97-Year-Old Evicted From Retirement Home

It's a story that may enrage you.

What would you do if you suddenly found yourself without a home?

It’s something none of us want to think about.

But it’s a situation that a 97-year-old California man found himself in recently.

Jim Farrell was evicted from his home at Redwood Retirement in Napa for playing too much music.

Seriously?

Seriously.

Farrell was quoted in the local newspapers as saying, “Management would stop me and say these words: ‘Go back to your room!’ Like a kid.”

When he was put out on the street, Farrell spent three nights at a homeless shelter before an anonymous donor helped him move into Piner’s Nursing Home in Napa.

Friends are currently raising money to ensure that Farrell can stay at his new home.

Oh, and Redwood Retirement has not returned calls to the local papers.

What do you think of this situation? How do you think it could have been handled differently?

Give us a call at 860-533-9343 to learn about our veterans care, in-home care, assisted living referral services, or Alzheimer’s and dementia care.

What is Going on With the VA?

We do our best at Always Best Care Senior Services of Central Connecticut to act as mediators and avoid controversy.

But sometimes, there's a conversation that just has to be had.

As the headlines explode about billions of dollars being spent on immigrants coming over the border... it seems that the news of the Veteran Affairs scandal has quickly become buried.  

We're talking about the men and women - and their families - that have sacrificed so much for our country... who have somehow seemingly been forgotten.

So what's the situation all about?

You’ve probably heard that there’s a problem with the Veterans Affairs system, but what’s it all about?

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs handles three major categories for America’s veterans: medical care, benefits, and burials/memorials.
Let’s take a look at the medical care side of things.

Once a veteran is discharged from the armed services, he or she must enroll in the VA system by calling a toll-free number, going to a clinic, or applying online. Veterans must have their discharge forms — known as a DD214 — to start the process.

Veterans go through a means test each year — a review of financial information to determine the priority group for enrollment and whether that person is able to make a co-pay. 

New patients are supposed to see a doctor within 14 days after their paperwork is accepted, and existing patients are supposed to see a doctor between 14 and 30 days after requesting an appointment.

That does not seem to be happening in many places and is at the crux of the scandal.

An interim independent report by the VA’s inspector general found that officials falsified records at a medical center in Phoenix, hiding the amount of time that veterans had to wait for medical appointments. According to the report, 1,700 veterans were kept on waiting lists and veterans waited an average of 115 days for an initial primary care appointment.

There have been claims of false record-keeping and long waiting lists for care at VA facilities across the country; the report called inappropriate scheduling “systemic” within the system. In some places, veterans have died while waiting for care, though there is no known link between the deaths and delays.

Other allegations include an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease at a VA hospital and a mismanaged gastroenterology program that delayed treatment to veterans.

So many stories are just coming to light. Like the woman whose husband died while waiting for an appointment with the VA hospital. Two years later... she received a letter saying they could get him in for an appointment. In the letter, they also let her know that timeliness is important to them... and that she needed to respond ASAP. The even more cruel irony? Military funeral expenses weren't covered... because he had never been seen by the VA hospital.

There IS support out there for our veterans. If you couldn't tell... we're extremely passionate about helping and being an advocate for those who served.

Give us a call at 860-533-9343 to learn about our veterans care, in-home care, assisted living referral services, or Alzheimer’s and dementia care.

The Veteran, the Homeless Man, and the Cracker Barrel Incident

It's the kind of story that gets you all shades of angry... especially during a month where we celebrate the men and the women that serve our country.

Perhaps you've heard the story.  

Recently, a 73-year-old Vietnam veteran was fired from his job at Cracker Barrel for giving a needy person a corn muffin – and not making him pay for it.

Joe Koblenzer was fired from the Florida restaurant after Cracker Barrel said he had committed his fifth violation of company policy, which includes not giving away food and not consuming food without paying for it.

What happened was that a man – who looked like he may be homeless – approached Koblenzer, asking him for mayo and tartar sauce so that he could cook fish. Koblenzer gave him the condiments – and threw in the corn muffin.

Koblenzer says that he did break the rules, and understands why he was fired, but that it was worth it and he would do it again. He also said that if Cracker Barrel had asked him to pay for the muffin, he would have.

After the story got out, Cracker Barrel released this response: “Mr. Koblenzer has worked as a host at Cracker Barrel’s Sarasota store since April 2011. During the time he was employed, he violated the Company’s policies regarding consuming food without paying or giving away free food, on five separate occasions. Mr. Koblenzer received multiple counselings and written warnings reminding him about the company’s policies and the consequences associated with violating them. On the fifth occasion, again per Company policy, Mr. Koblenzer was terminated. Cracker Barrel is grateful for and honors Mr. Koblenzer’s service to our country as we honor all service men and women and their families.”

Koblenzer, who worked at Cracker Barrel to supplement his monthly Social Security benefits, is looking for a new job, but isn’t sure what he will do next.

If you were in his shoes, what would you have done? Do you agree with how Cracker Barrel handled the incident?