Senior Advocate: Senior Concerns series addresses 'Senior Issues'
Aug
13
Written by:
8/13/2009 9:46 AM
By Betty Berry
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Q: A friend of mine just told me she attended several presentations of interest to seniors at the Westlake Village Civic Center. Is this an ongoing offering?
A: Yes, Senior Concerns in cooperation with the city of Westlake Village presents a monthly seminar at the Westlake Village Civic Center.
Called “Senior Issues,” the series is scheduled for 1:30 to 3 p.m. the second Wednesday of every month except August and December.
These seminars are free, and no reservations are required.
For more information, call the Senior Concerns Advocates’ office at 495-6250 or Westlake City Hall at 818-706-1613.
Q: Many people like myself must use electronically operated life-support equipment. With the high cost of electricity, I was wondering if there is any program that assists with this expense?
A: Yes, there is a program to help with the cost of electrically operated life-support equipment. Southern California Edison has a program called Medical Baseline Allocation.
The Medical Baseline Allocation Program may be available if someone in the home requires the regular use of electric life support equipment or has a qualifying illness. If the applicant qualifies, that portion of the household electricity used for the operation of the life-support equipment will be billed at a lower rate.
Among the equipment that qualifies are an aerosol tent, apnea monitor, compressor/concentrator, suction machine, respirator, oxygen generator, iron lung, motorized wheelchair and dialysis machine, to name a few.
The qualifying process begins with a two-part application to be completed by both the applicant and the applicant’s doctor. Once the program is in place, it is the applicant’s responsibility to keep Edison informed of any changes in type of equipment and/or number of hours it is used.
Changes in equipment and/or usage may initiate the need to complete an updated application.
For more information about the program, call Southern California Edison at the telephone number shown on your electric bill.
Q: With the cost of everything going up and my fixed income staying very fixed, I am always interested in senior discount offers. Do you know of a list that provides such offers?
A: Senior discounts have sprouted up all over the place. Some establishments provide a discount to senior shoppers on specific days of the week, while others — many restaurants, for example — may offer them at certain times of the day. Some discounts may even be seasonal.
I am sure that merchants in every part of the county are offering the same types of discounts, as it is an excellent way to encourage senior shoppers to frequent their places of business and it is a win-win situation for seller and buyer.
You asked if I knew of a list of such offers. No, I don’t. Since businesses change hands and new businesses come into being, such a list could become outdated very quickly.
The Thousand Oaks Council on Aging researched senior discounts available and determined the best way for seniors to obtain such discounts was to ask the individual businesses they frequented if such a discount was available.
So the best advice I can give is to ask. The answer may be no, but it could just as likely be yes. If you don’t ask, then the answer would, of course, be no.
— Betty Berry is a senior advocate for Senior Concerns. The advocates are at the Goebel Senior Adult Center, 1385 E. Janss Road, Thousand Oaks 91362; or call 495-6250 or e-mail betty@seniorconcerns.org.