Homepage
-- Programs and Services -- Contact Information Celebrating Berkshire Senior...20 years of news, information, and advocacy
By Robert P. Dean, Executive Director
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Berkshire Senior, the monthly newspaper Elder Services purchased for $1,000 in 1988. During the past 17 years, the pages of Berkshire Senior have helped to further Elder Services’ mission to provide Berkshire elders the opportunity to live with dignity, independence, and self-determination, and to achieve the highest possible quality of life. The paper has continued to grow and evolve to the point where it now has a monthly circulation of 10,000 copies, including a mailing list of more than 4,000 individuals in Berkshire County and beyond. Berkshire Senior’s combination of news, information and advocacy has served its readers well by helping them to remain current on a variety of issues affecting elders, individuals with disabilities, and caregivers. Each month, the paper provides a variety of Community and Elder Services updates, a “For Your Health” segment, and a “Government Update” contributed by an elected official serving Berkshire County. A look at this month’s issue reveals a paper that is both topical and informative. In this month’s Government Update, Senator Edward Kennedy discusses elder hunger and the plight of Meals on Wheels programs throughout the country. Two items of great importance to many Berkshire residents — the question of whether Social Security is in crisis, and the new Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit — have been spotlighted in recent issues. An update on the mailings that elders can expect to receive from Social Security, Mass Health, and the Massachusetts Prescription Advantage Plan regarding Medicare Part D appears on page 11. This month’s For Your Health segment discusses new developments in eye care including cataract treatment. As planning and development of the fiscal year 2006 budget (due to be implemented on or about July 1, 2005) moves forward and advocacy continues to play a critical role, Berkshire Senior continues to provide you with legislative and budget updates, and advocacy information to help keep you informed and involved.
This month’s issue also spotlights the Legislative Breakfast Elder Services recently hosted, which was attended by all five members of the Berkshire delegation to Boston: Senator Andrea Nuciforo, and Representatives Daniel Bosley, Denis Guyer, Smitty Pignatelli, and Christopher Speranzo, and approximately 70 elder advocates and concerned citizens. We believe this was the first time the delegation had assembled together in Berkshire County since Representative Speranzo was sworn in at the end of April. In their remarks, each of these elected officials recognized the importance of home and community-based services for elders. There was discussion regarding the need for more of these services, particularly for those more frail elders, as well as the need to support the new Caring Homes initiative, which would allow family members (excluding a spouse) to be paid for some of the care they would provide in their homes to elder relatives. The high cost of nursing home care in relation to home and community-based care, and the need for elders to be able to choose where they receive their care were also discussed. Other topics included the need for more funding for Berkshire County’s Meals on Wheels program and for the Councils on Aging. The five members of the Berkshire Delegation emphasized their commitment to work together as a team to ensure that elder needs and Berkshire County needs will best be served.
We hope that you enjoy this issue and every issue of Berkshire Senior, and that the newspaper provides you with the information you need. On behalf of Elder Services, I would like to thank Editor Karen Shreefter, the members of Berkshire Senior’s Editorial Board, and each of the staff and volunteers who help with the writing, editing, preparation and distribution of Berkshire Senior. Without you... this paper wouldn’t be what it is. Thank you.
Happy
Father’s Day.