CHANGE ISN’T COMING; IT’S HERE!

The ’09 State Budget

The effects of the global economy
problems are impacting all levels of
business and government. While NH is
weathering the storm better than some
other states, the nine months left in the
State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2009 will require
adjustments to agency budgets.
Governor Lynch directed State
department heads to propose 8% budget
cuts. Agency proposals were presented
to and discussed with the Finance
Committee. The Governor’s Office
approved a final version through
executive orders. On November 21,
Commissioner Nick Toumpas of Health
and Human Services (DHHS) presented
his plan which proposed cuts of over $30
million; approved reductions came back
at $25M+, still leaving a gap of SFY ‘09.
Gone are the days when agencies could
continue business as usual and request
a supplemental budget
to cover any unfunded
expenses. The funding
limitations NH faces
today, and ongoing,
demand a new approach
to doing business. To
continue to serve the
people of NH, DHHS
must change. DHHS is now
systematically reviewing how services
are delivered and how individuals
become eligible, in an attempt to better
manage budget shortfalls that will extend
beyond 2009. Another part of the DHHS
transformation involves “Stakeholder
Councils” and we are pleased to
announce that ENH is at the table.
The Long Term Care Stakeholders is
one of three advisory groups to DHHS.
This group received an overview of cuts
from Comm. Toumpas, and expressed
concerns over the impact on all long
term care services, including home
and community based care.
Our participation allows ENH to
represent you and to share your
information and concerns. More
importantly, we are involved in
decisions that will impact the choices
available to allow older adults to
remain in their communities of choice.
As ENH moves into the next phase of
building an Action Network for older
adults, it is important to work in a
complimentary role with other
initiatives. As the world adjusts to a
changing economy, it must adapt to
new ways of doing business on all
levels. The more successful advocacy
models use “participatory leadership”.
It is currently accepted that no social
change can be maintained without the
involvement of those who are
impacted. Or in the words of Helen
Titchen Beeth of the European
Commission in Brussels, “…change
can only happen if the will of
the collective is engaged.”
Change is not coming; it is
already here. Human kind is
moving into a model of
community, marked by a
need for collaboration and
cooperation. The world is
starting to recognize that hierarchical
systems impoverish, and that we need
to pay attention to how interdependent
systems work. Expect to hear terms
such “integral” and “collective
intelligence” as key descriptors of the
way that organizations, communities
and governments approach social and
health care needs.
More importantly, expect to be
involved and know that your voice is
critical to your future.
“…change can only
happen if the will of
the collective is
engaged.”
Helen Titchen Beeth

Since our last issue, we’ve been
following the cost of home heating
fuel changes and the status of
assistance programs.
With oil prices at an all time high,
averaging $4.69 a gallon in July,
our congressional delegation
worked hard to get increases to
our assistance programs, bringing
in an additional $47 million.
The Office of Energy Planning is
confident that we are in good
shape to handle the increase in
both demands for assistance and
the cost of fuel. Today, the
average price has dropped below
$2.00 a gallon.
Ongoing issues being monitored
by ENH include pre-buy costs and
whether or not the Oil Heat
Council of New Hampshire
http://www.nhoilheat.com/ will participate
in the Citizens Energy Program.
www.citizensenrgy.com.
Heat Can Escape Through
Windows & Doors Seams
A special camera can help
homeowners save on heating
costs, by finding invisible heat
leaks in the home.
Andrew Gray and Dana Nute
work for the state, performing
energy audits for low-income
homeowners. Using a thermal
imaging camera, they identify
areas where heat is escaping
from the house, and cold air is
coming in.
Gray said that both new and old
homes can have weak insulation
or spots around windows and
doors that can appear sealed, but
aren’t.
To identify any weaknesses, Gray
and Nute use a fan and a special
device called a blower door. The
fan pulls in air from holes in the
home’s structure.
Well insulated areas show up
white on the thermal camera.
Cold air appears black and can
typically be found around doors or
areas without insulation.
Gray said that using the
information to patch drafty
windows and properly insulate the
house can save a lot of money:
"About $300 a year on average,"
he said.
Source: OEP
Statewide Energy Efficiency
Program Call Center:
1-866-266-2420
This automated telephone line
offers brief descriptions of all NH
energy efficiency programs
available to your home or
business. Option include:
• ordering products from the
nhsaves Lighting Catalog,
• requesting appliance rebate
coupons,
• receiving a lighting products
catalog by mail, or
• requesting to be transferred to
any of the participating utility
call centers.
Other Web Sites of Interest:
www.nhsaves.com
www.StayWarmNH.org
Medicare Part D "Doughnut
Hole" Remains Confusing to
Enrollees
A recent survey of Medicare
Part D enrollees by Medco Health
Solutions shows that most of
seniors do not understand the
"doughnut hole" coverage gap,
when seniors must pay the full
cost for their prescription drugs.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer
reports that 62% of enrollees do
not fully understand the concept,
and 28% do not know what it is or
do not understand it at all. Twothirds
of respondents in the
coverage gap are unable to
identify what spending counts
toward the gap.
For 2008, once your drug costs
reach $2,510, you must pay full
cost for your medications until
your out of pocket spending
reaches $3,850. At that point,
your coverage resumes.
What many people do not
understand is that both your
spending and your health plan’s
spending count towards the gap,
causing many to fall into this hole,
months before they expect to.
"Be sure to review all of your
materials during this open
enrollment season for Part D, and
Home Heating Fuel Costs
UPDATE
Health News
Weatherization Resources
nationalgrid www.nationalgrid.com
Public Service of New Hampshire
www.psnh.com
New Hampshire Electric Co-op
www.nhec.com
Unitil Energy Systems, Inc.
www.unitil.com
Energy Information for Consumers
and Business
November 2008
if you are unsure, ask questions,"
said Edward F. Coyle, Executive
Director of the Alliance for Retired
Americans. For help, NH seniors
can call ServiceLink:
1-866-634-9412
JUST THE RIGHT MOVES
Dance aids those with
Parkinson’s Disease
Naomi Goodman of Waltham MA
and her husband are pioneers in
an unconventional but promising
approach to helping people with
Parkinson’s, a progressive
disease. Goodman, a dance and
yoga instructor incorporates
movements from those disciplines
to help people with Parkinson’s
improve their coordination and
flexibility as their disease
gradually robs them of both.
For two hours every Monday, they
groove to the blues, shimmy to
jazz and glide to the tango and
temporarily ease the symptoms of
tremors and weak muscles.
Parkinson’s stiffens the body and
makes people fearful of
movement and balance.
Neurologists believe, and patients
report, that the musical rhythms
help trigger coordinate
movements thereby alleviating,
temporally, some of the
symptoms. And it’s fun.
Boston Globe 11/22/08
New Law Will Aid
Grandparents Raising Their
Grandchildren
President Bush recently signed
into law the "Fostering
Connections to Success and
Increasing Adoptions Act" (H.R.
6893). Brigitte Castellano,
Executive Director of The
National Committee of
Grandparents for Children's
Rights and an Alliance board
member, was instrumental in
passing this bill, which will
support grandparents raising
grandchildren.
Under this law, the federal
government will offer support for
states to assist with subsidized
guardianship payments to
grandparents and other relatives
who have children placed with
them, and will allow states to
choose to continue benefits until
the child reaches age 21. This
program will also ensure relatives
get notice when children are
removed from their parents' care,
and allow states to waive nonsafety
related standards for
relatives who want to care for
these children.
The law also guarantees that
funding will be available for
Kinship Navigator programs,
which help caregivers access
community assistance and
support services. The act will help
hundreds of thousands of children
and youth in foster care by
promoting permanent families for
them through relative
guardianship and adoption. For
more information, visit
www.grandparentsforchildren.org
or call 866-624-9900.
Source: Alliance for Retired Americans
Social Capital: The New
Surge in Public Service
New Hampshire has a rich history
of social capitalism, most notably
volunteerism. There was growing
concern that such activity might
be unique to older generations
and could be falling off in NH. But
the recent involvement of young
people in political campaigns has
brought a new surge of interest.
As we move toward communities
characterized by cooperation,
there has been a growing hunger
building to find meaning, purpose
and a sense of contributing. This
new wave of civic service is
intergenerational, involving
middle-school kids to seniors.
In addition, according to a new
study by the University of NH’s
Carsey Institute, older Americans
retiring to rural areas quickly
integrate into their new
communities and bring significant
social and intellectual capital to
those communities. The brief is
among the few studies to
consider social rather than
economic impacts of older inmigration
to rural areas.
"Of the ten percent of Americans
over 60 who moved between
counties from 1995 to 2000, a
disproportionate share moved to
rural communities," says report
co-author Nina Glasgow, a senior
research associate in the
Department of Development
News You Can Use
“I would love Barack Obama
to declare that he wants
America to be the healthiest
nation in the world – in a
generation, Americans need
to rally around the idea of
grappling not only with
healthcare, but with health.”
Dr. Georges Benjamin,
Executive Director
American Public Health Assn.

Sociology at Cornell University. "If
this trend continues as more Baby
Boomers reach retirement age,
older newcomers will continue to
have a major impact on some
rural areas."
BOARD NOTES
The Board met on November 24,
2008 to continue work on the
strategic plan. In this session we
drilled down to a more detailed
level of issues, outcomes and
methodologies.
The work over the past couple of
years has been to move forward
with infrastructure building to
support the directions of the
Summit planning session: an
Action Network that would provide
a communication system, training
and support for both local and
statewide activities and guidance
for creating outcomes.
Our major focus is creating and
enhancing “livable communities”
that support and develop the
capacity for older adults to have
choice in living arrangements,
health care and supports, as well
as providing meaningful
engagement. To this we have
added the need to focus on
building respect for and value in
our seniors.
There is nothing like writing grant
applications to make you really
think about the details behind
your goals. No matter how real
the need, how worthy the efforts,
how valuable the outcomes, it has
to really well thought out.
In addition, we said good-bye and
thanks to John Heinis, a founding
ENH board member, who will be
joining the snowbirds down south
this winter. He has agreed to
serve as a Regent, working on
special projects.
Our next Board meeting is
scheduled for December 15, to
accommodate the holidays. Your
next ENH Newsletter will be out
early 2009 and of course, we’ll
past along alerts and items of
interests as we receive them.
We’ve brought you articles about
the advantage of intergenerational
activities being of
benefit to seniors (dancing with a
younger partner for example). But
we know that it works both ways.
Recent research on teen gangs
and the angst of being a teenager
is most prevalent in cultures with
high access rates to TV, movies,
cell phones and the Internet. In
these cultures teens emulate
each other rather than learn from
their elders. Focusing on what
we have in common and working
together will benefit individuals
and the whole community.
We wish you a time of stillness,
moments of gratitude, much
joy, and good health as we enter this
season and New Year!

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