AARP South Carolina

When you think of Myrtle Beach, you think of sand dunes, golf courses and well traffic. Tucked away in a small strip center of the highway 17 bypass proudly stands a “mini military museum.” But not in the sense of a formal glassed in-cased, don’t touch museum. You can actually eat there.

Corn dogs, roller coasters, prize pigs, live music and AARP—what’s not to like at the South Carolina State Fair?

The 770,000+ caregivers in South Carolina face many issues as they care for their loved ones. AARP is working to address these issues on several different levels including three caregiving issues at the federal level.

The SC Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Statewide Transition Plan is going through a third public comment period due to changes made in the plan per Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) requirements. The comment period is Aug. 17 - Oct. 7, 2016. A webinar and nine regional public meetings will be held to review the changes made to the plan, which outlines how South Carolina will meet the new standards for waiver services (specifically where services are provided) as required by CMS.

More than 25% of people 65 and older have diabetes. A diagnosis of diabetes includes prediabetes and diabetes. Prediabetes indicates that the blood sugar is higher than normal. Without any intervention people with prediabetes, most likely, will develop diabetes later in life.

Want to learn more? Click on a link to download additional information about brain health and what you can do to stay sharp.

Earlier this year AARP South Carolina launched a campaign to move our advocacy efforts into a more local arena. AARP SC volunteers are crucial to our advocacy work and can often best accomplish our goals by working in their local communities. To kick off this effort, we have worked in Anderson and Beaufort counties with local legislators.

While there are certainly many exceptional opportunities in the role of a volunteer State President with AARP, one that offers a look into the workings of our national congressional leadership is LOBBY DAY on the Hill. This occurs once a year, and is part of a week long AARP Leadership Summit in DC. State Presidents travel with the State Director for this event, and work collaboratively with one another, as well as state staff, to coordinate meeting times individually with our delegation and/or their staff. These visits offer an opportunity to talk about shared issues of AARP, South Carolina, and our congressmen. Our experience ( Teresa Arnold and I just completed our fourth year of Lobby Day!), proves to be of great benefit in establishing more personal contacts with those in decision making positions for not just South Carolina, but all those who are 50+ and their families. Truly a meaningful privilege as a volunteer State President, and South Carolinian!

By Holly Fisher

You already know how to keep your body fit. But what about your brain?