Essex Happenings: Oct. 12, 2012

ESSEX HERITAGE PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES

The Essex National Heritage Commission Invites You to Attend its Annual Fall Meeting

On Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012 at the Smith Barn at Brooksby Farm, 38 Felton Street Peabody. There will be a continental breakfast reception starting at 8 a.m. followed by the fall business meeting from
 8:30-10 a.m.

A special thanks to The Peabody Historical Society for hosting the Annual Fall Meeting. 

We hope you will be able to join us! RSVP by calling 978-740-0444. 

Essex Heritage Corporate Membership Program

During the last several weeks, I have devoted a substantial amount of my time providing information on this program and seeking commitments to the program from corporate entities in this region. This week another very valuable regional business has made a contribution and has joined the program. Please welcome John Keohane of Danvers, the owner/operator of Henry’s Market of Beverly and the Wenham Tea House in the town of Wenham to the Essex Heritage Corporate team of supporters.   For more information on the activities of those companies please visit our web site at www.essexheritage.org.

Please Join Us! 

Essex Heritage Membership Events

Make Trails and Sails Last All Year Long! As a member of the Essex National Heritage Commission, there are many opportunities to connect to resources in this region. In September Trails and Sails offers hundreds of opportunities to explore the Essex National Heritage Area region, but membership makes the fun last all year long. Becoming a member will help you strength your connections to this region, foster stewardship, enrich your life and ensure the longevity of the natural, historic and cultural treasures here in Essex County. Members get to enjoy special featured partner events throughout the year. Join us and experience the best of the region throughout the year!

Here are some of the upcoming events which offer special discounts for Essex Heritage members:

Friday, Oct, 26, 7-9 p.m.

Featured Partner Event The Andover Historical Society Presents: Trials and Taverns: A Lecture with Dr. Emerson Baker 97 Main St., Andover, MA 01810  

Puritan New Englanders viewed taverns as a necessary evil. Travelers needed a place to stay and eat, and sessions of court were sometimes even held in them – including the early hearings in the Salem witch trials. However, they were also places where people could fall for the Devil’s temptations. Taverns provided the setting for drunkenness, lechery, gambling, idleness and even witchcraft. Salem State University historian Dr. Emerson Baker will discuss the bewitched and debauched Quaker tavern at the center of his book, The Devil of Great Island: Witchcraft and Conflict in Early New England. All through the summer of 1682 a stone-throwing demon would supernaturally assault the New Hampshire tavern, and there were links between these events and witchcraft in Salem 10 years later. Indeed, there are many interesting connections between witchcraft and taverns in early New England. Baker will also explore what early tavern culture was like. What were the preferred alcoholic beverages and tavern games during the Salem witch trials? Come join us for a drink and find out. 

Refreshments and Socializing starts at 7-7:30 p.m., Lecture 7:30, two drink maximum. Advanced reservations required. Essex Heritage and AHS Members $15; Non-Members $25. To reserve, please contact ‪(978) 475-2236 and let them know you are an Essex Heritage Member.

Throughout October

Featured Partner Event The House of the Seven Gables Presents: Spirits of the Gables and Legacy of the Hanging Judge, 115 Derby St., Salem, MA 01970 

Spirits of the Gables – Witness two families entangled by a curse in this presentation of the novel performed in the mansion that inspired Nathaniel Hawthorne to write The House of the Seven Gables.
 Legacy of the Hanging Judge – Scenes from the Witchcraft Hysteria are reenacted in this presentation performed in the rooms of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Birthplace. Spirits of the Gables and Legacy of the Hanging Judge will both run on: 
Oct. 5, 6, 7 from 7:30-9:30 p.m., 
Oct. 12, 13, 19, 20, 26 and 27 from 7:15-11 p.m., 
Oct. 31 from 7:15-10 p.m.
 Shows run continuously and are each 35 minutes long. Rates:
 Legacy of the Hanging Judge: $15
- Spirits of the Gables: $15
; Combination Ticket: $27 (available for any two performances on the same evening) Reservations highly recommended. Please call 978-744-0991, ext 104.

Saturday, Nov. 3, 10-11:30 a.m.

Behind the Scenes Tour of the Danvers Archival Center Peabody Institute Library of Danvers, 15 Sylvan St., Danvers, MA 01923. Join Historian and Danvers Town Archivist Richard Trask for a special behind the scenes tour of the Danvers Archival Center. The Archival Center houses a wonderful and diverse collection of materials that relate to the history of Salem Village and Danvers from the 17th century to the present, including many public, church, and private records related to the witchcraft trials and life in Salem Village. Learn about the significance of the Archival Center as our knowledgeable host spotlights some of the valuable and historically important materials that directly relate to our local, regional and national history. As seen in the film Salem Witch Hunt: Examine the Evidence, the tour will also highlight some of the Archival Center’s rarely seen items and artifacts.
 Reservations required. Essex Heritage Members $7; Non-Members $10. Please register online above or send checks to: Essex National Heritage Commission, 221 Essex St., Suite 41 Salem, MA 01970 or call Essex Heritage at 978-740-0444 for questions and details. Event fees sustain the Essex Heritage Membership program and support partner sites.

Wednesday, Nov. 7, 7 p.m.

Featured Partner Event The House of the Seven Gables Presents: Strong Women at the Gables: Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, a Notable Local Figure with International Connections, 115 Derby St., Salem, MA 01970. Louise B. Swiniarski, Education Department Professor at Salem State University, will focus on Elizabeth Peabody: Her work, friends, and the literary salon she hosted on West Street in Boston. She will also discuss Elizabeth’s relationship with her sister Sophia, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s wife.
 Advanced reservations required. Essex Heritage and Seven Gables Members $10; Non-Members $15. To reserve, please contact 
(978) 744-0991 and let them know you are an Essex Heritage member.

Wednesday, Dec, 12, 7 p.m.

Featured Partner Event The House of the Seven Gables Presents: Strong Women at the Gables: An Orchestra at Her Fingertips, 115 Derby St., Salem, MA 01970. Pianist Jacquelyn Schwab will perform vintage 19th century American parlor music, including Stephen Foster and Civil War songs, hymns, spirituals and ballroom dances. Schwab is best known for her performances on Ken Burns’ Grammy award-winning Civil War documentary, as well as the Emmy award-winning Baseball and Mark Twain documentaries on public television. A folk and classical improvisational pianist, she has a unique style that defies easy categorization.

Advanced reservations required. Essex Heritage and Seven Gables Members $10; Non-Members $15. To reserve, please contact 
(978) 744-0991 and let them know you are an Essex Heritage member.

REGIONAL NEWS

Topics of interest in the news:

· Election 2012

· New Wind Turbine in Ipswich

· Local Financial Institution Contributes to Andover Youth Center

· Endicott College Offers Financial Seminar for Woman in Beverly

· Water Conservation Limitations Imposed in Danvers

· Northern Essex Community College Offers Help for Jobless

· North Andover Offers Bench Sponsorship

· Peabody Square Groundbreaking Ceremony

COMMMUNITY HEALTH AND ELDER AFFAIRS 

Medicare's Observation Policy Comes Under Scrutiny

Medicare is launching a pilot program to determine whether relaxing its payment rules can help patients who require nursing home care after a hospital stay and then are charged thousands of dollars. Seniors are often unexpectedly required to pay for nursing home care because they were considered to be under "observation" in the hospital, rather than receiving inpatient care. As a result, Medicare will not cover their post-hospitalization skilled nursing care. According to an article in the Washington Post, the new program may make it easier for hospitals to label patients as inpatients.

Chair Yoga for People with Parkinson's Disease

Many people with Parkinson's disease and their care partners report that practicing yoga helps their bodies and their mood. The class is taught by Vera Moshkevish, RYT, a registered yoga teacher who has received numerous yoga certifications from the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, the Mind/Body Institute at the Harvard Medical School, Yoga for Students with Parkinson's Disease and Yoga for Older Adults. Vera has 25 years of experience in practicing and teaching yoga to various artists. The Fall class at JF&CS Headquarters, located at 1430 Main St., Waltham, begins Tuesday, Oct. 9 and continues for six sessions (no class on Oct. 16). The cost is $90 for six sessions for one person or $150 for a person with Parkinson's and a partner. Financial aid is available. To register, please contact Nancy Mazonson at 781-693-5069 or by email at nmazonson@jfcsboston.org. Space is limited.

Hearing Decision Sets Rate for Family Caregivers

By Harry S. Margolis

In a carefully considered fair hearing decision Kelley (Appeal Number 1107194), hearing officer Zohra Aziz determined that $17.50 an hour was an appropriate rate for a woman with dementia to pay family members for her care. Over two years, from April 2007 through March 2008, the woman paid her daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter a total of $204,888.50 pursuant to three separate personal care contracts under which she agreed to pay $20 an hour.

The family kept detailed logs of the care they provided and were only paid after providing the care. Subsequently, the woman moved to a nursing home and sought MassHealth coverage beginning Sept. 1, 2010. MassHealth rejected her application, arguing that the entire payment was a disqualifying transfer. On appeal, MassHealth appears to have modified its all or nothing stance and to instead have argued that the woman overpaid for the services provided, saying that she should have paid the MassHealth personal care attendant rate of $10.84 or $11.60 an hour (it increased during the period in question) and that anything above this amount was a disqualifying transfer. The appellant’s representatives argued that $20 an hour reflected what it would cost to hire a private agency to provide care.

The hearing officer finds largely in favor of the appellant because "the manner in which these contracts were executed, overseen and the care provided were comparable to that offered by the agencies with the added benefits that the care was provided by family members known to the appellant, adding a sense of trust and security that may not otherwise have existed."

She goes on to explain in significant detail her reasoning as to why the care differed from PCA care. The higher rate also takes into account overhead, vacation and holiday pay that would be paid to a PCA. The hearing officer, however, reduced the rate from $20 to $17.50 an hour based on the fact that the family did not have the same overhead costs as private agencies.