Mema's Cold Weather Tips

Continue to be aware of extreme weather conditions by monitoring Media reports.

• Make sure you always have a well-stocked Winter Home Emergency Supply Kit that includes flashlights, portable radio, extra batteries, a first aid kit, bottled water, non-perishable food and a manual can opener.
  
• Minimize outside activities, particularly the elderly and very young. Also, consider your pets.
  
• Dress in several layers of loose-fitting, lightweight clothing, rather than a single layer of heavy clothing. Outer garments should be tightly woven and water repellent. Wear a hat, mittens and sturdy waterproof boots, protecting your extremities. Cover your mouth with a scarf to protect your lungs.
  
• Excessive exposure can lead to frostbite, which is damaging to body tissue that is frozen. Frostbite causes a loss of feeling and a pale appearance in extremities, such as fingers, toes, ear lobes or the tip of the nose. If symptoms are detected, seek medical help immediately.
  
• Hypothermia can occur in extreme cases. The warning signs are uncontrollable shivering, memory loss, disorientation, incoherence, slurred speech, drowsiness and apparent exhaustion. If the person’s temperature drops below 95 degrees, seek immediate medical care.
  
• Ensure you have sufficient heating fuel, as well as emergency heating equipment in case you lose electricity.
  When utilizing alternate heating sources, such as your fireplace, wood stove or space heater, take the necessary safety precautions. Keep a fire extinguisher handy; ensuring everyone knows how to use it properly. Test smoke alarms and Carbon Monoxide (CO) detectors.
  
• If you lose your heat, seal off unused rooms by stuffing towels in the cracks under the doors. At night, cover windows with extra blankets or sheets.
  
• Food provides the body with energy for producing its own heat.
  
• Be a good neighbor. Check with elderly or relatives and friends who may need additional assistance to ensure their safety.
  
• To keep pipes from freezing, wrap them in insulation or layers of newspapers, covering the newspapers with plastic to keep out moisture. Allow a trickle of warm water to run from a faucet that is farthest from your water meter or one that has frozen in the past. This will keep the water moving so that it cannot freeze. Learn how to shut off your water if a pipe bursts
  
• If pipes freeze, remove insulation, completely open all faucets and pour hot water over the pipes or wrap them with towels soaked in hot water, starting where they are most exposed to the cold. A hand-held hair dryer, used with caution, also works well.
  
• Have a well-stocked Winter Home Emergency Supply Kit that includes flashlights, portable radio, extra batteries, a first aid kit, bottled water and non-perishable food.
  
• Make sure your car is properly winterized. Keep the gas tank at least half-full. Carry a Winter Emergency Car Kit in the trunk including blankets, extra clothing, flashlight with spare batteries, a can and waterproof matches (to melt snow for drinking water), non-perishable foods, windshields scraper, shovel, sand, towrope and jumper cables.
  

Continue to follow MEMA updates on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MassEMA; on Facebook. Download the free ping4alert! app to your Smartphone to receive important weather alerts and emergency messages from MEMA. Easy instructions are available at www.mass.gov/mema/mobileappp.

News From SHINE!

Help!..My new Part D Plan doesn’t cover all my Medications!!”

If you have a new Medicare Part D plan and have just found out that your new plan does NOT cover a drug you have been taking, you should know about transition refills. Transition refills may give you temporary coverage (one-time, 30-day supply) for a drug that is not on your new plan’s formulary OR that has restrictions (prior authorization or step therapy).

It is important to understand that a transition refill is only a temporary solution. You need to call your doctor right away to talk about switching to a drug your plan does cover OR filing a request with your Part D plan for a "formulary exception" (which may or may not be approved).

A transition refill is not for new prescriptions. You can only get one if you were already taking the drug before you signed up for the plan. Also, a transition refill does NOT apply to drugs that Medicare doesn’t require Part D plans to cover (like Valium and Ativan).

If you are in the same plan as last year, you may still be able to get a transition refill if your plan removed a drug you had been taking in 2012 from its 20123 formulary, for reasons other than safety.

Not all pharmacists know about transition refills. Ask your pharmacist to call your Part D plan for special instructions.