The Lighthouse

                                                              Coastal Empire Polio Survivors Association, Inc.

                                                                                                         Newsletter, April, 2006

Shining light on post-polio health 

President’s Message…

     We changed the format of the March meeting to allow more time for our S.O.S. - Sharing Our Strengths segment by moving it to the beginning of the meeting. This really worked well! We had some great discussions and innovative ideas to implement CEPSA’s purpose in 2006. We will be forming committees in the near future to get started with the four main areas mentioned.

1. Design a navigational map of the Historic District for scooter and wheelchair users, which would be a positive approach to address the accessibility problems in Savannah.

2. Design a packet, card and/or bracelet of polio health information to inform families and physicians of specific polio health and care needs in the event a polio survivor is hospitalized.

3. Write and produce a jingle to be aired on radio and television, which would be an uplifting way to encourage awareness of polio and what CEPSA stands for. 

4. Develop a polio awareness campaign, which would include: working with the Chatham County Health Department Everybody Counts Immunization Coalition; articles in Savannah magazines and newspapers; a poster contest for schools about the polio vaccine, the eradication project and distributing flyers to churches and businesses.

If you would like to be involved in any of these projects, please contact Janet DiClaudio

April Meeting:                      

                         You are invited to

 CEPSA’s Anniversary Celebration

and

History Book Workshop

April 22, 2006

Lunch Provided

     At the April 22nd meeting we will be celebrating CEPSA’s 9th anniversary. To commemorate this event, we will be assembling several volumes of information and photos of CEPSA’s accomplishments and events since we began in 1997. CEPSA members, family and friends are welcome.

Come celebrate CEPSA’s beginning and take a walk down memory lane as we document and preserve the history of CEPSA for the future.

Lunch Reservations are encouraged by April 14

Contact: Janet DiClaudio

Respectfully Submitted, Diane Davis, President

   God Bless…

Total cases of polio worldwide: 1885

Polio cases from 29 March 2005 to 28 March 2006

CEPSA General Meeting

 March 25, 2006

Minutes

President Diane Davis welcomed everyone at 10:00 A.M.

Cheryl Brackin read the poem Lost by David Waggoner and led the group in  prayer. Diane Davis led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Those present were divided into four small groups to discuss the Purpose Statement questionnaire.  Each group appointed a presenter who would share one of the group’s ideas with all of us.  Sandra Bath acted as facilitator for this activity.  Each of the best ideas is listed below.

• Sher Blackwelder reported for the first group which included spouses and other caretakers.  They want to write and produce a “jingle” to be aired on radio and television.  Junie Parham can produce it. 
• Dan Shehan was the second group’s reporter.  They decided to develop a “Navigational Guide to the Historic District for Scooter and Wheelchair Users”.  The map could be put on our website and linked to Dr. Bruno’s website.
• Cheryl Brackin served as the reporter for the third group.  They want to design a packet of health information for polio survivors to give to hospitals, physicians, and their families.  Dan Shehan suggested that we design a “medic alert bracelet” regarding our problem also.
• Janet DiClaudio reported for the fourth group.  They suggested doing an awareness campaign including: working with the Chatham County Health Department Everybody Counts Immunization Coalition; get an article in a new magazine called The South; a poster contest for elementary, middle, high and postsecondary schools; show the film The Lost Child ; and, distribute flyers to churches and other businesses and organizations.

All of the questionnaires were collected and given to Janet DiClaudio, who will compile a summary of the ideas.

Program:  Tom Newcomer presented an overview of the Medicare program including what is covered under each of the four parts, what Medicare does and does not pay for, how much the beneficiary (patient) will pay out of their pocket for hospital and skilled care, and a brief discussion of the Part D Prescription Drug Plans.  He did an excellent job in a short amount of time.  He will write a summary for the next issue of The Lighthouse.

Diane Davis called the business meeting to order at 12:00 noon.  The minutes of the last meeting were approved as written. Marty Foxx gave the Treasurer’s Report.

Janet DiClaudio read a thank note for the monetary gift and support from the Merritts. They hope to get to a meeting soon.

Janet DiClaudio reported that Betty Kipp is doing better and really appreciated the card that was sent to her. She is going to try to come to a meeting again.

Diane Davis reminded everyone about the history book which is to be started at the April meeting. 

Cheryl Brackin distributed 3 x 5 cards on which we are to write the names and addresses of family, friends, caregivers, or healthcare professionals who are to receive a copy of The Lighthouse. 

Diane Davis thanked Ruth Parham, Betty Goff and Bob and Dot Parkhurst for providing the refreshments.

Door Prizes: Marty Foxx won Post-Polio Health International note cards which were donated by Cheryl Brackin; Dot Parkhurst and Ruth Parham each won a pillow which was made and donated by Eunice Newcomer; and, Dan Shehan won a car wash donated by Auto Shine.

The meeting was adjourned at 12:20 PM.

The next meeting will be held on April 22, 2006 at 10:00 AM in the Candler Heart and Lung Building Conference Room #2.

Respectively submitted,

Janet DiClaudio, Secretary

Attendance

Dan Shehan                  Dot & Bob  Parkhurst

Laurence Byrd              Cheryl Brackin

Diane Davis                  Betty & Gene Goff

Tom Newcomer           Janet DiClaudio

Sher Blackwelder        Tony Tedona

Jim & GiGi Veccia      Sandra Bath

Marty Foxx                    Willie Green

Sissy Morel                   Ruth & Junie Parham

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April 12th --- 51st Anniversary of the Salk Vaccine

 “Safe, effective, and potent”—these words, on April 12, 1955, announced to the world that the Salk polio vaccine was up to 90% effective in preventing polio. The development of the vaccine by Dr. Jonas Salk and his colleagues was an accomplishment that ended an era of global fear of a dreaded contagious disease and, in the process, reshaped the conduct of science, the funding of science, and the public’s role in the support of science. These efforts forever changed the way that public health was administered, and advanced the general understanding of ways basic scientific research benefited humanity through collaboration between academic, philanthropic, and government institutions.

Happy Birthday  May   6  Junie Parham

Voluntary Dues of $15.00 may be paid to Marty Foxx; the gift of stamps for mailing your newsletter would be 

greatly appreciated! 

CEPSA Officers for 2006

Diane Davis, President                       

Lorraine Frew, V.P.                                                                                                             

Janet DiClaudio Secretary                                                                      

Marty Foxx, Treasurer

Members-at-Large –

       Dan Shehan

      Jim Veccia

 Committees - Chairpersons:

Publicity - Cheryl Brackin      

Newsletter - Sandra Bath

Mailing – Beverly Jarvis                                 

Fund-Raising –

   Richard Graham

Hospitality –

  Tom & Eunice Newcomer           

   Dot and Bob Parkhurst

Phone - Lavonne Calandra

     Betty Goff

Cooking with Care

Preserving Our Health through Healthy Foods

By Marty Foxx

Nutrient-Rich Fresh Vegetables

This is the time of year to enjoy all the benefits of fresh vegetables: full of nutrients, low in calories, fat-free, and high in fiber. This chart compares the calories, vitamins A and C, fiber, and potassium in a variety of fresh veggies. The RDA for vitamin A is 5000 IU. and 60 mg. for vitamin C; adults should get 25gm. of fiber and 3000mg. of potassium per day. All values are for raw, uncooked produce. Overcooking can cause valuable nutrients to be lost. Briefly steam or microwave them and enjoy them a little bit crisp. Avoid that sour cream and butter.

Medicare Summary

A brief summary of the major points in Tom Newcomer’s presentation on Medicare.

Part A: Hospital: First 60 days is $952.00.  This is not an annual deductible.  It can be charged again if a patient comes out of the hospital more than 60 days and reenters.

61-90 day $238.00 per day.  91-150 days $476.00 per day.  These amounts increase every year, creating more of a burden for seniors and causing Medicare supplements to increase rates.  Seniors should shop Medicare supplement rates when an increase occurs.

Because of the drug payment system, the average stay for a senior in a hospital is 4-5 days.  If the patient has not fully recovered, they are sent to skilled nursing facility.  Medicare pays all the costs for the first 20 days.  The next 80 days Medicare pays all but $119.00 per day.  Starting the 101st day, it becomes custodial care and

Medicare pays nothing.

Part B:  There is an annual deductible of $124.00 due once at the beginning of a new year.  Medicare pays 80% of the approved charges and the senior is responsible for 20% plus the excess charges.  If a doctor does not accept Medicare, he cannot charge the 15% above the approved charges.

Part C: This is the Medicare Advantage program.  There are three types; Medicare HMO, Medicare PPO, and Medicare private fee-for-service plans.  Pre-65 Medicare folks can have a Medicare Advantage.  The only requirement is that you have Part A & B.  Premiums are very low and are worth looking into.

Part D:  Prescription drug programs

Things to consider:

1. The formulary list.  Make sure that all or most of your medications are on the list.
2. Calculate your annual cost.
3. See if it will benefit you to have a plan without the $250.00 deductible.
4. If your total costs for prescription drugs do not exceed $2,250.00, don’t be concerned about the doughnut hole.  This is where you pay 100% for your medication after the total cost reaches $2,250.00.

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The Bookworm’s Corner

 

Daniel J. Wilson, Living with Polio: The Epidemic and Its Survivors

 

Polio was the most dreaded childhood disease of twentieth-century America. Every summer during the 1940s and 1950s, parents were terrorized by the thought that polio might cripple their children. They warned their children not to drink from public fountains, to avoid swimming pools, and to stay away from movie theaters and other crowded places. Whenever and wherever polio struck, hospitals filled with victims of the virus. Many experienced only temporary paralysis, but others faced a lifetime of disability.

Living with Polio is the first book to focus primarily on the personal stories of the men and women who had acute polio and lived with its crippling consequences. Writing from personal experience, polio survivor Daniel J. Wilson shapes this impassioned book with the testimonials of more than one hundred polio victims, focusing on the years between 1930 and 1960. He traces the entire life experience of the survivors—from the alarming diagnosis all the way to the recent development of post-polio syndrome, a condition in which the symptoms of the disease may return two or three decades after they originally surfaced.

Living with Polio follows every physical and emotional stage of the disease: the loneliness of long separations from family and friends suffered by hospitalized victims; the rehabilitation facilities where survivors spent a full year or more painfully trying to regain the use of their paralyzed muscles; and then the return home, where they were faced with readjusting to school or work with the aid of braces, crutches, or wheelchairs while their families faced the difficult responsibilities of caring for and supporting a child or spouse with a disability.

Poignant and gripping, Living with Polio is a compelling history of the enduring physical and psychological experience of polio straight from the rarely heard voices of its survivors.

http://www.press.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/hfs.cgi/00/150915.ctl