Beach Glass Gazette

B E A C H G L A S S T R A N S I T I O N S , L L C

Beach Glass Gazette 1

Beach Glass Transitions welcomes its newest employee this May. Cathy Kline has joined the team as a Senior Care Advisor. Cathy is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Maine and California. She has more than 12 years of experience in social work and brings with her a great knowledge of geriatric care management, making her a fantastic asset to Beach Glass Transitions.

In urban Los Angeles, Cathy worked with frail seniors and their families in a community program geared toward helping seniors live independently and providing necessary support as they transitioned to assisted living. She has a great deal of experience accessing community services for her clients, providing emotional support to seniors and their families, and navigating the complex world of government entitlement programs.

Since relocating to Maine in 2008, Cathy has worked as part of the interdisciplinary team at the Geriatric Assessment Unit at Maine Medical Center. We are very lucky to have Cathy working with Beach Glass Transitions!

Beach Glass Gazette Preparing to LaunchLearn the latest about Maine Senior Guide and see sample images of the new homepage, to be launching soon!

Page 2

Beach Glass Receives the Libra Future Fund Grant!

Find out about our funded program called Working Senior Care Solutions for ME. Page 3

Stelmar Media Gives a Voice to your Family History

We are working with Stelmar to record your stories.Page 3

Who Are We?Beach Glass Transitions, LLC

company profile and contact information.Page 4

Grilled Salmon with Blueberry Corn Salsa!Eating healthy can be delicious! We’ve tried and tested the recipe ourselves!Page 4

A New Face Around the Office

N A V I G A T I N G S E N I O R C A R E C H O I C E S

SUMMER 2010

This year, Beach Glass Transitions is proud to sponsor our own team of walkers for the 20th Anniversary of the Maine Memory Walk Fundraiser, hosted by the Maine Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association in the fight against the disease.

The date is Saturday, September 25. It is a 3 mile walk beginning in Payson Park, around scenic Back Bay.

This event means a lot to me. The majority of my senior care experience has been working with people with Alzheimer’s disease. I have supported the Alzheimer’s Association through their various fundraisers in Maine and Massachusetts. On a more personal note, Alzheimer’s hit home for me when my own Nana was diagnosed a few years ago.

Please, join us in the fight against Alzheimer’s Disease and other dementias. Join our team, walk with us, sponsor us, or make a donation. Go to http://memorywalk2010.kintera.org/greaterportland/teambeachglass.

Please Join Team Beach Glass for the 2010 Memory Walk! By Lynn Peel

B E A C H G L A S S T R A N S I T I O N S , L L C

Beach Glass Gazette 2

MaineSeniorGuide.com is a comprehensive website that collects all of the information about senior-related products, services and resources in Maine and displays it in one easy-access place. I am working with a business partner, Deborah McLean, to pull together the resources, gather our content supporters, and get the site launched by mid-August.

We were really excited in May to get the design of the site finished and to begin talking with local businesses to get them involved. The site is free to viewers and supported by these local businesses who serve seniors and their caregivers, and who recognize the benefit of presenting their products and services on a website that is bound to be the premier online resource for all things senior in Maine.

We also have a free listing that will allow Maine businesses to list themselves in our searchable database. We are diligently developing this database to be sure it includes any and all resources our followers will benefit from. It is a lot of work, and will continue to be, as Maine Senior Guide is going to be updated daily. We are up for the challenge, as our passion and our experience tells us that access to Maine

Senior Guide will enhance the lives of elder Mainers and caregivers of all ages.

We have had lots of input from people along the way on what they would like to have in a searchable database. Currently, we have six categories including,

Within these categories there are 45 subcategories ranging from transportation to senior education. Please feel free to let us know if there is information important to you that you would like to find on a site devoted to Maine Seniors. Also, if you have a business or product geared toward Maine Seniors, send along your information and we will incorporate it into Maine Senior Guide. You can contact me at [email protected] for more information or to send me your thoughts about Maine Senior Guide. I look forward to hearing from you!

www.MaineSeniorGuide.com Look for our launch later this summer!

M a i n e S e n i o r G u i d e N e a r s L a u n c h B y L y n n P e e l

Senior CommunitiesHome SupportHealth & Wellness

Estate ManagementResources & ProductsSocial Seniors

S E Q U O I A C L U B

Beach Glass Gazette 3

Stelmar Gives a Voice to our Elders

Everyone has a story. Not everyone has a chance to tell it. Sometimes we are too busy to sit, listen, and enjoy being with the people we love.

Stelmar Media works with you to preserve your priceless fleeting moments with a lasting photo slideshow or video tribute. Often your memories are tucked away in an old shoebox or torn photo album stored in your basement. Dig them out and let Stelmar bring your story to life!

In collaboration with Beach Glass Transitions, Stelmar Media will give a voice to your family history with a documentary film focusing on the elders in your family. This documentary will record stories and conversations between family members, recollections of childhood, decades passed, major life-changing experiences and events, and anything else you want to share. This film may incorporate old photos, journal entries, or other important memorabilia. It will become a lasting legacy and gift for the whole family, and be a connection between the generations.

There is no occasion necessary to capture your story, only your desire to preserve the people, places and events that define who you are. This is not an exclusive offer to Beach Glass clients. All are welcome to contact us about having their oral history recorded!

Stelmar Media also specializes in memorial, graduation, wedding rehearsal, anniversary, milestone birthdays, sports and corporate photo and video montages.

www.StelmarMedia.com

B E A C H G L A S S T R A N S I T I O N S , L L C

Grant Awarded for ExpansionLynn Peel is the proud recipient of the 2010 Libra Future Fund Grant. Grants are awarded to applicants under 30 years old with business ideas that will promote economic growth for Maine and create local jobs.

Lynn sought out the grant and applied for funding for a program Beach Glass Transitions has developed called Working Senior Care Solutions for ME.

According to The National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP, more than 64% of caregivers work full-time. The average caregiver misses between 5 and 12 days of work per year related to caregiving. Caregiving employees cost employers an average of $3,500 per year, adding up to as much as $33.6 billion nationally. This cost is in lost productivity due to stress-related distraction, absenteeism, tardiness and leaving early; and increased health care costs due to the negative medical effects of stress and the physical demands of caregiving. Regarding health care costs, a study published in February 2010 called “Working Caregivers and Employer Health Care Costs” indicates, “there is an 8% differential in increased health care costs between caregiving and non-caregiving employees, potentially costing employers an extra estimated $13.4 billion per year.” The report adds, these figures are conservative.

The study’s verdict: “Employers can serve the best interests of their employees as well as those of their corporation by anticipating and

responding to the challenges of eldercare for their employees.” Beach Glass Transitions is expanding to meet this rising demand. Working Senior Care Solutions for ME is contracting with large Maine companies as their exclusive eldercare consultants to provide their employees with a new

set of eldercare benefits.  Employees in need have access to a professional Senior Care Advisor, who in addition to providing advice and education, provides referrals to trusted legal, financial and medical resources, and can assist in all aspects of senior care planning and transitioning.  This access allows employees to spend less time focusing on and stressing about their caregiving responsibilities and more time focusing on work. Additionally, by reducing stress employees improve short and long-term health. Therefore, employers benefit by reducing expenses in health care costs and loss of productivity.

If you would like to find out about how Working Senior Care Solutions for ME could help your company, contact Lynn at 207-272-2797.

Background for Working Senior Care Solutions for ME

Working Senior Care Solutions for ME

By Nova Ewers

B E A C H G L A S S T R A N S I T I O N S , L L C

Beach Glass Gazette 4

B E A C H G L A S S U P D AT E S !

Upcoming ClassesWe will be hosting a session of “Senior Care: What are the Options?” at our office at 277 Congress Street in Portland on September 16 from 6 - 8pm.

We have tentatively scheduled 4 sessions with Portland Adult Education in November and December. Each session runs from 6-8pm. 11/30 Senior Care: What are the Options?12/2 Senior Care: What are the Options?12/7 Senior Care: How to Prepare Yourself and Your Aging Parents.12/9 Senior Care: What to Look for in a Senior Community.

Social ProfilesIn our Spring Issue we did a page spread on our new social profile, entitled “Oh, The Places You Have Been!” We have seen that these profiles have a real impact on people. They are designed to resemble scrapbooks and to capture something of the senior’s personality and life story. The photographs and the biographies really grab you as you flip through the pages. New caregivers find themselves wanting to know more about the person for whom they are caring. Creating that impetus to get to know the senior is exactly the goal we were reaching for. Contact us to find out how our social profile could help improve the care for the senior in your life.

Welcome Baby Greyson!Lynn had her happy, healthy baby boy on May 26th. Thank you to all who expressed their congratulations. Lynn enjoyed her maternity leave, but is excited to be back in the swing of things here at Beach Glass Transitions!

G R I L L E D S A L M O N W I T H B L U E B E R R Y C O R N S A L S A

Ingredients

* One 3 lb. fresh salmon fillet* 1 tablespoon ground cumin* Salt and freshly ground black pepper* 4 ears sweet corn* 4 medium tomatoes, diced* 2 small firm but ripe avocados,

peeled, diced* 1 small green bell pepper, diced* 1 small orange bell pepper, diced* 1 small bunch cilantro, chopped* Juice of 2 limes* 2 tablespoons olive oil* 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar* 2 cups blueberries

Directions

1. Sprinkle the salmon with the cumin and salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate until ready to cook.

2. Boil the corn, 3-4 minutes. Cool. Then cut the kernels from the cob. Combine in a bowl with tomatoes, avocados, bell peppers, cilantro, lime juice, oil, and vinegar. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

3. Preheat grill. Cook the salmon, turning once, until it is charred-almost blackened-on the outside and has reached the desired degree of doneness within.

4. Add the blueberries to the salsa, stirring them in gently so as to avoid mushing them.

5. Serve the salmon with the salsa spooned over. Salt and Pepper to taste.

W H O A R E W E ?Beach Glass Transitions, LLC provides a personalized and invaluable support service to families or individuals who

need assistance in attaining senior care for themselves, or more commonly, for

an aging loved one. Every family has different needs. We will take the time to meet you and your loved one to get

to know your family’s medical, social and financial requirements. We want to ensure you find the right kind of community or in-home care, but we also understand that it is difficult to

take time off from work or away from your daily responsibilities to find it.

With our local knowledge and years of experience, we can help with the

daunting task of researching, visiting and assessing multiple care

communities and home care agencies. We can walk you through the

paperwork, the move and all the tedious steps involved in the

transition, such as transferring prescriptions to local pharmacies and turning on and off utilities. We can

help connect you to trustworthy legal advice, estate planning and financial

assistance. More importantly, we can help with the things you might not even know you have to think about,

like setting up a social plan for community living so you can be sure

your loved one is living life to the fullest in their new home. This

transition is often a fearful one for so many families. It doesn’t have to be.

With one-on-one attention you can be relieved of much of the stress involved

in finding suitable support for your loved one. Let Beach Glass Transitions

be your advisor, your assistant and your advocate.

277 Congress StreetPortland, ME 04101

207.272.2797www.beachglasstransitions.com

[email protected]