COVID 19 update https://youtu.be/eotBv4GphsI from our Groton Town Police

Medicare has temporarily expanded its coverage of telehealth services to respond to the current Public Health Emergency. These services expand the current telehealth covered services, to help you have access from more places (including your home), with a wider range of communication tools (including smartphones), to interact with a range of providers (such as doctors, nurse practitioners, clinical psychologists, licensed clinical social workers, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech language pathologists). During this time, you will be able to receive a specific set of services through telehealth including evaluation and management visits (common office visits), mental health counseling and preventive health screenings without a copayment if you have Original Medicare. This will help ensure you are able to visit with your doctor from your home, without having to go to a doctor’s office or hospital, which puts you and others at risk of exposure to COVID-19.
You may be able to communicate with your doctors or certain other practitioners without necessarily going to the doctor’s office in person for a full visit. Medicare pays for “virtual check-ins”—brief, virtual services with your physician or certain practitioners where the communication isn’t related to a medical visit within the previous 7 days and doesn’t lead to a medical visit within the next 24 hours (or soonest appointment available).
• You need to consent verbally to using virtual check-ins and your doctor must document that consent in your medical record before you use this service. You pay your usual Medicare coinsurance and deductible for these services. Medicare also pays for you to communicate with your doctors using online patient portals without going to the doctor’s office. Like the virtual check-ins, you must initiate these individual communications.

The Renter Rebate Program through the State of CT provides a rebate to renters who are elderly or disabled. The Senior Center is currently unable to take appointments in the office. All applicants who previously applied have been contacted with instructions about how to apply this year. Any new applicants can contact the Senior Center office with questions. The application period runs until October 1st. Please be sure to have your
SSA1099 for 2019 or its equivalent from Social Security as it is required in order to process an application.
To be eligible:
1. An applicant or the spouse must be 65 or older; or be 100% disabled (per Social Security);
or be 50 and a surviving spouse.
2. Must have lived in Connecticut for 1 year.
3. Total 2019 income which includes Social Security must not exceed:
Married $45,100
Single $37,000
If you collect Social Security, you must provide your SSA1099 for 2019.
4. Thirty-five percent of the applicant’s annual rent must exceed 5% of the applicant’s income.
Proof of income received and rent and utility payments made in calendar year 2019 must be provided.

AARP On-Line Smart Driver Classes are available. If you need to renew your car insurance discount due to course cancellations, you can take the AARP Smart Driver online course. AARP is offering a special 25% off discount for those who may have to take it online now. This offer is to keep the price close to the classroom course price.

Promo code for 25% discount: DRIVINGSKILLS Good through: July 31, 2020″
Website: www.aarpdriversafety.org

A Free Zoom Poetry Class will run for June 9th – July 7th on Tuesdays at 10am. Those interested are asked to commit to all 5 weeks, if possible, as it will not be a drop in class. Instructor, Dr. Roger Singer, presently Old Lyme’s Poet Laureate and the president of the Shoreline Poetry Chapter, in association with the Connecticut Poetry Society has been published in numerous magazines, books and on the internet, and was a Pushcart Prize nominee in 2017. Singer says “I believe everyone has a message within, filled with numerous threads of material from their past, shaping who they are in the present.”
” In describing the class he says “I have compiled various instructional methods to guide students onto a path to express themselves. To register and get the Zoom code for this class please contact the Lymes’ Senior Center at seniorcenter@oldlyme-ct.gov

If you want to practice your Zoom skills without the pressure of a “class”, the Senior Center staff will be hosting a Talk to Us Tuesday starting on June 16th at 2pm. If you are interested in joining this coffee clutch, contact the office. We will be able to provide you with some instructions and then send you an invite.

A Shred Day for June is currently being arranged. It will be held after the middle of the month. Please contact the Senior Center for more details.

There will be 2 more community pickup meals at St. Agnes Church in June. They will be held on Thursday, June 11th and June 25th starting at 3:30pm. No need to get out of the car. No need to make a reservation. First come – first served.

Tours Virtual

National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC www.nga.gov
Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City www.metmuseum.org
The Guggenheim in New York City www.guggenheim.org
The Musee d’Orsay in Paris, France m.musee-orsay.fr click on English
The Uffizi in Florence, Italy www.uffizi.it click on English
Maybe Art is not your thing. How about:
American Museum of Natural History in New York City www.amnh.org
Museum of Science in Boston www.mos.org
The British Museum in London, England www.britishmuseum.org
Maybe something ocean related:
New England Aquarium in Boston www.neaq.org
Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey www.montereybayaquarium.org
Maybe something animal related:
The Bronx Zoo in New York City www.bronxzoo.com
The San Diego Zoo in San Diego zoo.sandiegozoo.org
Maybe something star related:
National Aeronautics & Space Administration www.nasa.gov
European Southern Observatory www.eso.org
Or check out what’s available here in CT so you have an itinerary when we can travel:
Connecticut Office of Tourism www.ctvisit.com
Or check out our National Parks:
United States National Parks www.nps.gov click on find your virtual tour
Or pick up a new hobby:
Interested in birding? www.ebird.org
Learning about the stars? www.skyandtelescope.org
What about baking? www.kingarthurflour.com

Don’t limit yourself. Many places and organizations are offering virtual tours and lessons.
Check them out. Keep you imagination and brain engaged.

You are not alone. When we lose one sense, another takes over. As you lose your hearing, your eyes help you fill in the blanks. For example, “feet” and “seat” sound the same but look very different on your mouth. Masks cover these visual clues making it frustrating and confusing. Add in 6-foot social distancing and hearing becomes even more challenging. For some individuals, over the ear hearing aides are becoming painful when wearing a face mask. The elastic bands used to secure the mask around the ears often get in the way of the tubes that connect the hearing aids to the speakers that sit in your ear. In addition to the discomfort, some individuals are also at risk to lose a hearing aid when removing the mask, especially if frequently putting in on and off.
To resolve these common problems:
 Wear a mask with soft fabric ties to relive the pressure on the ears, instead of elastic, or
 Use a special mask extender with buttons or other holders to attach the mask loops onto, on the back of the head, instead of the ears, or
 Use simple tools like a plastic s-hooks to loop the mask onto, instead of your ears, or
 Use an eyeglass lanyard to attach your hearing aides to , that way if they accidentally fall out, they are nearby and easy to find, or lastly
 Seek a clear mask solution to assist you with lip reading.
These hearing tips are offered by Nancy Jablonski from Audiology Concierge.