Protecting Against Telemarketing Schemes and Other Fraud
Senior citizens are commonly targeted by con artists and other fraud schemers. To help combat this problem, the FBI offers many tips for seniors to protect against telemarketing fraud, Medicare scams and other common schemes. Below is FBI material on senior fraud—to find out more, visit www.fbi.gov/scams-safety/fraud/seniors. Read more
Tapped In: You Go, Girl
Notes from the neighborhood
Compiled by Megan Finnegan
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Hearts Aflutter
By Fred Cicetti
Q. Whenever I drink a little too much wine, I find that I wake up at night and my heart seems to race for a while. Can wine do that?
A. The short answer is yes. But first, it sounds as if you haven’t told a doctor about this. You should—immediately. What you’re describing could be atrial fibrillation. The risk of atrial fibrillation increases with age, particularly after 60.
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A Senior Safety Hazard
To the Editor:
79th Street and York Avenue is a very busy, hazardous four-way intersection. It’s confusing in that the signals don’t correspond in the traditional pattern that all pedestrians recognize and expect. Instead, when the traffic signal is red on the north side of York to stop southbound traffic, at the same time the signal is green on the south side of the avenue, allowing northbound traffic to continuing driving! Confusing and irrational? You bet! Pedestrians start crossing only to become startled by whizzing cars, trucks and buses coming at them from the opposite side. Fragile and disabled seniors afraid to cross here must walk one block farther for normal, safer crossing. Complaints to the DOT have resulted in signage warnings of little help to the vision impaired that are no substitute for safer signal lights.
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Where to Beat the Heat
Places to cool off when the temperature rises
New York City in the summer can actually be a wonderful place to be. People head out of town on vacation, the lines are shorter, the days are longer—the frantic pace seems to slow down a notch. There are outdoor programs, activities and spaces to enjoy. But with the season comes, at times, unforgiving heat that can be dangerous to the health of senior citizens.
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NEW COMPUTER LAB FOR SENIORS
By Karen Zheng
Upper West Side seniors now have access to more free computers and support services. Last Tuesday, Council Member Gale Brewer joined the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), the Macquarie Group and Older Adults Technology Services (OATS) in cutting the ribbon for the launch of the senior technology center at NYCHA’s Amsterdam Houses at 218 West 64th Street. The computer lab was made possible by a partnership between the three agencies—NYCHA provided the building space, the Macquarie Group donated the computers and OATS will supply instructional classes. Brewer, who has served as chair of the Council Committee on Technology, has an ongoing goal of bridging the digital gap across generations and economic levels.
Medicare and Social Security Aren’t Bargaining Chips
To the Editor:
As members of Congress and President Obama seek a resolution to the nation’s fiscal woes, seniors in New York and around the country must not be sacrificed for the sake of a stronger balance sheet.
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Help Even if You Haven’t ‘Fallen & Can’t Get Up’
New monitors offer medication reminders and help seniors monitor diseases
By Alan Krawitz
For Manhattan resident Tammy Lawrence, her health monitor is much more than a good idea; it provides her genuine peace of mind.
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Don’t Be Silent About Elder Abuse
Fight back against mistreatment of seniors
By Bette Dewing
So worth the saving, sharing and acting upon is the “Elder Abuse Is All-Too-Common Crime” op-ed piece from last week by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance and Council Member Jessica Lappin, who also heads the council’s Committee on Aging (the article can also be found at ourtownny.com).
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Elder Abuse Is All-Too-Common Crime
By Jessica Lappin and Cyrus R. Vance, Jr.
At the Amsterdam Nursing Home in Harlem, elderly residents—away from their families and loved ones—look to nursing aides for care and support. Although Jose Ramos was entrusted with protecting the nursing home’s elders, he instead preyed on a helpless victim and violated her in unthinkable ways. Last month, Ramos, a certified nursing assistant at the Manhattan facility, was sentenced to seven years in state prison for sexually abusing a disabled and speech-impaired resident.
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