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Volume 6 | Issue 11 |
April & May 2015
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The home-delivered meals nutrition program, commonly referred to as Meals on Wheels, is one of the largest Older Americans Act programs, with 40% of the appropriation providing meals service. The program is designed to address problems of food insecurity, encourage socialization, and promote the health and wellbeing of older persons through nutrition and nutrition-related services.
Over the years, federal, state, and local funding cuts along with increased food and transportation costs have resulted in many Meals on Wheels programs cutting back, using waiting lists, and, as a result, reducing both the number of people served and total meals provided. FCHCC has been fortunate not to restrict meals served through Meals on Meals due in large part to the financial support and contributions of our community.
 With the 2015 Meals on Wheels Walkathon on Saturday, May 2, we hope to raise $150,000 to ensure that all those in need of home-delivered meals may receive them without delay, and we need your help. Please join us as a walker, make a pledge, or help spread the word by forwarding this email to a friend.
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Free workshop begins May 5!
My Life, My Health: Living Well with Chronic Conditions
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What:
When:
May 5 to June 9
2 to 4:30 p.m.
Where:
Valley Medical Group
Greenfield, MA
Contact:
Lesley Kayan
Healthy Living Program Coordinator
413-773-5555 x2297
978-544-2259 x2297
My Life, My Health (Chronic Disease Self-Management) is a six-session education program developed by Stanford University. Adults experiencing chronic health conditions such as diabetes, arthritis, hypertension, heart disease, stroke and lung disease, as well as family members, friends and caregivers may attend.
My Life, My Health gives people the tools, skills, confidence and motivation needed to manage the challenges of living well with a chronic condition.
Adults of all ages welcome! Family members and/or caregivers, too!
Brought to you by Franklin County Home Care Corporation, Tufts Health Plan Foundation, and the United Way of Franklin County.
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Get cooking!
With your new cookbook from World Eye Bookshop,
make a tasty meal for you AND a homebound elder!
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Volunteer Meals on Wheels drivers braved ice, snow, and the sting of cold air to bring hot, nutritious, and delicious meals to hundreds of homebound elders across our community all winter long.
Spring is blooming all around us now, but
World Eye Bookshop in Greenfield has not forgotten the dedication of those drivers! To celebrate these volunteers, World Eye is holding a fundraiser for our Meals on Wheels program at the store.
Throughout April, when you visit the shop and pick out a cookbook, World Eye will donate 10% of proceeds to Meals on Wheels.
So stop in this month, pick out your cookbook to whip up some treats for your Walkathon teammates, and join us on May 2.
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This National Volunteer Month,
we honor the priceless gift of volunteering
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All throughout the month of April, hundreds of individuals and families served elders, persons with disabilities, and their caregivers and loved ones in our community by volunteering with FCHCC.
Each week,
Long-Term Care Ombudsman volunteers visit the residents of their assigned long-term care facility, acting as advocates who help ensure quality of life and quality of care for all. They spend just a couple of hours there, hearing resident's concerns, advocating for their rights, and helping resolve their complaints, but their dedication makes a big difference in the lives of the residents.
Joy Page, a resident* of Poet's Seat Health Care Center in Greenfield, values her conversations with Ombudsman Robert Amyot. "I look for him, week after week. It's delightful when I do see him - like an old friend."
If she felt anxiety while discussing a concern with him, Ombudsman Robert assured her that their conversation was confidential. "He just handled it, and it was all well and done. It's very comforting to know that there's someone like this."
"You tell them, 'This is confidential,'" says Ombudsman Robert, "but remind them of their rights. 'Well, you should speak up,' helping and encouraging people to speak up for themselves."
Joy feels that she has become a better advocate for herself. "It opened me up. You used to hardly be able to get any word out of me."
Her whole life, Joy has been "seeking out people I could trust," she says. "This group here: this is it." [
read more]
*
All interactions between Ombudsmen and long-term care residents are confidential. All residents interviewed for this article have given their written consent to share their words and likeness.
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From the Office of the Northwestern District Attorney
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Quick Links
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Search
or call
1-800-AGE-INFO
(1-800-243-4636)
for information
& services for Massachusetts elders, caregivers, persons with disabilities and
their families.
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Here at FCHCC, we offer many different programs and services designed to meet your unique needs.
Think of us as the guide to what you need. We don't know all of the answers, but we know who to ask. If we can't help you, we'll tell you who can. It all starts with the Information & Caregiver Resource Center. Call
413-773-5555
or
978-544-2259
during normal business hours or email
[email protected]
anytime.
Sincerely,
Roseann Martoccia
Franklin County Home Care Corporation
 
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