MURAnews Fall 2021

Retirees often contact us about pension matters. This is also a topic that occupies a major amount of time for MURA’s council and executive. Broad questions include ones on the sustainability of our pension plans and others on the availability of yearly increases to cope with the rising cost of living. We and our beneficiaries can expect to live longer than our parents. Making it into our 90s is not an unreasonable expectation.

Will the Salaried Pension Plan be able to meet the expectations of its members? The answer is yes if our funds are well-managed to produce the surplus needed, and if administrative expenses are carefully limited. On the positive side the financial investments in the Plan generally have produced the proper income. Historically at McMaster the issue of admissible administrative expenses and other deductions from the pension fund have been a source of important disagreement, especially in the 1990s. An important agreement to resolve this occurred in 1998. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the University and the five largest employee associations agreed on the allowable deductions from the pension trust, the equal weight of the university administration and associations representing present and retired employees, and the decisions that would breach the agreement.

The 1998 MOU has been a great success. The Salaried Pension Plan has performed well and the tensions of the early 1990s have given way to more comfortable relations in general, at least on pension matters. However, over the past year the university administration has indicated that it would like to retire the MOU and replace it with a new policy that would include the ability of the University to deduct additional administrative expenses from the pension funds. As well, the administration proposes to remove the right of the employee associations to agree or disagree with the deductions of new expenses.

This presents a number of problems. First of all, such changes would make it difficult for the university administration to keep separate its role as employer versus its role as pension plan manager. With any pension plan it is always important to control a conflict of interest by the plan administrator. The consent of employee associations with 50 per cent of the support needed for major changes works to remedy any attempts at improper deductions from the pension funds.

The administration now wants to remove the employee associations as the legitimate representatives of employees, past and present. The group of associations that represent the plan beneficiaries are one of two parties that have a fiduciary interest in the pension funds. The other party is the plan administrator, the university administration.  

Historically, employees and their associations have tended to agree with the administration that, in allocating the total yearly compensation budget, the first payee should be the pension plan. This risk-averse behaviour resulted in the enhanced sustainability of the pension funds and the likelihood of good surpluses. The accepted drawback is that at times there has been under-compensation for rising cost-of-living salary increases, low salary acknowledgement of yearly increases for employees’ skills, and a lack of reasonable compensation for meritorious performance. As a result, the yearly salary increases were often below salary increases for the same positions generally in Hamilton, and below the increases at the other large, major universities in Ontario and Canada.

The 1998 MOU does not need to be retired. There is no reason why an additional MOU cannot be agreed upon to deal with new issues that have arisen since 1998. The foresight of the 1998 administration and the 1998 employee associations has produced consensus decision-making, a welcome change from the disputes of the early 1990s. We should build on this success and avoid throwing out the baby with the bath water.
We look forward to working with representatives of the employee association signatories to the 1998 MOU and the university to reach a mutually agreeable arrangement for the governance of pension plan expenses.

Contacting MURA Mail: Gilmour Hall B108, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8 Phone: (905) 525-9140, ext. 23171 (voicemail is checked once a week) Email: mura@mcmaster.ca

What's Happening at Mac

McMaster Alumni Learning Webinars

By Nora Gaskin

I was browsing through my emails last spring, when one from McMaster University Alumni about their upcoming series of webinars caught my eye. Nir Eyal, international bestselling author, speaker, behavioral design expert, and author of Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life, was presenting a free webinar outlining the principles in his latest book. I signed up and got an email with a link. On the day and time of the webinar, I tuned in for a fascinating talk about how we get distracted from achieving our goals, with practical strategies to combat that distraction and maintain our focus.

McMaster University Alumni provides this ongoing series of free learning webinars that provide access to experts in a variety of fields and interests, and it is a wonderful resource. There are three to four webinars a month, open to all McMaster alumni, students, faculty, staff, retirees, and friends. Topics range from career advancement, professional development, author talks and lifelong learning, to health, family and life stages.
Because McMaster presents the webinars in association with the Alumni Learning Consortium, an umbrella organization that serves many universities, it is able to offer top tier presenters, best-selling authors and sought-after speakers to a degree that would be difficult for any single university to achieve. Visit McMaster’s Alumni website for a current list of webinars on offer.

You can register for an upcoming webinar and watch it live. This sometimes gives you the opportunity to participate by asking questions or giving feedback, or, if you can’t attend the live presentation, you can watch a recording of the webinar later. In fact, the archive is a treasure trove of past webinars with titles that run the gamut from “Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength” to “Charcuterie 101 With Executive Chef Paul Hoag”.

McMaster Alumni also hosts other online events, some of which are also included in the past event listing, and some of which are available on YouTube, as well as resources for children, online communities (mentoring, book club, etc.), and online volunteering. The McMaster Alumni Community website has a listing of all these activities and programs, with links to upcoming and previous events.

Back to Mac

Access to Campus by Retirees

By Mary Johnston
 

Beginning on October 18th, all individuals accessing buildings on the McMaster campus or any affiliated property must be fully vaccinated. The University has two different routes available to register vaccination status: one for employees and students and another for visitors. Most MURA members are considered visitors for purposes of access to McMaster during the pandemic.

If you are a retiree who has come back to McMaster as a post-retirement student, employee, or instructor, you are likely already aware of the need to fulfill the requirements for Back to Mac COVID-19 Training and the MacCheck digital tool for uploading your COVID-19 vaccination record. Professors Emeriti may also have access to the MacCheck tool as members of the McMaster community.

photo courtesy of McMaster University

Other MURA members who wish to visit any McMaster property should follow the instructions under “I’m External to McMaster” on the Back to Mac web site. This will allow you to register that you are fully vaccinated and therefore eligible to enter buildings on campus or any affiliated location. The current version of the Vaccination Policy - COVID-19 Requirements for Visitors developed by the University defines a visitor as being fully vaccinated “if they have received the full series of a vaccine or a combination of vaccines accepted by the World Health Organization and they received their last dose at least 14 days before the date of the self-declaration”. Several MURA members have asked why they are considered visitors, given that retirees have McMaster IDs. The University has set up the MacCheck system to meet its obligations for reporting on vaccine compliance among employees and students to the Ministry of Colleges and Universities. MURA members are not part of this group and are therefore considered visitors to McMaster by the vaccination registration system.

The Back to Mac web site is clear that people who are not fully vaccinated or who have symptoms of COVID-19 (regardless of vaccination status) must not enter buildings at any McMaster location. The web site provides detailed information for visitors to campus, including retirees. Visitors must provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccination at least one hour before their first time attending a McMaster location. You will need to obtain McMaster SafetyApp/MacCheck approval if you intend to be inside a building at a McMaster location for a period of more than 15 consecutive minutes or for a total of at least one hour during a 24-hour period. The Back to Mac web site does note an exception for members of the public coming to a McMaster location and staying outside only, for example to enjoy a walk outside. In this case, visitors do not need to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination.

To register your vaccination status, download the McMaster SafetyApp from the App Store/Google Play Store on any internet-connected Apple or Android device, select “MacCheck: Your COVID-19 Digital Tool” from the opening page of the app, and register your vaccination status. Visitors may also register with the SafetyApp via any website browser. Clicking this link will take you to a web page headed MacCheck where you should choose the option at the bottom of the page: “I am a Visitor, Volunteer, Contractor, Retiree or Alumni attending University Property.” After your information is reviewed, you will be issued with a QR code in the SafetyApp on your phone or tablet. After completing the MacCheck form online, individuals without a smart phone or tablet will be sent a copy of their QR code by email. They may print this and bring a paper copy with them when visiting campus.

When visiting a McMaster building, you should be prepared to show your “Vaccine Passport Status”, with its QR code, in the McMaster SafetyApp on your phone or tablet (or on paper if you do not have a device). It is particularly important to be prepared to show your McMaster SafetyApp approval in settings where people are interacting in student service areas or for one-on-one appointments. You will not be required to show your McMaster SafetyApp approval to enter campus or a campus building. There will not be random checks for McMaster SafetyApp approval in open and common areas of campus.

MURA members who have questions or need support to complete their vaccine registration should contact the Vaccination Validation Team at vacc@mcmaster.ca.

P.S. If you were in the habit of using the Pulse Fitness Centre before the pandemic, you should be aware that although the Pulse re-opened on July 26th it is operating at reduced capacity and access is limited to students. At the time of writing, on-site exercise programs at the Physical Activity Centre of Excellence (PACE), which include MacMS-FITT, MacWarriors, MacCardiac, MacSeniors and MacWheelers, are closed until further notice. PACE is, however, open for in-person physiotherapy appointments and is offering virtual exercise classes via Zoom through the LIVE AT HOME! Program. To find out more, visit https://pace.mcmaster.ca.

News from MURA

MURA Graduate Scholarship Fund Update

(It’s time to consider your year-end donation)

MURA’s current academic awards initiative will provide a $1,000 annual scholarship to a graduate student researching technological advances related to seniors. The goal is to establish a $25,000 endowed fund to support this scholarship as soon as possible.

The fundraising drive was launched in November 2020 and has reached $11,000, thanks to the retirees and friends of MURA who have made gifts.

Please give generously to this fund. Donate online at MURAscholarship.ca, or by phone at (905) 525-9150, extension 24224.

Your donations are tax deductible and will help McMaster graduate students for years to come.

MURA members have been supporting academic awards since 1992. A fully-funded endowment continues to provide an annual $2,500 in-course scholarship and a $750 graduand prize to undergraduate students studying society’s aging population. The new graduate scholarship will add to MURA’s legacy of student support.

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Welcome new members

compiled by Kathy Overholt

Recent passings

Marjorie Coit, Library Administrative Services, Aug 4/21
Peter Dent, Pediatrics, Sept 23/21
Sadie Love, Human Resources, Aug 4/21
David Muir, Medicine, Aug 9/21
Gertrude (Trudy) Shwedyk, Financial Services, Sept 22/21
Devendra (Dave) Verma, Family Medicine, Sept 23/21

CANCELLED - MURA Holiday Lunch Due to the uncertainty of COVID restrictions for large on-campus events, MURA Council has decided to cancel the Holiday Lunch originally scheduled for December 7, 2021.

Members' Corner

Becoming a Published Novelist, Retirement Dream Come True

By Sue Jaskula

I have always loved writing and credit my grade twelve English teacher for telling me I was good at it. I hold a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and a Creative Writing Certificate both from McMaster University. My career has spanned many years in a mix of criminal and civil law and hospital surgical administrative work. This experience has provided a wealth of storyline and character ideas from kind-hearted colleagues to real life murders and evil doers whom I am happy to kill off … in my books!

I was thrilled to have the opportunity to retire in 2018 from McMaster University’s Department of Surgery and pursue a career in writing, a pursuit I have entered with energy and enthusiasm. Having the chance to promote myself as a published Canadian author is humbling and certainly a dream I never expected to realize. I have learned so much on my journey and connected with authors worldwide through social media and through memberships with Toronto Romance Writers, Crime Writers of Canada, and Sisters in Crime.

Rarely lost for words, I was speechless when I received my first contract from New York publisher, The Wild Rose Press. I have since released my debut romantic suspense All Fired Up, in May of this year, which follows the story of a respected Crown Attorney, whose life is shattered when she is accused of murdering her ex. Romance ignites when her childhood friend tries to help prove her innocence.

My second novel Unexpected Connection launched in July and reintroduces the investigating homicide detective from book one. It is a good twin/evil twin police procedural with a sweet office romance and some nasty unexpected connections you will not see coming.

My third manuscript, Death at Dawn, is currently in the editing, cover art process, and releasing soon. A bit darker, it follows two love stories, and involves a small-town bar owner and a dead body in the lake - all fictitious, I promise!!

Finally, my fourth story is a work in progress, and possibly my favourite so far. Although another romantic suspense, it is completely different from the others. It goes back to 1945, post WWII, and takes place on the shores of Lake Huron. I have had fun researching this one with a few old-timers who have lived in Kincardine since before the war.

I write romantic suspense because I love a plot with lots of action, intrigue and twists that draw me in and keep me on the edge of my seat, but I also love love. The crossover of the two genres has always been my go-to. I create independent, confident heroines to challenge my sexy, strong heroes and even though they struggle through murder and mayhem, you can always count on a happily ever after. I truly miss my characters when I step away from writing scenes and even more so once I finish their story.

My husband and I share our home in Grimsby with our youngest daughter, her boyfriend, our dog and two cats! But I spend a great deal of time in my home away from home, at our cottage in Kincardine, Ontario near my daughter, son-in-law and first grandson. On these shores of Lake Huron, with some of the best sunsets, thunderstorms and walking trails in the country, my imagination soars and my best stories come to life.

I am very excited to share my first two romantic suspense novels for quick autumn reads. Both are available at all online retailers worldwide including Amazon, Chapters Indigo, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Kindle and Apple Books.

I invite readers, fellow authors and fellow retirees to follow or message me on Instagram @suejaskulaauthor or Facebook @sue.jaskula or check out my website for news on upcoming stories. I love hearing from readers!

Buy Nothing Project

By Kenrick Chin

(Kendrick retired in 2019 as a lab technician from the departments of Engineering Physics and Physics & Astronomy.)
 
Are you thinking of downsizing or simply organizing and decluttering your space? Then this is the perfect avenue for doing so. There is no buying or selling, no money exchanged. You simply post a photo and a short description of the item you have to give away. Within minutes or maybe hours you can be almost certain that someone will be happy to come and take it away from your doorstep.

How would it feel to be an active participant in acts of random kindness on a daily basis? That is the basis and philosophy of the Buy Nothing Project. Started in 2013 in Washington State, this local community project has become a worldwide social movement with groups in 44 countries.

Buy Nothing Dundas was launched in February 2021 in the midst of the pandemic. Within four days more than 380 members had joined. Six months later membership has grown to over 1300 members and continues to grow in popularity.

How it works
Buy Nothing - is a Facebook group. You need to have internet access and a Facebook account. In order to participate you have to join the group in your local area. Membership beyond your catchment area is not allowed. Items posted and “gifted” are for personal use and not for resale. It is entirely up to the gifter to choose who will be gifted the item. Most members choose names at random. Some select the first member who responded. Once the recipient has been selected the gifter and recipient will communicate via private messages in order to arrange for pickup. Usually, items are left outside of the house for the recipient to retrieve. A gifter may have multiple items to be picked up and hence will package
each item with the name of the intended recipient. Once an item is “gifted” the description on the Facebook page needs to be edited to say, “Gifted to ...name...”.

The Buy Nothing Project fulfills a number of environmental, social, and economic concerns. Firstly, it diverts waste from our landfills. Secondly, it puts into action our need to practice the 3 R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Thirdly, it helps individuals and families who may be stretched financially. The gifter receives a feeling of goodwill and satisfaction to know that they have given a gift to someone without an expectation of reward. Lastly, it is a great way to build a sense of community.

Links
Buy Nothing Project website
Buy Nothing Dundas Facebook page
Dundas Star News article

courtesy of Meanwhile in Canada

Current Trial of Online Health Self-Management Support for Patients with Chronic Illnesses

By Norm Archer, Professor Emeritus, DeGroote School of Business

Chronic diseases account for 73% of all global deaths, with half of these deaths due directly or indirectly to one or more of high blood pressure, high blood glucose, smoking, and high body mass index. The impact of many of these disorders could be mitigated through proper attention to achieving and maintaining healthy lifestyles. There have been successes in the use of online systems to help patients adopt healthier lifestyles. Although results have been promising, there has been less attention to underlying and inter-related factors that can strongly affect the success of such online approaches, including:

• The lack of cost estimates which, in the long run, play a major role in whether the proposed applications are ever permanently implemented;
• Long-term sustainability of relevant programs in terms of patient recruitment and retention strategies;
• Patient adherence to programs for change;
• Keeping self-management patient motivation high;
• Achieving habit and behaviour change, essential to improving health lifestyles;
• Encouraging social relationships to reduce social isolation and loneliness, which can impose medical risks on individuals;
• Dealing with psychosocial patient characteristics such as depression, avoidance coping and low self-efficacy, all known to increase medical risks; and
• Coping with cognitive impairment in older adults who are more likely than younger people to suffer from chronic illnesses, thereby requiring specialized approaches to support them online.

A collaborative undertaking that includes Dr. Michael Stacey, Dr. Theodore Rapanos and Dr. Fadi Elias in Vascular Surgery (Hamilton General Hospital) at Hamilton Health Sciences and Dr. Ken Deal, Dr. Gillian Mulvale and myself at the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University, is currently involved in a one-year Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) of an Internet-accessible system called MyPADMGT. This system provides health self-management support to help chronically ill outpatients to adopt healthier lifestyles. The intent of this study is to find ways to address some of the eight problems mentioned above and by so doing to help arrest the drift of many people towards unhealthy lifestyles and thus improve their prospects for healthier, happier, and longer lives. Note that the “health self-management” we are discussing is almost entirely the responsibility of patients, combined with occasional and normal interactions with healthcare providers; it differs from “remote health self-management” where patient monitoring and support is managed remotely and continuously by healthcare providers (e.g., for patients who are critically ill or are recovering from surgical operations). Remote health self-management is typically more costly as it demands significant resources and time from healthcare professionals.

Participants in the trial are vascular outpatients in the Hamilton Health Sciences hospital system, Hamilton, Ontario. All suffer from Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD). Although the system can support participants with many different chronic illnesses such as Type 2 diabetes, depression, COPD, arthritis, etc., PAD was chosen for this study because it is such a serious and widespread chronic disease. It has an estimated worldwide prevalence of 10% among adults; 15-20% in people over 70 years of age. A common symptom is intermittent claudication (leg pains during walking that can be relieved by resting). PAD is atherosclerotic with hardening of the arteries in the legs, restricting blood circulation. About 65% of PAD patients also have clinically relevant cerebral or coronary artery disease, with a six times higher risk of death than individuals without PAD. PAD co-morbidities include diabetes and hypertension. It is exacerbated by smoking, and smokers have four times the likelihood of developing intermittent claudication as non-smokers. Diabetic smokers with PAD are at high risk of developing lower limb ischemia or gangrene that may result in amputation.

The study lasts one year for each outpatient, and has three arms, each with 70 randomly assigned outpatients diagnosed with PAD:

1. a control group that does not receive online support;
2. a group with self-managed access to online centralized support; each receives a blood pressure cuff and uses a computer tablet for online self-monitoring of blood pressure, weight, activity, diet, socialization, smoking, and access to online health education; and
3. a group receiving self-managed online support similar to Group 2, plus educational nudging which is a novel approach to encourage adoption of healthy practices.

All members of Groups 2 and 3 are trained in the use of the online MyPADMGT system. They are encouraged to set priorities for what aspect of their health they would like to improve, by focusing on one or more of losing weight, being more active physically, smoking cessation, eating more healthy food, or being more socially active. There is no direct cost to any participant, and all receive some compensation for participating in the study.

Lifestyle changes resulting from the study will be determined by changes in two primary measures: Quality of Life and Systolic Blood Pressure; and four secondary measures: Body Mass Index, Ankle Brachial Index, Hawthorne’s Happiness Index and Smoking Cessation.

The study’s research questions include:

1. Do the two online groups 2 and 3 experience significant improvements in lifestyle change outcomes over the control group?
2. Are there significant differences in the lifestyle change outcomes between groups 2 and 3?
3. Do lifestyle changes for participants in groups 2 and 3 last up to six months (i.e., become habitual) after the study terminates?

The study is recruiting participants from among vascular outpatients at the Hamilton General Hospital at this time, and final results should be available by early 2023.

Further information on PAD is available from the website of the Canadian Society for Vascular Surgery.

Courtesy of Rose Anne Prevec Instagram: @groundhog_hill

Your Money/Your Health

Volunteer Opportunities

Let Us Know If We Can Stop Mailing MURAnews to YOU Please help MURA’s budget by opting out of the postal mailing of MURAnews. Email the Membership Chair, Kathy Overholt, at muramemb@mcmaster.ca or leave a message on the MURA phone (905-525-9140, extension 23171). You can print your own MURAnews from the PDF copy we send by email, or just click the link in the email and read online. Current and past issues of MURAnews can be found online. If you do not have access to a computer and would like a copy of any of the items for which we have provided computer links, please leave a message on the MURA phone (905-525-9140, extension 23171) and we will print a copy and mail it to you.

MURAnews is produced by MURA members Denise Anderson (Production Editor), Helen Ayre (News Editor), Helen Barton, Nora Gaskin, Dawnelle Hawes, John Horsman, and Mary Johnston. We welcome submissions from MURA members.