Page 12 THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRiDAy, AugusT 25, 2023 Say nr Sa a B y Senior Seni by Jim Miller Best Medical Alert Systems You Don’t Have to Wear M dil Al S Dear Savvy Senior, Are there any monitored medical alert devices that you know of that don’t require pushing a wearable help button? My 82-year-old father, who lives alone, has fallen twice during the past year but doesn’t like wearing an SOS pendant button. Searching Daughter Dear Searching, Yes, there are actually several monitored medical alert systems and other technologies on the market today that have voice-activated capabilities that let seniors call for help using voice commands, without pushing a wearable help button. These new technologies are very helpful for elderly seniors that live alone who forget, or prefer not to wear a help button, as well as for those who have physical challenges that makes using a help button diffi cult. By simply speaking the “wake words” these devices will connect your dad to a trained dispatcher at a 24/7 monitoring center who will fi nd out what the problem is, and get him the help he needs, whether it’s calling emergency services, or contacting a family member, friend or neighbor to come and help him. All of these technologies also offer family/caregiver smartphone apps that will help you keep tabs on your dad from afar and notify you know if a problem occurs. Hands-Free Medical Alerts Some of the best voice-focused medical alert systems available today are GetSafe, Aloe Care Health and HandsFree Health. Rated by U.S. News & World Report as their No. 1 medical alert system for 2023, GetSafe (GetSafe.com) comes with a cellular base console, voice-activated and push wall buttons, an optional personal help button and fall detection sensors. To call for help your dad would simply say “Call 911” twice and he would be connected to GetSafe’s 24/7 monitoring service. Prices for GetSafe start at $79 plus a $30 monthly monitoring fee. Another highly rated system is Aloe Care Health (AloeCare.com), which comes with a voice-activated Smart Hub and optional wearable help button with fall detection capabilities. This system would connect your dad to the Aloe Care 24/7 monitoring center by simply saying “Emergency” repeatedly until connected. It can also make voice command nonemergency calls to preassigned contacts. Prices start at $150 plus a monthly fee of $30. The WellBe by HandsFree Health (HandsFreeHealth. com) is a nice third option to consider. This comes with the WellBe Medical Alert Speaker that would let your dad call for help by saying “OK WellBe Call Emergency.” WellBe also off ers handsfree calling and messaging to contacts, will answer health questions, and provide reminders for medications and doctor appointments. It also off ers a medical alert watch and pendant (sold separately) with fall detection capabilities. WellBe starts at $100 plus $20/month. Smart Home Solution Instead of a traditional medical alert system, another terrifi c hands-free way to call for help is to get your dad an Amazon Echo device (prices range from $50 to $250) and sign him up for Alexa Together (Amazon. com/AlexaTogether). This is remote caregiving service that will turn his Echo into a medical alert system. To get help your dad would say “Alexa, call for help” to be connected to their 24/7 Urgent Response center. Alexa Together, which costs $20/month, also works with compatible third-party fall detection devices like Vayyar and AltumView. If a fall is detected, Alexa can ask your dad if he needs help, then connect him to the Urgent Response line and alert his emergency contacts. Amazon Echo devices also provide a bevy of other features your dad may fi nd useful. For example, Echo’s will let your dad make handsfree calls, receive reminders, set timers and alarms, control smart home devices, check the weather, play his favorite music and much more. Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book. nior ior Vacation Homes and Rental Properties V acation homes are deemed a countable asset when applying for MassHealth longterm care benefi ts. If you rent out the vacation home and you are reporting a profit, MassHealth will not count the vacation home as an asset as the vacation home will be deemed essential for self-support under 130CMR 520.008(d). MassHealth Estate Recovery Unit will still place a lien on the property in order to seek reimbursement for MassHealth benefi ts paid on behalf of the institutionalized spouse. However, the reimbursement is based on the Medicaid rate paid to the nursing home by MassHealth, which is often 50% to 60% or so of the private pay rate. This means the buildup on the lien will be a lot smaller than the cash depletion based upon the private pay rate assuming the vacation home was not rented out generating a profi t which would otherwise make it a non-countable asset. The same would be true for rental property generating a profit. The rental property would also be a non-countable asset based upon being essential to self-support. Your principal residence is a non-countable asset if you check off the box on the MassHealth appliSOUNDS | FROM PAGE 5 Education, let alone work experience, at the very least a school principal position, over candidates with vast amounts of education and experience? It’s truly mind-boggling given the only achievement she can demonstrate is how many high school students can hold “Priya For Everett” signs in photos published in The Boston Globe. In Wednesday’s Fishwrap, the corrupt reporter Josh Resnek let his dwindling readership know that he was still shilling for Priya, and hating on the mayor, despite reporting back in 2021 about the former chairman of the School Committee and the supt. selection committee, Thomas Abruzzese’s son, Jason Abruzzese, was recommended for disciplinary action and termination by the Law Firm of Clifford & Kenny, LLP in a report stating that Abruzzese spent hundreds of hours on school time on an EPS computer surfing the web over a period of fi ve months for his own personal entertainment, according to Resnek’s July 2021 story. He was also arrested and poses, and MassHealth would not place a lien on any of the properties. Upon the death of the Settlor(s) of the irrevocable Trust, probate would also be avoided. MassHealth can only collect against the probate estate. Keep in mind that if the Medcation stating that you intend to return home from the nursing home. In a married couple situation, once the nursing home spouse is approved for MassHealth benefi ts, the home can then be transferred to the at home spouse without there being a disqualifying transfer. Then, the at home spouse could transfer to an irrevocable Trust in order to start the fi ve-year look back period if he or she wishes to do so. Whether you are dealing with a vacation home, rental property or principal residence, if you decide to transfer either piece of real estate to an irrevocable Trust, once the deed is executed, the fi ve-year look back period would begin to run. At the end of the fi ve-year period, those assets would not be considered countable assets for MassHealth eligibility purcharged in 2019 by Everett Police for assault and battery on his wife. According to Resnek’s story, Chairman Abbruzzese requested to Interim Supt. Janice Gauthier that his son be moved to the Parlin School from the Madeline English. Following the 2020 report, Abruzzese was suspended with pay and faced no disciplinary action. Coincidentally enough, in 2019, Tahiliani was selected as Supt. of Everett Public Schools over candidates such as Paul Toner, a highly experienced educator with a Master’s Degree in Education along with a wide range of experience in education and leadership, to say the least. Tahiliani’s highest degree was a Master of Liberal Arts in Creative Writing and Literature from Harvard University; her work experience according to her resume was just under two years as an assistant supt. in the Offi ce of English Language Learners for the Boston Public Schools; prior to that she was a 10th and 11th grade teacher at Madison Park Technical Vocational High School from 2012 icaid rate is, for example, $7,500 per month, the amount of the estate recovery lien that would build up each month would be reduced by the monthly income being paid to the nursing home by the nursing home spouse. For example, if the nursing home spouse had Social Security income of $2,000 per month, pension income of $1,000 per month and net rental income per month of $2,000 per month, for a total of $5,000 in income per month, the net amount of MassHealth’s estate recovery lien that would build up each month would only be $2,500. This would most likely lead to a decision not to sell any of the real estate which would result in potentially signifi cant capital gains taxes. Joseph D. Cataldo is an estate planning/elder law attorney, Certifi ed Public Accountant, Certifi ed Financial Planner, AICPA Personal Financial Specialist and holds a masters degree in taxation. to 2016. In her resume submitted to the school board’s selection committee, Tahiliani off ers a one-line objective: “To obtain a district leadership position that utilizes my educational and management expertise” – hardly a legitimate candidate for a school superintendent’s position. And as the MCAS scores and her own “Proficient” grading from the current school board have proven the point, she deserves to be shown the door. Unfortunately for Everett’s students, the only management expertise she has brought to Everett is mismanagement through intimidation, lawsuits and divisiveness. When will this school board stop listening to the same clowns in the gallery and start listening to the parents and teachers who’ve had enough of this ridiculous circus? As the song goes, “How we gonna miss you if you don’t go away?” When will this school board fi nally show Ms. Tahiliani the door and hire a supt. of schools who’s actually qualifi ed to lead the district in the right direction?
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