Parsons Presbyterian Manor
Chaplain’s Corner
MARCH 2022
The joy of the unexpected discovery By Greg Schmidt, chaplain, Newton Presbyterian Manor
A few tips for avoiding financial, health care scams The FBI estimates that seniors lose $3 billion each year due to financial scams, but there are many ways to protect yourself against this common form of theft. According to the National Council on Aging, older adults are often targets of scammers because of the belief they have larger reserves of cash. And anyone enrolled in an insurance program, including Medicare, can be a target of insurance fraud.
Never give out personal information to a caller.
Shanna King, administrative services director at Salina Presbyterian Manor, has talked to residents who unintentionally shared private information, such as a Medicare number.
“Most folks trickle into the business office after they realize what happened,” she says. In the case of the resident who gave out their Medicare number, Shanna contacted a family member of the resident, who advised them to call Medicare to get a replacement card. Anyone can contact Medicare with questions about potential scams by calling 1800 MEDICARE. The key to responding to a potential scam is to act quickly to let people know what might have happened. The fact is, people of all ages fall
Scam – continued on page 4
Editor’s Note: We continue to share chaplain messages from sister PMMA® communities in a nod to our roots in the Presbyterian Church. This month, we feature Greg Schmidt, chaplain at Newton Presbyterian Manor. Do you love the spring as much as I do? I hope so! The thing I enjoy most about spring is discovery. I love watching plants begin to poke their little “heads” up through the soil. I love watching little buds as they emerge from barren branches. And I can’t wait to buy the first of many flats of annuals and perennials and begin planting in the 25 or more pots I have around my house. In the same vein, I love discovering “new” things about “old” stories. For instance, all I’d ever enjoyed about St. Patrick’s Day was searching for three- and four-leaf clovers. As a child my friends and I would walk and crawl over tufts of grass in search of a three-leaf clover … always secretly hoping to find a
Joy – continued on page 3
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