Southeastern Minnesota Area Agency on Aging

Join Mayo Clinic, AARP, and the Alzheimer’s Association for the Mayo Clinic Conference on Brain Health and Dementia on Friday, October 29th, virtually via livestream. This FREE event is for people living with dementia, care partners and families, healthcare professionals, and anyone interested in supporting friends and neighbors who may be experiencing memory loss, Alzheimer’s, or another dementia.
A Brighter Path Forward will focus on lessons learned that have deepened our understanding of the dementia experience, challenged our perspectives, and inspired us like never before toward greater empathy, inclusivity, and innovative reforms to create a better world for those impacted by dementia.

• The MN Board on Aging has had a decrease in federal funding that helped cover Health Care Choices printing costs.
• Postage costs have risen, and it is very expensive to mail such a large item to thousands of people each year.
• It is much more cost effective for people to view the book online and down-load pages they consider most useful.
• Did you know? Often, people only use a few pages of the 200+ page book to choose their Medicare plan!
• In addition, some plans make updates to benefits, etc. throughout the year.
• Once the books are printed, this information immediately becomes out-of-date once there has been an update.
• The online version is always the most up-to-date edition! Check it out!
• People can also refer to their print copies of “Medicare and You,” which is mailed out to enrollees each September.

We have so many reasons to celebrate and here are just a few:

As a nation, we recognize the impact that the murder of George Floyd has had on putting the spotlight on equity, inclusion & social justice. We take time to vison forward to the tributes and positive changes to come.

As a state we applaud and celebrate the efforts of all who advocated to move the MN Age Friendly initiative to a state-wide platform, boosting forward education around ageism and momentum to build robust aging services among an aging nation.

As a community we celebrate the tradition of honoring and preserving local landmarks such as the ear of corn water tower and most importantly the efforts of both public and private sectors to embrace the Listen, Learn and Act initiative to promote community inclusion.

As a AAA, we look forward to celebrating in October, 40 years of service to the southeastern region of MN. SEMAAA’s fall newsletter will look back at some of the great memories and a snapshot of the future!

As for me, personally, I was so happy to celebrate my Mom’s 88th birthday with her. Pictured – Joanne with a special guest, “Frank the Bear,” that rascal has popped up at several Zoom meetings and celebrations!

Finding Ways to Engage at Every Age,

Laurie
Executive Director

Join us on Thursday July 15th from 6-7:30 PM
Long-term care is the personal care and household help you need as you grow older or have a chronic illness or disability. Medicare and your health insurance do not pay for most of long-term care. This presentation will provide you with information on why and how to plan and pay for your future long-term care needs.
Eventbrite Registration Link

Advocates assist individuals in completing paperwork to access county services such as waivered services, SLMB, SNAP, and any benefit they may be eligible for. Additionally; advocates can assist clients in accessing Energy Assistance, telephone programs, home repair loans, and other programs which may fit their needs. Assistance can be provided in the home or in the office, based on the client’s needs.

Melissa comes to Semcac after years of community work. Initially as a certified sign language interpreter; she has worked as a program consultant/advocate for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services Division of DHS. Melissa’s education includes work in business communication and cross cultural communication. She is trained as a medical sign language interpreter and worked for two years with Metropolitan Medical Center and Hennepin County Medical Center.

When asked what she enjoys most about her position as an advocate, Melissa responded, “As an advocate, I have always had an interest in working with people who were elderly. I am drawn to help people who want assistance and will roll up my sleeves to get the job done. It gives me great satisfaction to use the skills honed over years of work experience to keep someone in their home or make the transition to assisted living or other services when it is needed.”

Recently Melissa assisted a woman after the death of her husband. While her family was supportive to her emotional needs, they did not know where to start regarding finances and other government programs. The woman’s husband had been her representative payee on her social security benefits due to her disability. When he died that payment stopped immediately and she was without income. Melissa and the consumer worked together to remove the representative payee from her account. Together they were able to get her the additional social security benefit due to her and she did not lose her housing in the process. They were also able to help the consumer obtain SNAP and SLMB benefits (food support and a Medicare Savings program).

Melissa’s advocacy and determination in working together with the client and county staff really helped this individual get through a challenging time. Melissa and the individual continue to meet once or twice a month to go over paperwork. This helps assure stability in her benefits and overall living situation. This story is a great example of what advocates can do to guide people through tough times and help them access the services they need.

1. How Many years of experience do you have in the nonprofit and/or finance world? 17, 34, 38 for a collective total of 89.
2. What is your preferred way to make an egg? Hard boiled & Scrambled X 2
3. What do you like most about working with SEMAAA grantees? Seeing the difference they make in the lives of seniors; Providing technical assistance; All of the interesting personalities.
4. If you were to purchase a classic car, what would it be? Ford Mustang, Corvette and don’t know – not a car person.
5. Describe the SEMAAA Finance team in 5 words or less: Helpful, supportive, fun, dedicated & smart! The department with little free time; Hard working & quick thinking.
6. What is your favorite way to spend your free time? Outside doing anything; Reading; Feet in the pool, dog in lap.
7. What makes you happy about working with services that benefit older adults? We are making a difference; so gratifying; knowing what I can look forward to when I get “older.”
8. What is your favorite movie or Book? It’s a wonderful life; Shrek; Grease
9. Do you prefer to watch an animated movie or a documentary? Animated flick x 2 and documentary for sure x1
10. What is your dream job? Playing in the pit orchestra at Chanhassen; Run a Doggie Daycare; Grant Manager at SEMAAA (of course)!

The Welcome to Medicare preventive visit is a one-time appointment you can choose to receive during the first 12 months of your Part B enrollment. This is not a head to toe physical, but an attempt to create a personalized prevention plan.

The Annual Wellness Visit is a yearly appointment with your primary care provider to create or update a personalized prevention plan, which may help prevent illness based on your current health and risk factors.

Other Preventative Services include vaccinations and immunizations such as flu shots, pneumonia, hepatitis B and COVID-19 vaccinations. The tetanus shot is covered if you have an incident and need the added protection, and the booster shot is generally covered by Part D.

Screening tests and labs for many services are also covered by Medicare Part B. These conditions include Hepatitis C, Diabetes, Glaucoma, Depression, Cardiovascular Disease and more.

Under certain circumstances, you may be charged for services you receive related to your preventive services. For example, during the preventive care visit, your provider discovers and needs to investigate or treat a new or existing problem. This type of care becomes diagnostic, meaning you are being treated for certain symptoms or risk factors. You could also be charged for an office visit if you meet with your provider before or after receiving your preventive care.

For more information, please contact the Senior LinkAge Line® at 1-800-333-2433. The Health Care Choices for Minnesotans on Medicare booklet also has excellent information on these services. That booklet can be viewed online at www.mnhealthcarechoices.com

YOU MAY BE ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE IF:
• You are at least 70 years old, a female, and healthy.

Study participation will last for about 5 months and includes 8 visits. We will ask you to complete blood draws, bone density testing, questionnaires, and other tests to determine eligibility. Remuneration will be offered.

For more information, contact a member of the study team at 507-538-6023 or by email: volkman.tammie@mayo.edu