Older American Month events continue

Older American Month events are continuing in the county throughout the month of May.

The Mt. Olive Missionary Baptist Church is hosting a Medicaid Expansion Enrollment event on Sunday, May 19, immediately following services, and the Bertie County Council on Aging has a slate of events scheduled.

“We are looking forward to a large turnout for our Medicaid Expansion sign-up event. This is a very important part of staying healthy and we are pleased to partner with Social Services,” said Linda McNair Moore, director of Mt. Olive’s Health and Wellness Ministry.

Bertie County Director of Social Services Daphine Little has increased the Bertie County enrollment numbers substantially since the expansion initiative began in March and continues to partner with county organizations to accomplish the goal of enrolling the 1,700 residents who qualify for the expansion program.

The event will be held in the Mt. Olive’s Fellowship Hall, which is located at 102 Mt. Olive Rd. between Windsor and Lewiston Woodville.

Bertie County Council on Aging Director Rebecca Stapleton has arranged a long awaited “Shred Day” for Bertie County seniors, known as ‘older Americans,’ during the month of May.

“People wanted a means to shredded all the junk they get in the mail. So we are having a shred truck,” said Stapleton.

She has planned an event around the truck that will be parked at the Senior Center on Friday, May 24 from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. Seniors are invited to bring any documents needed to be shred to the truck. The Bertie County Senior Center is at 103 West School St. in Windsor.

The truck was made possible from a grant received from the Department of Insurance.

Aside from the shred truck, Stapleton has scheduled a line-up of speakers addressing senior fraud and how to prevent it.

Bertie County Sheriff Tyrone Ruffin is scheduled to address some of the recent scams directly involving Bertie County seniors and the precautions used to prevent it.

An N.C. Department of Insurance representative will focus on Medicaid fraud and a financial expert from the SECU will discuss financial fraud.

N.C. Extension Digital Educator Rebecca Jinnette will be answering questions and offering tips on computer fraud and digital literacy.

The event is free.

Stapleton is also planning a month-end celebration for Friday, May 31 at the Senior Center. Details will be announced soon, according to the director.