October 21, 2022
Dear Friends,
Many of you know that I will be away (out of the country) for two weeks. My last day in the office is October 28 and I will be returning to work on November 14. Invoices will be sent out on 10/27/22 of this month due to my absence. The last days of October will be part of November invoices. Thanks for your understanding with this.
Lizzy Carr, Rn Care Manager Associate whom many of you know, will be covering the practice in my absence. Appointments and all Care Management tasks needed have been, and will continue to be prioritized. Lizzy is fully up to date on all our client’s needs because we work closely as a team. Jean Clements, Symphony’s Client Care Coordinator can also assist you as well with any questions or concerns. Jean is available Monday-Friday from 9am-1pm at 781-591-3231, ext. 3 or she can be reached at jean@symphonycaremanagement.com. Just a reminder that after hour contact which includes after 5 pm on weekdays and weekends should be for emergencies only.
Here is some helpful information we wanted to share. Every year from October 15th through December 7th is Medicare Open Enrollment https://www.medicareresources.org/medicare-open-enrollment/. As stated on the Medicare website: Open Enrollment, also known as the annual election period (AEP) or annual coordinated election period – refers to an enrollment window that takes place each fall, during which Medicare plan enrollees can reevaluate their existing Medicare coverage — whether it’s Original Medicare with supplemental drug coverage, or Medicare Advantage — and make changes if they want to do so.
The state of Massachusetts trains Health Insurance Counselors called SHINE (Serving the Health Insurance Needs of Everyone) Volunteers. https://www.mass.gov/health-insurance-counseling
The SHINE Program provides free health insurance information and counseling to all Massachusetts residents with Medicare and managed care plans as well as supplemental insurance. People who have Medicare or who are about to become eligible for Medicare can meet with a counselor to learn about benefits and options available. A counselor will review programs that help people with limited income to pay health care costs. To find a local SHINE counselor and schedule an appointment, call Mass Options at 1-800-243-4636, or TTY/ASCll (800) 439-2370.
You can also schedule an appointment with your town/city’s SHINE volunteer at your local senior center. If you need assistance scheduling an appointment and getting to this appointment, we can assist you. Let Jean Clements know as soon as possible because the available SHINE appointment slots get booked up.
This is also the perfect time to start preparing for the cold weather months that will soon be upon us. We have our Winter Readiness Checklist that includes:
1) Scheduling non-emergent medical and dental appointments before December.
Many of you have already had your flu shots when visiting your primary care practitioner. We have also assisted many of you by scheduling flu vaccines at your local pharmacy and taking you to these appointments or arranging for you to get there. Here is information and recommendations from the Center for Disease Control about the flu shot. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/prevent/flushot.htm. In addition to the flu vaccine, we are here to assist you or your family member with scheduling your Covid-19 booster shot. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/stay-up-to-date.html#adults . We are all reading that there may very well be another surge with new variants this winter. Talk with your physician with any and all questions you have and let us know if you need our help in scheduling and transporting you to obtain your booster shot. We would greatly appreciate knowing the date of your Covid-19 vaccinations to keep our records current in case of an emergency.
2) Stocking up on household necessities, food, and over-the-counter medications. Let’s take inventory and make a list of everything you would need to be comfortable if you were snowed in for a few days. Do you need help ordering groceries on Instacart to minimize outings to shop? Let’s review at our next visit.
3) Having an emergency backup plan in place for weather related power outages. Do you have a small bag packed? Extra medications? Is your emergency information packet up to date? Who would you call first and where could you go if you needed to leave your home? We can formulate this plan with you.
4) Start creating strategies to increase engagement to reduce isolation. In our November newsletter we will focus on the newest technologies for seniors to ensure access to families as well as activity suggestions to optimize quality of life through the winter when getting outside can be more challenging and less frequent.
We will work with you on all the checklist items to ensure good health through the winter months. I look forward to reconnecting with you upon my return.
Warm Regards,
Joan
Joan M. Harris, LSW, MBA, CMC
Founder, Managing Partner of Symphony Care Management