Sixty Seconds Newsletter
A Monthly Update from
Senior Resources of West Michigan
An Area Agency on Aging Serving Muskegon, Oceana & Ottawa counties
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Community Resources for COVID-19
CALL 2-1-1 - dial 2-1-1 for health and human services help, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Senior Resources - Call our Long-Term Care Options Counselors at 231-733-3585
Muskegon County:
Oceana County:
Ottawa County:
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Ombudsman advocates for long term care residents
Did you know that there are designated people throughout the state who speak for and on behalf of residents of skilled care facilities? The Michigan Long Term Care Ombudsman program has been in Michigan since 1972 to improve quality of care and life for residents of long term care facilities (nursing homes, homes for the aged, and adult foster care homes).
From the state website:
"Ombudsmen advocate for the resident in the facilities, guided by the wishes of the resident. All services are provided under strict confidentiality. Ombudsmen cannot share information about the resident or the resident’s concerns without the resident’s permission.
"The program also aims to improve the long term care system, speaking for passage of laws, regulations and policies benefiting over 100,000 Michigan long term care residents."
Cindy Evertsen serves as the Long Term Care ombudsman for Muskegon, Oceana, and Ottawa counties. The pandemic has changed the way they do their jobs, but they continue this vital work.
"During the pandemic, the ombudsmen have been doing our jobs remotely, meeting with families and residents via phone or Zoom meetings," Evertsen said. "We continue to advocate for residents' rights in a very difficult time because of the restrictions on visitation. We assist families and staff to interpret the Executive orders. This is very important as sometimes they are open to interpretation and the residents can benefit from an ombudsman's viewpoints.
"I love my job because the residents need advocacy on their behalf even more now that they are so isolated from the outside word."
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New program aims to reduce hospitalizations and ER usage
In the past 10 years, Senior Resources has offered programs to reduce re-admittance to hospitals, with positive outcomes. Problems most commonly seen were related to social determinants of health, as well as medical issues.
"Through the efforts of intense case management and the rapid medical response, the program was shown to be effective in preventing hospitalizations and avoidable ER usage," said Kim Vazquez, medical services administrator at Senior Resources. "This drove our work on Enhanced Care Services."
“We embarked on the idea to hire our own provider and build a service that would create better health outcomes for our participants,” Vazquez said. “With the ability to create medical care plans individualized to each participant, we could use current staff to provide the clinical case management functions with the goal of reducing medical costs. We saw this as advantageous to our current participants and for future endeavors that we were exploring in which medical cost control would be crucial for success.“
Through a grant from the Michigan Health Endowment Fund, Enhanced Care Services for current Senior Resources participants was born.
Enhanced Care Services includes a Nurse Practitioner, who will visit patients in their homes and have ample time to create a care plan with them to address their chronic conditions; the plan is then communicated with the Primary Care Physician. The plan may include case management carried out by the Senior Resources team, and/or remote patient monitoring, among other home and community-based services. An emphasis will be placed on completing advance care planning, addressing behavioral health issues, medication reconciliation and pharmacy review, as well as preventative services.
A Nurse Practitioner is available for patients when they are unable to see their primary provider due to lack of transportation, after hours issues, or no available appointments. Orders for medications will not be made without consult with the primary provider. Telehealth visits with the NP are also readily available, as well as preventative therapies and health education, in-home counseling and cognitive health assessments, a personal emergency response device and 24/7 care, and after-hours emergency response by medical staff.
For more information on this program, call 231-733-3585.
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Energy bill assistance available
DTE and Consumers Energy both have programs to help people with delinquent energy bills, to avoid shut-off. The first step is to call the provider. You can also call 2-1-1 for more information on programs that can assist.
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Dementia Friends sessions offered monthly, remotely
People with dementia sometimes need help going about their daily lives and to feel included in their communities. Dementia Friends works to give people an understanding of dementia, and the small things they can do to make a difference.
Due to the pandemic, we are currently offering Dementia Friends via Zoom video-conferencing. All sessions are one hour.
We will use screen-sharing to go through the workbook, and will send the workbook and Dementia Friend pin out immediately after the session.
September 22, 9 a.m.
October 14, 11 a.m.
November 10, 3 p.m.
December 9, 11 a.m.
For more information, contact Lisa Tyler, ltyler@seniorresourceswmi.org, or 231-733-3509.
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If you suspect someone you know is being abused, call 1-855-444-3911 to report your suspicions, 24-hours per day. Please note that this centralized intake line is for the entire state of Michigan and you may be on hold for some time. In case of emergency, call 9-1-1 to report to your local police department.
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Free resources for seniors, caregivers |
While it is best to remove uneven thresholds, sometimes this is not possible. Instead, paint thresholds that are higher than a half of inch. This will make the threshold stand out visually so that you do not trip over it.
The above information is just one example of helpful hints you can get from Active Daily Living, a free resource for older adults and caregivers, available through the Senior Resources website. It is designed for seniors and/or family members concerned about the physical safety of a loved one. Interactive modules, videos, and weekly newsletters offer no-cost or low-cost tips developed by aging experts to help with activities of daily living.
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Senior Resources of West Michigan Inc
560 Seminole Road
Muskegon, MI 49444
231.733.3585
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