"It always seems impossible until it's done." Nelson Mandela
Greetings,
There's been a lot of buzz about the fingerprint background check program that is being rolled out by the Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH)and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation on October 1st. Here's a synopsis of what you need to know: Fingerprint background checks will be required for owners, applicants for employment and direct access employees in adult day centers, assisted living communities, home health agencies, hospices, intermediate care facilities, nursing homes, personal care homes and private home care providers.
"To be a person is to have a story to tell." Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen), author of Out of Africa
When Older Americans Month was established in 1963 there were only 17 million living Americans who had reached their 65th birthday and today there are over 46 million Americans over 65. With older adults making up a larger percentage of the population it seems that living as an older adult should be becoming a norm yet ageism is still here.
"Appreciation can change a day, even a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary." Margaret Cousins
Greetings,
We had a successful legislative session that wrapped up the last week of April. With ten minutes to go before the session ended at midnight on April 2nd, the medical marijuana access bill was passed. This bill will allow older adults to access to the low THC oil, which will not get anyone high but will help with a number of conditions that come with age including pain, neuropathy, Parkinson's disease, sleep disorders as well as anxiety and agitation common among persons with Alzheimer's disease.
This abbreviated version of the Coffee Break is dedicated to engaging LeadingAge Georgia members in advocacy so we can leverage our collective voices on behalf of the well-being of older adults.
How We Know it works:
The Hebrew Home at Riverdale, a LeadingAge member in New York blazed the way for introducing low THC oil (the up-to-date term for medical marijuana) to older adults. Under the supervision of Zachary Palance, MD, a geriatrician and the medical director of the 750 bed nursing home, residents were able to try the low THC oil for conditions such as intractable pain and other conditions allowed under the New York law governing the use of low THC oil.
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