Doug Sheaffer – Pacific County

Health carnival, medicare events are on the horizon

August 26, 2016

 

By: Doug Sheaffer

Email: sheafdf@dshs.wa.gov

 

August is heading out the door pretty soon. Looking ahead a ways, school will be starting, the annual Ocean Beach Hospital Health Carnival, and Medicare Part D open enrollment are all on the horizon.

Feel free to be excited about any or all of these.

Calendars have a way of filling-up quickly, so let’s take a look at some dates to pencil in—or if you’re a confident type person, use ink.

Ocean Beach Hospital hosts an annual health open house that has been historically well attended—last year about 150 folks attended. It will be advertised as “Up with Good Health Carnival” and a lot of people and information will be on tap.

Although at the hospital, it includes much more than medical information and provides the opportunity to talk to real live people about real life issues. We will be there with information ranging from Family Caregiver Support services to Medicare supplemental plans, and more.

In the past there have been some free medical screenings, handouts (and people) about a variety of social services and exercise programs. Last year we had about twenty tables for folks to come to. Spend the day, stroll through or target what you want to find out about—it’s all free.

This year, the Carnival is on September 24th, from 8 AM to 1 PM, at (obviously) Ocean Beach Hospital in Ilwaco.

October also has a few things to take note of. On October 5th, we will be sponsoring a Medicare Outreach event, with SHIBA (Statewide Health Insurance Benefits Advisors) staff who can—and gladly will—answer your questions about the various moving parts of Medicare, availability and costs of supplemental plans and Medicare Part D (prescriptions).

This event will be held at the Ocean Park Fire Department meeting room, from 1:00-3:00.

Still have room on the calendar? On October 12th, Health Insurance Options for Seniors will be presented at the Astoria Senior Center, 1111 Exchange Street. This is an evening gathering running from 6-7:30 PM and will cover (again) Medicare Supplemental Plans, Part D and other information regarding both Medicare and Medicaid.

And, since we’ve already mentioned Medicare Part D a few times, remember that open-enrollment begins October 15th and runs through December 7th. We’ll look at all that in more detail later.

For now, note the dates and see what you can do. We’re all about people talking to people and these are great opportunities for that!

 

Information & Assistance

Long Beach: 642 3634/888 571 6558   Raymond: 942 2177/888 571 6557

www.o3a.org