| Letter: Medicaid Waiver program must expand to aid elders
It is likely that the vast majority of the general public has never heard of the Medicaid Waiver Program, but if you have an elderly loved one, you need to be aware of this program.Medicaid Waiver provides services for Medicaid recipients which can enable them to remain in their own homes or choose an assisted living facility if the need arises. However, the funding for this program is limited, and this has created a waiting list in excess of one year. Sadly, most people do not find out about waiver until they have an immediate need for services. At that point, they are placed on the waiting list.Often they have no choice but to move into a nursing home because they are unable to obtain a waiver slot at the time they need it. The lengthy waiting list for waiver slots can even force a person already living in an assisted living facility out of their chosen home and into a nursing home, simply because they have exhausted their resources and need Medicaid to pick up the tab.And keep in mind, the tab at a Medicaid provider assisted living facility is a maximum $61.80 per day compared to approximately $130 per day in a nursing home.Doubling the funding for the Waiver Program would be a good start.
$25 million medical complex planned north of Red Lodge
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) - A $25 million medical campus planned north of Red Lodge would combine a hospital, clinic and long-term care facilities in "a new model for rural health care," organizers announced.Red Lodge's Beartooth Hospital and Health Center, Billings Clinic and St. John's Lutheran Ministries announced plans for the complex in a press conference Thursday."We really are forming a new model for rural health care," said Linda Harris, chairwoman of the Beartooth Hospital and Health Center board of directors.The project will replace Red Lodge's aging critical-access hospital and its nursing home, as well as relocate Billings Clinic's Red Lodge Clinic.Ground could be broken as soon as spring 2008, with completion scheduled for 18 months later.Five buildings are to be built on about 13 acres adjacent to Highway 212 just outside Red Lodge.
Activists to meet prisoners' lawyers
TWO Bahrain human rights activists will meet lawyers in the US representing the country's remaining detainees in Guantanamo Bay on Friday. Senior officials from the now-dissolved Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) are making the trip to discuss new strategies on how to bring the two men home. President Abdulhadi Al Khawaja and vice-president Nabeel Rajab are travelling to New York for a two-day meeting with legal team head Joshua Colangelo-Bryan and other officials. An unnamed BCHR representative based in Washington will also join them for the two-day visit. The activists also plan to meet with US human rights organisations to discuss future plans to bring the two Bahrainis and other detainees still being held at the facility home.
Next Steps: Mom and Dad need help. So now what?
QUESTION: My parents are in their late 70's and, of late, have been failing both mentally and physically. My father has fallen several times, and my mother has been getting lost while driving home from church. I have no brothers or sisters, and my folks' neighbors have been expressing their concern. I was finally able to sit down with my parents and get them to understand that I was not trying to take away their independence, but only to help them live at home as long as possible. My husband and I have four children, two of whom are still in college. We both work, and, as it has been said, "our plate is full" however, we recognize the need to make sure my folks are watched over. I have been reading as much as I can about the options, and have become generally confused about what is available and when it should be used.
Williamson County events and meetings
Native Plant Society meeting — 7 p.m. today. Judy Barrett, editor of Homegrown, will speak about organic solutions to everyday gardening problems. Williamson County Maintenance Facility, 3151 S.E. Inner Loop Drive, Georgetown. (254) 793-3748. Genealogical Society meeting — 7:30 p.m. today. Cookie Wallace, director of the Herman Brown Free Library, will speak on Burnet County research and resources. Round Rock Public Library, first floor, 216 E. Main St. 258-2580. Daddy Daughter Dance — 6 to 7:30 p.m., 8 to 10 p.m.Friday. Round Rock Parks and Recreation's Clay Madsen Recreation Center presents a dance for fathers and daughters. Clay Madsen Recreation Center Gym, 1600 Gattis School Road, Round Rock. $12 per pair, $4 each additional daughter. 218-3216. Sale — Friday through Wednesday.
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