Over the years, researchers have learned more and more about how a healthy diet, regular exercise, and stress reduction all play important roles in preventing heart disease, and help people already diagnosed with heart disease prevent further damage. The internet is a great resource for tips and recipes; below are a few of our favorite links:

• Click here to see health.com’s 10 Best Foods for Your Heart and get some ideas on how to incorporate them into your diet
• Walking is one of the best and easiest ways to get your heart pumping, if you need some motivation or a plan to get started, check out startwalkingnow.org
• AARP’s website has an article highlighting six foods that fight high blood pressure, which can lead to heart disease; read the article here
• And over at wholeliving.com, you can learn ways to reduce anxiety and stress forever in this article

     And don’t forget to mark your calendar for Saturday, March 24th to come join us for our 1st Annual March for Meals Fun Walk and Wellness Fair to raise money for our Elderly Nutrition Program and to encourage seniors and their families to come out, strech their legs, and enjoy a walk in the fresh air.

     The walk is $15 for seniors over 60 and children under 12, and it’s $25 for adults. You’ll receive a T-shirt and know that your donation is going to support our Nutrition Program which provides meals and nutrition workshops to elderly individuals living throughout Greater New Bedford and its surrounding towns. In a few weeks, you will be able to register for the Fun Walk right on our website.

     The Wellness Fair is free of charge and there will be yoga and zumba demonstrations, healthy food, and plenty of other health and wellness information. We hope to see you there! And have a happy and healthy February!

Vermont Senator Sanders spoke about his bill on the Senate floor.  He gave a big shout out for congregate meals, senior centers and home-delivered meals.

Watch here–

Senator Sanders on Older Americans Act

     This is just one of the many social outings that our program, Project Access, schedules throughout the year. Although the trip allowed the ladies to get started on their holiday shopping, it more importantly allowed them to spend the day in good company, enjoying stimulating conversation and compaionship over a satisfying meal.

     As people age, they lose their spouses and friends. Their children, or other younger relatives, may have moved away. Some older adults soon lose their ability to drive. All of this change can result in isolation, anxiety, and depression. Ensuring older adults are supported by a network of friends and family becomes especially important.

     Project Access is a program funded by a local foundation, the Association for the Relief of Aged Women (ARAW), and is run by Coastline. The program has almost 200 local, elderly participants, all of whom are women, and a majority of whom live alone and have very few family members and friends to keep help depression at bay.

     The program provides participants with a support network, and a place to turn when they need assistance or simply need a friend. ARAW firmly believes in their motto that Project Access is “Not alms alone, but a friend.” With that in mind, Project Access staff work hard to build relationships with each of the women: they stop in for friendly visits, to share a cup of coffee, play a game of cards, or just chat. They also facilitate friendships among women with similar interests, and encourage them to sign up for monthly trips together.

     It is important to Coastline and ARAW that the women use both organizations as a resource when they are experiencing financial or other difficulties–that the women can call them without embarassment if they need help. And several of the participants have called over the years. Project Access is proud to build friendships with all of these women and provide them with support as they age–another resource for local, elderly women which allows them to continue aging in their own homes in comfort.

     Project Access is open to women aged 70 or older, preferably living alone in the towns of Acushnet, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, New Bedford, and Westport. To learn more about this program, you can contact the coordinator, Sharon O’Malley at 508-999-6400 ext. 107.

     For the first four years of Tony’s diagnosis, Dorothea tried to care for him by herself because she was committed to keeping him at home for as long as possible. She read the books Tony’s doctor gave her about caring for someone with Alzheimer’s, and she did her best to take care of him without help. But as his health declined, Tony got more frustrated and uncooperative. It wasn’t long before Dorothea met her breaking point and finally passed out due to the everyday stress of caring for Tony around the clock. She ended up in the hospital where she finally realized she needed to reach out and ask for help.

     Often, when we think about Alzheimer’s disease, we worry about our chances of falling victim to it, or our chances of becoming chronically ill. But not too often do we think what we would do if our spouse or parent were to become chronically ill or suffer dementia and require around-the-clock care. To be a caregiver for a chronically ill parent, spouse, or friend becomes a full time job, and often, the person being cared for receives a lot of attention, while the caregiver’s needs are unintentionally pushed aside.

     After Dorothea came home from the hospital, she looked for support. Her sister-in-law told her about an ad in the paper for a support group where individuals caring for people with dementia meet to share their experiences. (The support group, run by Community Nurse & Hospice Care, meets at the Fairhaven Council on Aging the first Wednesday of each month from 1-2:00pm. For more information, you can contact Patricia Midurski at 508-996-0368.)

     Joining this group was extremely helpful and therapeutic for Dorothea. She realized that she isn’t alone, and that many people are dealing with the same issues. She says she looks forward to the group meeting, “we laugh, vent, cry and share and when I leave I feel my stress is lowered,” Dorothea wrote in a personal essay she shared with the group a couple years ago.

     Now, four years later, Dorothea is a veteran member of the support group; she is a wealth of knowledge and experience, helping direct newcomers to a variety of community resources. She says caregivers must be advocates for themselves and their loved ones. At the support group she learned about Coastline and our Family Caregiver Support Program which provides guidance and assistance to hundreds of caregivers throughout New Bedford and its surrounding towns.

     She has since become a client of the program, and receives help paying for transportation to get Tony to and from medical appointments; she also receives a small grant to help pay for incontinence items, and she relies on Coastline for continued guidance and support.

     These days, Dorothea and Tony enjoy a simple but consistent routine. Dorothea wakes up and helps Tony get out of bed. A Home Health Aide comes in the morning to help wash Tony and get him ready for breakfast. After breakfast she puts Tony in his recliner and plays music for him so he can doze while she gets things done around the house. In the afternoon they watch his favorite shows together (Little House on the Praire and The Waltons). And they still have conversations here and there, even though they don’t make too much sense.

     Although Tony isn’t the same Tony she married, Dorothea says she still enjoys every moment she has with him, that she still loves him – although sometimes she doesn’t like him. But, she says, she is not a saint, only human – a feeling that is surely common among caregivers across the country.

     This coming spring, the Alzheimer’s Association, in partnership with Coastline, will be giving an educational presentation about caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s Disease. Keep your eye on the website for the official date, time, and place.

     For more information about Coastline’s Family Caregiver Support Program, please contact the Program Coordinator, Libby Costa, at 508-999-6400 ext. 171. You can also donate to the Caregiver Program through our homepage  to help us support caregivers like Dorothea.

      January 1st is such a refreshing day. We can put all of the baggage of the past year behind us and look forward to the New Year with optimism and hopefulness. As we ring in 2012 with our family and friends, many of us will also begin to write a list of New Year’s resolutions, determined to rid ourselves of bad habits starting this Sunday.

     When I searched the internet for the most popular New Year’s resolutions, two came up over and over again: exercise more and eat healthier. While these are worthwhile goals, they are also enormous undertakings, and make us feel as though we need to overhaul our lives to achieve them. And so, by January 5th we have given up because such grand goals are too vague and too hard to achieve.

     But there is good news! There is an entirely different way we can make New Year’s resolutions achievable. Because so many New Year’s resolutions have to do with health, I want to share an article by one of my (and many people’s) favorite doctors, Dr. Oz. Instead of vowing to exercise every day for an hour, or eat nothing but vegetables, Dr. Oz recommends making smaller, more manageable goals.

     His main idea is that, over time, by creating and accomplishing smaller goals, you slowly–but more effectively–introduce healthier habits into your life and eventually transform your entire lifestyle because small goals are easier to work toward and therefore easier to accomplish.

     In the article, which you can read here, Dr. Oz gives a new, small goal each day for 28 days. Some examples include aiming to walk just 30 minutes a day, drinking a cup of green tea, or eating more wild salmon, tomatoes, or garlic.

     And remember, your goal doesn’t have to be health-related. This approach can be used to tackle any large goal, from getting more organized, to saving more money or spending more time with family and friends. Breaking up large resolutions into small, realistic goals will keep you motivated and on your way to success.

     From all of us at Coastline, have a happy and healthy 2012, and good luck with your resolutions!

STATEWIDE—Santa Claus won’t be stopping at the homes of nearly 1,000 elderly Baystate residents this Sunday—because he’s got no home care services to leave under the tree.

Inadequate state funding for home care has resulted in a growing waiting list of elderly people who are at risk of going into costlier nursing facility beds. One month ago, the waiting list of the so-called “Enhanced Community Options Program” (ECOP) stood at 742. That number has now increased to 905 elders as of December 15th.  The waiting list stood at 551 in October—so the line has lengthened 64% just since Halloween.

According to Mass Home Care, which represents the 27 non-profit agencies that manage the home care program, the waiting list will break 1,000 people by the time the General Court goes back into session in January.

“This is the season of families,” commented Al Norman, the Executive Director of Mass Home Care. “Our loved ones are gathering together this weekend, and the peace and joy message of the season is undercut by the reality that there are hundreds of seniors who might not be able to live at home unless we get them more care.”

The ECOP program is targeted to elders who meet a nursing facility level of care—but who can be kept at home. ECOP enrollees are not eligible financially for MassHealth.

“These seniors all have significant disabilities,” Norman said.  “But they’re not quite poor enough to get onto Medicaid. If they have to go into a nursing facility, they will qualify for Medicaid in matter of weeks.”

ECOP clients often are elders who started off in the home care program receiving just a few hours of care weekly, but as they became more disabled, they need the next highest level of home care—-the Enhance Community Options Program. Because of the waiting list for ECOP, some of these elders cannot get the higher level of support they need to remain living at home.

According to the Mass Budget and Policy Center, the ECOP program has lost -11% of its funding between 2003 and 2011, as measured in dollars adjusted for inflation in government purchased goods and services.

The Massachusetts General Court funded the ECOP program in FY 2012 at $45.8 million—the same level funded in FY 2011—but $2.4 million below the funding in the FY 2009 of $48.2 million. When adjusted for inflation, the appropriation in 2009 was $49.9 million. The FY 2012 funding level represents a loss of  $4.1 million in adjusted dollars, and $2.4 million in constant dollars.

Across Massachusetts, there are 4,365 elders per month enrolled in the ECOP program. Many of these elders began receiving care in the basic home care program, which serves around 32,000 elders per month. The basic home care program only provides around 3 hours of personal care a week, and is not sufficient for people who are at a nursing facility level of care.

The cost of an ECOP benefit currently is  $866. per month, or $10,392 per year—-which is roughly 18% of the cost of a nursing facility. According to Mass Home Care, it would take at least $2 million in additional funding to substantially reduce the waiting list for this program in the last six months of the current fiscal year.

“The additional funds would go a great distance towards closing the current gap between available funds and projected demand,” Norman explained. “

“This is frustrating for us,” Norman concluded. “Our job is to keep people out of nursing homes—not to keep them on waiting lists.”

“This is not the kind of holiday season we would have wanted for these seniors. It’s shameful to see malls full of shoppers—while seniors have no one in their homes to give them the level of care they need,” Norman said.

    We stack all of the items and then case managers are invited to come in and pick out much-needed gifts for the elders they work with to drop off for them in time for the holiday. As Chief Operating Officer, Terry Larson explains, “for many seniors, this is the only gift they will receive this year; many of them haven’t gotten a new coat in years, so it’s really special to be able to give them that.”

     Coastline is grateful to Hathaway Funeral Homes, Bank Five, and the hundreds of people who donate to the program year after year that provide seniors in need with a wonderul gift that keeps them warm through the cold winter season.

Project Access

     The ladies in the Project Access program enjoyed a festive night out, complete with a Thanksgiving feast and entertainment in late November. Hosted by the Association for the Relief of Aged Women (the program’s funder), all 180 women were invited to White’s of Westport to enjoy a family-style Thanksgiving meal and the music of Bobby Justin, a local entertainer. 

     Project Access’s goal is to provide elderly women, who live alone, with trips and events so they can socialize with their peers. Project Access holds a variety of trips and events each year, ensuring they accommodate women of all ages and mobility levels.

     To learn more about Project Access, you can visit their page here, or call the Program Coordinator, Sharon O’Malley at 508-999-6400 ext. 107.

Meals on Wheels

     Every year, hundreds of dedicated volunteers come together to cook and deliver homemade Thanksgiving meals to more than a thousand local seniors. Volunteers meet at Greater New Bedford Vocational Technical High School to prepare a mouthwatering menu. This year’s menu included turkey & gravy, dressing, whipped potatoes, butternut squash, peas & carrots, rolls, cranberry sauce, and apple crisp (made from scratch). From there, hundreds of volunteers pick up the packaged meals and deliver them to homebound seniors.

     We are grateful to, and wish to thank all of the volunteers who came out, and our community partners, including the Dartmouth Council on Aging, New Bedford Housing Authority, New Bedford Council on Aging, Supportive Housing at Tripp Towers, New Bedford Board of Health, GNB Vocational Technical H.S., Yellow Taxi, Long Plain Baptist Church, District Court Officers, and E.L. Sylvia Farms of Dighton.

     Elderly Nutrition is now gearing up for our Christmas Day program, which isn’t as big as the Thanksgiving meal program yet, but grows larger every year. Almost 500 homemade meals are prepared and delivered to seniors on Christmas Day, made possible by the Bristol County Sherriff’s Department, Holy Name Church, the New Bedford Council on Aging , several area nursing homes, and private donors.

Foster Grandparents Program

     With Christmas right around the corner, the Foster Grandparents enjoyed their annual holiday celebration. Decked out in their best holiday clothes, the Grandparents enjoyed a morning full of food and fun, including a lighter, alcohol-free egg nog prepared by our dietitian Kim Ferreira. You can find the recipe below:

8 cups of vanilla soy milk

3 oz package of sugar free, fat free vanilla pudding

1-2 tsp. of vanilla extract

1-2 tsp. of rum extract (optional)

Cinnamon & nutmeg (to taste)

     The Foster Grandparents devote hundreds of hours a year to mentoring children throughout the community, and they are greatly appreciated by the children and teachers that they work with. The Foster Grandparents Program is currently recruiting new volunteers. To learn more about this opportunity, call Christine Voss at 508-999-6400 ext. 198.

Money Management Program

     The Money Management volunteers also gathered in Saxon Hall for their annual holiday party. Volunteers enjoyed a feast of breakfast pastries, bagels, coffee, and tea. Volunteers were recognized for their years of service and were all entered into a raffle where they won gift cards, books, gift baskets, and other great prizes. The Money Management volunteers work with dozens of seniors across the Southcoast to help them organize and pay their bills.

     If you are interested in becoming a Money Management volunteer, please contact Jan Bergeron at 508-999-6400 ext. 180. Jan does her best to match volunteers with seniors who live in the same town as volunteers.

Holiday Giving Wreath

     Every year, here at Coastline, the staff who work closely with seniors, ask many of them if they have any Christmas wishes. Case Managers and other staff members gather up the requests and attach them to our Giving Wreath (a twist on our past Giving Tree), and then many staff and Board members go out and purchase and wrap the gift so staff can deliver it for Christmas. It’s a great way to give back and to give seniors something to open on Christmas morning.

     All in all, it’s been a great year here at Coastline, and we look forward to ringing in 2012 by continuing to provide older adults and individuals with disabilities, living throughout the Southcoast, with programs and in-home services that meet their needs and allow them to continue living independently.

     And don’t forget, it’s not too late to make a  donation to Coastline to receive a tax deduction for 2011. You can donate through our homepage by clicking on the “donate” button, or by mailing a check, made payable to Coastline Elderly Services, Inc. to 1646 Purchase Street, New Bedford, MA 02740.

    And, from all of us at Coastline, we hope you enjoy a happy and healthy holiday and New Year!

     We all know how stressful it can be when an unexpected cost pops up, and because so many elders live on limited incomes, this money is vital to helping them make ends meet in an emergency.

     It’s a simple process to donate. You fill out the form once, give it to your payroll department to set up, and your donation is then sent with each paycheck throughout the year. And any donation, small or large helps.

     If you are interested in signing up to donate to Coastline through this program, please contact Abigail Maxian by phone at 508-742-9175 or by email at amaxian@coastlineelderly.org. You can also always donate directly to Coastline through our website’s homepage – just click the Donate button.

     You can watch the videos below or visit United Way’s website to learn more about how the United Way supports organizations like Coastline through their Workplace Giving program.

United Way Presents Sarah Waltz

*Donations are tax deductible.

     Bob Mauterstock is the author of Can We Talk? A Financial Guide for Baby Boomers Assisting Their Elderly Parents, and an expert in retirement income and long-term care planning. Although it can be hard to discuss these issues with your aging parents, Mauterstock stresses the importance of having these discussions before your parents become ill or pass away.

     At Coastline, we recognize the importance of these issues as well, and you can turn to us if you don’t know where to start. Our Options Counseling program helps families determine the best care options for the present and future of their loved ones, and our Information & Referral Department can guide you towards resources about any other planning questions. You can call them at 508-999-6400.

     In 2012 we plan on hosting a series of educational seminars covering topics such as long term care insurance, reverse mortgages, annuities, and estate planning. To receive information about these future events and more, you can subscribe to our website here on our homepage.

     To listen to Bob Mauterstock on WCAI’s The Point with Mindy Todd, click on this link.