A message from Acting Secretary Kennedy:
Healthy Aging

One of my roles as Secretary is to represent the interests of older Kansans on the Governor’s Council on Fitness.  At a September 1 meeting of the Council in Topeka, Governor Parkinson made a passionate appeal for Kansans of all ages to adopt healthy habits.  The Governor noted that one in five Kansans is obese, and over 60% are overweight.  While we’ve made a lot of progress in reducing smoking among our population, smoking cessation initiatives including restrictions on smoking in public places will be a major focus of the Governor’s legislative agenda in 2010.

It’s hard to overstate the importance of healthy lifestyles, including regular physical activity and smoking cessation, for Kansas seniors.  Obese Kansans will suffer from diabetes and heart disease at many times the rate of their leaner counterparts, and cancer and many other diseases can also be prevented by healthy lifestyles.  Obesity creates a huge financial burden as well.  If only 10 percent of sedentary Americans exercised 30 minutes a day we would save $5.6 billion in heart disease treatment alone.

I recently welcomed Mr. Reed to the Kansas Centenarians, an honorary for Kansans who have reached the age of 100.  According to Mr. Reed’s daughter, he walks his dog 2 miles a day.  Let’s all make an effort to live more active lives, and I look forward to seeing many more Kansas Centenarians in the future.

Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits will not automatically increase in 2010

Information on H1N1 flu

The following websites contain information and updates concerning the outbreak of H1N1 flu, formerly called swine flu.

For general information about the flu, including symptoms, what precautions to take and how it can be treated, go to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment website at http://www.kdheks.gov/ or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website at http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/.

Long-term care providers will find information relating to preventing or handling flu outbreaks in their facilities at http://www.flu.gov/professional/hospital/longtermcarechecklist.html.

Health Reform

Check out the following websites to find out the latest information about proposals being considered by Congress and to get a comprehensive overview of activities related to health reform.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/
http://www.healthreform.gov/

2009 Resource Guide for Seniors Now Available

The Resource Guide for Seniors offers useful information on legal issues, benefits, rights and servies.

Interested in requesting a birthday greeting from the White House, Kansas Governor or from Acting Secretary Kennedy for an older relative or friend? Read the requirements.