Santa Cruz County Seniors Digest

Almost 15 million Californians have health care coverage through Medi-Cal, a program that stands to lose billions of dollars if Republicans follow through on proposed cuts.

Donate to Meals on Wheels for Santa Cruz County, which is facing a waitlist for the first time in 50 years in the face of increasing need. Read on for details and learn how you can help.

The Newsom administration on Friday is expected to release its next budget proposal. Health care advocates want the governor to fix a Medi-Cal rule that discourages seniors from getting coverage.

At an October 17 meeting at the Silver Spur on Soquel Drive, local residents heard about plans to develop the property into a senior assisted-living and memory care facility.

Applications are open for seats on the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission Elderly and Disabled Transportation Advisory Committee.

These professionals provide essential services, but their pay and working conditions do not reflect their value, and their health suffers.

A local nonprofit said it has made an offer to purchase a senior center in Live Oak while a representative from the school district that owns the site says it isn’t quite ready to make definitive moves.

California’s latest Master Plan for Aging underscores the need for policies to address the challenges aging populations face. But it fails to portray the realities for older adults in rural areas, who are at greater risk of poverty.

A U.S. Senate committee launched an examination of assisted living, holding its first hearing in two decades on the industry as leaders of both parties expressed concern about the high cost and mixed quality of care facilities.

The number of older adults with disabilities that affect their performance of daily tasks will soar in the decades ahead, as baby boomers enter their 70s, 80s, and 90s.

Hundreds gathered in Watsonville Plaza to celebrate local nonprofit Grey Bears and its 50 years of serving seniors and the entire Santa Cruz County community.

To qualify for Leqembi, patients must undergo a PET scan that looks for amyloid plaques, the protein clumps that clog the brains of many Alzheimer’s patients.

More than a decade of community development experience in different sectors both locally and abroad has brought Darren Daley back to the Central Coast, where he was named director of Meals on Wheels for Santa Cruz County.

The Live Oak School District Board of Trustees granted a two-month eviction extension, meant to give time to finish negotiating a longer lease agreement that’s been in the works for months.

The group completed its maiden project when it repaired a fence at the Mid-County Senior Center.

Retired California government workers will get tens of thousands of dollars if they give up their long-term care insurance.

Every day, thousands of older Californians can’t afford to stock their pantries. State data reveal that two-thirds of eligible Californians over age 60 do not participate in CalFresh, the state’s food stamp program, even though they qualify.

California will hand out additional Medicaid payments next year to nursing homes—even low-rated ones—that hire additional workers, reduce staff turnover, or improve quality of care.

More than 100 people welcomed Jennifer Merchant as the new Grey Bears executive director.

The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission wants public input on two agenda items: the 2022 Unmet Transit and Paratransit Needs List and the allocation of funds raised from the 2016 voter-approved Measure D.

Special monitors sought to oversee Driftwood Health Care in Santa Cruz and 18 of sister operations in California on grounds of chronic understaffing, inadequate patient protections, inflated consumer ratings and false advertising.

According to Santa Cruz County health officials, rates for COVID-19 vaccinations at skilled nursing and senior residential care facilities have risen to 9 in 10 for health care workers.

With restrictions easing, the Volunteer Center of Santa Cruz County is again able to offer transportation services and its Helping Hands Program to a long waiting list of seniors.

With almost 150,000 doses administered, the county prepares to expand eligibility to include adults age 50 to 64.

The Watsonville Senior Center has emerged as a hub for getting vulnerable residents vaccinated against COVID and coordinating other services for locals in need.

Despite the fact that local senior care facilities were the locations with the largest death toll from COVID-19, lack of coordination in December and January led to senior care residents not being among the earliest to be vaccinated.

Santa Cruz County continues to make progress in vaccinations against COVID-19, with more than half of local teachers and seniors over the age of 65 receiving their first dose.