Mason McGee Hearing highlights isolation through hearing loss

Mason McGee Hearing, formerly Tower Hearing, recently hosted an Open Day in their new offices at Manor House on the Cork Road.

The premise of the day was to inform visitors about hearing loss and its personal and social impacts. The prevalence of hearing loss is high, with one in six adults in Ireland suffering from hearing loss or impairment. This equates to 12,000 adults in Co. Waterford experiencing this condition, so nearly every family in Waterford is affected by, or has some experience of, hearing loss.

Rosie Mason and Mary McGee of Mason McGee Hearing have between them an extensive amount of professional experience of working in the field of hearing loss. Rosie Mason is a qualified audiologist with over 30 years' experience in hearing testing and fitting hearing aids and Mary McGee is a qualified hearing therapist having returned from the UK after practicing there for 14 years.

The Open Day enjoyed a large turnout and the Mayor of Waterford Cllr. Mary Roche was also in attendance to meet patients of the practice and to see the facilities within the practice.

Cllr. Roche commented “I was taken aback at how many people suffer from hearing loss or impairment in Waterford. On my visit to Mason McGee Hearing I learned that not only can it be very difficult to hear in social settings or to hear above background noise, it can lead sufferers to become more reclusive, suffer fatigue and be less inclined to interact in group settings.”

“Our hearing is something that we should be more aware of and I would urge us all to seek advice and testing if there is any possibility our hearing has changed.”

Rosie Mason added “With Christmas around the corner it can be a very challenging time for our hearing. Hard-of-hearing people can find any busy or social occasion a lonely time. If you are among people but unable to follow what is said, it can be very isolating.”

Mary McGee added “Hearing loss can develop so slowly it goes un-noticed by the individual but family, friends or colleagues can be aware of difficulties much sooner.

For more information about the Mason McGee Hearing at, Manor House (entrance through John Rohan Auctioneers), Cork Road, just call 051 852918.

Home Instead issues Budget Advice for Seniors

The announcement of the Four Year Plan (National Recovery Plan 2011 – 2014) saw social welfare payments reduced by €3bn. Despite the retention of the State pension at its current level, the €3bn. social welfare reduction coupled with new health charges is expected to be felt by seniors.

In light of this Home Instead Senior Care has issued some pertinent advice to seniors to cope with cuts to social welfare entitlements.

Danette Connolly, Director of Care at Home Instead Senior Care Waterford said, “Unfortunately the prognosis is not good and everybody is expecting to take a hit with the announcement of the Four Year National Recovery Plan and the upcoming Budget 2011. However, there are ways that seniors in particular should be able to make slight adjustments to their spending in order to get the most from their pension, savings and any supplementary income.”

Some of the measures include:

Make sure you are aware of all of your entitlements. In many cases seniors are entitled to claim for transport, medical costs, tax relief and grants for home care etc. All the information on these can be found in The Pensioner’s Handbook available free from the Home Instead office in Waterford 051 333966.

Compare the costs from service providers, particularly when it comes to home and motor insurance policies. Shop around for discounted policies for seniors.

When it comes to your grocery bills again the advice is to shop around. Many “own brands” are cheaper than brand labelled goods. As goods sold under the store brand are subject to the same regulations are branded goods, you can expect the same quality, with the bonus of a significant cost saving.

Another way to save on household costs is to turn it off! Turn the lights off when leaving a room and switch appliances off rather than leaving them on standby. This will save up to 20% of your appliances’ energy use.

Always ask for discounts at the beginning of a transaction. Many businesses and services now offer “senior” discounts, particularly hairdressers, hotels and transport companies. If they are on offer, make sure to ask for them.

Regularly check your refrigerator, freezer and drawers. Use up food that is within its best before date before purchasing more of the same food stuffs. Also check the door seal is in good condition.

Home Instead Senior Care provides services to seniors in their own homes and is approved by the HSE. Its caregivers help clients maintain their independence by assisting them with activities of daily living such as meal preparation, laundry, shopping, light housekeeping, driving and incidental transportation.

To find out more about Home Instead Senior Care call 051 333966 or visit http://www.homeinstead.ie/

La Boheme brings a true American flavour to Waterford

Celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November, Thanksgiving is a celebration of the Native Americans and Pilgrim’s giving thanks for nature’s bounty. In fact, during this "first" Thanksgiving, Pilgrims and Native Americans worked side by side to hunt and prepare food as equals and friends. Their friendship and cooperation was yet another thing for which to be thankful.

Today, when we think of Thanksgiving, images of American football, pumpkin pie, turkey dinner and sweet potatoes come to mind. As a holiday that surpasses Christmas in the United States, Eric and Christine Theze of La Boheme will be bringing a taste of Thanksgiving to Waterford this year.

Christine, who is originally from Chappaqua, New York, has lived in Ireland for the last 15 years and wanted to relive the authentic Thanksgiving feast. According to Christine, “Because I’ve been out of the States for so long I genuinely yearned for a traditional turkey and all the trimmings Thanksgiving feast. That is why we decided to offer it to our guests”.

“Thanksgiving evokes such wonderful memories for me and I wanted Waterford diners to experience not just the food, but the atmosphere, the tradition and the heritage of Thanksgiving at La Boheme”.

Chef and Proprietor Eric Theze, will be preparing a Thanksgiving feast of turkey, sweet potato, and all the trimmings on Thursday, November 25th.

In fact the run up to Christmas will be peppered with a host of themed evenings at La Boheme. Thursdays in December will be full of festive fun and cheer as melodic Carol singers provide the choral accompaniment throughout the evening and New Year’s Eve ups the tempo with a fantastic menu and live music.

For further details about November and December themed evenings at La Boheme, Georges Street, Waterford, call 051 875 645 or visit www.labohemerestaurant.ie

Mason McGee Hearing, formerly Tower Hearing, celebrates new look and new premises.

Tower Hearing, formerly of Parnell Street, has moved to new premises on the Cork Road. Not only is the team enjoying its new home at Manor House, they are also delighted to announce their new brand name – Mason McGee Hearing.

Rosie Mason and Mary McGee of Mason McGee Hearing have between them an extensive amount of professional experience of working in the field of hearing loss. Rosie Mason is a qualified audiologist with over 30 years' experience in hearing testing and fitting hearing aids and Mary McGee is a qualified hearing therapist having returned from the UK after practicing there for 14 years.

Since opening its doors in Waterford almost three years ago, Rosie and Mary have noticed a marked increase in demand for their services. In fact, in 2008 a report was published which presented results of an extensive study of scientific research on the social and economic impacts of hearing loss. This report showed that one in six adults in Europe suffer from hearing loss. That equates to 12,000 adults in County Waterford so nearly every family is affected by hearing loss.

Rosie says “A hearing loss can easily develop without you noticing. If your hearing deteriorates a tiny bit every few months after a few years you would be missing a lot, but you might not be aware of the very gradual change. Family, friends or colleagues can be aware of difficulties long beforehand.”

“Listening in background noise is often particularly troublesome even with a hearing aid. Hearing loss not only affects communication but results in the listener being more mentally fatigued than people with normal hearing after listening to speech in a noisy place.”

At Mason McGee Hearing, the team is uniquely placed to work with this problem with their combined training and experience. They not only work with all levels of hearing loss but offer those troubled by tinnitus (ringing in the ear) a Tinnitus Management Programme too.

Mary McGee added “Whilst most of us take hearing for granted, those who suffer from hearing loss may feel isolated and avoid social and group situations. With any degree of hearing loss there are some ‘tactics’ you can use that will make communication easier.”

Mason McGee Hearing is delighted to host a free Open Day at the new premises on Tuesday, November 23rd from 10am to 4pm. Throughout the day the team will be on hand to answer any queries visitors may have about any aspects of hearing. There will also be free hearing tests and free checks and cleaning of any existing hearing aids.

For more information about the Mason McGee Hearing Open Day at Manor House (entrance through John Rohan Auctioneers), Cork Road, just call 051 852918 or call along on the day between 10am and 4pm. This event is free and all are welcome to attend.

Mulligans makes the Top 10!

Members of the Mulligan family celebrating at the Retail Excellence Ireland awards in Galway last week with Kevin Jephson, Chairman, Retail Excellence Ireland, Miriam O’Callaghan, Awards Host and Minister of Labour Affairs, Dara Calleary.

Mulligans Pharmacy at Summerhill Centre, Tramore - was runner up in the Best Large Store category and ranked 10th overall in Ireland’s Top 50 Retail Stores for 2010 - a phenomenal achievement for a store which only opened its doors in May of this year.

WCRC goes to the “top of the class”

The Government’s commitment to integrating ICT in teaching and learning was set out in the Programme for Government and the need for investment in this area was recognised in the National Development Plan.

More recently the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills, Mary Coughlan, T.D. announced that 698 post primary schools across the country are to get €21million in grants for high-tech equipment. This latest investment brings the total equipment grant outlay under the ICT in Schools programme to more than €43m within the past twelve months.

Waterford Computer Repair Centre is a local company advocating the benefits of improved ICT capacity of schools through shared computing technology by embarking on a campaign to deliver the news of these benefits to all schools within Waterford.

According to Sean Hegarty, Director of WCRC, the benefits of introducing shared resource computing in primary and secondary schools are manifold.
“Whilst every teacher has the welfare and learning of their students at heart, budget cuts and increased class sizes make it more and more difficult to engage and connect with all students on an equal footing.”

“Recent studies indicate that not only does shared computing enable greater involvement and interaction from the student at a much lower cost, it’s green, it marries technology and learning like never before and it utilises classroom space better.”

“The premise of shared computing is quite simple really. Multiple students have their own monitor, keyboard and mouse which connect via a device to one single computer. By running shared computing software, the computer essentially runs in multiple instances creating a virtual workstation for each student. “

Shared Resource Computing is steadily gaining in popularity as teachers and trainers realise the importance of saving money, utilising resources to a fuller extent and involving students.

Seafield National School in Bunmahon, Co. Waterford has benefited from shared resource computing with the aid of the Government’s technology grant.

According to Ann Coffey, Principal of Seafield NS “We installed the system last January and not only have we noticed a marked improvement in the learning experience for the children, the school has saved a significant amount of money and it’s a green solution in line with our school’s green objectives.”

“We now have six workstations running on one computer in our classroom which just take the space of one small desk. Computer learning and access to the internet is now part of daily student activities. I can teach other classes whilst having six students doing a project on the computers, and the children look forward to the prospect of being able to use the computers

For further information about the advantages of shared resource computing from WCRC log onto http://www.wcrc.ie/ or call 051 592015

The future for SMB’s is clear as groundbreaking Waterford IT company introduces “cloud computing”

When Hegarty Computer Services was established in 1994 one of its main objectives was to provide IT solutions to SME’s in the South East. Today, 16 year later whilst IT solutions are still an integral part of what the company does, it has moved on to provide innovative business solutions to the SMB market.

Keeping in tune with the ever evolving technologies in the IT sector, HCS has developed a suite of managed services that reflect the shift towards “cloud computing.” Although the term seems rather nebulous, in essence cloud computing ultimately has a simple purpose: it allows end users to leverage the Internet for application use, data storage, and other tools. Not only that but cloud options are more cost effective, there is no need for on site backup and no more costs associated with managing IT infrastructure.

The latest development from HCS Business Solutions is the innovative “Tech” range – a suite of managed services called TechWatch, TechAssure and TechSolve.

This trilogy of advanced remote managed services clearly demonstrates the company’s commitment to innovation and development of cloud solutions to the small and medium sized business markets.

According to Neil Phelan, Sales Director, HCS Business Solutions, this new mantel of managed services will give HCS customers a remote, reliable and transparent IT service resulting in greater uptime and more business stability.

“The introduction of TechWatch, TechAssure and TechSolve is a new departure in IT solutions, specifically geared towards the SMB market.”

Mr. Phelan added, “We developed the triumvirate of services after talking to our customers and extensively researching the small and medium sized enterprise markets. By listening to our clients we found that they wanted IT solutions that were accountable and more importantly reliable, and they wanted them looked after elsewhere. That’s why the Tech brands offer a phased level of monitoring and managed services which are tailor made to suit the individual requirements and budgets of small and medium sized companies.”

This “cloud computing” will principally allow the SMB sector to get on with the business of running their business without the worry of managing IT services or paying exorbitant consultancy fees.

Dan Hegarty, Director, HCS Business Solutions said, “Competitiveness and transparency are crucial in business today, now more than ever. Most SMB’s will need to see distinct advantages to installing a remote managed system.

TechWatch ensures early detection and prevention of network problems, TechAssure provides companies with a suite of maintenance and monitoring services and TechSolve delivers technology solutions that can save money and provide companies with a competitive edge.”

Today, HCS is accredited with a unique set of partnerships and accreditations that offers customers complete business solutions. With some of the highest accreditations in the industry HCS Business Solutions has plans to continue to grow and offer more and more exciting software innovations to customers in the South East.

For further information about HCS Business Solutions and the latest suit of managed services log onto http://www.hcs.ie/ or call 051 595200.

Home Instead advises on keeping seniors safe this holiday season

With an increase of over 21%* in robberies throughout the country and recent assaults against the elderly, Home Instead Senior Care in Waterford encourages seniors to stay safe and make their home more secure.

"The majority of older people wish to maintain their independence and live in their own home for as long as possible, so it is important that we come together as a community and take particular care to look out for older people and take security measures to help people stay safe ", said Danette Connolly of Home Instead Senior Care in Waterford.

Robberies are also expected to increase during the holiday season - homes are more frequently left empty as many people, old and young, are out shopping for Christmas presents or spending time with family and friends. Presents and treats are also more visible this time of year as people leave gifts out under the Christmas tree, which is usually placed near a window or they leave empty boxes outside the home so temptation really increases for burglars this time of year.

To help keep Waterford seniors safe, Home Instead Senior Care encourages older people to take the following steps and make their home more secure:
· Keep front and back doors locked at all times, even if you are at home. Windows should also be locked.
· Do not open the door to strangers. If a repair or sales person arrives to the home do not let them in without calling their company to verify their identity.
· Keep your house lit at night. This shows signs of life and activity, a darkened home night after night gives burglars the illusion that the house is vacant.
· Keep Christmas presents hidden and secure. Do not leave presents under the tree in full view of burglars who may be peering through windows, keep presents hidden and secure until Christmas day.
· Do not leave a spare key outdoors. Do not hide your key outside under a doormat, a flowerpot or any place that may be easily uncovered by a burglar.
· Call the police if you come home and find a door or window opened. Do not enter the house if there are signs of forced entry.

For further information on Home Instead Senior Care log on to www.homeinstead.ie or call 051 333966.

Notes to editor:
*CSO Recorded Crime Quarter 3 2010 publication

La Boheme Restaurant goes Wild!

Since opening its doors in June 2006, La Boheme Restaurant on George’s Street has earned a reputation as a restaurant that truly embraces fine dining in a unique setting.

Under the stewardship of Chef and owner Eric Theze La Boheme has gained a host of accolades including the Michelin Guide Award (three years running), Georgina Campbell Excellence Award (four years running) and featured in the Top Ten most romantic restaurants in Ireland according to Food and Wine Magazine.

Always mindful of seasonal food La Boheme is delighted to introduce its Game Nights on three Thursdays within the month of November. Following the success of last season’s themed events La Boheme’s Game Nights mark a new and bold initiative for this innovative restaurant.

According to Christine Theze, co-owner, the nights are proving to be extremely popular with Waterford diners. “The concept behind the Game nights is to introduce a more extensive range of fresh in-season food.”

“We have sourced a wonderful selection of game from within a 30km. range of Waterford City. Not only is the game wild and fresh, not many people realise that game, venison in particular, is one of the healthiest and most succulent meats available.”

“Because the animals are wild and not force fed or reared in captivity the meat is flavoursome and when slow cooked produces a wonderful flavour and texture.”

A selection of some of the game dishes at La Boheme includes chargrilled venison steak, pastilla of wood pigeon breast, braised pheasant and baked partridge.

La Boheme works with a number of suppliers from the South East. Paul Fletcher from Premier Game was particularly pleased to supply La Boheme, “It is so important that restaurants do what La Boheme is attempting. La Boheme always looks for quality local produce first and also offers alternative choices to their menus. These themed nights give the public a broader choice and ultimately help everyone in the industry.”

For further details about November and December themed evenings at La Boheme, Georges Street, Waterford, call 051 875 645 or visit www.labohemerestaurant.ie