President Chris opened the meeting shortly after noon and Brandon Gething led in pledge and prayer.
ATTENDANCE: 16 members attended in person and there were 2 guests - Bruce Stambaugh, husband of Deb Stambaugh; Jen Zurfing, guest of Bob Kalinoski
14 persons attended virtually which included 8 students of the month; and Steve.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Chris Helt - Rick McKee is in the hospital but will return to Rotary action in the near future. Please keep him in your prayers.
- Reminder that the tri-district Conference is this weekend. It is free to "attend" and virtual. Melissa Kopp-Smith and John Anthony have been sending emails
directly to all Rotarians with specifics regarding registration and program offerings.
- there are several opportunities to volunteer your time and talents right now including Ruth's Harvest Meal Packing (Alicia Bowman); Planting a Flower Garden
at First Care Home in Hanover (Tammy Miller); bagging items for Immunization Coalition (Deb Stambaugh); Pledge and Prayer (Rick McKee).
STUDENTS OF THE MONTH: Students shared what they gained from their Rotary experience.
PROGRAM: Jill Kaylor - Bringing Care Hone. What is Homecare?
Jill Kaylor works for Visiting Angels and spoke to us about non-medical home care. She began by sharing statistics about the number of Americans 65 years of age and older, the numbers turning 65 in coming years and the numbers of Alzheimers/dementia cases now and projected. All of this points to the rising numbers of people who will need some type of care in the coming years. The vast majority of elderly people express that they would like to remain in their current homes for as long as possible. However as people age and health issues emerge, thoughts turn to how to remain there if possible, or looking other options like retirement homes or nursing homes. Many people, 65% rely on family for help and 30% supplement with in-home care. Now is the time to begin having discussions with elderly parents, or if you are elderly, with your children so intentions are clear and plans can be made before it becomes an emergency.
There are primarily 3 types of care:
- Medical
- Hospice
- Non-Medical
Jill focused her remarks on Non-Medical services. She reviewed several advantages of home care, like faster recovery time, more comfortable in familiar surroundings, and maintaining independence. Non-medical services include managing meds, personal care tasks like dressing and bathing, light housekeeping, short term respite care, transportation, shopping, and companionship. Home care is licensed by the State and Visiting Angels are deficiency-free after being evaluated. Most services are paid privately by the client and/or family. There are a few other methods that people use to provide services like long term care insurance, some veteran services, grants, and cancer victims funds.
Home care workers at Visiting Angels are highly screened, insured and bonded, and are employees of the company. Care Managers oversee the home care workers and provide services to clients as well. Some workers are specially trained in palliative care to help clients prepare for the end of life.
Two of our members - Bert Elsner and Karen Nelson - both had first-hand experience with Visiting Angels and spoke very highly of the services offered and the organization as a whole.
NEXT WEEK'S PROGRAM: BRUE BARTS - BARTS BRIGADE