Before the freshly cut ribbon even hit the floor, the seniors at Aviator Sports and Recreation at Floyd Bennett Field danced and cheered for the kickoff of the CMS Prevention Challenge Monday.
“I love it! I feel so full of energy, I could take on the whole world,” said Maria Manzola, 64, of Marine Park just off her group gymnastics performance which followed the ribbon ceremony.
In conjunction with the “Seniors in Shape” Program, which began last February at Aviator, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and about a dozen corporate sponsors held the event to promote regular exercise and disease prevention for New York’s elderly. “Early detection services increase the likelihood of identifying health problems early enough for effective treatment,” said Susan Lavin, the director of community programs at Aviator.
Renard L. Murray, CMS regional administrator, Susan Lavin the Director of Community Programs, and Frank M. Winter, health insurance specialist, cut the ribbon at Aviator Sports and Recreation.
Renard L. Murray, a CMS regional administrator, said that their main goal was to give seniors the tools they need to optimize their health coverage during Medicare’s Fall Open Enrollment period, which is November 15 to December 31. As the third year of the “Working Together for Better Health” Medicare bus tour – last year they hit 48 out of 50 states – the Prevention Challenge also hoped to demystify the Medicare plan selection process, said Murray.
“We want them to know you have options. You have the ability to make changes in your services and much of the preventative services are free,” Murray said.
Right now, only one out of every ten Medicare beneficiaries takes full advantage of the preventative services available, said Frank M. Winter, a health insurance specialist with CMS. Murray added that 30 percent of seniors still aren’t receiving basic care like free flu vaccines and inoculation for pneumonia.
Showing people how to continuously track their health coverage was extremely important, Winter said, especially as baby boomers get older. The program kickoff also had computer stations set up so seniors could sign up to track their progress on MyMedicare.gov.
Felice Frost, an organizer for over 30 years and one of the Seniors in Shape founders, said participants can do tai chi, weight training, tap dance and “slimnastics” to stay fit. Yesterday, attendees could also get screenings for diabetes, blood pressure and cardiac disease and also speak with counselors to review their prescription combinations in what Winter called a “brown bag review.”
“The whole operation is outstanding,” said Clemente Migliozzi, 79, accompanied by his wife Angie, 74. On the heels of their 53rd anniversary, the young couple from Queens has been to Aviator twice a week every week since April and they said that they have taken advantage of every single service and workshop available.
“There’s ballroom and dirty dancing, and I’m talking dirty,” Migliozzi said, “like lying-on-the-floor dirty, then the girls dance around me.”
This article appeared in the 22 November issue of Our Town.
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