Sentinel
LAKEWOOD 2.7.13
Lakewood
Jefferson County, Colorado • Volume 89, Issue 26
February 7, 2013
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourlakewoodnews.com
Town hall discusses health issues Seniors, businesses focus of monthly meeting By Clarke Reader
creader@ourcoloradonews.com
Maria Rodrigez, left, leans over to give a kiss to Becky Lopez in her wheelchair during an adult day care activity inside the Tall Timbers room at the Senior Resource Center Friday, Jan. 25, in Wheat Ridge. Photos by Andy Carpenean
Programs adjust to county cuts Organizations gear to keep services on track By Glenn Wallace
gwallace@ourcoloradonews.com Editor’s note: This story is part one in a three-part series, looking at how $3.1 million in reductions to Jefferson County’s 2013 operating budget impacts the programs and people involved. It’s Country Music Day at the Jefferson County Senior Resource Center, and folks attending Adult Day Care are nodding their heads and tapping their toes. Cowboy hats and bandanas are passed out. A few sing along to the classics, and the more mobile are coaxed out of their seats by SRC staffers for some dancing. Showing up late to the party is Mira “Chicky” Nickerson, 87. “It’s good to get out of the house, see people, socialize,” she says with a smile. Nickerson, with her pink ribbon breast cancer walker, lives about 20 minutes from the SRC facility (3227 Chase St.). She used to get to the center on an SRC transport bus, paid for by Medicaid, five days a week. That changed this year, after Jefferson County announced it was reducing its level of funding for SRV by 41 percent — equaling $400,000. “The word of the cuts came as a huge surprise,” said SRC President John Zabawa. SRC, along with two other nonprofits that contract with Jefferson County to provide human services — Family Tree and the Jefferson Center for Mental Health — all were told to expect flat funding from the county for 2013, only to be told in early December
Henry Arnijo dances during an adult day care program inside the Tall Timbers room at the Senior Resource Center Friday, Jan. 25, in Wheat Ridge. that they would be facing $688,000 in cuts. A representative for Jefferson Center for Mental Health said they were able to dip into reserve funding to maintain services for at least one year before having to cut back on services. SRC is not so lucky. “The cuts go beyond the sticker value,” Zabawa said. Even though SRC was expecting less than 12-percent of its annual revenue to come from the county, those unrestricted dollars from a local source have an exponentially greater value, when leveraged for state, federal and foundation grant funds. Zabawa said SRC specifically uses the county dollars to subsidize the cost of Medicaid patient services — a program the county asked SRC to take more than 20 years ago. He said the program incurs $727,000 in annually unfunded
Medicaid costs. The cuts to services had to be done with little warning, Zabawa said, including the closing of the South Wadsworth adult day facility that served 30 seniors, and laying off four employees. Across the rest of SRC, four others also lost their jobs, including a transportation manager who helped recruit and organize volunteers to help drive seniors, and a fundraising organizer who helped boost community support and donations. SRC Activities Coordinator Kera Tafoya said the cuts have forced a scaling back of Medicaid transportation. Seniors like Chicky Nickerson had their transportation availability drop from five days a week to three. Arts and crafts, exercise, education and even field trips at the center continue to be funded, but some seniors could miss out, due to a lack of transportation. “Socialization is the huge piece of this,” Tafoya said. “Many of them say, ‘Oh I haven’t danced in years,’ but this gives them a chance to remember what it was like to be younger, and have those experiences.” Seniors who regularly used the transportation service to make it to dialysis treatment have also been affected. With Jefferson County boasting the largest 65-and-older population in the state, Zabawa said there was a strong economic reason to take care of seniors and help them remain healthy and active in their own homes — their quality of life is higher, medical costs are lower and they continue to pay taxes. In contrast, a senior on Medicaid, placed into a skilled nursing facility costs taxpayers $72,000 a year. “I think it puts a huge burden on society as a whole,” Zabawa said.
Liquor store robbery suspect arrested Staff report
creader@ourcoloradonews.com An arrest has been made in connection to a series of liquor store robberies in Lakewood. Jacob Carlock, 36, was arrested in Fort Collins on Jan. 29 with the Lakewood and
Carlock
Fort Collins Police and the Fort Collins SWAT team working together to apprehend him. On Jan. 18, he allegedly robbed a liquor store in the area of West Jewell Avenue and South Oak Street, and another on Jan. 20
in the same area. He allegedly robbed another store on Jan. 25 at 20th Street and Wadsworth Boulevard Lakewood Police are crediting local television outlets which showed images of Carlock, and helped police to identify him. He will face charges of aggravated robbery, felony menacing and felony theft.
Robert Semro, policy analyst with the Bell Policy Center, spoke about the changes and key details of the Affordable Care Act during a town hall meeting Saturday, hosted by Lakewood legislators. “This is a topic that has certainly been in the news and in the forefront of people’s minds,” Sen. Andy Kerr said. “There are still a lot of questions about what health-care reform means.” Semro focused on how the ACA will affect seniors and businesses, and spent the majority of the time getting into a lot of detail in each of the two subjects. “How the law affects you really depends on who you are,” he said. “I’m here to tell you what the provisions of the law are — it’s not a poCynthia litical discussion. I’m not trying to Vitale, sell you on it or tell you it’s a bad resident thing.” Semro said that there are 667,277 Coloradoans on Medicare in 2012, and the ACA postpones Medicare insolvency for eight years. He also spoke about how the act aims to close the Medicare “Part D coverage gap” which has to do with costs of prescriptions. He also spoke about the Elder Justice Act, which is part of the ACA, and will provide support to help the state prosecute cases of elder abuse. As far as the new laws and businesses are concerned, Semro discussed how businesses that already have health care plans can “grandfather” them in under the ACA to avoid any penalties. One of the key aspects of the law facing businesses is how full-time employees are calculated and some of the penalties that businesses can face for not providing health-care options. Resident Cynthia Vitale attended the meeting because she said she wanted more understanding on what the ACA is. “I’m not on Medicare yet, but I wanted to learn about the contrast between Medicare and Medicare Advantage,” she said. “I thought the meeting was very informative, and enjoyed (Semro’s) presentation — I thought it was a nice way to take on such a heavy topic.” The entire meeting can be streamed for free online at www.jbgtv.com.
‘I thought it was a nice
way to take on such a heavy topic.’
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