McCaffrey’s Super Market Helps Us Raise Monies to Purchase Holiday Meals for Needy Veterans

Nine Club members … and one member's dedicated wife … manned collection jars at McCaffrey's Supermaarket in Yarldey

to collect monies to be used to purchase gift certificates [from McCaffrey’s] which will be donated to provide Thanksgiving meals for veterans who have served our nation and unfortunately fallen on challenging economic times.

Irv Perlstein

Wendy Perlstein

Syd Baron

Ira Sherman

(l to r)  Art Issadore and Steve Manas

Fred Edelman

Dick Newbert

Camera shy … Alan Agree and Jerry Redington

For the third successive collection, generous shoppers have contributed more tha One Thousand Dollars (actual total: $1,062.30)!

 

 

 

Jason Friedman Discusses Medicare, MediGap, Medicare Advantage and Part-D Options

We were so glad to welcome Kathy Huber to our meeting, wife of former Club member Phil who has been truly missed.

Jason Friedman with Young's Insurance Service spoke to us about Medicare … knowing its "A, B, C … and D":

Part A – covering Hospital costs

  • Free for most people
  • There is a $1,408.00 Hospital deductible per benefit period (60 days)
  • Hospital co-pay is $352.00/day after 60-days
  • Skilled Nursing Facilities co-payment is $176.00/day for 21-100 days

Part B – Medical insurance coverage (doctors, etc;)

  • Cost $144,60/month per person
  • Covers 80% – patient pays 20% co-insurance (no annual limit) after a $198.00 annual deductible

Two ways to use Medicare Benefits

Option #1

  • MediGap Supplement policy – offered by private companies to pay most of all A&B co-insurance and deductibles
  • Part-D – a government program to offer prescription drug coverage from private companies
  • Pro:

    • Can go to any provider nationwide that accepts Medicare, no referrals
    • Plans are standardized (F, G, N, etc;)
    • Medicare copays and deductible can be eliminated and coverage remains the same for life
  • Con:
  • Premiums increase as one ages
  • Must buy Stand-alone Part-D Prescription Drug Plan
  • May be difficult to switch to another MediGap, as they are subject to medical underwriting after MediGap Open Enrollment Period ends

Option #2

Medicate Advantage Plan

  • Part-C

    • Offered by private companies
    • Subsidized by Medicare
    • Patient must continue to pay their Part B premium
    • Can come with or without Part- Prescription Drug coverage
    • Pro:
  • Premiums are lower than MediGap and include Part-D Prescription Drug coverage
  • Able to pick up any Advantage plan during the Annual Election Period
  • Plans may include extras (Gym – OTC purchases – Dental – Vision – Hearing)
  • Con:
  • Copays for most services and out-of-pocket max up to $6,700.00 per year
  • Copays, premiums and networks can change annually
  • Network-based plans (HMO or PPO)
  • HMOs can require referrals and capitation; only covered out-of-network for emergencies

Part-D – Prescription Drug coverage

  • Run by private insurance companies
  • Formularies and copays vary from plan to plan
  • Stand-alone or with a Medicare Advantage plan
  • Patient pays a portion of the drug cost

Most basic or model 2020 Medicare Part D plan is broken down into four main parts:

  • Part 1 – The initial $435 deductible – Some plans do not have an initial deductible and provide "first dollar coverage"
  • Part 2 – Coverage – The plan provides the Medicare Part D patient with co-insurance or medication co-payment. Usually, coverage extends to a point where the total retail cost of the medication reaches $4,020 – however, some plans lower this limit to $2,000 or even $1,850 (lower limits are used to lower monthly premiums for people with minimal medication needs)
  • Part 3- The Coverage Gap or Donut Hole – The patient pays 100% of their Medication costs – Some plans do provide partial or complete coverage for this gap in the Medicare Part D coverage.
  • Part 4 – Catastrophic Coverage – When a person has spent more than $6,350 for prescription medications, they will be protected by Catastrophic

The Club wants to thank Jason for his extremely informative presentation.

Pizza Luncheon for the Students at the William Dick School

Alan Agree and Irv Perlstein negotiated a deal with City View Pizza

 to purchase 95 cheese pizzas to provide lunch for the William Dick School's

478 students, plus their teachers and staff.

Alan, Irv, Steve Manas, Dick Newbert and Alan's friend Eric Tobin arrived early to sit in on a presenatation by the Franklin Institute's Traveling Science Shows, created with the goaof generating an enthusiasm for science tamong elementary and middle school students … which was organized by Irv's grandaughter..

After the conclsion of the excellent presnetation, our members were able to work some students with some of thei reading and writing assignments in both kindergaarten and first grade classrooms.

Just aftern noon, the first fifty pizzas arrived

and were probptly distributed to the younger students by a team of six eighth grade boys.  Each student and their teachers were served one slice of pizza.

At 2:00 PM, the second delivery for the 6th, 7th and 8th graders arrived … with the older students being given two slices.

Alan Agree with a "heavy" load

Shortly before we left the school one of teh kindergarten students we'd visited earlier brought us 24 hand-made "Thank You" notes.  A few of those are shown below.

School principal Amy WIlliams noted; “We are extremely grateful to the Rotary Club of Shady Brook for all the support it has given our school throughout the years,” said Williams. “Its members have long been our students’ champions and have provided both necessities – such as books, school supplies and even tables and chairs – and extras – like this pizza party – to bring smiles to their faces and boost their confidence while showing that the key to their future lies in education.” 

Speaking on behalf of our Rotary Club, president Jeff Revak captured the sentiments of all of our members; “Rotary’s mission is service above self,” added club president Jeff Rivak, “and what better role can we play than to invest in the future of these students.”

 

 

Fundraising to Provide Holiday Meals for Needy Veterans

In spite of the wind and cold temperatureas seven Cub members took turns at Shop-Rite in Lower Makefield

to raise monies to purchase gift certificates which will be distributed through several of the Club's veterans' orgaanizaiton partners to provide Thanksgiving meals for needy veterans who might otherwise not be able to provide them for their families.

(l to r)  Larry Jaffee, Lou Hatfield and Steve Manas

Alan Agree

(l to r)  Irv Perlstein and Syd Baron

Larry Snyder

Dick Newbert

Thanks to the incredibly generous Shop-Rite shoppers a near record $1,084 was raised today!

Colleen Duran – Gift of Life Donor Program

Colleen Duran, Volunteer Coordinator for the

and Amy Dailey, a caregiver, nurse neighbor and mamber of a family personally impacted by organ donors were our guests this morning.  

(l to r)  Club President Jeff Revak, Colleen Duran and Amy Dailey

Gift of Life Donor Program is the largest organ procurement organization (OPO) in the United States, leading the nation in the number of organ donors since 2008.  Serving more than 11.2 million people across the eastern half of Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware, it helps and heals lives by coordinating the recovery and distribution of organs and tissues used in life-saving and life-enhancing transplants.

Headquartered in Philadelphia, Pa., they serve as a critical link between individuals and families who make the generous decision to donate organs and tissues, and those who need a transplant.  The organization further provides compassionate care for donors, transplant recipients, and their families, and is committed to educating the public about the need for donor registration.

Gift of Life is part of the nationwide organ and tissue sharing network run by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) and is proud to continually increase the number of people who benefit from organ donation.  Since its inception in 1974, we have coordinated more than 47,000 organ transplants and approximately one million tissue transplants.

Some Donation Myths and Facts:

  • Myth:  I have a medical condition, so I can't be a donor.
  • Fact:  Anyone, regardless of age of medical history, can sign up to be a donor.
  • Myth:  I am too old to be a donor.
  • Fact:  There is no age limit to organ donation.
  • Myth:  I don't think my religion supports organ donations.
  • Fact:  Most major religions in the United States support organ donations and consider such donations as the final act of love and generosity toward others.
  • Myth:  If the see I'm a donor at the hospital, they won't try to save my live.
  • Fact:  When a person is sick or injured and admitted to a hospital, the one and only priority is to save the person's life.
  • Myth:  Rich or famous people on the waiting list get organs faster.
  • Fact:  A national computer system matches donated organs to recipients.
  • Myth:  My family won't be able to have an open casket funeral if I am a donor.
  • Fact:  A open casket funeral is usually possibe for organ, eye and tissue donors.
  • Myth:  My family will have to pay for the donation.
  • Fact:  There is no cost to donors or their families for organ or tissue donations.
  • Myth:  Somebody could take my organs and sell them.
  • Fact:  Federal law prohibits buying and selling organs in the U.S.
  • Myth:  If I am in a coma, they could take my organs.
  • Fact:  The majority of deceased organ donors are patients who have been declared brain dead.
  • Myth:  People in teh LGBT community can't donate.
  • Fact:  There is no policy or federal regulation that excludes a member of the LGBT community from donating organs. 

What Organs can be donated:

  • Heart (must be transplanted within 4 hours)
  • Lungs
  • Kidneys (must be transplanted within 72 hours)
  • Liver
  • Intestines
  • Pancreaas

What Tissues can be donated:

  • Corneas
  • Tendons
  • Valves
  • Veins
  • Skin
  • Bones

Donations can require certain matches:

  • Blood type
  • Body size
  • How sick the donor or donee is
  • Donor distance
  • Tissue type
  • Time on teh donor list

Some Organ/Tissue Donor Statistics:

  • Only 3% of the U.S. polulation are organ'tisue donors.
  • More than 36,000 organ transplants each year.
  • More than 1,75 million tissue transplants each year.
  • 48,000 corneal transplants each year.
  • 115,000 men, women an dchildren await life-saving organ transplants.
  • Another person is added to the wiating lists every ten minutes.
  • 80% of the patients on the waiting lists need a kidney (can come from living donors).
  • 12% of the patients on the waiting lists need a liver (can come from a living donor).
  • Sadly, 8,000 peopl edie eachyear becasue the organs they need are not donated in time.

Amy Dailey shared with us her experiences with organ donors … which began in January 1984 when her gandmother passed away.  Fortunately, she had informated her family of her wishes to have her eyes donated.  Later, her uncle and daughter (age 26 – who suffered from a genetic disease which weakens conective stissues) required transplants.  in 2010, Amy tripped and fell and, as a result, suffered painful dental problems which were corrected using a bone graft.

At the conclusion of their presentaitons, a host of questions were forthcoming.  To a person, everyone appeared to learn a great deal.

 

If interested in becoming an Organ or Tissue Donor, you can contact the Gilf of Life Donor Program at (800) 366-06771 or www.donor1.org.

 

Melissa Cenker from Bucks County Vegan

We were joined by Melisa Cenker,

founder and marketing manager fof Bucks County Vegan for what turned out to be a fascinating education into the otherwise often misunderstood world of veganism.

For most of the Club members, there was confusion about the differences between the diets of Vegans and those of Vegetarians.  Melissa explained, Vegans eat no animal products, while Vegetarians don’t eat animals, but may eat products that come from them (such as dairy and eggs). People typically choose these diets because of health concerns, religious restrictions, moral concerns about harming animals or other personal reasons.  Although all vegans tend to follow the same set of clear cut guidelines – eat nothing that came from an animal – there are a few different types of vegitarian diets.

Melissa's enthusiassm for h hesubject was impressive as she went into more detail; 

Vegan, she further explained, is simply the term commonly used for pure (100%) vegetarian food. This means vegan food is free of animal products or by-products.  Vegan (or true 'pure vegetarian') meals and baked goods refrain from including meat, dairy (and other dairy products like whey), eggs, honey and other animal-derived products.  This may sound extreme at first to many.  However, if you look into the production of these products, you may find that you do not agree with the production methods.  People use the term 'vegan' accurately when they want to note they refrain from animal products for moral reasons while the term 'plant-based' is accurately used for more generalized reasons usually including health and fitness focus.  Many people and restaurants however use the terms vegan and plant-based interchangeably since both denote the non-inclusion of animal derived ingredients.

​Her organization actively identifies area restaaurants which cater to vegans and serve vegan meal offeringss.  Among the benefits they aspouse for supporting vegan restaurants and eating vegan food are:
  • Saveing animals,
  • Helping prevent animals from living through a life of cruelty.
  • Helping reduce world hunger.
  • Helping reduce climate change.
  • Helping reduce deforestation.
  • ​Helping reduce species extinction.

Surprisingly to some it truns out that many common foods many people enjoy, such as ice cream, are producted from Oats, Almonds and other plant-based sources. 

Once challenge in purchsing vegan alternatives to animal-based foods is locating markets which sell them.  Trader Joe's is one, althought the neaest ones are inconveniently located from our area in Princeton, Jenkintown and Philadlephia.

The organization's website, https://www.buckscountyvegan.com,

provides a great deal more information including vegan recipies, a guide to aera restaurants which offer a vegan menu, and vegan meal-delivery services.

At the end of her presentation, samples of vegan cookies and other snacks wer available … and were quite tasty!

Melissa added to the growing list of speakers our Club continues to attract who so frequently enlighten us to subjects about which we too often have but a cursory knowledge.