Sorted by date Results 701 - 725 of 887
Village to Village, the ever popular program for seniors throughout the Lower 48, will soon be making its way to Alaska. The planning committee along with North Star Council on Aging are planning to open a similar program in the Fairbanks area by 2016. “We’re still in the planning process,” says Barbara Lando, head of the planning committee. “We want it to be modeled after the Village to Village programs in the Lower 48, but we’re thinking about renaming it due to the popularity of the use of the word ‘village’ for the actual villages.” As...
Anchorage seniors, your input is needed to help the Anchorage Economic Development Corp. complete its “Live. Work. Play” report on quality of life and making Anchorage the number one city to live, work and play in by 2025. The survey is short and to the point, with two questions: 1. Why did you move to Anchorage, and 2. Why would you leave? “It’s important to include seniors in this survey because they’re a such a big part of Anchorage, and their opinions are vital to the community,” says Denise Knapp, Executive Director at Mabel T. Caverly...
The prices that hospitals ask customers to pay for a series of common procedures have increased by more than 10 percent between 2011 and 2013 – more than double the rate of inflation, according to new data released recently by Medicare. But the amounts paid by Medicare have stayed flat, according to that data. The hospitals’ rising list prices mainly affect the uninsured and people who use hospitals outside their insurance network. The 2013 Medicare billing information was part of a large release of data breaking down spending based on hos...
The Municipality of Anchorage has followed through on its plan to vacate occupants from the John Thomas Bldg., Older Persons Action Group's home for more than 40 years. The building, located on the outskirts of downtown Anchorage on the corner of Third Avenue and Cordova Street, was put up for sale in 2012, over the objections of the non-profit organizations residing in the building, and their supporters, including several members of the Anchorage Assembly. Organizations, including the Mabel T....
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 June meeting is June 10, hosted by AARP Alaska. Begins at 8 a.m. RSVP by calling Older Persons Action Group for more information on these events or to be added to our e-mail reminder list, 276-1059....
With a $3.9 billion dollar deficit, it’s important for the legislature to make big cuts, and we have. However, cuts to our most vulnerable seniors is a mistake, and that’s one of the issues we continue to debate. Established in 2007, the Senior Benefits Program helps provide Alaskan seniors on limited incomes the means to afford basic life necessities, such as food and housing. While we recognize that times are tough and Alaska must tighten its belt, we cannot support doing it on the backs of Alaska’s pioneers. Sen. Berta Gardner (D-An...
Check off “budget” on the Republicans “can govern” checklist. Congressional Republicans recently approved a budget bill, the first passed by Congress in six years, and the first since the party took control of both chambers earlier this year. The non-binding document, however, does not go to President Obama for his signature. Instead, it helps guide Congress in framing how it wants to consider all of the government agency appropriations bills. It will also serve as a Republican fiscal policy guideline and sets the stage for the 2016 preside...
“The average family moves or changes homes every five years,” says John Bissell of Royal Alaskan Movers, and in honor of the beginning of a summer of endless brown boxes and packing tape, the Better Business Bureau dubs May as National Moving Awareness Month. The month may be wrapping-up, but movers are just kicking into high gear in Alaska. When looking for a moving company, it’s important to take note of the kind of moves the moving company usually performs, says Matthew Voisine, office manager at the Denali Group. “There’s a big differenc...
Staff from Alaska’s Social Security office will be available for questions via videoconferencing at the following locations and times: Kodiak Job Center, on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month (June 9 and 23), 9 a.m. to noon. Kenai Senior Center, on the first and third Wednesday of each month (June 3 and 17), 9 a.m. to noon. Ketchikan Job Center, every Thursday (June 4, 11, 18 and 25), noon to 3 p.m. Social Security provides toll-free telephone service to all of Alaska. Residents in Alaska’s southeast communities can call the Jun...
After 17 temporary fixes over the past 11 years, Congress has approved legislation permanently blocking perennial cuts in physicians’ Medicare fees. In a rare show of genuine bipartisanship, the House and Senate both overwhelmingly passed the bill. It should become easier for doctors to make a living while taking Medicare patients and help seniors keep their doctors who accept Medicare. In a 1997 budget agreement, Congress set up a formula, known as the Sustainable Growth Rate, or the SGR, which called for annual cuts in Medicare physician p...
Health care and the ways we find health information have changed drastically over the years. New technologies in and out of the doctor's office have allowed us access to information like never before. It's incredibly easy to pull out your smartphone or tablet and search "diabetes symptoms" or "home treatments for the flu." But should we trust everything we read online? The National Library of Medicine (NLM) and Linda Shepard, registered health ministry and community outreach nurse at Providence...
About 90 percent of long-term, informal health care in the United States is provided by unpaid caregivers, typically women, who spend more than $5,000 annually in out-of-pocket expenses. A survey from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Fairbanks Memorial Hospital seeks to better identify the strengths and needs of Alaska’s informal caregivers and to ultimately help them. “These unpaid caregivers are the backbone of our health-care system,” said Ellen Lopez, project leader and public health researcher at the University of Alaska Fairb...
As of this writing it is difficult to wrap-up the legislative session, as they are still in session (day 4 past the regular 90 day period). Legislators have not yet come to agreement on the state’s budget, which they must pass, according to the state constitution. Nevertheless, it has, to this point, been an interesting, if not altogether productive session. There are many reasons for this. This is the first year of the 29th Legislature, with many new faces in the House and Senate, as well as a new administration. After an election, there is a...
Chickaloon Village Traditional Council (CVTC) celebrated construction of its new health and wellness building – Ahtnahwt’aene’ Nay’dini’aa den (Aht-nah Hwĭ-tănnă Nie-dĭnny-ah den) Gathering Place, meaning “Ahtna People Chickaloon Place,” – with a large group of elders, tribal leaders, community members, funders and partners at its groundbreaking early April in Sutton. The new 8,100 square foot facility will be located at 21117 E. Myers Avenue and will house an expanded C’eyiits’ Hwnax (kie-eetz haw-nah) Life House Community Health Center...
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 for business and agency representatives. The May meeting is May 13 and will be hosted by the Anchorage Aging and Disability Resource Center. Begins at 8 a.m. Call Older Persons Action Group to RSVP and get directions to the...
Staff from Alaska’s Social Security office will be available for questions via videoconferencing at the following locations and times: Kodiak Job Center, on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month (May 12 and 26), 9 a.m. to noon. Kenai Senior Center, on the first and third Wednesday of each month (May 6 and 20), 9 a.m. to noon. Ketchikan Job Center, every Thursday (May 7, 14, 21 and 28), noon to 3 p.m. Social Security provides toll-free telephone service to all of Alaska. Residents in Alaska’s southeast communities can call the Juneau Soc...
We read a piece in Market Watch recently about the state of retirees today and the problems they won’t tell us about. If Market Watch is correct, and we have no reason to doubt it, then we would like to share some of our solutions to these listed difficulties. (Read the Market Watch article at http://www.marketwatch.com/story/10-things-retirees-wont-tell-you-2014-09-19) ‘Retirees are broke.’ According to the Census Bureau’s Supplemental Poverty Measure, the article notes, roughly 15 percent of people over age 65 live in poverty. Also, nearly...
Twice a year, Better Business Bureaus across the country sponsor free, local shredding events called “Secure Your ID Day,” in order to bring public awareness of the risks of identity theft. One of the events will be held in Anchorage on April 18 at The Mall at Sears, 600 E. Northern Lights Blvd., 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Shred Alaska will have shred trucks in the parking lot by Carr’s and will provide free shredding of up to 3 boxes. There will also be recycling for old cell phones. The Financial Fitness Fair will take place inside the Mall with...
A currently airing commercial proclaims that if you have Medicare Part A & B, you are eligible for Vision, Dental, and Prescription Drug plans because of Medicare Healthcare Reform. This commercial gives a 1-800-number that when called tries to sell you a Life Alert type monitoring system or they may be collecting information to sell to Medicare Supplement Brokers or Medicare Advantage Plan Brokers. Be on the lookout and share this information with your friends, neighbors, and relatives. The more people who are warned, the better the chances...
Keep track of senior-related bills, budget decisions and other issues by attending the Alaska Commission on Aging Legislative Teleconferences. Hosted by local agencies statewide, the teleconferences provide a convenient forum for seniors and advocates across Alaska to share information about issues and specific bills of concern. Teleconferences are scheduled 9:30 to 11 a.m. on April 9, 16 and 23. To participate, visit a host site, which offers a reasonably quiet location with a speaker or teleconference phone system, is ADA compliant and able...
The White House Conference on Aging (WHCoA), a special event held once a decade that began in 1961, is designed to generate ideas and discussion regarding policy development for senior programs and elder care to improve the quality of life for older people in the upcoming decade. The 2015 WHCoA is planned for July in Washington DC and will build on the work from a series of five regional forums, including one planned for Seattle on Thursday, April 2. The first regional forum was held in Florida on February 19 and can be viewed at this link http...
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 for business and agency representatives. The April meeting is April 8 and will be hosted by Mabel T. Caverly Senior Services at a site to be determined. Begins at 8 a.m. Call Older Persons Action Group to RSVP and get the...
The Fairbanks-North Star Borough Parks & Recreation Senior Recognition Day is being held at the Carlson Center on May 7. Call 459-1136 to RSVP. Nomination forms are still being accepted for Outstanding Senior Volunteer and Lifetime Fitness candidates. If you know a senior that has volunteered unselfishly for the good of the community or a senior that exemplifies healthy living and is leading a life of physical fitness, please fill out and submit a complete nomination form to honor this individual. Forms can be found at the Parks & Recreation...
Each May, the Anchorage Senior Citizens Advisory Commission celebrates Older Americans Month, recognizing older Americans and their contributions to the nation. This year, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Older Americans Act (OAA), we are focusing on how older adults are taking charge of their health, getting engaged in their communities, and making a positive impact in the lives of others. The theme for Older Americans Month 2015 is “Get into the Act.” When Older Americans Month was established in 1963, there were only 17 million Ame...
The Senior Benefits program, administered by the Division of Public Assistance, provides a critical safety net for older Alaskans age 65 and older who live on small fixed incomes to help pay for food, fuel, housing, prescribed medications and other necessities. The Governor’s amended budget proposes a 25.4 percent reduction to the Senior Benefits program that will result in a 20 percent reduction in benefit amounts for seniors who qualify for the program with incomes between 75 and 175 percent federal poverty level. The proposed reduction w...
