With a grant from the U Care Foundation, Payne-Phalen's Doctor remains in the house.
The Payne-Phalen Living-At-Home/Block Nurse Program is extremely grateful to the U Care Foundation for a grant of $30,000+ that will provide funding for the position of our Medical Advocate, Dr. Ana Diaz, during the coming year. In the past this position was funded by a grant from the Alzheimer's Association, but that grant ended in September 2011. The new grant from U Care will allow us to keep Ana on half-time and provide support for her position while we continue to seek funding to bring her hours back to full-time status.
Through her visits to seniors in their homes and her phone calls to their doctors, clinics and pharmacists, Dr. Ana provides a level of support and advocacy that is unique and which has a large impact for the seniors she sees. U Care recognized Dr. Ana's value in promoting the health of East Side seniors, especially those who don't speak English. With a medical degree from her native Venezuela and fluency in Spanish, Dr. Ana is uniquely qualified to help elders understand their medical conditions and receive appropriate treatment. With her assistance elders are better able to navigage the medical bureaucracy, avoid complications from diseases not effectively treated, and achieve better health outcomes. And healthier elders are more likely to be able to remain safely in their homes rather than needing to move to assisted living or nursing homes, so Dr. Ana is a key player in the ability of the Payne-Phalen LAH/BNP to fulfill its mission of "building a circle of care around East Side elders, helping them remain safe and healthy in their homes."
More good news, thanks to the Allina
Community Fund
In early October we were notified that we would be recipients of a $5,000 grant from the Allina Community Fund. We are extremely appreciative of this generous contritubution which will support our work on behalf of East Side elders.
We appreciate these donations and the recognition by companies that also serve our seniors that by working together, we can more effectively promote the health and well-being of the seniors we both care for.
Thank you, U Care and Allina!!
Thanks to those who helped make our 2011 Health Fair A Success!
For the first time since 2008, we hosted a health fair for seniors and their families. It was held at the First Covenant Church, 1280 Arcade Street, St Paul 55106, in the lower level on February 23, 2011. Twenty-five vendors and 150 seniors and family members and neighbors attended. Special thanks to Senior Helpers and Recover Health for providing food and beverages. Thanks also to the Board members and volunteers who helped with set-up, served food, took blood pressures, and welcomed guests.
Payne-Phalen & other LAH/Block Nurse Programs save Medicare $$
Did you know that in addition to helping keep seniors in their homes they love longer, that Living-At-Home/Block Nurse Programs save millions in tax dollars each year?
The Payne-Phalen Block Nurse Program (and other BNPs throughout the state) use a combination of federal, state, and local funds to keep our offices open and provide the services that allow elders to remain healthy and safe in their homes. There is little or no cost to seniors for most services. Most programs have just one or two staff and use volunteers from the community to enhance our capacity to provide services. Elders, elder’s caregivers, relatives, neighbors, or anyone in the community who hopes to be an elder one day benefits by having elders be able to remain safely in their homes rather than needing to go to an assisted living facility or nursing home. A study by the former umbrella organization, Elderberry institute, found that every dollar spent by LAH/BNPs saved $3.50 compared to the cost of nursing home care.
Here are a few examples of some of the people who rely on our dedicated staff and volunteers: (Names have been changed for privacy.)
Norm is an 85-year-old widower who lives alone. His two adult children live in other states. Norm gets a weekly visit from the volunteer Block Nurse, who checks his vital signs and sets up his medications for the week. She also accompanies him to medical appointments and helps him with paperwork. A housekeeper sent from the Block Nurse program visits three times a week and helps with cooking, cleaning, and rides to the store or the dentist. Other volunteers visit or call so someone talks with Norm each day. Most months he attends our monthly social gathering.
Helen is an 82-year-old widow who has no children. She has macular degeneration and is legally blind but has been able to stay in her home with the help of rides from staff and volunteers to her doctor, bank and shopping. At a monthly blood pressure clinic the Block Nurse noticed that Helen’s blood pressure was dangerously low which put her at risk of a heart attack or fall. Our nurse called her clinic to get a change in medications which stabilized her pulse and prevented medical complications. Helen also enjoys visits from nursing students and attends the BNP’s monthly social gatherings.
Cal is 80 and has outlived three wives. He is a Korean War veteran and has health issues that require visits to the VA Medical Center. A Block Nurse volunteer picks him up and accompanies him to visits, and helps him navigate the halls of the clinic and answer the doctor’s questions about what was done on previous visits. After each visit he says, “I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Our staff also helps educate Cal about his diabetes. He has his blood pressure checked at a free monthly blood pressure clinic that the Block Nurse Program conducts in his building.
Without funding for Living-At-Home/Block Nurse programs, Cal, Helen, Norm and over 200 East Side seniors will have to find a way to manage without our assistance, and some would end up in nursing homes.
Last year the Payne-Phalen LAH/BNP saved tax payers over $2 MILLION dollars by keeping 22 people out of nursing homes. We did this with just two paid staff and the help of our dedicated volunteers and donors. Eventually most nursing home costs are paid by taxpayers. If Block Nurse program services are discontinued due to cuts in State and local budgets, taxpayers could see a significant rise in Medicare spending due to increased nursing home costs. We do a lot with a little, and we hope to keep on doing so.
