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BMA Blog |
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Touching Lives · Providing Dignified Lifestyles
Posts Tagged ‘Affordable Assisted Living Community’
Thursday, April 11th, 2013
By Rick Banas of BMA Management, Ltd.
Thirty-two teams of residents from affordable assisted living communities located throughout the State of Illinois have qualified for the playoffs in the 2013 Affordable Assisted Living Coalition’s 2013 Wii Bowling Tournament.
All of the communities are certified to operate through the Illinois Supportive Living program and either serve older adults or adults with physical disabilities who need some help to maintain their independence.
The teams earned the right to participate in the playoffs by posting the highest scores in their divisions after seven weeks of bowling.
Nearly 80 teams had entered the tournament.
The playoffs will culminate in a Final Four competition May 14 and 15 at the Decatur Conference Center in Decatur, Illinois.
Last year, teams from Cambridge House of Maryville, Glenhaven Gardens in Alton, Heritage Woods of Bolingbrook and Prairie Living in Carbondale bowled in the Final Four. The Gardeners from Glenhaven took home the First Place trophy for the second year in a row, and Oy Vey! from Heritage Woods of Bolingbrook took Second Place.
Teams from the following communities qualified for the playoffs this year:
Cambridge House of Maryville
Cambridge House of O’Fallon (two teams)
Castle Manor in Lincoln
Eagle Ridge of Decatur
Eastgate Manor in Algonquin
Eden Supportive Living in Chicago (two teams)
Eden Supportive Living in North Chicago
Evergreen Place in Streator
Glenhaven Gardens of Alton (two teams)
Glenwood in Staunton
Heritage Woods of Aledo
Heritage Woods of Batavia
Heritage Woods of Bolingbrook (two teams)
Heritage Woods of Centralia
Heritage Woods of Charleston
Heritage Woods of DeKalb
Heritage Woods of Manteno
Heritage Woods of McHenry
Heritage Woods of Moline
Heritage Woods of Mt. Vernon
Heritage Woods of Plainfield
Heritage Woods of Watseka
Heritage Woods of Yorkville
Manor at Craig Farms in Chester
Mary Bryant Home in Springfield
Morraine Court in Bridgeview
Springfield Supportive Living (two teams)
Who are you cheering for to make the Final Four?
What are your thoughts? Leave a comment and let us know.
“BMA Management is the leading provider of assisted living in Illinois
and one of the 20 largest providers of assisted living in the United States.”
Tags: aalc, Affordable Assisted Living Coalition’s 2013 Wii Bowling Tournament, Affordable Assisted Living Community, assisted living in Illinois, Decatur Conference Center, Heritage Woods, Illinois, senior, Supportive Living Program, Wii Bowling, Wii Bowling Tournament
Posted in Assisted Living Event, BMA Management | No Comments »
Thursday, April 4th, 2013
By Rod Burkett, President and CEO of BMA Management, Ltd.
When it comes to affordable assisted living, the State of Illinois continues to set the standard through its Supportive Living program.
I was reminded of this once again last week as I read a news story about the opening of an affordable assisted living community in Detroit. The affordable assisted living community is part of the first phase of a $40 million senior living development.
What really caught my attention was the indication that the newly opened community is one of only two designated affordable assisted living communities in the entire State of Michigan. The other is in Grand Rapids.
By comparison, Illinois, through its Supportive Living program, has nearly 140 affordable assisted living communities that are in operation. The communities are located in more than 70 Counties in northern, central and southern Illinois. Together, they house nearly 11,000 apartments.
We at BMA have been actively involved with the Supportive Living program since its inception. We opened our first affordable assisted living community 13 years ago, in May of 2000, in Flora, Illinois. Heritage Woods of Flora was the third affordable assisted living community in the state and the first to be housed in a newly constructed building.
Today, BMA operates nearly 25% of the affordable assisted living communities in Illinois.
From our experience, here are some of the reasons why the Illinois Supportive Living program has been so successful:
The program provides older adults and adults with physical disabilities with the opportunity to live in an environment that is much more appropriate for their needs. Rather they living in a nursing home or struggling alone at home, they are able to live in a residential environment and receive the personal assistance and help with medications they need to maintain their independence.
The emphasis of the program is on personal choice, dignity, privacy and individuality.
Supportive Living communities are able to serve residents of all financial means, including those on Medicaid.
The cost to the State of Illinois and its taxpayers for a person on Medicaid to live in a Supportive Living community is nearly half the cost of a nursing home. The savings can be used to support other programs and services.
More recently, the State approved the development of five Supportive Living Memory Care pilot projects to serve those with Alzheimer’s or related dementia. We were honored to receive approval to develop one of the five. We opened White Oaks at Heritage Woods of South Elgin this past fall; the 32 affordable memory care apartments were filled in three weeks.
In many areas, as many as two-thirds of the older adult population do not have the financial resources to afford traditional private pay assisted living, at least for any extended period of time.
Yet, while the need for affordable assisted living is tremendous, we have yet to find a state where we can duplicate what we have been able to do here in Illinois.
In the just published edition of Senior Living Executive, the magazine published by the Assisted Living Federation of America (ALFA), I challenged our industry to join with us in evaluating how to better care for all those who cannot afford traditional assisted living.
The Illinois Supportive Living program certainly can serve as a model.
What are your thoughts? Leave a comment and let us know.
“BMA Management is the leading provider of assisted living in Illinois
and one of the 20 largest providers of assisted living in the United States.”
Tags: Adults with Physical Disabilities, Affordable Assisted Living Community, assisted living in Illinois, Heritage Woods of Flora, Medicaid, older adults, Senior Living Executive, State of Illinois, Supportive Living Memory Care pilot projects, Supportive Living Program, Taxpayers, White Oaks at Heritage Woods of South Elgin
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Tuesday, January 15th, 2013
By Rick Banas of assisted living provider BMA Management, Ltd.
 Perhaps you or a loved one can benefit from the information that Loretta Broomfield shared last week with residents of the Heritage Woods affordable assisted living community that BMA manages in Benton, Illinois.
Loretta talked about a program that is available through the National Library Service that can help many seniors in Illinois and nationwide enjoy books and magazines.
One of the most important things I learned from Loretta is that the “Talking Books” program is not just for those who are blind or who have significant visual impairment.
If you are unable to read standard-size print or if you cannot comfortably hold a book or magazine, you most likely are eligible. The service also is available for those who may need it on a temporary basis for reasons such as cataract surgery or a broken hand, wrist or arm.
Residents of senior living and assisted living communities are eligible if they meet the criteria.
In addition, grandchildren and great grandchildren with conditions such as dyslexia can take advantage of the service.
The program is available at no cost to you so long as you use the mail-order service. The audio books and magazines are delivered to you through the mail at no-cost. The piece of equipment you need to listen to the audio materials is loaned to you at no cost. There is no charge for you to return the materials through the mail.
You can enjoy recorded versions of books found in most local libraries. You can choose from best sellers, fiction, non-fiction, classics, romance novels, poetry, biographies, mysteries and westerns.
The National Library Service produces about 50 new titles a week, Loretta said. Because of the amount of time needed to produce the talking books, you may find that the books on the best sellers lists may not be available to you as quickly through the Talking Books program as are the hard copies in your local library.
Also available through the Talking Books program are cook books; the Bible; a variety of magazines, including Newsweek, People, Consumer Reports and National Geographic; and hundreds of descriptive videos in which a narrator explains things such as facial expressions to someone who has difficulty seeing.
Materials obtained through the mail-order service are loaned to you for six weeks.
You can also select and download books on-line. The only cost is for the initial one-time purchase for the cable and blank cartridge that you will need to download the books. Loretta estimated that the cost for these items at about $15. There is no charge for downloading materials or for the piece of equipment needed to listen to the materials.
The equipment for playing talking materials is designed with large buttons to help make them easier to see and press. You can control the speed at which the materials are being read. A standard version is available for those who routinely read materials from beginning to end. An advanced version allows users to set bookmarks, which can be beneficial for those enjoying cook books or magazines.
The Talking Book program dates back to 1931.
Talking Book services are available through regional or sub-regional libraries.
For instance, the Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center in East Peoria, Illinois, serves much of the state outside of the Chicago area. <link>
A Talking Book Center is available through the Chicago Public Library. <link>
The Voices of Vision Talking Book Center in Geneva, Illinois, serves Boone, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, LaSalle, McHenry and Will Counties and parts of Cook County, Illinois.<link>
For more information, visit any of the links above and the National Library Service website at www.loc.gov/nls or call 1-888-NLS-READ.
Heritage Woods of Benton is the only senior living community in Franklin County, Illinois certified to operate through the Illinois Supportive Living program. The affordable assisted living community serves older adults of all incomes, including those on Medicaid, who need some help to maintain their independence.
What are your thoughts? Leave a comment and let us know.
“BMA Management is the leading provider of assisted living in Illinois
and one of the 20 largest providers of assisted living in the United States.”
Tags: Affordable Assisted Living Community, assisted living in Illinois, Audio Book, bma, Books, Chicago Public Library, Consumer Reports, Cook Book, Franklin County Illinois, Heritage Woods of Benton, Loretta Broomfield, Magazines, Medicaid, Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center, National Geographic, National Library Program, National Library Service, National Library Service Talking Books, Newsweek, older adults, People, Residents, senior living, Seniors, supportive living, the Bible, The Voices of Vision Talking Book Center
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Friday, November 23rd, 2012
 By Rick Banas of assisted living provider BMA Management, Ltd.
Trudy Wolf-DeRoeck called me last week to alert me to a news story about a couple in their 80s who had been scammed out of their life savings. The story about the couple from Rantoul, Illinois, ran in the News-Gazette, a newspaper that serves East Central Illinois.
Trudy is the Director of Marketing at the Bowman Estates affordable assisted living community that BMA manages in the East Central Illinois town of Danville.
Over a period of time, the couple had been bilked out of more than $100,000 through what is often called the Granny Scam.
Just a week before the story ran in the newspaper, Bowman Estates had hosted a free informational program led by Danville Police Officer Ron Soderstrom that focused on crimes against the elderly and what seniors can do to protect themselves. Ron’s focus as an Elderly Services Officer is on crime prevention.
Crimes against older adults are on the rise, he said, primarily because “you were trained to trust people.” Deals were closed with a handshake.
The Granny Scam was mentioned during the informational program, with Ron talking about a couple in Danville who was more fortunate than the grandparents in Rantoul.
The Danville couple received a phone call at three in the afternoon from someone posing as their grandson down in Tennessee. The caller said that he was having car problems and needed $1,800 to get it fixed. Since he was unable to get in touch with his mother, he was calling his grandparents for help. The caller sounded just like their grandson, the grandparents said.
They, however, avoided the scam because they decided to try calling their daughter before sending any money. Fortunately, their daughter answered the phone; she let them know that their grandson was with her.
Scammers using the Granny Scam often target seniors with calls that wake them up in the middle of the night. A common ploy is for the person posing as the grandson or granddaughter to say they are in trouble because they were stopped and arrested for drunk driving. They need to have money wired to them.
What is amazing is how much personal information the scammers have about the individual they are impersonating.
Another example of a scam mentioned by Officer Soderstrom was the person who received a phone call from a person posing as bank manager. The caller said that the bank needed some help to catch an employee who the bank suspected was involved in criminal activity. The caller asked the person to go to a particular teller at the bank, withdraw $3,000 in cash from their bank account, and drive it to the parking lot of a local store. The cash would be exchanged for a receipt that the person could take to the bank to have their cash returned.
No one at the bank was involved; the person had been scammed out of $3,000.
A bank will never call you to help them catch a criminal, Officer Soderstrom cautioned. Catching criminals is the job of law enforcement agencies such as the Police Department.
Criminals are successful because of people who give them the opportunity to succeed, he said.
Here are some tips from Officer Soderstrom about what you can do to protect yourself:
If someone is calling you asking for money, hang up or let it go to voicemail. If you think it is someone you can trust, verify and verify again.
Do not give out Social Security, Medicare, credit card or banking information to someone who calls you on the phone.
Do not carry around large amounts of cash.
If you have to carry a large amount of cash, keep it in different places rather than all in one place.
Do not flash money when you are out.
Use a bank to withdraw money rather than an ATM.
Get yourself a fanny pack to carry around cash and credit cards. “I have never had a case of someone grabbing a fanny pack,” Officer Soderstrom said.
Do not give out Credit Card numbers on the Internet unless you know the site you are on is legitimate.
Get and use PayPal if you are going to shop on the Internet.
Buddy up when you go out. Go shopping in numbers. Do not shop at night, especially if you are alone. Officer Soderstrom also cautioned that there is a lot of scamming of older adults by family members, especially if the family member gets under the influence of drugs, alcohol and/or gambling. One reason is that grandparents often have a lot of prescription medicines such as painkillers that have value in the black market on the street.
You should not feel forced or pressured to give people money, Officer Soderstrom said. There are organizations such as the Salvation Army who can help people in need.
If you suspect that someone is trying to scam you or if you have been scammed, call 911. The 911 number is no longer just for emergency calls, Officer Soderstrom said.
What are your thoughts? Leave a comment and let us know.
“BMA Management is the leading provider of assisted living in Illinois
and one of the 20 largest providers of assisted living in the United States.”
   
Tags: Affordable Assisted Living Community, assisted living, assisted living illinois, bma, Bowman Estates of Danville, Danville Police, Granny Scam, Officer Ron Soderstom, older adults, Personal Information, Police Department, Scam, Senior Scam, Trudy Wolf-DeRoeck
Posted in BMA Management | No Comments »
Thursday, October 25th, 2012
By Rick Banas of assisted living provider BMA Management, Ltd.
With October designated as Breast Cancer Awareness month, home health nurse Rachel West talked about the importance of early detection during her presentation last Thursday at the Heritage Woods affordable assisted living community that BMA manages in Benton, Illinois.
“I have had breast cancer patients in their thirties, their fifties and their seventies,” said West, who is a registered nurse with VNA Tip Home Care. The risk of breast cancer is one is eight after age 60 and one in six after age 70.
While we focus on Breast Cancer Awareness in October, we need to be aware every month of what we should we should be doing, said West.
She stressed the importance of breast cancer screenings and early detection.
If breast cancer can be detected while in its early stages, 90% to 95% of the cases are curable, said West.
For women 40 years of age and older, the American Cancer Society recommends yearly mammograms. The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention recommends a mammogram once every two years for women 50 years of age and older.
In addition, women should do a monthly breast self-check. Contact your doctor if you notice any changes, knots, lumps, or even itchy, scaly skin, West said.
Among West’s recommendations for helping to reduce the risk of breast cancer were healthy eating, maintaining an appropriate weight, exercising, and avoiding water bottles and canned goods that are lined with Bisphenol A (BPA).
For more information of breast cancer, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website at cdc.gov… and the American Cancer Society at cancer.org…
How do you show your support?
What are your thoughts? Leave a comment and let us know.
“BMA Management is the leading provider of affordable assisted living in Illinois
and one of the 20 largest providers of assisted living in the United States.”
Tags: Affordable Assisted Living Community, American Cancer Society, assisted living, Bisphenol A, Breast Cancer, Breast Cancer Awareness, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, Heritage Woods of Benton, Home Health Nurse, older adults, Rachel West, senior living, VNA Tip Home Care
Posted in BMA Management | No Comments »
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