MSU RSVP to hold ‘Fraud Friday’ webinars

Morehead State's Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) is launching a series of weekly webinars to help protect seniors against different types of fraud.   

The webinars, called "Fraud Fridays," will feature different guest speakers discussing various frauds and scams that target the elderly.   

Helisha Tuerk is the senior corps program coordinator for Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) and the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program. She says the program is part of SMP's efforts to educate and empower seniors through outreach to help them prevent, detect and report healthcare fraud, errors, and abuse.
Each webinar will feature a guest speaker and will be followed by a question and answer session.   

"SMPs work at the grassroots level with the people directly affected by Medicare fraud, errors, and abuse," Tuerk said. "During this time of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, it is crucial that the SMP program continues its efforts. We want to foster a strong partnership with our local interagencies and keep our senior citizens engaged through social media platforms and keep them up-to-date with current events and issues relevant to their circumstances during this pandemic. Some feedback I've received from seniors is that these webinars provide them with an opportunity to talk with many people and have made them much more comfortable with using social media platforms."  

The first webinar will be Friday, April 17, and will feature Kevin Trent from St. Claire Medical Supply, who will discuss access and coverage for durable medical equipment (DME). The webinar begins at 11 a.m. To view the webinar, register by emailing h.tuerk@moreheadstate.edu. Those who wish to participate by phone may do so by calling 1-415-655-0003. The webinar access code is 475 367 629.   

On Friday, April 24, Hunter Williamson from Legal Aid of the Bluegrass will speak about the top 10 financial scams involving seniors. The webinar begins at 11 a.m.   

RSVP is working with the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) to arrange for a speaker in May to discuss Medicare coverage and protections.    

To register for future webinars, email Tuerk at h.tuerk@moreheadstate.edu.   

For more information about RSVP, visit www.moreheadstate.edu/rsvp, email h.tuerk@moreheadstate.edu or call 606-783-5124.