By Av Rivel
The February 2 Retired Men’s Association speaker was Dr. Steven Katz, the Chairman of the Commission on Aging for the Town of Greenwich. Dr. Katz is co-spearheading Greenwich’s Age and Dementia Friendly certification initiative with the AARP, World Health Organization, and Dementia Friendly America, and is the Ambassador of the Aging 2.0 Greenwich Chapter. Dr. Katz is also the President of Sterling Care, a certified home health agency, a non-medical companion and homemaker agency, a certified geriatric care management practice, and a senior living placement service based in Greenwich. He is an adjunct professor of Health Care Policy and Management at the Columbia University School of Public Health. Dr. Katz has an MPH from Columbia University, an LLM in taxation from NYU School of Law, MBAs in finance and accounting and a JD from Fordham University, and a BA in psychology from Brandeis University. He is a New York Certified Public Accountant and has been admitted to the bars in New York and Connecticut.
Dr. Katz’s talk was up-close and personal for RMA members and addressed ways of defining “Successful aging and how to achieve it.” In one line: “How to modify your environment to meet the reality of aging.” This is something that all of us should be seriously thinking about, especially after this talk.
Some of the highlights Steven elaborated on dealt with how to successfully age at home:
• Stay healthy and take care of your body
• Stay cognitively active
• Stay socially engaged
• Stay spiritually engaged
• Be resilient
Roadblocks to successful aging include:
• Ignoring warning signs
• Being slow to, or refusing to, adapt the home environment to developing needs
• Not asking for help
• Not realistically planning for ongoing changes
• Self-isolation
• Not seeking medical help or support
One of the highlights of Dr. Katz’s talk was using a Zoom feature to poll attendees as to their opinions on certain topics. The responses were instantly aggregated and presented. Dr. Katz was then able to use that data as talking points for his presentation.
Dr. Katz concluded his presentation with listings of the many resources available to residents of the Greenwich area who would like more information or personalized advice or services.
Dr. Katz offered to send RMAers copies of his slides and answer questions after his talk. He can be reached at Steve.katz@sterlingcare.com.
To stream Dr. Katz’s presentation, click here (https://vimeo.com/672997515).
The next RMA presentation, “Economic Development in Post-Covid Connecticut,” will feature State Representative Stephen Meskers at 11 AM, Wednesday, February 16. Representative Meskers will describe the state of Connecticut’s economy as it begins to emerge from the stresses of the pandemic. While by all standards the state effectively handled the medical challenges of Covid-19, how has it fared economically? What has been the impact of the crisis on state finances and Connecticut’s GDP and what lies ahead on the road to recovery?
Representative Meskers is well positioned to address these issues. As the vice-chair of the Finance, Revenue, and Bonding Committee, he has proved himself to be a strong advocate for policies on taxation, environmental protection, energy reform, and healthcare costs, and continues to advocate against higher capital gains taxes and against a statewide property tax. Along with the governor he wants to accelerate income tax relief on retirement income.
Stephen identifies himself as a Democrat, a fiscal conservative, and a social progressive. In November 2018 he was elected State Representative for the 150th district in Connecticut, the first Democrat elected from the district in over 100 years. He has just completed the first year of his second legislative term. This December, Greenwich received $1.2 mm in grants for a number of non-profit building projects around town, including the Red Cross Blood Donation Center, Neighbor to Neighbor New Center, the Rebuild of Senior Center on Greenwich Avenue, and the Chimes Building at Greenwich Point.
Representative Meskers has a BA from Fordham University in Economics and Spanish, and an MBA in Finance from the Lubin School at Pace University. Prior to entering the House, Representative Meskers had a 35 year career in emerging markets at Irving Trust, Chemical Bank, and Banco Santander.
To stream Stephen Mesker’s presentation at 11 AM on Wednesday, February 16th, click here (https://bit.ly/30IBj21). This presentation will also be available on local public access TV Channels, Verizon FIOS channel 24 and Optimum (Cablevision) channel 79.
RMA speaker presentations are presented as a community service at no cost to in-person or Zoom attendees. The RMA urges all eligible individuals to consider becoming a member of our great organization, and thereby enjoy all the available fellowship, volunteer, and community service opportunities which the RMA offers to its members. For further information, contact Michael Ambrosino (mail to: brooklynoil@yahoo.com) or Peter Stern (mail to: pmstern@optonline.net).
