Senior Community Bulletin

Senior Community Bulletin

Medicare’s Annual Enrollment Period for 2010 runs from Monday, Nov. 15 to Friday, Dec. 31, giving people with Medicare the opportunity to drop, add or change your prescription drug coverage (Part D) and select a health plan for their 2011 coverage. To see if you qualify to save on your Medicare costs, call the statewide Elder Helpline toll-free at 1-800-96-ELDER (1-800-963-5337) and ask to speak with an MBOA counselor in your area. If you would like assistance with your Part D plan, call the Elder Helpline by dialing 211 or 407-839-HELP and ask for a local SHINE volunteer counselor.

Support the cause of all the seniors in the community and become a paid member of the New Age (Senior) Group by paying $10 per person per year and enjoy good company, educative seminars, games, tea and coffee parties, social support in case of emergency, advice, bereavement and counseling services, feeding the homeless and more every month. Join by writing a check for $10 per person to HSCF, and write “Annual Membership of New Age Group” on the memo line and mail to: HSCF New Age (Seniors) Group c/o Jayant Vaidya 409 Eastbridge Dr. Oviedo, FL 32765.

Three hundred people ate four gourmet dinners and managed to also eat dessert as well on Thursday, Oct. 21 at the The Top Chef Charity Event at Arden Courts in Winter Springs. The event was a sell out and $4,500 was raised to benefit the Jewish Pavilion. The event was the brainchild of Susan Tibbals, Marketing Director at Arden Court. She had no difficulty finding four fabulous chefs to compete, including Chef Brian Jaundoo of Chambrel Island Lake, Chef Rolf Nettesheim of Oakmonte Village at Lake Mary, Chef Richard Bartlett of The Heritage at Lake Forest and Chef/ED Tony Gonzalez of Emeritus at Tuskawilla. Each chef prepared a delicious vegetarian appetizer and an entrée plate.

Visit www.jewishpavilion.org for more information.

From the Orange County Commission on Aging Newsletter November 2010:

This month’s Counsel for Caregivers Seminar “Navigating Family Dynamics on the Caregiving Journey” by Alison Issen of Hospice of the Comforter is scheduled from 12:10-12:50 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 18 at the downtown Orlando Public Library, 101 E. Central Blvd., third floor, Albertson Room. Free lunch will be provided for the first 50 people to RSVP to 407-836-7446 or [email protected]

The regional games for the national Golden Age Games are being held Saturday, Nov. 6 through Saturday, Nov. 13 in Sanford. For more information or to register, call the Sanford Senior Center at 407-688-5129 or visit www.sanfordfl.gov/events/gag_2010/gag_2010.html. The top five in each event and age group qualify for the Florida State Games being held in Lee County from Saturday, Dec. 4 through Sunday, Dec. 12.

Celebrate National Caregivers Month at the Alzheimer Resource Center’s 17th annual conference, which is titled “The Dementia Puzzle: Putting the Pieces Together,” being held from 8 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. Monday, Nov. 6 at the Tuscawilla Country Club. For more information, visit www.alzheimerresourcecenter.org or call 407-843-1910.

Changes in Medicare Suppliers – Orlando and South Florida are two of the competitive bidding areas that will see changes in how medical equipment, prosthetics, and supplies are paid by Medicare. These changes will begin Jan. 1, but more information on how this program might affect you is available by calling 1-800-MEDICARE or visiting www.medicare.gov

The national Eldercare Locator has been redesigned and now has an enhanced toll-free call center. Visit www.eldercare.gov or call the toll center at 1-800-677-1116.

The National Parkinson’s Foundation has a new national helpline 1-800-473-4636 (remember 1-800-4PD-INFO) and is staffed from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST.

The Urban Institute has released a report that looks at work and retirement patterns over the last 30 years. More than 40 percent of men born from 1943 to 1947 did not retire by age 65, compared with only 20 percent of those born from 1933 to 1937. Men and women born from 1933 to 1937 were much more likely than those born 20 years earlier to move to part-time work at older ages and return to work after retiring instead of following the traditional route of retiring only once directly from full-time employment. Visit www.urban.org/publications/412175.html for more information.

The Healthcare Reform Timeline can be viewed at http://americanhealthsolution.org/assets/Uploads/Blog/HC-Reform-Bill-Timeline-Final.pdf.

A recommended reading is the November feature “My Grandfather’s Blessings” by Rachel Naomi Remen at the Lifelong Spiritual Development Book Café Series. For more information, contact Barbara at 321-841-5322 or [email protected]