NEW MEETING TIME AND LOCATION! Starting January 3, new meetings will begin at 5:00 pm at Longs Peak Hospital, Conference Room A, 1750 E Ken Pratt Blvd., Longmont, CO  80504.  Our guest for January will be Melissa Hood, from Coloplast. If you missed this information earlier this year, this time could be perfect for those wanting evening meetings!

Don’t forget our December meeting will be lunch at Pinocchios Restaurant at 1751 Hover Street in Longmont at 12:00 noon. Please RSVP to Debra Noel, serafinanana7@gmail.com, 717-793-0910.

A big THANK YOU to Karlene Martin from Shield Healthcare, our presenter in November. In addition to ordering supplies, we learned that Shield offers educational materials and support for new and established ostomates.

Know Your Healthcare Insurance and What You Need.  This recent advocacy article from the UOAA covers in-depth issues during this season of open enrollments. Topics range from insurance basics and plan types, covered benefits for ostomy supplies, and your medical needs. To help you chose carefully, is an added checklist, 10 Questions To Ask Before You Choose a Health Plan. It’s important for all ostomates to be advocates for their own healthcare, and understanding our healthcare insurance needs is a big part of that.

It’s the end of the year….a good time to clean out supply closets!  Many items can be donated.  I’ve recently donated extra wafers and some accessories to GoodHealthWill. a local, non-profit medical supply shop. I’ve also sent donated supplies to Friends of Ostomates Worldwide. Two other groups promoted through the UOAA are OstoGroup and Ostomy 2-1-1. Both OstoGroup and Ostomy 2-1-1 also allow you check online for any supplies available that you may need.

A skin care tip from our last meeting was from WOCN nurse, Charles Sloan. For fungal and general skin irritation a good solution may be washing with Hibiclens. I have irritation every summer due to heat and sweat under my wafer, and a cleansing with Hibiclens cleared my skin quickly. If you try this, make sure to rinse it off thoroughly. Of course, should you have persistant irritation, contact your doctor or checkin with a wound/ostomy nurse to have it evaluated.

Did you know our own Debra Noel has a monthly blog? Drop In With Debbie is promoted through Longmont Senior Services, and gives Debbie the opportunity to share her insights and thoughts on life and what we can all achieve. Her columns are inspirational and can help others understand how to reach their own aspirations. We’re so happy she’s a part of our group.  Thank you, Debbie!