With the rising cost of food, prescription drugs and utility bills, we truly understand the challenges facing seniors living on fixed incomes. That’s why we’ve been working to provide immediate relief – and secure a bright future for Bergen’s seniors.

Last Friday, October 16, we held a telephone town hall with seniors throughout the 38th Legislative District discussing some of the many things that we have been doing to alleviate the stresses on seniors, including:

• Expanding the Senior Freeze program to allow nearly 70,000 more seniors to qualify and prevent rising property taxes from destroying their quality of life
• Stopping the spread of infectious diseases at hospitals with tough legislation and a new law requiring public disclosure of preventable medical errors and prohibiting hospitals from charging patients for mistakes hospitals make
• Helping nearly 200,000 seniors afford prescription drugs through the PAAD and Senior Gold programs, and providing $950 million in aid to hospitals
• Fighting for the Silver Alert system, an AARP-endorsed program that notifies the public of a missing elderly person and helps them return home safely
• Providing the best care possible for seniors in nursing homes, including a new law that requires the use of pressure redistributive mattresses to help eliminate bed sores

Listen to Joan and Connie discuss these issues during the telephone town hall: