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Get help through the Medicare maze from experts at the Alaska Medicare Information Office. Call to learn more about their “Medicare Monday” and other online trainings in October, which can be attended by phone or by webinar or Zoom. Call 907-269-3680 in Anchorage or toll-free statewide, 1-800-478-6065....
Coleman Cutchins is a clinical pharmacist with Department of Health and Social Services. He has a Doctor of Pharmacy degree and is board certified in pharmacotherapy, the treatment of disease with drugs. He has a long history in research, and working with infectious diseases. I interviewed him September 6. These are some highlights. What have you been focused on recently? I've been on this [COVID] team since really right after the Wu Han flight landed. At least 80% of my time or so has been on...
On Sept. 17, a group met outside the Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Anchorage with Senator Bill Wielechowski to protest a recent decision by the 9th District Federal Court that would strike down several provisions of Alaska's campaign finance law. The decision of the court strikes down three limits set by the law: a $500 per year, per person limit on contributions to a single candidate; a $500 per year per contribution to a political group; and a $3,000 per year limit on money donated...
“Age Smart – Let’s Talk”, the series of forums sponsored by AARP Alaska, Older Persons Action Group and the Anchorage Senior Activity Center, returns Oct. 12, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Events are currently held virtually on the internet, using Zoom. This month’s topic: “Project Access: What it is and How They Can Help”. The project’s stated mission is to increase access to health care for low-income, uninsured individuals by coordinating a network of committed and compassionate volunteer providers. The “Age Smart – Let’s Talk” series is a mon...
=The Alaska Disability and Aging Coalition will host the 7th Annual Disability and Aging Summit, October 5-7, 2021. The summit will be held virtually and include presentations on Aging Well in Alaska. Topics include a keynote presentation on Positivity and Aging and workshops focused around mental health, aging and COVID effects, and building resiliency. There will also be an elder panel and a legislative panel addressing topics such as the impact of COVID-19 on the aging population, budget assurance and the future of the work force for aging...
Making omelets for a group of people is often a messy process, inevitably breaking a lot of eggshells. Ingredients can be changed hundreds of ways to experiment and adjust flavors. Ultimately, if it’s done well, the result is a delicious omelet concoction at the end of the kitchen adventure. Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill are attempting to make legislative omelets with numerous committees getting their hands in the mix – and lots of eggs are getting broken along the way as they work to pass the most ambitious domestic agenda in more tha...
Q: Why am I always the one everyone expects to take care of Uncle Joe? Just because I don’t have a family, it doesn’t mean there aren’t work or personal demands on my time. A: Demands of caregiving while working is a tough juggling act. Stress and resentment are common emotions while managing interruptions to your daily routine. Inequity in caregiving is experienced by relatives of older adults across gender, cultural expectations, socio-economic status, ethnic identity or employment statu...
When my mother lost her sight at the age of 85, it seemed sudden but in fact it was a gradual loss with providers ignoring her complaints of floaters, flashes and jaw pain. A rare autoimmune disease, temporal arteritis, had her seeing only shadows and disrupted her circadian rhythm, the physical, mental and behavioral changes that follow a 24-hour cycle, so she never had a full night's sleep again. Having retired to Texas, the town she was in offered little in the way of services related to her...
The end of another summer is fast approaching and one thing that means is Medicare’s Open Enrollment Period (OEP) will be happening soon. Each year from Oct. 15 through Dec. 7, you can make changes to your Medicare insurance here in Alaska, primarily if you have Prescription Drug (also known as Part D) coverage, in order to meet your needs for calendar year 2022. As long as you make your decision and request any coverage changes by Dec. 7, the insurance coverage will be effective on January 1...
October is one of our busiest months for health fairs. We continue to provide pre-scheduled, appointment-based services to communities and worksites, and at our Fairbanks office. October community events include Anchorage, Delta Junction, Fairbanks, Houston, North Pole and Valdez and many worksite events. COVID seems to have a mind of its own, and so we continue to work around these ever changing circumstances in our communities, state and nation in a safe and effective manner. We provide important services to all event attendees using solid...
A new 5,400-square-foot clinic is open and operating in Shishmaref after about 16 months of construction amidst a pandemic. On Sept. 10, Norton Sound Health Corporation hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony at the new clinic and welcomed the community to celebrate the new building. Residents enjoyed cake and refreshments and socially distanced tours through the new space. The new facility replaced a clinic that was originally built in 1983 and renovated in 2014. It was only 1,850 square feet. "In...
Did you know your spouse’s benefit amount could be up to 50% of your spouse’s full retirement age benefit amount? If you qualify for a retirement benefit from your own work history and a spouse’s record, we always pay your own benefit first. You cannot receive spouse’s benefits unless your spouse is receiving their retirement benefits (except for divorced spouses). If you receive your retirement benefit before your full retirement age, while waiting for your spouse to reach full retirement age, your own retirement portion will be reduced...
It’s never too late to get active A study in more than 30,000 heart patients shows that becoming active later in life can be nearly as beneficial to survival as continued activity. “These encouraging findings highlight how patients with coronary heart disease may benefit by preserving or adopting a physically active lifestyle,” says study author Dr. Nathalia Gonzalez of the University of Bern, Switzerland. This study investigated activity levels over time and their relationship to the risk...
Dear Savvy Senior: Can you tell me about stomach aneurysms? My father died from one about 10 years ago and I’m wondering if that can increase my risk of developing one myself. - Almost 60 Dear Almost: While you don’t hear much about them, stomach aneurysms, also known as abdominal aortic aneurysms, are very dangerous and the 10th leading cause of death in men over 55. They also tend to run in families, so having had a parent with this condition makes you much more vulnerable yourself. An abdominal aortic aneurysm (or AAA) is a weak area in the...
The Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program has moved into a new office located at 35477 Kenai Spur Highway, Suite 205 (located in the 4D Professional Building). You can call them at 907-262-1280 or email kpfcsp@soldotnaseniors.com. Caregiver support group meetings will be held at the following locations and times in September. Please join to share your experiences as a caregiver or to support someone who is a caregiver. Oct. 14 Sterling Senior Center, 1 to 3 p.m. Caregiver training, “Alive Inside,” from 1 to 2 p.m. with a car...
Weddings usually change the couple that decide to unite their lives and set themselves off on new lives and adventures. For Anchorage DJ Ron Stein, aka Rockin' Ron, his cousin's wedding gave him a new direction as well, creating "Sir Reginald Wingsworthy, Airship Battlegroup Fleet Commander of Steampunk," a title he has proudly worn for the past 14 years. Inspired by that steampunk-themed wedding at the UAA Planetarium, he created a "contraption" of his DJ booth just for the event. Stein, 68,...
Late one evening in early October 2005, I stood at the top of the stairs in my home in Slana, unsure of what to do. Having just finished working on one of my quilts, I had switched off the lamp intending to go downstairs, but found myself in total blackness. Should I blindly feel my way down, holding onto the railing, or should I turn the lamp back on, run downstairs, turn a lamp on, run back upstairs, turn that lamp off, and then be able to descend the stairs in safety? "Commercial power is...
In August of 1969, the Alaska Children's Zoo opened its doors with a baby Asian elephant, a seal, black bear, fox, goats and a few other animals. At the time, zoo founder Sammye Seawell envisioned a place where the public could come to learn about animals who were taken in because they needed homes. Over the years, generations of Alaskans brought their kids to the zoo and those kids grew up to bring their kids. While the look of the zoo has changed and the animal collection has grown, the...
Interested in learning more about businesses and agencies providing senior services in the Anchorage and Mat-Su area? Want to get the word out about your own service? The monthly Service Providers Breakfast, sponsored by Older Persons Action Group, Inc., is an opportunity for all the above. Informal, early and free, the monthly event currently meets virtually online via Zoom. The October meeting is Oct. 13, hosted by attorney Constance Aschenbrenner. Begins at 8 a.m. RSVP by calling Older Persons Action Group, Inc. for more information on...
Starting on Oct. 24, 2021, the FCC has mandated all phone calls will require dialing the full 10-digit phone number, including area code. This means all Alaskans, regardless of their service provider, will need to dial 907 before seven-digit phone numbers, even when making a local phone call. Be sure to update your contacts, and reprogram any call forwarding to lead with “907” before Oct. 24....
One of Anchorage's now-closed department stores can trace its roots to the Gold Rush days of the Klondike when a young Swede hunkered down with pick and ax and chipped out a small fortune. John W. Nordstrom arrived in New York City from his native Sweden in 1887. With $5 in his pocket, and not a lick of English on his tongue, the 16-year-old made his way to Michigan where he labored in an iron mine. He eventually migrated to the West Coast. While making $1.50 a day as a logger and sawmill hand...
If you were a child growing up during the 1960s and a fan of sci-fi television of the day, the nostalgic value of shows like "Lost in Space" can't be overstated. Cast members Bill Mumy and Angela Cartwright recognize the connection many seniors may have to the series and have updated and expanded their 2015 "Lost (and Found) in Space" book into a new volume, released September 14 (see www.NCPBooks.com ). "The new book is now 350 pages and contains over 900 photographs," said Bill Mumy, who...
Some folks think stock dividends are a measurement for how well or poorly a company is doing. That is false. Some folks think all companies pay dividends. That is false. Some folks think dividends are not taxable. That is usually false. Still, dividends remain an important factor in stock ownership. What are dividends? One simplistic explanation often heard is that when a corporation has a profitable year, they share the profit with shareholders, in the form of dividends. But that’s not true. For when a corporation has a less profitable year, t...
I used to do a lot of litigation – trial lawyer work – and I still read the decisions the Alaska Supreme Court sends out each week. There was one this spring which had me shaking my head in amazement, and which sent me back down the memory trail, to a case I handled. The year was 2008. An Anchorage woman had choked on some food, suffered anoxia – a temporary loss of oxygen to the brain – and fell into a coma. A mere nine days later, the hospital decided that her chances of survival were nonexis...
