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Meet Cathy Kirby. In August 2020, she was appointed by Erie County Commissioner, Steve Shoffner, to Serving Our Seniors Board of Trustees. As a new board member, Cathy will assist in governing and overseeing the agency to ensure it is fulfilling its mission. She is retired after 34 years in Human Resources at Ford/Visteon in Sandusky, One of the many attributes Cathy brings to the Board is her experience using Serving Our Seniors. She contacted Serving Our Seniors for help in understanding her Medicare options. “I called Serving Our Seniors when I was coming off my employer insurance. I use a prescription eye medication and it’s expensive. I wanted to find the best Medicare plan to cover this cost and I knew I could go to Serving Our Seniors to get impartial information. That’s what I wanted.” Initially, Cathy received her guidance from Patricia Stineman, Medicare Education Specialist. She gained an understanding of how Medicare insurance works, the various options for buying Medicare supplements and Medicare Part D. “It pays to make the time to get Medicare counseling,” she said. “I have a friend who never shopped for better Medicare coverage for 10 years.” When Cathy convinced her to do so, her friend cut her premiums in half. It’s Time to Go Shopping “I think of it like this, Medicare has a sale every year. But I need to shop to see which company has the best insurance plan for what I need. Medicare plans, like the weather, change frequently. A plan that fit my needs last year may not meet my needs today. Serving Our Seniors is like a personal shopper to help find the plan that’s right for you -- and just might save you money!!” she said. To make an appointment for help shopping during Medicare open enrollment (Oct. 15 – Dec. 7, 2020), for Medicare Advantage Plans or Medicare Part D plans, call Serving Our Seniors at 419-624-1856. Medicare Supplements do not have an annual Open Enrollment period. You can shop any time during the year for a new Medicare Supplement. Led by Sandusky Career Center’s Nursing Instructor, Tara Webb, RN, the LPN to RN students donated over $200.00 to help fund rural home delivered meals and purchased 10 Amazon Fire tablets (smart devices) to be used by Serving Our Seniors for Medicare Counseling and to help older adults with virtual health care appointments. Thank you for your care and concern for older adults. Thank You LPN to RN Program L-R: Charlene Bramum, Kristina Fuqua, Tara Webb, Instructor; Paris Hunter. Not pictured are: Elizabeth DeMore and Victoria Ebinger. 19