The BayPath Bulletin                                         All the News You Need ASAP




 
Our Mission
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 40 years of 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

   

Our Services
Our Service Area
BayPath Elder Services, Inc. serves the following communities:

Ashland
Dover
Framingham
Holliston
Hopkinton
Hudson
Marlborough
Natick
Northborough
Sherborn
Southborough
Sudbury
Wayland
Westborough  
Welcome Aboard
BayPath continues to expand to meet the needs of its consumers and programs, and this month a number of new faces joined our staff.

Deborah Downing joins our as a new Senior Care Options Manager, while Samuel Dubois and Hilary Norris are our two newest Case Managers.

Also new to BayPath are Personal Care Attendant Program Administrative Assistant Priscila Demoura Pereira, and  Stella Lortie, who is the new Administrative Assistant for the Home Care Program
.

Congratulations and welcome aboard.
New Roles
Congratulations are in order for two other valuable members of our staff.

Heather Berry has moved up to the new position of Community Programs Manager, where she will oversee the Family Caregiver Support Program, Elder Community Care, our LGBTQ+ Initiative, Supportive Housing and Healthy Living.

Heather had been serving as BayPath's Intake Supervisor in Homecare. Replacing her in that role is another key staffer moving up the ranks, with Linda Ford named as the new Intake Supervisor.

Congratulations to both Heather and Linda.
Sailing On
BayPath has long followed a special tradition to recognize the dedication, selflessness and passion of its staff.

At each month's staff meeting, a staff member is chosen to receive the coveted sailboat. It
is awarded to a staff member who deserves some special recognition for their efforts. Adding significance is the fact that the current holder of the sailboat gets to select the next winner, so this is an honor bestowed by a fellow staff member who sees their co-worker's special contributions every day.

At the January staff meeting, the previous recipient, Nutrition Program Coordinator Kathy Villanueva passed the sailboat on to Nutrition Supervisor Allison Park for her dedicated work for the agency.

Congratulations to Allison and to all of the former, and future, winners of this unique honor.

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Caregiver Corner
Another milestone reached for Caregiving MetroWest website
BayPath's national-award winning, innovative website for family caregivers, CaregivingMetroWest.org,
has reached another milestone with its 60,000th unique user visiting the site in the past month.

The website has now been visited by 60,896 users as of March 20, who have combined to view 182,712 pages on the site.

Caregiving MetroWest is a free, web-based program providing in-depth information and extensive resource listings for all aspects of caregiving for anyone caring for an elder loved one.

Caregiving MetroWest was launched in 2014 with funding from the MetroWest
Health Foundation, and won a National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a) Aging Innovations Award, placing second nationally in 2016.
March, 2018

Healthy Dose of Information 
Nutrition Department raising awareness with series of events throughout National Nutrition Month this March
March is National Nutrition Month®, and the BayPath Nutrition Department has been marking the occasion with a number of events.

If you aren't aware, National Nutrition Month is a nutrition education and information campaign created annually in March by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The campaign focuses attention on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits. This year's theme is "Go Further with Food," with the goal to encourage people to achieve the numerous benefits healthy eating habits offer, while also urging people to find ways to cut back on food waste.

BayPath celebrated the month with a series of events:
  • Meals on Wheels taste testing - Have you ever wondered what your consumers are getting for lunch when Meals on Wheels delivers? BayPath staff have been able to find out by signing up to sample a meal throughout the month, then fill out a short survey to provide feedback, with all taste testers entered to win a prize raffled at the end of the month.
  • Lunch & Learn - Staff Dietician and Nutritionist Traci Robidoux, RD, LDN, hosted a lunchtime presentation on March 19 on the MIND diet, which has been shown to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease by up to 53%.
  • Healthy Breakfast Potluck - Staffers were invited to sample healthy breakfast items, with copies of recipes provided.
  • Nutrition Trivia - In the final two weeks the month, the Nutrition Department is testing the staff's nutrition knowledge with trivia questions about various nutrition topics. Those answering correctly are entered into a drawing at the end of each week to win a prize.
In addition to the informational events the Nutrition Department is providing for its fellow staff members, the department has also positively affected the lives of many older adults in need throughout our catchment area. The department has provided over 60,000 meals since October 1, 2017. This number includes over 2,000 emergency meals for consumers to eat during snow storms when we cannot deliver the regular daily meals.
Celebrating Social Workers
March offers chance to show appreciation for dedicated social workers across nation
March is also Social Work Month, with the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) proclaiming this year's theme as "Social Workers: Leaders. Advocates. Champions."

The more than 650,000 social workers in the nation serve in these roles every day, with the NASW noting that "members of the profession enhance human well-being and help meet the basic needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty. As the nation commemorates Social Work Month in March, it is important for the public to recognize that the need for social workers to be strong advocates, champions and leaders is more important than ever."

BayPath benefits from the presence of numerous staff members with social work degrees and/or licenses, and the agency would like to take the opportunity provided by this month to recognize them, and all the social workers throughout the nation, for their ongoing contributions and dedication. 
Delivering Meals with a Side of Care
BayPath Kitchen Coordinator Karen Basinet (left) delivers a healthy meal to BayPath home care consumer Peggy McGorty in Marlborough.

Meals on Wheels offer more than just nutrition, as program also helps improve quality of life for housing residents
Our Supportive Housing program office is located in the senior/disabled housing complex located at 240 Main Street in Marlborough. This is also the base for our Meals On Wheels delivery to our seniors for the city of Marlborough.

As the Supportive Housing Coordinator, I have the unique opportunity to work closely with some of our off-site nutrition staff members and volunteers who are dedicated to getting these meals out to community members and to see first-hand the impact of this valuable program. Outside of the obvious health benefit of having a tasty and nutritionally-balanced meal delivered right to home, the Meals On Wheels program also delivers a chance to socialize, a daily informal "well-check" and peace of mind.

This is a great program that does great things. I wanted to take this opportunity to give a shout out to our Elder Nutrition Program staff members and also to our Meal On Wheels volunteers who make this great service happen.
 
-- Submitted by Jane Rourk, Marlborough Supportive Housing Coordinator

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.    
An Honor 22 Years in the Making
BayPath Meals on Wheels volunteer Lacerte earns award
Congratulations go to BayPath Meals on Wheels volunteer Richard Lacerte, who has been selected to receive the MetroWest/495 Corridor Volunteer of the Year Award!
 
Richard will be honored on April 5 at the United Way of Tri-County Annual Community Recognition Breakfast. A big thank you to Denise Menzdorf and the nutrition department for nominating him!

"Richard "Dick" Lacerte has been volunteering for Meals on Wheels in Hudson for 22 years! He delivers meals on Wednesdays weekly and fills in whenever we need him," said Menzdorf. "He is the best and we are so happy that he will be recognized with this volunteer of the year award."
Calling for Proposals
BayPath Invites Older Americans Act Grant Applications 
Applications are invited for grants under the Older Americans Act, Title III, Parts B (supportive services) and E (support services for family caregivers). Grants will be awarded through a competitive proposal review process, to support and extend comprehensive and coordinated services enabling persons age 60 and over to remain living in their homes and communities.   
 
The communities are Ashland, Dover, Framingham, Holliston, Hopkinton, Hudson, Marlborough, Natick, Northborough, Sherborn, Southborough, Sudbury, Wayland and Westborough. Proposals must support or extend (1) access to services, (2) in-home services, (3) legal services, (4) community based services, (5) nutrition services and/or (6) respite care. Grant year is October 1, 2018 through September 30, 2019. 
 
"Letters of Intent" are requested from organizations and should be submitted with a brief program description, budget estimates, number of elders / caregivers to be served, estimated service units, and community or communities to be served. The "Letters of Intent" will be screened and the applications for Title III funding will then be issued to appropriate agencies and programs.  
 
The deadline for "Letters of Intent" is 5 p.m. on Thursday, April 12, 2018. The deadline for completed grant application is 5 p.m. on Friday, June 1, 2018. A technical assistance session for prospective applicants will be held on Thursday May 10, 2018 at 10 a.m. at BayPath Elder Services (33 Boston Post Road West, Marlborough, MA 01752).  
 
To attend the technical assistance session, or for further information, contact  Fran Bakstran  at 508-573-7346 or  fbakstran@baypath.org . You can also view the complete description of the grant process  here  (pdf).
Breakfast Treats and 'Toons

It may have been National Nutrition Month, but BayPath managed to sneak in at least one meal for its staff that tipped the scales to the fun (and sugary) side more than the healthy fare we focused on the rest of the month.

As part of Employee Appreciation Week, BayPath provided a nostalgic morning of cereal and cartoons to energize the staff before its workday on March 6.

The sugary treats were lined up for all (left) and staffers (above) enjoyed the respite with a return to youthful days of junk food and cartoons. 
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.
BayPath Elder Services, Inc.| 508-573-7200 | http://www.baypath.org

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