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Tag: hospice

  • Trump says California is full of fraud. Bonta says the claims are ‘reckless’

    With the Trump administration reportedly in talks to create an anti-fraud task force for California, state Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta on Thursday vehemently denounced what he described as the administration’s “reckless” and “false” rhetoric about fraud plaguing the state.

    At a news conference at the Ronald Reagan State Building in downtown Los Angeles, Bonta said the Trump administration’s claims that state programs are overrun by fraud and that its government was itself perpetrating or facilitating this fraud was “outrageous and ridiculous and without basis.”

    Bonta said most states struggle with some fraud from outside actors, saying that “anywhere there’s money flowing there’s a risk” and that the state’s Department of Justice has thrown immense resources into cracking down on illicit activities and recovering funds for taxpayers.

    As a politicized national fight over waste, fraud and abuse led by Republicans have targeted California and its Democratic leadership, Bonta and other state officials have moved swiftly to combat the claims.

    In California, Bonta said, authorities have recovered nearly $2.7 billion through criminal and civil prosecutions since 2016, including some $740 million through Medi-Cal fraud related prosecutions, about $2 billion under the state’s False Claims Act, and an additional $108 million from a task force focused on rooting out tax fraud in the underground economy.

    State authorities have frequently partnered with the federal government in the past on such investigations and welcome a good-faith partnership in the future, Bonta said.

    CBS News reported on the creation of a California-focused fraud task force earlier this week, citing multiple unnamed sources familiar with the plans. The outlet, whose new editor in chief, Bari Weiss, has been aligned with Trump and spearheaded a major overhaul of the news organization, reported that the president plans to soon sign an executive order naming Vice President JD Vance as head of a group that would also include the head of the Federal Trade Commission as vice chairman.

    Trump’s rhetoric fueled doubts about California programs and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s leadership at the start of the year, when he declared that “the fraud investigation of California [had] begun.”

    On the president’s social media platform, in formal letters and in recent news conferences, officials in the Trump administration have alleged fraud in child care, hospice funding and unemployment benefits.

    Last week, the topic took center stage again when Mehmet Oz, the administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, posted a video accusing Armenian crime groups of carrying out widespread hospice fraud in Los Angeles.

    That viral video received more than 4.5 million views on X.

    Oz’s video received fierce backlash from California politicians and the local Armenian community, who collectively alleged that it contained baseless and racially charged attacks on Armenians.

    The video shows Oz being driven around a section of Van Nuys where he says that about $3.5-billion worth of medicare fraud has been perpetrated by hospice and home-care businesses, claiming that “it’s run, quite a bit of it, by the Russian Armenian mafia.”

    He also points to Armenian language signs, incorrectly referring to them as written in a cerulean script, and saying “you notice that the lettering and language behind me is of that dialect and it also highlights the fact that this is an organized crime mafia deal.”

    Newsom filed a civil rights complaint against Oz on Jan. 29, asking the Department of Health and Human Services to investigate the “racially charged and false public statements” made in the video.

    On Monday, California Sen. Adam Schiff followed suit, demanding an independent review of Oz’s alleged targeting of Armenian American communities.

    “To suggest markers of Armenian culture, language, and identity are indicative of criminality underscores a discriminatory motive that could taint any investigation into fraud and incite the further demonization of the community,” Schiff said in a statement.

    Glendale City Councilmember Ardy Kassakhian said in an interview that Oz’s statements feed into the Trump administration’s playbook of using allegations of fraud to sow racial divisions.

    “This time the focus just happens to be the Armenians,” he said. “In places like Minnesota, it’s the Somali community.”

    California has been investigating healthcare fraud since a 2020 Los Angeles Times investigation uncovered widespread Medicare fraud in the state’s booming but loosely regulated hospice industry.

    From 2010 to 2020, the county’s hospices multiplied sixfold, accounting for more than half of the state’s roughly 1,200 Medicare-certified providers, according to a Times analysis of federal healthcare data.

    Scores of providers sprang up along a corridor stretching west from the San Gabriel Valley through the San Fernando Valley, which now has the highest concentration of hospices in the nation.

    The state Department of Justice has charged more than 100 people with hospice-related fraud since 2021 and shuttered around 280 hospices in the last two years, according to data from the California Department of Public Health.

    But those shuttered hospices barely represent a dent in the massive hospice home healthcare industry. There are 468 hospice facilities in the Van Nuys area alone, according to the state database of medical facilities.

    There are 197 licensed medical practices, including 89 licensed hospices, in a single two-story building located at 14545 Friar St. in Van Nuys — suggesting a concentration of fraudulent businesses.

    When asked why the number of licensed medical practices in Van Nuys and at that address are so high, a spokesperson for the California Department of Public Health said that the department is committed to fighting fraud and unable to comment on pending investigation.

    Recent turmoil in Minnesota has demonstrated the potential ripple effects of allegations levied by the Trump administration.

    Ahead of sending in thousands of immigration enforcement agents into the Midwest state, Trump had repeatedly cited a fraud case involving funds for a child nutrition program involving COVID-19 pandemic relief funds.

    He used the case, which involved a nonprofit where several Somali Americans worked, to vilify the immigrant community, even though the organization was run by a white woman. After the state became a lightning rod, Gov. Tim Walz dropped his reelection plans.

    At Thursday’s news conference, Bonta described major cases in other states, such as $11.4 million healthcare fraud and wire fraud conspiracy involving a nursing assistant in Florida and a $88.3 million Medicaid fraud case in in Ohio involving over billing by a pharmacy benefit manager — to show abuse of state programs is not unique to California — or to blue states.

    “We know Vance hails from Ohio, so maybe he should take a look in his own backyard before leading an unnecessary political stunt focused on California,” Bonta said. “We thought we should set the record straight.”

    Times staff writers Melody Gutierrez and Dakota Smith contributed to this report.

    Suhauna Hussain, Clara Harter

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  • Care Dimensions celebrates 20 years of compassionate care at Kaplan House

    DANVERS — Care Dimensions, the largest hospice and palliative care provider in Massachusetts, recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Kaplan Family Hospice House at a special gala event.

    The event, held June 12 at Kernwood Country Club in Salem, brought together community supporters, staff, and volunteers to honor two decades of compassionate end-of-life care at the first-of-its-kind facility in Massachusetts.


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    By News Staff

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  • SoCal pair milked Medicare for $6 million in gold bars, other riches, feds allege

    SoCal pair milked Medicare for $6 million in gold bars, other riches, feds allege

    A Medicare fraud scheme ran by a Southern California duo involved multiple local medical facilities, foreign nationals, fake bank accounts and laundering millions of dollars with gold in a Glendale apartment, prosecutors say.

    Larchmont-area resident Sophia Shaklian, 36, and Alex Alexsanian, 47, of Burbank, are accused of submitting more than $54 million in fraudulent Medicare claims for hospice and diagnostic testing services that were never provided, then illegally laundering the $23 million they received in reimbursements, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California and the indictment.

    As a part of that scheme, about $6 million in gold bars and coins were purchased and moved through an apartment a few blocks from The Americana at Brand in Glendale, according to the indictment.

    The duo was arrested Wednesday and indicted on 24 counts altogether by a federal grand jury in connection with incidents over the last five years.

    Shaklian, who often used aliases, submitted Medicare claims on behalf of seven healthcare providers across Los Angeles County, including a hospice company she owned, the Chateau d’Lumina Hospice and Palliative Care in Pasadena, prosecutors said.

    Shaklian and her co-conspirators submitted claims for services on behalf of beneficiaries “who, in fact, never received any such services, did not need them, and were not even familiar with the fraudulent providers,” U.S. Attorney spokesperson Ciaran McEvoy wrote in the release. The $54 million worth of claims were submitted from March 2019 to August 2024.

    Shaklian allegedly laundered some of the $23 million in Medicare reimbursements by transferring them to accounts held in the name of a fake identity, prosecutors said.

    Alexsanian is accused of directing a foreign national, described as a Ukrainian citizen who later left the country, to open a medical facility in Sylmar and acquire an ongoing practice in Van Nuys, two of the locations for which Shaklian submitted false claims, according to the indictment. Alexsanian then had the Ukrainian relinquish control of the facilities’ bank accounts to him, prosecutors said.

    Alexsanian is accused of conspiring with the foreign national and others to then launder Medicare reimbursements to buy gold bars and coins, prosecutors said.

    Shaklian has been charged with 16 counts of healthcare fraud and four counts of transactional money laundering after an investigation from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General and the FBI, the release said. Alexsanian is charged with one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and three counts of concealment money laundering.

    Grace Toohey

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  • Walking for hospice care

    Walking for hospice care

    DANVERS — Care Dimensions, the hospice and palliative care provider, stepped off for its 37th annual Walk for Hospice on Sunday morning on the campus of St. John’s Prep in Danvers.

    The event is designed to offer an opportunity to remember and honor loved ones who have died, while also raising funds for Care Dimensions, which is a nonprofit hospice provider serving more than 100 communities across Eastern Massachusetts.

    Funds from the walk support programs like grief support, music therapy, and other services that benefit hospice patients and their families.

    Before the walk got underway, there were activities and refreshments, as well as music and brief remarks. WCVB meteorologist A.J. Burnett again served as the emcee.

    By News Staff

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  • Cape Ann news in brief

    Cape Ann news in brief

    Listings may be sent to: Goings On, Gloucester Daily Times, 36 Whittemore St.,Gloucester, MA 01930, or emailed to Joann Mackenzie at jomackenzie@gloucestertimes.com, at least two weeks prior to an event.

    Conservation roots

    On Sunday, Sept. 22, from 2 to 4 p.m, the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church, 10 Church St. Gloucester, presents Dan McKanan, the Emerson Senior Lecturer at Harvard Divinity School, exploring the spiritual roots and vision that led residents of Massachusetts to create the first state parks and the first conservation land trusts in the 1890s, and the ways that vision was enacted on Cape Ann. For nearly two centuries, Massachusetts has led the nation with a distinct approach to wild space conservation, fostering greater biodiversity in the ordinary places where we work, live, and play. McKanan focuses on religious movements for social transformation in the U.S. with emphasis on environmentalism, intentional community, and socialism. This free event, open to the public, is sponsored by the Interfaith Committee of the Cape Ann Climate Coalition and funded by the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration.

    Brew Fest

    Experience one of the best sea views on Cape Ann with a cold beer in your hand on Saturday, Sept. 21, from 1-5 p.m. at Gloucester’s historic Stage Fort Park, 24 Hough Ave., off Route 127. It’s the Blackburn Brew Fest, and it’s back again with hundreds of beers, ciders, and meads brewed by over 30 commonwealth breweries. Rockport-based Pigeon Cove Ferments will have a booth, presenting its expanding line of hard and non-alcoholic kombuchas. Tickets are $50 per person in advance at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/blackburn-brew-fest-tickets-927972720387; and $60 at the event. Designated driver admission is $10. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Cape Ann Community Foundation.

    Yard sale

    There will be a Yard Sale at the home of the Rev. Wendy Fitting this Saturday, Sept 21, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., 242 East Main St. Gloucester, corner of East Main Street and Mount Pleasant Avenue, across from Gloucester Stage Company.

    Elks craft fair

    The Gloucester Elks 892, 97 Atlantic Ave., is holding an outdoor Craft Fair on Sunday, Sept. 22, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will be 30 local vendors. All are welcome. The Elks helps the community with grants, scholarships throughout the year.

    Literary tour

    A last free Literary Gloucester Walking tour, started in 2023 under the auspices of the Gloucester 400+ Literary Committee and under the sponsorship of the Gloucester Writers Center, is Saturday, Sept. 21. Gloucester has been home to great writers since the 1700s when Judith Sargent Murray penned her feminist poems and essays. For T.S. Eliot, Nobel Prize winner, Gloucester was his boyhood summer home and the sea themes are a signature part of his poetry. Charles Olson and Vincent Ferrini maintained a poetic dialogue in the 20th century. Rudyard Kipling wrote “Captains Courageous,” while staying in Rockport, Henry Wordsworth Longfellow’s “The Wreck of the Hesperus,” was inspired by a ship that wrecked off Gloucester’s coast, to name but a few. Tours start at 10 a.m. in front of the Sargent House Museum and run till noon, guided by noted raconteur Phil Storey. Rain or shine.

    Fish Box Derby

    The 2024 Fish Box Derby will be held noon to 4 p.m. Sunday Sept. 22, on the Rogers Street hill from Gorton’s Seafood to Massachusetts Electric. The event for local kids ages 8 to 14 feaures trophies and a chance to win a scholarship up to $500. Cars and drivers must be present for check-in at 10:30 a.m. The race, which dates to the 1950s, has been organized by the Gloucester AMVETS and American Legion since 2018. Please, no pets in the pit area. Service animals are permitted. All drivers and their kid-powered cars must have passed pre-race inspection on Aug, 25. Entries and inspections will not be allowed on race day. Sorry, no exceptions.

    Run for the Trails

    HAMILTON — Registration is open for the Essex County Trail Association’s 20th annual Run for the Trails to be held Saturday, Sept. 21. Registration fee is 5 Miles: $20 member, $30 non-member; 10 Miles: $25 member, $35 non-member. Proceeds go toward ECTA’s mission of maintaining trails in its member towns of Hamilton, Wenham, Topsfield, Ipswich, Essex and West Newbury for all types of passive recreation. Visit https://ecta27.wildapricot.org/event-5579436 for more details/.

    At Halibut Point

    ROCKPORT — Halibut Point State Park’s free September programs are open to the public at 4 Gott Ave., Rockport. Guided group tours available with advance reservations: Fees, $5 Mass license plate and $20 out-of-state plates. An adult must accompany children. Reasonable accommodations available upon request. For questions or advance reservations, call 978.546.2997 or email halibut.point@mass.gov

    When Granite was King, Saturday, Sept. 21. Babson Farm quarrying history guided tour, 10-11 a.m. Meet at parking area. Ages 8 and up.

    A Quarryman’s Tales & Tools, Saturday, Sept. 28, 10 to 11:30 a.m. Fred Peterson shares quarrying tales and his vintage quarryman’s tools. Learn the 150-year granite quarrying industry of yesteryear and today’s use of granite! Granite splitting demonstration.

    Psychic Fair

    ROCKPORT — The Psychic and Mystical Crafts Fair will take place Sunday, Sept. 29, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Apothecary Suil Crow at 9 Whistlestop Mall.

    “This is an old-fashioned psychic fair from tarot readings to sound healers to oracle readings to spiritual guidance and shopping, unique and wonderful handmade items,” Rebeccah Pearson, owner of Apothecary Suil Crow, said.

    More information is available at apothecarysuilcrow.com.

    Hospice walk

    DANVERS — Care Dimensions, the largest hospice and palliative care provider in Massachusetts, invites the public to attend the 37th annual Walk for Hospice on Sunday, Sept. 29, at 9 a.m. on the campus of St. John’s Prep, 72 Spring St. in Danvers. The walk offers an opportunity to remember and honor loved ones who have died, while also raising funds for Care Dimensions, a nonprofit hospice provider serving more than 100 communities in Eastern Massachusetts. Funds from the walk support programs such as grief support, music therapy, and other services that benefit hospice patients and their families. Learn more and register at: CareDimensions.org/Wal

    Climate films

    The Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation, TownGreen, and the Gloucester Stage Company are presenting a “Cape Ann Climate Future Film Festival” on Oct. 5, at the Gloucester Stage Company, 267 East Main St., Gloucester. Doors open at 2 p.m. for a light reception with local barbecue and dessert favorites. The program begins at 3 p.m. and runs until about 5 p.m. This will be the first time all three organizations have united, recognizing that we are all one in the face of heat, cold, heavy winds and rising seas. We will show a series of ten short films from four continents which will “explore the artistic and human response to climate change,” as noted by the festival’s producers. There will be a community discussion at the end of the screening. This is a way for people to learn about how climate change is being addressed around the world, and to consider what is happening immediately on Cape Ann. Tickets are $20.

    Women singers sought

    Sorellanza, a small, established women’s a cappella chorus with a diverse repertoire, is seeking new members. Experience is needed, and reading music is an asset. For an audition, please contact Patti Pike at Pikeharp@comcast.net.

    Comfort baskets

    A group of friends — participants of the Relay for Life for many years — have raised over $100,000 for the American Cancer Society. During that time one of its members had cancer and came up with the idea of providing comfort baskets containing products to help make the side effects of chemotherapy more bearable to patients. Many have been given away and are being donating to the Addison Gilbert Hospital infusion center each month. The bags contain, a blanket, knitted hat, gift card, lotions, mug, tea, a pillow and other varied items which can help the person undergoing chemotherapy treatments. To help continue this non-profit program, you can find Friends for Friends on VENMO or send a donation care of Sue Lovasco, 24 South St., Rockport MA 01966.

    At Sawyer Free

    Gloucester’s Sawyer Free Library has plenty going on at its temporary location at 21 Main St, downtown Gloucester, as well as at other locations and, for virtual events, online. For more information, and for all events, virtual and in person, requiring registration, go to: sawyerfreelibrary.org.

    Gloucester Genealogy Group, Saturday, Sept. 21, 10:30-1:30 a.m, Presentation by Sarah Tripp of Phillips Library of the Peabody Essex Museum — learn to access genealogical resources largely based in Essex County, 19th century. Register as above. Questions? jtravers@sawyerfreelibrary.org.

    Community Creations, Sept. 25, 6-8 p.m., Art and reativity at Cape Ann Lanes, 53 Gloucester Ave., Materials and pizza provided. Ages 18+ Register as noted above. sawyerfreelibrary.org. Questions? lryan@sawyerfreelibrary.org.

    Gloucester 400 Storytellers event, Thursday, Sept. 26, 5:30-6:30 p.m,. Recent discoveries and old mysteries surrounding Leonard Craske, sculptor of Fishermen’s Memorial, Man at the Wheel. James Clark shares insights from his research. From A Gloucester400+ Commemorative Book, Our People, Our Stories. Register as noted above. Questions? Contact: jtravers@sawyerfreelibrary.

    Musical Storytime with Ruthanne Paulson, Friday, Sept. 27, 11-11:45 a.m., Children with caregivers. No registration. Questions? jvitale@sawyerfreelibrary.org.

    Genealogy Myths & Legends, Saturday, Sept. 28, 10:30-11:30 a.m., Michael Brophy, world-renowned genealogist, explains and debunks fiction about genealogy and family history. In the Brenner Room at Rockport Library, 17 School St., Rockport. Register as noted above. Questions? jtravers@sawyerfreelibrary.

    SFL Home Delivery, free for residents of all ages with special needs, illness, or disability. Questions? email:moneill@sawyerfreelibrary.org.

    Interactive Storytime with Tricia, Wednesdays, 10:30-11:15 a.m., all ages. No registration. Questions? Contact: jvitale@sawyerfreelibrary.org.

    At Manchester library

    MANCHESTER-BY-THE-SEA — September is Library Card Sign-up Month, so Manchester-by-the-Sea Public Library,15 Union St., would like to remind everyone of just how valuable a resource a library card can be. Your first card is free. You’ll receive a free book bag and lanyard with it, and be connected to all the library has to offer — from borrowing books, ebooks and audiobooks to getting tech help, or learning new skills. For more information about this and all events and programs at the library, and to register, visit www.manchesterpl.org. Questions? Call 978-526-7711, or email mwillwerth@manchesterpl.org.

    Fall hours are Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

    Crew Week Zero Waste Challenge Kick Off, Saturday, Sept. 21, 1-3 p.m. Mulled cider, free swag, and info on how to divert trash from the landfill. Great prizes for the smallest amount of trash collected Sept. 9-27. Captain Dusty’s Ice Cream scooped for all who participate at the weigh-in on Sept. 27, 3-5 p.m. Register at bit.ly/mbts_zerowaste_2024 or at the library.

    Intro to Saving Seeds, Thursday, Sept. 26, at 6 -7 p.m. Being a seed steward starts digging into the details. And this program gets you off to a great start. Register online or call 978-526-7711. This event is a part of Communities Responding to Extreme Weather. Visit: climatecrew.org/climate_prep_week.

    Pop Up Art School: Cardboard Coral Reef, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 4 to 5:30 p.m. Dive into creativity! As part of the library’s Climate Week. Transforms recycled materials into a vibrant coral reef. Ages 8 and up. Register online or call 978-526-7711. both with games, crafts, and fun at the library! Ages 6-11. Please register online or call 978-526-7711.

    Touch-a-Truck, Saturday, Sept. 28, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Get up close and personal with trucks and other vehicles from the Public Works and Fire and Police Departments.

    Lego Time, Mondays, 3:30-4:30 p.m. Drop-in, unstructured Lego building for kids ages 6 and up.

    Teen Advisory Board (TAB): High schoolers may get involved in the library’s collection, promoting events, planning the annual Haunted Library, and more. Teens will get community service hours for school and pizza. Questions? Contact Tom Russo, at trusso@manchesterpl.org.

    Rescue wildlife

    Could you be harming Gloucester’s wildlife unintentionally? Local licensed wildlife rehabbers are receiving sick and dying wildlife regularly that are being harmed by us humans, often completely unintentionally. On Oct. 21, 6:30 to 8 p.m., at the Cape Ann YMCA, Rescue Gloucester Wildlife is hosting a presentation with MassAudubon’s Heather Packard about what you can do to prevent unintentional harm to wildlife. Save the date and check the Facebook page “Rescue Gloucester Wildlife.” Questions? Email songbirder @hotmail.com.

    The Open Door

    Need help getting groceries? Let food be one less thing to worry about with The Open Door’s new programs. New clients and those returning after more than two years can create an online shopping profile at FOODPANTRY.org/newshopper or call 978-283-6776. New profiles will be processed within one business day. Active clients can place orders at FOODPANTRY.org/order or call 978-283-6776. Translation services are available in many languages. Groceries will be ready for pick-up, with limited delivery available. Need food today? Visit the Gloucester Food Pantry at 28 Emerson Ave., during business hours for basic groceries. Ordering online or by phone for pick-up or delivery within one to three business days allows you more choice. The Open Door is open Monday through Wednesday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Thursday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Need SNAP (Food Stamps)? One-on-one, confidential prescreening for application, recertification, and interim report available at 978-283-6776 ext. 201 or snap@foodpantry.org. Community Meals? Pick-up and delivery, 3 p.m. to close Monday through Friday. Extra meals available on Fridays for the weekend. For more information, visit FOODPANTRY.org.

    At CAM Green

    Beginning Oct. 11 and continuing through spring 2026, Cape Ann Museum’s CAM Green campus, will host a robust series of exhibitions and programs. This shift to year-round access, programs and exhibitions at CAM Green will include expanded weekly hours, free admission, and timed ticketing to welcome more visitors to the space while the museum’s downtown campus on Pleasant Street closes for extensive renovations. Located off Poplar Street in Gloucester, the Green campus has free parking and gallery access. Timed entry tickets are required by registering at the museum website. CAM Green hours will be expanded to Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. New signature community events will be held within the James Center at CAM Green, with details soon to be announced. Visit https://www.capeannmuseum.org/

    Blood drives

    The American Red Cross urges blood and platelet donors, especially those with type O blood and donors giving platelets, to make and keep donation appointments now to help hospitals restock blood products for patients. As a thank-you, those who come give blood, platelets or plasma in August will get a $20 Amazon.com gift card by email. For details, visit RedCrossBlood.org/Help.

    Monday, Sept. 23: 1-6 p.m., Our Lady of Good Voyage Church, 142 Prospect St., Gloucester.

    Wednesday, Sept. 25: 2-7 p.m., Magnolia Library & Community Center, 1 Lexington Ave., Gloucester.

    Sept. 30: Noon to 5 p.m., at both Amaral Bailey American Legion Post, 14 Church St. in Manchester-by-the-Sea; and Our Lady of Good Hope, 1 Pineswamp Road, Ipswich.

    Appointments also are available at other locations and at the Danvers Blood Donation Center, 99 Rosewood Drive in Danvers, and by calling 800-733-2767, visiting redcrossblood.org or using the Red Cross Blood Donor App.

    Tai Chi

    ROCKPORT — Amy Seabrook leads an Introduction to Tai Chi exercise each Tuesday, from 11 to 12:15 p.m., at Rockport First Congregational Church, 12 School St. This class focuses on simple, circling movements and the principles behind them. Participants will concentrate on weight transfer for balance and stability. Suggested donation of $7 pays for use of the hall and supports the church. Email Amy at seabrookarts@gmail.com for more information.

    Calling all artists

    MANCHESTER-BY-THE-SEA — Manchester Public Library’s second annual “Falling for Art Exhibit and Sale” is set to run Oct. 18-20. Artists are invited to submit 3-5 digital jpeg images by Sept. 30. Submissions should be emailed to fallingforartmbts@gmail.com and labelled “last name, first name, title of piece, price.” Fifty percent of the proceeds benefit The Friends of the Manchester Public Library. Manchester Public Library is located at 15 Union St., Manchester. Visit https://www.manchesterpl.org/.

    Chorus meets

    DANVERS — The Northshoremen Barbershop Chorus welcomes men of all ages who love to sing to join them. The chorus rehearses every Wednesday at 7 p.m. at All Saints Episcopal Church, 46 Cherry St., Danvers. Come to the next rehearsal, or for more information call 866-727-4988.

    Rockport renewals

    ROCKPORT — The Rockport Public Library offers automatic renewals on most items checked out from the library. Items will automatically renew if they have not been returned three days before their due date. Patrons will no longer have to take steps to renew items, even if the items came from a library in Rockport’s network of libraries. Items that cannot be renewed include lucky day titles, items on waiting lists, items that have reached their renewal limit, items borrowed from outside the Merrimack Valley Library Consortium (MVLC), items checked out from a nonparticipating library. By initiating renewals automatically, the library complements its existing fine-free model, under which the library no longer charges fines for overdue items. Patrons who have registered their email addresses with the library will get an email notifying them that their items have been automatically renewed — and reminders of upcoming due dates. To add your email for this service, email info@rockportlibrary.org, call 978-546-6934 or speak with a librarian. Drivers license or two other forms of ID are required at check-in. In most states age 16 must have parental consent, weigh at least 110 pounds and be in good health.

    Essex seniors

    ESSEX – The Essex Council on Aging offers events and trips for seniors. For more information or to register for an event, please call the office at 978-768-7932 or visit the Senior Center at 17 Pickering St. Also, tune in to the Cape Ann Virtual Senior Center for events and fitness opportunities on channel 67 sponsored by the Cape Ann Councils on Aging and the Friends of the Essex Council on Aging. Unless otherwise noted, events will take place at the senior center. Destination events require registration as noted for seat on CATA van.

    Walking Club, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., free at the Gordon College Bennett Center indoor walking track. Registration requested by calling Hamilton-Wenham Recreation at 978-468-2178. Transportation by CATA.

    Creative Connections, Mondays, 10 a.m. to noon. Bring art projects or start a new one. Supplies while they last.

    Arts Group, Tuesdays, 1 to 3 p.m. Paint, knit, crochet, or sew? Bring a project or help create items for the Friends Boutique.

    Computer & Technology Assistance, Wednesdays, 1 to 3 pm. Help with computer, tablet, phone? Drop in and ask for Curt or Bill.

    Games with Gil at the Senior Center, Wednesdays, 1 p.m. All ages welcome, for board games or Scrabble, Boggle, cribbage, backgammon. Join us or bring a friend and come play

    Mobile Market at the Essex Senior Center, first and third Fridays of each month, 10:30 a.m.

    Balance in motion, Tuesdays and Fridays, 10 a.m., $5 donation requested.

    Groove Fitness Video, Mondays, 9:30 a.m. Dance class to video, no instructor. $5 donation requested.

    Cape Ann Virtual Fitness Senior Center: Tune into channel 67 for fitness programs sponsored by the Cape Ann COA and the Friends of the Essex Council on Aging.

    Grab and Go Meals, Mondays and Thursdays, noon (must be picked up by 12:30): Monday meals provided by The Open Door, Thursday meals provided by Senior Care. Please register two business days in advance at 978-768-7932.

    Sit ‘n Knit

    ROCKPORT — The Rockport Public Library, 17 School St., hosts Sit ‘n Knit (formerly Which Craft?) on Mondays from 12:30-2:30 p.m., New name and new time! In the Trustees Room. Pull up a chair, break out your needlecraft, and join the conversation. For more information, call 978-546-6934, or visit rockportlibrary.org.

    Exchange open

    The Annisquam Exchange opens it doors Wednesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., through October. Offering Folly Cove designs, silver, collectibles, estate pieces, linens, fine jewelry, kitchenware, cards, Annisquam apparel from Annisquam Sewing Circle, artworks, toys, candy, and more, at 32 Leonard St. in Gloucester. To learn more, visit www.annisquamexchange.com or email annisquamexchange@gmail.com.

    Home upgrades

    Essex County Habitat for Humanity’s Critical Home Repair/Aging in Place program can — by using volunteers, donated construction materials and flexible sources of funding — offer very affordable house repairs to help Gloucester seniors age in place. The projects typically take a week, and the homeowner can usually continue living in the home while the work is done. Upgrades include wheelchair ramps, weatherization, handicap features, repairing structural rotting, stairs, roofing, etc. The program is not limited to elder and/or disabled homeowners, and does repairs necessary to maintain sound condition of the home, weatherization and energy efficiency, those needed to alleviate critical health, life and safety issues or code violations, and those that will help older adults age safely in their homes. Habitat staff inspects the property and determines financial qualifications based on total household income. If physically able, the homeowner must contribute sweat equity hours and the home must be owner-occupied. Learn more at https://www.essexcountyhabitat.org/critical-home-repair-program/.

    Cribbage

    A cribbage league plays Thursdays at 7 p.m., at the Pilot House, 3 Porter St, Gloucester. Cost is $5 a week and each round lasts ten weeks. For more information, call 978-491-8660.

    Informal Cribbage games happen Wednesdays, 6-8 p.m., at the Magnolia Library and Community Center. The library asks that players join the Magnolia Library. https://www.magnolialibrary.org/copy-of-about-us. There are no other dues to play. Contact Dot Sieradzki at Dotsieradzki@gmail.com for more information.

    Teen task force

    High school students of all faiths are invited to join Lappin Foundation’s Teen Antisemitism Task Force. Students will hear from experts about ways they can combat antisemitism and all forms of hate, as well as put into action what they learn. There will be opportunities for teens to share their experiences and ideas as well. Meetings will be held Tuesdays from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m., once a month. For the complete calendar and list of speakers, visit LappinFoundation.org. There is no cost to join the task force and students can attend meetings as their schedules allow. For more information email dcoltin@lappinfoundation.org. The Teen Antisemitism Task Force is supported by CJP and the Jewish Teen Initiative.

    For job seekers

    If you need help with your resume, cover letter, or some job searching advice, contact jobseeker@sawyerfreelibrary.org or call 978-325-5500 to make an appointment for in-person resume and cover letter assistance with a librarian. Computers, Chromebooks, tablets, Wi-Fi Hotspots, printing, photocopying, scanning, and saving via email and flash drive are all free at the Sawyer Free Library at 21 Main St. Questions? Visit sawyerfreelibrary.org or 978-325-5500.

    Writer’s Center

    The Gloucester Writers Center, 126 E. Main St., Gloucester, is a 501©(3) nonprofit founded in 2010. Its mission is to celebrate Cape Ann’s literary legacy and promote writing as an art and a tool. Here are some sessions coming up; find more details at gloucesterwriters.org.

    Open Mic Nights, first Monday of the month at 7:30 p.m., 126 East Main St., Gloucester. Come early, sign up, enjoy refreshments and camaraderie. Bring five minutes of work to share! in low-key, supportive setting. Parking is at Chapel Street + North Shore Arts, just down the road.

    Volunteer at the Gloucester Writers Center, a small, community-focused nonprofit.

    Caregiver workshop

    The Savvy Caregiver is a free workshop is for caregivers of memory-impaired recipients. It meets via Zoom weekly on Mondays, through Oct. 21, and will help caregivers understand the impact of dementia, learn skills to manage daily life and communicate more effectively, and take care of themselves. To register, contact Abby Considine at SeniorCare, 978-281-1750, ext. 581.

    Museum, zoo passes

    Local libraries offer cardholders passes to many regional cultural attractions.

    Funded by the Friends, Sawyer Free Library, 21 Main St., offers cardholders passes to the Boston Children’s Museum, Cape Ann Museum, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Maritime Gloucester , Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of Science, Peabody Essex Museum, New England Aquarium, Sargent House Museum, Zoo New England and new additions North Shore Children’s Museum and Historic New England properties. Library patrons can visit sawyerfreelibrary.org to reserve passes. Questions? Contact 978-325-5500.

    Manchester Public Library offers passes to the Cape Ann Museum, Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), Museum of Science, Peabody Essex Museum and Zoo New England. Manchester Public Library patrons may visit www.manchesterpl.org and click on Museum Passes to begin the reservation process. Click on the museum you are interested in visiting and there you will see instructions to reserve a timed ticket. If you have any questions, please call the library at 978-526-7711.

    Stage for caregivers

    Caregivers are invited to enjoy a free night of theater. SeniorCare and Gloucester Stage will provider caregivers with two free tickets to a show in the 2024 season for themselves and a guest. See www.gloucesterstage.com for more information about shows. To register for free tickets for a date of your choice (subject to seat availability), call 978-281-1750 x591.

    Women artists

    On view at Cape Ann Museum, 27 Pleasant St., Gloucester, is a major retrospective of a wealth of works by Cape Ann women artists, from 1870-1970, many of whom have gained national recognition. Drawing from the museum’s collection, the works of 42 women artists are organized around the themes of portraiture, summer on Cape Ann, illustrators and authors, new visions and the collaborative spirit. The show runs through Sept. 29. To register, visit: https://www.capeannmuseum.org/event/camtalk-exhibition-series-cecilia-beauxs-green-alley-days/.

    Food drive

    MANCHESTER — “Neighbors Helping Neighbors” is the theme of the Manchester Knights of Columbus ongoing 24/7 food drive for The Open Door’s food pantry in Gloucester. The need on Cape Ann is greater now than ever before, so all are encouraged to leave food donations in the designated bins in the garage on Friend Street behind Sacred Heart Church, School Street, Manchester. Food items most needed are peanut butter; canned tuna, chicken, turkey; healthy snack items; breakfast cereal; 100% juice/juice boxes; hearty soups; canned vegetables and fruits; spaghetti sauce; macaroni and cheese; rice; noodles and pasta; and cake, muffin, and pancake mixes. (Please no glass items-jars, bottles, etc.) Knights of Council 1232 transport the donated food to The Open Door weekly. This food drive is an open-ended and on-going effort.

    Thrift Shop open

    ROCKPORT — The Unitarian Universalist Church thrift store is open every Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m. to noon, through Sept. 28. Jewelry, art, toys and puzzles, indoor and outdoor decor, household wares, and beach reads. Donations gratefully accepted. More information available by calling the Unitarian Universalist Society of Rockport at 978-546-2989.

    Zoom in on arthritis

    Arthritis relief without pills? Exercises can help functional movement, increase range of motion and improve ADL’s (Activities of Daily Living), and you won’t have to leave the house to do it. PACE at Element Care is offering a free virtual exercise program over Zoom every Wednesday at 11 a.m. Sit, stand, and join us. All are welcome, and it’s absolutely free. Register for your Zoom link at: https://elementcare-org.zoom.us/j/83819924499?pwd=N1N6ZHNmbUxUaXRtWm1EWmR1bzF1UT09. Meeting ID: 838 1992 4499.

    At Essex library

    ESSEX — TOHP Burnham Library, 30 Martin St., Essex, has a full house of activities. Open weekdays until 7 p.m., Saturday, 10 a.m. to noon. For all event requiring registration, sign up at essexpl.org/events. Questions? 978-768-7410.

    Regional social worker office hours, Wednesdays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., in first floor meeting room. Free, private and confidential, learn resources, strategies and skills to assist in stress reduction and management. Call 978-983-1771 for appointment.

    Meals on Wheels

    Home-delivered meals might be for you if you are age 60 or older, and unable to prepare a balanced meal because of physical, mental, or emotional limitations, or lack of home assistance from family, friends, or neighbors, to prepare balanced meal. If this sounds like you, and you are unable to participate in the congregate dining program comfortably or safely, Meals on Wheels delivers daily to your door. There are no income eligibility requirements for this program. For more information call SeniorCare Inc. at 978-281-1750 or call toll-free 866-927-1050.

    Old Salties Jazz Band

    Dave Sags’ Old Salties Jazz Band plays jazz every Monday at 1 p.m. at the Rose Baker Senior Center, 6 Manuel F Lewis St., Gloucester. All are welcome to stop by and enjoy some great live jazz. Just tell them at the entrance desk that you’re there as a guest of the Old Salties Jazz Band. Questions? Call 978- 325-5800.

    ‘Falling For Art’

    MANCHESTER-BY-THE-SEA — The Friends of the Manchester Library’s highly anticipated “Falling For Art” event will take place at the library, 15 Union St., beginning Friday, Oct. 18, with an opening meet-the-artists party from 6-8 p.m., continuing Saturday, Oct. 19, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 20, from 1-4 p.m. The works of many local artists will be on view and 50% of all proceeds from sales supporting the library’s many programs, services, and improvements that enhance the experience for all patrons. For more, visit: visit manchesterpl.org or contact the organizers.

    Symphony season

    MANCHESTER-BY-THE-SEA — Cape Ann Symphony’s 73rd concert season starts Sunday, Sept. 29, at 2 p.m. in the auditorium at Manchester Essex Regional High School, 36 Lincoln St. in Manchester-by-the-Sea, under the direction Conductor Yoichi Udagawa. The season features guest artists cellist Owen Young and pianist Myron Romanul, and the Cape Ann Symphony Chorus under the direction of choral director Brittany Betts. Tickets are $50 adults; $45 seniors; $20 students with valid student ID; $5, 12 and under. For season subscriptions and more information, visit www.capeannsymphony.org, or call 978-281-0543.

    Music of the Kora

    ROCKPORT — Music of the West African Kora, a popular folk stringed instrument built from a gourd, Comes to Rockport Public Library on Wednesday, Oct. 9, from 4-6 p.m. Sean Gaskell will present an educational performance on the kora, a 21-stringed West African harp. His journey with the kora began in 2006, inspired by a performance by Kane Mathis. This experience led him to West Africa, where he studied under Moriba Kuyateh and the late Malamini Jobarteh in Brikama, Gambia, and later with Youssoupha Cissokho and Mamadou Cissokho in Senegal. To register, visit rockportlibrary.org/events.

    At Rockport library

    ROCKPORT — Rockport Public Library, 17 School St., offers ongoing programming for one and all. Zoom and in-person events require registration on the library event calendar at https://rockportlibrary.org/events/. Questions? Call 978-546-6934.

    Sit & Knit Circle, Mondays, 12:30 to 2:30 p.m., in the Trustees Room to work on your knitting and needlecraft projects while enjoying lively conversation with similar creatives. No instruction provided, but all are welcome to pull up a chair, break out your needlecraft, and join the conversation.

    ESOL English Conversation on Zoom, Mondays from 3-4:15 p.m., Wednesdays from 7-8:30 p.m., and Thursdays from 2-3:15 p.m. Requires basic English; must be a resident of Massachusetts. To register, email literacyservices@bpl.org, or leave a message at 617-859-2446.

    LEGOs and Crafting, 3:15-4:15 p.m. Mondays, in the Brenner Room to build with the library’s collection of LEGO bricks, or create with crafting supplies. Children under 9 must be accompanied by a caregiver. Registration required.

    Modern Drama Discussion Group, 4 p.m. Mondays, on Zoom and in the Trustees Room. Questions? email baudano@rockportlibrary.org.

    Essex Regional Social Worker Open Office Hours: with Jessie Palm, social worker for the Eastern Essex Regional Public Health Coalition, every first and third Tuesday of the month (note date change) from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Trustees Room. Support, information. No appointment necessary.

    Art & Sensory Class in the Garden, Tuesdays, 3 to 4 p.m. with Sarah Brown. Preschoolers to upper elementary. Please register and plan to remain with your child for the class.

    Dungeons & Dragons, Wednesdays, 4:30-6 p.m. Youth Group role plays in the Trustees Room. Registration required.

    Harvard Law School Legal Services Virtual Drop-in, Fridays, 10 a.m. to noon, on Zoom. Consumer loans, criminal record sealing or expungement (CORI), disability rights, divorce, custody, child support, housing law and tenants’ rights, LGBTQ+ related concerns, military record corrections, Social Security, public benefits, SNAP and veterans, small claims court, tax issues. Register for Zoom link at: https://rockportlibrary.org/events/.

    Toddler Storytime, Fridays, 10:30 a.m. Stories, songs, and rhymes in the children’s room. Ages 18 months to 3 years with caregivers.

    Stitch and Snack, teen craft meetup, Fridays, 4 p.m. in the Trustees Room. Bring a knitting or craft project, or just snack and talk crafts. Supplies and snacks provided. Email Emily at esouza@rockportlibrary.org with questions, snack requests, or food allergies. For middle and high school students.

    Craft Saturdays, 10 a.m., a new craft each week at the craft table in the Children’s Room. No registration required.

    Transient moorings

    The Gloucester Harbormaster’s Office is taking reservations for the 30 transient moorings in the Inner Harbor, Southeast Harbor, and Western Harbor. Moorings include services and amenities such as WiFi, transient storage, floating docks, service and maintenance, as well as access to the state-of-the-art transient boaters lounge and launch services. A waitlist is also available. To reserve moorings through Columbus Day weekend, visit https://bit.ly/43DLyTQ.

    EMT training

    Beauport Ambulance Service Inc. is offering EMT basic training at a new training center at its office at 19 Pond Road in Gloucester. Classes typically run Wednesdays from 6-10 p.m. and Saturdays, 8 a.m. to noon. Signups are ongoing for the 144-hour course incorporating lectures and hands-on skills practice. Those who are interested in the course or who have questions can reach out to Beauport Ambulance Service’s education coordinator at sclark@beauportambulanceservice.com.

    Backyard Growcery

    The Backyard Growcery is Gloucester’s new farmers market, running every Wednesday through Oct. 16, from 2:30-6:30 p.m. at Burnham’s Field in Gloucester. Managed by food equity non-profit Backyard Growers, it features small-scale North Shore farmers, bakers, fresh Gloucester seafood, an artisanal pizza maker, and more. SNAP and Senior Coupons are accepted. Accessible via CATA bus, it’s near the Sheedy Park stop on the Gloucester Crossing & Business Express Loop. Visit backyardgrowers.org to learn more and purchase tickets.

    Manchester seniors

    MANCHESTER-BY-THE-SEA — September is a harvest of happenings for Manchester seniors.

    These are all out-of-town events, so all require you to quickly reserve your seat on the senior van. Call the Council on Aging at 978-526-7500, or stop by the office, at 10 Central St., Manchester.

    Trip to Castle Island and lunch at Sullivan’s, Wednesday, Sept. 18. Trip to Castle Island and hotdogs or seafood at Sullivan’s. See South Boston houses Fort Independence, a five-bastioned, granite fort built between 1834 and 1851. Van pick up 10:30 a.m. Return around 2 p.m

    Lobster Roll lunch, Tuesday, Sept. 24, catered by Jeff’s Variety of Gloucester. With a choice of chicken salad roll, potato chips and cookie includd. Pick up your lunch up at the COA office, 10 Central St. at 12:15 p.m. or we can deliver. Lobster $14, chicken &6, To the first fifty who sign up. Drop advance payment off or mail a check to the Council on Aging, 10 Central Street, Manchester, MA 01944. Call 978-526-7500 by Sept. 19 to register.

    Trip to Beverly’s China Jade Restaurant, Friday, Sept. 20. Enjoy Asian cuisine, then head to Dollar Tree for shopping. Van pick-up starts around 11 a.m. Return by 1:30 p.m.

    Monthly mystery ride, Wednesday, Sept. 25. Bring your appetite for food and fun and hop on board the senior van. The driver will whisk you off to an unknown destination on the North Shore for ice cream, pastries, sandwiches or all of the above. Senior van pick-up starts/returns by 2 p.m.

    Trip to Merrimack Valley Quilt Show, Friday, Sept. 27. 150-plus quilts vendors, food, penny raffle, silent auction, demonstrations, boutique. Senior van pick up 10 a.m. / Return around 2 p.m. $10 admission at door. Call as above to reserve your seat.

    Chorus auditions

    Auditions for for singers for the 2024 Chorus are set for Sept. 23, under the direction of the new director of the Cape Ann Symphony Chorus, multi-talented musician Brittany Betts. If interested, please contact Betts at brittanybetts@gmail.com. Rehearsals will be Wednesdays, through Nov. 20, from 7-9 p.m. at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 1123 Washington St. in Lanesville, along with two rehearsals with the orchestra during the week of the concerts. The Cape Ann Symphony 2024 Holiday Pops Concerts are Saturday, Nov. 30, 2 p.m. at Dolan Performing Arts Center, Ipswich High School, Ipswich; and Saturday, Nov. 30, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 1, at 2 p.m., at Manchester Essex Regional High School in Manchester-by-the-Sea.

    Creativebug

    ROCKPORT — The Rockport Public Library has Creativebug, an online database that offers more than 1,000 videos by artists and professionals detailing a wide variety of art and crafts projects for all ages. Videos cover painting, ceramics, knitting, quilting, jewelry-making, party crafts, and more. Some crafts can be learned in a single video, or skills can be honed over multiple videos. To get started, visit www.rockportlibrary.org, go to home page, enter your library card number and email address. After that, you’ll only need to enter your card number to get crafting! Questions? 978-546-6934.

    Indigenous Cape Ann

    Cape Ann Museum is presenting its exhibition of local indigenous artifacts from Cape Ann, on view in the downtown campus, 27 Pleasant St., Gloucester. The display also includes selections from the Annisquam Historical Society. For admission and information, visit www.capeannmuseum.org/event.

    At Rose Baker

    The Gloucester Council on Aging’s Rose Baker Senior Center has a full schedule of fun, free special events in store as we move into fall, as well as regular recurring activities listed in our monthly newsletter, Coastline News. To have Coastline News delivered to your home, call 978-325-5814. All events require pre-registration by calling 978-325-5812 or by signing up in-person at the Rose Baker front desk, Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.

    Monday Fun Day Bus Trips: Sept. 23, trip to Salem Willows, lunch optional. Sept. 30, trip to Liberty Tree Mall, lunch at Wendy’s in Danvers Wendy’s. All trips leave Rose Baker at 10 a.m./ return around 1:30 p.m.

    Pottery Sale

    Cynthia Curtis Pottery presents its 2024 Student & Studio Potter Sale, Oct. 19-20, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., 80 Pigeon Hill St., Rockport. The public is invited to a reception with the artists on Saturday, Oct. 19, from 4-6 p.m. A wide variety of student and studio potters’ ceramic pieces will be on sale, at prices you will appreciate! Curtis, who is celebrating 25 years of teaching and making pottery in Rockport, will be showing her own distinctive work in her gallery. For more information, email CynthiaCurtisPottery@gmail.com or visit cynthiacurtispottery.com.

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  • Walk for Hospice returning next month in Danvers

    Walk for Hospice returning next month in Danvers

    DANVERS  —  Care Dimensions, the largest hospice and palliative care provider in Massachusetts, invites the public to attend the 37th annual Walk for Hospice on Sunday, Sept. 29, at 9 a.m. on the campus of St. John’s Prep in Danvers.

    The walk offers an opportunity to remember and honor loved ones who have died, while also raising funds for Care Dimensions, which is a non-profit hospice provider serving more than 100 communities across Eastern Massachusetts.

    “The Walk for Hospice is both a morning of remembrance and a celebration of life,” said Heather Johnston, chief development officer at Care Dimensions. “Most attendees have been personally touched by the compassionate hospice care our organization provides. Every step taken and every dollar raised helps ensure that we can continue offering exceptional care and support to those in need.”

    Funds from the walk support programs like grief support, music therapy, and other services that benefit hospice patients and their families.

    This is a family and dog-friendly event. Before walkers step off, there will be activities and refreshments, as well as music and brief remarks. WCVB meteorologist A.J. Burnett will once again serve as emcee.

    “Care Dimensions does incredibly valuable work that means so much to so many,” Burnett, who has emceed the event since 2020, said. “I am thrilled to continue supporting the annual Walk for Hospice and to help Care Dimensions fulfill their mission of providing meaningful and compassionate end-of-life care for individuals and families.”

    Care Dimensions was founded in 1978 and provides hospice, palliative care, and in-home primary care to over 1,500 patients every day. St. John’s Prep is located at 72 Spring St., Danvers. 

    Learn more and register at: CareDimensions.org/Walk

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  • A year after Jimmy Carter’s entered hospice care, advocates hope his endurance drives awareness

    A year after Jimmy Carter’s entered hospice care, advocates hope his endurance drives awareness

    Since Jimmy Carter entered hospice care at his home in south Georgia one year ago, the former U.S. president has celebrated his 99th birthday, enjoyed tributes to his legacy and lost his wife of 77 years.Rosalynn Carter, who died in November, about six months after the Carter family disclosed her dementia diagnosis, lived only a few days under hospice supervision, with her frail husband at her bedside.Experts on end-of-life care say the Carters’ different paths show the range of an oft-misunderstood service. Those advocates commend the Carter family for demonstrating the realities of aging, dementia and death. They express hope that the attention spurs more Americans to seek out services intended to help patients and families in the latter stages of life.“It’s been massive to have the Carters be so public,” said Angela Novas, chief medical officer for the Hospice Foundation of America, based in Washington. “It has shed hospice in a new light, and it’s raised questions” for people to learn more.The Carter family released a statement ahead of Sunday, the first anniversary of their announcement that the 39th president would forgo future hospital stays and enter end-of-life care at home in Plains.“President Carter continues to be at home with his family,” the statement said. “The family is pleased that his decision last year to enter hospice care has sparked so many family discussions across the country on an important subject.”To be clear, the family has not confirmed whether Jimmy Carter remains in hospice care or has been discharged, as sometimes happens when even a frail patient’s health stabilizes.Here is a look at hospice and the Carters’ circumstances:HOSPICE SERVES EVERYONE, EVEN THE RICH AND POWERFULMollie Gurian is vice president of Leading Age, a national network of more than 5,000 nonprofit elder-care agencies. She described hospice as “holistic care … for someone who is trying to live the end of their life as fully as possible” but no longer seeks a cure for a terminal condition.Hospice offers multiple practitioners for each patient: nurses, physicians and social-service professionals like chaplains and secular grief counselors. Home hospice features in-home visits but not round-the-clock or even full-shift care.Initial eligibility requires a physician’s certification of a terminal condition, with the expectation that a person will not live longer than six months; there are also disease-specific parameters.For-profit businesses or nonprofit agencies typically provide the care and employ the providers. Medicare pays those agencies a per-day rate for each patient. There are four levels of care and daily rates. The concept was developed after World War II and has been part of the Medicare program since the early 1980s. Private insurance plans also typically cover hospice.In 2021, 1.7 million Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in hospice at a taxpayer cost of $23.1 billion, according to the federal Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC). Almost half of Medicare patients who died that year did so under hospice care.HOSPICE IS MORE THAN THE ‘MORPHINE MYTH’Hospice can elicit images of “someone doped up and bedridden,” but it is not “just providing enough morphine to make it through the end,” Gurian said.Indeed, patients give up curative treatments and many medicines. Cancer patients no longer receive radiation or chemotherapy. Those with late-stage Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s or another degenerative neurological disease typically ditch cholesterol and blood-pressure medication — and eventually, drugs that regulate their acute condition.But Novas and Gurian said treatment is case-by-case. Some agencies might allow someone with end-stage kidney disease to get dialysis or take regulatory medication. They simply have to absorb the cost, because Medicare almost certainly does not pay separately for those treatments.Further, hospice does not necessarily mean forgoing treatments for certain complications that threaten comfort: antibiotics for a urinary tract infection or infected bed sores, for example. That said, patients or families may forgo such treatments, especially in cases of end-stage neurological disease.Chip Carter, one of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter’s four children, confirmed to The Washington Post that his mother was suffering from a severe urinary tract infection at the time of her hospice admission and death. In those cases, Novas explained, patients are administered pain management drugs.Video below: Jimmy Carter arrives at Rosalynn Carter’s tribute service in November 2023JIMMY CARTER’S ENDURANCE IS NOT UNUSUALIn 2021, the average stay of hospice patients who died was 92 days, MedPAC calculated. The median was 17 days — about two weeks longer than the time between when the Carters’ announced the former first lady had entered hospice and when she died.About 10% of enrollees who die in hospice care stayed more than 264 days. Extended cases drive a majority of costs. In 2021, $13.6 billion of the overall $23 billion paid was for stays exceeding 180 days before death. Of that, $5 billion was for stays longer than a year.Patients are sometimes discharged from hospice if their condition stabilizes, especially if they have reached the six-month mark in the program. In 2021, 17.2% of the patients were discharged. The MedPAC report to Congress noted that for-profit agencies have higher average length of stays than nonprofits and added that living patients’ discharge rates raise questions about admission standards.Novas offered explanations. She said hospice has seen an uptick in patients with dementia, conditions in which “a patient can wax and wane for months or even years.” Another factor — one she said could explain Jimmy Carter’s endurance — is sheer grit.“We cannot measure the human spirit,” she said. With many conditions, “somebody who wants to be here is going to stick around for a while.”ADVOCATES WANT CHANGES AND EXPANSIONMedicare does not include a long-term care insurance provision, something that Leading Age and other advocates argue the U.S. needs, especially as the Baby Boomer generation ages.That kind of care, she said, would help patients and families absorb significant burdens of care that hospitals do not provide and that hospice does not cover — or at least should not cover. A long-term care benefit, for example, could become a more common route of insured care in some dementia cases.Legislation has been introduced in Congress in recent sessions to create a long-term care plan under Medicare. But it is politically difficult, if not impossible, because it calls for an increase in payroll taxes to finance a new benefit.Separately, Gurian said Leading Age would like Congress to increase hospice payments structures so more agencies might admit patients and still cover certain treatments they now typically forgo. For example, she said some cancer patients could ratchet down cancer treatments as part of pain management rather than give up treatment altogether and advance more rapidly to heavy drugs like morphine that eliminate quality of life.JIMMY CARTER STILL OFFERING LESSONSGurian said the U.S. health care system and American society too often see just two choices for someone with a grave diagnosis: “fighting” or “giving up.”“Hospice is not giving up,” she said, even if it means “accepting our mortality.”Novas said Jimmy Carter has proven those distinctions with his public announcements and, in November, his determination to attend Rosalynn Carter’s funeral, physically diminished, reclined in a wheelchair, his legs covered in a blanket.“That was such an important moment,” Novas said, for the world to “see what 99 looks like,” even for a former president. “He still has lessons for us. I think, on some level, he must be aware of what he’s doing. … Hospice is just a partner in that journey. But it’s his journey.”

    ATLANTA —

    Since Jimmy Carter entered hospice care at his home in south Georgia one year ago, the former U.S. president has celebrated his 99th birthday, enjoyed tributes to his legacy and lost his wife of 77 years.

    Rosalynn Carter, who died in November, about six months after the Carter family disclosed her dementia diagnosis, lived only a few days under hospice supervision, with her frail husband at her bedside.

    Experts on end-of-life care say the Carters’ different paths show the range of an oft-misunderstood service. Those advocates commend the Carter family for demonstrating the realities of aging, dementia and death. They express hope that the attention spurs more Americans to seek out services intended to help patients and families in the latter stages of life.

    “It’s been massive to have the Carters be so public,” said Angela Novas, chief medical officer for the Hospice Foundation of America, based in Washington. “It has shed hospice in a new light, and it’s raised questions” for people to learn more.

    The Carter family released a statement ahead of Sunday, the first anniversary of their announcement that the 39th president would forgo future hospital stays and enter end-of-life care at home in Plains.

    “President Carter continues to be at home with his family,” the statement said. “The family is pleased that his decision last year to enter hospice care has sparked so many family discussions across the country on an important subject.”

    To be clear, the family has not confirmed whether Jimmy Carter remains in hospice care or has been discharged, as sometimes happens when even a frail patient’s health stabilizes.

    Here is a look at hospice and the Carters’ circumstances:

    HOSPICE SERVES EVERYONE, EVEN THE RICH AND POWERFUL

    Mollie Gurian is vice president of Leading Age, a national network of more than 5,000 nonprofit elder-care agencies. She described hospice as “holistic care … for someone who is trying to live the end of their life as fully as possible” but no longer seeks a cure for a terminal condition.

    Hospice offers multiple practitioners for each patient: nurses, physicians and social-service professionals like chaplains and secular grief counselors. Home hospice features in-home visits but not round-the-clock or even full-shift care.

    Initial eligibility requires a physician’s certification of a terminal condition, with the expectation that a person will not live longer than six months; there are also disease-specific parameters.

    For-profit businesses or nonprofit agencies typically provide the care and employ the providers. Medicare pays those agencies a per-day rate for each patient. There are four levels of care and daily rates. The concept was developed after World War II and has been part of the Medicare program since the early 1980s. Private insurance plans also typically cover hospice.

    In 2021, 1.7 million Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in hospice at a taxpayer cost of $23.1 billion, according to the federal Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC). Almost half of Medicare patients who died that year did so under hospice care.

    HOSPICE IS MORE THAN THE ‘MORPHINE MYTH’

    Hospice can elicit images of “someone doped up and bedridden,” but it is not “just providing enough morphine to make it through the end,” Gurian said.

    Indeed, patients give up curative treatments and many medicines. Cancer patients no longer receive radiation or chemotherapy. Those with late-stage Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s or another degenerative neurological disease typically ditch cholesterol and blood-pressure medication — and eventually, drugs that regulate their acute condition.

    But Novas and Gurian said treatment is case-by-case. Some agencies might allow someone with end-stage kidney disease to get dialysis or take regulatory medication. They simply have to absorb the cost, because Medicare almost certainly does not pay separately for those treatments.

    Further, hospice does not necessarily mean forgoing treatments for certain complications that threaten comfort: antibiotics for a urinary tract infection or infected bed sores, for example. That said, patients or families may forgo such treatments, especially in cases of end-stage neurological disease.

    Chip Carter, one of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter’s four children, confirmed to The Washington Post that his mother was suffering from a severe urinary tract infection at the time of her hospice admission and death. In those cases, Novas explained, patients are administered pain management drugs.

    Video below: Jimmy Carter arrives at Rosalynn Carter’s tribute service in November 2023

    JIMMY CARTER’S ENDURANCE IS NOT UNUSUAL

    In 2021, the average stay of hospice patients who died was 92 days, MedPAC calculated. The median was 17 days — about two weeks longer than the time between when the Carters’ announced the former first lady had entered hospice and when she died.

    About 10% of enrollees who die in hospice care stayed more than 264 days. Extended cases drive a majority of costs. In 2021, $13.6 billion of the overall $23 billion paid was for stays exceeding 180 days before death. Of that, $5 billion was for stays longer than a year.

    Patients are sometimes discharged from hospice if their condition stabilizes, especially if they have reached the six-month mark in the program. In 2021, 17.2% of the patients were discharged. The MedPAC report to Congress noted that for-profit agencies have higher average length of stays than nonprofits and added that living patients’ discharge rates raise questions about admission standards.

    Novas offered explanations. She said hospice has seen an uptick in patients with dementia, conditions in which “a patient can wax and wane for months or even years.” Another factor — one she said could explain Jimmy Carter’s endurance — is sheer grit.

    “We cannot measure the human spirit,” she said. With many conditions, “somebody who wants to be here is going to stick around for a while.”

    ADVOCATES WANT CHANGES AND EXPANSION

    Medicare does not include a long-term care insurance provision, something that Leading Age and other advocates argue the U.S. needs, especially as the Baby Boomer generation ages.

    That kind of care, she said, would help patients and families absorb significant burdens of care that hospitals do not provide and that hospice does not cover — or at least should not cover. A long-term care benefit, for example, could become a more common route of insured care in some dementia cases.

    Legislation has been introduced in Congress in recent sessions to create a long-term care plan under Medicare. But it is politically difficult, if not impossible, because it calls for an increase in payroll taxes to finance a new benefit.

    Separately, Gurian said Leading Age would like Congress to increase hospice payments structures so more agencies might admit patients and still cover certain treatments they now typically forgo. For example, she said some cancer patients could ratchet down cancer treatments as part of pain management rather than give up treatment altogether and advance more rapidly to heavy drugs like morphine that eliminate quality of life.

    JIMMY CARTER STILL OFFERING LESSONS

    Gurian said the U.S. health care system and American society too often see just two choices for someone with a grave diagnosis: “fighting” or “giving up.”

    “Hospice is not giving up,” she said, even if it means “accepting our mortality.”

    Novas said Jimmy Carter has proven those distinctions with his public announcements and, in November, his determination to attend Rosalynn Carter’s funeral, physically diminished, reclined in a wheelchair, his legs covered in a blanket.

    “That was such an important moment,” Novas said, for the world to “see what 99 looks like,” even for a former president. “He still has lessons for us. I think, on some level, he must be aware of what he’s doing. … Hospice is just a partner in that journey. But it’s his journey.”

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  • As he turns 99, Jimmy Carter’s hometown honors the former president as a global humanitarian — and a good friend | CNN Politics

    As he turns 99, Jimmy Carter’s hometown honors the former president as a global humanitarian — and a good friend | CNN Politics


    Plains, Georgia
    CNN
     — 

    More than 14,000 people have written to Jimmy Carter for his 99th birthday.

    The wishes, posted in a digital mosaic created by The Carter Center, come from around the world: an Ohio family thanks the 39th US president for being an example of “how to live”; a Georgia resident recalls shaking his hand during his run for governor; a man sends best wishes from Switzerland.

    There are notes from Ecuador and Costa Rica, Europe and Australia and from every corner of the United States. Many thank Carter for his humanitarian service. Others – a few famous, most not – share admiration or memories of brief encounters. Some say they love him.

    The messages’ renowned recipient – with a brief exception last Saturday, during a peanut festival – has largely stayed out of the public eye since opting seven months ago to start receiving home hospice care following a series of hospital stays. Carter’s wife, Rosalynn, has dementia, the non-profit they founded announced in May.

    The couple, married for 77 years, has been spending slow days – likely among his last, their closest relatives acknowledge – together at their home in the southwest Georgia city of Plains, population: 700-ish.

    Here, the former president – who years after his White House term won a Nobel Peace Prize and launched a global charge to eradicate a painful disease – is known simply as “Mr. Jimmy.”

    And here, the small, middle-of-nowhere town Carter helped put on the map is also perhaps the center of his legacy, where hundreds of annual visitors exchange stories with residents who know him not as the former commander in chief but as the man who sat by a friend’s bedside during a difficult illness, who sent an encouraging note when a new restaurant owner’s business slowed and who regularly spoke about his faith on Sundays in his longtime church.

    “He was only president for four years. He was governor for four years. But he was a resident of Plains, Georgia, for 99,” his grandson, Jason Carter, told CNN. “And that is, fundamentally, who he is.”

    On Wednesday morning, four days before Carter’s birthday, the single-block downtown of Plains was – as it usually is – quiet. A rainstorm was slowly clearing. Tractor engines drove back and forth over the railroad tracks that separate a skinny highway from Main Street.

    A peanut wagon is pulled across Main Street in February in Plains, Georgia.

    Doris Day’s “Sentimental Journey” played over public speakers.

    Along a row of colorful brick façades, every downtown store was open for business. Among them: Plain Peanuts, where owner Bobby Salter spent more than a year in the early 2000s perfecting his peanut butter ice cream recipe.

    It’s Carter’s favorite, he says.

    Two doors down, Philip Kurland sits by the register inside the Plains Trading Post. He runs the business – with hundreds of political campaign buttons dating back to Millard Fillmore – with his wife. The pair was driving through Plains more than 30 years ago when they spotted an empty building for sale and decided to call this place home.

    Kurland had had his doubts about whether the Carters really lived in Plains, he admitted – until the former president and his wife showed up at the store to welcome them.

    Philip Kurland of the Plains Trading Post poses in February 20 in Plains.

    In the past few years, the Kurlands had reduced the store’s hours to just two days a week. But when Carter announced in February he would begin hospice care, Kurland began opening the store all seven days, he said, as a way of giving back. “I talk to people every day of the week and listen to their stories about Jimmy Carter and how they interacted,” he said. “People want to tell their stories and reminisce. And I want to be there to listen.”

    Some say they campaigned with Carter; others met him at a book signing. Still others say he helped them through hardship. Kurland, who never shies away from talking politics with customers, once asked a visitor how they thought Carter as president handled the Iranian hostage crisis.

    “The guy looked up and smiled,” Kurland recalled.

    “And he said: ‘I’m still alive.’”

    Kurland also has stories of his own, including how Carter spent an hour with him when he was laid up with a bad respiratory virus. “I remember he got my life story. I remember I was a little bit surprised because he already knew some of it. And I remember … I was happy about being sick, that I got the opportunity to really get to know the president.”

    Campaign buttons for former President Jimmy Carter and others are seen in February in Plains.

    Plains City Councilperson Eugene Edge Sr. recalled getting to know Carter when the then-future president came back to Plains from years of service in the US Navy to run his father’s peanut business.

    “I don’t know a better person,” Edge said. “He didn’t look at you differently because you were a different color, and I liked that.”

    It was that attitude, Kurland said, that helped create the culture here: “In Plains, everyone might not like each other each day, but everyone respects each other, and if you have a problem, everyone’s going to help you,” he said. “And I think a lot of that is because President Carter has set the tone.”

    Jan Williams stopped into Kurland’s store that Wednesday morning to say hello. They briefly talked about her upcoming birthday, just two days before the former president’s. Williams once taught Carter’s daughter, Amy, in school, and she traveled with them during the 1977 inauguration.

    Jan Williams, who attends church with former President Jimmy Carter and taught his daughter fourth grade, poses in front of Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains with a collection plate Carter made.

    She named her own daughter after Amy Carter in honor of the family. And when Carter came back to Plains, she would listen to him teach on Sundays at church.

    “One of the things he said at church all the time was if everybody could love the person in front of them, wouldn’t we have a happier world – instead of thinking about who they are, where are they from, what kind of life do they live?” she said. “And just show some love. And he was so good at that.”

    “We may be a small town,” she added. “But we’ve produced, in my opinion, one of the greatest Americans.”

    Keeping up with the news – and baseball

    The town, and Carter’s nearest kin, know these are likely the former president’s final days.

    But they don’t guess at how long this chapter will last: After all, the nonagenarian has already defied the odds many times, from his journey from the Plains peanut business to the White House to beating cancer in 2015 to spending so long in end-of-life care.

    “He always surprises us, so we’re not terribly surprised it’s been seven months,” The Carter Center CEO Paige Alexander told “CNN This Morning” on Friday. “But he’s surrounded by love, and that’s what counts.”

    The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum has planned birthday events this weekend, including a movie screening and a naturalization ceremony for 99 new US citizens.

    Jimmy Carter's grandson Jason Carter, center, looks Thursday at a digital mosaic of his grandfather at The Carter Center.

    Carter, meanwhile, is physically limited but stays up on the current news, including on how his favorite team – the Atlanta Braves – is doing, his grandson said. And he’s very much aware of and heartened by the tributes that have poured in over months since his hospice announcement.

    “I was not ready to deal with just sort of the everyday grief part,” Jason Carter said. “In that way, going through this publicly has been wonderful because of the support and it’s really also because we’ve had this extended time, given us the time to, on a personal level, process what’s happening, process our relationships with him and with my grandmother and really spend some really, really important time as a family together.”

    The family will gather privately to celebrate Carter’s birthday Sunday, his grandson said.

    For now, his grandparents “are at home, in love and they know who they are,” he said, “and you don’t get more from a life than they’ve gotten and they know that, and they are at peace.”

    Even after he’s gone, Jimmy Carter will “always be alive in Plains,” Kurland said. And as his next birthday approaches, neighbors here know even though they don’t see Carter out and about anymore, his life’s message still spreads.

    “He’s passing the torch, that we all need to be kinder and be more giving and caring and considerate and loving,” the shopkeeper said. “So, I don’t look at it as, one point he’ll be passing on; he’ll be passing the torch for us to be better people and do better.”

    Down the street, Bonita Hightower thinks about the former president a lot, too.

    Bonita Hightower poses in February at Bonita's Carry-Out in Plains.

    “If he came from here and he became the 39th president, I wonder what I can do. That’s how I look at it,” she said.

    While the 68-year-old has never met Carter, he’s played a big role in her life. Hightower opened a restaurant in Plains some two months before the Covid-19 pandemic shut down the world. When customer traffic slowed, she questioned her decision to open a business in the small town.

    Then, she got a call.

    It was from Carter’s staff, who shared that the couple had recently ordered a take-out meal from her restaurant – and were fans of her food. “It was like that message from President Carter was to encourage my heart,” Hightower said.

    The next year, his staff asked her to make a meal for his birthday’s party, she said.

    “That gentleman, he was our president for a moment, but then he became – I heard this, and I think I’m going to adopt it – then he became the world’s president,” she said.

    “I think he came back home so maybe somebody would get ignited.”

    Carter's hometown of Plains is seen in February from the sky.

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  • Jimmy Carter’s children and grandchildren remain at his side during hospice care, relative says | CNN

    Jimmy Carter’s children and grandchildren remain at his side during hospice care, relative says | CNN



    CNN
     — 

    Close relatives of former US President Jimmy Carter are remaining by his side as he receives hospice care at his home in Georgia, a family member told CNN Friday.

    “It’s his kids and grandkids up there,” LeAnne Smith, a niece of Carter’s wife, Rosalynn, told CNN.

    Carter, who turned 98 last year, became the oldest living US president in history after the passing of George H.W. Bush, who died in late 2018 at 94. Carter’s family announced Saturday the former president was entering hospice care following many years of declining health.

    The nation’s 39th president has kept a low public profile in recent years due to the coronavirus pandemic but has continued to speak out about risks to democracy around the world, a longtime cause of his.

    Carter beat brain cancer in 2015 but faced a series of health scares in 2019, and consequentially underwent surgery to remove pressure on his brain. His health woes forced him to give up his decades-long tradition of teaching Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown of Plains, Georgia.

    As Carter enters the final stages of his life, Smith believes this period can bring comfort to family surrounding him.

    “I know I had conversations with my dad when he had cancer and was in hospice, and it’s just invaluable time you can never appreciate enough,” said Smith.

    Smith said she visited Carter’s home in Plains on Sunday to speak with his family, but the former president was resting at the time. Smith last saw Carter a month ago, she said, when he and Rosalynn were taking a golf cart ride to downtown Plains.

    The Carters’ announcement of his hospice care brought a flood of media and well-wishers to his small hometown, which Smith said has been “good for all of us in the healing process.”

    She added that others who “have come to share and witness his legacy, I think it’s been a very, very good thing.”

    A peanut farmer and US Navy lieutenant before going into politics, Carter, a Democrat, eventually served one term as governor of Georgia and president of the United States from 1977 to 1981.

    The former president is widely revered for his championing of human rights. His brokering of the Camp David Accords in 1978 with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin remains central to his legacy.

    In his post-presidency years, Carter founded The Carter Center along with his wife, Rosalynn, in hopes of advancing world peace and health. The center has worked to advance democracy by monitoring foreign elections and reducing diseases in developing countries over the years.

    “After a series of short hospital stays, former US President Jimmy Carter today decided to spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention,” a statement from The Carter Center posted last week read. “He has the full support of his family and his medical team.”

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  • Jimmy Carter to begin receiving hospice care | CNN Politics

    Jimmy Carter to begin receiving hospice care | CNN Politics



    CNN
     — 

    Former US President Jimmy Carter will begin receiving hospice care, according to a statement from The Carter Center on Saturday.

    “After a series of short hospital stays, former US President Jimmy Carter today decided to spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention. He has the full support of his family and his medical team,” the statement said.

    Carter, who turned 98 last year, became the oldest living US president in history after the passing of George H.W. Bush, who died in late 2018 at 94. The nation’s 39th president has kept a low public profile in recent years due to the coronavirus pandemic but has continued to speak out about risks to democracy around the world, a longtime cause of his.

    Carter beat brain cancer in 2015 but faced a series of health scares in 2019, and consequentially underwent surgery to remove pressure on his brain. His health woes forced him to give up his decadeslong tradition of teaching Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown of Plains, Georgia.

    A peanut farmer and US Navy lieutenant before going into politics, Carter, a Democrat, eventually serving one term as governor of Georgia and president of the United States from 1977 to 1981.

    The former president is widely revered for his championing of human rights. His brokering of the Camp David Accords in 1978 with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin remains central to his legacy.

    In his post-presidency years, Carter founded The Carter Center along with his wife, Rosalynn, in hopes of advancing world peace and health. The center has worked to advance democracy by monitoring foreign elections and reducing diseases in developing countries over the years.

    Carter himself has been a longtime volunteer with Habitat for Humanity.

    He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his efforts to push for peace across the globe.

    President Joe Biden, a fellow Democrat and longtime admirer of Carter, has been advised of the former president’s declining health and his decision to seek hospice care, an official told CNN. Biden is staying in close contact with the Carter family and the former president’s close circle of advisers.

    The Bidens traveled to Georgia to visit the Carters in 2021 – on the 100th day of Biden’s presidency.

    This story has been updated with additional information.

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  • MEDCURE Whole Body Donation Program Working to Support Local Crisis Intervention Team

    MEDCURE Whole Body Donation Program Working to Support Local Crisis Intervention Team

    Press Release
    –


    updated: Oct 4, 2017


    PORTLAND, Ore., October 4, 2017 (Newswire.com)
    –
    MEDCURE has announced that it will support the local Portland/Vancouver Oregon chapter of Trauma Intervention Program (TIP) with education and training seminars.

    TIP is a group of specially trained citizen volunteers who provide emotional aid and practical support and resources to victims of traumatic events and their families in the first few hours following a tragedy.

    TIP serves the public in a special way. We are looking forward to supporting this unique program.

    Dale Fowler, Marketing Manager

    TIP Volunteers are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. They are called by the emergency response system (police officers, firefighters, paramedics, hospital personnel and medical examiners) to assist family members and friends following a natural or unexpected death; victims of violent crime; victims of fire; disoriented or lonely elderly persons; people involved in motor vehicle accidents; people who are distraught and seeking immediate support; and survivors of suicide — just to name a few. No call is too small for the TIP Volunteer.

    http://www.tipnw.org

    ###

    MedCure is a non-transplant, anatomical tissue bank devoted to compassionate, ethical services that connect the gift of whole body donors to medical researchers and educators worldwide; also providing state-of-the-art surgical training laboratories for physicians to learn advanced surgical procedures through lecture and hands-on practice.

    MedCure’s program contributes to advanced physician training, development of assistive medical devices, study of disease pathology, emergency medical training, improving medicines and more effective, less invasive treatments for patients — benefiting the medical community and society as a whole.

    Contact: Dale Fowler
    dale.fowler@medcure.org
    http://medcure.org/donor

    Source: MEDCURE Whole Body Donation

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