"File of Life" Emergency Access Information   The Council on Aging is working with the Police and Fire Departments to help update information useful to all organizations in care of emergency.   The COA office has the File of Life available to all seniors and family members.  This information should be kept in a place accessible to the Police or Fire Department in case of an emergency.  Information provided should include emergency contacts, nearest family members, medications taken and physician contact phone numbers.  Please call the COA office at 508-651-7859 to receive your File of Life or to provide information that will help the Police and Fire Department personnel help you in an emergency.

Mass MedLine-Affordable Prescription Drugs  Mass MedLine, known as the Pharmacy Outreach Program, is a free programto assist Massachusetts residents in obtaining affordable prescription drugs and information about their medications.  The program is funded by the state and administered through the Executive Office of Elder Affairs.

This program provides the following free services:

• Assistance with finding programs for free or reduced cost medications.

• Direct assistance in enrolling callers into Medicare Drug Plans, State Prescription programs and related financial assistance applications.

• Patient education and medication review from licensed pharmacists.

• Hands-on case management from caring professionals who will assist callers from start to finish.

• Statewide outreach and education programs.

What you should know about Mass MedLine:

• This is a statewide, toll-free help line for prescription information and assistance offering over $10 million in savings for Massachusetts residents each year.

• Mass MedLine is staffed by pharmacists, case managers and client care representatives.

• Mass MedLine is located at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, 25 Foster Street, Worcester, MA.

Questions?   Call toll-free (866)633-1617, Monday through Friday, 8am-6pm.

Bay Path Elder Services  Bay Path Elder Services is a nonprofit organization which has served 14 towns, including Sherborn, since 1977 with programs for the elderly and their families.  With the aging of America, as more and more people live into their 80s and 90s, adult children are pressed into service as caregivers, a task that requires balance with raising their own families and maintaining their careers. The Caregiver Program emphasizes support, education, respite, information and training for those who are given the responsibility, often with little or no preparation, to care for a family member. The Caregiver program is free to all caregivers.  A caregiver must be providing some kind of care to an individual age 60 or older or a person who is age 60 or older who is providing care for a child under age 18.  A Care Advisor or Caregiver Trainer is available to provide one on one support and education to help the caregiver assess the needs and identify options in the community.  Contact Bay Path Elder Services, 354 Waverly Road, Framingham, MA 01702, or call 1(800)267-7284 or (508)872-1866 for more information.

Additionally, Bay Path offers other programs and services for the elderly:

• Home Care:  Case management.  In-home services, including homemaking, home-delivered meals, shopping, personal care, transportation and adult day programs.  A monthly co-payment from the client is based on a sliding scale, according to income.  Enhanced services are available for those who are eligible.  Contact the Sherborn Council on Aging for more information.
• Respite Care:  Short-term Respite Care is designed to relieve the caregiver of some responsibilities. Respite Care is available for those age 60 or older or anyone with a diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease.  Case management.  In-home services including, homemaking, home-delivered meals, shopping, personal care, transportation, in-home companionship and adult day programs.  A monthly co-payment from the client is based on a sliding scale, according to income.  Contact Bay Path or call the Sherborn COA at (508)651-7858.
• Geriatric Care Management:  Private Pay for a professional Geriatric Care Manager to provide in-home assessments, coordination of services, and ongoing monitoring of needs and services.  Contact the Sherborn COA for a list of providers.
• Nursing Home Ombudsman:  Help with resolving concerns of nursing facilities residents, working closely with all area facilities, and coordinating a team of Ombudsman Volunteers.  Contact BayPath for more information.

The Family Caregiver Handbook: Finding Elder Care Resources in Massachusetts  Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology offer an online version of their publication The Family Caregiver Handbook.  The handbook assists family and friends of Massachusetts elders in finding information and assessing services.  Each section addresses questions that caregivers need to ask and answer as they design elder care plans and make elder care choices.  The handbook has a Glossary section which defines unfamiliar terms, and a Directory by city and town to help with finding services nearby. Copy and paste this link into your browser:   http://web.mit.edu/workplacecenter/hndbk/

  Medicare D Prescription Drug Plans  Your senior family member can still join a Medicare Part D plan by enrolling in Prescription Advantage, the pharmacy assistance program.  Medicare allows Prescription Advantage members to join a Medicare plan without having to wait until next November.  Depending on income and the Medicare prescription drug plan chosen, Prescription Advantage may pay all or part of a Medicare prescription drug plan's monthly premium, deductible and drug co-pays.  For more information, please call 1-800-243-4636. 

If your senior is just becoming eligible for Medicare, or if he or she loses health insurance, special rules apply.  If the senior is on a MassHealth plan, he or she can change drug plans any month.

If you need help with any aspect of  health insurance, including Medicare Part D, Prescription Advantage and the Medicare Advantage Plans, call 1-800-AGE-INFO for a confidential  SHINE appointment with a volunteer.  When you get the answering machine, leave your name and number and the volunteer will call you back as soon as possible. 

Vaccines Administered Under Medicare Part D-  Some vaccines are covered under Medicare Part B and some, like the Shingles vaccine, are covered by Medicare Part D.  Medicare Part D usually covers those vaccines not covered under Part B.   If a vaccine is now covered under Part B, it will continue to be covered under Part B.  Medicare Part B currently covers Pneumonia vaccine, Influenza virus vaccine and Hepatitis B vaccine for individuals at high or immediate risk.  As of 2008, all Part D plans are required to cover commercially available vaccines that are not covered under Part B.  However not all vaccines covered by Part D plans will be listed in their formularies.  You should contact your Part D plan about coverage and payment procedure for the vaccine. 

A vaccine may be covered under Part B or Part D.  Hepatitis B vaccine is covered under Part B for immediate or high risk patients.  A beneficiary meeting these criteria would have the vaccine covered under part B.  A beneficiary who did not meet these criteria could obtain the vaccine under Part D.

Payment for administration of vaccines works this way:  If an in-network pharmacy dispenses and administers the vaccine, the pharmacy will bill the Part D plan and collect a co-payment from you.  If the vaccine is administered in a physician's office, the physician will bill you for the entire amount and you will need to submit a paper claim for reimbursement from your plan.

If you need help with your insurance, SHINE offers free counseling.  Call the COA office at 508-651-7858 and ask for a SHINE appointment.  If you prefer, you can contact a SHINE counselor directly by calling (781) 453-8076.  If you get the SHINE answering machine, leave your name and number.  A counselor will return your call. 

SHINE (Serving the Health Information Needs of Elders) is coordinated by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs in partnership with the Massachusetts Councils on Aging and other local agencies.

 AGING IN PLACE IN MASSACHUSETTS  The Sherborn Council on Aging has copies of the first consumer publication to provide a broad overview of high and low tech assistive products and home modifications to foster greater independence in seniors by helping them compensate for limits in functioning, as well products that promote greater safety and reduces risks of falling.  If you are a caretaker looking for home modification products to help with safety, walking, transferring positions, arthritis, bathing and personal care, reading, cooking, telephoning, memory and driving, this booklet will help you find what you need. Additonally, this booklet lists funding sources for assistive products.  To obtain a copy of this free booklet, stop by Sherborn Council of Aging on the lower level of Sherborn Town Hall.

Caring for Elders With Hearing Loss  Hearing loss is a severe disability that affect everyone who is living with it, regardless of gender, race or age.  It affects communication.  For caregivers who have a hearing loss or who are caring for someone with a hearing loss, it makes caregiving even more stressful and demanding.  Additionally, the inability to hear can be a matter of life or death if one cannot hear the smoke detector, the telephone, the alarm, an automobile horn,  or the doorbell.  The Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing has a Technology Demonstration Center that is open to the public by appointment.  The Center features a broad variety of equipment and information to help family caregivers and others discover the many possibilities that exist for living with a hearing loss.  Contact Debra Lobsitz, Information and Referral Specialist at (617) 740-1668 (voice) or (617) 740-1768 (TTY) for more information, or email Debra.Lobsitz@state.ma.us .