Aging Well Boulder County | Issue 20 | May 15, 2017

More than ever before, older adults are working longer,
trying new things, and engaging in their communities. They’re taking charge,
striving for wellness, focusing on independence, and advocating for themselves
and others.

Each May we join in the national celebration of Older
Americans Month - the theme this year is Age Out Loud! Throughout the
month, we're featuring photos and videos of Boulder County older adults who are
aging out loud! Check out our Facebook page today!

Do you know someone who has stepped in to prevent fraud or abuse of an older adult? Nominate them today!

We proudly partner with many organizations in our community.
With Audio Information Network of Colorado
(AINC), we fund services that provide free access to recorded programming
for blind and visually impaired individuals. These services allow listeners to
access audio programs online, through downloaded podcasts, on TV, or over the
phone. With recorded content from over 100 newspapers and magazine articles,
our statewide programs provide over 1,500 listeners with everything from
national news to local news and community events.

A recent client accessed his local newspaper as well as
Spanish publications in audio format. He had worked in Spanish speaking
countries in his life, but his Spanish was rusty. Having the northeast Colorado
broadcast stream and the Spanish broadcast stream programmed into an internet
radio has enabled him to keep up-to-date on local news and practice his
Spanish. Learn more about AINC here.

Get a comprehensive view of who we are and what we’ve done in the last year: click here to view our 2016 Annual Report.

Join the Boulder County Area Agency on Aging, TRU PACE, and
the Colorado Health Institute for a morning presentation and discussion on the
latest in healthcare policy, and potential impacts on seniors in
Colorado.

Joe Hanel, Manager of Public Policy Outreach for the
Colorado Health Institute, will provide an update on Federal healthcare policy
and field questions from the audience.

Professionals and members of the public are welcome to
attend this free event. A light breakfast, generously provided by TRU PACE,
will also be served. Pre-register here.

We recently recognized Gerra Lewis as our Volunteer of the
Quarter. Gerra began volunteering for our Medicare Counseling program in
2011, answering many Medicare-related questions from the public. Gerra
takes the lead for our Medicare Open Enrollment clinic at the Louisville Senior
Center every year. She is a thoughtful, diligent, resourceful and reliable
volunteer and her dedication to the program is appreciated by all of us!

We also celebrated our volunteers and their invaluable work
at our annual Volunteer Luncheon in April. Volunteers joined BCAAA staff to
visit and share stories, listen to live music, and watch a video
featuring volunteers from most of our programs. In 2016, nearly 300 people
volunteered with BCAAA, contributing an impressive 5,822 hours toward our community
impact.

Interested in volunteering? Contact
Kari at 720-864-6526 or visit our webpage
to learn more.

Two scam alert notifications you ought to be aware of:

Medicare cards:
Have you heard you will be receiving new Medicare cards? This change is to help
prevent fraud and protect your identity. This won’t happen until April 2018,
but scammers are already jumping on the confusion as an opportunity for fraud.
Some scammers call beneficiaries claiming to be Medicare and say they must
confirm current Medicare numbers before sending a new card. Others call saying
there is a charge for the new card and are collecting beneficiaries’ personal information.

There is no charge for your new card and Medicare will
never call you for your information. If you receive any such calls or
suspicious solicitations, hang up and report it to our Boulder
County Medicare Counseling team at 303-441-1546.

Law enforcement calls: Boulder County District
Attorney Stan Garnett is warning residents that there has been a surge in fake
law enforcement calls to people – and especially seniors – in the community. Victims
receive a call or message from a person claiming to be an official from
"Boulder County Sheriff's Office." When they return that call,
they are connected to an "officer" and told that they have failed to
appear for either jury duty or Grand Jury duty, and have received a citation
and owe money.

One of the main
identifying features of this scam is that the caller will keep their target on
the phone at all times as they visit their bank to withdraw cash. They are then
asked to purchase Green Dot Moneypak cards. Once the scammer is given the
number on the back of the card, the money is gone in seconds. For further
information, visit their website or call the Community
Protection Division of the District Attorney's Office, at 303-441-3700.