Ramon and Dora’s Medicare Moment: Staying healthy with food that's good for you

Ramon & Dora’s Medicare Moment: Staying healthy with food that’s good for you

Dora & Ramon

Aetna Medicare Advantage members since January, 2016

Ramon: I had to retire at the age of 72 because of illnesses. I only have one kidney and had to go into dialysis.

Dora: With the dialysis, he’s more –

Ramon: I’m tied down.

Dora: Tied down because we can’t do too much.

While dialysis can be lifesaving, it can also present many challenges

Ramon: I’m getting used to it, the dialysis. I’ve been on it a year, a little over a year now. I watch what I eat. I know how to back off. If I’m doing too much of one thing that’s hurting me, my body lets me know actually what I need to do, and I back off.

Dora is Ramon’s primary caregiver

Dora: I’m not as healthy as I’m supposed to be, but I’m healthy enough where we can help each other and enjoy our children and do whatever we can.

Ramon: We’ve been with Aetna, I would say about four or five years, and they’ve treated us real good.

Dora: They’ll put me with somebody that can help me to get what I need, especially for him.

Ramon’s care manager connected them to Aetna’s Resources For Living^® program

Robert Mirsky, MD

Chief Medical Officer for Aetna Medicare

Robert: We have a unique organization within Aetna called Resources For Living. They do a complete evaluation of what that individual's needs are, primarily across the social determinants of health.

Resources for Living helps to connect seniors with the resources in their communities that they need around meals, transportation, personal care in their homes in a way that is, it is highly customized.

Meals on Wheels has been really instrumental in making sure that Ramon gets the nutrition that he needs.

Dora: We’ve been, on two weeks already with the delivering the meals and we have enjoyed it very much.

Because when he comes from dialysis, he gets very hungry. And the meals are right there where I can just warm them up for him and he can eat one.

Ramon: They’re not fried foods. They’re either baked or grilled and they got vegetables, two kind of vegetables, and they got your main meat. So, it’s really nice.

Dora: I like it because I don’t have to cook them every day.

Ramon: We don’t have to go to the grocery store all the time.

But it’s more than a healthy meal for Dora and Ramon

Robert: Meals on Wheels goes well beyond simply delivering meals. They interact with Ramon, they interact with Dora and they help engage them so that Ramon is supported not only by Dora but also by the Meals on Wheels team. And that's really important to give Dora some relief.

Dora: We’re always too quiet here, just me and him. We enjoy having company. Even though, like the grandkids come, but it’s not the same as a grownup coming over and, you know, talk to you and you know, enjoy them.

Ramon: Oh, yeah, they’re friendly. They give me hugs. I like that.

Dora: Aetna has been right there with him and us.

Robert: As we try to understand how the community can help support seniors, it's important to note that seniors have a great deal of wisdom and experience to bestow upon others in their communities.

To learn more, visit www.AetnaMedicare.com/Engage

Aetna Medicare is a HMO, PPO plan with a Medicare contract.  Enrollment in our plans depends on contract renewal. See Evidence of Coverage for a complete description of plan benefits, exclusions, limitations and conditions of coverage. Plan features and availability may vary by service area.

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NR_0001_17792_C 09/2019