Fraud Watch Network

The AARP Fraud Watch Network gives you access to information about how to protect yourself and your family. Non-members and members alike can get our Watchdog Alerts, stay up on con artists’ latest tricks, and find out what to do if you’ve been victimized. It’s free for everyone because AARP is committed to safeguarding Americans’ financial futures. Click here to read more.

Top 10 Money Saving Tips for Seniors

If you're living on a fixed income, every penny counts! Use this checklist to make sure you're saving money where you can.

1. Current Expenses

Take the time to compile all of your current obligations (supplemental health insurance, prescription drug insurance, life insurance, etc.) and examine if you have the most cost-effective plan for you and/or if all plans are still relevant. Consult with a trusted information source before terminating plans. When assessing your prescription drug plans, consider reaching out to your local State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP), where you can get free information about Medicare, including apply for and selecting plans.

• Find your local SHIP counselor for assistance

2. Health Insurance

If you're enrolled in Medicare and have limited income and assets, you may be able to put over $100 back in your monthly Social Security check and minimize your premiums and co-pays by learning more about Medicare Savings Programs. There are four different Medicare Savings Programs that can help with Part B premiums and other costs. Each program has a different income and resource eligibility limit.

• Learn more about Medicare Savings Programs

3. Prescription Drugs

If you qualify, Medicare's Extra Help and local prescription drug assistance programs can help you cut your medicine costs.

• See what savings programs are available

4. Property Taxes

Legally whittle down your annual tax bill with help from local abatement, circuit rider, or work-off programs. On average, you can save $500–$2,000 annually with this assistance.

• See if you qualify for free tax assistance from the IRS

5. Phones

In many states, individuals over a certain age qualify for a free cell phone plan. Consider switching from a land line to a free mobile phone. Lifeline also offers a discount on local phone services for qualified individuals. Each state has its own rules.

• Find participating phone companies in your state

- See more at: http://www.ncoa.org/enhance-economic-security/economic-security-Initiative/savvy-saving-seniors/top-10-things-all-seniors.html#sthash.uvSJwrPT.dpuf Click here to read more.

A fundraiser to Benefit the Hamden Senior Wish Society

The Hamden Senior Wish Society is a non-profit, charitable organization established in 2003 to fill a gap left by existing social services and religions programs in the Hamden Community. Wishes granted to seniors address genuine needs that cannot be readily filled elsewhere.

Join them for a fundraiser Wednesday March 11, 5:30 to 8:00 pm
at Eli’s on Whitney, 2392 Whitney Avenue, Hamden, CT

There will be drink and appetizer specials and a chance to win some great raffle prizes!

For more information contact: Beth Wetmore by e-mail at granbetty1@comcast.net.
or by phone at 203.281.3500.

Still Alice—Movie Review

by Peter J. O'Connell

Still Alice. Released widely: Feb. 2015. Runtime: 101 mins. Rated: PG-13 for thematic material and brief language, including a sexual reference.

Still Alice is a memorable movie about a woman's loss of memory and her and her family's attempts to deal with that crisis. The woman is Alice, 50 years old, a noted and popular professor of linguistics, played by Julianne Moore in a superb, Oscar-winning performance.

After Alice cannot remember a certain word in a speech and becomes confused about the location of her office on campus, she consults specialists and receives a diagnosis of a rare affliction, early-onset Alzheimer's. Alice's diagnosis is not only painfully ironic given her profession but also inconceivably sad in that the disease may be passed from parents to children—and Alice has a son and two daughters, one of whom (Kate Bosworth) is pregnant. The scene in which Alice tells her children of her diagnosis is wrenching—and not the only one in the film that is.

The film depicts with both power and sensitivity—but never sentimentality—how Alice deteriorates over a relatively short period of time and goes from stage to stage in a brave but losing struggle against the thief that is stealing her brilliant, beautiful mind. The film also shows how the members of Alice's family go from stage to stage in their own specific struggles, trying to maintain their life-styles while helping Alice, and feeling both anger at her and compassion for her—and guilt that they may not be doing enough for her.

Alec Baldwin gives a solid, somewhat stolid—appropriately so—performance as Alice's husband. Kristen Stewart, who plays Alice's rebellious yet loving younger daughter, has often been derided for blank-faced performances in previous films but here proves that she can act, quite well too.

Still Alice, based on a novel by Lisa Genova, is a movie movingly co-directed by the married team of Wash Westmoreland and Richard Glatzer. 

“Footnotes” to the film: (1) Novelist Lisa Genova has a Ph.D. in neuroscience from Harvard. (2) The raw, honest depiction of illness in Still Alice undoubtedly owes much to the fact that Richard Glatzer is living with ALS (Lou Gehrig';s Disease) and cannot speak. ALS is the same disease that physicist Stephen Hawking has, as depicted in The Theory of Everything. (3) France apparently feels that Kristen Stewart can indeed act and recently awarded her a Cesar, their equivalent of the Oscar, for her supporting role in a film with Juliette Binoche. Stewart is the first American actress to receive a Cesar.

Wealth Management for the Deluxe Lifestyle

 

Jim Gust called my attention to the premiere issue of the redesigned New York Times Magazine, thick with ads. Four million dollar condos. Watches with unmentionable prices. And a surprising number of marketing messages from wealth managers catering to the upper crust.

BNY Mellon boasts of a 97% client retention rate. First Republic spotlights one of its entrepreneur banking customers. Bessemer Trust expresses willingness to manage new wealth alongside old wealth. Glenmede, despite having dropped "Trust" from its logo, features its status as a privately-held trust company.

For readers of the magazine who are not yet really rich, Fidelity, Fisher, Schwab and Merrill Edge also offer wealth-management help.

Back in Mad Men days, nobody would have expected to see those ads in the Sunday Times magazine. A quick look at the comparable magazine section for February, 1965 reveals that ads for women's fashion and home furnishings dominated. Men were offered stereo record players.

Ads for investment services and products? Back then they were found in the Sunday business pages. Mutual funds were a hot topic, as shown at right.

One reason for the migration of investment ads to the magazine section of the Sunday NY Times was the need to reach women. Equally important, wealth managers to the truly wealthy wanted to burnish their upper-crust image: "We manage family fortunes for the sort of people who own multimillion-dollar condos and buy expensive watches without looking at the price tag."

Neither of those motivations is new.  As we've shown you from time to time, back in the 1960s Chase Manhattan and U.S. Trust regularly advertised in The New Yorker. On that magazine's pages their messages mingled with ads from purveyors of women's fashions and suppliers of all manner of upscale merchandise. And, of course, Chase ads could run in full color.

Here's a nest egg ad from the winter of 1964-65, portraying a clock collector. Does he seem a bit stolid for the Swinging Sixties?

       

Interested in Volunteering at Stamford Hospital?

Donna Brace Ogilvie Volunteer Resource Center

As a Planetree hospital, Stamford Hospital is committed to personalizing the healthcare experience for both patients and their families, and volunteers are an important part of our mission. Volunteers are mentored and guided by hospital staff and our commitment is to ensure that each volunteer is well-matched and well-recognized for their individual strengths and talents. We provide a broad selection of volunteer opportunities that fit today's busy lifestyles, while at the same time maintaining a focus on the needs of our patients.

There are a variety of volunteer opportunities at the hospital for both adults and teenagers, and they are updated on a regular basis. There's a fit for everyone!

Ongoing Volunteer Opportunities

• Safety/Patient Fall Prevention Program
• Wayfinding Ambassador
• Tender Touch
• Care Partner Resource Center
• No One Dies Alone

Patient & Family Hospitality Areas

• Aid patients both pre and post surgery
• Assist patients and staff on patient units
• Assist staff with registering patients
• Greet and direct patients and family members
• Offer patients the comfort of human touch

Administrative Areas

• Assist visitors with navigating the hospital
• Field phone inquiries
• Help with project work and data entry in various departments

There are also annual events that require volunteer assistance over the course of the year. These events include, but are not limited to: Paint the Town Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness, Hope in Motion, Celebrating Healthy Hearts, Flu Campaign, American Diabetes/Heart Walk, and other school and community health fairs.

Please contact us regarding these opportunities.

How to Apply

Adult Volunteers

The first step to joining the Stamford Hospital team is filling out our adult volunteer application forms or calling the Donna Brace Ogilvie Resource Center. The application also includes a health and background check. After receiving an application, we will review the information and, if there is an open position that's a good fit, contact the applicant to set up an interview. All new volunteers are required to attend an orientation session, which takes place monthly.

Junior Volunteer Opportunities

• Administrative work in various departments (Finance, Marketing, and others)
• Helping with community events and fundraisers
• Playing an instrument or sharing other talents
• Sunshine Team
• Working in patient care units

Junior Volunteers (14 to 18 years of age) 

Stamford Hospital welcomes students ages 14 and older who are interested in volunteering in a professional medical environment to apply for our Junior Volunteer Fall/Spring/Summer Program.

To be considered, all volunteers are required to complete 50 hours of service for the school year. If volunteering in the summer you must complete 25 hours, with a minimum of two (2) hours on a weekly schedule. This is required upon issuing any recommendations.

In addition, each applicant is expected to submit a typed, 150-word essay that explains why he/she wants to volunteer and also illustrates the qualities that make the applicant an exceptional candidate for the Junior Volunteer Program.

Junior volunteers will need to read the junior volunteer information packet and fill out the application forms. Junior volunteer orientations are held twice annually, in June and in October.

Benefits

Aside from becoming part of the hospital family, there are other benefits to joining our volunteer team, including:

• Discounted membership to the Sarner Health & Fitness Institute during a volunteer tenure
• Free flu shots
• Participation in events and lectures sponsored by Stamford Hospital
• Letters of reference
• Opportunities to join hospital committees
• Participation in the employee credit union

Placement

Placement as a volunteer is based on skills, interests and availability. All volunteer positions are subject to an assessment period and the satisfaction of the department and the volunteer. Acceptance and placement as a volunteer is not guaranteed to any applicant. Those who are not suited to the health care environment at Stamford Hospital, or whose availability and interests are not compatible with our needs will be referred to other agencies.

Contact Us
 

Donna Brace Ogilvie Volunteer Resource Center

PO Box 9317

30 Shelburne Road

Stamford, CT 06904-9317

Adult Volunteer Info: 203.276.7521

Junior Volunteer Info: 203.276.7358

Fax: 203.276.6121

- See more at: http://www.stamfordhospital.org/about-us/volunteering.aspx#sthash.iVJOJvJF.dpuf

Memory loss: 7 tips to improve your memory

Concerned about memory loss? Take heart. Simple steps — from staying mentally active to including physical activity in your daily routine — might help sharpen your memory.

Can't find your car keys? Forget what's on your grocery list? Can't remember the name of the personal trainer you liked at the gym? You're not alone. Everyone forgets things occasionally. Still, memory loss is nothing to take lightly.

Although there are no guarantees when it comes to preventing memory loss or dementia, memory tricks can be helpful. Consider seven simple ways to sharpen your memory — and know when to seek help for memory loss.

1. Stay mentally active

Just as physical activity helps keep your body in shape, mentally stimulating activities help keep your brain in shape — and might keep memory loss at bay. Do crossword puzzles. Read a section of the newspaper that you normally skip. Take alternate routes when driving. Learn to play a musical instrument. Volunteer at a local school or community organization.

2. Socialize regularly

Social interaction helps ward off depression and stress, both of which can contribute to memory loss. Look for opportunities to get together with loved ones, friends and others — especially if you live alone. When you're invited to share a meal or attend an event, go!

3. Get organized

You're more likely to forget things if your home is cluttered and your notes are in disarray. Jot down tasks, appointments and other events in a special notebook, calendar or electronic planner. You might even repeat each entry out loud as you jot it down to help cement it in your memory. Keep to-do lists current and check off items you've completed. Set aside a certain place for your wallet, keys and other essentials.

Limit distractions and don't try to do too many things at once. If you focus on the information that you're trying to remember, you'll be more likely to recall it later. It might also help to connect what you're trying to remember to a favorite song or another familiar concept.

4. Sleep well

Sleep plays an important role in helping you consolidate your memories, so you can recall them down the road. Make getting enough sleep a priority. Most adults need seven to eight hours of sleep a day. Click here to read more.