The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the Michigan Office of Services to the Aging (OSA) today warned citizens about recent reports of scam artists contacting seniors in an attempt to obtain personal information by asking them to reveal Medicare, Social Security or bank account numbers, or pay a fee to receive a $250 Medicare rebate check.

The DHHS and OSA are urging Medicare beneficiaries not to provide personal information to anyone representing themselves as a "Medicare" or "government" worker if contacted by phone, mail, or in person in exchange for a $250 Medicare rebate check. These one-time rebates are automatically mailed to Medicare recipients when they reach the Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage gap, also known as the 'donut hole.'

For further information, call the national Medicare office at (800) 633-4227. In Michigan, call MMAP at (800) 803-7174.

At your next family reunion or gathering, consider discussing a different type of family tree — your family health history. Knowing what diseases and health conditions run in the family can give you, your children and grandchildren clues about your risk factors. It can also be a useful tool for health care providers to assess a family member’s health risks and recommend preventive steps. Find out how to collect, organize and use information about your family’s health at Creating a Family Health History available on the NIHSeniorHealth Web site.
[Photo courtesy of Gary H. Spielvogel on flickr]

The State of Michigan's Office of Services to the Aging — Michigan Seniors has issued a warning to all older adults and their caregivers about the impact summer heat has on older adults. "Because aging affects the body's ability to respond to summer heat, older adults are particularly at risk for heat-related illnesses such as heat stroke, heat fatigue, heat cramps and heat exhaustion, according to the U.S. National Institute on Aging (NIA)."

Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.

Here's your chance to log-in on William Shatner because the William Shatner Blogathon takes off on July 5.

The rules are simple: Blog about William Shatner. Doesn't matter what you blog about; anything that bears the golden touch of the Shatman is fair game.

Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho premiered in theaters on June 16, 1960, fifty years ago. I still remember sitting slouched down in my seat, ready to cover my eyes. You just knew as Janet Leigh pulled into the Bates Motel something wicked was coming her way. They don't call Alfred Hitchcock the Master of Suspense for nothing! He created terror in your heart, kept you at the edge of your seat, waiting, waiting...then sent you reeling back because you didn't see that coming!

We've moved! Beginning with the Canton Seniors Book Group's Wednesday, November 17 meeting, the group will meet at the Canton Public Library in Group Study Room A, from 2:00-3:00 p.m. Copies of THE RED TENT by Anita Diamant are available at the library, see an Adult Reference Librarian to pick up your copy.

The Madonnas of Leningrad: a novel by Debra Dean — (September 22, 2010) — You can pick up a copy of this book at the Adult Reference Desk beginning  Wednesday, August 25.