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Location:
Little Rock, Arkansas
United States

About Me

AARP Arkansas has 375,000 AARP members all over the state. Our state president is Mary F. Dillard. Our state director is Maria Reynolds-Diaz. Our state office address is 1701 Centerview Dr., Ste. 205, Little Rock, Arkansas 72211. The state office staff includes: Maria Reynolds-Diaz, state director; Pat Jones, associate state director - communications; Vivian Ross, senior operations administrator; Herb Sanderson, associate state director - advocacy; and Lou Tobian, associate state director - community outreach.

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In the wake of results from the Massachusetts senate race, about 75 Arkansas senior citizens gathered over lunch at the Little Rock Hilton Hotel to send pro-health care reform postcards to their members of Congress and to refute the myths that opponents of certain health care reform measures have used to plant fear in older Americans. The event was sponsored by the Seniors to Seniors coalition, a group of more than 20 senior citizen advocacy organizations all committed to educating seniors about what the current health care reform legislation means for them. The coalition’s goal is to help filter through the clutter and the hype to educate seniors about how health care reform will benefit them. In the room were representatives of Seniors to Seniors groups who made up the panel of speakers. David Gross, Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of Policy Integration at the AARP National Office, gave an update on the status of the health care reform legislation in Congress and answered audience questions.  Tom Shircliff, a volunteer with the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare spoke about the many myths about health care reform which have been directed toward seniors. AFSCME (American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees) State Coordinator, Justin Nickels, pointed out that health care reform will keep doctors from taking a big cut in Medicare reimbursement rates this year so Medicare beneficiaries will be able to keep their doctor and find new doctors when they need them. Jerry Lancaster, AARP Arkansas Executive Council member said, “Our goal today is to let seniors know that they shouldn’t fear health reform, but embrace it.  The bills before Congress will provide meaningful long term care coverage that would provide a cash benefit to people so they can choose the services they need, when they need them, in the place they call home.”  Other organizations participating in the event included the American Association

of Homes and Services for the Aging. Alzheimer’s Arkansas, the NAACP, LULAC, AFLCIO, the Garland County Senior Companion Program, and the League of Women Voters who moderated the event. A roundtable discussion on areas of concern followed the panel. Participants then wrote personal post cards to their members of Congress urging them to pass Health Car Reform.
 
Two statewide newspapers covered the event:  theArkansas Democrat Gazette and the state-wide senior newspaper, Aging Arkansas.  A post-event news release and photos were sent to newspapers statewide.  The post-event news release was sent to broadcast outlets statewide.
 
Added: January 20, 2010
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