Wallingford, CT, May 21, 2013…. Masonicare is once again sponsoring its free

Summer Concert Series on the grounds of Masonicare Health Center, 22

Masonic Avenue, Wallingford. 

 Beginning on Thursday evening, June 20, and on every Thursday evening through July from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., unless otherwise noted, and through August from 6:15 p.m. to 7:45 p.m., area residents are invited to bring lawn chairs and blankets and enjoy wonderful musical performances given by many of the area’s most popular bands.  In addition to free parking on site, the grounds will be available for picnics starting at 5 p.m.  In the event of rain, or if it appears rain is imminent, concerts may be cancelled. In those instances, CALL 203-679-5900 – after 3 p.m. – for the latest information.

Concert Schedule

June & July – 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

June 20           Season Opener:  Vinnie Carr and the Party Band

June 27          Larry Ace Band – Country Western

 July 4              Note time change (2:30 p.m. to 3:30   p.m.)
Big Beat – Rockin’ to the 50’s and 60’s

 July 11            Stardust Dance Band – Golden Oldies

 July 18            Frank Porto Band – Sounds of Swing                

July 25            T-Bone – Children’s Fun Night

                                                 August - 6:15 p.m. – 7:45 p.m.

August 1         Night Moves – Popular Music

August 8         Eastside Ramblers – Sounds of Dixie

 August 15       Eddie Forman – Polish Music Lovers          

August 22       Encore Broadway – Broadway Hits

 August 29       Season Finale:

                               Wonder Trio – Music for the Young at Heart

Wallingford, CT, May 21, 2013……… The community is cordially invited to attend the annual Grand Masters Day at Masonicare in Wallingford, which will be held this year on Saturday, June 8, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Masonicare campus just off Route 150 in Wallingford.

 As always, the free community festival will feature a wide variety of exciting activities for adults and children of all ages.  The lively and colorful parade will kick off at 10:30 am, featuring U.S. Naval Sea Cadets, Yalesville Ancient File & Drum Corps, and more.  The 14-piece Tuxedo Junction swing band for music and dancing will play from 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm, and free children’s rides and games, horse and carriage rides, summertime food and more will be available throughout the day.           

This year, Masonicare will again host a free Community Health & Wellness Fair that day.  The Health Fair program will be held in the Medical Office Building from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Complimentary blood pressure, body mass index, podiatry and audiology screenings will be available, and informative presentations by Masonicare physicians, therapists and technology professionals will explore a variety of timely health and wellness topics: 

Health & Wellness Presentations

 11 a.m.        Truths & Myths about Memory Loss:  Dr. Ronald Schwartz
                        Geriatrician and Masonicare Health Center’s Medical Director

 11:45 a.m.     Diabetes:  What You Need to Know:   Dr. Steven Angelo
                          VP of Medical Affairs, Masonicare

12:30 p.m.    Weekend Warriors & Sports Injuries: Christopher Lathrop, OTD, OTR
                          Director of Rehabilitation Services, Masonicare Health Center

1:00 p.m.       How to Read Food Labels:  Jenny Starr, RD
                          Clinical Dietitian Manager, Masonicare Health Center

 1:30 p.m.     The Latest and Greatest in Smart Phones, Tablets & PCs:  Mike Nichols, CIO
                         VP for Information Systems, Masonicare

Informative demonstrations will also be available, including one that will explain how keeping patient medical records electronically is the wave of the future in healthcare.

            As an added bonus, every person who visits the Health & Wellness Fair will receive free gifts and a coupon for a complimentary lunch under the main tent.  Attendees can also enter a raffle to win a free Stop & Shop gift card.

            Free parking and continuous free shuttle bus service will be available from the Oakdale Theatre (sign says “Toyota Presents Oakdale”) on South Turnpike Road.  For additional information, please call the Masonicare HelpLine at 888-679-9997.
                                    #                                  #                                  #

Spring is finally here and there is a lot going on at Masonicare. 

We recently celebrated the 5-year anniversary of our homecare partnership with Saint Francis Hospital which created Masonicare Partners Home Health & Hospice.  In those 5 years, the 287 employees of Masonicare Partners, based in East Hartford, have looked after 18,000 patients and driven over 5 million miles in order to do so.

Now that the Affordable Care Act is a reality, the pressure is on hospitals, post-acute care providers and physicians to build more partnerships such as ours with Saint Francis.  Patient health and outcomes need to be viewed over the course of a diagnosis, not just during a 3-day hospitalization or a 4 week-stay in post-surgery rehab. We are in discussions with several potential partners to explore how our rehabilitation, home care, hospice care, indeed our full continuum of services, might complement their core services to improve patient outcomes and lessen re-hospitalization rates.  I continue to believe that Masonicare is uniquely positioned as the only provider that can offer the full spectrum of pre-acute and post-acute services throughout Connecticut.      

It is also the time of year when we recognize our nurses, especially those recognized for special achievement.  This month, eleven Masonicare nurses will receive the Nightingale Award for Excellence in Nursing. A statewide celebration, Masonicare is proud to have participated every year since the Award was founded in 2001.  Well over 100 of our nurses have been recognized since then.

Next month will also be an exciting one. As is tradition, Grand Masters Day will be celebrated on the second Saturday of June on the Wallingford campus.  I hope you’ll consider joining us June 8 as we honor MWGM Simon LaPlace and MWGM Charles Robinson, Jr. and all the patients and residents whom Connecticut Masons pledged “to help, aid and assist” over a century ago – and still do today.

The sounds of the Grand Masters Day parade will barely have died down when we welcome counterparts from across the country to the 83^rd Annual Conference of Masonic Communities & Services Association.  Over 100 administrators and colleagues will attend specially planned seminars, network with each other and tour Masonicare’s main campus.  With our unparalleled continuum of care, we are considered a leader among Masonic providers.  We have the vision and commitment of our founders and you to thank for that.

Front Row L-R: Lisa Davanzo, Deborah Tedford, Mary E. Keating, Stacey Finch, Jolanta M.Vitale, Rosmarie Kuhn, Katherine Nadeau
Back Row L-R: Susan A. Moore, Maria Fabrizi, Linda Hill, Lorraine Roy-Galat

Wallingford, CT, May 14, 2013……..At special awards dinners held in May at four locations throughout Connecticut, Nightingale Awards for Excellence in Nursing were presented to 11 nurses nominated by Masonicare.  The Nightingale Awards program recognizes hundreds of nurses throughout Connecticut for their dedication, commitment and generous contributions to the field of nursing. The program is open and inclusive of all healthcare settings — hospitals, home health care, health centers, schools, health departments, long-term care, nursing schools, agencies and medical practices.

The following nurses were recognized for their outstanding service to Masonicare:

Masonicare Health Center: Stacey Finch, LPN;Rosmarie Kuhn, CNA, LPN; Jolanta M. Vitale, RN

Masonicare at Newtown: Maria Fabrizzi, RN

Masonicare Home Health & Hospice : Lisa Davanzo, RN (Norwalk); Linda Hill, LPN (Wallingford); Susan Moore, RN, BSN, MS (Brookfield at Newtown); Katherine Nadeau, RN (Wallingford); Deborah Tedford, RN, AD (Danielson)

Masonicare Partners Home Health & Hospice: Mary E. Keating, RN, BSN; Lorraine Roy-Galat, LPN

This year, at the thirteenth annual Nightingale Awards presentations, these special nurses were honored at award dinners held in May in Groton, Hartford, Stamford and New Haven.  

            Stephen B. McPherson, President and CEO of Masonicare, said, “As a continuum, Masonicare embraces a wide range of nursing practice — including long-term care, home health, hospice and acute care as well as management, quality oversight and education. These 11 individuals join more than 180 previously honored Masonicare nurses who have been role models for others in our organization and have helped us nurture and develop the nurses of tomorrow.”

Wallingford-based Masonicare is Connecticut’s leading not-for-profit provider of healthcare and retirement living for seniors.

                                    #                                  #                                  #

This year Masonicare was pleased to have 11 nurses from throughout our continuum receive this prestigious award. Congratulations to Lisa Davanzo, Maria Fabrizi, Stacey Finch, Linda Hill, Mary E. Keating, Rosmarie Kuhn, Susan A. Moore, Katherine Nadeau,  Lorraine Roy-Galat, Deborah Tedford, and Jolanta M.Vitale.

Click here to visit our Here for Me site to learn more!

Masonicare’s Grand Masters Day, held every June on the Masonicare campus in Wallingford, is an annual tradition for the community that features an array of wholesome activities – with food and fun for the entire family. This year’s event will be held on Saturday, June 8, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the grounds of Masonicare Health Center, 22 Masonic Avenue in Wallingford.  With so many exciting features and activities, the festival will be a great time for all!

Enjoy the parade, swing band, great food, crafts, raffles, FREE children’s rides and activities, and much more! The day will include a comprehensive Health Fair and screenings for adults as well as the CTChild ID Program (CTCHIP) and a Red Cross Blood Drive from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Please call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE (1-800-448-3543) to schedule your appointment.

Parking and continuous free shuttle bus service will be available from the Oakdale Theatre (sign says “Toyota Presents Oakdale”) on South Turnpike Road.  For additional information, please call the Masonicare HelpLine at 888-679-9997.

Wallingford, CT, May 8, 2013….. Sabrina Loeb of Mystic has been named Community Liaison for the East Lyme office of Masonicare Home Health & Hospice. In this role, Ms. Loeb will promote Masonicare’s wide range of home health and hospice programs and services to physicians and skilled nursing facilities in the area as well as to the Southeastern Connecticut community at large. 

Ms. Loeb attended schools in Georgia and has several years of experience in the healthcare marketing field.  Prior to joining Masonicare, she served as community liaison for Interim Healthcare.   Ms. Loeb is a Corporator of Connecticut Community Care, Inc., and a member of Senior Resources Development Committee and SECT Women’s Network.  She and her husband, Tom, are residents of Mystic.

Masonicare Home Health & Hospice, with an office in East Lyme and several locations throughout Connecticut, is an affiliate of Wallingford-based Masonicare, Connecticut’s leading not-for-profit provider of senior healthcare and retirement living.                               #                                  #                                  #

Newtown, CT, April 24, 2013……. Masonicare is pleased to announce that Dr. Joel Brook, a Board-certified dermatologist, has joined the medical team at Masonicare at Newtown.  Dr. Brookspecializes in general medical dermatology for adults, treating a variety of skin disorders and performing biopsies and the excision/destruction of lesions. He

Dr. Brook received a BS degree from the College of William and Mary and his MD degree from New York University.  He completed his dermatology residency training in Buffalo, NY, at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Meyer Memorial Hospital, and Buffalo General Hospital.  Dr. Brook is a member of the American Board of Dermatology and a Fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology.  He is also a member of the Fairfield County Medical Association and the Connecticut State Medical Society.  He and his wife are Danbury residents.

Masonicare at Newtown, located at 139 Toddy Hill Road, is convenient to Routes 25, 34 and I-84 in Newtown.  For office hours and additional information, or to make an appointment, please call 203-364-3258.

Last month I attended the annual Leadership Summit sponsored by LeadingAge in Washington.  The keynote address was given by Peter Sheahan, an internationally recognized consultant to companies such as Google and Apple and author of the bestseller, FLIP. Sheahan’s primary message was this:  Change is constant and therefore we need to continually challenge our assumptions and plan for an unknown future.

Some interesting examples he cited were:

- In 1901 London commissioned a study of the city’s future needs. It predicted that a million more horses would be needed to meet transportation demands, and ignored  the fact that 78,000 automobiles existed.  Just five years later, London would build the world’s first parking garage — for cars, not horses.

- In 1990, AT&T commissioned a study on the future of cell phones.  Their study concluded that worldwide demand would be capped at 900,000 — clearly missing the boat.

- More recently, a study was commissioned by U.S. intelligence agencies to determine the value of social media.  Just nine months later, after the study discounted its value, social media fueled the “Arab Spring.”  Today, we dedicate more people to making sense out of social media interactions than we have spies on the streets.

- Apple boldly cut its IT support group from 2000 to 6.  It didn’t fire 1994 people, but reassigned them to projects.  One of the projects that two IT people worked on was iPod product distribution, in which they partnered with SAP and created the phenomenally successful iTunes.

- In 2004, McDonald’s international division was losing significant market share to Subway.  They introduced salads in Australia and saw 350,000 new customers almost immediately.  The surprise was the new customers were not eating salads, but that offering salads made it more socially acceptable to patronize McDonald’s.

- The top two professions who purchase Harley Davidsons are doctors and lawyers.  Harley concluded they are not in the motorcycle business, but in the image business.

As we at Masonicare plan for an unknown future, we do know that healthcare reform will change our landscape, but I believe it will improve the value of our services.  So, as we work with our Board of Trustees on strategic planning, we will keep our mission in mind: to improve the lives of those we serve.   In spite of the changes and chaos that surround us, this noble cause will keep us on track.