Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, August 26, 2023

11

Mountain Views-News Saturday, August 26, 2023 


SAFE PATH FOR SENIORS

Steve Sciurba, Senior Placement Specialist 

There are many reasons in working with Safe Path 

for Seniors, we will assess your loved ones and make

recommendations depending on care needs and 
budget. 

With our many years of experience, we will make an

informed recommendation. 

We work with large communities to the small 6-bed, 

board & care residential homes.

You will tour with an experienced consultant who will 

work with you through the entire process. from selecting 
the right living environment to all of the necessary 
paperwork involved.

The good news is that there is no cost for this service.

If you have any questions about placing a loved one, 
visit our web site:

www.safepathforseniors.com 

or call Steve at 626-999-6913

SENIOR HAPPENINGS

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! …AUGUST Birthdays*

Nancy Beckham, Karlene Englert, Juanita Fernandez, Jeanette Francis, 
Joseph Kiss, Jacquie Pergola, Pat Miranda, Jerry Burnett, Margaret Aroyan, 
Phyllis Burg, Beverly Clifton, Rosemary Morabito, Susan Poulsen, Joy Barry, 
Marcia Bent, Joan Spears, Ruth Torres, Jane Zamanzadeh. Helen Stapenhorst, 
Chandy Shair, Heidi Hartman, Erma Gutierrez, Margaret Switzer

 * To add your name to this distinguished list, please call the paper at 626.355.2737. YEAR 
of birth not required 


SENIOR CLUB Every Saturday at Noon Hart Park House

Open to all seniors 50+ Fun - Games - And More! Call Mark at 626-355-3951 

TEA AND TALK BOOK CLUB

Wednesday, 7/12 and 7/26 9:00 am Hart Park House

Tea and Talk, meets twice a month to discuss the fun, suspense, intrigue, love and so 
much more that each selection will have in store! Call Lawren 626-355-5278 for 

current selection and feel free to join at any time.

HULA AND POLYNESIAN DANCE

 BEGINNERS - Every Thursday 10-11:00 am

 INTERMEDIATE Every Friday 10-11:00 am

Bring a lei, your flower skirt or just your desire to dance! Hula in the Park is back and 
waiting for you to join in on all the fun! Memorial Park Covered Pavilion.

CHAIR YOGA

Every Monday and Wednesday 10-10:45 am

Please join us for some gentle stretching, yoga, balance exercise and overall relaxation 
with Paul. Classes are ongoing and held in the Memorial Park Covered Pavilion or the 
Hart Park House. 

HOW SENIORS CAN SAVE ON PRESCRIPTION DRUG COSTS


Dear Savvy Senior:

I take several medications for multiple health conditions 
and the prices keep going up, even with my Medicare 
prescription drug insurance. Can you recommend 
any tips that can help cut my costs? Tapped Out Tina

Dear Tina:

The high cost of prescription drugs is an ongoing problem that stings everyone, but it usually affects 
seniors more because they have a greater need for medications and because Medicare doesn’t 
cover all their drug costs. 

While the Inflation Reduction Act, that was signed into law last year, will help seniors save on 
their medications by negotiating lower drug prices and caping out-of-pocket spending at $2,000, 
it will be a few years before the law is fully enacted. In the meantime, here are some different 
strategies that can help reduce your costs so you can afford what you need. 

Talk to your doctor: A good first step is to review your medications once a year with your doctor 
to find out if any of them can be stopped or reduced. If you’re taking any brand-name drugs check 
to see if they are available in a cheaper generic form. Also, for any drugs you’re taking long-term 
ask your doctor for a cheaper three or six-month prescription, versus a one month. And find out if 
any of the pills you’re taking can be cut in half. Pill splitting allows you to get two months’ worth 
of medicine for the price of one. If you do this, you’ll need to get a prescription for twice the dosage 
you need. 

Review your insurance: Carefully review your drug coverage during the open enrollment period, 
which runs Oct. 15 – Dec. 7 for Medicare beneficiaries. Make sure all your regular medications 
are covered in the plan’s formulary; that your current pharmacy is in the plan’s network; and that 
your plan covers additional medication coverage in the gap. To shop and compare Medicare prescription 
drug plans go to Medicare.gov/plan-compare. 

Pay cash: Not using insurance for prescriptions seems counterintuitive, but in some cases, it may 
save you money. For example, many chain pharmacies and big-box stores like Walmart and Costco 
have their own prescription savings programs that may be lower than your insurance copayment. 
Or you can use coupons through GoodRx.com or RxSaver.com that can save you up to 80 
percent off the list price of generic and some brand-name drugs in certain pharmacies.

Shop online: You can also save on regularly used medications by having them sent to you from 
a mail-order pharmacy. Check with your health insurer or regular pharmacy to see whether it 
will get you a better deal. If not, check online pharmacies like CostPlusDrugs.com or HoneybeeHealth.
com. With these, you may spend less in some cases than you might with insurance.

Buy from Canada: Because prescription drugs are often much cheaper north of the border, many 
Americans have chosen this option for years. While this is technically illegal in most states, the 
Food and Drug Administration generally does not stop people from doing it. If you want to explore 
this option use PharmacyChecker.com, an online tool that will help you identify reputable 
Canadian and international online pharmacies.

Get more help: If your income is limited, you may also be able to get help through Medicare’s 
Extra Help program (Medicare.gov/basics/costs/help/drug-costs), your state pharmaceutical assistance 
program (Medicare.gov/plan-compare/#/pharmaceutical-assistance-program/states) or 
patient assistance programs (Medicare.gov/pharmaceutical-assistance-program). Visit each website 
to see if you’re eligible and to apply.

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.


OUT TO PASTOR 

A Weekly Religion Column by Rev. James Snyder

WHAT'S SO BAD ABOUT A KNUCKLEHEAD?

As I got older, the least 
little thing brought back 
memories from a lifetime 
ago. From some of the 
memories, I must have had an incredible 
boyhood. Too bad I can't live it again. I 
might improve those memories. Who 
knows.

For some reason, I remembered the word 
"knucklehead." I'm not sure if it's still being 
used today, but it was back when I 
was young.

One memory I have is my mother saying, 
"Are you acting like a knucklehead 
or what?"

I was surprised that my mother noticed 
my thespian skills. I'm anxious to appear 
on Broadway soon.

One time, I asked her what a knucklehead 
was. She stared at me as usual and 
said, "Go into the bathroom and look in 
the mirror."

I was afraid to do that because I did not 
understand what she meant and was 
fearful of what I might find.

My mother and father often would 
say, "Would you stop acting like a 
knucklehead?"

Not knowing what they meant and not 
knowing what a knucklehead was, how 
can I stop what I don't know I've started?

At the time, I thought my parents were 
making this up. I thought it was their 
way of manipulating me to do what they 
wanted. After all, isn't that what parents 
are supposed to do? It was working with 
me.

When they started calling me this, I 
had some negative feelings. But the 
more they called me this, the happier 
I became. What's so bad about being a 
knucklehead?

I learned quite a lot about being a knucklehead 
when I was young, which has enabled 
me to have more fun than I did 
then. I don't think being a knucklehead 
is that bad. There are some good aspects 
to it.

Watching the news and seeing what's 
happening in our country today, being 
a knucklehead would be several steps up 
the ladder of sanity.

Most politicians today do not rise to 
the level of being a knucklehead. And 
I'm unanimous in this. A knucklehead 
would sure be an improvement.

I don't remember what I was doing the 
other day because my day was all over 
the place, and nothing seemed to work. 
No matter what I did, the more my day 
fell apart. I was about to retire for the day 
and call it quits when The Gracious Mistress 
of the Parsonage approached and 
said, "Are you acting like your mama's 
knucklehead?"

That incident reminded me of all those 
things about being a knucklehead. Somebody 
needs to write a book on acting like 
a knucklehead. It must take a lot of skill 
and talent to "act" like a knucklehead.

I am surprised The Gracious Mistress 
of the Parsonage saw all those thespian 
skills in me that my parents did. It's not 
that I've been trying to keep it a secret; I 
didn't think she was noticing.

How can you get through life the way it 
is today if you don't have some level of 
knucklehead-itis?

I had a few days to think about this and 
concluded that acting like a knucklehead 
does great good in a person's life. For example, 
if somebody thinks I'm "acting 
like a knucklehead," they don't think I'm 
as bad as I am. After all, it is just an act. 
Right?

I was out for lunch the other day, and 
looking at my menu, I couldn't think 
of what I wanted. Usually, The Gracious 
Mistress of the Parsonage does the 
choosing. Everything looked great, but 
I wasn't hungry and needed to decide 
what to order.

The waitress asked if she could help me 
and what she could get me for lunch. I 
just stared at her.

Looking at me in confusion, she asked, 
"Is everything all right? Is there anything 
I can do to help?"

"No," I said, looking back at my menu, 
"I'm just having a knucklehead spasm."

"I don't know what that is. Do you have 
them often?"

Looking back at her with a smile, I replied, 
"Only when I'm awake."

At the time, she didn't know if I was joking 
or falling off my rocker. That is the 
best way I found to keep a person who's 
serving you at attention. Most people 
seem to be afraid of knuckleheads.

It seemed like I was getting away with it 
for a while, and then The Gracious Mistress 
of the Parsonage came. She asked if 
I could go with her to the shopping mall.

I responded, "I can't right now because 
I'm acting like a knucklehead and I need 
the time."

Then she sparked, "I don't think you are 
acting right now." That's all she said. Believe 
me, I wasn't sure how to take that.

She says I'm acting like a knucklehead 
at one time, and then the next time, she 
tells me I'm not acting. Oh boy. If I wasn't 
a knucklehead, I really wouldn't be able 
to handle this.

As I thought about this, a Bible verse 
came to mind. Provers 3:5-7, "Trust in 
the Lord with all thine heart; and lean 
not unto thine own understanding. In all 
thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall 
direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine 
own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from 
evil."

When I try to solve my problems my 
way, it never works out. Sooner or later, 
it falls apart. Learning to trust God in all 
things is the way to victory in all things.

Dr. James L. Snyder lives in Ocala, 
FL with the Gracious Mistress of the 
Parsonage. 

DISPELLING COMMON 
MISCONCEPTIONS 
ABOUT HOSPICE CARE

(StatePoint) Hospice is intended to provide 
comfort and support to patients at the end of 
their life so that they can experience their remaining 
time in the best ways possible. Experts 
say that unfortunately, misconceptions about 
hospice often lead people to make uninformed 
decisions at a critical, complex juncture in their 
lives.

“There is often an idea that hospice equates to 
giving up. But hospice is actually about taking 
control,” says Paul Mastrapa, president and 
chief executive officer of Interim HealthCare 
Inc. “It’s the job of the hospice team to understand 
what a patient’s goals for end-of-life care 
are, and help them live that last trajectory of 
their life the way they want to.”

To help patients, their caregivers and family 
members, and those in the healthcare industry 
better understand the services and benefits hospice 
provides, Interim HealthCare is dispelling 
some of the most common misconceptions:

Myth: Hospice means giving up.

Fact: The primary goal of hospice is delivering 
comfort, support and specialized medical 
care to those ready to forgo curative treatment. 
Research has shown that a person who spends 
time on hospice has a greater quality of life at 
the end of their life. And while the goal is not to 
prolong life, there are statistics that show that 
hospice gives patients more time compared to 
patients who had the same disease trajectory 
and didn’t receive hospice.

Myth: Hospice is only appropriate for the last 
few days of life.

Fact: Hospice can actually last for months, and 
entering hospice sooner rather than later translates 
to fewer hospitalizations, better symptom 
relief and greater comfort.

Myth: You must give up all your medications.

Fact: While the hospice care team will make 
recommendations about which medications are 
still beneficial to a patient at their stage of illness, 
patients and families get the final say.

Myth: Hospice is a place.

Fact: Hospice can entail in-patient care, but 
more typically, services are delivered wherever 
a patient calls home. The nurse, social worker, 
spiritual care provider, aide and other members 
of the hospice care team meet the patient where 
they are, be that in a residential home, an assisted 
living community or in another institutional 
setting.

Myth: Hospice is only for patients with specific 
diseases.

Fact: Anyone with a life-limiting chronic disease, 
from congestive heart failure to pulmonary 
disease to Alzheimer’s, can choose hospice.

Myth: Hospice ends when the patient dies.

Fact: Hospice providers often offer support to 
those who have lost a loved one. In the case of 
Interim HealthCare, bereavement services are 
offered for 13 months.

Myth: Hospice work is draining.

Fact: When done right, hospice work can be extremely 
rewarding. Hospice care workers help 
patients and families find peace of mind, and 
reach a place of acceptance during a complicated 
and emotional time in their lives. Hospice 
workers believe in the mission of providing 
compassionate, patient-centric medical care 
and support to those at the end of their life, and 
they’re given a voice in the individualized care 
they provide.

The hospice market is the second-fastest growing 
healthcare segment nationwide, according 
to Bank of America research, which translates 
to a growing number of job opportunities. Hospice 
providers are currently recruiting candidates 
just starting out in their career and those 
looking to make a change. To learn more, visit 
careers.interimhealthcare.com.

For more information about hospice care services 
for yourself or a family member, visit 
https://www.interimhealthcare.com/services/
hospice/.

“Although people don’t always feel comfortable 
talking about end-of-life care, having these 
conversations can ensure one’s final days are 
peaceful and fulfilling,” says Mastrapa.


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com