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 added four new members to our team this past month as the agency continues to strive to address the needs of the clients and communities we serve.
Carol Donoghue has come aboard as a Registered Nurse in the AFC program, while Margaret Rooney joins the agency as a PCA Skills Trainer, Allison Goodman is our newest I&R Specialist and Courtney Longo will serve as a Contracts Admin.
Congratulations and welcome aboard.
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COME 2 B Dementia Friendly's Cormier discusses program
BayPath Elder Services is helping several local communities to become dementia friendly through the grass-roots
COME 2 B Dementia Friendly initiative
. Based on the ACT on Alzheimer's Minnesota model, this initiative seeks to help communities become safe, informed and respectful of individuals with dementia and their families and caregivers, as well as providing supportive options that foster quality of life.
COME 2 B Dementia Friendly began work this past year in Marlborough, Hudson and Northborough and will expand to Westborough and Sudbury later this year. Check out COME 2 B Dementia Friendly Communities Coordinator Cindy Cormier and elder law attorney Arthur Bergeron discuss the program in this video.
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BayPath hosting new brain injury support group
The Brain Injury Association of Massachusetts is offering several new support groups for brain injury survivors and their caregivers, including one here at the BayPath Elder Services offices in Marlborough.
That group, for brain injury survivors over 60 and caregivers, will meet the second Wednesday of each month from 2-3:30 p.m. The meetings will be hosted by BayPath at 33 Boston Post Road West, Marlborough, MA and there is plenty of parking available.
Please contact Liz Harnois at 508-475-0032 or [email protected] to register for the group.
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Website wins n4a Aging Innovations Award, placing 2nd nationally
BayPath's Caregiving MetroWest program recently received recognition from the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a) with an
Aging Innovations Award
, the highest honor presented by n4a to member agencies.
The awards program is sponsored by Critical Signal Technologies Your Link to Life (CST-LTL). Caregiving MetroWest was among the top 16 of 46 local aging programs to receive honors during the n4a Annual Conference & Tradeshow, July 24-28, 2016, in San Diego, CA.
BayPath Elder Services earned second-place honors nationally in the Aging Innovations category and a $1,000 prize for its
Caregiving MetroWest website and program.
BayPath Executive Director Christine Alessandro, Caregiver Specialist Alicia Rego and Caregiving MetroWest Program Manager Douglas Flynn were on hand for the conference in San Diego to accept the award and gave a presentation on how BayPath has implemented an innovative and effective approach to caregiver support combining web-, home- and community-based supports.
Caregiving MetroWest reaches record traffic mark after award win
Fresh off placing second nationally in the Aging Innovations Awards at the n4a Conference in San Diego in July, the award-winning Caregiving MetroWest website reached its largest audience of family caregivers yet as it shattered its previous traffic record in its most recent full month.
Between July 16 and August 15, the site was visited by 4,252 unique users, who viewed a combined 8,643 pages on the site.
CaregivingMetroWest.org has now been visited by more than 34,000 unique users with over 112,000 pageviews since in launch in May, 2014.
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BayPath's Senior Care Options and One Care programs are now serving over 1,000 clients
BayPath Senior Care Options and One Care Manager Kate Cosseboom checks in with some exciting news from those programs:
"I can't believe I'm saying it but we have reached 1,000 clients in the SCO/One Care programs and we have actually 'served' over 1,300 clients since I started keeping records a few years ago.
"When I started in the programs it was a few files on the desk, we had no real idea what was expected of us and people thought SCO was a scam. Free health insurance with no co-payments? Free transportation? Enhanced services that can adjust to what I need as I get older and again it's all free?!
"It's evolved immensely over the last several years as we've added the challenging One Care programs to the mix, expanding our clients to include younger adults aged 21-64 and overall have weathered the many changes all the insurance companies asked of us. Many staff have come and gone and every single one of the team has made huge impacts not only for the clients and families we come into contact with every day but the wider community and has ultimately made these highly successful programs.
"I'm proud of the whole BayPath team which also includes all of the SCO and One Care Nurse Case Managers, Navigators, Clinical Program Consultants and more individuals I couldn't possibly name that we partner with and consider our coworkers. We couldn't do any of this alone and they are the best!"
The current SCO/One Care team consists of Cosseboom, Supervisors Angelina Portuense and Una Murphy, GSSCs Amber Wolfgram, Angela Yildiz, Beth Pipes, Bryan Casasanto, Christen Papile, Lilibeth Barclay and Steven Davis, GSSC/LTSC Seveny Fuchu and Admins Lauren Clarke and Sharlene Davidson.
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 Mission Springs celebrates another anniversary in style
Mission Springs celebrated its 19th anniversary on August 17!
Mission Springs has been open since the summer of 1997 as an affordable housing option for folks aged 62 and older.
Lively party entertainment was provided by Tommy Rull, and everyone enjoyed a delicious catered buffet from The Little White Market.
In attendance were BayPath Executive Director Christine Alessandro, Associate Director of Client Services Liz Tretiak and Resident Service Coordinator Julia Schneiderman, who were all observed to be singing along enthusiastically to the great oldies!
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| Longtime Mission Springs resident Betty Smith (left) and Resident Services Coordinator Julia Schneiderman enjoy the supportive housing complex's 19th anniversary celebration. |
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Connecting with the Community
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Outreach efforts help reveal impact BayPath is making in the communities the agency serves
BayPath Area Agency on Aging Assistant Director Fran Bakstran and Options Counselor Courtney Cassels recently attended the Natick Farmers Market to provide information on BayPath programs and services as part of the agency's outreach efforts.
Bakstran noted that there was a great turnout and several people came by just to say "Thank You" for the services and programs that their family members had benefited from.
"It was really nice to hear," said Bakstran. "We also gave out information with the hopes that others may contact us for services."
Cassels was also heartened by the response the BayPath representatives received.
"Like Fran, I agree that it was a great success," said Cassels. "I was very pleased to hear the amount of people who benefited from receiving BayPath services and how appreciative they were. One elderly man spoke about how BayPath was able to help keep his wife home when he thought his only option was nursing home placement. It's the success stories that make it all worth it, right?"
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 Options Counselor Courtney Cassels (left) and AAA Assistant Director Fran Bakstran providing information to the public at the Natick Farmers Market. |
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Adult Foster Care looking to expand program, create more opportunities to live in community
BayPath's Adult Foster Care (AFC) Program has grown tremendously since being introduced less than two years ago, but the agency hopes to serve even more people with this innovative and effective program.
AFC allows for a member with a disability to reside with their caregiver, and for that caregiver to be paid a daily tax-free stipend. Depending on the level of care that the member requires, payment is between $8,800-$18,350 annually.
AFC caregivers are also permitted to charge members room and board at a maximum of $420 per month. BayPath enrolled its first members in 2014. We currently are serving 31 members, most of who are residing with family.
The AFC program also allows for interested caregivers to open their homes to members who are not related. There are, for example, many people residing temporarily in nursing homes solely because they do not have a home or family to care for them.
Potential caregivers must pass a CORI (Criminal Offender Record Information) and other medical requirements, and their home must meet specific regulations as well. Caregivers and members are carefully screened and matched and there are multiple visits and trial overnights before any final decisions are made. Once enrolled, the caregiver and member are also seen monthly by the BayPath AFC team consisting of a nurse and a social worker to provide consistent education and support.
The AFC program at BayPath is excited to expand our offerings to include these non-familial matches. To do so, we must develop a pool
of willing and approved caregivers. Anyone interested should contact BayPath's AFC Program Manager Deborah Arsenault directly at 508-573-7274.
-- Submitted by Deborah Arsenault, AFC Program Manager
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Summer Bash Is a Blast from the Past
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 Right on! BayPath Elder Services held its annual summer staff event on August 18, with a cookout and a Flashback to the 70s themed party.
Groovy times were had by all. Many thanks go out to BayPath's Fun Committee, led by Megan Murphy (in Wonder Woman garb at right making a grab in the water balloon toss, while Liz Tretiak tries to line up a catch of her own), for organizing the far-out festivities, and a special toast of Tab to Amy DeMichele (bottom) for manning the grill and dishing out some righteous hot dogs, hamburgers and veggie burgers. And special praise goes to all the staffers who donned their best 70s threads, including (below, l-r) Shela Charlot and Denisse Gould.
Next year the 80s? Catch you on the flip side!
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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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