Rayma Scalzo
We are pleased to have Darci Nakagawa, a nurse with Vital Wellness, speak at our Alzheimer’s/Dementia Caregiver Discussion Group meeting on Saturday, February 18. Darci has her Master’s in Education and has worked in hospice and home care. Her presentation will include an in-depth description of home health care services and benefits as well as how patients and their representatives can assert and maintain their patient rights.
Patients and their representatives have certain rights in health care. Home Health is one of those areas. It is medical care provided by Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance). It covers eligible home health services like these: Intermittent skilled nursing care, physical therapy, speech-language pathology services, continued occupational services and more. Usually a home health care agency coordinates the services your doctor orders for you.
Those people with Part A and/or Part B who meet all of the following conditions are covered: You must be under the care of a doctor and you must be getting services under a plan of care established and reviewed regularly by a doctor.
Medicare doesn’t pay for 24-hour-a-day care at home, meals delivered to your home, homemaker services or personal care.
Following the presentation, our time will be spent with members asking questions or sharing experiences. Our group provides information, resources and comfort for those residents who are caregivers for loved ones who have Alzheimer’s or any type of dementia. They could live in the home, at a local care facility or out of state.
Respite Care
We may be able to provide free respite care for those having Alzheimer’s/Dementia disease. This allows the caregiver the opportunity and peace of mind to attend the discussion group meeting. If you let us know, we will try to arrange for someone to come to your home during the two hour meeting. For this assistance, we do ask that you RSVP by Thursday, February 16.
Monthly Breakfast
The caregivers meet for breakfast on the first Saturday of each month at 9:00 a.m. This gives them an opportunity to get to know each other on a more personal level. Knowing others who are going through the same journey is very beneficial.
Please note: Our meetings are for Alzheimer’s/Dementia caregivers only. For the location of the meeting or to RSVP for respite care, please contact Rayma at 623-935-1819 or send an email to [email protected].