By Mark Hallum
Community News Group’s Elder Care Expo at Queens College Sunday drew sponsors from a full spectrum of business and organizations to inform families of the best options for the well-being of loved ones entering their golden years.
Seminars from Dime Community Bank, Advanced Cardiovascular Diagnostics and Korsinsky and Klein, among others, offered advice on building strategies for managing funds, preventative heart disease screenings and a how-to on avoiding scams targeting the elderly.
“Be concerned if you get a phone call asking for you as if it’s some type of emergency or threatening you might be locked up if you don’t pay a certain fine. Be aware of anybody who asks for cash, wire money or prepaid cards. Always verify the sources,” David Panetta of Dime Community Bank said. “Over half a million people last year reported their grandparents were scammed, and that’s just what was reported… Some people lose their entire life savings.”
Quinton Stephenson, who works in the Medicare retirement department at United Healthcare, was educating seniors on how Medicare works and plans that would fit their individual needs whether it’s a vantage plan or a supplement plan.
“Three-quarters of strokes we can stop by just doing ultra-sounds to people who are high risk such as people with hypertension, diabetes,” Perry Frankel of Advanced Cardiovascular Diagnostics said in between consultations at the expo. “Forty-five percent of people who have a heart attack don’t know they’ve had a heart attack–called a silent heart attack–and have triple the risk of dying, according to a big study by the American Heart Association.”
Some symptoms of a silent heart attack do not include chest pain. Women in particular are at risk of experiencing sleep disturbances, shortness of breath, indigestion, fatigue and anxiety.
“We are conveying to the public what we do and presenting options that are available to them with regard to long-term care planning and estate planning,” Joseph Klein, of Brooklyn-based Korsinsky and Klein, said. “People worry. What if they need a nursing home, what if they need home care? They don’t want to spend all their money, end up with nothing and then apply for Medicaid. They would rather protect their assets now.”
Crys Cooper, program manager at MTM, which offers wheelchair-accessible transportation, said her company provides alternative options to Access-a-Ride and offers wheels to anybody looking to get from point A to B.
“We provide services across a continuum of needs from insurance products, home care, nursing homes, rehab and hospice and palliative care,” Toby Weiss of Metropolitan Jewish Health System, said. “We’re here to help people become more proactive in managing their health care needs throughout their lives and we believe education and awareness helps people become better consumers.”
Marketing representative for Village Care Max, Jean Francois, said their company supplies care for people in their homes by providing resources for them to be safe and comfortable with caregivers familiar to them.
Nurses with Essential RN offer companionship to home-bound senior citizens as well as other services, such as housekeeping, errands, meal preparation and shopping, according to Ismet Pupovic, who heads up marketing.
CNG will hold another Elder Care Expo in Brooklyn on Oct. 28.
Reach reporter Mark Hallum by e-mail at mhall
