LTC Bullet: "And Thou Shalt Honor" -- How to Get Involved

Tuesday, July 29, 2003

Seattle--

LTC Comment: The PBS Special "And Thou Shalt Honor" inspired everyone in the long-term care field to feel pride in what we do . . . and to aspire to do more. Here's one more way to serve. After the ***news.***

*** Steve Moses' latest article "So What if Government Pays for Most Long-Term Care?," was published yesterday (July 28, 2003) on ProducersWeb.com at http://www.producersweb.com/home/index.php?pageID=contentFocus&adcID=eadc991bd8fe74f28c20dda07c83e733 . If you've ever wondered why so few people buy long-term care insurance, this is a must-read article. Feedback is welcome. ***

*** LATEST DONOR-ONLY ZONE CONTENT: Here's the latest Zone content followed by instructions on how to subscribe.

LTC E-Alert #3-047--Aspirin Avoids Alzheimer's, Fish Too
("An apple a day keeps the doctor away," but taking aspirin and eating fish is a better way to protect against Alzheimer's Disease according to new research.)

The LTC Reader #3-034--GAO Slaps SNF Quality but Ignores Cause
(Oversight is critical but bashing nursing homes for poor quality without addressing the cause--inadequate financing--solves nothing.)

Don't miss our "virtual visits" to major LTC industry conferences in The Zone. You'll find our comparison of the conferences, session summaries, interviews and pictures at http://www.centerltc.com/members/index.htm .

Individual donors of $150 or more and corporate donors to the Center for Long-Term Care Financing receive our daily email LTC Bullets, LTC E-Alerts, LTC Readers, and LTC Data Updates for a full year. You'll also get access to the donor-only zone where these publications are archived along with other donor-only features. If you already qualify for The Zone, you can click the following link, enter your user name and password, and go directly to the latest donor zone content and archives: http://www.centerltc.com/members/index.htm . If you do not already qualify for The Zone, mail your tax-deductible contribution of $150 or more to the Center for Long-Term Care Financing, 2212 Queen Anne Avenue North, #110, Seattle, WA 98109. Then email mailto:damon@centerltc.org your preferred user name and password (up to 10 characters each). You can also contribute online by credit card or direct withdrawal at http://www.centerltc.com/support/index.htm . ***

LTC BULLET: "AND THOU SHALT HONOR" -- HOW TO GET INVOLVED

LTC Comment: Remember that great PBS special on caregiving last Fall? It was called "And Thou Shalt Honor . . ." and it aired October 7, 2002. We previewed and highlighted the program in an LTC Bullet on September 23, 2003: http://www.centerltc.com/bullets/archives2002/386.htm . You can find more information on the program and the follow-up at http://www.thoushalthonor.org/ . And now, there's a way for you to get involved at a local level in this excellent ongoing project. We received the following email from Center for Long-Term Care Financing Board President Claude Thau and he gave us permission to pass it on to LTC Bullets subscribers.

Message from Claude Thau:

In October 2002, the Public Broadcasting System aired a show called "And Thou Shalt Honor," which reached more than 4 million viewers on its premiere broadcast. Produced by Dale Bell and Harry Wiland, it drew a response way beyond expectations. Since its showing, numerous people in many communities around the USA have asked "What can we do to help address these issues?" A companion resource manual for planning ahead, with a foreword by Rosalynn Carter, was published by Rodale Press.

Bell/Wiland have decided to lead a series of efforts to encourage families to discuss these issues and communities to take action to prepare to provide the necessary services to care recipients and also care-givers. The next stage is a series of "And Those Shalt Honor" ("ATSH") Town Hall meetings. I am participating in the first one which will be here in Kansas City late in August. Our event really is more of a symposium than a town hall meeting, but details may vary somewhat from city to city.

There may be about 18 such meetings, culminating in Washington DC in September 2004. I'm sending you this message because I thought you might want to be aware of what is going on. A key question in each city is likely to be: "How can you finance LTC costs?" Therefore your expertise might be valuable on the expert panel.

Getting involved is like many pro bono efforts. It would take time and effort, but could bring personal satisfaction. You would get to network with many people interested in LTC and LTCI issues, which may further your local reputation for being the local LTCI expert. The networking might lead to business opportunities as well, of course. If you were to do fund-raising to defray the costs of your city's session, you'd obviously be meeting some of the patriarchs and matriarchs of your town. In my involvement so far, there has been only one other insurance person involved and one NAELA attorney. Your PBS station will probably be involved. As you know, they do public service programs. Once you know them, you might arrange to do a public service piece on LTCI that they might air periodically. So, there may be some opportunities for you here.

By the way, [LTCI Agent] Honey Leveen has purchased copies of the "And Thou Shalt Honor" video. As she explained in an article in the July, 2003 issue of Broker World magazine, Honey believes that the program is a "call to action" that helps her to motivate prospects to consider LTCI and will help to keep her placement rate high. She also shows it to clients during "client appreciation" evenings to which her clients can bring guests.

Dale Bell has graciously sent me some contact points, so that I could send them on to you. Here are people to contact in the following 9 cities:

o Atlanta: Barbara Winters, erninc@earthlink.net
o Cleveland: Mark Smukler, msmukler@wviz.org
o Denver: Sharon Sullivan, ssullivan@aahsa.org
o Indianapolis: Bob_Holda@AOL.COM
o LA/SoCal: Ron Barkley, rrbarkley@aol.com
o Milwaukee: Marilyn Lange, mlange8959@yahoo.com; Carol Eschner, ceschner@interfaithmilw.org
o New York City: Robin Fenley of DFTA
o San Diego: Michele Rosen and Nicholas Trunzo at the County Department of Aging
o Seattle: Nora Gibson, NoraG@Elderhealth.org; Jan Knutson, JanK@seniorservices.org

In addition, efforts are underway in Boston, Chicago, Florida, rural Kansas, Michigan, [and] Washington DC. If you are interested in any of these cities, you could contact Dale Bell at mailto:dale@wilandbellprod.com .

[Wiland-Bell Productions recently relocated to 2125 Arizona Avenue, 2nd floor, Santa Monica, CA 90404-1337; tel: 310-828-2966.]

Sincerely,

Claude Thau
Target Insurance Services
We're in it for the Long-Term... We Care SM
mailto:cthau@targetins.com

ph: 913-384-6300, x2241; ph: 800-999-3026; fax: 913-384-3781