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-- Programs and Services -- Contact Information Councils on Aging help SHINE light on insurance issues
Over the next year, the SHINE (Serving the Health Information Needs of Elders) program is going to be very busy in the community making presentations on changes in the Medicare program. Also, we will be counseling individuals on a day-to-day basis on the ins and outs of the basic Medicare program, prescription drug coverage, supplemental insurance, and public benefits.
Fortunately, we have a wonderful partnership with our local Councils on Aging (COAs) that allows us to have a “grassroots” component that complements the work at Elder Services. In some cases, COA directors are themselves SHINE volunteers; in other cases COAs host SHINE counseling sites. But all the COAs are helpful in keeping elders in their community informed about the services SHINE offers, and are often a conduit to our program.
Our “northernmost outpost” is the Harper Center in Williamstown, where SHINE counselor Nancy Markgraf meets elders who have questions about their health insurance. Down the road at the Spitzer Center in North Adams, COA Director Sandy Lamb is herself a certified SHINE Counselor. We’re pleased to report that soon we will be offering SHINE counseling at the Adams Council on Aging.
An important part of our SHINE network is Jean Beauchemin and her staff at the Ralph Froio Center in Pittsfield. Counselors are available six times a month at the Pittsfield COA, and it is possible that we will have to increase the number of sessions.
Patti Pero, the outreach worker for the Dalton Council on Aging, is one of the most experienced counselors in the program. Her intimate knowledge of G.E. retiree insurance alone makes her invaluable.
South County now boasts a number of counselors, who respond to an increasing need. Pat Lyon is a stalwart resource at the Lenox COA, bringing her experience as a G.E. Human Resources professional to her work. Lee COA Director Norma Maroney won’t even admit how long she’s been a SHINE Counselor. Her knowledge of MassHealth and other public benefits programs is literally encyclopedic. Joan Ury is now like a member of the family at the Great Barrington COA, providing counseling and informational sessions on a variety of topics.
You don’t have to be a large community to have SHINE right in your neighborhood. Myrna Rosenberg provides one-to-one counseling in both Otis and Sandisfield, and new volunteer Steve Cutler will be assisting residents of Hinsdale who need assistance. Yvette Bastow in Cheshire has served double duty while we have been without a counselor in Adams. Maralyn Brown in Florida provides the kind of personalized service that SHINE is noted for, listening to any kind of issue that residents bring to her.
Your local Council on Aging is a rich resource for a variety of services, SHINE being only one of them. If you live in a community that sponsors SHINE counseling, call and request an appointment.
Councils on Aging
Adams - 413-743-8333
Dalton - 413-684-2000
Florida - 413-662-2811
Great Barrington - 413-528-1881
Lee - 413-243-5545
Lenox - 413-637-5535
North Adams - 413-662-3125
Otis - 413-269-0103
Pittsfield - 413-499-9346
Williamstown - 413-458-8250