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 hosts area Council on Aging staff for discussion of how to best serve LGBT older adults
BayPath Elder Services welcomed
Bob Linscott, Assistant Director of the LGBT Aging Project, to its office in Marlborough on December 7. Linscott gave a in-depth presentation entitled, "Rainbow
Room: Best Practices Working with LGBT Elders," to staff from area Senior Centers and BayPath.
Our thanks to Bob for the informative and engaging presentation and discussion, and to all who attended.
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There's still time this holiday season to support BayPath and the work we do to serve older adults, persons with disabilities and their caregivers. Get your last-minute gifts by shopping through goodshop.com, which provides discount coupons and offers at thousands of top retailers and donates a portion of your purchase to the cause of your choice, or by shopping at Amazon.com through this AmazonSmile link and Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible purchases to BayPath.
And there is always the option of donating directly to the agency.
We thank all who have generously supported us and wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday season.
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Caregiving MetroWest seeks feedback from users with satisfaction survey
Caring for a loved one? We're here to help!
That has been the driving force of Caregiving MetroWest since we began developing it as an online tool to provide information, resources and support to family caregivers in 2012. Since we launched the website in 2014, we've had more than 40,000 unique users visit the site and won a national Aging Innovations Award from the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a) in 2016.
We are proud of our accomplishments, but strive to do even more to aid the many caregivers who have devoted so much to care for their loved ones. So please take a couple minutes to take our survey to let us know how we are doing and how we can be even more helpful. Thank you very much.
Holiday season tips for family caregivers
We are now in the thick of the holiday season. And while holiday festivities, traditions and celebrations can bring plenty of joy, they can also be a source of stress and concern when you're caring for a loved one, particularly if that loved one has Alzheimer's or another form of dementia.
In our latest Caregiving Chronicles Q&A, we discuss some of the issues caregivers may face during the holiday season, particularly if they are caring for a loved one with Alzheimer's or another form of dementia. Providing insight and some helpful links to further information is Judith Boyko, MBA, MS, RN, who has served as the CEO of Century Health Systems since it was established in 2001.
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Delivering Some Holiday Spirit
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BayPath's Light Up the Holidays program gives 100 gifts donated by TJX and Philips Lifeline employees
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Patricia Bronzetti is all smiles after opening her gift. |
BayPath continued its annual tradition of distributing gifts to many of our clients this holiday season. This year's Light Up the Holidays program featured 100 combined gifts purchased and donated by the employees of TJX and and Philips Lifeline. TJX employees donated 70 gifts, while Philips Lifeline added another 30.
Many thanks go out to the Light Up the Holidays committee, which featured
Paula Geller,
Kate Cosseboom,
Megan Murphy,
Kim Ketron,
Denise Menzdorf,
Lisa Kamyk,
Debra Shaw,
Douglas Flynn,
Kris Briggs,
Terri Falcone and
John Cooper. They were assisted by many other generous BayPath staff members who helped pick up the gifts, decorate stars for the packages, organize the deliveries and bring the gifts to our clients.
And a very special thank you goes out to the TJX and Philips Lifeline corporations and their generous employees for providing the gifts that helped make the holidays a little brighter for so many older adults in our communities.
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Light Up the Holidays gifts were stacked nearly floor to ceiling in one of our offices (above) waiting to be delivered, and BayPath employees such as Courtney Cassels (below left) and Sarah Creelman (below right) did so with a smile for clients Anne McCarthy and Pamela Hall, respectively.
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Studying Malnutrition in Older Adults
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State to establish new commission on malnutrition prevention among older adults in Massachusetts
Massachusetts is moving to address the nutrition needs of older adults in the Commonwealth.
Earlier this month, Governor
Charlie Baker signed into law
Senate Bill 2499, "An Act Establishing a Commission on Malnutrition Prevention Among
Older Adults," which had passed the House and Senate on Nov. 21.
"It is critically important to me to make certain that seniors are receiving the care they need," said State Senator
Jennifer Flanagan (D-Worcester and Middlesex) in an
editorial in the Leominster Champion. "Ensuring adequate nutrition is such an easy way to keep someone healthy and out of the hospital, especially in the United States where we have the resources to provide for our elderly population. Having our seniors suffer from malnutrition is just not acceptable. Our population is aging rapidly and malnutrition is not going to go away on its own."
Flanagan also noted that the commission will study the impact of malnutrition on Massachusetts seniors across care settings, and investigate effective strategies for reducing malnutrition. In addition, the commission will monitor the influence of malnutrition on older adults' health care costs, outcomes, quality indicators, and quality of life measures.
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| Money Management Program Director Paula Geller (right) speaks at the program's volunteer appreciation lunch. |
Money Management gives thanks to the volunteers who give so much to the program with an appreciation luncheon
BayPath Elder Services' Money Management Department held its Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon on Wednesday, December 14 at our office in Marlborough.
Executive Director
Christine Alessandro, Area Agency on Aging Assistant Director
Fran Bakstran, Money Management Program Director
Paula Geller and Money Management Program Coordinator
Kris Briggs spoke to the volunteers, expressing the agency's deeply felt appreciation for the time, passion and commitment they have given to helping others through the Money Management program.
Geller noted that, "
Volunteers provide the extra measure of support that enables clients to better address their financial obligations and be better informed in their financial decisions."
Money Management volunteers dedicate approximately 160 hours each month to helping clients with their routine finances. On average, clients benefits from approximately 1,000 in-home visits a year from the Money Management program.
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| Money Management volunteers at this month's luncheon. |
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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Vintage Fun at Holiday Party
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BayPath Elder Services held its annual staff holiday party on Dec. 13. Many thanks go out to the agency for giving the staff the opportunity to enjoy some holid
ay festivities and to the holiday party committee for organizing all of the day's activities. The party featured a retro theme (above) that included displays of childhood holiday photos, an ugly sweater contest, a Yankee Swap and plenty of excellent food from Assabet Valley and desserts brought in by staff members.
 Congrats to case manager John Cooper (right) for taking the top prize in the ugly sweater contest. Despite not actually wearing a sweater, Cooper showed true commitment with a full holiday themed suit to easily win the voting. Meanwhile, there were no losers in the always popular Yankee Swap (below).
Special appreciation also goes out to Megan Murphy, who led the organization effort for the party, Kim Ketron, who was the committee's MVP with all of her contributions toward creating an epic dessert room complete with hot chocolate and apple cider bar, and to ace decorators Kaitlyn Butler, Sarah Creelman, Amy DeMichele, Alicia Rego, Douglas Flynn and Cooper. Also assisting on the committee were Jane Rourk, Barbara Donovan, Carolyn Hochard, Dana Leavitt, Erika Perez, Elizabeth Tretiak, Heather Berry, Jill Standish, Lisa Kamyk, Milka Mombrini and Nicole Desimone. Our thanks and a wish for a Happy Holidays to all of them and all of you.
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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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