Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, September 10, 2022

Mountain Views-News Saturday, September 10, 2022 

Specializing in PlacingSeniors in Assisted Living and 
Memory Care Communities 

ASSISTED LIVING OR NURSING 
HOME? 

There are many myths about Assisted 
Living being like Nursing Homes. 
This is not true at all. Nursing facilities 
are for those with chronic health 
issues who require care around the 
clock from medical professionals. 


In Assisted Living, one will get the support as needed, such as getting help with showering, grooming, 
and dressing. Again, these services are based on the seniors needs. 

There are many reasons in working with us. At Safe Path for Seniors, we will assess the senior and 
depending on their care needs and budget, make recommendations. For example, we may suggest 
that the right fit is a Board and Care Home (normally a 6-bedroom house) as opposed to an Assisted 
Living Community or a Memory Support Facility. You will work with an experienced agent who 
knows the industry well and will give you recommendations. The good news is that there is no 
cost for this service. 

If you have any questions about placing a loved one, visit www.safepathforseniors.com or call Steve 
at 626-999-6913 

HOW TO FIND TRAVEL COMPANIONS FOR OLDER TRAVELERS 

Dear Savvy Senior:
I am interested in finding some type of travel escort 
service to help my elderly parents fly across the 
country. My son is getting married in the fall and 
would love for my parents to attend, but they’re 
both in their 80s with health issues, so they’ll need 
help getting there. Can you direct me to any travel 
services that can help us? Looking for Assistance 


Dear Looking: 

Traveling can be challenging under the best circumstances, but for seniors with medical problems, 
physical limitations or dementia it can be unmanageable. Fortunately, there are a bevy of companies 
today that provide traveling companion/escort services to help older adults with the rigors 
of travel. 

A good travel escort can provide your parents with transportation to and from the airport, manage 
their luggage, navigate and assist them through the airport, sit next to them on the flight, help 
them to their hotel and much more. 

Some companion services even provide personal care like medication management, dressing, 
bathing and feeding. And for those with specific medical needs, traveling nurse services are available 
too. 

But be aware that these services aren’t cheap. You will pay for the travel companion’s tickets, the 
companion’s hotel room if necessary, meals, incidentals and fees for the service. The price to accompany 
a client on a plane trip within the United States – including the companion fees and 
travel costs for all parties – can range anywhere from $2,500 to $5,000 or more, depending on the 
flight transfers and length of the trip. 

To locate a travel companion service in your area, search online for “senior travel companion” or 
“senior travel escort,” followed by your parent’s city or state. Or use an experienced national service 
like Flying Companions (FlyingCompanions.com), Travel Helpers (GoTravelHelpers.com) 
or FirstLight Home Care (FirstLightHomeCare.com), which has a national network of franchises 
that provides in-home care for seniors and offers travel companion programs in about 80 percent 
of their 190 operating territories. 

Or, for medical travel companions do a search for “traveling nurse escort” or “medical travel companion,” 
or checkout Travel Care and Logistics (YourFlightNurse.com), which provides registered 
nurses as escorts. 

If, however, your parents don’t require a lot of assistance, or if you can’t afford a travel escort, consider 
asking a trusted family member or friend that has some air travel experience. 

Vet the Service 

If you’re interested in hiring a travel companion service, there are a number of things you need to 
check into to ensure you get the right escort. 

First, if you parents require personal or medical care while traveling, find out if the escort is 
trained to manage their healthcare needs. What sort of medical certifications do they have? (Nursing 
credentials? C.P.R. training? etc.) 

Also, find out how many trips the companion has taken with clients. Have they completed trips 
with travelers like your parents? How long has the travel service company been in business? What 
is the company’s safety record? And what sort of insurance does it carry, and what exactly is 
covered? 

Also, get a quote breaking down exactly what you’ll be required to pay, in addition to the companion’s 
fees. And get a list of two or three clients/references who have used their service and call 
them. 

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. 


SENIOR HAPPENINGS 


HAPPY BIRTHDAY! …SEPTEMBER BIRTHDAYS* 

Clem Bartolai, Pat Hall, Donna Anderson, Teresa Chaure, Cathy 
Gunther, Esther Macias, Sheila Pierce, Nancy Sue Shollenberger, Patti 
O’Meara, Judie Cimino, Mary Steinberg, Geri Wright, Parvin Dabiri, 
Denise Reistetter and Nehama Warner, Virginia Mullaney, Gwen 

Robertson. 

* To add your name to this distinguished list, please call the paper at 626.355.2737. 
YEAR of birth not required 
SIERRA MADRE SENIOR CLUB Every Saturday from 11:30am-3:30 pm in the Hart Park 
House Senior Center. Join us as we celebrate birthdays, holidays and pay BINGO. Must be 
50+ to join. For more information call Mark at 626-355-3951. 

DOMINOES TRAIN GAME 1st and 3rd Wednesdays, 11:00 am— 12:30 pm Hart Park 
House The object of the game is for a player to play all the tiles from their hand onto one or 
more trains, emanating from a central hub or “station”. Call Lawren with questions that you 
may have. 

PAINT PALS 

Tuesday, 9/8 10:30 am—Hart Park House If you enjoy painting, sketching, water color, or 
making some other form of artistic creation please join our new program, PAINT PALS!!! Bring 
a project that you are working on to the HPH and enjoy some quality art time with other artists 
looking to paint with a new pal. 

TEA AND TALK SENIOR BOOK CLUB Tuesday Se3pt. 14 and Sept. 28 — 9:00 am 
Staff has launched a new book club series, Tea and Talk, which meets twice a month to discuss 
the fun, suspense, intrigue, love and so much more that each selection will have in store! 

FIBER FRIENDS Tuesday, 9/6 and 9/20 —10:00 am If you enjoy knitting, crocheting, embroidery, 
needlepoint, bunka, huck, tatting or cross stitch then we have a group for you! Bring 
your current project, a nonalcoholic beverage, then sit and chat with likeminded fiber friends. 
We meet in the Hart Park House 

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.. 

HULA AND POLYNESIAN DANCE Every Friday, 10-10:45 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 Pavilion. 

BLOOD PRESSURE CLINIC - Sept. 13 11:00 am - 12:00 pm

Methodist Hospital will be holding a free to seniors clinic once a month in the Hart Park 
House. Walk in are welcome - no pre-registration required. 

BINGO: Sept. 22 1:00 pm - 2:00 pmCome down to the HPH (Hart Park House) for a lively round of BINGO. Prizes await! 

SENIOR CINEMA Wednesday, 9/14— Beginning at 1:00 pm ELVIS PG-13 2h 39m 
The life of American music icon Elvis Presley, from his childhood to becoming 
a rock and movie star in the 1950s while maintaining a complex 
relationship with his manager, Colonel Tom Parker. 


Wednesday, 9/28—Beginning at 1:00 pm 9 to 5 PG 1 h 49 m Three female employees 
of a sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot find a way to turn the tables on 
him. Hart Park House. 


OUT TO PASTOR 

A Weekly Religion Column by Rev. James Snyder 

NOTHING LIKE AN OLD FASHION SCAM 

Scams have become the norm of our culture today. If it weren’t for 
Alexander Graham Bell, we wouldn’t have all of these scams today. 
Thanks Alex. 

These scams go from car warranties to Medicare benefits, and they’re probably just 
getting started. The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage gets very agitated when 
these calls come. They show up on our phone as a scam. As soon as it shows up on 
our phone, she yells, “That’s a scam. Don’t you dare answer it?” 

By the time I heard what she said, I had already answered the phone. So, I like to take 
advantage of these scam calls. After all, it’s my phone, I pay the bill, so it should also 
be my choice. For example, when they asked me in the beginning how I was, I said, 
“Okey-Dokey.” I don’t know what this means, but they hang up immediately as soon 
as some hear that phrase. When it first happened, I couldn’t have been happier.
So, “Okey-Dokey” is part of my scam to those scammers. Then when some Medicare 
scam comes through, one thing they ask is how old I am. So one time I said, “I 
feel like I’m 87.” They said that I don’t qualify and hung up immediately.
I didn’t say I was 87, just that I feel 87. So now I have another response to these 
scammers. 

I am building up of repertoire of responses to these scammers. I had to sit down and 
think a little bit in the beginning and ask myself, is it okay to lie to liars? I guess it depends 
on your definition of a lie. Unlike many people, especially those in my house, 
I don’t get aggravated when I see a scam call on the phone. I just get ready to go nose 
to nose with them. I’m not sure how these people get through a day of calling; I don’t 
think I could make it. But I am happy to respond as much as possible. 

Then something strange happened last week. My idea is that I’m not going to say 
something is a scam until it turns out to be a scam. After all, it might be real. The 
call I got last week was from the government. Our government has selected 1700 
people to receive a free $9,000 grant. Something I don’t have to pay back and can use 
for whatever I want. My immediate response was, this is a scam. After all, good old 
Uncle Sam would never do anything to scam anybody. They don’t call it a scam; they 
call it taxes. But that’s a different story. 

I listened to the proposal and thought it was a scam. So why would the government 
want to give me a $9,000 grant that I didn’t have to pay back? Being curious, I listen 
to the whole presentation. After all, what if it isn’t a scam? I had qualified for this 
$9,000 grant, and the young lady on the phone wanted to work out how they could 
send me that money. Do I want it in cash or deposited in my bank account? There’s 
no way I will give them my bank information over the phone. So I said, “I’ll take it 
in cash, please.” 

She asked me where the nearest Western Union was so she could send me the money. 
I told her where the nearest one was and then she gave me the information I needed 
to go there and collect my money. I wrote down all the information I needed.
I hung up the phone and did a bit of laughing. 

The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage came in and asked me what I was laughing 
about. I told her about the phone call and how the government would send me a 
$9,000 grant through Western Union. Then I laughed heartily and told her I thought 
it was a scam, thinking she would agree. She stared at me with both hands on her 
hips and said very seriously, “What if it isn’t a scam? What if it’s true?” 

I was a little setback by her response because if anybody is skeptical about anything, 
it is her. She can smell a scam three days before it arrives. And then she said something 
quite strange, “What would you do with $9,000?” I just chuckled and went 
back to my office to work. But I was bothered by that phrase, “What would you do 
with $9,000?” Suddenly, I began thinking of what I could do with that kind of money.
What if this wasn’t a scam? What if I did qualify for this money? These and other 
thoughts rolled through my mind for the next hour. Then the idea came to my mind, 
what if this was real? What do I have to lose if I go and find out if it’s real or not? 

The Western Union was a couple of blocks down the road, and it wouldn’t take me 
long to go and check out this scam. If it’s a scam, I’ve only lost two blocks of time, 
and if it isn’t a scam, it’s worth investigating. Walking back from Western Union with 
no grant money, I thought of a Bible verse. Ecclesiastes 7:5, “It is better to hear the 
rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools.” 
It’s better to have empty pockets than an empty head. 

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

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