Mountain Views News          Saturday, February 6, 2016

THE GOOD LIFE

11

Mountain Views-News Saturday, February 6, 2016 

SENIOR HAPPENINGS

CHOOSING A HOSPICE CARE PROGRAM


Dear Savvy Senior:

Can you offer any information on hospice care, how to 
choose a good provider, and whether Medicare covers 
it? My grandmother has terminal cancer and wants to 
die at home, if possible.

Grieving Granddaughter

Dear Grieving:

Hospice can be a wonderful option in the last months 
of life because it offers a variety of services, not only 
to those who are dying, but also to those left behind. 
Here’s what you should know.

What Hospice Offers

Hospice care is a unique service that provides medical 
care, pain management, and emotional and spiritual 
support to people who are in the last stages of a 
terminal illness – it does not speed up or slow down 
the process of dying. Hospice’s goal is to simply keep 
the patient as comfortable and pain-free as possible, 
with loved ones nearby until death.

 The various services provided by a hospice program 
comes from a team of professionals that works 
together to accommodate all the patients’ end-of-life 
needs.

 The team typically includes hospice doctors that 
will work with the primary physician and family 
members to draft up a care plan; nurses who dispense 
medication for pain control; home care aids that 
attend to personal needs like eating and bathing; 
social workers who help the patient and the family 
prepare for end of life; clergy members who provide 
spiritual counseling, if desired; and volunteers that 
fill a variety of niches, from sitting with the patient to 
helping clean and maintain their property. 

 Some hospices even offer massage or music 
therapy, and nearly all provide bereavement services 
for relatives and short-term inpatient respite care to 
give family caregivers a break. 

 Most hospice patients receive care in their own 
home. However, hospice will go wherever the patient 
is – hospital, nursing home or assisted living residence. 
Some even have their own facility to use as an option.

To receive hospice, your grandmother must get a 
referral from her physician stating that their life 
expectancy is six months or less.

 It’s also important to know that home-based hospice 
care does not mean that a hospice nurse or volunteer 
is in the home 24 hours a day. Services are based on 
need and/or what you request. Hospice care can also 
be stopped at anytime if your grandmother’s health 
improves or if she decides to re-enter cure-oriented 
treatments.

How to Choose

The best time to prepare for hospice and consider your 
options is before it’s necessary, so you’re not making 
decisions during a stressful time. There are more than 
5,500 hospice programs in the U.S., so depending on 
where you live, you may have several options from 
which to choose. 

 To locate a good hospice in your area, ask your 
grandmother’s doctor or the discharge planner at 
your local hospital for a referral, call your state hospice 
organization (see hospicefoundation.org/hospice-
directory for contact information), or search online 
at sites like the National Hospice and Palliative Care 
Organization at nhpco.org.

 When choosing, look for an established hospice 
that has been operating for a few years and one that 
is certified by Medicare. To help you select one, the 
American Hospice Foundation provides a list of 
questions to ask at 16HospiceQuestions.us.

Who Pays

Medicare covers all aspects of hospice care and 
services for its beneficiaries. There is no deductible for 
hospice services although there may be a very small 
co-payment – such as $5 for each prescription drug 
for pain and symptom control, or a 5 percent share for 
inpatient respite care. Medicaid also covers hospice in 
most states, as do most private health insurance plans.

 For more information, see the “Medicare Hospice 
Benefits” online booklet at medicare.gov/pubs/
pdf/02154.pdf. And if you have financial questions or 
concerns, talk to your hospice provider. Most hospices 
offer financial assistance to help families in need.

 Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 
5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. 
Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and 
author of “The Savvy Senior” book.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY! …February Birthdays*

Hilda Pittman, Anne-Marie Stockdale, Ann Luke, Susan Henderson, Jan Reed, 
Peter Lippincott, Georgia Lippincott, Allie Attay, Ursula El-Tawansy, Gladys Moser, 
Sylvia Lorhan, Jan O’Day, Ana Ptanski, Winifred Swanson , Marian DeMars, Vickie 
Vernon, Mary Beth Knox, Sharon Lefler, Gordon Caldwell. * To add your name to 
this distinguished list, please call the paper at 626.355.2737. YEAR of birth not required

...................................................................

ACTIVITIES: Unless listed differently, all activities are at 
the Hart Park House (Senior Center) 222 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra 
Madre

 

 

 ACTIVITIES AT THE SENIOR CENTER

 YWCA San Gabriel Valley - Intervale Senior Cafe 

Seniors 60 years of age and up can participate in the YWCA Intervale daily lunch program held 
at the Hart Park House Senior Center. Meals are served Monday through Friday at 12:00 pm 
and participants are encouraged to arrive by 11:45 am. Meals are a suggested donation of $3.00 
for seniors 60 and over or $5.00 for non-senior guests. Daily reservations are necessary, space is 
limited. Please reserve your lunch by calling 626-355-0256.

Tech Talk: Held on Monday, January 25th from 1:30-2:30pm. Learn how to use your new 
technology devises. Please reserve your space with the Hart Park House by calling 626-355-7394. 

 

Hawaiian and Polynesian Dance Class: Every Tuesday morning from 10am to 11am. Join 
instructor Barbara Dempsey as she instructs you in the art of hula. 

 

Bingo: Every Tuesday beginning at 1:00pm. Cards are only $0.25 each! Everyone is welcome to 
join. May be canceled if less than 5 people. 

 

Free Blood Pressure Testing: 2nd Tuesday of the month from 11am to 12pm. No appt. is 
necessary. 

 

Brain Games: Thursday, January 21st, 10:30am - 11:30am, improve your memory and strengthen 
your brain. Activities facilitated by Hugo, Community Liaison for New Wave Home care of 
Pasadena. 

 

Free Legal Consultation: Wednesday, January 27th from 10:30am to Noon. Attorney Lem 
Makupson is available for legal consultation. He specializes in Family Law, Wills, Trusts, Estates, 
and Injury. Appointment are required by calling 626-355-7394. 

Balance Class: No Balance Class due to Martin Luther King Holiday. 

 

Chair Yoga: Mondays and Wednesdays from 11:00 to 11:45 am. A suggested donation of $5 at one 
of the classes is requested, but is not required. 

 

Case Management: Meets the 2nd Thursday of the month. Case Management services are 
provided by the YWCA and provide assistance in a variety of areas. Appointments are required 
and can be scheduled by calling the HPH Office at 626-355-7394. 

 

Birthday Celebrations: Every second Thursday of the month at the Hart Park House. The free 
birthday cake is provided by the Sierra Madre Civic Club. 

 

Game Day: Every Thursday starting at 12:00pm. (Please note the time change.) A regular group of 
seniors play poker. Other games available for use. 

 

Free Strength Training Class: Every Friday from 12:45pm to 1:30pm with Lisa Brandley. The class 
utilizes light weights for low impact resistance training. All materials for the class are provided. 

 

Senior Club: Every Saturday at the Hart Park House Senior Center. Brown bag lunch at 11:30am. 
Club meeting at noon. Bingo 12:30-3:30pm. Annual Membership is only $10.00. 


KATIE Tse.....................This and That

THE COLONOSCOPY PILL --YOU READ 
IT HERE FIRST!

 Two years ago I wrote about an epiphany I had after listening to yet another 
horror story of someone’s colonoscopy gone amuck. I brought you... the colonoscopy 
pill! Instead of snaking a probe down the body, contrary to its natural design, why 
not swallow a probe to scope out the digestive tract as part of normal digestion? I 
envisioned a pill with a camera that could be ingested, “collected,” and analyzed resulting in the full 
picture of one’s colon in glorious Technicolor! I thought for sure that I was the first person to come 
up with this idea.

 I was both glad and surprised when I read 
that “Given Imagining” has already designed 
these small wonders, and they’ve been used in 
the U.S. since 2001. More recently, The Daily 
Mail published an article stating “Colonoscopies 
to be replaced by a camera that comes in a PILL 
as FDA green lights revolutionary treatment!” 
My happiness over this non-invasive option 
outweighed my disappointment upon realizing 
that I wasn’t the first to think of it.

 However, there are still a host of painful medical 
procedures that need revision. The mammogram 
comes to mind. The screenings are routinely 
ordered when women turn 40. However, 
mammograms aren’t all that they’re cracked up 
to be. The imaging isn’t very clear, and every 
time you get squeezed you’re being exposed to 
radiation (which increases your risk of developing 
cancer, ironically). And if you’ve survived breast 
cancer, you can expect to be prescribed a few extra 
mammograms every year just for good measure.

 It was during a conversation my Mom and I were having regarding iPads and smart phones that 
she came up with the idea of the mammogram app. (She and I know as much about technology as we 
do about brain surgery --diddly squat!) I mentioned that one of my husband’s friend’s phone could 
check his pulse, temperature, and blood pressure (okay, maybe not all that, but definitely his pulse!). 
“Why don’t they have phones that do ultrasounds?” she suggested. 

 Although I’ve never undergone a mammogram, this alternative sounded great to me! Just gel up 
your mobile device and slowly massage it over the area of concern. Heck, maybe the phone could 
even heat up to make the process less uncomfortable. If the app detected anything amiss, a buzzer 
could sound off like a smoke alarm warning you of a possible foreign body.

 Not to stop short at the detection level, my Mom further imagined that a radar beam could project 
from the phone and zap any tumor using nano-technology. At this point we really didn’t know what 
we were talking about, but it still sounded better than being subjected to a scope, vise grip, or scalpel.

 While I doubt that our medical brainchild will soon be coming to an app store near you, you must 
agree it has potential! I applaud the creators of the colonoscopy pill and encourage all you techie 
geniuses to hurry up and invent the mobile mammogram and the nano lumpectomy. If a phone can 
read your heart rate at the press of a finger, there’s no reason it can’t find a lump in your soft tissue. 

Remember, you read it here first! 


SHARE SOME 

GOOD NEWS! 

 “The Kindness of Strangers” feature encourages 
readers to share their stories. I can assure you, they 
will be uplifting especially in contrast to all the the 
challenges and issues we have to deal with daily. So, 
if you have something you would like to share, please 
submit it to: editor@mtnviewsnews.com. It doesn’t matter where you were or when it happened. 
Share your good expeiences in hope that it might bring a little joy and/or inspire someone.

 

-Susan Henderson, Editor/Publisher MVNews


626-355-5700245 West Sierra Madre BlvdSierra Madre, CA 91024www.TheKensingtonSierraMadre.comRCFE License198601953At first, Dad and I didn’tsee eye to eye about moving toThe Kensington, but sincehe did, we’re both thrilledLimited Senior Living Suites Still AvailableCall or Visit to Reserve Yours Today
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