Manhattan's First Medical Marijuana Dispensary Opens And Is Already Working With Mt. Sinai Hospital

Nicholas Vita and Michael Abbott aren’t just opening New York City’s first medical marijuana dispensary, they are trying to steer the industry to a more data-focused way of matching patients with the strains of medical marijuana to help their specific conditions.

Located near Union Square in New York City, Columbia Care is collaborating with its famous neighbor, Mount Sinai Hospital, analyzing de-identified patient registry data that Columbia Care has collected from more than 100,000 interactions with patients in the states where it operates.   While the first step is a retrospective analysis of this data, in time they hope to work together on clinical studies

One of the most promising areas for research is the substitution of medical marijuana for opioids like OxyContin and Percocet for pain management said Columbia Care’s Vita. “68% of our patients with AIDS-related neuropathy have said that medical marijuana has allowed them to stop taking opioid prescription pain killers which can be addictive, cause a variety of harmful side-effects, and — most critically –are the cause of thousands of overdose deaths per year,” he said. According to research by The Rand Corporation,“states permitting medical marijuana dispensaries experience a relative decrease in opioid addictions and opioid overdose.”

Columbia Care was founded in 2012 and while it currently employs 150 people nationwide, the company expects to grow to about 250 employees in the next six months. The two founders Vita and Abbott are the majority owners and largest investors in the company, and have raised millions in additional private funding. The business is growing rapidly according to Vita and is seeing 7-25% month over month revenue increases in the markets where they operate. The founders have backgrounds in the areas of finance, health care and management in large organizations.

Learn more about the local dispensary in your area,
SWC Prescott, by visiting www.swcprescott.com 

Hospice of the Pines Ground Breaking for New Location ~ Opening Fall 2016

Hospice of the Pines is please to announce the ground breaking of their new location ~ Opening Fall 2016

Congratulations to Beth Funk and her team!  We look forward to seeing your new location and celebrating with you at your
Open House.

Visit us online @  www.hospiceofthepines.com 

IN THE SPOTLIGHT ~ Prestige Investment Properties, LLC

We are pleased to announce our newest advertiser

Prestige Investment Properties, LLC

in the Northern Arizona SPOTLIGHT Senior Services

 & Living Options Guide

I am a self-employed broker which means I own my own real estate business. I first obtained my Real Estate license here in Prescott in 1986 and became self-employed in 1993. I enjoy the self-employed status because it offers me much more latitude and freedom in customizing services. I am not bound by franchise guidelines, requirements or fees. The benefit you get when you hire me is individual personal service and a lot of experience.
I have closed several hundred transactions. We all know experienced professionals typically can avoid a lot of delays and problems. I have a very high closing ratio which means when a property goes into escrow, sale pending, it usually results in a successful transaction, meaning if you are the seller you get your money or if you are a buyer you get your new home.

Check my website for more information. www.prescottpip.com
Or better yet give me a call @ 928.308.2072 ~ Bob Snyder

On a personal note, I moved here in 1979 from the Baltimore area. My four children were born here and all graduated from Prescott High School. I have 6 grandsons ages 3-13. My lovely wife Carol and I are newlyweds since 2010. I always look forward to our time together and us building our future together. At the time our only pet is an elderly cat about 18 years old, dated by his name, Yoda.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT Aging Well Prescott

We are pleased to announce

Aging Well Prescott as our newest advertiser in the

SPOTLIGHT Senior Services & Living Options Guide

Our Services

Our top priority at Aging Well Prescott is to help your loved one live as independently as possible while still being safe and secure. We tailor a personalized solution uniquely designed to meet your family’s needs. Our familiarity with local resources saves you time and  money. Our compassionate understanding of the aging process saves you distress.

Our experienced staff is quite accustomed to working with seniors who are initially resistant to our services. With observant eyes and a gentle heart, we listen and make it clear that our goal is to help your loved one retain as much control and autonomy as possible.

Seniors quickly realize that we are their advocates. We are their ally, not a threat.

Adult daughters and sons realize that we can

• offer suggestions
• smooth transitions
• provide an objective viewpoint
• save time, money, and distress

Give us a call at 928-899-2576  or email us at info@agingwellprescott.com. We’d be honored to help your family navigate the sometimes choppy waters of elder care.

Our Services include:

• An Aging Life Care Manager conducts an initial assessment
• An Aging Life Care Manager educates and advocates
• An Aging Life Care Manager provides ongoing care management and support
• An Aging Life Care Manager communicates with doctors and other healthcare providers
• An Aging Life Care Manager arranges and monitors in-home care
• An Aging Life Care Manager makes suggestions for alternative living arrangements
• Visit us online @  AgingWellPrescott.com 
• 
  

How to Prepare for Long-term Care

1 July 2015 by JacksonWhite Elder Law  |  Category: ALTCS, Arizona Republic Column Articles, Estate Planning

Question: I am 55 years old and I have spent the past year helping my father transition into an assisted living community. The process has been difficult, not to mention expensive. Along the way, I learned about the Arizona Long Term Care System program, and I wish I would have known about it from the outset. What can I do now to help me prepare for ALTCS in case I need long-term care myself?

Answer: One of the difficult things about ALTCS is that it has strict medical and financial requirements that must be met concurrently in order to qualify.

This being the case, even if you engaged in planning to meet the financial requirements now, you would not be eligible unless you also met the medical requirements.

The fact that you are only 55 does not disqualify you from the program, but the fact that you are presumably healthy will prevent you from qualifying.

As a rule of thumb, it makes sense to start planning for ALTCS if and when you have a medical need that might necessitate long-term care.

Despite being strict, the financial requirements typically do not present an insurmountable barrier to those with a real medical need. Accordingly, waiting until the need for long-term care is actually foreseeable is most often the best approach.

If you want to be more proactive than this, there are long-term care insurance products that might be able to help.

It is worth pointing out that even where it makes sense to delay ALTCS planning, speaking with an attorney who is familiar with the ALTCS process could help you in the long-term.

Everybody should have their affairs in order, and given that the expenses associated with long-term care are so burdensome, it helps to have an understanding of what you will need to do when the time is right.

Richard White is an elder law attorney at JacksonWhite Attorneys at Law. For more information on Elder Law at JacksonWhite, please visit www.ArizonaSeniorLaw.com.

Jackson White Law ~ Staying In-Network for Long-Term Care

Staying In-network for Long-term Care

3 June 2015 by JacksonWhite Elder Law  |  Category: Senior News

Question: I filed an Arizona Long Term Care System application for my wife nearly a year ago, and I have had a horrible time trying to manage and understand the process on my own. After many months of working on this process, I am now being told that my wife has to move to a different facility in order to qualify for the benefit. Can ALTCS really tell me where my wife has to live?

Answer: ALTCS will never decide where your wife will live — this is your decision to make. Before ALTCS will approve your wife’s case, however, she must reside in an approved setting.

To clarify, ALTCS is just like any other insurance provider insofar as it will only provide coverage to its members who seek care from an in-network provider. Just like with any other insurer, ALTCS has a network of providers with which it is contracted to provide care.

As long as the setting in which you place your wife has an ALTCS contract, she will be eligible for coverage if she is otherwise eligible for the benefit.

It is worth mentioning that ALTCS contracts with care providers all along the healthcare continuum. There are approved in-home care providers, group homes, day care centers, assisted living facilities and skilled nursing facilities. Further, it is not as if there is a clear demarcation between ALTCS and non-ALTCS facilities — all ALTCS facilities also have non-ALTCS residents; and ALTCS members are given the same level of treatment and care as others.

If the only thing preventing your wife from qualifying for ALTCS is this setting requirement, it would certainly be worth considering moving to an approved setting to help facilitate eligibility. You have many good options available to you, and this benefit is too valuable to forgo.

Richard White is an elder law attorney at JacksonWhite Attorneys at Law. For more information on Elder Law at JacksonWhite, please visit www.ArizonaSeniorLaw.com.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT CarePatrol of Northern Arizona

We are pleased to announce

CarePatrol as our newest advertiser in the

SPOTLIGHT Senior Services & Living Options Guide.

CarePatrol of Northern Arizona exists to provide the safest care options for seniors in Yavapai, Coconino, Gila, Navajo & Apache counties.

We HELP families find Assisted Living, Independent Living, Memory Care and In-Home Care.

We REVIEW the care and violation history of the communities we work with.

We TOUR our clients to our recommended facilities much like a realtor shows families to new homes.

We are a FREE COMMUNITY SERVICE to FAMILIES because we are compensated by the thousands of providers in our national network. 

Please visit us at www.carepatrol.com  and www.mymedchecks.com 

Mark Sylvester, CSA
Certified Senior Advisor
Mobile: (928) 515-3100
Email:   marks@carepatrol.com