2 Upper Cape Nursing Centers Renamed By New Ownership

Completing a sales process that quietly took place several months ago, the two Harborside nursing centers of the Upper Cape henceforth will be known individually as the Mashpee (or Falmouth) Care and Rehabilitation Center…with a new logo to match.

The new owner, SunBridge Healthcare Corp., of Irvine, California, purchased the two centers from Harborside Health Care of Boston. SunBridge and its affiliated companies are among the nation’s largest nursing home companies with long-term and postacute care centers in many states.

In another change, both health centers announced they now will accept payments from the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts insurance plan in addition to Medicare, Harvard Pilgrim and private pay.

Bayada Nurses Receive Accreditation From CHAP For Home Care Services

Bayada Nurses has achieved accreditation for home health and private duty services from the Community Health Accreditation Program (CHAP), considered the leading accreditation organization for the home health care industry.

Bayada, founded in 1975, is an independently-owned home health agency with more than 140 offices in 18 states as well as the United Kingdom. In this area it provides services out of offices in Hyannis, Falmouth and Plymouth.

To achieve accreditation, organizations must demonstrate compliance with CHAP national standards in the provision of care services. The rigorous accreditation process involves a thorough examination of the business and service aspects of the entire organization, including office and client visits.

Cape Medical Supply Earns National Recognition, Opens A Fourth Facility In Hyannis

Cape Medical Supply has opened its fourth location in Hyannis…and they’ve got an additional headline to go with the announcement.
At last month’s national convention of Home Medical Equipment providers in Baltimore they were honored as the first runnerup in a tight finish among three finalists in a field of 30 for the organization’s seventh annual HME Excellence awards. 

President/CEO Gary Sheehan commented, “I wish we could have brought home the top spot, but number two is still a good showing. And there’s always next year.”

“If the competition was a horse-race, it would have been a photo-finish, said Mike Moran, editor of the sponsoring HME News, who said the decision was based on a point system that considered financial performance, marketing, staffing, community involvement and referral and patient satisfaction.

“Cape Medical Supply and Gary Sheehan really distinguished themselves,” he said.
Cape Medical Supply already has locations in Sandwich, Falmouth and Plymouth.

Bad News For The Cape:
Study Shows Alzheimer’s Can Triple Healthcare Costs

By Katherine Wernier
Hidden amongst the many pressing issues healthcare and social agencies are dealing with today is a serious and emerging public health need that impacts Cape Cod more than any other place in the Commonwealth because of our demographics.

A recent report from the Aging Services Network illustrates just how significant this particular aging issue can be.

In brief, it states that Alzheimer’s disease and dementia triple healthcare costs for Americans age 65 and older.

People with Alzheimer’s are high consumers of hospital, nursing home and other health and long-term care services, which translates into high costs for Medicare, Medicaid and millions of families. As families struggle to survive in a deepening recession and as states grapple with budget shortfalls, Alzheimer’s disease threatens to overwhelm them both. Most people with Alzheimer’s also have one or more additional serious medical conditions, such as diabetes or coronary artery disease. Their Alzheimer’s greatly complicates the medical management for these other conditions and drives up costs significantly.

By 2010, there will be nearly half a million new cases of Alzheimer’s each year. Here on the Cape this impact is magnified many times.
It is imperative to have reliable information about the needs of our residents here on the Cape, including an awareness of an emerging condition known as mild cognitive impairment (MCI). There is an urgent need to identify these cases early so as to provide the necessary intervention. Here at REACH (Reaching Elders with Additional Community Help) we are also seeking input and relevant data from such agencies as Alzheimer's Services, ESCCI and Barnstable County.

Our group is funded by the Cape Cod Healthcare Community Benefits Program and work in this field also has been aided by a recent $30,000 grant from the United Way.

(Ms. Wernier is REACH Collaborative Coordinator, 508-771-4510, reach@ciemss.org or www.joinreach.org.)

Cape CARE Volunteers Return To Bring Medical Care To Isolated Honduras Mountains

As this issue of To Your Good Health, A Health Care Newsletter, appears, still another team of 14 Massachusetts volunteers is heading to Honduras to bring sorely needed medical services to the isolated mountain village of Los Encinitos and surrounding communities.

This is the 20th year this service has been provided under the aegis of Cape CARES (Central American Relief Effort). They usually set up shop three times a year in three different sites in the mountains of southern Honduras. Volunteers include dentists, physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, dental hygienists, optometrists, chiropractors, pharmacists and lay support people.

These volunteers pay their own expenses and donate their time and expertise.

Their efforts are appreciated. Los Encinitos is 35 miles by four-wheel drive from the Honduras capital of Tegucigalpa. During a recent weeklong visit, the volunteer team saw 600 patients, many of whom had walked up to five hours for treatment.

This latest team will be led by Dr. Tom Furth, an internist from Beverly. The group also includes Meredith Lepore, a Family Nurse Practitioner from Nantucket, and Kristin Sbarra of Falmouth. Both are daughters of local physicians.

The team that went to Honduras in February included Captain/EMT Jennifer Smith of Eastham; Amelia Fournier, Adult Nurse Practitioner at Duffy Health Center in Hyannis; Holly Kuhn, EMT of Buzzards Bay; Dr. Stephanie Prior, Family Practitioner at the Cape Cod Community Health Center; and Dr. Herbert Mathewson, a Pediatrician and Medical Director of Cape Cod Healthcare VNA (and Medical Advisor for this newsletter).

Cape CARES is solely supported by private philanthropy. To volunteer your services, make a contribution, or get further information about the East Orleans-based organization: 508-631-4848, admin@capecares.org or www.capecares.org.