Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Deane Beebe
Public Affairs Director
Medicare Rights Center
212-204-6219
Akiko Takano
Communications Associate
212-204-6214
November 30, 2007
Lois Steinberg Inducted Into Westchester Senior Citizen Hall of Fame Medicare Rights Center's Westchester Program Director Receives Special Recognition at Gala New York, NY -Lois S. Steinberg, Ph.D., Medicare Rights Center's Westchester Program Director, has been named to Westchester County's Senior Citizen Hall of Fame, and will be inducted at a gala luncheon on Friday, December 7, 2007. She is one of five seniors who will receive "special recognition" at the event.
"The Medicare Rights Center is fortunate to have such a charismatic and committed program director in Westchester," said Robert M. Hayes, president of the Medicare Rights Center, a national consumer advocacy organization. "We are all very proud to work with Dr. Steinberg, and are delighted that the county shares our admiration of her tireless and dedicated work."
The luncheon will be held at the Westchester Marriott in Tarrytown from 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., and will also mark the Hall of Fame's Silver Anniversary with a champagne toast.
Under the leadership of Dr. Steinberg, the Westchester Program runs several innovative projects, all designed to empower people to act on matters related to their health care.
- Through Seniors Out Speaking on Medicare (SOS Medicare) program, volunteers are trained to educate and counsel their peers about Medicare-related issues in their own communities. They visit senior centers, religious institutions, public housing projects and other sites throughout the county to speak to people with Medicare. In 2006 SOS Medicare volunteers reached roughly 1700 people each month.
- The Part D Education and Counseling program is a collaboration with the Westchester County Department of Senior Programs and Services. Through presentations and one-on-one counseling, volunteers reached roughly 10,000 people in 2006.
- The Health Advocacy Training Workshops for Adults over 50 are designed to train people to be health advocates for themselves and their peers. Participants are taught how to speak up for themselves, for example, and how to navigate a hospital stay.
- The Westchester Program's latest project is the Health Advocacy Resource Center, which was launched at the Grinton I. Will Library in Yonkers earlier this month. Through a partnership with the Westchester Library System, Sarah Lawrence College's Health Advocacy Program, and the Westchester County Department of Senior Programs and Services, the Resource Center provides trained volunteers who help older adults get reliable health care information and become better health advocates for themselves and their peers.
For her pioneering health advocacy work, Dr. Steinberg was named a Purpose Prize Fellow in 2006 by Civic Ventures, as part of its national initiative to recognize Americans over 60 who are leaders of social innovation and tackling the toughest problems in their own communities. She recently earned a Master's degree from the Health Advocacy Program at Sarah Lawrence College, and has a Ph.D. in Sociology from Fordham University.