-PDBM/FXT N COMMUNITYBRIEFS
CHAT WITH ELECTED OFFICIALS The League of Women Voters is hosting a meet-andgreet with elected officials for the people of Mountain View and Los Altos, a chance to rub elbows and shoot the breeze with their legislators over coffee. The event is set for Sunday, March 20, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Los Altos Youth Center, located at 1 North San Antonio Road, Los Altos. Local residents are invited to discuss policy and raise questions and concerns to a variety of community leaders. “It’s an annual event for the public to get to know their elected officials,” said Gabrielle
Tiemann, Voter Service Director for the League of Women Voters. A portion of the allotted time will be given for the officials to give a short speech as well. Representatives from the following offices will be there: members of the Mountain View Whisman school board and the Mountain View City Council; Jeff Rosen, the district attorney for Santa Clara County; members of the Los Altos and Los Altos Hills school board and city council;,a member of the Foothill-De Anza community college district; a member of the La Purissima Water District; and a member of the Mid-Peninsula Open Space district. —Peter Maxwell
Mountain View Whisman School District (K-8) ENROLLMENT 2011-2012 BEGINS FEBRUARY 1 DISTRICT OFFICE 8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
SENIOR HEALTH Continued from page 5
Magnuson said, she does not turn away patients even if she knows that treating them will cost more than she will be reimbursed. James contends that Magnuson is in the minority in this regard. He noted that many doctors continue to treat regular patients as they age into Medicare, but often end up turning away new Medicare patients. “These physicians are wonderful people,” James said, “but they have to stay in business, they have to keep their doors open.” If all goes as James plans, the Senior Health Center will function as a hub through which elderly Medicare patients can access doctors, nurses, psychiatrists, social workers, dieticians, pharmacists and other senior-oriented health professionals. Having all these specialists working on the same individual under one roof will have many benefits, James said. Better communication among doctors and pharmacists means certain patients will have a more finely tuned prescription drug regimen. Patients won’t have to go to an entirely separate office to talk to a mental health expert or to get dietary counseling.
Magnuson countered that gathering a multiplicity of specialists under one roof will give the hospital more opportunities to order expensive tests for these seniors. “From the patient’s point of view, if insurance pays for it, they say, ‘let’s go for it,’” she said. “There is nothing to keep the specialists from laughing all the way to the bank.” James, on the other hand, said that the Senior Health Center will streamline treatment, cut down on unnecessary procedures and medications, and is certain it will run at a loss — due mostly to low Medicare reimbursements. And although El Camino will have to eat that loss, he said, he is hopeful that the money the hospital spends on seniors may ultimately be more than offset by unnecessary readmissions and visits to the ER. He also anticipated that Medicare will ultimately benefit from the center, as fewer unnecessary tests, procedures and prescriptions will be ordered. To ensure that seniors stay out of the hospital, James said that doctors and nurses will follow many of the center’s patients home — in a manner of speaking. He said that certain patients will be asked to take home digital devices that will help doctors
Kinder Info Site Visits and Open Houses throughout the month of January
More information: 650.526.3500, ext. 1001 www.mvwsd.org (Enrollment Info)
CHARMING COTTAGES OF PALO ALTO Twentieth annual house tour
FRIDAY, APRIL 1 & SATURDAY, APRIL 2, 2011 11:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M.
You care about your aging parents. And yet, sometimes, you just don’t know the best way to help them, especially when they are trying to remain independent. Seniors Helping Seniors® in-home services is an exceptional program of care and caring that matches seniors who want to provide services with those who are looking for help. UÊ i> Ê«Ài«ÉV } UÊ } ÌÊ ÕÃi ii« } UÊ «> Ã « UÊ L ÌÞÊ>ÃÃ ÃÌ> Vi UÊ À ViÀÞÊÃ «« } UÊ*iÌÊV>Ài UÊ9>À`Ê7 À
Tax-deductible tickets - $30 in advance or $35 after March 23 or at the door
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Sponsored by the Palo Alto Area Mills College Club, a non-profit organization, to benefit the scholarship program for students of Mills College from San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties
Media Sponsor: Palo Alto Weekly and Palo Alto Online ■ MOUNTAIN VIEW VOICE ■ MARCH 18, 2011
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Caring for Older Parents
MVWSD offers: Castro DI (English-Spanish) Monta Loma CEL (parent participation) Stevenson PACT (parent participation)
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monitor their health remotely. Those who agree may take home a dedicated cell phone that doctors or nurses will use to send them reminders to take medication, or they may have a scale equipped with Bluetooth capability, that will send daily weight measurements back to the center. James is even hopeful he might raise the funds to get some patients iPads that allow them to have video chat check-ups with nurses. This will be of great benefit to certain seniors on Medicare who may have trouble taking care of themselves, James said. It isn’t enough for a doctor to hand a frail elderly person a prescription or a recommendation for a specialist and then send him on his way, without any follow through. “This is far different than a senior walking into a doctor’s office, having their appointment and walking out without any kind of continuity,” James said of the center. “I’m not trying to make it sound like it’s a panacea, because it’s not, but I can’t think of a better model for the care of my aging parents,” he said. “We’ve got to find a way to make senior care affordable. If we’re going to control health care costs, this kind of care is going to be mandatory.”
tomschwartz@shsmidpeninsula.com
www.seniorshelpingseniors.com/ MidPeninsula