The Home Care Alliance was involved in exhibiting and speaking to seniors about home care services at the 2010 Senior Spectacular in Worcester. The Massachusetts Falls Prevention Coalition was a huge part of the event with an exhibit booth and activities for the seniors in attendance. Below is an introduction to those activities and a Tai Chi demonstration aimed at increasing balance and helping to prevent falls.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NH_q_LnWVrY
Taking care of a loved one who is elderly or disabled is never a simple task, but the Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts aims to make it a little easier with a unique event called Family Caregiver Appreciation Day, which will be held at the Hogan Center at College of the Holy Cross on Tuesday, November 16 from 10:00am to 3:00pm. The all-day event marks November as Family Caregiver Appreciation Month.
The day will include workshops conducted by the Elder & Disability Law Advocates, Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Alzheimer’s Association of Massachusetts, Philips Lifeline, Central Mass. Agency on Aging, Commonwealth Medicine, and Aviv Centers for Living. A critically-acclaimed independent short film titled “The Beautiful Hills of Brooklyn,” which deals with aging issues, will see its first local showing. Attendees will also hear inspirational presentations from a pair of authors who have written about caregiving.
Walgreens Pharmacy will conduct a flu shot clinic, and the MA College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences’ Pharmacy Outreach Program will provide attendees with a ”Medication Check-up” to review meds and answer any questions they have. Caregivers can bring any medications (including prescriptions, over- the-counter medications, vitamins and supplements) they or a loved one currently takes on the day of the event.
Interested agencies can help the Alliance promote the event by distributing this flier to patients, families, and around your local community.
Several agencies have already committed to supporting attendees at the event by donating homemaker/aide hours to a “Free Care For Caregivers” bank to provide respite care that day to allow family caregivers to attend the event. Agencies interested in donating respite care hours should contact Patricia Kelleher as soon as possible!
Agencies can also register family caregiver attendees yourself at your agency and send a single list to us. We would like some form of contact information – either a mailing address or email address – in addition to the names of attendees so we can send confirmations and additional info about the event.
Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.
The Alliance will be exhibiting at the Massachusetts Assisted Living Facilities (Mass-ALFA) Conference tomorrow, distributing Resource Directories and seeking new referral sources for our members.
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Members of the Home Care Alliance are invited to participate in an open teleconference about the CMS proposed rule and to hear an update on the strategies that the Alliance and the National Association for Home Care & Hospice have developed to oppose the negative changes.
The call is scheduled for Tuesday, September 7, 3:00 – 4:30 p.m and Bill Dombi, NAHC’s Vice President for Legal Affairs will participate in the call.
Pre-registration is required. Email Stephanie Drakes at the Alliance to get the call-in information.
Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.
What: 4th Annual Falls Prevention Awareness Day
When: September 22, 10:00am – 12:00pm
Where: Nurses Hall, Massachusetts State House, Boston
Come join the Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts, DPH Commissioner John Auerbach, the MA Executive Office of Elder Affairs, and others for this year’s Falls Prevention Awareness Day. The event will include speakers, a presentation of proclamations from the Massachusetts Senate and on behalf of Governor Deval Patrick and more.
For more information, check out the event flyer and contact the Alliance if you are interested in attending.
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North Shore Elder Services and the Danvers Council on Aging are hosting a conversation with Congressman John Tierney.
When: August 17, 1:30-3:30
Where: Danvers Council on Aging, 25 Stone Street, Danvers
Any person or Home Care Alliance member interested in attending is urged to ask for the Congressman’s support of the following:
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact the Alliance.
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Whether you’re with us in Sturbridge – or anywhere – you can follow the entire conference by following the #CSIMass hashtag on Twitter.
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The Home Care Alliance and Brockton VNA, in cooperation with the Department of Fire Services (DFS), will be holding a free program on Home Oxygen Fire Safety.
The event will be May 5 at the Brockton VNA.
Description:
With shorter hospital stays and an aging population, home oxygen use is increasing. There are also an increasing number of burns, fires and fire deaths from improper home oxygen use.
The presentation by Jennifer Mieth, Public Education Manager for DFS will describe the fire problem, teach about the special fire risks associated with home oxygen use to patients, families, care-givers (such as visiting nurses, respiratory therapists, etc.), neighbors, firefighters and EMTs. It will review new educational tools available as part of an awareness campaign. It will cover the tension between private health issues (smoking) and public safety threats (causing fires and explosions) and how getting people to change their smoking behavior can also lead to the pre-contemplation step of quitting.
CEU’s will be offered and for more information, visit the HCA Calendar of Events.
Anyone wishing to attend should contact Amy Cameron Bennett at the Brockton VNA to register prior to the event at 508-894-5263 or via email at abennett@brocktonvna.org.
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Spring Conference is just around the corner. If you`ve never attended, this is our biggest event of the year, and includes:
In keeping with our technology-orientated Connect, Share, Innovate theme, we’re offering a special discount to our Twitter followers. Just sign in to Twitter, send us an @reply asking for the discount, and we`ll send you a coupon code good for $20 off each registration. It’s a simple and easy way to save on your registration fees and gives you a new way to follow the Alliance and its activities. Even if you’ve already registered for the conference, we`ll send you a refund for the difference.
Want to learn more about the Conference? Just visit its webpage and/or download a brochure. Don`t have a Twitter account or just new to it? It`s easy to use and free to set up. Just download the attached PDF and follow the instructions. Call me if you run into trouble.
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