LAKE PLACID — Mercy Care for the Adirondacks held its quarterly technology workshop recently at High Peaks Church in Saranac Lake with Friendship Volunteers and Elder Friends.
Topics included applying for and managing benefits online, online banking, identifying scams aimed at elders, and fraud protection.
Roberta Bryson of NBT Bank discussed online banking management, navigating the online portal and how to identify scams and fraud protection.
Krissy Leerkes, director of Essex County Office for Aging, taught participants how to apply for benefits and assistance programs such as HEAP, SNAP, Social Security benefits and health insurance through online portals.
Mercy Care’s mission is to enhance in every dimension the fullness of life of Elders living in our community.
“We hold Technology Workshops quarterly, focusing on topics of concern to elders in our communities. Growing numbers of institutions are shifting to a digital platform,” said Lexi Bevilacqua, Mercy Care’s director of programs and mission integration.
With support from charitable donors and private foundations, Mercy Care is scaling up its programs to empower our Elder Friends to have access to a digital device and provide instruction on how to use it. Mercy Care offers an iPad permanent loan program.
Older Adults in the community can contact Mercy Care to request a new iPad, provided on a first-come, first-served basis.
“This program is so wonderful — to have something like this in my life is a blessing,” a Mercy Care Elder Friend who attended the workshop said.
The next Technology Assistance Workshop will be held in November in Saranac Lake and is open to all older adults in the Tri-Lakes. To learn more about Mercy Care’s Technology Assistance Programs or the iPad permanent loan program, please contact Lexi Bevilacqua at 518-523-5446 or abevilacqua@adkmercy.org.
Consider becoming a Mercy Care Friendship Volunteer
Mercy Care is experiencing many new requests from elders in our community who need friends and informal supports to help them age in place more successfully. Mercy Care serves any older adult in need within our capacity.
Mercy Care receives requests for a Friendship Volunteer from elders themselves, their families, friends, and other referral sources to empower our elder neighbors to live well as they grow older.
Mercy Care’s next Friendship Volunteer Training will be held on Oct. 1 at Adirondack Educational Center BOCES in Saranac Lake. Mercy Care invites anyone in the Tri-Lakes region and surrounding communities who is interested in becoming a Mercy Care Friendship Volunteer to take the training.
To register, or to learn more, please visit Mercy Care’s website at www.adkmercy.org or contact Lexi Bevilacqua at abevilacqua@adkmercy.org or 518-523-5446.
Mercy Care for the Adirondacks is governed by a local board of directors and relies solely on grants and charitable gifts from individuals, businesses, and foundations for its support.
Mercy Care’s services are provided free of charge to those we assist. Board members include: Catherine I. Johnston, President; Denis Chagnon, MD, Vice President; Ann Cantwell Telfer; Tom Connors; Melissa Eisinger; Eileen Hayes; Stefanie Holderied; Jonathan Kaplan; Sr. Eileen McDonnell, RSM; Kathryn Reiss; Eli Schwartzberg; and Kathleen Trainor.
Mercy Care can be reached at 185 Old Military Road, Lake Placid, NY 12946, by calling Donna Beal, Executive Director, at 518-523-5581, or by email at dbeal@adkmercy.org.
For more information, visit Mercy Care’s website at http://www.adkmercy.org.