Prevention is the Best Cure

By Dale R. Folwell, CPA
State Treasurer of North Carolina

The only thing that beats a happy new year is a healthy new year! The State Health Plan offers many preventive care services and medications at no cost to members. Plan members can start their year off right by taking advantage of all the preventive care benefits available to them on all the options the State Health plan offers, including the Base PPO Plan (70/30), Enhanced PPO Plan (80/20), and Humana Medicare Advantage plans.

Preventive care is routine health care that includes screenings, checkups, and patient counseling to help prevent illnesses or disease. Preventive care is covered at 100% when it is provided by an in-network provider, when the claim is filed as a preventive visit, and when services are identified as preventive care under the Affordable Care Act. Examples include mammograms, preventative colonoscopies, and immunizations. There may be exceptions, so it’s important to know what qualifies as preventive care, as well as what questions to ask your provider to avoid extra costs. Good questions to ask include:

  • Will any additional tests, labs, or treatments I get during my appointment not be considered preventive care?
  • Will talking about other topics that are not considered preventive care during my appointment lead to out-of-pocket costs?

For members enrolled in Humana Medicare Advantage Plans, your coverage includes additional benefits, such as the SilverSneakers® fitness program—free of charge—and the Go365 wellness and rewards program, which offers personalized activities, tracking, support, and rewards to keep your health top of mind. To learn more about SilverSneakers and other preventive benefits, visit Humana’s website at Your.Humana.com/ncshp.

These great benefits mentioned above are all part of the Humana Base Medicare Advantage Plan, which is offered to plan members for a $0 premium with Medicare-eligible spousal coverage for just $4 a month, all at no cost to taxpayers. For more information, members are encouraged to visit the State Health Plan’s website at SHPNC.org.

Getting Her Kicks

Winter 2023/2024 Living Power Magazine

julie lowery

Fitness has always been important to Julie Lowery. As a certified registered nurse anesthetist for more than 25 years at UNC Hospitals, Lowery saw fitness as an extension of her health—a way to keep her body strong and vibrant.

Prior to retirement, Lowery regularly attended a gym, taking BodyCombat mixed martial arts classes. Once COVID hit, she switched her routine to home workouts, streaming the Les Mills BodyCombat classes and setting up a gym in her basement. She discovered that she enjoyed home workouts more than in-person classes.

Being able to exercise on her own schedule became even more important as she transitioned into retirement in 2022. Going from a fairly high-energy, high pressure field such as hospital medicine, Lowery knew she would have to figure out a way to stay occupied and fulfilled once she retired.

“I was a little concerned when the actual retirement came,” she says. “You get excited about making a decision such as retiring, but you don’t really know how it’s going to go once it’s actually here, and you hear a lot of stories of people being bored or declining.”

One of the first post-retirement decisions Lowery made was to continue to adhere to her regular workout routine. Lowery says mixed martial arts gives her a total-body workout that not only burns calories, but also builds strength and flexibility that help her stay as healthy as possible as she ages.

“[Exercise] gives me a lot of energy and momentum, and it’s improving or helping me to maintain cardiovascular fitness, as well as flexibility,” she says. “When you get older, you’re really at risk for falling and becoming weak, and muscle innervation gets reduced. So all of the benefits of my workouts combined has helped me to stay in the best shape possible.”

NCRGEA 2024 Spring Conference

RALEIGH April Conference 2024

NCRGEA welcomes our members, pre-retirees and guests to Raleigh on Monday or Tuesday | April 1 or 2 for our Spring Conference! The venue space is limited, so we are offering the event again on Tuesday. Please choose which date works best for you.

Stay Active with NCRGEA in 2024

By Deryl Davis Fulmer, PhD
NCRGEA Community Liaison

logos of community outreach for NCRGEA

Over the past year, it has been our pleasure to offer opportunities for members to engage and stay active with NCRGEA. As we move into a new year, we want to take time to recap 2023 and encourage continued engagement in 2024.

In 2023, NCRGEA launched new activities and broke new ground with our outreach efforts while maintaining personal service. I often hear from the office that “the phones are hopping.” Our amazing staff, Margaret Burrell and Cathy Spruill, stay busy each day answering the phones. I heard through the grapevine that they and all others in the office answer hundreds of calls each day and thousands every year. The greatest compliment we often receive is, “I can’t believe I got a live person on the line, and you all helped me!” Thanks, Margaret, Cathy, and the staff at NCRGEA!

In addition, Outreach Coordinator Josephine Lanier, has been traveling across the state, meeting with small groups at our Local Community Outreach Meetings. While there, she explains our benefits and gives a brief legislative update. Check out the “Upcoming Events” list to see when she will be in your area.

In 2023, we added a tool called FastDemocracy, which aids us in our advocacy efforts to key leaders. Last May and June, with our initial use of FastDemocracy, we may have influenced the General Assembly in passing a bigger bonus than the 1% bonus initially proposed. Members sent more than 6,000 letters to their state representatives and senators, resulting in a 4% bonus. When you receive these requests, please use this tool—instructions come with our requests, making it easy to participate.

Our Community Advisory Boards (CABs) are up and running in each of the nine districts. COVID actually helped us to understand the needs of our membership better, as we were challenged to find new ways to engage our membership. We went to cyberspace and quickly learned how to use Zoom, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter). We found that many of you were learning those modalities simultaneously with us. At
the same time, we stepped up our website presence to improve engagement.

Currently, we seek chairs/co-chairs for each of the CABs. Some of you have already accepted the challenge, and we are grateful! We would like to have more of you involved so we can begin hosting fun and informative activities across the state. Please consider joining your CAB and give input for planning activities and other ideas to help retirees remain active and engaged. Your voices help us enhance and maintain retiree benefits.

Last June, we launched the virtual Lunch and Learn webinar series. These programs occur monthly on Wednesdays from 12:30–1:30 p.m. Hundreds of you have enjoyed and benefited from such offerings as Aging Un-Lonely, Social Security Updates, Estate Planning, Long-Term Care, Getting Ready for Aetna and AMBA Benefits and How to Access the Passport Discounts. Tune in and invite your friends to these informative sessions. Membership is not a requirement to participate. Watch your email and website announcements for info on upcoming sessions.

We also joined two major efforts this year as 200 NCRGEA members participated in the March for Meals Champion Week for Meals on Wheels. We plan to join this effort again on March 18–22. Please watch for the notices as we get closer to March.

On Oct. 7, several staff and family members joined the Walk to End Alzheimer’s in Raleigh. It was an amazing walk to raise funds for the research and services needed to address this growing issue. Please consider joining such efforts in your respective communities, and if you have, we will feature you in our “Active and Engaged” Facebook posts.

By 2031, the age 65 and older population in North Carolina will be larger than our 18 and under citizens. NCRGEA recognizes that efforts to reimagine aging are paramount for our future. By making you aware of the services and activities you can join efforts in, we hope that we can contribute a small part to healthy aging and your joy in retirement.

Throughout 2023, I featured several agencies and opportunities for volunteerism. I also included the Hometown Strong initiative through Governor Cooper’s office for those interested in part time employment. If interested, please take advantage of these opportunities to stay active and engaged.

Finally, NCRGEA has joined forces with “All Ages, All Stages, A Roadmap for Aging and Living Well,” the governor’s initiative to make North Carolina an aging-friendly state. The initiative aims to ensure that programs and services are addressed to help everyone age in place and the best environment possible. If you are interested in your voice being heard regarding housing, homelessness, food security, social connectedness, transportation accessibility, broadband accessibility, and community safety and protection pertaining to aging in North Carolina, please get in touch with me. We welcome your voices and input in our mission to help you become active and engaged.

As always, if you have questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at Deryl@NCRGEA.com.

Health is Wealth: Living a Healthy Retirement Lifestyle

Winter 2023/2024 Living Power Magazine

healthy meal

When you’re busy working, sometimes your health can get relegated to the back burner. Now that you’re retired, taking the time to focus on maintaining a healthy body and mind will allow you to lead a richer, more active life.

Eat a Balanced Diet
As you age, you’re more likely to have problems linked to deficiencies in certain vitamins or minerals. While a supplement might seem like an easy solution, getting these nutrients from food will most benefit your body. Try to eat a balanced diet of protein, fat and carbs, and cut back on processed foods, as they can be high in blood pressure-boosting sodium. Lean proteins, whole grains, and fruits and vegetables should play major roles in your diet.

Stay Active
Regular exercise offers myriad benefits to the body and mind. Aerobic activities such as walking or swimming can boost energy levels, using weights helps build strength, and yoga and pilates keep your body flexible. Shoot for at least 30 minutes of gentle to moderate activity each day, and choose something you enjoy, so you’re more likely to stick with it.

Visit the Doctor
Putting off medical or dental appointments may have been no big deal when you were younger, but as you age, it’s critical to get regular checkups. Regular blood work and blood pressure tests can help you prevent heart attacks or strokes, and cancer screenings such as mammograms and prostate exams will allow your doctor to catch any abnormalities before they get out of control.

Get Plenty of Sleep
Snoozing for the recommended seven to nine hours per night may be easier said than done, as many experience sleep disruptions with age. But you can sidestep some of those slumber-disturbing issues by limiting caffeine to eight hours before bed, cutting out liquids by two hours before bed, and ensuring your bedroom is dark and cool. Still struggling with sleep? Over-the-counter supplements such as melatonin can help without leaving you groggy the next day—be sure to check with your doctor first.

Reaching the Summit

Winter 2023/2024 Living Power Magazine

alan foster

Alan Foster isn’t the type of person to just sit around. Foster retired in 2009 from a career that included four years in the Air Force and more than two decades as a paramedic with Wake County EMS. After retirement, he took on a part-time role with Rex Hospital, where he currently serves as the director of emergency preparedness management.

While that work kept him busy, the desk job didn’t give Foster the same active lifestyle he enjoyed as a paramedic. So he began hiking and camping, eventually traversing part of the Appalachian Trail. As he got deeper into hiking, he looked for a new challenge and found it on Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa and the highest freestanding peak in the world.

“I had a high school friend who had done it a couple years prior, which sort of sparked my interest,” Foster says.”I started doing research and finally decided to do it.”

Foster’s oldest daughter and her boyfriend joined him on the journey to Tanzania, where Kilimanjaro is located, in September. Their trek up the mountain took seven days, hiking and then camping in segments to allow their bodies to acclimate to the altitude—Kilimanjaro towers 19,341 feet above sea level.

“That was sort of a life lesson, too,” Foster says. “Taking shortcuts and trying to do things too fast often leads to failure.”

Though they took their time, Foster’s daughter experienced altitude sickness that rendered her unable to complete the climb. Her boyfriend accompanied her back down the mountain, and Foster trudged on. By the time they’d reached the peak from base camp, several other hikers from their group also bowed out, leaving Foster with just two others reaching the top.

“[Summiting Kilimanjaro] was easily the hardest physical and mental challenge I’ve ever put myself through, and that includes military basic training that I did as a teenager in a much better physical condition,” he says.

While Foster says he won’t climb any other mountains soon, he believes the active lifestyle he’s kept up since—regular walks, swimming, and other activities—have helped him maintain the conditioning that allowed him to reach the mountaintop. As he prepares for his daughter’s nuptials—her boyfriend proposed on Kilimanjaro that day—he knows that healthy lifestyle will allow him to enjoy more of life’s big moments ahead.

“She’s got a wedding coming up, and I’ll be around hopefully to participate and be physically able to travel if I need to,” he says. “There are so many benefits of staying active and healthy and finding a challenge like a Kilimanjaro or an Appalachian Trail hike that will make you prepare and stay focused on your health and well-being.”

Use Our How-To Video Tutorials to Follow NCRGEA on Facebook

With Association members who range from the technologically savvy to those who have limited interactions with computers or mobile devices, NCRGEA has committed itself to a hybrid communication format – print and electronic – to address all member needs.

Why Facebook?

Our feedback reveals that Facebook is the social media of choice for our retired members. Consequently, if you’re on Facebook and not following the NCRGEA Facebook page, don’t miss an opportunity to stay up-to-date on news and events impacting members. Our page features breaking information, details about health benefits, special events, and more. 

Video Tutorials: How to Follow the NCRGEA Page

To make it easy, the Association has created two tutorials – one for our desktop/laptop users and another for those who prefer to use mobile devices. 

Computer/Laptop Browsers

Click here to view a video tutorial for desktop and laptop computer browsers.

Mobile Devices

Click here to view a video tutorial for mobile devices.

Issues with Video Quality?

Occasionally, some computers and other devices may deliver a lower-quality video playback due to YouTube Settings. We have created this step-by-step document for your convenience on how to change that setting to achieve a better experience.

Aging Un-Lonely

February 2024 Megan Smith, PhD. University of North Carolina at Charlotte

germinating plants

If you are feeling lonely, you are not alone. A Harvard study reported in 2020 that about 45% of older adults feel lonely. There is a lot of talk about loneliness these days, but what exactly is loneliness? Loneliness is the subjective experience of a mismatch between the number of quality relationships you would like to have and the number of quality relationships you feel that you have. A quality relationship is often defined as one in which you can talk to that person about anything. Social isolation is the objective measure of how many people you interact with within a specified time. There is evidence that social isolation is high among older adults for a variety of reasons, ranging from decline or impairment of physical and mental health, lack of access to transportation, living alone, and lack of social support from family and friends in due a decrease in frequency of interactions. Solitude, according to research, is the luxury of choosing to be alone while also feeling socially connected.

Loneliness is subjective, meaning people experience loneliness differently. Some people feel connected with a small number of quality relationships in their lives; let’s say three as an example. However, if one friend moves away, losing that one person creates a feeling of loneliness because there is a mismatch between the number of desired relationships and actual ones. Other people need many quality relationships to feel socially connected; maybe needing 25 close relationships and if they only have 20, loneliness results. There are variations in loneliness thresholds.

In May 2023, the U.S. Surgeon General declared Loneliness “Our Epidemic.” The wording implies that we all have the responsibility to work on reducing our own loneliness, if we are experiencing it, and/or helping others move through this experience to become more socially connected. Loneliness is very problematic as it increases the onset of chronic physical and mental diseases as well as mortality rates. The alarming statistic often provided in terms of loneliness and its negative effect on health is that feeling lonely is akin to smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

Loneliness results in several negative consequences for our physical health. Loneliness increases the likelihood of hypertension, which can affect the likelihood of strokes. Research shows that lonely people are more likely to develop chronic heart disease, diabetes, and even some cancers. Loneliness also decreases the effectiveness of our immune system to ward off viruses. Loneliness is a contributor to mental health problems too. People who report feeling lonely are four times more likely to develop depression. Anxiety is the number one symptom of loneliness and increases the longer that one feels lonely. Many lonely people perceive a variety of social circumstances as anxiety provoking when they are socially disconnected, which does not occur when people feel socially connected. Loneliness also increases the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s, other forms of dementia, and a variety of cognitive impairments.

One of the challenges though, is that many older adults may not initially think of loneliness as an explanation for feeling physically or mentally unwell. In the United States, we view health from a biomedical model, meaning our first thought is that there is a physical or biological issue causing health problems previously mentioned, but the overwhelming evidence consistently shows that loneliness contributes significantly to poor health.

Unfortunately, my motivation to study, publish, and talk about loneliness is based on personal experience. As a graduate student, I started spending a lot of time by myself reading and writing and spending time studying a group severely and persistently mentally ill people. I spent more time engaged in these activities as opposed to focusing on social connection. Prior to graduate school, I was gregarious and extroverted with many quality relationships. In short, I was quite socially connected. At some point during my PhD, I noticed changes in my behavior. I started to feel more anxious about my academic performance and perceived situations as anxiety provoking. I became critical of the quality of my own work. As the symptoms increased, my physical health simultaneously declined; I had migraines regularly, suffered from a host of digestive issues, and developed an autoimmune disorder. Doctors were unable to explain the symptoms as my lab was always “normal.” But there was a continuation of unusual behaviors. such as declining invitations even though I had no other plans, a common behavior of lonely people. I was not depressed, but I was not happy. I wondered if I was experiencing mental health problems. Despite proactive efforts to seek help, not a single doctor asked about my relationships with friends and family. Since I was not asked about my social connections, it never dawned on me that social disconnection was a root cause.

In 2018, by chance, I read a book titled “Lonely; A Memoir” by Elizabeth White. White shared her own experience with loneliness, her exploration into the current research (in 2011), and her unofficial qualitative research based on responses to her blog posts. It was the biggest “aha” moment– I realized my health issues over the years could easily be explained by being lonely. While it was difficult to accept the fact that I had personally made decisions leading to loneliness, the good news was that I could also get out of it.

Research suggests strategies to reduce loneliness in small steps. Small behavioral changes can make a significant difference over time. When we are lonely, we lose practice talking to people. Saying hello and asking about someone’s day such as a cashier, a neighbor, or a postal worker is a helpful starting point. The more practice with small talk, then research finds lonely people develop a comfort level to extend conversations. Joining a club or team- just one- such as bridge, pickleball, or a cigar club allows lonely people to interact more easily with others who have shared interests, birds of a feather flock together.

Dr. Vivek Murthy, the U.S. Surgeon General, claims that the most powerful antidote to loneliness is service to others. When we are lonely, we lose self-esteem and confidence. Helping others allows service to others and provides people with purpose and value. Identify ways that you can be of service, ranging from helping a neighbor to assisting local non-profits. These small changes and acts of service can end loneliness. One’s physical and mental health can improve significantly once social connection resumes. Loneliness is a challenging experience, no doubt, but please know that you are not alone and there are people willing to help and simple steps that can change how lonely one may feel.

As a researcher, professor, and public speaker on loneliness, I welcome the opportunity to speak to groups of individuals on this topic. Please feel free to contact me via email at ssmit392@charlotte.edu.

The Five Gardening Tasks To Complete in February

Take steps now to ensure a great fruit crop, get your roses ready, and prepare to start seeds

February is the shoulder season in many parts of the U.S. It’s been in the 50s the last few days, and the irises and tulips have started to emerge. For most gardeners, this fills some with both excitement and anxiety with a capital A—am I already behind? You’re not, because February is the time to catch up.

So in this, the shortest of all months, you have not one, but two jobs:

  • Wrap up all the things you’ve not yet accomplished for winter while preparing for spring
  • Get your fruit positioned for an amazing season

Work that will determine what kind of fruit harvest you’ll have

Start by pruning any fruit trees and shrubs you haven’t gotten to yet. This includes blueberries, currants, huckleberries, winterberries, and all other berry shrubs. Prune and train your grapes, and prune back your fall-bearing raspberries. Check with your garden center to see if it’s time to prune summer-bearing raspberries and other cane fruit. If you’re planting fruit trees or shrubs this year, the window is now open. It’s also the right time to relocate any trees or shrubs that might do better elsewhere. You can start planting rhubarb, too.

Once you’re done with the structural work above, it’s time to think about fertilizing all that fruit. Your garden center can help you with fertilizer specifically for fruit trees, vines, and the special acidic fertilizer that blueberries love.

If you’re up for the challenge, consider cloche-ing or wrapping your strawberries to encourage early fruiting.

Take care of your roses

As with fruit, now is the time to give your roses the late winter chop. If you’ve never really paid attention before, this kind of pruning helps encourage your roses to grow strong vines with prolific blooms. Just letting them grow without any pruning or training can result in scraggly and crooked vines. Check out a guide to pruning roses, sterilize your pruning clippers and wear arm protection. You’ll start to see roses in the garden center, and you can start getting them into the ground later in the month. All roses will benefit from fertilizer as well.

Now is the time to divide (some of) your plants

There are a wealth of plants in your yard that benefit from occasional dividing. Dividing gives plants more space to grow, more ability to absorb nutrients, and allows roots to flourish. They’re also two plants for the price of one. Now is the ideal time to dig into those herbaceous perennials and divide those suckers and relocate. To do so, you dig up the entire plant, generously going around the root ball. Lift it out of the ground, and then tease apart the roots with your hands or a sharp knife. You want each division to have at least three shoots. Replant them within the day, and give them a drink of water and a little shade for a few days. Now, this isn’t all perennials, but the fall-blooming perennials. Asters, astilbe, iris, bee balm, blanket flower, bleeding heart, daylily, phlox, hosta, lambs ear, agapanthus, ornamental grasses, and sedum are some common plants you could look to divide.

Resist the urge to clean up

The first week of 50-degree weather sends everyone into their yards, eager to be back outside. While you can embrace the feeling, resist cleaning up the leaves and woody stems you so graciously left in fall. The beneficial insects that are using the leaves and stems to hibernate aren’t ready to exit quite yet. You’ll want to wait until closer to summer. In the meantime, those leaves and stems are becoming useful mulch and compost. Redirect the energy into tuning up your lawnmower for the spring and hunting down every slug and snail that survived winter.

On the precipice of seeding

We’re still too far out to seed tomatoes, eggplants, and your summer vegetables. You can, however, get a crop of spring vegetables started, including broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, and other short crops. If you can find starts at the garden center, they can go in the ground about now, too. What can definitely go in the ground now are pea seeds, including sweet peas.

What you can seed right now is your earliest annual flowers: your petunias, portulaca, sweet alyssum and trailing nasturtiums, the flowers for your hanging baskets and window baskets. You can start your ginger and turmeric inside.

Mostly, you can use this time to get your seed starting supplies cleaned and sterilized with a mild bleach solution and ensure you have all the seeds you want for a bountiful year.