Department of Health and Human Services
Administration on Aging

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Media Advisories

HHS Assistant Secretary For Aging, Medicare & Visioneering Wichita-Older Adult & Health Care Strategic Alliances Call For “A Healthier Us”

For Immediate Release
July 13, 2007

The HHS Secretary for Aging and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will join Visioneering Wichita: Older Adult & Health Care Strategic Alliances and other community partners in Wichita to expand their community-wide alliances and highlight the importance of prevention.

• Discover Visioneering Wichita and find out how you can get involved
• Participate in “A Healthier US Starts Here” A Medicare Prevention and Wellness Initiative
• Learn about prevention and wellness programs available in your community

BACKGROUND:

Medicare covers many important screenings and other preventive benefits to help people with Medicare live healthier and more active lives. When Medicare beneficiaries do not take advantage of these preventive services, we all pay, both in terms of loss of lives, and hundreds of billions of dollars in hospitalization costs-taxpayer dollars. As part of the Healthier US Starts Here initiative, Medicare and its partners will raise awareness of the importance of preventing chronic disease and illness like heart disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes. The Medicare tour bus will visit each of the 48 continental states over the course of this spring and summer, bringing spokespersons to work with community partners, city and state leaders, and disease prevention advocates involved in these initiatives. People with Medicare will be asked to take action, talk to their health care providers and visit www.mymedicare.gov to learn more about preventive services they are eligible to receive and access tools to help manage their healthcare.

Visioneering Wichita is an ambitious project that is designed to make Wichita a strong regional community and to improve the quality of life of its citizens. The project encompasses the counties of Sedgwick, Butler, Harvey and Sumner, and addresses economic development, education, quality of life, government, infrastructure, and private-sector leaderships. Currently there are 450 community members and organizations signed up as Vision partners.

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The AoA is a Federal agency dedicated to policy development, planning and the delivery of supportive home and community-based services to older persons and their caregivers through the national aging network of state and local agencies on aging, tribal organizations, service providers and volunteers.

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