheimer's Toolkit. The official start date of Phase II is October 1. By that time, the three communities in Phase I will have completed their community questionnaires and will be developing their implementation plans. We are looking forward to working with the residents of Westborough and Sudbury!"
BayPath's Caregiving MetroWest program was also awarded a $12,650 grant from the MetroWest Health Foundation to add a "responsive design" to the website, which provides comprehensive information, resources and interactive features for family caregivers.
The responsive design will allow smartphone, tablet, laptop, and desktop users the same access to comprehensive caregiver resources, information and support by automatically sizing the images and content on CaregivingMetroWest.org to the size of the screen with which the user is viewing the site. That redesign is scheduled to be completed and unveiled this fall.
CaregivingMetroWest.org has grown tremendously since its launch, and a major segment of that growth has come through mobile traffic, particularly as a result of our outreach efforts on Facebook. In the first year after launch, 8,386 of the 12,056 sessions on the site were via desktops, with 2,180 from mobile devices and 1,490 on tablets. In the second year, of the 20,790 total sessions, 8,514 came from mobile visitors and 2,025 on tablets, in addition to 10,251 desktop sessions.
BayPath wishes to express our gratitude to the MetroWest Health Foundation for its continued support and the new grants for these important programs.
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Addressing the Needs of LGBT Older Adults
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BayPath hosts LGBT Aging Project Director Lisa Krinsky for training sessions for agency staff
Lisa Krinsky, LICSW, the Director of the LGBT Aging Project, came to BayPath Elder Services, Inc. on June 23 to conduct a pair of training sessions for BayPath staff covering some of the important issues faced by LGBT older adults and caregivers.
Krinsky provided an overview for the entire staff in the morning, followed by a more in-depth training session for home care staff in the afternoon.
The information Krinsky covered included the fact that the estimated population of 1.4-3.8 million LGBT older adults in the U.S. today is projected to grow to 3.6-7.2 million in 2030.
LGBT older adults and caregivers face unique issues, including a distrust of mainstream institutions stemming from the discrimination they have faced in the healthcare system, where their sexual orientation was labeled a "mental illness" until 1973, as well as in housing, from law enforcement and even from family members. LGBT older adults also face much higher rates of social isolation. Krinsky noted that 75 percent of LGBT older adults live alone, compared to 33 percent from the general population, while 90 percent of LGBT older adults have no children (compared to just 20 percent of the general population) and 80 percent of LGBT older adults age as a single person (compared to 40 percent of general population).
For more information about the LGBT Aging Project and resources for LGBT older adults and caregivers, visit their website.
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Lisa Krinsky, the Director of the LGBT Aging Project, addresses BayPath staff members at a training session.
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Mass Home Care Annual Meeting
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Mass Home Care
celebrates another successful year with 33rd Annual Meeting in Burlington
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Mass Home Care President Dan O'Leary addresses the crowd as Al Norman (left) looks on.
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Mass Home Care held its 33rd Annual Meeting on Monday, June 20 at the Burlington Marriott. Guest speakers included Massachusetts Secretary of the Executive Office
of Elder Affairs Alice Bonner, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts President and CEO Andrew Dreyfus, Massachusetts House of Representatives Speaker Robert DeLeo, Representative Denise Garlick,
Senator Patricia Jehlen and Senator Barbara L'Italien.
Mass Home Care President Dan O'Leary, BayPath Executive Director Christine Alessandro and Mass Home Care's Al Norman also addressed the packed house, while retiring executive directors Louis Swan of Elder Services of Worcester and Joan Butler of Minuteman Senior Services were honored for their combined 57 years of service to elders. O'Leary, the Executive Director of Mystic Valley Elder Services, was also honored as he completed his second term as Mass Home Care President. Greg Giuliano, of Montachusett Home Care, has been elected as the next Mass Home Care President.
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BayPath Executive Director Christine Alessandro speaks at the Mass Home Care Annual Meeting in Burlington.
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BayPath's Latest SHINE-ing Star
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Options Counselor Courtney Cassels completes six-week training program for SHINE certification
 Courtney Cassels, Options Counselor at BayPath, recently completed the six-week training program for SHINE (Serving the Health Information Needs of Everyone). The SHINE Program is a state health insurance assistance program that provides free health insurance information, counseling and assistance to Massachusetts residents with Medicare and their caregivers. The SHINE Program is administered by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs in partnership with elder services agencies.
SHINE Counselors, certified by the EOEA, are trained in many areas of health insurance, including Medicare Part A, Part B, and Part D, Medigap insurance, Medicare HMOs, retiree insurance plans, prescription drug programs, Medicaid, Medicare assistance programs (QMB, SLMB and QI), and other programs for people with limited resources.
Long Term Services and Supports (LTSS) Options Counselors that are SHINE certified bring this additional expertise to the Options Counseling Program, enhancing the information that enables individuals to make informed choices about long-term settings and services, to understand the resources available to help pay for supports and services, to be referred to appropriate professionals, and to obtain assistance in connecting with resources.
Have news from your department or a staff member worthy of some recognition? Let us know about it for next month's BayPath Bulletin.
Send us your updates.
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BayPath staff line up to sample the delicious offerings.
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Inaugural 'Cookie Cotillion' a hit as BayPath staff show off dessert prowess in friendly competition
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Megan Murphy (left) of the Fun Committee awards Kim Ketron her first-place prize.
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The BayPath Elder Services Fun Committee held its first (annual?) Cookie Cotillion on June 16. A dozen staff members brought in their home-made cookie creations (and one contributed a much-needed supply of Tums) to compete for fun and prizes.
Much fun was had, many cookies (and calories) were consumed and after the voting was tabulated, every entry received at least two votes (and the Tums even got one!). In the end,
Amy DeMichele earned third place with her Snickerdoodles,
Suzanne Menard claimed second with her Triple Chocolate Cookies and
Kim Ketron was the big winner with her Sugar Coated Strawberry Shortcake cookies.
Congrats to the winners and thanks to everyone who baked, brought or simply ate cookies with us.
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Just some of the tasty treats at the Cookie Cotillion.
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Thank you for taking the time to look through our newsletter, and please check out our website,
www.baypath.org. Have news, information or feedback from a client that you want to see in our next newsletter?
Let us know
BayPath Elder Services, Inc. is a member of the MetroWest ADRC,
a partnership with HESSCO and the MetroWest Center for Independent Living.
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Copyright © 2016. All Rights Reserved.
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