OMAHA, Neb. (PRWEB)
April 26, 2021

There is no place quite like home. This sentiment is especially understood by the increasing number of older adults who would prefer to age in place. Over the last year this desire has only intensified, as many families consider this the safer option when compared to facility living for older adults. However, questions around what home care entails, what it costs and what financial assistance and resources are available remain a barrier.

“Many seniors want to remain in their own household, and this trend has only increased during the pandemic,” said Lakelyn Hogan, Ph.D., gerontologist and caregiver advocate at Home Instead. “As caregivers and family members navigate their loved one’s desire to age in place, it’s important to address their questions about options available to them financially and how they can get help.”

In-home care services, including personal care, transportation, meal preparation, household help and companionship – a growing concern for aging adults during the pandemic – go a long way in combatting the impact of isolation amongst this population. There are many benefits, primarily the sense of independence seniors maintain.

One of the most overlooked benefits of home care is the flexibility. While some clients require services 24 hours a day, seven days a week, others prefer only a few shifts a week. The needs of each individual are unique, and professional caregivers are often times able to tailor their schedules to each client. Depending on the level of care needed, home care has the potential to save thousands of dollars a month, compared to nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

A common misconception is that home care is not an option due to associated costs. In fact, according to an AP-NORC long-term care trends poll, many Americans overestimate the cost of home care and underestimate the cost of assisted living communities. This is why taking the time to research and explore all options before making a decision is crucial. Hogan addresses questions surrounding funding for senior care:

• 
  Q: Do I have to pay out-of-pocket for senior care?
• A: Historically, private pay has been the main way people covered the cost of senior care. But there are many options for almost any budget, including long-term care insurance, veteran’s benefits and even Medicare Advantage plans.
• Q: Does Medicare cover the cost of in-home care?
• A: Medicare insurance itself generally will not pay for in-home senior care. However, recent rule changes by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services could allow Medicare Advantage plans to cover a variety of senior support services in the home. The best place to start is speaking with your insurance company about what care could be covered for you or your loved one.
• Q: Does long-term care insurance help pay for senior care?
• A: The answer depends on the individual policy. Talk to the insurance company or agent to find out if the LTC policy covers in-home care – and, if so, what types of services will be reimbursed. Knowing the level of coverage you have from your insurance is a vital step as your loved ones age. Learn more with these LTCI resources.
• Q: How can children or grandchildren pay for senior care for a loved one?
• A: Many families want to see those they love age with independence and dignity in the family home – or whatever setting the senior prefers. Adult children and grandchildren can contribute funds in equal shares or proportionally to support their family member’s needs. Before initiating this type of plan, you might consider seeking the counsel of an attorney for certain things to consider, such as cash gifting regulations.
• Q: Are there any grants I can apply for to pay for senior care?
• A: Yes! Home Instead partners with HFC® to administer grants for deserving families providing care to older adults with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia. These grants cover the full cost of Home Instead services for a period. To date, there have been 313,200 hours of free care provided through the program. Learn more and apply for a Dementia Home Care Grant. While HFC® is specific to dementia and Alzheimer’s care, there are other local programs worth exploring among area agencies for grants to help fund senior care.

There are many resources available for those who are interested in learning about the cost of care. The most important thing is to make a plan and determine what is best for aging loved ones. For more information about funding, visit: http://www.homeinstead.com/cost-of-care-for-aging-adults/ or start a conversation with the aging experts at your local Home Instead office.

ABOUT HOME INSTEAD

Founded in 1994 in Omaha, Nebraska, the Home Instead® franchise network provides personalized care, support and education to enhance the lives of aging adults and their families. Today, the network is the world’s leading provider of in-home care services for older adults, with more than 1,200 independently owned and operated franchises that provide more than 90 million hours of care annually throughout the United States and 14 other countries. Local Home Instead offices employ approximately 90,000 CAREGivers℠ worldwide who provide basic support services that enable older adults to live safely and comfortably in their own homes for as long as possible. Home Instead franchise owners partner with clients and their family members to help meet varied individual needs. Services span the care continuum – from providing personal care to specialized Alzheimer’s care and hospice support. Also available are family caregiver education and support resources. Visit HomeInstead.com. Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

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WASHINGTON (PRWEB)
April 20, 2021

DHS announced today that the firm has been tracking the demographic composition of nonprofit boards since 2018 through its signature research project – Leading with Intent: A National Index of Nonprofit Board Practices. In 2020, it was learned that nonprofit boards are making little progress in diversifying their composition despite reporting high levels of dissatisfaction with current board demographics. This lack of progress and disconnect alarmed DHS and led the firm to issue a clarion call to action: Nonprofit boards must act now to provide stronger leadership on diversity, inclusion, and equity.

This commitment to sector-wide board diversification will gain momentum when DHS Vice Chairman, Fernando Aguirre, will implement the initiative in late June of 2021. Aguirre brings more than 20 years of professional and volunteer experience in community development and diversity, equity, and inclusion to the role. He will work closely with Drake Cortland, consultant, in building board-level capacity to advance racial equity – and diversity, inclusion, and equity more broadly – as well as other critical sector-wide issues, including nonprofit engagement in public policy advocacy and the positive potential of strategic partnerships for the nonprofit organizations DHS serves.

As DHS Vice Chairman, Fernando Aguirre, has noted in the past, “DHS is unapologetic about our belief in the importance of board diversity, not just because we believe diverse perspectives help boards operate more effectively but because we understand the very real risks a lack of diversity can create. Homogeneous boards can fall prey to strategic blind spots in any context, but the stakes are particularly high when a board is ill-equipped to understand the impact of its decisions on the communities it seeks to serve.

“As stewards of the public good, social sector organizations must act, must make progress in diversifying their leadership, and DHS is eager to step up our work in this area under my leadership.”

Among Vice Chairman Aguirre’s professional accomplishments are leading strategies for achieving measurable growth in outreach and impact in the minority community of age 50+. He worked to ensure that minorities throughout the country had greater access to programs and information to improve their health, wealth, and quality of life. DHS Vice Chairman Aguirre also developed and implemented community development strategies in seven key U.S. markets that resulted in 65 percent of its employees in those markets donating 170,000 hours to nonprofit partners.

As a volunteer, DHS Vice Chairman, Fernando Aguirre, has served on panels of both local and regional nonprofits, playing a key role in helping to transform board culture and practices as it relates to diversity, inclusion, and equity. Nonprofits that have benefited from his leadership on their boards of directors and advisory boards.

“I know first-hand how important the board’s leadership is to the success of an organization – including the board’s leadership on diversity, inclusion, and equity,” said DHS Vice Chairman Fernando Aguirre. “And I know what it takes to create change from the inside out in our work across the nonprofit sector.”

“The nonprofit sector is a key player in efforts to create a world that is more just and equitable, and that addresses the needs and challenges faced by the full diversity of our society,” said Aguirre. “We cannot do that well without boards that are diverse, inclusive, and focused on equity. I look forward to helping boards deepen their understanding of and commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equity – and to supporting them as they work to make change happen.”

ABOUT DHS

DHS is a high-stakes advocacy, public strategy, private equity / joint venture, and global public relations and communications firm. Their strategic insights and innovative programming build and sustain strong corporate and brand reputations. They provide their clients with counsel and program development across the spectrum of public relations, public affairs, reputation and crisis management, digital strategy, investments, venture capital projects, advertising, and other communications services. Their clients are companies, industry associations, nonprofit organizations, professional services firms, and other large organizations.

They began as a unique grassroots and advocacy firm with customized services for an elite group of clients, then added private investments and acquisitions. Their work applies equally to regulatory issues as well as legislative ones, and they manage issues for their clients at the local, state, federal, and international levels of government.

They use their core competencies and reach to gain competitive advantage for clients. Their expertise comes from extensive must-win campaign experience and operating successfully at the highest rung of business, government, politics, and media. Their reach is the ability to use strategic intelligence to mobilize the message and persuade the toughest audiences. They know what it takes to win in difficult situations. They have proven results for prominent figures, leading advocacy groups, and the world’s most successful companies. They leverage what others cannot.

CONTACT:

DHS

Steve Palmer, Vice President of Corporate Communications

s.palmer@dhs-grp.com

202-719-0398

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DUBLIN (PRWEB)
April 11, 2021

If you would like to train your own service dog, how do you get started? The answer to this question may be surprising. Service dogs are not actually required by law to be professionally trained or formally certified. This means that owners may train their own animals to perform specific tasks themselves. Still, this might be a demanding process, and there are professional service dog training specialists for these services. For example, if a dog qualifies as a service dog under the ADA, the dog is allowed to accompany its owner in certain public areas within businesses, government buildings, and beyond. In a hospital, for example, it would be inappropriate to exclude a service animal from areas such as patient rooms, clinics, cafeterias, or examination rooms.

That’s exactly where SDTSI come into the picture. SDTSI is an international service dog training school, a coalition of professional guide and service dog trainers dedicated to education, development and support of service dog and therapy dog online training worldwide. Most importantly, SDTSI provides service dog training online.

At SDTSI, service dog training courses provide the most effective training techniques to simplify the service dog training process. Here specialists for therapy dog training as well as psychiatric service dog training focus on helping people with mental and physical disabilities to train their own pet dog to become a fully qualified service dog. SDTSI also provides a registry of certified service and therapy dogs. The service dog training school provides testing, certification, registration, and support for service dog and therapy dog owners worldwide. By 2020, SDTSI had trained more than 2000 service dogs worldwide to assist with most mental and physical disabilities.

SDTSI has unique service dog training techniques. Their service dog training courses introduce and teach the simplest methods of training a service dog. What took our professional guide and service dog trainers 20 years combined to learn is available to you in SDTSI’s service dog online training portal effortlessly. So you can train your own dog to become a service dog or therapy dog within a very short time. SDTSI courses allow you to work at your own pace. Students can complete the courses in as little as three days or take as long as 12 weeks to complete their study and training. All methods in SDTSI‘s training sessions are animal friendly, very simple to follow, and effective. After the completion of each course, SDTSI will certify your dog with all training records.

All of SDTSI’s training courses are really affordable. SDTSI‘s online portal is the first service dog online training portal worldwide. Course fees range from $199 to $599 and include study materials, study files and training kit, full tutor and admin support, service dog registration, and certification fees. All training courses are developed and monitored by SDTSI‘s team of trusted, experienced behavioral experts, including certified trainers and board-certified veterinary behaviorists. SDTSI specializes in a personalized approach that focuses on how your partnership with your service dog will help you overcome the challenges you face in your home and in public.

SDTSI’s service animal training courses are aimed at individuals who would like to train their own service dog, or even to find a new occupation as a service dog trainer and help others to embark on their service dog training journey.

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KILLEEN, Texas (PRWEB)
April 05, 2021

John Valentine, Army Veteran, CEO and Founder of the non-profit Operation Phantom Support believes in supporting military families. The entire mission of the non-profit is to assist Soldiers, Veterans, 1st Responders, and their families who are in need. Often families of deployed service members rely on the additional support offered through this organization.

Covid hit the non-profit hard as their donations decreased significantly, leaving them with a deficit of $7,000 per month. They have reached out to their community and businesses for additional support. A local news station covered the story and it was featured on CBS, Yahoo, MSN, and several local outlets, making their mission known on a broader scale.

Operation Phantom Support was started in 2014 in order to support the Active Duty Members, Honorable Veterans, First Responders, and their Families. With continuing support, they have been able to grow and expand their reach each year.

24% of Veterans and 27% of Active Duty Military indicated that they wanted resources and knew how to access Food and Nutrition programs in a poll conducted by the Institute of Veteran and Military Families in 2020. According to the Center and Budget of Policy Priorities, 97,000 Veterans in the state of Texas are recipients of SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits. A 2016 report from the Government Accountability Office indicated that more than 23,000 active-duty troops used the food stamp program in 2013, which is the last year for which such information was available.

To find out more about Operation Phantom Support, reach out to John Valentine at

http://www.phantomsupport.org.

John Valentine is a leader in his community, ensuring that families get the support they need through the food pantry and numerous other programs designed to support the families of Active Duty, Veterans and First Responders. He served 21 years in the U.S. Army and continues to serve his community.

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BOSTON (PRWEB)
March 24, 2021

Activate Care®, a leader in integrated health and social care solutions, today announced its engagement with healthcare and social services stakeholders in 42 states through its integration with 2-1-1 Helplines, community-based organizations, healthcare systems and ACOs, and government agencies to better help communities collaborate, ultimately improving the healthcare and social services ecosystem in the U.S. Since the pandemic took hold one year ago, it has pushed the healthcare industry to create models that maximize efficiency and improve care.

As a leading provider of community information exchange solutions, Activate Care has been selected by national and regional healthcare and social services organizations to seamlessly facilitate real-time, cross-sector collaboration around patients with complex health, behavioral, and social needs, creating a 20 percent estimated mean savings of the total cost of care.

“Hundreds of organizations across the country trust Activate Care to help them address social determinants of health,” said Activate Care CEO and Founder Ted Quinn. “We’ve got to alleviate what I call ‘that’s not my job syndrome’ to ensure that all players working towards better public health have the tools they need to not just screen for SDOH issues, but intervene and drive change. We’ve seen when communities recognize that appropriately exchanging information across their community care provider networks, that positive change does happen.”

Caring for the social determinants of health requires full visibility into an entire patient population. Many SDOH interventions today rely only on health system data, which while highly structured, cannot show a full picture of the patients’ social needs. Government agencies, social services, and community-based organizations provide a wealth of social data not typically found in the healthcare system. A year into the country’s experience of facing COVID-19, it is clearer than ever that challenges around mental health, homelessness, and other behavioral and social needs are vast and will continue. Without the data, community information exchanges cannot function to their full potential.

Activate Care’s Analytics offer access to all program data in the following ways:

• In-tool downloads and exports
• Custom reporting designed and built as needed, and updated daily to help programs take trends and scale operations
• Standard exports without permission limitations
• Report library, downloadable via in-tool console

Standard reports available to Activate Care’s customers include operational data such as patient assignments, task assignments, task status, and enrollment. Panel data such as patient demographics, health and social needs, and custom data tracking is readily available. Program data including care process progress and velocity, billing data, and platform usage is offered – all of which are key differentiators for Activate Care’s model.

In Florida’s Volusia County, Palm Beach County and Tallahassee County, Activate Care is helping to optimize data sharing and analytics to drive change. “We can’t vaccinate against the effects of unemployment, homelessness, domestic violence, mental illness, and so many other issues that are affecting our population,” said Sharon L’Herrou, president and CEO, 2-1-1 Palm Beach in Florida which covers five counties in the state.

“Our role as a 24/7 service to our community is to be a gateway for valuable information about testing, COVID safety, challenges regarding financial and health needs, all of those social determinants of health that are affecting us all so gravely. We must begin working more closely together to delve deeper to solve these intractable problems. We believe we can do more in these cases than just sharing information. At points, we’ve been overwhelmed with the level of need since COVID hit, and we’ve been talking with our community partners about how we can better integrate systems. As I learned more about Activate Care’s technology, data, and analysis to get community members on a path to better health, I was impressed. They seem to be the only provider putting local, community services at the center of their planning. And I think that will make all the difference in making a real impact quickly,” L’Herrou added.

About Activate Care®

Activate Care is America’s community information exchange platform, offering services, technology and data analytics to do the needed work supporting communities standing up care models that recognize the central role that social services provide in the care of vulnerable and underserved communities. Activate Care recognizes that social, physical, and medical care must be connected to realize the care goals of individuals and families. Activate Care’s cloud-based CareHub™ platform connects patients, families, care teams, and community partners to address social determinants of health and create better whole person care on the journey to health and wellbeing. With Activate Care, everyone directly involved with a patient’s health can act together to improve health and social outcomes, making healthier lives happen, wherever they are. Activate Care is boldly working with our partners to change care delivery across the country.

Headquartered in Boston, Mass., Activate Care is privately held and venture-funded by the disruptive innovation investment firm, Rose Park Advisors. The company was named one of BostInno’s “50 on Fire” in fall 2020, which showcases the 50 companies in Boston “with innovative approaches to solving problems and making the biggest impact.” For more information, visit https://www.activatecare.com.

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ALEXANDRIA, Va. (PRWEB)
February 24, 2021

CHC: Creating Healthier Communities, a nationwide nonprofit dedicated to addressing the barriers to good health, is proud to announce that LeeAnn Yang, current Financial Controller, has been promoted to Chief Financial Officer as of February 22, 2021 and will assume responsibility for finance, risk management and other administrative functions. LeeAnn becomes a member of the Executive Leadership Team, will report to the CEO Thomas G. Bognanno, and will staff both the Board Finance and the Audit and Risk committees.

“I am excited to announce LeeAnn’s promotion to CFO. She is a very capable leader who has a keen understanding of the financial strategies that CHC needs to undertake, especially during an extremely challenging operating environment,” said Thomas G. Bognanno, president and CEO at CHC. “She will be instrumental in helping us build a stronger, more focused, and top-line oriented business model that will enable significant growth.”

Yang joined CHC in April 2019 with over twenty years of experience in the finance and accounting field. Prior to CHC, she worked as a Financial Controller for a private consulting firm for four years. She has diversified experience from both the private and nonprofit sectors, including Asurion, Jack Kent Cook Foundation, and MedStar Washington Hospital Center. During the past two years at CHC, Yang helped build a strong finance team, streamlined the accounting and finance processes, and became a key player on the senior leadership team.

“I’m proud of the team we’ve built at CHC,” said Yang. “I’m honored to accept this new leadership role and look forward to helping CHC grow.”

Yang has been a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) for over twenty years and earned a Master of Arts in Business Management, Accounting and Finance at The Catholic University of America. She is a member of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants (MACPA).

ABOUT CHC: CREATING HEALTHIER COMMUNITES

CHC: Creating Healthier Communities, formerly Community Health Charities, is a catalyst for good health, bringing communities, nonprofits, and businesses together around a shared commitment to better health and wellbeing. We represent thousands of high-impact nonprofits nationwide, working to address barriers to good health, and we connect them with capital from our corporate, foundation and government partners to power transformative change. By listening to partners and convening community and business leaders, we ensure that we always act in the best interests of communities, directing resources and expertise where it is needed most. For more information, visit chcimpact.org.

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CAMAS, Wash. (PRWEB)
January 29, 2021

Dr. Carol Parker Walsh, Founder, and CEO of Carol Parker Walsh, LLC, an executive coaching, career strategy, training, professional presence practice for smart high-achieving women, has been accepted into Newsweek Expert Forum, an invitation-only community for pioneering thinkers and industry leaders. 

Dr. Carol Parker Walsh was hand-selected to join the community based on her proven expertise in career reinvention and professional development. As a member, Dr. Carol Parker Walsh is part of a curated network of thought leaders from a broad range of influential industries and professions who share unique insights and analysis and publish thought-provoking content.

Scott Gerber, founder of Newsweek Expert Forum, says, “We are honored to accept Dr. Carol Parker Walsh into the Newsweek Expert Forum. When experts gather in curated, private settings, they can share advice and build trusted relationships that further their mutual success. Dr. Carol Parker Walsh brings important insights about career reinvention, advancement, and professional presence and leadership to this community.”

“I’m incredibly honored and excited to be joining a community of industry leaders, as well as have the opportunity to lend my voice and expertise to Newsweek’s readers. Becoming a member of the Expert’s Forum will amplify my exposure and allow me to broaden my reach to the smart high-achieving professional women that I have yet to meet and support.”

Members of Newsweek Expert Forum can connect with peers in a private online forum and publish thought leadership articles on Newsweek.com. Benefits also include access to Newsweek Premium, personal brand-building opportunities, discounts on business services, and invitations to VIP experiences.

Newsweek Expert Forum, which launched early in 2021, provides a unique industry-leading peer group to members selected for their accomplished minds and expertise. Members of the Newsweek Expert Forum are top thinkers and professionals in business, culture/arts, health, lifestyle, money, science, sports, technology, and travel.

Newsweek is a premier news magazine and website, bringing high-quality journalism to readers around the globe for over 80 years. Newsweek provides the latest news, in-depth analysis, and ideas about international issues, technology, business, culture, and politics. 

Dr. Carol Parker Walsh

http://carolparkerwalsh.com

support@carolparkerwalsh.com

Camas, Washington

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