Slow, But Now Sure, Plymouth VA Clinic Will Open This Year

The Federal Government often moves (slowly) in strange, mysterious ways.

That may explain why a decision taken by the Department of Veterans Affairs May 26, 2009 to go ahead with a VA Outpatient Clinic in Plymouth was not formally announced to the public by Congressman Bill Delahunt until more than five months later, on November 9.

But then, again, when it comes to this particular project that’s almost warp speed.

Discussions to create this clinic first began almost two decades ago. And the project was actually approved in 2001, only to be de-approved almost literally in days.

And so the lobbying began again with local citizens and veterans groups helping the Congressman get it done. When first elected in 1997, Congressman Delahunt had set as a priority improvement of veteran’s access to health services in his district. An outpatient clinic was the first to be established in Hyannis, a second in Quincy followed soon after. Plymouth finally completes the third leg of the trifecta and will build on the model of the previous two.

Finally, on May 26, Dr. Michael Mayo-Smith, Director of the Veterans Integrated Service Network, informed Congressman Delahunt in Washington that the clinic had been un-de-approved by the VA Deputy Undersecretary for Operations and Management.

A source familiar with the details shrugged that “a bureaucratic thing” involved in setting up the announcement process was responsible for the delay.

Of course, announcing a project doesn’t instantly make it so.

The clinic is under the jurisdiction of the VA Boston Health Care System. (For some reason the VA’s Hyannis Clinic is supervised out of Providence, Rhode Island.)

According to Diane Keefe, Public Relations Manager of the Boston system, potential patients should not be getting in line just yet and a projected mid-June opening was too optimistic.

“We are only in the beginning stages of planning for the Plymouth Outreach Clinic,” she said. “As of this writing we do not have a location selected and our Contracting Department will be doing a solicitation for space. We anticipate the clinic will open in late 2010.”

The new clinic will be open three days a week and will offer Primary Care only.  For starters, there will be four treatment rooms, a waiting area and access to radiological and laboratory facilities. There will be no specialty care, Ms. Keefe said.

It’s expected that mental health services eventually will be added.

And Congressman Delahunt noted, “They fully expect to eventually expand the services to five days a week due to the demand, which was similar to the Cape. The underserved population in this part of the district (approximately 40,000 in Plymouth County), many of whom are elderly or have disabilities, will now be able to get primary and preventive treatment, which will further reduce long term costs by heading off problem conditions before they get too serious.”

 (Even though they are under different administrative districts, staffers at the Hyannis VA Clinic said they welcomed the new facility and predicted it would have an immediate impact in lowering their own growing patient load, which now numbers some 5,000. Other local veterans have been traveling to Boston, Brockton, and Quincy for VA services.)

Massachusetts Senate President Therese Murray of Plymouth was among the speaers at the November announcement. “Service members face both physical and mental trials that continue to affect them long after they have been discharged. It’s because of these challenges that it was critical that we had a facility in Plymouth to address these unique needs.”

She tipped a special hat to Congressman Delahunt for “navigating this project through the Federal system. His support and advocacy have helped make this a reality.”

Local activists receiving recognition included former Veterans Agent Antonio Gomes and former Selectman Alba Thompson, both veterans themselves, who headed the grassroots campaign. Mr. Gomes has been involved from the beginning almost 20 years ago as was Ms. Thompson, a retired Air Force major now in her 90s.

Others involved in keeping the issue alive included Eric Scharath, Dennis Ribeiro, Larry Rooney and Charles Schena; current Veterans Agent Roxanne Whitbeck and State Representatives Vinny deMacedo and Tom Calter.

Short-Term Assisted Living Can End Those Winter Blues

By Michelle E. Tobin

It’s not easy being a snowbird these days. Flying south for the winter—in fact, any air travel—has become an ordeal. Coping with single digit temperatures and double digit snowfalls can be dangerous for the elderly.

What to do? Here’s an option.

Few people are aware that most senior living communities offer short-term or respite stay programs. It’s not always necessary to make a long-term commitment to avail yourself of their services.

Making the decision to stay at an independent or assisted living community for a few months until the weather becomes less burdensome can help independent seniors stay independent longer. Simply minimizing anxiety can benefit one’s health. And studies show that social interaction (as opposed to isolation for months in a weather-bound home) can help maintain memory and cognitive abilities. And even be fun!

(Ms. Tobin isDirector of Community Relations, Sunrise Assisted Living of Plymouth, 508-746-9733 or Plymouth.DCR@Sunriseseniorliving.com.)

One-In-A-Million Kid Out to Raise A Million For Alzheimer’s Cure

A lot of people would like to earn a million dollars in their lifetime…for themselves or at least their immediate family.
For 10-year-old Trent Garzoni of Plymouth, the dollar goal is the same, but for a different cause.

He wants to earn the million to benefit the national Alzheimer's Association in its twin mission of research and support.

“I hope by the time I get there, they’ll find a cure,” he says.

Trent knows of Alzheimer’s from close-up. Both of his great-grandmothers suffered from the disease and by the time he was six they had passed away. Due to their advanced condition, they never really knew him.

Soon after, he began his crusade with a simple garage sale that raised $1,000. That’s become an annual event, but, with the encouragement of his mother, Adrienne Garzoni, he’s branched out to more ambitious events such as theme costume parties to celebrate his birthday in a downtown hotel, the Radisson, that donates the premises.

Trent was namedJunior Honorary Chair for the 2009 Alzheimer's Association South Shore Memory Walk and for two consecutive years he has been recognized as the top fundraiser in Massachusetts under the age of 17. At the State House he has gone door-to-door to encourage legislators to sign bills that will aid both those who suffer from Alzheimer's disease and their caregivers.

More than just a fund-raiser, he’s also a hands-on helper. For the last two years he has been volunteering weekly at Stafford Hill, a senior living campus that includes a major component for memory-impaired elders.

According to Marketing Director Susan Cameris, he contributes by “helping our residents on computers, listening to their stories and simply being a friend.”

At last report Trent is approaching the $14,000 mark in his fund-raising campaign. Nobody’s betting this one-in-a-million youngster won’t make his goal.

RHCI-Plymouth Names Manager

Jeffrey Skeiber, MSPT, MBA, formerly site manager for the Rehabilitation Hospital of the Cape and Islands (RHCI) facility in Yarmouth, has been named to direct the new RHCI-Plymouth Outpatient Rehabilitation Center opening this winter.

Diane O’Connell, PT, formerly a physical therapist at RHCI’s largest outpatient center in Sandwich, will succeed him as the RHCI-Yarmouth site manager.