Medicare Annual Enrollment Period Begins

The Medicare Annual Enrollment Period is October 15th through December 7, 2011.  If you review your health care plan and prescription drug coverage, you can check to see if another plan could lower your costs. To find out if another plan would be better for you, you will need to gather some information. You will need a list of your medications and a list of your health care providers. For more information about how to review your Medicare coverage, see page 16 of the Elder Update newsletter for Sept/Oct.  If you would like one-on-one help with Medicare enrollment questions, you can get help from a SHINE volunteer.



The SHINE (Serving Health Insurance Needs of Elders) program provides free counseling to Seniors about Medicare, Medicaid, long-term care planning, and prescription assistance. The program is administered at the county level through the local "Area Agency on Aging" (other states also have this program - either in their Department of Aging or in their Department of Insurance).

This program trains volunteers to help older adults to get the information that they need to make informed decisions on health insurance issues. They provide information to elders, their caregivers, and their families.

To receive Medicare counseling in Pasco County, you can call 1-800-963-5337.  If you are interested in becoming a SHINE volunteer in Pasco County, please contact Sue Samson at 727-570-9696, ext 234.

The Area Agency on Aging of Pasco - Pinellas also provides many other services for seniors and caregivers. You can click on the picture below to access their website:

Social Networking Report

The Pew Research Center recently published a report about the growth of social networking sites, such as Facebook, MySpace, and Linked In.  In 2005, less than 4% of  internet users age 50-64 used social networking websites and less than 1% of internet users age 65+ used social networking sites.  Now, 51% of  internet users age 50-64 use social networking websites and less than 33% of internet users age 65+ use social networking sites.  Just in the last two years, social networking for age 65+ has grown 150%.  You can read the complete report here.
Many Older Adults are using Facebook to connect with their children, grandchildren, and friends who live far away.  You can read their updates and see recent pictures.  Also, every library branch in Pasco County has a Facebook page (*see below).  If you would like to learn about Facebook, New River Library has a beginning Facebook class this month:
                   Introduction to Facebook
                         Wednesday, Oct 19th 
                                   2:00pm
  
Location:    New River Library
                      34043 State Road 54
                      Zephyrhills, FL
No registration is required. For more information, please call 813-788-6375.

*Pasco County Library Branch Facebook Pages:

• Centennial Park
• Hudson
• Hugh Embry
• Land O'Lakes
• New River
• Regency Park
• South Holiday

Free Caregiving Training Seminars

HPH Hospice and the Alzheimer's Association are providing "The Caregiver Training Series" in Dade City on Tuesday afternoons from Oct 11th to November 1st. These seminars  will cover an overview of Alzheimer’s, how the disease changes communication, dealing with difficult behaviors, caregiver stress and community resources.  There will also be information on research and treatment. The seminars are free, but advanced registration is required.  To register or for more information, call Jan Double at 727-705-0107.

•  Tuesday, October 1 -"The Basics of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias"
• Tuesday, October 18 - "Communication and Managing Behaviors"
• Tuesday, October 25 - "Caregiver Stress and How to Manage It"
• Tuesday, October 18 - "Community Resources and Advocacy"

                 Time:           1:30pm - 3:00pm
          Location:           HPH Hospice Team Office
                                        37445 Clinton Ave.
                                        Dade City, FL 33525

Florida Senior Games 2011

The first Florida Senior Games championships were held in 1992.  These games are for people age 50 and above.  Currently, the Florida Sports Foundation sanctions local games, which serve as qualifiers for the state championships.  The Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation, and Conservation Department will be hosting the Tampa Bay local qualifier games this year from October 3rd-14th.  The locations of the events, registration form, and rule book can be found here.  The sports offered include: 

• 3-on-3 Basketball
• Basketball 
• Shooting, Billiards
• Bowling
• Golf
• Horseshoes
• Pickleball
• Powerlifting
• Race Walk
• Swimming
• Table Tennis
• Tennis
• Track and Field

The State Championships will be held Dec. 3rd -11th in various locations in Polk County. These state championships are the qualifiers for the 2013 National Senior Games in Cleveland, Ohio from July 21st - August 6th, 2013. For more information on the National Senior Games Association, please click here.

How to Find Reliable Health Information Online

There are thousands of websites that provide health information online.  A lot of these sites are just trying to sell health products to you and they may not provide correct information.  You can start to evaluate a website by looking at who sponsors it. If the web site is a ".gov" (government website) or a ".edu" (college or university web site), the information will be more reliable and unbiased than a ".com" (commercial web site). You can find out more information to help you evaluate health websites on the National Institute on Aging website: "Online Health Information: Can You Trust It?".
               
     Here are some excellent health websites:

• NIH Senior Health - good basic information on many health topics; very user-friendly; also includes videos on topics such as Macular Degeneration.
• MedlinePlus Senior's Health (from the U.S. National Library of Medicine) - good directory of Senior health resources.
• MedlinePlus - search by health topic or search drugs and supplements- brings together information from many sources – such as the Mayo Clinic, the CDC, and the American Medical Association.
• NIDCD - information about dealing with deafness.
• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute- Managing Heart Disease

Looking for a health provider? Here is a list of directories:

• Healthfinder - find a dentist, a doctor, hospital, hospice care, etc.
• Florida Health Finder - find and compare hospitals, prescription drug prices, nursing homes, etc.

Want to compare Medicare providers? Medicare.gov has the following tools:

• Physician Compare
• Hospital Compare
• Nursing Home Compare
• Home Health Compare
• Dialysis Facility Compare

Free Memory Screenings in September

If you’re age 50 or older and feeling forgetful, there’s probably no reason to worry.  However, you can put your mind at ease by making an appointment for a free, 20-minute memory screening.  HPH Hospice and the Alzheimer's Association are sponsoring memory screenings this month for people age 50 and older in the Alzheimer's Association Memory Mobile bus. Space is limited, so you will need to register for an appointment. To register, call Jan Double at 727-705-0107.  This bus will be parked at two locations in Pasco County:

 In West Pasco:

On Monday and Tuesday -  September 19th & 20th

10:00am to 4:00pm

HPH Hospice SP Team Office  
6807 Rowan Road
New Port Richey, FL

In East Pasco:

On Thursday and Friday - September 29th & 30th

10:00am to 4:00pm

HPH Hospice East Pasco Team Office 
37445 Clinton Avenue
Dade City, FL

Note: Screenings are not intended for individuals who have been diagnosed with Dementia.

For more information, click here for the HPH Hospice homepage.

Florida Memory Project

The Division of Library and Information Services of the Florida Department of State has expanded their online Florida Memory website. This website originally hosted only photographs and scanned documents from Florida history (see previous blog post).  Now this archive has expanded to include historical Florida videos, music, and folklore interviews.  Here are two pictures from this online archive:

                                  Engine 507 and crew 

        Dottie Schroeder of the All-American Girls 
                    Professional Baseball  League

                Here are two video excepts:




The full version of the 1917 inauguration for Sidney J. Catts can be seen here.



The full version of this video about the Everglades can be found here.

You can explore the complete Florida Memory Project here.