The Newsletter of the Bigelow Center for Senior ActivitiesVolume 25, Number 8 August, 2015

fairfieldsenior timeswe care for those who cared for us

Continues on Page 5

Town Offers a Range of Social Services LLL Plans Rich Fall Catalog of CoursesThe Lifelong Learners Board has spent the summer putting together an amazing array of stimulating courses for the coming fall season. Starting in late August and running through the end of November, 20 rewarding courses will be offered.

Perhaps you’d like to tour the great mansions of New York City during the Beaux Art period with James Sul-livan or explore Irish history from Celtic times to the modern day with Dr. William Abbot of Fairfield Uni-versity.

How about an examination of the power of women as seen through lit-erature and drama, courtesy of Dr. Roberta Staples? Perhaps you’d like to study the key elements in the histo-ry of Christianity up to the time of the Reformation with Dr. Francis DeSte-fano. Dr. Joe Utterback will be back to continue his survey of the Great American Songbook. His last pre-sentation ended with Night and Day, premiered in 1932, and so he will con-tinue into the 30s.

We’ve tried here to whet your appe-tite by giving you just a small taste of the marvelous course offerings for the coming fall. Brochures will be avail-able at the beginning of this month. Tuition is just $20 per course plus a $10 registration fee, valid September through June. Come join us!

Did you know that Fairfield offers social services to adults, families, seniors and people with disabili-ties? “Information and referral, case manage-ment, and short-term and crisis counseling services are provided by licensed social workers and licensed counselors,” said Hu-man and Social Ser-vices Director Terry Giegengack. “The town is very support-ive of individuals and families strug-gling with unemployment, illness and disabilities, financial and housing problems as well as family and aging-in-place issues. We have a great staff in place and I’m enormously proud of the good work they do.”

The professional staff has its offices at the Bigelow Center. They help town residents apply for federal and state benefit programs, including food stamps, HUSKY health insurance and heating assistance. All staff members, along with volunteer Susan Tracy, Esq., are trained CHOICES coun-selors who help people explore their options for Medicare and Medicare supplement policies.

Allison Barker-Ford, LCSW, gradu-ated from Fordham University with

a Master’s Degree in Social Work in 2010. She concentrated in clinical work with specialization in children and families. Before coming to Fair-field, Allison practiced in-home coun-seling with children and adolescents. She’s worked for Fairfield Social Ser-vices since December 2012.

Kate Dressel, MSNCC, holds a Bach-elor’s degree in psychology and Mas-ters of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Southern Connecticut State University. Kate also works part-time as a clinician at the Fairfield Counseling Center.

Eileen Gombos, LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker and a seven-year veteran of the department. Eileen earned her MSW from NYU where

Top, from left: Allison Barker-Ford and Kate Dressel. Bottom: Eileen Gombos and Kristin Hosp, the newest addition to our staff. Right: Ann Cole, the department’s receptionist.

Page 2 August, 2015

At The Movies In August

Every Friday at 12:45

August 7 — Finding Neverland (2004) ½

Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy—Now that The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel for the Elderly and Beautiful is full up with its long-term residents, co-managers Muriel (Smith) and Sonny (Dev Patel) dream of expansion, and they’ve found just the place. This sequel explores the problems that develop and the complex relationships among a group of fascinating characters.“There’s plenty of chemistry among the superb veteran cast.” 106 minutes.

Hugh Bonneville, Nicole Kidman, Jim Broadbent—From the beloved novels by Michael Bond, PADDINGTON tells the story of the comic misadventures of a young Peruvian bear who travels to London in search of a home. Finding himself lost and alone, he begins to realize that city life is not all he had imagined—until he meets the kindly Brown family.“Paddington is absolutely, positively delightful; warm, gentle and well acted.” 96 minutes.

August 28 — The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015)

August 21 — PADDINGTON (2015) ½

Helen Mirren, Ryan Reynolds, Katie Holmes—In this remarkable true story, octogenarian Maria Altman (Mirren) seeks to regain a world famous painting of her aunt plundered by the Nazis during World War II. She does so not just to regain what was rightfully hers, but also to obtain some measure of justice for the death, destruction, and massive art theft perpetrated by the Nazis. “Director Simon Curtis has made a masterpiece film.” 110 minutes.

August 14 — Woman in Gold (2015) ½

Live Well Workshop Returning to Bigelow Center

Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet, Julie Christie—This is the story of turn-of-the-century writer James Matthew Barrie (Depp) who struggles to write and produce the theater classic Peter Pan while he cares for his down-on-their-luck neighbors who inspired the story in the first place. Although largely fictional, Neverland is full of truth and writ in pain. “This film reminds us that life is what we make it; all we have to do is believe. A small, graceful movie.” 101 minutes.

Live Well, a chronic disease self-management program, is a national evidence- based health promotion program designed for older adults who want to learn how to manage their chronic health issues like diabetes, arthritis, lung and heart disease, chronic pain, anxiety and depression.

The Live Well workshop group meets weekly for six weeks and covers healthy eating, exercise, better balance, decision making, goal setting, effective com-munication, and much more. Participants will make weekly action plans, share experiences, and help each other solve problems they encounter in creating and carrying out their self-management program. This highly interactive workshop is co-facilitated by two trained and certified workshop leaders.

The dates of our new Live Well series will be announced in our September newsletter. Please call 203.256.3166 if you’d like to add your name to our list of attendees. The number of participants is limited to 20.

Wacky Wednesday August Schedule

Wednesday, August 19: Lunch at Circle Diner in Fairfield

Wednesday, August 12: Barker Character Comic and Cartoon Mu-seum in Cheshire

Wednesday, August 5: Timexpo Museum—The Timex Museum in Waterbury

Wednesday, August 26: Lunch at Luigi’s in Fairfield

Leave the Center at 11:30 a.m.; return by 3:30 p.m.

Our popular Wednesday adventure series continues in August. Advance registration is required for all trips, bus space is limited to 15, and you pay for your own lunch. Have fun!!

Leave Center at 9:30 a.m., return by 2:30 p.m. $4 per person, paid direct-ly to museum upon arrival. Lunch at Paul’s Restaurant.

The Museum houses the personal col-lection of Gloria and Herbert Barker, an assemblage of almost 80,000 items that took over forty years to collect. The collection, which spans the years from 1873 to the present day, includes everyday items that express a child’s life through the ordinary toys, lunch-boxes, games and tools of common usage. Every generation will find fa-vorite toys on display, and historians can enjoy an unusual glimpse into styles and trends of the past.

Leave Center at 9:00 a.m., return by 3:00 p.m. $5 per person, paid directly to the museum upon arrival. Lunch at the Olive Garden. The museum tells the story of the Timex brand and its heritage dating back to 1854. The collection includes magnificent time-pieces and all kinds of time-related in-novations. The museum’s Time Tun-nel leads to ancient mysteries, studies on cultural origins, hands-on activi-ties and more.

Bus leaves the Center at 11:30 a.m., returns around 1:00 p.m.

Page 3August, 2015

August Menu

― Kent Nerburn

A Few More Weird Food Facts

“Remember to be gentle with yourself and others. We are all children of chance and none can say why some fields will blossom while others lay brown beneath the August sun.”

● The red food-coloring carmine — used in Skittles and other candies — is made from boiled cochineal bugs, a type of beetle. ● Apples belong to the rose family, as do pears and plums. ● The tea bag was created by accident, as tea bags were originally sent as product samples. ● The softening agent L-cysteine, used in some bread, is made from human hair and duck feathers. ● If improperly prepared, fugu, or puffer fish, can kill you since it con-tains a toxin 1,200 times deadlier than cyanide. ● Ranch dressing contains titanium dioxide, which is used to make it appear whiter. The same ingredient is used in sunscreen and paint for the same effect.

Please call Celeste at 203.256.3118 between 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. to register for lunch two days in advance. A $5.00 donation is suggested. 1% or skim milk is provided. Margarine served with all meals. Menu subject to change.

*High in sugar content. **High Salt Content. +High fat.

Senior Community CafeMonday to Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Lunch service begins at 12:00 noon

MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY

3 4 5 6 7

Lentil Soup Broccoli Soup Vegetable Soup White Bean Soup Chicken Noodle Soup

Coleslaw Caesar Salad Beet Salad Tossed Salad Three Bean Salad

BBQ Pork Shoulder Baked Manicotti with Roast Chicken with Vegetable Cheddar Breaded Fish with

Macaroni and Meat Sauce Cranberry Sauce Quiche Tartar Sauce

Cheese Green Beans Roasted Potatoes Toasted Israeli Tater Tots

Collard Greens Glazed Carrots Cous Cous Broccoli Slaw

Cookies Cantaloupe Cherry Strudel Watermelon Boston Cream Pie

10 11 12 13 14

Split Pea Soup Onion Soup Beef Barley Soup Vegetable Soup Black Bean Soup

Spring Mix Vinaigrette Macaroni Salad Caesar Salad Cucumber Tomato Salad Pasta Salad

Turkey Club Sandwich Chicken Roulade with Carved Loin of Pork Grilled Liver & Onions Maryland Crab Cakes

with Bacon, Lettuce Spinach & Feta Cheese with Apricot Relish Mashed Potatoes Wild Rice Blend

and Tomato Sweet Potatoes Roast Potatoes Butternut Squash Broccoli

Potato Salad Cauliflower Sweet Peas

Pears Brownies Honeydew Rice Pudding Apples

17 18 19 20 21

Navy Bean Soup Cauliflower Soup Chicken Vegetable Soup Corn Chowder Beef Noodle Soup

Coleslaw Mixed Greens Caesar Salad Health Salad White Bean Salad

Southern Fried Chicken Sautéed Steak Tips Baked Ziti with Sweet Slow Roast Pork with Seared Salmon with

Creamed Spinach Baked Potato Italian Sausage Mustard Sauce Dill Sauce

Buttermilk Biscuits Glazed Carrots Green Beans Rice Pilaf Potatoes

Garlic Bread Braised Red Cabbage Zucchini

Coconut Custard Pie Peaches Marble Loaf Cake Cantaloupe Chocolate Pudding

24 25 26 27 28

Broccoli Soup Scotch Broth Beef Barley Soup Cream of Chicken Vegetable Noodle

Green Bean Salad Beet Salad Macaroni Salad Caesar Salad

Ginger Crusted Beef Grilled Herb Chicken Pork Chops with Spaghetti & Meatballs Roast Tilapia with

Lo Mein Noodles Sweet Potatoes Applesauce Green Beans Tropical Salsa

Asian Vegetables Sautéed Spinach Brown Rice Garlic Bread Spanish Rice

Sweet Peas Asparagus

Mandarin Oranges Tapioca Pudding Fruit Salad Carrot Cake Cookies

31

Potato Soup

Pasta Salad

Lettuce Cups Filled

with Shrimp Salad

French Bread

Ice Cream

Page 4 August, 2015

Calendar of Events August, 2015

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

39:30 Blood Pressure Screening

4 9:00 AARP Driver Safety Class

5 9:00 Timex Museum Trip and Lunch

6 712:45 Movie: Finding Neverland

102:00 Meditation Class

11 12 9:30 Barker Cartoon Museum Trip and Lunch

13 14 12:45 Movie: Woman in Gold

179:30 Blood Pressure Screening

18 1911:30 FairfieldCircleDiner Lunch.

2012:00 Birthday Celebration

21 12:45 Movie: Paddington

24 2510:00 Hearing Clinic

2611:30 Lunch at Luigi’s in Fairfield.Buonap- petito!

27 2812:45 Movie: The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

3110:00 Mansions of New YorkCity-Sullivan

Every Monday Every Tuesday Every Wednesday Every Thursday Every Friday

9:00 Woodcarving9:00 Table Tennis9:00 Table Pool9:30 Bocce10:00 Senior Exercise11:00 Flex & Stretch1:00 Open Bridge1:00 Dance Aerobics2:10 Pickleball

9:00 Pacers-Walking Group

9:00 Table Tennis9:00 Woodcarving9:00 Table Pool9:00 Dance Aerobics9:30 Yoga10:00 Senior Exercise10:00 Open Painting11:00 Flex & Stretch11:30 Arthritis Exercise1:00 Model Airplane

Club1:00 Chess Club1:00 Mah-Jongg

9:00 Pacers-Walking Group

9:00 Table Tennis9:00 Woodcarving9:00 Table Pool9:30 Open Crafts10:00 Senior Exercise11:00 Flex & Stretch12:30 Open Bridge1:00 Tai Chi2:00 Pickleball

9:00 Table Tennis9:00 Quilters9:00 Table Pool10:00 Music & Movement11:00 Flex & Stretch12:45 Movie1:00 Scrabble1:00 Pickleball

9:00 Pacers-Walking Group

9:00 Table Tennis9:00 Table Pool9:00 Basic Zumba9:30 Sewing Bee10:00 Senior Exercise10:00 Open Computer

Lab/Help11:00 Flex & Stretch11:30 Arthritis Exercise12:30 Bingo1:00 Open Bridge1:00 Tai Chi2:00 Pickleball

Our calendar is subject to change. Visit our Facebook page for the very latest information. Google: Bigelow Center for Senior Activities

There will be no computer classes in August.

NOTE: Next month the AARP Driver Safety Class will be held on Saturday, September 19, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00p.m.Registrationisrequired.Thecostis$15forAARPmembersand$20fornon-members.

Nancy Goncalves’ Zumba Gold will resume in September.

Summer Schedule! The Center is closed Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings during August.

Page 5August, 2015

The Fairfield Senior Times is published monthly by the Fairfield

Senior Center,100 Mona TerraceFairfield, CT 06824

Hours: Weekdays, 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

DirectorTeresa Giegengack, 203.256.3169

Program CoordinatorMargaret Andrews, 203.254.5102

Town HallHuman Services Commission

Senior Times StaffEditor: Ron Atwater

fsteditor@hotmail.com

Editorial Assistant: M.A. Atwater

© 2014. All rights reserved.Printed in USA by Liturgical

Publications Inc., Cromwell, CT

Information: M-F, 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. 203.256.3166.Transportation: M-F, 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. 203.256.3168.Lunch (three days notice required): M-F, 12:00 noon to 12:30 p.m. Call 203.256.3118 after 10:00 a.m.Coffee Shop: M-F, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.Gift Shop: M-F, 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.Social Worker: M-F, 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. 203.256.3170.Blood Pressure Screening: 203.256.3166Notary Public: M-F, 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. 203.256.3166.

Senior Center Services

Notary public; long term care; Medicare and medigap counseling, social servicesServices Below by Appointment Only. Call 203.256.3166

Senior Times online: http://fairfieldct.org/content/10726/11018/14665/15157.aspx

Reminders & Other Stuff

The Fairfield Senior Times is published monthly by the

Bigelow Center for Senior Activities100 Mona TerraceFairfield, CT 06824

Hours: Weekdays, 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Human Services DirectorTeresa Giegengack, 203.256.3169

Bigelow Center ManagerJulie DeMarco, 203.256.3166

Program CoordinatorMargaret Andrews, 203.254.5102

Town HallHuman Services Commission

Information: M-F, 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. 203.256.3166.Transportation: M-F, 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. 203.256.3168.Lunch (two days notice required): M-F, 12:00 noon to 12:30 p.m. Call 203.256.3118 between 9:30 and 10:30 a.m.Coffee Shop: M-F, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.Gift Shop: M-F, 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.Social Worker: M-F, 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. 203.256.3170.Blood Pressure Screening: 203.256.3166Notary Public: M-F, 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. 203.256.3166.

Bigelow Center Services

Notary public, Medicare, medigap, long term care, legal counseling, social servicesServices Below by Appointment Only. Call 203.256.3166

Senior Times online: http://fairfieldct.org/content/10726/11018/14665/15157.aspx

Reminders & Other Stuff

Senior Times StaffManaging Editor: Ron Atwater

fsteditor@hotmail.com

Associate Editor: Felicity Coyne Columnist: Barnstable CarmodyEditorial Assistant: M.A. Atwater

© 2015. All rights reserved. Printed in USA

New to Medicare? The Southwest-ern CT Agency on Aging (SWCAA) is currently offering a “New to Medi-care” presentation at the following locations:

Monday, August 24, 2015, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. at the Triangle Commu-nity Center, 618 West Avenue, Nor-walk, CT.

Thursday, September 24 from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. at the Bigelow Center for Senior Activities, 100 Mona Ter-race, Fairfield, CT.

The Medicare program is compli-cated. These presentations will an-swer your questions and demystify the mountain of information facing those just beginning to explore the world of Medicare.

Our first Senior Issues Forum of the fall season will take place on Tuesday, September 29 at 1:00 p.m. The topic: cutting edge treat-ments for brain cancer.

The speaker will be Dr. Nicholas A. Blondin, Neurologist and Director of the St. Vincent’s brand new Brain Cancer Center.

Details will follow in the September edition of Fairfield Senior Times.

Go Fish with Captain Tony on the Lucky Lady! On Monday, Septem-ber 14 we’re planning a cruising and fishing party aboard the Lucky Lady Party Boat, a Coast Guard ap-proved charter vessel out of Clinton, CT. Our bus leaves the Center at 8:00 a.m. and should return about 3:30 p.m. This cruise has been re-served especially for our group.

she specialized in clinical studies. She has an extensive background working with children and families and also in hospital-based therapeutic foster care programs. Kristin Hosp, MFT, starts work in our social services department this month. She brings to it great expe-rience working with seniors. Most recently she was a team leader su-pervisor in care management for the Southwestern CT Agency on Aging. She previously helped seniors remain independent in the community with homecare services. Kristin holds a B.A. in Gerontology and a Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy. She is also a Certified Care Manager.

Ann Cole manages intakes, sched-ules appointments, maintains the of-fice calendar and confidential records and, most importantly, communicates information to staff and clients. She holds a B.A. from Ladycliff College with a sociology major.

Call 203.256.3170 for information or to arrange a confidential appointment.

Social Services From Page 1

The cruise costs $66, including tips. We need a minimum of 20 registrations to book this trip. If we have 30 people reserved and paid in advance, Captain Tony will fur-nish fishing gear. If not, rod rental is $5.00. You can bring your own lunch, or buy it on board at the boat’s covered grill station. Re-member to bring sunglasses, sun-screen, a light jacket and hat, foul weather gear, non-marking soft sole shoes (deck shoes or sneakers), your camera and coolers. Registra-tion and pre-payment of the charter fee is required by Tuesday, Sep-tember 1. Visit or call the office at 203.256.3166 for details.

For more info, visit: http://luckyhookchartersllc.com/

Page 6 August, 2015

The Awful Healthcare Mess: The Fleecing of AmericaOpinion by Barnstable Carmody

America is in the midst of a health-care crisis. And it's getting worse, not better. The much debated Affordable Heath Care Act focuses primarily on getting people insured, not on making a fee-for-service, for-profit healthcare system more efficient and less costly.

Not long ago I spent a morning at Saint Vincent's short stay center for two mi-nor procedures. The cost? A whop-ping $18,000, including a pathology bill for $5,000. Evidently the patholo-gist needed to make a boat payment. Of course 18 grand was the full retail price, what auto manufacturers call the “MSRP.” And nobody—well, al-most nobody—pays that. I'm lucky. I have a retiree Medicare Advantage Plan and both Medicare and my insur-ance carrier pay low negotiated fees for physician and hospital services.

Even with Obamacare, about 30 per-cent of Americans still put off medi-cal treatment, often for serious condi-tions, because they either don't have medical insurance or they carry high-deductible, high copay policies. This disproportionately affects the poor. Why does medical care in America cost so much? The answer is simple: prices are insanely high.

In 2013, health care costs in the U.S. totaled around $2.8 trillion, or about 18 percent of our gross domestic prod-uct. That's twice as much per capita than any other country in the world. According to a study by McKinsey & Company, the U.S. spends more on health care than the next 10 big-gest spenders combined: Japan, Ger-many, France, China, the U.K., Italy, Canada, Brazil, Spain, and Australia. If the U.S. health care system was a country, it would be the sixth largest economy on the planet.

Despite that, many studies, such as that from the Commonwealth Fund, show we rank dead last in terms of

quality of care and outcome among industrialized countries. The U.S. scored lowest on all three indicators of healthy lives: mortality amenable to medical care, infant mortality, and healthy life expectancy at age 60. Overall, France, Sweden, and Swit-zerland ranked highest.

How is that possible? Between 2002 and 2011 alone, the average cost of health care for American families doubled. According to Forbes, “It’s fairly well accepted that the U.S. is the most expensive healthcare sys-tem in the world, but many continue to falsely assume that we pay more for healthcare because we get better health (or better health outcomes). The evidence, however, clearly doesn’t support that view.”

There are thousands of examples of shameful hospital markups. How about $1.50 for a single generic acet-aminophen tablet, when you can buy 100 for that amount? Or $18 for one Accu-chek diabetes test strip you can buy for about 55 cents; or $283 for a simple chest X-ray, for which Medi-care routinely pays hospitals $20.44. A trip to the emergency room or ICU can cost as much as a new Lexus. The manufacturing cost of a hip implant can be as low as $350. The wholesale price to a hospital is in the $4,500 to $7,500 range and hospitals routinely mark up these prices by as much as five times. The social consequences are devastating: 60 percent of person-al bankruptcies in the U.S. are related to medical bills. It gets worse. As published in JAMA Internal Medicine, Jaime Rosenthal’s research team found that prices for hip replacement in the U.S. range from $11,000 to $125,000. There was no correlation between price and quality of outcome. Some of the very best orthopedic hospitals charged fairly reasonable fees; some of the

worst charged the most. (Medicare and other large payers pay $10,000 to $25,000 for joint replacements.)

In 2010, one Connecticut hospital reported to the Federal Department of Health and Human Services that its total expenses for lab work were $27.5 million and its total charges were $293.2 million: it charged pa-tients 11 times its costs for lab work.

And then there are drugs. The phar-maceutical industry spent $2.7 bil-lion on advertising over the past 10 years. McKinsey & Company es-timated that "Overall, prescription drug prices in the U.S. are 50 percent higher for comparable products than in other developed countries. If we had the same prices, it's estimated we could save close to $100 billion a year.” Amazingly, federal law, thanks to the big pharma lobby, restricts the biggest single buyer—Medi-care—from negotiating drug prices. Other industrialized nations regu-late prices or oversee negotiations between providers and payers. And many have single-payer systems with very low administrative costs. In the U.S., administrative costs add up to about 20% of the nation’s total healthcare bill. When it comes to ef-ficiency, the U.S. ranks last among 11 countries, with the U.K. and Sweden ranking first and second, respectively.

So what are we left with? Lunatic prices and a badly fractured system that is clearly not sustainable. I don't hear many politicians talking about solutions. And given the 5 billion dol-lars the U.S. health care industry has spent on lobbying since 1998, some don't want to.The opinions expressed by the author are his alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Town of Fairfield, its agencies or employees. The Town makes no representations as to the accuracy, completeness or validity of the information presented and will not be li-able for any errors or omissions, or losses, injuries or damages arising from its publication.