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niece Kari and nephew Scott will both be married by year’s end as will his best friend Ralph’s children, R.J. and Julie. Kari and her new spouse John Lee chose the beach as their wedding venue with a non-traditional pajama party reception following the nuptials. Scott’s church wedding to Jen will take place in June, and we hear it will be ultra-traditional as will the reception. It will be fun to dress up and see my hubby in a tie for a change. Who knows, we may even hit the dance floor! Ralph and his wife Nelda are dealing with destination weddings, as their daughter Julie will marry in Tobago next week followed by R.J.’s June ceremony in Paris. Needless to say, although we love those young folks, Steve and I will not be attending either of those weddings. If I’m going to do any traveling it will be for a longdeserved vacation. Steve and I thought about doing something special tomorrow for our 22nd wedding anniversary, but I think we’ll just go
Thoughts from the
Publisher by Neena Strichart Looking at the television program listings, it seems as though, as some have said, “love is in the air.” Shows like My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, Say Yes to the Dress, Bridezilla, and my favorite– My Fair Wedding with David Tutera– prove the point as countless weddings are played out on the air right in our living rooms. I get a kick out of the destination and theme weddings and love the wedding fashions. Although I’ve swapped my high heels for flats in recent years, and no longer wear two pairs of false eyelashes, I’m still a girly-girl at heart. This year is proving to be big with the wedding theme in our own lives. Steve’s
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out for a bite to eat, drink some wine and reminisce over our wedding pictures. Our wedding was anything but television-worthy, as the venue was the driveway of our home, followed by a reception on the patio. We had a yummy cake from Ramona’s Bakery in San Pedro (at that time I didn’t know I had problems with gluten), sandwiches from Fedco and a family member acting as deejay. This was no fancyschmancy affair, but it was what we wanted and what we could afford at the time. How- Steve and Neena honeymooning at shipboard cocktail party ever, we did have a great honeymoon– a seven-day cruise to Mexico with both sets of parents joining us for the trip. Those are memories that will last forever. Since then, we have renewed our vows twice– once in Maui on our 10th anniversary, and the other at Delius Restaurant on our 20th. I’d love to do something extra special for our 25th and am thinking about either a nice trip or a big party. Why not Home again after seven days at sea with Steve’s parents both? Only time and budget will tell! (far left) Grace and Bill Bierer, Steve and Neena (center), and Neena’s folks (far right) Jay and Marjorie Grommé
C O M M E N TA R I E S
How Medicare covers hospice care By David Sayen, Medicare Regional Administrator
Coping with terminal illness can be very difficult, both for the patient and his or her loved ones. That’s why I wanted to tell you about Medicare’s coverage for hospice care and how it works. Hospice is a program of care and support for people who are terminally ill. The focus is on comfort, not on curing an illness. Hospice is intended to help people who are terminally ill live comfortably. If you qualify for Medicare’s hospice benefit, you’ll have a specially trained team and support staff available to help you and your family deal with your illness. You and your family members are the most important part of the team. Your team may also include doctors, nurses, counselors, social workers, physical and occupational therapists, speechlanguage pathologists, hospice aides, and homemakers.
The hospice team provides care for the whole person. That includes his or her physical, emotional, and social needs. Hospice services are generally provided in the home and may include physical care, counseling, drugs, and medical equipment and supplies for the terminal illness, plus any related conditions. Your regular doctor or a nurse practitioner can also be part of your team, to supervise your care. Who’s eligible for Medicare-covered hospice services? You have to meet several conditions. For one, you must be eligible for Medicare Part A, which is hospital insurance. Also, your doctor and the hospice medical director must certify that you’re terminally ill and have six months or less to live, if your illness runs its normal course. You have to sign a statement choosing hospice care instead of other Medicare-covered benefits to treat your terminal illness. (Medicare will still pay for covered benefits for any health problems that aren’t related to your terminal illness.) And you must get care from a Medicareapproved hospice program. If you qualify, your doctor and the hospice
team will work with you and your family to set up a plan of care that meets your needs. A hospice doctor and nurse will be on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week to give you and your family support and care when you need it. Medicare’s hospice benefit allows you and your family to stay together in the comfort of your home unless you need care in an inpatient facility. Keep in mind that you have the right to stop hospice care at any time. Medicare will pay for a one-time-only consultation with a hospice medical director or hospice doctor to discuss your care options and how to manage your pain and symptoms. After that, Medicare covers doctor and nurse services, equipment such as wheelchairs or walkers, supplies such as bandages and catheters, drugs to control pain or other symptoms, hospice aide and homemaker services, physical and occupational therapy, and social-worker services. Medicare also covers dietary counseling, grief and loss counseling for you and your family, short-term inpatient care for pain and symptom management, and short-term respite care. Respite care is designed to help the caregiver
for a terminally person. Often a spouse or other family member becomes the caregiver, and at some point they may need a rest. You can get inpatient respite care in a Medicare-approved facility (such as a hospice inpatient facility, hospital, or nursing home) if your caregiver needs a rest. You can stay up to five days each time. You can get respite care more than once, but it can only be provided on an occasional basis. How much do you pay for hospice under Medicare? There’s no deductible. You’ll pay no more than $5 for each prescription drug and similar products for pain relief and symptom control. If you get inpatient respite care, you pay five percent of the Medicare-approved amount. For example, if Medicare pays $100 per day for inpatient respite care, you’ll pay $5 per day. David Sayen is Medicare’s regional administrator for California, Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii, and the Pacific Trust Territories. For answers to Medicare questions, call 1800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).
Los Angeles County looks to be a national leader in fight against child sex trafficking By Don Knabe, County of Los Angeles, Fourth District The fight to end the horrors of child sex trafficking continues in Los Angeles County. Earlier this year, I directed the County’s probation department to develop a comprehensive plan to support the victims of this horrible crime. They are developing some groundbreaking programs that I hope other communities across the nation can model. In the coming months, you will also see a campaign from Metro, which I asked them to do to build community awareness in the very places where these young girls
are most susceptible– train stations and bus stops. While we do all we can to support the victims, we must also aggressively pursue the criminals who forcibly coerce and manipulate young girls into selling their bodies for their financial benefit. I am one of the first legislators in California to come out and support the Californians Against Sexual Exploitation (CASE) Act, which would strengthen penalties against human traffickers and protect sexually exploited children. It is my hope that other leaders
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on our streets and in our neighborhoods. It is not a problem “over there.” I want Los Angeles County to be a national leader in fighting this heinous crime and protecting our vulnerable youth. The CASE Act would be a major step forward in enacting tougher penalties and putting an end to the physical and mental abuse of these young girls.
never, to my knowledge, anyone who has been sexuncovered and as unashamed as the new queen of computer porn. I know life in the current era isn’t what it was back when Mom and Pop were pups, but come on, isn’t this a bit too much even for the people who think this is normal? What shall we call her? How about Madam Mayor? Or will she be just one of the girls?
Lord love a duck! This is it, the moment when the unbelievable happens and you are left with open mouth and dimmed senses. What, you may ask, is so Earthshattering? How about this: Kim Kardashian running for mayor of a City in California? Can you imagine the queen of the popular and oftwatched sex tape being mayor of a city? I know we have had a rash of high-handed money-takers uncovered, but
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across the state will join me. If enacted into law, the CASE Act would be the toughest human-trafficking law in the country. It would increase prison terms for human traffickers, require convicted sex traffickers to register as sex offenders, mandate training for lawenforcement officers and require criminal fines from convicted human traffickers to pay for services to help victims. Communities through the United States are facing the horrific reality of child sex trafficking occurring right here
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