Sorted by date Results 579 - 603 of 959
The Alaska Commission on Aging (ACoA) will hold its quarterly meeting Sept. 14 in Juneau, and will be accessible via video and teleconference at sites listed below, or statewide via toll-free telephone. The meeting takes place 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., and public comment is scheduled from 11 to 11:15 a.m. For more information, contact the host agency in your area (from the list below) or call the commission office in Juneau at 465-3250. Videoconference sites Anchorage Senior and Disabilities Services, 550 West 8th Ave., Room 143. 269-3666 Fairbanks...
he Third Annual Disability and Aging Summit will be held in Anchorage at the Special Olympics Alaska headquarters, 3200 Mountain View Drive, Oct. 13 and 14. This year’s keynote speaker is Karrie A. Shogren, PhD, a professor at the University of Kansas and director of the Kansas University Center on Developmental Disabilities. Dr. Shogren will address self-determination, systems of support and supported decision-making. CEUs may be available at the conference for a fee. The event is presented by the Alaska Disability and Aging Coalition. For r...
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 the above. Informal, early and free, with breakfast provided. The September meeting is Sept. 13, hosted by Chugiak-Eagle River Senior Center. Begins at 8 a.m. RSVP by calling Older Persons Action Group, Inc. for more information on these events or to be added to our e-mail reminder list,...
With Better Business Bureau’s free annual event, the Secure Your ID shred day, coming up, it’s a good time to remind people about steps they can take to prevent identity theft. The first line of defense in protecting your identity is to shred all documents with personal information. That includes credit card, bank, utility and other statements, old IRS and tax information, medical statements and credit card offers. Many instances of identity theft still occur by physical methods – dumpster diving and stealing mail out of unsecured mailb...
Every day, 10,000 people turn 65 and the eldest baby boomers will begin to turn 80 in 2026, so the demand for long term care services is about to explode in the near future. Already 1.4 million seniors live in nursing home facilities in the U.S. But states are only making lukewarm progress helping millions of seniors on Medicaid avoid costly nursing home care by arranging home or community services for them instead, a new AARP report finds. Overall, AARP says states have made “incremental improvements” since its 2014 Scorecard, but calls the...
Members and guests of the Bartlett Political Forum, aka the Bartlett Club, in Anchorage were entertained by none other than Jon "Bowzer" Bauman during a presentation July 20. Yes, he is still around and continues to entertain. He parodied "Good Night Sweetheart," singing "Goodnight Trumpcare, well it's time to go," and played a piece by Schubert that he said his mother enjoyed hearing. Most in the audience remembered Bauman's popular Sha Na Na character, "Bowzer," a gangly, slender-armed...
The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at University of Alaska Fairbanks (OLLI) is a program of UAF Summer Sessions and Lifelong Learning. OLLI provides learning opportunities for adults age 50 and older in the Fairbanks area. Led by its membership, OLLI offers stimulating courses, lectures and special interest groups. Members explore academic and general interest courses in an atmosphere that is intellectually stimulating, but without the stress of tests and grades. Members from all backgrounds are welcomed. They share the common bonds of intel...
Social Security is with you through life’s journey, securing today and tomorrow for millions of people. We know that reliability and dependability is an important part of your financial security. We use the same throughout the month eligibility rules for the first month’s Social Security check through the last month’s check, so it’s easy to know when checks are payable. If you meet all the requirements to receive benefits, Social Security pays your benefit after you have lived throughout the month. At 62, the first month many people are eli...
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 (Aug. 8 and 22), 9 a.m. to noon. Kenai Senior Center, on the first and third Wednesday of each month (Aug. 2 and 16), 9 a.m. to noon. Ketchikan Job Center, every Thursday (Aug. 3, 10, 17, 24, 31), 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...
Warning: This story may raise your blood pressure. For sure, it raises troubling questions about the U.S. government’s ability to manage a medical bureaucracy. Medicare, the government insurance program that provides health care to 55 million elderly and disabled Americans, continues to provide a steady income stream for criminals who are regularly finding innovative ways to steal a good sized chunk of the half-trillion dollars that are paid out annually by the program. This comes despite strong efforts by health investigators and Justice D...
If you haven’t seen the movie “The Intern,” starring Robert DeNiro and Anne Hathaway, you should. It’s funny, and it’s a perfect example of the difference in how generations work – the pitfalls and the saving graces. Retired, recently widowed, and bored, he applies for an internship which would generally be filled by a 20-something tech-savvy kid. He’s hired, and goes to work for a much younger boss, played by Hathaway, and that’s when two business worlds collide. You’ll enjoy the movie, but if you’re working for a much younger boss in rea...
One in nine Alaska women aged 60 and older experienced psychological or physical abuse in the past year, according to Dr. Andre Rosay, UAA Justice Center director. Results are based upon the Alaska Victimization Survey (AVS), an annual survey conducted from 2010 through 2015 by the Justice Center and funded by the Alaska Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. Dr. Rosay is the principal investigator for the survey. Dr. Rosay used data from both a state survey (AVS) and national survey (...
Editor’s note: This commentary was received on May 25, 2017. Sometimes legislation in Congress has unintended consequences. This is one of those times. The American Health Care Act (AHCA) that recently passed in the U.S. House, and awaits action in the Senate, would increase costs and risks for Alaskans including: seniors, children and adults with disabilities, people with pre-existing conditions, and those ages 50 to 64. The AHCA would ax federal funding for Medicaid which supports health programs for vulnerable Alaskans. Such a huge loss o...
After the National Family Caregiver Support Act was passed by U.S. Congress in 2000, the Senior and Caregiver Resource Center based in Juneau began offering caregiver-specific resources to elders and their families throughout Southeast Alaska. As per the Act, the center provides five different levels of service: 1) information, 2) assistance, 3) counseling, training and support groups, 4) respite care and 5) supplemental services, according to Marianne Mills, Southeast Senior Services (SESS)...
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 (July 11 and 25), 9 a.m. to noon. Kenai Senior Center, on the first and third Wednesday of each month (July 5 and 19), 9 a.m. to noon. Ketchikan Job Center, every Thursday (July 6, 13, 20, 27), 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...
You may think student loan debt is mostly for kids. But, think again. Kids are graduating from high school right about now, and looking toward college. And that might mean they’re looking to Grandma and Grandpa for help paying the bills, either with gifts of money, or as cosigners on student loans. But should you consider cosigning? A lot of parents and grandparents do cosign. Between 2005 and 2015, consumers age 60 and up became the fastest growing group of student loan borrowers. For some of those borrowers, they are still carrying debt f...
With the assistance of Debbie Rinckey and Kathy Day (two women well known in the public relations/advertising/print world around Anchorage), the Anchorage Senior Friendly Project (ASFP) is on its way to exploding by bringing businesses and seniors together. ASFP (as it is fondly known) was designed through the efforts of the Municipality of Anchorage Senior Citizens Advisory Commission and Older Persons Action Group. The mission statement of ASFP is “Businesses, Seniors, and Community – working together to build a Common Unity.” Ancho...
During the last Alaska Commission on Aging legislative teleconference of the legislative session on May 17, members of the Alaska Commission on Aging (ACoA), helmed by ACoA Executive Director Denise Daniello, and ACoA health and social services planner Lesley Thompson, discussed updates on the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services operating budget for FY18. This is the budget component with the most influence over the state’s senior services and programs. The House and Senate have passed both their versions of the operating budget and...
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 13 and 27), 9 a.m. to noon. Kenai Senior Center, on the first and third Wednesday of each month (June 7 and 21), 9 a.m. to noon. Ketchikan Job Center, every Thursday (June 1, 8, 15, 22, 29), 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...
June is Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, a good time for Alaskans to learn more about Alzheimer’s disease and talk with loved ones about options for care and maintaining love, laughter and social interaction in everyday life. Studies indicate that the ability to “to engage in meaningful time use and social behavior” is key to quality of life for those diagnosed with dementia. Among other factors, quality of life can be affected by maintaining or cultivating social relationships and a sense of community. The Alzheimer’s Association of Alaska informs...
Are you looking for resources that will allow you to maintain your independence as you age? Look no further than your local Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC). Servicing locations all over Alaska, ADRCs are the link between the individual and various services catering to seniors, caregivers and people with disabilities. "We listen to what individuals are asking for and explain and offer a variety of services such as Medicare, senior benefit programs, personal care services and more...
The Trump administration has proposed slashing the National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget, saying it is bloated with unnecessary expenses resulting in waste and abuse. It has also proposed to eliminate the independent status of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and absorb it into the NIH. AHRQ is a little-known agency that focuses on improving health care quality and applying it to patient safety. It is one of the true unsung heroes of the federal government, providing vital scientific research that has helped reduce...
The Senate Finance Health and Social Services Subcommittee closed out the operating budget for FY18 for the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) on Mar. 14. The Senate Subcommittee was able to reduce the DHSS budget by an additional 5 percent in general funds from the Governor’s FY18 budget with no additional reductions to many senior programs, including Senior Community Grant Services, Senior Benefits, elder protection and other services. “The committee prioritized seniors and the developmentally disabled for this year’s budge...
Imposter scams are on the rise – in fact, in 2016, according to the Consumer Sentinal Network, it ranked number two with 472 reported complaints by Alaska consumers, directly behind lottery/sweepstakes scams. Much of the time, these schemes are by phone. Scammers call consumers pretending to be from their utility company or cable company, from the IRS, law enforcement, internet or computer company (tech support scam) or from the court system. The caller claims you are behind in your utility payments, you missed jury duty and need to pay a f...
Editor's note: This is the sixth article in a series from the Diverse Elders Coalition, looking at different segments of the senior population. Cambodian American elders face many challenges similar to those of other low-income older Americans, such as poor nutrition, limited transportation and poverty. But they also face some very specific challenges as survivors of war and genocide, said Kaoru Watanabe, associate director of the Cambodian Association of Illinois (CAI). "A lot of times, as thes...
