About The Forest-blade. (Swainsboro, Ga.) 1996-current | View Entire Issue (March 3, 2021)
2B The Forest-Blade • ummiEmaniielConntyLive.com • Swainsboro, Georgia • March 3, 2021 Savvy Senior: How to Choose a Quality Nursing Home During a Pandemic Dear Savvy Senior, Can you give me some tips on how to pick a good nursing home in the COVID era? My mother had a stroke a while back and can't use her legs any longer. I’ve been taking care of her at home, but her health has declined to the point that I absolutely can’t do it any longer. Need Help Dear Need, COVID-19 has hit nursing homes hard over the past year, mak ing it extremely difficult for people attempting to choose a nursing home during this time. While many eldercare experts suggest avoid ing nursing homes during the pandemic if at all possible, some families, like yours, find themselves in diffi cult situations needing long-term or rehabilita tive care for their elder loved one now. To help you find a good nursing home in the COVID era, and avoid a bad one, here are some steps to fol low. Make a list: There are several sources you can turn to for referrals to top nursing homes in your area including your mom's doctor or nearby hospital dis charge planner; friends or neighbors who may have had a loved one in a nursing home; and online at Medicare's nursing home compare tool at Medicare.gov/ care-compare. This tool will not only help you locate nursing homes in your area, it also pro vides a 5-star rating system on recent health inspections, staffing, quality of care, and overall rating. Also keep in mind that it's always best to choose a nursing home that's close to family members and friends who can check in often, because residents with frequent visitors usual ly get better care. Do some research: To research the nursing homes on your list, put a call into your long-term care ombudsman. This is a government official who investigates nurs ing home complaints and advocates for resi dents and their families. This person can tell you which nursing homes have had complaints or problems in the past. To find your local ombuds man, call your area a agency (800-677-1116) or visit LTCombudsman. org. You should also visit the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services website (data.cms.gov), which provides updat ed data on U.S. nursing home reported COVID- 19 cases and deaths. Contact the nursing homes: Once you've identified a few good nursing homes, call them to see if they have any vacancies, what they charge, and if they accept Medicaid. Also, find out their staff-to-patient ratio and staff turnover rate; their COVID infection-con trol procedures; the per centage of residents and staff that have been vac cinated for COVID; and their facility visitation policy. If visitor restrictions are in place, see if they offer smartphone, tab let or laptop technology assistance so you can have Facetime, Zoom or Skype video calls with your mom. Tour your top choic es: The best way to evaluate a nursing home is to visit it in person, but because of COVID, some facilities may offer limited or vir tual tours only. To help you evaluate and rate a facility, Medicare offers a terrific checklist of questions that you can print at Medicare.gov/ NursingHomeCompare/ Checklist.pdf. Paying for Care With nursing home costs now averaging $255 per day nationally for a semi-private room and nearly $290 for a private room, paying for care is another area you may have questions about or need assis tance with. Medicare only helps pay up to 100 days of rehabilita tive nursing home care, which must occur after a hospital stay of at least three days. Most nursing home residents pay for care from either personal savings, a long-term care insurance policy, or through Medicaid once their savings are deplet ed. The National Clear inghouse for Long-Term Care Information web site (LongTermCare.acl. gov) is a good resource that can help you under stand and research your financial options. You can also get help from your State Flealth Insurance Assistance Program (SF1IP), which provides free counsel ing on all Medicare and Medicaid issues. To find a local SF1IP counselor visit ShiptaCenter.org or call 877-839-2675. Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a con tributor to the NBC Today show and author of "The Savvy Senior" book. These Simply Totes are the perfect grab and go bag! Stop by and grab yours today! Mon-Fri 8:30-6:00 Shop Ripe Sat 8:30 -12:00 pharmacy Closed Sun & fyffcs 605 W Main St • Swainsboro • 478.237.7032 You’re out of the hospital. What Nowl fof / vr tr. ! m m i '■> ! i You’ve been released from the hospital, but still need specialized care to regain the best quality of life possible. "V Pruitt Health You need the Transitional Care Unit at... f .n i Our /Klssion iCoMMIuea Our Family, Your Family ONE FAMILY; [tojyarmfj Committed to Loving, Giving and Caring; United in Making A Difference. March 3,1961 Kizvanis Club TEN BIG BUCKS - Little Miss Janena Lawson, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Carl Lawson of near Swainsboro, is presented a $10 check by John Loren Dekle and Dr. JJ. Fason, Jr., co-chairman of the 1961 Pine Tree Festival. The check was first prize in the annual festival slogan contest. Miss Lawson submitted as her entry "Ring Out the Chimes for Emanuel Pines". The presen tation was made at a recent meeting of the Swainsboro Kiwanis Club, sponsors of the annual festival, (visit emanuelcountylive.com to see contestants pho tos) March 3.1971 Cozvart is named 'Man of the Year' Loy D. Cowart, Jr., Twin City dairy- man-farmer, was named Emanuel County's "Man of the Year in Soil and Water Conservation". Mr. Cowart's selection was announced Thursday night at the tenth annual meeting of the Ohoopee River Soil and Water Conservation District at Montgomery County Elementary School Cafetorium. Making the presenta tion was L.L. Phillips, secretary-treasurer of the Ohoopee District and representative to the General Assembly from Treutlen County. Mr. Cowart was select ed on the basis of his "high standards of excellence in soil and water conservation" in cooperation with the Ohoopee District, (visit emanuelcountylive.com to see contestants pho tos) In House chambers George L. Smith II, Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives, welcomes two Swainsboro pharma cists and a minister to the Georgia House of Representatives during a recent visit. Mills Harrison, Butch Parrish, and the Rev. Orman Sloat, pastor, First United Methodist Church, Swainsboro, who served as chap lain of the House, (visit emanuelcountylive.com to see contestants photos) March 4.1981 Wanta pet him? Tommy Freeman, member of Swainsboro High School chap ter, Future Farmers of America, invites stu dents of Swainsboro Primary School to pet the pony which is among animals dis played on the prima ry school campus for observance by the young children. The animal exhibit is part of the chapter's cel ebration of National FFA Week, (visit eman- uelcountylive.com to see contestants photos) Observing project Students of Eddie Newman's Georgia History 122 class at Swainsboro Fligh School admiring a proj ect they created in obser vance of Georgia Day are Elizabeth Tapley, Stephanie Fitzgerald, Cherie McCullough, James Hardwick, and Michael Wells, (visit emanuelcountylive.com to see contestants pho tos) March 6,1991 Cutting the ribbon Dr. James Clifton, Dr. Tim Palmer, Nurse Carol Simmons and Office Manager Marilyn Mimbs are joined by a large gathering of Adrian residents and other Emanuel County business people as they cut the ribbon to officially open the Adrian Medical Clinic. The clinic is located in downtown Adrian, (visit emanuelcountylive. com to see contestants photos) Derby zvinners Taking top honors in the annual Pinewood Derby for Cub Scout Pack 205, Twin City, are Clay Best, Dusty Sweat, Greg Johnson, Jr., Terry Burke, Brandon Neal, Jeremiah Lewis, and Matthew Kitchens. Competition was held at Twin City Lions Clubhouse.( visit eman uelcountylive.com to see contestants photos) March 7. 2001 ZCorum says hello ZCorum executives present to announce its location in Swainsboro are Glen Simpson, chief financial officer, Ben Ow, president and chief operating officer, Tony Tan, chairman and CEEO, Julie Caruso, senior vice-president, and Billy Touchberry, vice president, (visit emanuelcountylive.com to see contestants pho tos) Tech gets $3.92 million for technical building In passing the $1.8 billion supplemen tal appropriations bill, the Georgia General Assembly earmarked $3.92 million for a new technology building at Swainsboro Technical College. The appro priations and bud get adjustments both houses and the gov ernor agreed upon include $53,745,000 for the Department of Technical and Adult Education for capital outlay, (visit emanuel countylive.com to see contestants photos) March 2. 2011 For loyal service Retiring volun teer firefighter Bobby Hutcheson receives a plaque "for 29 years of loyal service and true dedication as a volunteer firefight er" at Swainsboro Fire Department. Presenting the plaque are City Administrator, A1 Lawson, Assistant Fire Chief Mike Strobridge, Fire Chief Jerry Odum, and Mayor Ricky Stevens, (visit emanu elcountylive.com to see contestants photos) March is 'National Peanut Month'" Kristi Flowers 5 th , 6 th , 7 th , and 8 th grade PE classes at DEA part nered with Emanuel County Farm Bureau Women's Committee in collecting jars of peanut butter to cele brate "National Peanut Month" in March. This was also a Community Service Project for the school. The jars were given to the local food pantry. Peanuts are a valuable source of energy and contain six essential vitamins and seven essential miner als. They are cholesterol free and low in satu rated fat. Peanut but ter has a long shelf life, is consumed in 89% of USA households, and is a good staple for food pantries. Those students participating in the proj ect were Taylor Dye, Corey Lane, Meghan Garity, Emily Gaston, Natalie Turner, Haley Parham, Olivia Turner, Kirby Watson, Suzanne Durden, Lacey Parham, Tom Todd, Miles Martin, Kristi Flowers, Dylan McNeely, Cassidy Curry, Macie Jukes, Logan Faircloth, Erica Thompson, Jessica Durden, Tyla Beasley, Chase Collins, and Ansley Bragg, (visit emanuelcountylive.com to see contestants pho tos) EGC receives scholarship check Elizabeth Gilmer, Director of External Affairs at EGC, accepts a check from Pine Tree Festival Foundation members, Jen Meadows, Daisy Reeves, and Heather Cook. The check will be used for a scholarship for a stu dent at East Georgia majoring in forestry or agriculture.
