Page 14 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, AUGUST 27, 2021 Seven senators voted with Beacon Hill Roll Call By Bob Katzen THE HOUSE AND SENATE: There were no roll calls in the House or Senate last week. This week, Beacon Hill Roll Call reports on the percentage of times local senators voted with their party’s leadership in the 2021 session. Beacon Hill Roll Call uses 72 votes from the 2021 Senate session as the basis for this report. This includes all roll calls that were not quorum calls or on local issues. The votes of the 35 Democrats were compared to Senate Majority Leader Cynthia Creem (D-Newton), second-in-command in the Senate. We could not compare the Democrats’ votes to those of Senate President Karen Spilka (D-Ashland) because, by tradition, the Senate president rarely votes. The senator who voted with Creem the least percentage of times is Sen. Diana DiZoglio (D-Methuen) who voted with her only 50 times (69.4 percent). Rounding out the top 3 who voted with Creem the least number of times are Sens. Walter Timilty (D-Milton) who voted with her 56 times (77.7 percent) and Marc Pacheco (D-Taunton) who voted with her 62 times (86.1 percent) Nineteen (54.2 percent) of the 35 Democratic senators voted with Creem 100 percent of the time in 2021. BAKER | FROM PAGE 4 to demonstrate vaccination. The Administration will provide further guidance in the coming weeks for employees who may wish to seek such an exemption. Executive Department employees who are not vaccinated or approved for an exemption as of October 17 will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination. The Administration will continue to ESTIMATES | FROM PAGE 9 a monthly sample survey of employers. As a result, the two statistics may exhibit different monthly trends. NOTES: The labor force is the sum of the numbers of employed residents and those unemployed, that is residents not working but actively seeking Creem all but one time: Sens. Jo Comerford (D-Northampton), Julian Cyr (D-Truro), James Eldridge (D-Acton), Paul Feeney (D-Foxborough), Barry Finegold (D-Andover), Edward Kennedy (D-Lowell) and Jason Lewis (D-Winchester). All in all, 32 Democrats (91.4 percent) voted with Creem 90 percent or more of the time. The votes of the two Republican senators were compared with those of GOP Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester). In 2021, as in 2020, none of the two voted with Tarr 100 percent of the time. In 2021, the Republican senator who voted the lowest percentage of times with Tarr was Sen. Patrick O’Connor (R-Weymouth) who voted with Tarr 84.7 percent of the time. Sen. Ryan Fattman (R-Sutton) voted with Tarr 93 percent of the time. SENATORS’ SUPPORT OF PARTY’S LEADERSHIP IN 2021 – THROUGH AUGUST 20, 2021 The percentage next to the senator’s name represents the percentage of times the senator supported his or her party’s leadership. The number in parentheses represents the number of times the senator opposed his or her party’s leadership. Some senators voted on all 72 roll call votes. Others missed one or more roll calls. The percentage for each senator is calculated based on the number of roll calls on which he or she voted and does not count the roll calls for which he or she was absent. Sen. Brendan Crighton 100 work with its union partners regarding this policy, and specifi c ramifi cations of noncompliance for staff represented by unions will be discussed well in advance of October 17 with each employee union. Management employees not in compliance as of October 17 will also be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination. Vaccines are widely available in Massachusetts, with more than 900 locations listed work in the last four weeks. Estimates may not add up to the total labor force due to rounding. For further information on seasonal adjustment methodology, please refer to the Bureau of Labor Statistics website https://www. bls.gov. Local area unemployment statistics for July 2021 will be released on Tuesday, August percent (0) HOW LONG WAS LAST WEEK’S SESSION? Beacon Hill Roll Call tracks the length of time that the House and Senate were in session each week. Many legislators say that legislative sessions are only one aspect of the Legislature’s job and that a lot of important work is done outside of the House and Senate chambers. They note that their jobs also involve committee work, research, constituent work and other matters that are important to their districts. Critics say that the Legislature does not meet regularly or long enough to debate and vote in public view on the thousands of pieces of legislation that have been fi led. They note that the infrequency and brief length of sessions are misguided and lead to irresponsible late-night sessions and a mad rush to act on dozens of bills in the days immediately preceding the end of an annual session. During the week of August 1620, the House met for a total of 35 minutes while the Senate met for a total of 46 minutes. Mon. Aug. 16 House 11:02 a.m. to 11:22 a.m. Senate 11:16 a.m. to 12:03 p.m. Tues. Aug. 17 No House session No Senate session Wed. Aug. 18 No House session No Senate session Thurs. Aug 19 House 11:01 a.m. to 11:05 a.m. Senate 11:14 a.m. to 11:17 a.m. Fri. Aug. 20 No House session No Senate session Bob Katzen welcomes feedback at bob@beaconhillrollcall.com as available at the Commonwealth’s VaxFinder website, including locations with walkup appointments. Massachusetts remains a national leader in vaccinating its residents, with more than 85 percent of adults having received at least one dose. This has supported signifi cant progress in protecting the Commonwealth’s residents as Massachusetts continues to have one of the lowest COVID-19 hospitalization rates in the country. 24, 2021. The preliminary August 2021 and revised July 2021 unemployment rate, labor force and job estimates for Massachusetts will be released on Friday, September 17, 2021. See the 2021 Media Advisory annual schedule for a complete list of release dates. Detailed labor market information is available at www.mass.gov/lmi. LIKE US ON FACEBOOK ADVOCATE NEWSPAPER FACEBOOK.COM/ADVOCATE.NEWS.MA Sa enir Sa H t Ch y Senior Senio BY JIM MILLER Dear Savvy Senior, Can you offer any tips on choosing a good adult day care provider for an elderly parent? My 81-year-old father, who just moved in with me, has dementia and needs attention during the day while I’m at work. Need Assistance Dear Need, Adult day care services can be a great option for caregivers who work, or for those who just need a break during the day. Here’s what you should know, along with some tips to help you fi nd and choose one. Adult Day Care The business of adult day care services has grown rapidly in recent years. According to the National Adult Day Services Association, there are upwards of 4,600 adult day centers across the U.S., the result of a 35 percent increase since 2002. Those centers provide services to more than 260,000 participants and family caregivers, which is a whopping 63 percent increase over the last two decades. As the name implies, adult day care provides care for elderly seniors who cannot care for themselves at home. While services will vary from center to center, they typically provide personal care, meals and snacks, various activities and social interaction in a safe supportive environment. Additionally, many centers also provide health services such as medication management, various therapies, exercise and transportation to and from the facility. Adult day care centers generally operate programs during normal business hours five days a week. However, some centers may off er services in the evenings and on weekends, too. Costs for care will vary as well, usually between $25 to more than $100 per day (the national average is $75/day), depending on where you live. Unfortunately, in most cases original Medicare does not pay for adult day care, but some Medicare Advantage plans, and many long-term care insurance policies do. But most seniors or their families pay for care out-of-pocket. If your dad is lower income and can’t aff ord this, state Medicaid programs provide fi nancial assistance if he meets elinior Adlt D ior How to Choose an Adult Day Care Services Provider gibility requirements, and some states have PACE programs that provide fi nancial aid. Contact your state Medicaid offi ce (see Medicaid.gov) for more information. The VA even provides adult day care to eligible veterans enrolled in their Medical Benefi ts Package. See VA. gov/geriatrics to learn more. How to Choose Your fi rst step in shopping for an adult day center is to determine the kinds of services your dad needs, and you need as a caregiver. After you do that, here are some tips to help you locate and choose a good provider. Start by contacting your Area Agency on Aging (call 800-6771116 to get your local number) to get referrals to adult day service programs in your area. You can also search the National Adult Day Services Association (NADSA) database at NADSA. org/locator. Once you have a list of a few centers, call them to fi nd out their eligibility criteria, if they off er the types of services your dad needs, if they are accepting new clients, their hours of operation, if they’re licensed and/or registered with a state agency (this is not required in all states) and what they charge. After you identify a few good centers, go in for a visit. Find out about the staffi ng ratio (at least one staff member for every six participants is recommended) and what kind of training they have. While you’re there, notice the cleanness and smell of the facility. Is it homey and inviting? Does the staff seem friendly and knowledgeable? Also be sure to taste the food and consider making an unannounced visit. To help you rate your visit, the NADSA off ers a helpful checklist of questions to ask at NADSA.org – click on “Site Visit Checklist” under the “For Caregivers” tab. Then, after your visit, be sure to check their references. Get names and phone numbers of at least two or three families who have used the center you are considering and call them. 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.
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