44 North Shore Towers Courier n November 2015 BY STEPHEN VRATTOS The Health & Financial Fitness Expo hit North Shore Towers Friday, October 9. Though set to begin at 10:00 am, residents and visitors descended on Towers on the Green and filled the catering hall by 9:30 am. The popular, semi-annual event was hosted by the Queens Courier, Alliance Homecare, Sinai Chapels, New York Community Bank, AgeWell New York, Parker Jewish Institute for Health Care and Rehabilitation, Bayada Home Health Care, MDVIP, WellCare, Aetna, North Shore Towers and Towers Restaurant, and featured more than thirty health-related businesses, who had representatives on hand to inform attendees on such important issues as care management, latest scams targeting seniors, preparing a will and how to effectively communicate with your doctor. Not as important, yet arguably more popular, are the myriad freebies handed out and raffles to enter for the chance at valuable prizes, graciously provided by the companies in attendance. Water bottles, back scratchers, jar openers, carry-all bags and pens were among the giveaways. There was musical entertainment by Russell Craig and coffee and a yummy selection of homemade cakes were provided by Towers Restaurant. But certainly the highlight of the Expo is the impressive array of speakers, freely providing health and financial information. Keynote Speaker Gregory Solometo, CEO of Alliance Homecare, spoke candidly about geriatric care management. As an only child, Solometo became responsible for seeing to his grandmother during her latter stages of life and described how difficult and onerous a job it was. Beyond the specific services provided by a home healthcare professional, there were many essential tasks, such as coordinating doctor visits, handling finances and legal issues, and grocery shopping, that needed doing. “Care management provides that someone who will quarterback all your needs; a central coordinator of all aspects, as well as disseminating info and advice,” Solometo explained. Senior Fraud investigator of the Queens County Savings Bank, Glen Doyle, returned to alert attendees of the latest scams, which target seniors. The “IRS Phone Scam” concerns an alleged call from the Federal agency claiming someone owes back taxes. According to Doyle, anyone receiving such a call “should just hang up!” Similarly, a person might get a call notifying of a loved one in trouble, perhaps in jail, and a certain fee needed to help the person out of the dire situation. Again, the best course of action is to hang up the phone. Doyle spoke of a prevalent mail scam, wherein an unsuspecting victim receives a postal notification of their winning a lottery and the charges the person must send in order to collect the monetary prize. “Just rip it up!” Doyle advises. He also warned of scammers approaching people outside banks about refinancing and asking for personal information. The bottom line for any of these unscrupulous scenarios is to never give out personal information to anyone you do not know. Alix Melamed, Funeral Director of Sinai Chapels, spoke of the importance of planning in advance and gave info on some services available through Sinai Chapels, of which people may not be aware, such as transporting a loved one to Israel for burial or handling the needs of “Snow Birds,” who may be in Florida when an untimely tragedy occurs. Julie Cimilucca, Community Liaison for Bayada Home Health Care, talked about knowing when a loved one needs assistance and what to look for in a provider, while Dr. Adam Cohen of MDVIP explained what a geriatrician is—a doctor whose expertise lies in the specific care and handling of older patients. And Dana Sherwin, Director of Operations & Data Analytics for Age Well New York presented important information on Medicare and Medicaid. Maureen Schneider, RN, Director Adult Day Health Care of Parker Jewish Institute for Health Care, explained how to effectively communicate with your physician. The key is having an attentive and able advocate present to take note of the proscribed advice and particular medication administered. There was also foot care tips and advice presented by Dr. Landau, and the always popular movement exercises by Companions Plus brought attendees to their feet and smiles to their faces, while also showing them a few easy ways to stay fit. STAYING FIT Popular event returns to North Shore Towers Photos by Stephen Vrattos Bayada Home Health Care Sinai Chapels Parker Jewish Institute for Health Care and Rehabilitation NYCB Family of Banks MDVIP Raise the roof! Keynote Speaker Gregory Solometo, CEO of Alliance Homecare, with NST resident, Howard Chustek Miss Senior New York AgeWell New York
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