Apr 17, 2020
Dear Community Providers,
It’s hard to believe that this is our sixth weekly update to our community partners in Rockport, Gloucester, Manchester By The Sea, Esses, Ipswich, Hamilton, Wenham, Topsfield and Beverly. Given the impact to elders, adults with disabilities and caregivers, we want to continue this weekly message so that you stay informed about what is happening at SeniorCare. There is not that much to report this week given what has been reported in the past several weeks of messages. Here are some updates over the past week:
Provider Network
We are having every other week teleconferences with our provider network and am happy to report that at this time, our provider network, especially those that continue to go into homes to provide personal care and the like, reported yesterday that they all now have an adequate supply of personal protection equipment ((PPE) for the safety of their staff and those we serve. This was not the case several weeks ago when everyone was scrambling to find PPE. In addition, our MA HC network of ASAP’s in coordination with the Executive Office of Elder Affairs (EOEA) will soon be making further PPE available to the provider network. SeniorCare is in a good place at the present time and able to provide our Meals on Wheels drivers, Protective Services staff, Money Management Program staff and Medical Transportation Volunteers with what they and elders need to remain safe while these important services are delivered. This week, we were happy to donate 200 N95 masks and some gowns to our partners at Addison Gilbert and Beverly Hospitals. They in turn donated cloth masks to us as they are not allowed to use them in a hospital setting.
Meals on Wheels
IMPORTANT CHANGE FOR NEXT WEEK ONLY: Given the Holiday on Monday, we will not be delivering meals that day nor on Wednesday 4/22. However, recipients have received extra meals today and will also next Tuesday. This week we received additional extra frozen meals and shelf stable meals to maintain our reserves if needing to be deployed. The “grab and go” meals continue at the Rose Baker Center in Gloucester, Beverly Senior Center, and through the Ipswich Senior Center which has seen a significant number of people taking advantage of this service. Other communities such as Hamilton and others have their own systems of making meals/food available in their communities.
Councils On Aging
We continue to have our weekly Friday conferences with our COA partners. It is amazing to see what each Council is doing in their respective communities as well as some of the regional collaborations which are occurring. They deserve a lot of credit.
PPE
As stated above, SeniorCare and our provider network are presently in good shape. Given some of the public health advisories and mandates in some communities, our next step is to determine how to get some masks to our high risk consumers and folks who reside in a housing authority or other congregate housing place. This is particularly true in high rise buildings where in some cases, masks are required in common areas or when one leaves their apartments. This was discussed yesterday with our housing authority partners who we conference with every other week as a group. We have received some cloth masks from a variety of volunteer groups which is much appreciated and which we hope will continue over time,
Home Care Services
In response to COVID-19, the Executive Office of Elder Affairs has approved additional services which will be implemented soon for those enrolled in our home care programs. We are awaiting approval from the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) so that these services can also be utilized for our clients who are on the frail elder waiver. We are hopeful this will occur soon. Some of the new services include telehealth services, new nutrition services, and technology services including care.coach. Care.coach is a 24/7 monitoring system where specially trained health advocates interact both verbally and in text form with clients while utilizing avatar technology to provide wellness coaching, medication and other reminders, and other individually customized functionality based on a person’s wants and needs. Care.Coach also includes the availability of caregivers to be on the same platform, to check in on their loved one, and to receive any needed communications from the health advocates.
That’s it for now. For any elders or caregivers who need assistance or services, please have them contact the office.
REMEMBER: SeniorCare is open for business and our mission to help elders and adults with disabilities to remain home and in their communities remains our top priority. This applies to assisting caregivers as well, many of whom have had to deal with adult day health programs closing, unemployment, child rearing, their own health conditions and the like.
Be safe and thank you for all you do.
Regards,
Scott Trenti
CEO, SeniorCare Inc.