Sorted by date Results 1815 - 1839 of 2084
Alaska Legal Services Corporation (ALSC) is adding a second day of the week to their Landlord/Tenant Legal Helpline, providing free assistance to both tenants and landlords with legal questions and situations. The Landlord/Tenant Helpline will now be open on both Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6 to 8 p.m., starting Dec. 2. The number to call in the Anchorage area is 743-1000, and for folks outside of the Anchorage area, the toll-free number to call is 855-743-1001. Volunteer attorneys take incoming calls and will answer general questions from...
If you are a baby boomer caring for a parent with ADRD (Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementia) or simply feeling daunted by the prospect, you won't want to miss "Backing Out of Time," a new film on the subject that will be shown Nov. 12 at the Bear Tooth Theatre in Anchorage. The hour-long documentary chronicles the challenging last years of the disease as seen through the grace and eyes of family caregivers and seeks to provide a road map and some normalcy to the experience. Alaska has the...
People who become homeless do not fit one general description. However, people experiencing homelessness do have certain shared basic needs, including affordable housing, adequate incomes, and health care. Some homeless people may need additional services such as mental health or drug treatment in order to remain securely housed. All of these needs must be met to prevent and end homelessness. The Anchorage Department of Health and Human Services is working with the Housing and Neighborhood Development Commission’s Oversight Subcommittee on H...
Here's something new from Social Security, which has just launched "my Social Security account," a personalized online account people can establish at www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount, beginning in their working years and continuing throughout the time they receive Social Security benefits. With a "my Social Security account," people can access their online Social Security statement, which provides workers age 18 and over their complete earnings history and estimates for future retirement, disab...
Because I am a dietitian, friends sometimes ask me to help them interpret their health fair blood test results. This fall, I had the unhappy chore of telling a friend that the test results showed “prediabetes” and to talk with a physician. Wanting to put a positive spin on things, I also said that it was great to find out about the prediabetes because there are some simple and effective ways to deal with the problem. My friend is one of the 86 million people in the United States with “prediabetes”. This is a condition in which the blood s...
Fall in Alaska is that short period of time between summer fun and six months of cold snowy weather that lasts until after you file your taxes. As the leaves turn bright colors and fall from the trees, you remember it's time to winterize everything, pull out the blue tarps and have the sled tuned up. But the most important ritual for the fall should include a trip to the VA influenza clinic and see the Alaska VA Flu Coordinator, Marylou. The Alaska VA could not have made this annual visit any...
Prehabilitation may benefit hip and knee replacement patients All hip and knee replacement patients have physical therapy after their surgery. However, a new study is suggesting that prehabilitation may be highly beneficial to some patients. Researchers found prehabilitation could significantly diminish the need for postoperative care. In some cases, postoperative care was cut by nearly 30 percent, resulting in a significant cost savings. The study included more than 4,700 patients and it found...
The Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program will hold the following peer support meetings in November. This month’s theme for discussion is “Coping With Holiday Stress.” Nov. 4, Caregiver support meeting at Sterling Senior Center, 1 p.m. Nov. 11, Caregiver support meeting at Soldotna Senior Center, 1 p.m. Nov. 13, Caregiver support meeting at Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program in the Blazy Mall, 5 p.m. Nov. 18, Caregiver support meeting at Kenai Senior Center, 1 p.m. Nov. 25, Caregiver support meeting at Soldotna Senior C...
November is Thanksgiving month, a time when we reflect on our blessings and often celebrate them with food and drink — so it is also a good month to think about the tricks your food and drink can play on your medicines, like leftover Halloween pranks. Here are a few food-and-drug facts worth reflecting on: There are 249 drugs that interact with grapefruit juice. Grapefruit juice can interfere with how the body metabolizes (takes up and processes) medication. When medicine isn’t passing thr...
Alaska Health Fairs, Inc. wraps up its fall series of health fairs around the state this month, featuring free health screenings and education, low cost blood tests and more. These 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. Unless another phone number is listed, for more information on the events below, call...
Alaska Regional Hospital will acquire the Alaska Medicare Clinic on Nov. 1, 2014. The clinic will be known as the “Alaska Regional Senior Health Clinic.” Located in South Anchorage, it is a primary care physician office providing outpatient medical care to Medicare beneficiaries. It opened in 2011 and has received substantial support from the State of Alaska for the past three years. Julie Taylor, CEO of Alaska Regional Hospital, says that acquiring the clinic is a way for the hospital to assist a population that’s already embedded in the h...
The Medicare 2015 Annual enrollment period is October 15 through December 7, 2014. This is the time when anyone who has Medicare can enroll in Prescription Drug coverage, also known as Medicare Part D. This link has a chart with information about the prescription drug plans on offer this year: http://dhss.alaska.gov/dsds/Documents/Medicare/MedicarePartD-PlansChart2015.pdf Some facts about these plans: The plan that has the lowest monthly premium is $15.60. The most expensive plan is $135.20. You will want to enroll in the plan that is best for...
"Where's my calculator?" Eyes popping in surprise, Rebecca Parker proclaims, "Yes. It's true. I have been in Anchorage for 41 years!" Becky and I have known each other for most of those 41 years. We'd met long ago as members of Alaska Press Women, now called Alaska Professional Communicators. I am sitting with her in her new office setting at the Anchorage Senior Activity Center, where she has recently been named General Manager. Feeling like old friends who hadn't had a chance to visit in sever...
Do you respect the “rights” of your medications? By that I mean taking the • right medication, at the • right dose, at the • right time, in the • right way. If you read the first column in this series, you may recall that three-quarters of Americans — yes, 75 percent — don’t manage to do so on a regular basis. Why? Well, it can be a lot less simple than it sounds. That’s what the Med Ed website and this column series is about — identifying common barriers and giving you strategies to get aro...
Senior Benefits and heating assistance If you are 65 years old or older, you might be eligible for the Senior Benefits program, depending on your income. You should call 1-888-352-4150 and ask for an application. Monthly benefits are, depending on income, $125 or $175 or $250 – and assets do not count. It is also time to apply for the heating assistance program. If you do not have an application, you can get one at our office or by calling statewide, 1-800-470-3058. Applications will be a...
The Annual Enrollment Period for Medicare is October 15 through December 7, 2014. This is the ideal time to evaluate your Medicare Prescription Drug plan costs and coverage*. You can switch into a different plan that may work better for you in 2015 during this timeframe. The Alaska Medicare Information Office is ready, willing and able to assist Medicare beneficiaries with this confusing process. If you or someone you know needs our help, please gather up your red, white and blue MEDICARE card and be prepared to provide us with the names and...
Veterans exposed to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War – 9 January, 1962 through 7 May, 1975 – or near the Korean DMZ between 1 April, 1968 and 31 August, 1971, have been determined to have a presumptive service-connected disability for certain illnesses (see VA and VVA websites for full list) and are entitled to compensation as well as medical care. If you served in-country in Korea or Vietnam during these dates, you are eligible for compensation for many illness including Type ll dia...
Higher dose flu vaccine may benefit older adults For older adults, it may be better to go with the high dose when it comes to the flu vaccine this year. A new study has found that the high dose influenza vaccine is 24 percent more effective than the standard dose vaccine in protecting adults 65 and older against influenza illness and its complications. The Fluzone high dose vaccine is an inactivated influenza vaccine that contains four times the amount of antigen in the standard dose Fluzone...
The Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program will hold the following peer support meetings in October. This month’s theme is “Dental Hygiene Awareness Month”. Oct. 7, Caregiver support meeting at Sterling Senior Center, 1 p.m. Oct. 14, Caregiver support meeting at Soldotna Senior Center, 1 p.m. Oct. 16, Caregiver support meeting at Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program in the Blazy Mall, 5 p.m. Oct. 21, Caregiver support meeting at Kenai Senior Center, 1 p.m. Oct. 28, Caregiver support meeting at Soldotna Senior Center, 1 p.m...
There are 1,001 great reasons for you to be exercising, especially if you are over 50. I’ll bet you can even tell me what at least 10 of those reasons are. Even if you don’t consider yourself a health nut, just about every newspaper, magazine, news program and talk show touts the benefits of exercise. So, I won’t beat you up with more reasons why you should be exercising. I will talk to you about why you’re not exercising and give you a quick “How to” guide to get started. Let’s start with a list. I call this list, “The top 10 reasons people...
Alaska Health Fairs, Inc. continues its fall series of health fair around the state this month, featuring free health screenings and education, low cost blood tests and more. These 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...
The geese have headed south and the Alaska summer is now just a memory. There is one more thing you should do before the snow comes — get a flu vaccine. While there is no way to ensure that you will not catch the flu, there are several things you can do to reduce your risk. Practicing these “habits of healthy people” and encouraging those around you to do likewise will go a long way in reducing the spread of flu. • Wash your hands often with soap and water. Some people find that singing through the entire ABCs while they wash is a good way to...
Dear Jonathan: My wife passed away last year just a few months after we had updated our estate planning documents. The attorney who prepared the documents on our behalf has recommended to me that I engage in yet another update of my estate planning documents for the purpose of removing my wife from the documents as the primary beneficiary and as the primary fiduciary. I guess I kind of understand why he is recommending this, however, in all of our documents we named our son and our daughter as back-up beneficiaries and fiduciaries....
The six senior centers in Mat-Su are exploring opportunities to minimize administrative costs and maximize available public and private resources to provide a wider variety of services to the seniors they serve. The Coalition of Mat-Su Senior Centers serve a geographically broad area, with some centers serving more densely populated areas, such as in Wasilla and Palmer, which both have large senior living campuses, and others where the population is more spread out and fewer services are...
Sovaldi, a new drug, which has been hailed as a breakthrough treatment for the 3.2 million Americans infected with hepatitis C, costs $1,000 a pill. While it is highly effective and has fewer side effects and takes less time than older therapies, it costs $84,000 for a typical patient. But lawmakers want to know why the U.S. price is much higher than in other countries, as well as previously estimated in the U.S. In a letter sent recently, two U.S. senators, Finance Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Ia., asked Gilead...
