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The budget axe continues to fall on programs affecting low income seniors as lawmakers deliberate where to cut state spending to help offset a huge budget deficit. Although the numbers can be a moving target as legislators debate and negotiate, at Senior Voice press time March 29, a few proposals seemed to be moving forward. Senior Benefits program The legislature looks set to eliminate the monthly cash assistance benefit to the top income tier of seniors in the program, those who earn up to $25,760 annually. Up until now, the program has paid...
After years of planning and feasibility reports, Skagway’s senior center is getting closer to a reality. Since being appointed by Mayor Stan Selmer in March 2013, the Senior Ad Hoc Committee has been overseeing the project, guided by the committee mission statement, “Build a Skagway senior citizen center to include a commercial kitchen with dining/visiting area and expand to include senior housing.” Shortly after the founding of the Senior Ad Hoc Committee, the Assembly passed a resolution in March 2013 dedicating the corner of 11th and Broad...
The good news is, overall, we’re living longer. But the bad news is, many of us will live longer but only with the assistance of a nursing home or at a minimum, home health aides. What’s the likelihood you or someone you love will require long-term care? According to the government website, www.longtermcare.gov, adults who are 65 years old today have nearly a 70 percent chance of needing some type of long-term care (LTC) services and support in their remaining years. Men average 2.2 years in long-term care, while women spend an average of 3.7...
During the 1980 recession, Alaska lost over 20,000 jobs, most of which were in Anchorage, where a majority of the oil, construction and related services were located. The 2015 reduction in oil prices have resulted in over a $3 billion state budget deficit. This deficit means the State of Alaska will have less money to allocate to local municipalities and less money to fund a capital budget upon which local construction companies rely, creating economic instability. Already job losses in Anchorage for 2016 are estimated to be 2,000. Job losses f...
Interested in learning more about businesses and agencies providing senior services in the Anchorage area? Want to get the word out about your own service? The monthly Interagency Breakfast, sponsored by Older Persons Action Group, is an opportunity for all of the above. Informal, early and free, with breakfast provided. The April meeting is April 13, hosted by NeighborWorks. Begins at 8 a.m. RSVP by calling Older Persons Action Group for the location and more information on these events or to be added to our e-mail reminder list,...
Editor's note: This is an expanded version of the story appearing in the April 2016 Senior Voice print edition. The next big health crisis is the battle over chronic care and long-term care. Patient advocates, policy experts and lawmakers call it the “silent crisis” – one that potentially will affect every American family: the inability to plan and pay for long-term care. Some modest bipartisan cooperation to find a solution is emerging, despite it being a contentious election year. A bipartisan group of senators are trying to find actua...
A new service has been launched that will provide assistance to Alaskans seeking to use their wealth to make positive change. Alaska Philanthropy Advisors, led by established nonprofit leader Dennis McMillian, will fill a need that individuals, companies or families often have, which is help in defining and articulating philanthropy goals, identifying partners or grantees, and investing in programs that achieve the donor’s desired impact. According to Rasmuson Foundation President and CEO Diane Kaplan, a philanthropy advisor works with i...
“Pay it forward” is part of my educational philosophy. When we were children in public schools people around us paid taxes to educate us. Our parents and neighbors volunteered in schools, served on the PTA and voted. They voted for school bonds and for leaders who valued education. Now it’s our turn, particularly as we consider the status of our schools. The Anchorage School District’s report card reveals that more than half of our students fail to achieve a full year’s growth academically. Compared to 50 school districts that match us in siz...
Shiitake (shih-TAH-kee), used medicinally by the Chinese for more than 6,000 years, is a symbol of longevity in Asia for its health-promoting properties. Ancient Egyptians treasured mushrooms as the sons of gods, sent to earth riding thunderbolts. Medieval English lore claimed mushrooms were umbrellas for the leprechauns and had to be gathered under the full moon. A current adage holds: How they are commercially grown is similar to working for a large corporation – they keep you in the dark a...
A limited income can trap some Alaskans in nursing or extended care, even when they're ready to return home or transition to assisted living. Fortunately, a state program can help people move to a lower level of care. The Nursing Facility Transition Program can pay one-time costs to remove barriers to returning home, such as the need for a wheelchair ramp, or a deposit to move into an assisted living home. To qualify, Alaskans must be 65 and older, or 21 and older with a physical disability,...
Alaska Health Fairs’ spring series of health fairs are underway, featuring free health screenings and education, low cost blood tests and more. The tests can help you learn about your health and detect potential problems early, when treatment or changes in personal habits can be most effective. The test results give you and your health care provider important information about your physical condition and vital organ functions. A complete and comprehensive chemistry/hematology test is available for only $45 and panels 27 different tests for c...
I know the winter sports enthusiasts will not be agreeing with me, but I am glad we have had a short winter and an early spring and (knock wood!) my roof is still intact. March 23 was the sixth anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as the Obama Care Act, or ultimately as “Obama Cares,” and we know he does. For those in Congress who have tried to eradicate this bill (law) over 62 times, I would again like to inform you of the benefits it has brought to you: • since the bill...
Services from geriatric care managers should be something that every family takes advantage of, but in reality very few families use them. Care managers could go a long ways towards helping the family with cost containment and finding better and more efficient ways of providing care for a loved one. The concept is simple. The family hires a professional adviser (care manager) to act as a guide through the maze of long-term care services and providers. By providing consumer education and advocacy, reducing costs by avoiding inappropriate...
Public Law calls for VA to provide you hospital care and outpatient care services that are defined as “needed.” VA defines “needed” as care or service that will promote, preserve, and restore health. This includes treatment, procedures, supplies, or services. This decision of need will be based on the judgment of your health care provider and in accordance with generally accepted standards of clinical practice. The following three categories contain a list of health care services that are provid...
This year’s “Mission of Mercy” free dental care event, takes place April 29 and 30 at the Dena’ina Center in Anchorage, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days. Dentists and other health workers provide free dental care for up to 2,000 patients in two days. Both children and adults are accepted on a first come, first served basis. There is no application process and no income limitations. For more information, including a list of procedures that are provided and not provided, visit www.akmom.org or call 563-3003....
Type 2 diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs when the body is unable to control the amount of sugar, or glucose, in the blood. The risk of developing type 2 diabetes increases with age, and left uncontrolled, it can result in dangerous health conditions. One in five Alaskans age 65 and older has been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and one in 10 has pre-diabetes, which puts them at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the future. Many other Alaska seniors have not been tested and are unaware that they have either of these conditio...
Combating prostate cancer in a new way Investigators in Belfast, Northern Ireland at Queen’s University are now testing a whole new approach to treating aggressive prostate cancer. They are conducting the world’s first ever trial of a new combination of cancer therapies for men with advanced prostate cancer with the hope of prolonging their lives. If the trial goes well, this two-pronged approach may be adopted for men in Alaska. The researchers are conducting a trial with 30 patients and it...
The Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program will hold the following peer support meetings in April. This month’s focus: Proper body mechanics and back safety. April 5, Caregiver support meeting at Sterling Senior Center, 1 p.m. April 12, Caregiver support meeting at Soldotna Senior Center, 1 p.m. April 19, Caregiver support meeting at Kenai Senior Center, 1 p.m. April 21, Caregiver support meeting at Anchor Point Senior Center, 3 p.m. April 26, Caregiver support meeting at Soldotna Senior Center, 1 p.m. Support meetings allow you to s...
Registration is open for a series of online trainings on geriatric health care topics that will be available through May, sponsored by the Area Health Education Center (AHEC), the Alaska Training Cooperative and Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority. The series is a partnership with the Northwest Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Center, and will offer trainings March 29 through May 31, to Alaska via virtual classroom on the Internet. The series is designed to give community-based providers working in the field of aging – physicians, nurses, p...
"I didn't want to leave Fairbanks. I love my town." – Karen "I came back to Fairbanks after moving to Oregon. I came back to live here, at Raven Landing. It was like coming home. I had never really wanted to leave." – Patti "This community, this place, this is my family." – Patricia This was one happy, congenial group, residents of Raven Landing, gathered for dinner one mid-March evening in the community's large, light-filled dining room. (There was much laughter when one woman at the table...
The Fairbanks Senior Recognition Day returns to the Carlson Center this year on May 12, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Enjoy a delicious free lunch (seniors only), enjoy presentations and entertainment, gather information, and see who wins the Outstanding Volunteer and Lifetime Fitness awards. Transportation is available through the Fairbanks Parks and Rec Senior Program, but you space is limited. To reserve a seat, call 459-1136. For more information, visit www.co.fairbanks.ak.us/pr/Pages/Seniors.aspx ....
The Anchorage Senior Citizens Advisory Commission will host the annual Older Americans Month Kick-Off Event May 4 at the Anchorage Senior Activity Center, from 10 a.m. to noon. This year’s Older Americans Month theme is “Blaze a Trail.” The Kick-Off event features entertainment, speakers and the presentation of this year’s Ron Hammett Award for outstanding service to seniors and their families. For more information, call 343-4763....
An abundance of gamblers, con men and thieves made their way north following the discovery of gold in the Klondike in the late 1890s. And with no official lawmen to take care of evildoers, miners took the law into their own hands and dispensed frontier justice. Murder was punished by hanging; stealing meant a sound whipping or banishment. After Alaska became a territory in 1912, Alaskans turned away from hanging and whipping offenders but kept their tradition of banishment to deal with...
