Preventive Services

On April 1, 2009, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will begin enrolling eligible beneficiaries into a new program known by several names, depending on who is providing the services on behalf of Medicare. Those names are "Senior Risk Reduction Demonstration", "Medicare's Stay Healthy Program" and "Staying Healthy USA".

This is a three year research study being offered to a small group of beneficiaries. Through this study, Medicare hopes to learn effective ways to promote health and wellness for older adults. The organizations that will provide these services are; Pfizer Health Solutions and StayWell Health Management.

The HealthierUS initiative is a national effort to improve people's lives, prevent and reduce the costs of disease, and promote community health and wellness. Deciding to live a healthier life is easy; it's the follow-through that's hard. Learn how to make physical activity a part of your day, eat healthy, protect yourself and your family from illness, and avoid risks to your health and the health of your loved ones. Bad habits are not easily broken. Good ones are not easily won. But you can do it!

The Healthy Aging for Older Adults Website sponsored by the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion provides information on a wide range of topics including: Health-Related Behaviors Chronic Diseases, Infectious Diseases, Immunizations for Adults, and Injuries Among Older Adults.

The NIH SeniorHealth website containing information for older adults was developed by the National Institute on Aging and the National Library of Medicine, both part of the National Institutes of Health. This website contains a wide range of information on many health topics including: Alzheimer's Disease, Arthritis, Balance Problems, Breast Cancer, Colorectal Cancer, Diabetes, Exercise for Older Adults, Hearing Loss, Lung Cancer, Prostate Cancer, Taking Medicines, and many more.

The Cancer Prevention and Treatment Demonstration

The Cancer Prevention and Treatment Demonstration is a four year study in selected areas of the country where patient navigator programs are available to help older minority beneficiaries navigate the healthcare system in a more timely and informative manner and facilitate cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment.

Here are the participating sites and contact information for each:

• Hispanic beneficiaries in Newark, New Jersey contact Dr. Ana Natale-Pereira at 973 972-1744;
• African American beneficiaries in Baltimore, Maryland contact Baltimore Partnership for Healthy Seniors at 410 955-0154;
• African American beneficiaries in Detroit, Michigan contact Dr. Robert Chapman at 313 916-1332;
• Hispanic beneficiaries in Houston and surrounding counties in Texas contact the FAROS program at 713 563-6288,
• Native American beneficiaries in Utah and Montana contact Sandra Marsh at 801 587-3410; and
• Native Hawaiian and Asian American beneficiaries in Molokai, Hawaii contact the Kukui Ahi program and/or Lily Napoleon at 808 553-3607.