Health & Wellbeing

Judges’ Choice Winner of the 2017 Caregiver Accelerator uses life experiences to help others

AARP Florida Director Jeff Johnson warned hundreds of thousands of older Floridians Wednesday that they could lose thousands of dollars in income-tax deductions next year if Congress moves ahead with a U.S. House plan to impose a “health tax.”

By Tom Scherberger

Whew! The worst of the 2017 hurricane season is past us.

West Palm Beach, Fla. – Presented by AARP Florida, Your Aging & Disability Resource Center will be celebrating its 29th anniversary and its future at the Circle of Care Celebration Luncheon at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts on November 9, 2017. Featured guest presenters include newly appointed Assistant Secretary for Aging Lance Robertson; Dr. Jamie Huysman, Vice President of Provider Relations and Government Affairs at WellMed Medical Management, well-known for his work fiercely advocating on behalf of family and professional caregivers; and, Jeff Johnson, AARP Florida State Director.

St. Petersburg, Fla. – AARP Florida State Director Jeff Johnson will share AARP Florida’s battle to protect frail older people in the state’s next disaster during a Facebook Live Event at 6:30 pm Nov. 8.

As Floridians regroup from Hurricane Irma, it is clear that the state’s system for protecting frail older residents failed after Hurricane Irma. Ten people died in a tragic chain of miscommunication and inexplicable failure to act after a Broward County rehabilitation center lost cooling for more than 150 residents for three days during Hurricane Irma. Astonishingly, a fully functional hospital, where air conditioning was available, was right across the street.

Power outages and flood water during crises like Hurricane Irma can quickly destroy food and medication. However, these essentials do not always need disposed of after a storm hits.

By Jeff Johnson

Hurricane Michael devastated much of Florida's eastern Panhandle region on Oct. 10, inflicting billions of dollars in damages in a few hours. For Floridians age 50-plus, for family caregivers and for North Florida communities, recovery will take years.