Fall Access 2016

The “New” Senior, Part 2
Pages 4 & 5
Your Link To Community Resources
Vol.18, No.3 A Publication of The Area Agency on Aging 1-B Fall 2016
Serving the counties of Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St.Clair and Washtenaw
Exercising your voting privileges
Franklin D. Roosevelt said, "Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting."
Making sense of your prescriptions
In our country, we have the privilege of exercising our right to vote in local and presidential elections. To vote in the state of Michigan you must be:
• A U.S. citizen
• At least 18 years old by election day
• A resident of Michigan and of the city/township where you will apply in order to register to vote
• A registered voter at least 30 days prior to the election in the city/ township where you will vote
Audrey Shapero knows the importance of voting. The first time this Oakland County resident voted was when John F. Kennedy was running for president. “I remember that first election. The issues back then were civil rights and integration. I voted for candidates who championed those values.”
Shapero first became politically active while attending Mumford High School in Detroit. “I was involved in
a political club at school where we assisted with local political campaigns. I helped out with Martha Griffith’s campaign when she ran for a seat in congress,” Shapero said. “I also had the privilege of escorting Eleanor Roosevelt into Detroit's Masonic Temple for a speech while she was U.S. Representative to the United Nations Commission
on Human Rights. I remember her
commenting on how good it was to see young people involved.”
Oakland County resident, Audrey Shapero
Aging adults have a long-standing record of exercising their voting privilege. However, there are times seniors may have difficulty getting to the polls either because of transportation or health issues. If you want to participate in the upcoming election now is the time to apply for an absentee ballot or make plans to get a ride to the polls.
Shapero said, “I always vote in every election, but now I vote by absentee ballot because I’m either in Florida or traveling throughout the year.”
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If you’re an older adult, more than likely you are taking multiple medications every day. In fact, according to a 2007 survey of 17,000 Medicare beneficiaries, if you’re like two out of five of them, you’re taking five or more prescription medications. When taking multiple medications it’s important to follow your doctor’s orders and take your meds correctly. You must also be aware of drug interaction, know if your medica- tion(s) should be taken on an empty stomach or with food, or if there are foods you should avoid with certain meds.
This can be a lot of information to understand and keep organized, but help may be as close as your local pharmacy.
One neighborhood pharmacy that strives to serve older adults in innovative ways is Fairway Sav-Mor Drugstore in Eastpointe. This franchise is owned and managed by pharmacists Tom Rheaume and Ken Karamo. One of their helpful free programs is called
a “calendar packaging.” Rheaume explained, “We dispense medications into four weekly packages where medications for the week are separated into morning, afternoon, evening and bedtime doses. Each compartment is labeled and contains the medications the patient takes at these times during the day. All the patient has to do is check the compartment for Monday morning, for example, to verify that they have taken their Monday morning meds.”
Tom Rheaume of Fairway Sav-Mor Drugstore, Eastpointe
Using calendar packs helps Rheaume and Karamon have medication refills ready before the patient’s prescriptions run out, removing the burden from patients or caregivers who would otherwise need to call in refills. In addition, this system solves the potential problem of too many medica- tions. “Frequently, we’ve been able to reduce the number of medications using this packaging concept. For instance, when customers remember to take their blood pressure medications on a regular basis, sometimes the blood pressure lowers to a point where the physician can decrease the dose or quantity of prescribed medications,” said Rheaume.
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Inside This Issue
Managing Caregiving Challenges ..............3 The New Senior, Part Two..................4 & 5 Ask The Expert ........................................7 Caregiver Expo Preview ....................8 & 9 Growing Support for Older LGBT ..........10 Time to Review Your Medicare Plan ......11
NON-PROFIT U.S. POSTAGE PAID SOUTHFIELD, MI PERMIT #90