Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/817548
TheVeteransServiceOf- fice in Red Bluff moved to 444 Oak St. #C in the Old Courthouse Annex and will be open for business on Tuesday, May 2. Tehama County Fa- cilities Di- rector Russ Skelton and his amaz- ing crew helped us move and we are so grateful for their help. Brant Mesker in Administration contin- ues to help us with IT is- sues and we're grateful for his help too. We will have an open house as soon as we're moved in and settled. Details will be in a future VSO News. The new VSO office is beautiful and will honor our veterans. I'd like to thank VFW Commander and the Vet- erans Hall Manager in Red Bluff, Bernie Duehler. Bernie has been helping homeless and low income veterans. He has assisted a homeless veteran with ve- hicle repairs, and more re- cently, helped a prior incar- cerated veteran get a bus pass to the Midwest to be closer to his support sys- tem — family. I'm honored to work with Bernie and appreciate him very much. I'm pleased to announce that our Corning and Los Molinos VSO satellite of- fices are doing very well and assisting our county veterans and their fami- lies. Please continue to get the word out about our sat- ellite offices so we can con- tinue to increase veteran services in our county. The Redding Veterans Resource Center, which as- sists qualified homeless veterans with transitional housing, will be at the VSO Red Bluff office in May. Please contact the VRC di- rectly for appointments at 223-3211. Free yearly TRAX bus passes are available for qualified veterans at all VSO offices. We will is- sue the bus passes at the Red Bluff office and at our satellite offices in Corn- ing and Los Molinos. This wonderful opportunity will be available until the end of June. Please see the VSO office schedules below. Dependent College Fee Waivers can be submitted to us or make an appoint- ment with Beverly Holden or Andrew Norwood at our Red Bluff office. Docu- mentation necessary prior to the appointment are the veteran's DD-214 and VA rating disability letter and IRS or Franchise Tax Board 2016 income verifi- cation for the dependent. The College Fee Waiver packages will be reviewed by the VSO on administra- tive Fridays. Please plan ahead on these packages as the VSO will not be able to approve these packages on the same day as the ap- pointment. Thank you for your support. There are many state and federal benefits and programs available to vet- erans and their depen- dents. To find out if you are eligible for any of these benefits, call the Tehama County Veterans Service Office 529-3664. The VSO is the former courthouse, 444 Oak St., Ste. C, in Red Bluff. Office appointment hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday, closed from noon to 1 p.m. for lunch. The Red Bluff of- fice VSO is by appoint- ment only. Corning VSO walk-ins are at the Veter- ans Memorial Hall 9-11 a.m. the every Tuesday of the month. Los Molinos walk-ins are 9-11 a.m. the first and third Mondays of the month at 7883 State Route 99E. DMV forms for "Veteran" designated on your driver's license are available at all VSO of- fices. The Tehama County ID card is available in the Red Bluff VSO office. In- carcerated and Probation Veteran appointments are Thursday mornings. Fri- day's we are closed for administration and out- reach. We are looking for- ward to meeting you or seeing you again on your return visit. KellyOsborne,retired U.S. Coast Guard, is the Veterans Service Officer for Tehama County. VSONEWS Officehas moved to former courthouse annex The Shasta Dam Bridge Ride,sponsoredbyRedding East Rotary, will be held 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday, May 7 at the Sundial Bridge in Redding. The ride features a 10- mile ride from the Sun- dial Bridge to the Ribbon Bridge and back. It also of- fers a 32-mile ride from the SundialBridgetothebaseof Shasta Dam and back. Both rides follow the paved Sac- ramento River Trail. Registration is online at www.ShastaDamBridg- eRide.com or at the event before 9 a.m. May 7. The 10-mile ride is $25 and the 32-mile ride is $60. Registration includes an eventT-shirtandapost-ride lunch. Proceeds from the event benefit Redding East Rotary's community fund and Shasta Family YMCA. For more information, call Keith Ritter at 945- 8205. FUNDRAISER ShastaDamBridge Ride set for May Kelly Osborne If you have Medicare, there's a good chance you have two or more chronic conditions such as ar- thritis, can- cer, diabetes, heart dis- ease, or de- mentia. Two- thirds of the 57 million Americans with Medicare have two or more chronic illnesses. Having multi- ple chronic conditions in- creases the risk of death and functional limitations, decreases quality of life, and leads to higher health care spending. Managing chronic dis- eases can be difficult, to say the least. You often face multiple visits to one or more doctors; you must take multiple drugs at dif- ferent times on different days; you have to make ex- tra trips for tests. It can all be a bit overwhelming. At Medicare, we recog- nize the challenges you have in managing your conditions, working with your health care providers, and trying to stay healthy. Two years ago, we added a new benefit called Chronic Care Management, or CCM. This program pro- vides additional payments to doctors and other pro- viders to help you live with chronic disease. For example, through the CCM benefit your pri- mary-care doctor will help you keep track of your medical history, medications, and all the different health care pro- viders you see. You'll re- ceive a comprehen- sive care plan that out- lines your treatments and goals. Additionally, you'll have 24-hour-a-day, 7-day- a-week access to health care professionals for ur- gent needs from the com- fort of your home. To be eligible for CCM services, you must be en- rolled in Medicare or in both Medicare and Med- icaid. And you must have two or more chronic dis- eases that are expected to last at least 12 months and place you at significant risk of death, acute exacer- bation/decompensation, or functional decline. Other examples of chronic conditions include, but are not limited to, asthma, atrial fibrillation, autism spectrum disorder, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmo- nary disease, depression, heart failure, hepatitis, hy- pertension (high blood pressure), infectious dis- eases such as HIV/AIDS, ischemic heart disease, os- teoporosis, schizophrenia and other psychotic disor- ders, and stroke. Specific CCM services may include: At least 20 minutes a month of chronic care management services; personalized as- sistance from a dedicated health care professional who will work with you to create your care plan; co- ordination of care between your pharmacy, special- ists, testing centers, hos- pitals, and more; phone check-ins between vis- its to keep you on track; 24/7 emergency access to a health care professional and expert assistance with setting and meeting your health goals. How much do CCM ser- vices cost? You'll be re- sponsible for the usual Medicare Part B cost-shar- ing and may have a de- ductible or coinsurance/ co-pay. However, many people with Medicare have Medigap supplemental insurance that provides wraparound coverage of CCM cost-sharing. Chronic Care Manage- ment means having a con- tinuous relationship with a dedicated health care professional who knows you and your history, gives personal attention, and helps you make the best choices for your health. CCM gives you and your loved ones the assistance you need to manage your chronic conditions so you can spend more time do- ing the things you enjoy. Ask your doctor about Chronic Care Management and get the connected care you need. For more information, call 1-800-MEDICARE or visit: go.cms.gov/ccm. Greg Dill is Medicare's regional administrator for Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, and the Pacific Territories. You can always get answers to your Medicare questions by calling 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800- 633-4227). MEDICARE New help for people with chronic illness Greg Dill LASSEN VOLCANIC CONTRIBUTEDPHOTOS Visitors enjoy a talk by a ranger at Lassen Peak. A new National Park Service report shows that 536,068 visitors to Lassen Volcanic National Park in 2016 spent $32.6 million in communities near the park. That spending supported 478jobsinthelocalareaand had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $37.5 million. "LassenVolcanicNational Park welcomes visitors from across the country and around the world," said Su- perintendent Jim Richard- son. "We are delighted to share the story of this place and the experiences it pro- vides. We also feature the park as a way to introduce our visitors to this part of the country and all that it offers. National park tour- ism is a significant driver in the national economy, re- turning $10 for every $1 in- vested in the National Park Service, and it's a big fac- tor in our local economy as well. We appreciate the part- nership and support of our neighbors and are glad to be able to give back by help- ing to sustain local commu- nities." The peer-reviewed visi- tor spending analysis was conducted by U.S. Geologi- cal Survey economists Cath- erine Cullinane Thomas and Christopher Huber and Na- tional Park Service econo- mist Lynne Koontz. The re- port shows $18.4 billion of direct spending by 331 mil- lion park visitors in commu- nities within 60 miles of a national park. This spend- ing supported 318,000 jobs nationally; 271,544 of those jobs are found in these gate- way communities. The cu- mulative benefit to the U.S. economy was $34.9 billion. According to the 2016 report, most park visitor spending was for lodging (31.2 percent) followed by foodandbeverages(27.2per- cent), gas and oil (11.7 per- cent), admissions and fees (10.2 percent) and souvenirs and other expenses (9.7 per- cent), local transportation (7.4 percent), and camping fees (2.5 percent). Report authors this year produced an interactive tool. Users can explore cur- rent year visitor spending, jobs, labor income, value added, and output effects by sector for national, state, and local economies. Users can also view year-by-year trend data. The interactive tool and report are avail- able at the NPS Social Sci- ence Program webpage:go. nps.gov/vse. The report includes infor- mation for visitor spending at individual parks and by state. To learn more about national parks in California and how the National Park Service works with Califor- niacommunitiestohelppre- serve local history, conserve the environment, and pro- vide outdoor recreation, go to www.nps.gov/California. TheKohmYah-mah-neeVis- itor Center is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day. For more information, please visit the website nps.gov/lavo or contact the park at 5595- 4480 or lavo_information@ nps.gov.Visitusatwww.nps. gov/lavo, on Facebook www. facebook.com/Lassen- NPS, Twitter www.twitter. com/LassenNPS, and You- Tubewww.youtube.com/Las- senNPS. Park tourism to create $32.6 million in local benefit Lassen Peak and Lassen National Park Highway are pictured. CURRENTLYACCEPTING URGENT CARE APPOINTMENTS andproudtoofferqualityprimarycareby Dr. Jon Malan, Dr. Richard Wickenheiser, and our nurse practitioner on staff. • WeacceptMedi-Cal,Medi-CalManagedCareby California Health and Wellness, Medicare, and most Private Insurance. • Assistance is offered by Healthcare Options regarding Medi-Cal and Managed Medi-Cal questions or changes. • Confidential family planning services are available. • A new clinic facility is coming soon to your community. • We invite you to become part of our medical team. Call to schedule your appointment today. (530) 527-0350 Tehama County Health Services Agency Outpatient Clinic WE ARE NOW OPEN TO NEW PATIENTS LIFESTYLES » redbluffdailynews.com Saturday, April 29, 2017 » MORE ATFACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A7