Consumer Outreach

CANHR Consumer Outreach

As part of CANHR’s mission to provide consumer education and advocacy support through community outreach, CANHR staff regularly travel near and far to participate in a wide variety of events. If you would like to invite CANHR to a support group, resource fair, or other event in your community, please call our office at (415) 974–5171.

November 19: Tony Chicotel traveled to Riverside to present to the Legal Aid Association of California’s "Traveling Training" on fighting conservatorships and other defense issues.
November 15: CANHR hosted another 2008 Fall Attorney Training for legal professionals on the topic of Medi–Cal, the DRA and Planning Strategies, this time at the Portola Plaza Hotel in Monterey.
November 14: Prescott Cole presented at the Santa Clara County Senior Fair, sponsored by the Area Agency on Aging, on the issue of financial elder abuse.
November 13: A webinar for all California Ombudsman, hosted by Tony Chicotel, was held on the topic evictions from nursing homes, RCFEs, and hospitals.
November 12: Hannah Knafo gave a presentation on Medi–Cal and CANHR services to the Villages Retirement Community in San Jose.
November 12: Deborah Espinola represented CANHR at the Institute on Aging’s Cornerstones of Care Conference in San Francisco.
November 10: Long Term Care Advocate Hannah Knafo spoke at the San Francisco Housing Authority about CANHR services.
November 10: Deborah Espinola represented CANHR at the 8th Annual Seniors Celebrating Life Luncheon in Los Angeles, sponsored by Councilwoman Jan Perry.
November 8: CANHR hosted a 2008 Fall Attorney Training for legal professionals on the topic of Medi–Cal, the DRA and Planning Strategies in Burbank at the PickWick Gardens Conference Center.
November 7: Pat McGinnis presented at the Beverly Hills Bar Association on the DRA and the upcoming changes in Medi–Cal laws.
November 7: Deborah Espinola attended the WISE Senior Center Action Fair in Los Angeles, hosted by Councilwoman Wendy Greuel.
November 5: Tony Chicotel attended a Family Council meeting at Creekside Health Care Center in San Pablo. He gave a one hour presentation on elder abuse and resident rights.
November 4: Pat McGinnis conducted a free Webinar training for all California Ombudsman programs on the issue of Medi–Cal for Long Term Care.
October 29: Deborah Espinola and Hannah Knafo represented CANHR at the Newark Senior Fair.
October 24: Prescott Cole was on a Reverse Mortgage Scams panel at the National Consumer Law Center Conference in Portland, OR.
October 21: CANHR sponsored another Webinar training for long term care social workers, this time on the topic of evictions from nursing homes, RCFEs, and hospitals with a focus on resident and patient rights, led by Staff Attorney Tony Chicotel.
October 20: Prescott Cole gave a speech on elder abuse at the California Senior Legislation Opening Session in Sacramento.
October 18: Senior Staff Attorney Prescott Cole attended the Fresno Law Symposium and spoke about financial elder abuse.
October 17: Pat McGinnis lectured at San Francisco State University’s Long Term Care Administration Program on RCFE regulations.
October 15: Pat McGinnis spoke to the Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program in Sacramento on CANHR services and Medi–Cal for long term care.
October 15: Maura Gibney represented CANHR at the Willowbrook Senior Fair in Los Angeles.
October 14: CANHR sponsored a Webinar training for long term care social workers on the topic of Medi–Cal for Long Term Care, led by Pat McGinnis.
October 11: Prescott Cole presented information on Medi–Cal for long term care to the New Bethel Church in Richmond.
October 8: Hannah Knafo and Deborah Espinola represented CANHR at the Senior Action Network 17th Annual Convention.
October 2: Pat McGinnis attended the Legal Aid Association of California Conference in San Francisco.
September 27: Pat McGinnis spoke to the Santa Clara County Family Support Group on legislative changes and pending budget cuts to aging services.
September 27: Special Projects Manager Maura Gibney represented CANHR at the Mt. Carmel Senior Fair in Los Angeles.
September 25: Long Term Care Advocate Deborah Espinola spoke at the 7th Avenue Senior Center in San Francisco about CANHR services and RCFE placement.
September 24: Pat McGinnis and Deborah Espinola attended the Consumer Advocacy Coalition meeting with Community Care Licensing in Sacramento.
September 19: Executive Director Pat McGinnis presented to the Alameda County Area Agency on Aging on how to find and finance nursing home care and how to advocate for quality care.
September 17: Long Term Care Advocate Mike Connors attended the California Healthcare Association all day training in Los Angeles.
August 26: Pat McGinnis gave a presentation for the staff at the Family Caregiver Alliance in San Francisco on Medi–Cal, nursing home issues, placement issues and the California budget.
August 26: Pat McGinnis and Deborah Espinola attended the Advocacy Coalition meeting with Community Care Licensing and the Senate Health Committee hearing in Sacramento.
August 20: Prescott Cole led a discussion on financial abuse scams that occur in senior centers for the California Parks and Recreation Society in Novato.
August 16: Executive Director Pat McGinnis was a speaker at the Fourth Annual Caregiver Conference in Mountain View. Ms. McGinnis discussed long term care living options.
August 13: Prescott Cole participated in a round table discussion at the PEEC/Elder Economic Security Project about reverse mortgage abuses.
August 8: Prescott Cole addressed the Santa Clara District Attorney’s Office on the subject of Elder Financial Abuse.
July 29: Prescott Cole and Deborah Espinola presented a training on long term care issues to the San Francisco VA Medical Center Social Workers.
July 28: Prescott Cole gave a presentation to the Alameda County Transportation Authority on the subject of financial abuse.
July 24: Tony Chicotel delivered a training presentation at the Oakland office of Protection & Advocacy, Inc., on the issue of protecting nursing home residents from illegal evictions. The training was carried to PAI’s other offices throughout the state via closed circuit camera.
July 19: Long term care advocates Deborah Espinola and Hannah Knafo spoke to family members and residents at Parkview Healthcare Center in Hayward on the basics of family councils: purpose, rights, and how to make it effective. They handed out family council and resident rights fact sheets, as well as CANHR’s family council DVDs.
July 17: CANHR Board member and CFP Tim Millar led a free CANHR–sponsored webinar for legal services staff on the topic of reverse mortgages.
July 11: Mike Connors gave a presentation on CANHR services for the Center for Health Care Rights in Los Angeles.
July 10: CANHR sponsored a free webinar for legal services staff on the topic of Frequently Asked Questions: Special Needs Trusts. Attorney Peter Stern led the discussion.
June 25: Tony Chicotel presented a free webinar to legal services staff on the issue of conservatorships.
June 23: Deborah Espinola participated in an Assisted Living Consumer Alliance webinar focused on assisted living issues in other states.
June 18: Staff Attorney Tony Chicotel traveled to the Greenridge Senior Care Family Council meeting in El Sobrante and discussed the use of restraints in nursing homes. Tony also answered various questions about resident rights and decision making issues.
June 12: Senior Staff Attorney Prescott Cole gave a presentation for the Northern California Fair Housing Coalition in San Francisco on the subject of reverse mortgage scams.
June 7: Long term care advocate Mike Connors presented on residents’ rights at the Pathways to Justice conference in Los Angeles.
May 5: Prescott Cole participated as a facilitator for the East Bay Economic Development Alliance’s round table on economic challenges facing Bay Area seniors.
May 5 & 6: Prescott Cole and Tony Chicotel presented at the Legal Aid Society’s Elder Abuse Conference in Oakland.
May 7: Prescott Cole spoke at the Mother Lode Elder Abuse Awareness Conference in Amador County about nursing home neglect and financial elder abuse.
May 20: Deborah Espinola and fellow Long Term Care Advocate Hannah Knafo represented CANHR at the Richmond Senior Fair, answering questions on Medi–Cal and Recovery.
May 22: CANHR hosted a free Webinar training for social workers on Medi–Cal for long term care. Executive Director Pat McGinnis led the discussion.
May 22: Pat McGinnis conducted a training for the Legal Aid Association of California on Long Term Care Medi–Cal and Recovery.
May 28: Pat McGinnis was the guest speaker at the Justice for Seniors in Nursing Care Conference sponsored by the Association of African American Professionals in Los Angeles.
May 29: Prescott Cole spoke at the Elder Abuse Consortium’s Elder Abuse Awareness Rally on the steps of San Francisco’s City Hall.
May 30: Prescott Cole was a keynote speaker for Napa County’s "Scam Buster" Program.
April 3–4: Prescott Cole was a keynote speaker for the Nevada County District Attorney’s Elder Abuse Awareness Outreach Program.
April 10: Mike Connors led a California State University at Long Beach Social Policy and Aging class on long term care policy issues.
April 10 & 24: Deborah Espinola participated in a series of on–line trainings sponsored by the Legal Aid Association of California on various topics pertaining to long term care.
April 12: Deborah Espinola represented CANHR at the Senior Health Fair in San Jose, providing consumers with information on Medi–Cal and Recovery.
April 15: Prescott Cole taught a University of San Francisco Law School class on the laws of elder abuse.
April 21: Staff Attorney Tony Chicotel lectured at an SFSU gerontology class on the topics of nursing home resident rights, evictions and medical decision making for people with cognitive disabilities.
April 22: Prescott Cole spoke at the Alameda County Adult Protective Services/FAST Conference on seniors and reverse mortgages.
April 22: Mike Connors conducted a training for the Orange County Ombudsman Program on eviction rights of nursing home and RCFE residents.
April 26: Administrative Assistant Gina Chicotel attended the North Oakland Senior Fair, where she provided consumers with information on Medi–Cal and Recovery.
March 8: Deborah Espinola represented CANHR at a resource fair focusing on issues of interest to seniors, hosted by District Attorney Kamala D. Harris and Assembly Whip Fiona Ma, in San Francisco.
March 11: Senior Staff Attorney Prescott Cole was interviewed for CNBC radio on the issue of reverse mortgage scams.
March 14: Prescott Cole spoke at the Modesto SEAPA Elder Abuse Conference on the topic of nursing home neglect and financial elder abuse.
March 18: Long Term Care Advocate Mike Connors presented at the Pasadena Senior Commission Conference on selecting a nursing home and residents’ rights.
March 19: Prescott Cole participated in the Insurance Commissioner’s Senior Task Force meeting.
March 22: Pat McGinnis and Deborah Espinola presented information on Long Term Care Medi–Cal during the Santa Clara Family Support Group meeting.
February 28: Patricia McGinnis attended the RCFE Advocacy Coalition at Community Care Licensing in Sacramento.
February 21: Patricia McGinnis and Prescott Cole attended a luncheon sponsored by Aging Services of California in Sacramento.
February 21: Patricia McGinnis and Prescott Cole represented consumers at the Culture Change Coalition meeting in Sacramento.
February 20: Staff Attorney Tony Chicotel conducted a training at the Santa Clara Ombudsman’s office on the subject of nursing home resident rights and evictions. In attendance were members of the Santa Clara and San Mateo County Ombudsman offices and legal services attorneys from Senior Adults Legal Assistance (SALA).
February 20: Prescott Cole testified to the Senate Insurance Committee on life settlements in Sacramento.
February 14: Patricia McGinnis attended the Southern California Counsel of Elder Law Attorneys’ meeting in Los Angeles.
January 18: Prescott Cole spoke at the Elder Abuse Forum for Santa Cruz Legal Services on the topic of elder financial abuse.
January 10: Executive Director Patricia McGinnis presented a Webinar to legal services staff and social workers about the DRA and Medi–Cal.


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