by Mike Lee
Staff Writer

Debra Moore, RN, didn’t sleep much the night before.
Her new job as clinical director of Oklahoma Hospice Care is a daunting one and keeps her busy.
But the award-winning nurse wouldn’t trade it for the world.
“I feel like I make a difference,” she said, just a few hours removed from sitting up most of the night with a dying patient and their family.
Moore became Oklahoma Hospice Care clinical director near the end of 2014, accepting a staff of more than 10.
“She’s just an amazing, charismatic leader,” says Jennifer Forrester, RT, community relations director. “People want to follow her and she takes ownership and the magnitude of responsibility for that position.”
Moore was the gem Oklahoma Hospice Care had been looking for.
And Moore is a firm believer that Oklahoma Hospice Care is poised for expansion. Oklahoma Hospice Care has offices in Oklahoma City and Shawnee with a radius stretching 50 miles from each office.
She floats the idea of one day having an inpatient hospital.
She’s never been one that dares to dream.
“Here I get the best of both worlds,” Moore said. “I still get to teach about oncology and I get to take care of patients because I’m not a behind-the-desk clinical director. I feel like the only way you’re going to lead something is if you have your hands on it and know what’s going on.”
Oklahoma Hospice Care is a Christian-principled organization specializing in caring for their patients and the patient’s families wherever they call home through personalized plans of care developed with input from the family physician, the hospice physician, the patient, the patient’s family and the members of the hospice interdisciplinary team.
Community Relations Representative Tori Aldridge sums up the task at hand nicely.
“Families invite us into their lives at their most vulnerable point,” Aldridge said. “We get one opportunity to take a tragic situation and make it bearable, even good. We aren’t there to focus on a person’s death. Instead, we focus on the remainder of their life.”
“We don’t speed up their disease process and we don’t slow it down. We go at their pace and do our best to minimize the surprises. The diagnosis and prognosis have been the most paramount surprises in their lives.”
Moore is a native of Oklahoma City. She obtained her nursing degree from Oklahoma City Community College in 1999. She began her nursing career at Presbyterian Hospital in the Med Surgery/Neurological Center and served as RN charge nurse.
Moore spent the next chapter of her career at Midwest Regional Hospital where during her tenure she worked as an oncology certified RN, manager of the Outpatient Oncology Center and finally director of inpatient and outpatient services.
She received the Nursing Award of Excellence in 2008 and the Spirit of Transformation Award in 2011 from the Oklahoma Hospital Association. She has also been an Ambassador for the United Way and served many years as team captain for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life.
Moore credits her mother, Anna Rose Wilson, for instilling love and compassion that has led her to be the woman and nurse she is today.
With five children and two grandchildren, Moore stays busy even when she’s not busy at work.
She exudes happiness. It’s hard to ever find her in a down mood. And that’s who she looks for when she hires.
“I was looking for caring, compassion and someone who didn’t mind hard work,” Moore said of the opportunity to hire new staff when she got the job. “I was looking for someone to go into the home when I couldn’t be there.
“As far as a clinical perspective you can have all the commercials and advertising you want but word-of-mouth and letting people see what we do, that tells it all right there,” she said. “We’re different because we all do actually care and that’s why I’m glad we handpick our people. We know the people we have working for us.”
And that’s a comfort for both Moore and her patients.
“I measure success by the patient saying ‘job well done,’” Moore said. “It’s simple. Being in this field and probably any field it just takes common sense. What would you want done for your mom? What would you want done for your grandmother? Whatever you would want done for them that’s what you do for the patient.”
And sometimes that means getting a few hours less sleep than she’s used to, like the night before.
“I asked (the family member) if we could have done anything else. She said ‘Debra, you guys were amazing,’” Moore said. “That’s what keeps us going. I got a couple hours of sleep last night but that’s what keeps me going. That’s what makes me not even care about sleep. I can wait until Friday.”

Dear Savvy Senior, Does Medicare cover any weight-loss treatments for overweight retirees? I just turned 65 and need to lose about 100 pounds and would like to know if Medicare can help. Overweight Owen 

Dear Owen,
Yes, traditional Medicare does indeed cover some weight-loss treatments like counseling and certain types of surgery for overweight beneficiaries, but unfortunately it doesn’t cover weight-loss programs or medications. Here’s what you should know.
Who’s Eligible
For beneficiaries to receive available Medicare-covered weight-loss treatments your body mass index (BMI), which is an estimate of your body fat based on your height and weight, must be 30 or higher.
A BMI of 30 or above is considered obese and increases your risk for many health conditions, such as some cancers, coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke and sleep apnea. To find out your BMI, the National Institutes of Health has a free calculator that you can access online at nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/BMI/bmicalc.htm.
What’s Covered
If you find that your BMI is 30 or higher, Medicare Part B will cover up to 12 months of weight-loss counseling conducted by a medical professional in a primary care setting (like a doctor’s office).
Most counseling sessions entail an initial obesity screening, a dietary assessment and behavioral therapy designed to help you lose weight by focusing on diet and exercise.
Medicare also covers certain types of bariatric and metabolic surgery for morbidly obese beneficiaries who have a BMI of 35 or above and have at least one underlying obesity-related health condition, such as diabetes or heart disease. You must also show that you’ve tried to lose weight in the past through dieting or exercise and have been unsuccessful.
These procedures make changes to your digestive system to help you lose weight and improve the health of your metabolism.
Some common bariatric surgical procedures covered include Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery, which reduces the stomach to a small pouch that makes you feel full even following small meals. And laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding, which inserts an inflatable band that creates a gastric pouch encircling the top of the stomach.
What’s Not Covered
Unfortunately, original Medicare does not cover weight-loss programs such as fitness or gym memberships, meal delivery services, or popular weight-loss programs such as Jenny Craig, Noom and WW (formerly Weight Watchers).
Medicare also does not cover any weight-loss drugs, but it does cover FDA approved diabetes drugs that have unintentionally become very popular for weight loss.
Medicare Part D plans cover Ozempic and Mounjaro for diabetes only, not for weight loss! So, your doctor will need to prescribe these medications for diabetes in order to get them covered.
Medicare also does not cover Wegovy or Zepbound because they’re approved only for weight loss.
The reason behind the weight-loss drug omission is the Medicare Modernization Act, which specifically excluded them back when the law was written 20 years ago. They also excluded drugs used for cosmetic purposes, fertility, hair growth and erectile dysfunction.
Medicare Advantage
If you happen to be enrolled in a private Medicare Advantage plan, you may have coverage for gym memberships and some weight loss and healthy food delivery programs. These are considered expanded supplemental benefits and have gradually been added to some plans to provide coverage for nutrition, health and wellness. Contact your plan to see what it provides.
Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit https://savvysenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.

LEGEND SENIOR LIVING® ANNOUNCES NAME CHANGE OF OKC’S LIONWOOD TO “ACCLAIM INDEPENDENT LIVING”

Legend Senior Living announced today that it is changing the name
of Lionwood Independent Living to Acclaim Independent Living. Legend Senior Living, a family-owned senior living provider headquartered in Wichita, KS, manages the residence and owns and operates nearly
50 other Legend and Windsor residences in six states. Acclaim, at 12525 N. Pennsylvania Ave., is one of ten Legend residences in Oklahoma.
“’Acclaim’ better captures the feeling of vibrant Independent Living that Legend is known for,” said Paul Hansen, Legend’s Vice President of Marketing, explaining the name change. “The focus at Acclaim is
Legend’s trademark independent lifestyle with emphasis on social interaction, wellness, and providing a stress-free, carefree life to allow more time to explore new interests, enjoy family, and live a vibrant life
Oklahoma’s seniors are looking for.” As with other Legend Independent Living residences, Acclaim is a pets-welcome residence featuring beautiful amenities and services for a total neighborhood experience, including chef-prepared meals, freedom from home maintenance, and weekly housekeeping. Residents enjoy on-site common areas and lounges, lush landscaping in courtyards and gardens, game rooms, a beauty salon, and a library.
“Acclaim is near restaurants, shopping, and other attractions important to an active lifestyle,” said Hansen. “Residents ‘acclaim’ the Legend concept of fun, friends, and life at its fullest. The new name is the natural fit.”
Legend Senior Living® is a privately held senior housing and services company based in Wichita, Kansas, and owns and operates nearly 50 independent living, assisted living, memory care, and personal care residences in Florida, Colorado, Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania. Legend has been certified as a Great Place to Work® for the fifth time and recognized as one of Fortune Magazine’s Top 25 Senior Living companies in the country and is a Top 50 senior living provider.

Story by Darl DeVault

Seniors still prefer books and make up many of the volunteers and customers at the huge two-day Friends of the Library Booksale 2020 February 22 and 23 at the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds. As thousands of book lovers gather in the Oklahoma Expo Hall the sale proves in the world of digital access, the Age of the Book is still with us.
Subtitled “Booksale—40 Years Strong”, the annual sale provides a diverse selection of books, CDs, DVDs, magazines and more for every demographic of customers.
“It is amazing the wide range of subjects—including fiction, nonfiction, cookbooks, biographies, medical, westerns, romance, children’s, encyclopedias, reference and foreign language, plus a large selection of music, DVDs and audio books,” said Don Dory, 73, Booksale Coordinator. “Thousands of shoppers have been coming for years for our wide selection and low prices. In the General Area, hardback books are one dollar each and paperbacks and magazines are 50 cents each. Collectors go for the Items in the Better Books Room which vary in price, mostly under $5.”
The nonprofit Friends of the Library has used this book sale to raise money to support the Metropolitan Library System. In it’s now 40-year run, the Friends have given more than $4.8 million in grants to the system. All of this is due to the tireless efforts of hundreds of volunteers each year.
Almost five million dollars in 40 years is a big number and so is the 800,000 books available this year. All this means the sale becomes the largest nonprofit bookstore in Oklahoma for three days.
“Customers run the gamut of need—many trying to select best sellers, classics, collectibles and research books needed for school,” Dory said. “Thousands will be seeking to complete personal libraries in certain subjects, while parents will be striving to enhance their children’s reading exposure.”
Friends of the Metropolitan System members can shop a Presale from 1 to 9 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 21. Held the day before the sale goes public, members are invited to first access. Annual memberships are available for $15 in the lobby starting at noon. Children 12 and under accompanied by an adult are free.
After 40 years, the sale is well established on the literary sale calendar for customers coming from all over Oklahoma, surrounding states and the whole region. Selective shoppers are advised to join the nonprofit to ensure the best possible purchasing opportunity.
Book lovers line up all three days awaiting the door’s opening. A quick survey of the parking lot shows that many of those customers are from out of state, coming to Oklahoma each year for the huge selection. The multi-day event attracts more than 10,000 book lovers.
In some ways the diverse selection offered represents a snapshot of a high-quality American publishing museum with the bonus that everything is available for purchase.
“Donated all year from various sources, the books are both common and select, while the other offerings are extremely varied, even including music,” said Beth Toland, 65, publicity chairperson. “This diversity means the sale is in one sense our states largest literary event.”
Admission is free 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 22 and 23.
The shopping is so robust that a dozen checkout points are offered by volunteers in each of the two sections. And yet, so many customers arrive early a line forms for the first few hours each day. The book shopping is intense, almost competitive, as this is a once a year opportunity.
Customers, depending on their need for new reading material, come with a wide variety of book hauling capability, as there are no shopping carts provided. Shoppers will see every form of wheeled cart pressed into service by other shoppers as they move among the tables laden with thousands of books. Large boxes are everywhere as some shoppers limit themselves to just those books they can carry.
The volunteers display 40 years of expertise in staging the sale by sorting the books into sections. Those sections are a wide cross section of interest, from tables of books by Oklahoma authors to books about Oklahoma.
Some years special sections offer brand new books donated when book stores and Oklahoma publishing houses use their donations as a way to balance their inventory.
Many business and industry concerns are well represented when entities going out of business donate their libraries. Retiring attorneys provide shoppers the chance to buy law books at a steep discount.
Volunteer shifts are still open, as the group is still looking for volunteers! To volunteer or for more information about Booksale, visit www.mlsfriends.org. For additional questions contact the Friends at 405 606-3763 or friends@metrolibrary.org.

www.tealridge.com

Oklahomans Urged to Send Cookies to Frontline Health Care Workers

First Lady Sarah Stitt, Girl Scouts Western Oklahoma (GSWESTOK), and the Oklahoma State Medical Association have launched Cookies for Courage, a program that allows Oklahomans to purchase a box of Girl Scout Cookies for medical professionals fighting COVID-19.
“Cookies for Courage is a great way for Oklahomans to let our health care workers know we are thinking of them during this very difficult time,” Stitt said. “Oklahomans always pull together in tough times, and this is a very sweet, very simple way to support our medical community as they work to protect us all.”
Cookies can be purchased online for $5 per box or $60 for a case at www.gswestok.org/cookiesforcourage. The cookies will be distributed to health care workers and others on the frontline. Proceeds from the program will support leadership opportunities for young girls through the Girl Scouts.
“Oklahoma’s physicians, nurses and other providers are working extended hours to keep our community safe during this health crisis. We are grateful to the Girl Scouts of Western Oklahoma and its members for providing this opportunity to say ‘thank you’ to those on the front lines of patient care,” said Oklahoma State Medical Association President Larry Bookman, M.D.
Girl Scout cookie season was set to run through March 22, but due to COVID-19, in-person sales have been paused. Individual Girl Scout troops have the option of returning their unsold cookies to GSWESTOK or continuing sales online through their individual Digital Cookie websites.
“Oklahomans always set the standard for how we care for our people,” said Shannon Evers, CEO of Girl Scouts Western Oklahoma. “Cookie season was cut short this year because of coronavirus, and while that’s disappointing for our girls, they recognize that there’s an opportunity here to show love for people who are fighting this pandemic on the front lines.”

https://www.safesolutionswalkintubs.com/

Dear Savvy Senior,

What’s the best way to go about choosing an assisted living facility for my 86-year-old father? Since mom died last year, his health has declined to the point that he can’t live at home anymore but isn’t ready for a nursing home either.
Searching Susan

Dear Susan,
If your dad needs help with things like bathing, dressing, preparing meals, managing his medications or just getting around, an assisted living facility is definitely a good option to consider.
Assisted living facilities are residential communities that offer different levels of health or personal care services for seniors who want or need help with daily living.
There are nearly 29,000 assisted living communities (also called board and care, supportive-care or residential-care facilities) in the U.S. today, some of which are part of a retirement community or nursing home. Most facilities have anywhere between 10 and 100 suites, varying in size from a single room to a full apartment. And some even offer special memory care units for residents with dementia.
To help you choose a good assisted living facility for your dad, here are some steps to follow.
Make a list: There are several sources you can turn to for referrals to top assisted living communities in your area including your dad’s doctor or nearby hospital discharge planner; friends or neighbors who’ve had a loved one in assisted living; or you can do an online search at https://www.caring.com/.
Do some research: To research the communities on your list, put a call into your long-term care ombudsman. This is a government official who investigates long-term care facility complaints and advocates for residents and their families. This person can help you find the latest health inspection reports on specific assisted living facilities and can tell you which ones have had complaints or other problems in the past. To find your local ombudsman visit LTCombudsman.org.
Call the facilities: Once you’ve identified a few good assisted living facilities, call them to see if they have any vacancies, what they charge and if they provide the types of services your father needs.
Tour your top choices: During your visit, notice the cleanliness and smell of the facility. Is it homey and inviting? Does the staff seem responsive and kind to its residents? Also be sure to taste the food, and talk to the residents and their family members, if available. It’s also a good idea to visit several times at different times of the day and different days of the week to get a broader perspective.
On your facility visit, get a copy of the admissions contract and the residence rules that outline the fees (and any extra charges), services and residents’ rights, and explanations for when a resident might be asked to leave because their condition has worsened, and they require more care than the facility can provide.
Also, find out their staff turnover rate, COVID infection-control procedures and if and when medical professionals are on site. To help you rate your visit, Caring.com offers a checklist of questions that you can download and print at Caring.com/static/checklist-AL-tour.pdf.
How to pay: Monthly costs for assisted living ranges anywhere from $2,500 to $6,000 or more, depending on where you live, the facility you choose, and the services provided. Since Medicare does not cover assisted living, most residents pay out-of-pocket from their own personal funds, and some have long-term care insurance policies.
If your dad has limited financial resources and can’t afford this, most states now have Medicaid waiver programs that help pay for assisted living. Or, if he’s a veteran, he may be able to get funds through the VA’s Aid and Attendance benefit. To find out about these programs, ask the assisted living facility director, or contact his local Medicaid office (see Medicaid.gov) or the regional VA benefit office (800–827–1000).
Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.