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 Mountain Views News Saturday, May 4, 2024 

FREE ASSISTED LIVING PLACEMENT SERVICE

 

 Discover the perfect assisted living community with 
Safe Path for Seniors. Our compassionate advisors 
specialize in assisting individuals with unique needs. 
Benefit from our extensive network and affordable 
options. Plus, we offer personalized tours to help you 
explore each community firsthand. Call (626) 999-
6913 or visit www.safepathforseniors.com for free 
assistance.


SENIOR HAPPENINGS

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! …MAY BIRTHDAYS*

Beth Copti, Marilyn Diaz, Anne Schryver, Jo Ann Williams, Paul Hagan, Lenore 
Crilly Joann Serrato-Chi, Harriett Lyle, Jean Coleman, Birgitta Gerlinger, 
Luciana Rosenzweig, Linda Wochnik, Marian Woodford, Debbie Sheridan, 
Joanne Anthony, Carole Axline, Kika Downey, Shirley Hall, Janet Ten Eyck, 
Jane Thomas, Ray Burley, Bridget Flanagan,Donna Mathisen,Vicky Ryan,

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


Courtesy Safe Path For Seniors

CELEBRATING VOLUNTEERISM & ITS IMPACT ON OUR 
COMMUNITY

By Katie Brandon, Executive Director, Pasadena Village

April was Volunteer Appreciation Month and an opportunity for nonprofit organizations to 
recognize the expertise, time, and dedication of volunteers. Did you know most volun-teers 
are older adults? According to Americorp, 30% of Boomers volunteer and 25% of The Silent 
Generation volunteer every year. Younger people volunteer at about the same rate but older adults 
give almost twice the amount of hours as younger volunteers. Vol-unteering supports the work of 
organizations, but also helps individuals build community and combat isolation.

The nonprofit Pasadena Village celebrated Volunteer Appreciation Month with a lunch and awards 
program on April 17 to honor the many volunteers that create the supportive environment where 
aging-in-place older adults can connect and thrive. And, naturally, the event owed its success to 
volunteers! The celebration was possible due to the support and generosity of the Rotary Club of 
Altadena, who served a lovely buffet lunch to over 60 in attendance. 

Awards of Exceptional Service were given to volunteers Bridget Brewster, Dan Guerrero, LuCinda 
Haagenson, Jane Hufnagel, who contributed to Pasadena Village's spirit of mu-tual support, 
enrichment and inclusiveness. Their awards stated, “Members of the village and the greater 
community have benefited immensely from [their] service, dedication, creativity, leadership, and 
compassion.” 

In addition to individual contributions, exemplary Volunteer Teams were recognized for their 
contributions. The Village Visitors Team regularly visit older adults in their homes, making 
connections, and reducing isolation. Suzi Hoge, head of the visitor team, shared gratitude for the 
Visitors who give genuine care and attention as they visit family 
caregivers, those who are less mobile, and others who might just prefer the com-fort of visits in 
their own homes. The Editorial Team was lauded by Bridget Brewster for their contributions as 
writers for the monthly newsletter. 

If you are interested in volunteering as a visitor, writer, driver, IT helper, or want to learn more ways 
to contribute to enhancing the lives of fellow older adults in our community, contact Volunteer 
Coordinator Priyanka Kumar at priyanka@pasadenavillage.org or call 626-765-6037.


HOW TO FIND A GOOD DOCTOR


Dear Savvy Senior:

Can you recommend some good resources to help me 
locate some quality doctors in my area? I’m looking for an 
orthopedic doctor for my 77-year-old mother and a new 
internist for me, since my doctor retired last year.

Searching Susan

Dear Susan:

Finding and researching doctors is a lot easier than it used to be. Today, there are variety of websites 
you can turn to that provide databases of U.S. doctors, their professional medical histories, and 
ratings and reviews from past patients on a number of criteria. Here are some good sites to help 
you get started, along with a few additional tips that can help you find the right doctors.

Searching Tips

To help you locate some good doctors in your area, a good first step is to get referrals from trusted 
friends, along with any doctors, nurses or other healthcare professionals you know. 

You also need to check your insurance provider. Call your insurer for a list of approved doctors 
or ask whether the doctor you’re considering is in-network. 

If your mother is enrolled in original Medicare, you can use the care compare tool at Medicare.
gov/care-compare – click on “Doctors & Clinicians.” This will let you find doctors by name, 
medical specialty or by geographic location that accept original Medicare. If she’s enrolled in a 
Medicare Advantage plan, call or visit the plan website to get a list of approved candidates.

Once you find a few doctors, you need to call their office to verify that they still accept your 
insurance, and if they are accepting new patients. 

You should also consider hospital affiliation. Your choice of doctor can determine which hospital 
you go to, if needed, so find out where the doctor has admitting privileges. Then use some hospital 
ratings services like Medicare.gov/care-compare (click on “Hospitals”) to see how it compares 
with other hospitals in the area. 

Researching Doctors

After you find a few doctors you’re interested in, there are various websites you can consult, 
to help you evaluate them. For example, the Federation of State Medical Boards offers a tool at 
DocInfo.org that will let you find out doctor’s board certifications, education, states with active 
licenses, and whether or not a physician has been disciplined by a state medical board. 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS Data) is also a good source for researching 
doctors. For example, it will help you find out how many times a doctor did a particular procedure 
and what they charge for it – go to Data.CMS.gov/tools and click on “Medicare Physician & Other 
Practitioner Look-up Tool.” And to learn about the financial relationship that doctors have with 
drug and medical device companies, visit OpenPaymentsData.CMS.gov. 

Some other good sites for finding and researching healthcare professionals include Healthgrades 
(healthgrades.com) and Vitals (vitals.com). 

Both sites provide substantial doctor’s information on education and training, hospital affiliations, 
board certification, awards and recognitions, professional misconduct, disciplinary action, office 
locations and accepted insurance plans. 

They also offer 5-star ratings scales from past patients on issues such as communication and 
listening skills, wait time, time spent with the patient, office friendliness and more. But be aware 
that while physician rating websites can be helpful, they can also be misleading and unreliable. 

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

DANCING IN MY PAJAMAS

After 2 ½ weeks of being sick with many days in bed, I have come 
to appreciate what some people go through when they have a severe 
sickness. My sickness wasn’t that devastating. It just sucked the energy 
out of me and caused me a lot of coughing and sneezing.

 I barely had enough energy to get out of bed, walk to the living room, and sit in 
my easy chair for my morning cup of coffee. I paused for a few moments to catch my 
breath after that strenuous trip.

Because of my sickness, I had to go to the bathroom at least five times during the day. 
I had to run to the bathroom and slowly walk back to my easy chair, which took a lot 
of energy.

 I do remember my grandmother’s home in the mountains of Pennsylvania. They 
didn’t have in-door plumbing and used an outhouse in their backyard. Who knows 
what an outhouse is today?

 If you had to go to the bathroom at night, she put something out in the hallway, 
which she called a “potty pot.” I was thinking about that the other day and almost 
asked The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage if that would be a good idea during my 
sickness.

 After considering that idea, I had enough energy to erase it from my mind and just 
race back and forth during those potty trips.

During this time, I never left the house, I didn’t have enough energy to change out of 
my pajam-as and get into my pants. I’ve never been in my pajamas for so long, but of 
course, I didn’t real-ize what I was doing at the time.

 Once, when I had to get up from the easy chair and run back to the bathroom, 
The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage looked at me and said, “Is that your pajama 
dance?”

 I had no time to stop and respond, or serious consequences would occur.

When I got back from the bathroom and passed the kitchen area, I could see The 
Gracious Mis-tress of the Parsonage smiling. I wanted to respond to her, but at the 
time, I didn’t have the ener-gy. I could either respond to her or make it to my easy 
chair. I took the latter.

 Those bathroom trips aren’t fun by any stretch of the imagination, and believe me; 
my imagina-tion was stretched to its limit.

I’m not sure how many pajama dances I did during my sickness, and I’m not sure if I 
have per-fected them yet. I did what was necessary to get through the situation.

 I perfected a “Woozy Waltz” but didn’t have the energy to explain it to The Gracious 
Mistress of the Parsonage. Maybe one day I could enter the “Dancing with the 
Star-Blazers.”

 One thing I remember during that time is that I could not remember what day of the 
week it was. I didn’t know when I got up in the morning if it was morning, afternoon, 
or evening. I had to rely upon The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage to tell me what 
time it was and where in the world I was.

 The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage brought me breakfast, and by the time I ate 
the last crumb, I didn’t remember if it was breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

I couldn’t remember anything, so I thought of something. It’s a wonder I had the 
energy to think of anything then, but I did.

 With my trouble remembering, how did I know what I was eating? Could it be, 
and I thought about this, that without my knowing it, The Gracious Mistress of the 
Parsonage snuck a piece of broccoli onto my plate?

The more I thought about it, the more confused I got. Certainly, she could not sneak a 
slice of broccoli when I was in good health, but maybe this was an opportunity she’d 
been looking for.

 I thought about this, and my wife asked, “What are you thinking about?”

I knew I could not tell her exactly what I was thinking, so I said, “I’m just thinking 
about what I had for lunch this afternoon.”

 What worried me was that she giggled one of those mysterious giggles when I said 
that. I did not know what to think about that.

If I ask her about that, she could say, “Ha ha, I got you with that one.”

 That was the last thing I want to hear before bed that night.

Not long after that, my memory improved and returned to normal. I was happy about 
that. I no-ticed every time The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage brought me a plate 
of food, she was giggling. I was tempted to ask her what she was giggling about, but I 
just wasn’t going to give her the opportunity to tell me.

 In my devotions this morning I read, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not 
dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will 
uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness” (Isaiah 41:10).

 Thinking about this verse I was reminded how sickness brings a state of fear in my 
life. That fear tricks me into thinking I all alone in this situation. This verse reminds 
me that God is with me. When I trust my problem to the Lord He is faithful and gets 
me through it victoriously.

Dr. James L. Snyder lives in Ocala, FL with the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. Telephone 1-352-216-
3025, e-mail jamessnyder51@gmail.com, website www.jamessnyderministries.com


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