A Helping Hand to Get You Back Home

/in /by

By Steven Jameson, The Free Press Media

Sherry Folsom-Meeks, a retired MSU professor who lives in North Mankato has kidney failure and needs regular dialysis. Last summer she ended up in the hospital after a stroke. When she came out of the hospital, she was afraid to go home at first. Unsure whether or not she could care for herself, she went into assisted living. It was there that she met Rita Pyan, Community Living Specialist at the Senior LinkAge Line®. With Rita’s help, and the help of the assisted living facility, it took only two months before she felt comfortable and able to go home.

The Senior LinkAge Line® is a free service provided by the State of Minnesota to help older adults and their families find community services and options. The office in southern Minnesota serves 27 counties, employing five Community Living Specialists like Rita. Even though the Senior LinkAge Line® has been around for 20 years, many people don’t know about it.

Read more
Share on:

New Assistance Sites for People Who Speak Spanish and Somali

/in /by

Many of you know that the Senior LinkAge Line® has trained staff and volunteers who can help answer your questions and simplify your life. They can provide assistance with Medicare, supplemental insurance, long-term care insurance, Medicare Savings Programs, prescription drugs, completing forms and much more. You can call the Senior LinkAge Line at 1-800-333-2433 or visit a monthly MinnesotaHelp Network® site for in-person assistance. Counseling at these sites is free and confidential, and appointments are not necessary, so drop-ins are welcome.

In March, the Senior LinkAge Line® added two additional sites with translators available – one location will serve older adults who speak Spanish and the other will serve those who speak Somali.

People who speak Somali can receive assistance the third Wednesday of each month from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm at the Community Integration Center located at 201-5th Street South West in Willmar.

People who speak Spanish can get help the first Thursday of each month from 5:00 to 7:00 PM at the Willmar Community Center located at 624 Highway 71 in Willmar.

The Senior LinkAge Line® is a free statewide service of the Minnesota Board on Aging and Area Agencies on Aging. Specialists provide one-to-one assistance with helping older adults age well and live well. The Senior LinkAge Line® is the federally designated State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) for Minnesota and is the place to call for Medicare and health insurance issues and much more.

To find out information about MinnesotaHelp Network® sites in your area, call 1-800-333-2433 Monday through Friday between 8:00 am – 4:30 pm.

Spanish & Somali MinnesotaHelp Network® Sites:

Community Integration Center
201 5th Street South West, Willmar
3rd Wednesday each month
11:00 am to 1:00 pm
Assistance available in Somali

Willmar Community Center
624 Highway 71, Willmar
1st Thursday each month
5:00 to 7:00 pm
Assistance available in Spanish

Share on:

New Medicare Cards in 2018

/in , /by

Excerpt from 2018 Health Care Choices for Minnesotans on Medicare

Medicare will be issuing new Medicare cards next year. The new cards will have a new Medicare number that is unique to you, instead of using your Social Security number. This change will help to prevent fraud, fight identity theft and protect private information.

  • Those on Medicare will automatically receive a new card mailed to the address that Social Security has on file. Contact Social Security if you need to verify your address.
  • People will start receiving new Medicare cards in April 2018.
  • All Medicare cards will be replaced by April 2019.
  • New Medicare cards will be issued with a new unique, randomly-assigned number called a Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI).
  • The MBI will replace the existing Social Security-based Health Insurance Claim Number (HICN) both on the cards and in various government and health care systems.
  • Railroad Retirement Board retirees will also receive new cards.
  • Healthcare providers will be able to look up the new MBI through a secure tool at the point of service.
    • There will be a 21-month transition period where all healthcare providers will be able to use either number for billing purposes.

Call the Senior LinkAge Line at 1-800-333-2433 if you have questions about the new Medicare cards or for free help with other Medicare-related issues.

The Senior LinkAge Line is a free statewide service of the Minnesota Board on Aging and Area Agencies on Aging. The Senior LinkAge Line is the federally-designated State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) for Minnesota and is the place to call for Medicare and health insurance issues. Call 1-800-333-2433 for assistance or go to www.MinnesotaHelp.info® to chat live with a Senior LinkAge Line specialist.

Share on:

2017 MNRAAA Annual Report – Board Chair’s and Executive Director Letter

/in , , , , , , , /by
Dear Readers:
Welcome to the 2017 Minnesota River Area Agency on Aging® Annual Report. Bob and I hope you will enjoy reading a few of MNRAAA’s highlights from last year.
Beginning in May, board members and staff participated in strategic planning, facilitated by Aurora Consulting. During the planning process, we revised our mission statement, developed a vision
statement and determined our strategic directions for the next three years (read more about Strategic Planning here).
Due to the expansion of the Return to Community initiative, we hired several additional staff and outgrew our space in the Mankato office. Fortunately, we could move our conference room to a space across from our office and use the vacated space for staff.
We said good-bye to three of our board members: Amy Wilde, Jane Baldwin and Dr. Tim Bachenberg. Their insight and dedication to improving the lives of older adults and caregivers will
be missed.
Even though we know we’ll encounter challenges during 2018, we look forward to continuing our efforts to provide advocacy, information, resources, and assistance so that older adults can maintain the lifestyle of their choice.
Keep reading if you’d like to learn about additional 2017 highlights. And, if you haven’t joined us on social media or signed up to receive our newsletter, we invite you to go to page three for our contact information.
Sincerely,
Linda Giersdorf, Executive Director
Robert Roesler, Board Chair
Share on: