Senior Living Today – Most Important News for Seriors

Seniors Seeking Vaccines Have a Problem: They Can’t Use the Internet – The New York Times

February 28, 2021

Advertisement Continue reading the main story Older adults living alone often lack access or an understanding of technology, and many are unsure how to sign up for an appointment. With the pandemic curtailing in-person interactions, the stark digital divide between generations has become more apparent.Credit…Christian Sorensen Hansen for The New York Times Feb. 28, 2021Updated 2:13 p.m. ET Annette Carlin feels trapped. Before the pandemic, Ms. Carlin, who is 84, loved to go on walks in Novato, Calif., with her grandchildren and dance at the senior center. Since March, though, she has been stuck indoors. She has been eager to sign up for a vaccine and begin returning to normal life.…
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Maine takes vaccinations to seniors in independent living facilities – pressherald.com

February 28, 2021

Millie Hawkins, 101, is scheduled to receive her second dose of a COVID-19 vaccination in mid-March. She is a resident of Millbrook Estates senior living in Westbrook. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer Many Maine seniors living in independent living apartments can’t drive or easily get a ride to a COVID-19 vaccination site. Others might find it challenging to navigate online registration or deal with an automated call center line. The Maine Immunization Program, part of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, has launched a system so these seniors don’t get overlooked, and the program is expanding further this week. The state is partnering with independent pharmacies, paramedics and other health care providers to bring vaccines directly to independent living communities whose residents were originally included, but then dropped, from a federal pharmacy program included in the first phase of Maine’s vaccination plan.…
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Maine takes vaccinations to seniors in independent living facilities – Press Herald

February 28, 2021

Millie Hawkins, 101, is scheduled to receive her second dose of a COVID-19 vaccination in mid-March. She is a resident of Millbrook Estates senior living in Westbrook. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer Many Maine seniors living in independent living apartments can’t drive or easily get a ride to a COVID-19 vaccination site. Others might find it challenging to navigate online registration or deal with an automated call center line. The Maine Immunization Program, part of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, has launched a system so these seniors don’t get overlooked, and the program is expanding further this week. The state is partnering with independent pharmacies, paramedics and other health care providers to bring vaccines directly to independent living communities whose residents were originally included, but then dropped, from a federal pharmacy program included in the first phase of Maine’s vaccination plan.…
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Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center vaccinates 98% of residents at senior living facility – KSHB

February 26, 2021

Independence living center residents receive COVID-19 vaccine INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — On Friday, Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center vaccinated 98% of the residents living at the Fountains at Green Briar independent living facility. Billie Betts and Peggy Burrus are two sisters living at the facility who received a vaccine. “Well, thank you for this opportunity, I never get to talk, she always does it for me,” Betts said as she laughed and pushed her sister. Burrus followed-up with “That’s alright!” The sisters have been facing the pandemic as a pair, even when they couldn’t always physically be together. “We’re in a facility that was shut up for a long time, where we were not able to even come out of our rooms, so it’s a whole new life,” Betts said.…
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DC Health partnered with DCHA to administer vaccines – Street Sense Media

February 26, 2021

Photo courtesy of Steven Cornfield / Unsplash.com D.C. Health partnered with the D.C. Housing Authority, Johns Hopkins Health System, and the United Medical Center to administer the COVID-19 vaccine to seniors in public housing properties beginning at the end of January. But as the D.C. Housing Authority (DCHA) has started this rollout, private affordable housing programs for seniors have been struggling due to lack of federal support and technological barriers of individually registering seniors. This includes non-profits that offer long-term affordable housing for seniors and similar programs. D.C. Health allocated at least 1,950 doses for the DCHA properties, and as of mid-February, 1,040 people have been vaccinated at 13 of DCHA’s 15 properties that house seniors, according to D.C.…
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Fairfax Announces Early Redemption of Senior Notes Due October 14, 2022 and March 22, 2023 – Yahoo Finance

February 26, 2021

TORONTO, Feb. 26, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (“Fairfax”) (TSX: FFH and FFH.U) announces that, on March 28, 2021, it is redeeming all of its outstanding 5.84% senior notes due October 14, 2022 (the “2022 Notes”) at a redemption price of 106.999% of the principal amount of the 2022 Notes plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any. There is C$446 million principal amount of 2022 Notes currently outstanding. Fairfax also announces that, on March 28, 2021, it is redeeming all of its outstanding 4.50% senior notes due March 22, 2023 (the “2023 Notes”) at a redemption price of 106.456%…
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Labor Department expands jobless aid for those forced to choose ‘your money or your health’ – Yahoo Finance

February 26, 2021

Workers whose states denied them unemployment aid during the COVID-19 pandemic may be able to retroactively access benefits back to Feb. 2, 2020, according to a new Labor Department rule issued Thursday. The Department of Labor (DOL) broadened access to the federal pandemic unemployment assistance (PUA) established under the CARES Act, and comes in response to a Jan. 22 executive order seeking clarification on who qualifies for it. The DOL rule expands eligibility to certain workers who refused to show up based on unsafe conditions, education workers who lost work due to volatile work schedules, and employees whose hours were reduced or who were permanently laid off.…
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Lower Spending Drives Senior Satisfaction with Medigap Policies – HealthPayerIntelligence.com

February 26, 2021

Source: Getty Images By Kelsey Waddill February 26, 2021 – Seniors who choose Medigap policies have high rates of satisfaction with their choice, particularly due to reduced out-of-pocket healthcare spending, according to a survey that America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) commissioned. “More than 14 million Americans rely on Medicare supplemental insurance, and more than a third of seniors with a traditional Medicare plan choose to enroll in a Medicare supplemental plan because they offer enhanced protection, consistent coverage, and access to high-quality care,” AHIP asserted in a blog post when the organization released its report. Global Strategy Group conducted an online survey for AHIP from January 14 to January 20, 2021.…
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Lawsuit protections weighed for long-term care facilities Stock image via Adobe. – Florida Politics

February 26, 2021

Shielding the state’s long-term care industry is proving thorny. The Republican-led Legislature has promised to fast-track legislation to protect Florida businesses from COVID-19 lawsuits, but shielding the state’s long-term care industry at the same time is proving thorny. The breadth of the liability protections and whether all long-term care facilities should be shielded are among the issues that lawmakers will consider during the annual Legislative Session that begins Tuesday. Gov. Ron DeSantis lashed out at a South Florida assisted living facility last March after two of its residents died from COVID-19. The Governor said a police investigation showed the facility didn’t screen everyone before they entered the building, as required at the time by state orders.…
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The rise of home health – Home Care Daily News – McKnight’s Senior Living

February 26, 2021

Liza Berger If you have a stake in a publicly traded home healthcare company, you might be feeling pretty confident right now. The picture from Wall Street appears to be nothing but rosy on the home health front. As an example, on Thursday, Amedisys, one of the country’s largest home health companies, reported a 5% growth in home health volume for the fourth quarter. Chairman and CEO Paul Kusserow said that he projects a 9% increase in home care volume for 2021. And the Pennant Group Inc., a new home health, hospice and senior living spin-off from the Ensign Group, this week reported that profits from operations in its home health and hospice segment rose a whopping 48% on higher revenues in 2020 over the prior year.…
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