Annual Senior Health & Financial Fitness Expo brings the help to local seniors

Another year, another successful Senior Expo.

The Home Reporter and Brooklyn Spectator hosted their annual Senior Health & Financial Fitness Expo at the Dyker Beach Golf Course, 1030 86th Street, on Friday, November 17.

The morning featured over 20 exhibitors and was highly attended by seniors from around the community who gathered information on an array of topics.

Along with raffles and free screenings, the day included a panel discussion, featuring Keynote Speaker Chiropractic Physician Dr. Carey Skorski of Bay Ridge Holistic Healthcare and representatives from AgeWell, Etain Health and Ohel’s Project HEAL.

Skorski, who has attended past expos, discussed the importance of his topic, peripheral neuropathy.

“Seniors in particular are plagued with peripheral neuropathy, which is pain, weakness, burning numbing in the legs, feet and toes,” he said. “One of biggest problems with seniors is falls. And 10 percent of falls are fatal to seniors ages 65 and older. There are natural ways to find out why someone has peripheral neuropathy, and I help them in a natural way to get their health back. So we are here giving some information on how to help strengthen the legs and prevent falls, and all the related health problems .”

He added that seniors get a lot out of the information he provides. “It gives them hope that there’s a natural way to get better without the need for drugs or surgery,” he said. “They can get better and their body can recover.”

Rena Appel Schianholz, a geriatric social work supervisor for Ohel’s Project HEAL, stressed the significance of mental health.

“In exchange for a depression screening which will allow people to see if they feel sad or hopeless, we are offering the opportunity for us to go into the home of anyone over the age of 65 and give them six to eight clinical counseling sessions for free,” she said. “We don’t bill the client or insurance company. It’s a grant from the Department of Health. OHEL is a non-profit agency and we’re really happy to provide this service for seniors because geriatric depression is a growing problem and we’re trying our best to combat that.”

She declared the expo as a success. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to reach people from all communities and cultures. The more people understand what we do, the more we can help,” Schianholz said.

Hillary Peckman, founder of Etain Health, told this paper about the benefits of medical marijuana. “We are the only woman-owned, family-owned medical marijuana company in New York and we are here to educate patients about medical marijuana as an alternative to traditional pharmaceuticals and to let them know that this is available here,” she said. “I’m really grateful for the opportunity. I think it’s really important. One of our missions is to educate people about the legitimate medical uses of this and this expo is a great way to do that.”

“The expo is phenomenal,” added John Mandaro, senior benefits advisor for AgeWell. “We do managed long term care and we do Medicare Advantage. This is great because the people get access to resources that otherwise they really have to search for. Here it’s all inclusive and in house. Now they have all the information and resources to get what they need.”

Other exhibitors provided information on home care, hearing tests, and more.

“We offer people some assistance at home for those who may not want to go into a skilled nursing facility or move to an assisted living facility,” said Katie Walters, administrator for Caring People. “Our goal is to maintain people at home where they want to stay.” Stressing that the company is family-owned, she added, “We really provide that one-on-one quality service. We treat all of our clients like they are our family as well. It’s great to interact with seniors.”

Liberty Hearing Centers was also in attendance to discuss the importance of seniors taking care of their hearing.

“We are offering appointments for free hearing screenings. Everyone should have their hearing checked every year so that’s why we come to events like this, to spread the word about hearing health and conservation and how it relates to the brain,” said Nicole Snider, chief audiology resident. “People get everything else checked and they forget to check their hearing. It’s something that happens so gradually over time that most people don’t even realize it until it’s gotten worse. I love being able to talk with them, get to know them a bit. Visibility is not something big in audiology and we’re trying to fix that.”

The New York State Department of Public Service was also on hand.

“We are the state agency that helps consumers with problems with their energy suppliers,” said Laura Flower, utility consumer program specialist. “So if you had a problem and you reached out to the company and they didn’t take care of it, we open a case on your behalf and work with them to help take care of the problem. It’s free. We just want people to know we are out there.”

Following the speaking portion, prizes such as gift cards to local businesses were raffled off.

The event was sponsored by The Home Reporter, The Brooklyn Spectator, Bay Ridge Holistic Healthcare, Ohel, Etain and AgeWell New York.

The exhibitors were AARP; Aetna Better Health New York; AgeWell New York; All Health Diagnostic & Treatment; Boulevard Home Care Associates; Brooklyn Integrative Health Care; Bay Ridge Holistic Healthcare; Caring People; Clear Captions; Cooper/Panariello Eye Institute; Etain Health; HamasikCare; Humana; Island Shores; Liberty Hearing; New York State Department of Public Service; New York Department of Aging; Ohel Bais Ezra; ProHealth Urgent Care; Right at Home Care; Senior Insurance Solutions/Allstate; Silverlake Care Center; The Allure Group; Tivity Health, Silver Sneakers and VillageCare Max.

Raffle prizes were provided by: 3 Guys; LaBella Marketplace; Bagel Boy; Baya Bar; Malsons Jewelers; Silverlake Care Center; Cooper/Panariello Eye Institute; Stewart’s; Foodtown; Bay Ridge Holistic Healthcare; Tivity Health – Silver Sneakers; and AgeWell New York.

 

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