Three six-month-old Chinese alligators arrive at the OKC Zoo as part of Species Survival Plan.

The Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden is pleased to announce the arrival of three six-month-old Chinese alligator siblings who hatched in September 2020 at Sedgewick County Zoo in Wichita, Kansas. This exciting addition marks the first time the Zoo’s animal family has included Chinese alligators in its history. The Zoo is now home to both of the world’s only two alligator species – Chinese alligators and American alligators. With only 120 individual Chinese alligators left in the wild, the Zoo joins its Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) partners to preserve the species as part of the Chinese Alligator Species Survival Plan® (SSP) and reintroduction program.
“We’re proud to commit to this collaborative conservation effort and do our part to help revitalize the declining population of Chinese alligators in their native habitat,” said the Zoo’s Assistant Curator of Herpetology, Seamus Ehrhard. “By participating in this SSP program, we have the opportunity to make a powerful impact on Chinese alligator conservation, while raising public awareness for this lesser-known crocodilian species.”
The Chinese alligator, unlike the abundant American alligator, is critically endangered. AZA’s SSP and reintroduction programs were created to increase wild populations, while ensuring genetic diversity. In 2003, the first Chinese alligators bred in human care were successfully reintroduced into the wild – a promising testament to the critical role AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums have in conserving wildlife. Listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, Chinese alligators are threatened by habitat loss. The species is confined to a small area of the Yangtze River basin in Eastern China.
At this time, the Zoo will act as a housing facility for the Chinese alligator hatchlings with a goal of participating in the Chinese alligator breeding program in the future. The young alligator ambassadors will live at the Zoo for a few years before being paired with a mate at another AZA organization. The hatchlings are now on public view at the Zoo’s Underground habitat in the Children’s Zoo, next to the Zoo’s alligator snapping turtle hatchlings.
Chinese alligators are relatively small compared to American alligators – reaching an average length of five feet. The species can also be distinguished by its upturned snout and robust head. Calm and reserved by nature, Chinese alligators are known as highly intelligent and inquisitive creatures. The local name for the species is Yow-Lung or T’o, meaning “dragon.”
We hope to see you later alligator! The OKC Zoo invites you to meet its newest additions at their habitat in the Children’s Zoo. The Oklahoma City Zoo is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Advance tickets are required for all guests and ZOOfriends members and can be purchased at http://www.okczoo.org/tickets. Zoo tickets are limited each day to ensure safe social distancing among guests. Located at the crossroads of I-44 and I-35, the OKC Zoo is a proud member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the American Alliance of Museums, Oklahoma City’s Adventure District and an Adventure Road partner. Regular admission is $12 for adults and $9 for children ages 3-11 and seniors ages 65 and over. Children two and under are admitted free. Stay up-to-date with the Zoo on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok, and by visiting Our Stories. Zoo fans can support the OKC Zoo by becoming a member. Memberships can be purchased at ZOOfriends.org or any place admission is sold in the Zoo’s Entry Plaza during regular business hours. To learn more about this event and Zoo other happenings, call (405) 424-3344 or visit www.okczoo.org.

Dear Savvy Senior,

What tips can you offer on helping an elderly parent with their finances? My 84-year-old father is having trouble keeping up with his bills and insurance, and I just found out that he’s been making contributions to a suspicious charity. Reluctant Daughter

Dear Reluctant,
Many adult children serve as financial helpers to their elderly or ill parents. They provide services like paying bills, handling deposits and investments, filing insurance claims, preparing taxes and more. Here are some tips and resources that can help you help your dad.
Start with a Conversation
Taking on the task of helping an elderly parent with their finances can be a sensitive and difficult topic. The first step in helping your dad is to have a respectful talk with him expressing your concerns, as you stated in your question, and offering to help him with his financial chores. If you have siblings, it can be a good idea to get them involved too. This can help you head off any possible hard feelings, plus, with others involved, your dad will know everyone is concerned.
Get Organized
If your dad is willing to let you help manage, monitor or take over his financial affairs your first order of business is to get organized by making a list of his financial accounts and other important information. Your list should include his:
* Contact list: Names and numbers of key contacts like insurance agents, financial advisor, tax preparer, family attorney, etc.
* Monthly bills: Phone, cable, water and trash, gas, electric, credit card accounts, etc.
* Financial accounts: Including bank accounts, brokerage and mutual fund accounts, safe-deposit boxes and any other financial assets he has. Also get usernames and passwords for financial accounts that are set up online.
* Company benefits: Any retirement plans, pensions or health benefits from his current or former employer.
* Insurance policies: Life, home, auto, long-term care, Medicare, etc.
* Taxes: Copies of your dad’s income tax returns over the past few years.
Locate Important Documents
This is also the ideal time to find out if your dad has the following essential legal documents: A will; an advance directive that includes a living will and health-care proxy, which allows you or another family member or friend to make medical decisions on his behalf if he becomes incapacitated; and a durable power of attorney, which gives you or a designated person similar legal authority for financial decisions, if needed.
If he doesn’t have these important documents prepared, now is the time to do it. And if they are prepared, make sure they’re updated, and you know where they’re located.
Simplify Financial Tasks
The quickest way to help your dad simplify his monthly financial chores is to set up automatic payments for his utilities and other routine bills and arrange for direct deposit of his income sources. If your dad has savings and investments scattered in many different accounts, you should consider consolidating them. You can also set up your dad’s bank system and investment accounts online, so you can pay bills and monitor his accounts anytime.
Set Up Protections
To guard against scams and risky financial behaviors, consider getting your dad a True Link Visa Prepaid Card (TrueLinkFinancial.com/card). Designed for older adults with cognitive issues this card would provide your dad access to his money but with restrictions that you set on how funds can be spent. Or check out EverSafe.com, a web-based service that will automatically monitor your dad’s accounts, track suspicious activity and alert you when a problem is detected.
Seek Help
If you need help or live far away, consider hiring a daily money manager (see AADMM.com) who can come in once or twice a month to pay bills, make deposits, decipher health insurance statements and balance his checkbook. Fees range between $60 and $150 per hour.
Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.

Larae Sorrels of Enid was 27 years old when she started experiencing what she thought were just terrible menstrual cramps. She went to see several OB/GYNS before a mass was discovered obstructing her bowels. Sorrels admits at first, she didn’t really think much of it. “I thought finally I knew what was causing my problems. I thought they’ll remove the mass and that will be the end of it. Never in a million years did I think it was cancer.”
Sorrels was diagnosed with stage three colon cancer. She confesses, it was a hard pill to swallow. “There was a lot of anger. I remember thinking this is an old man’s disease and here I am in my twenties being forced to wear a colostomy bag.”
Larae has no family history of cancer and never even knew anyone with cancer, so she was truly blindsided by the diagnosis. “I had just been accepted to nursing school in Kentucky. Then two days later I was being admitted into the hospital,” remembers Sorrels. “I thought my life was ruined and I sank into a very dark place.”
“Nobody knows for sure why colorectal cancer numbers are rising in young people,” says Sumbal Nabi, M.D., with the INTEGRIS Cancer Institute in Enid. “A sedentary lifestyle, high blood sugar, vitamin D deficiency and eating a lot of red meat have all been associated with the disease. Heavy alcohol use and conditions such as type 2 diabetes are also possible causes.”
She adds, “When someone is diagnosed with cancer at a young age, people automatically suspect genetics, but experts still haven’t been able to use genetics to explain the surge.”
Sorrels says eventually she was able to pick herself up, dust herself off and give herself an attitude adjustment. “I could have stayed mad at the world, but I finally realized that everyone goes through hard stuff. I told myself I had a decision to make. I could choose to stay down, or I could choose to make the most of the situation and crawl my way out. I chose the latter.”
Sorrels enrolled in the nursing program at Northern Oklahoma College. She attended class all through her treatment, even carrying her medicine pump with her around campus.
Instead of the 12 rounds of chemotherapy she was initially prescribed, Larae ended up only needing eight. She has been in remission since Dec. 2019. She says the entire experience will make her a better nurse. “I feel like I will be able to relate to my patients because I’ve been there,” Sorrels proclaims. “I can help them see past their current circumstance and see a brighter future.”
She continues, “Even if I could go back and change what has happened to me – I wouldn’t. It was a tough road, but it led me to some great things.”
Sorrels is now cancer free, in a serious relationship and will graduate nursing school in May 2022. She hopes her story will serve as an inspiration to someone out there who needs it.
Colon cancer can take many years to develop, so early detection is key. Starting at age 50, you should schedule your fist colonoscopy. And if you are of African American decent or have certain hereditary conditions, you may need to start much sooner.
People with a first degree relative with colon or rectal cancer should begin screening colonoscopies at age 40 or ten years before the diagnosis of the relative, whichever comes first. To schedule a colonoscopy today, visit integrisok.com/colonoscopy.

By Nick Thomas

Back in 2019, actor/writer/producer Terry Ray convinced Erin Murphy – best known for playing baby Tabitha in “Bewitched” – to reprise her role in a short five-minute web skit in which her now-adult character seeks out a therapist (played by Ray) to deal with childhood issues lingering from growing up as the daughter of Darrin and Samantha Stephens. It was the beginning of a web series called “TV Therapy” that has delighted fans of classic television.
“One day my dad came into the room and he was a completely different person,” proclaims Tabitha to Dr. Stephen Nielson, Ray’s therapist character in the series. Fans of “Bewitched” will immediately understand the humorous implication.
Ray followed up with another fun therapy session featuring Dawn Wells as Mary Ann of “Gilligan’s Island” fame discussing her issues resulting from the harrowing years stranded on a desert island. The series is available on Ray’s YouTube channel.
“Don’t ever take a vacation in Hawaii and if you do, don’t take the harbor cruise,” advises Mary Ann from the therapist’s couch.
“We shot the ones with Erin and Dawn in the home of Billy Clift, the director, pre-COVID,” explained Ray from his home in Palm Springs. “Then COVID hit, but they were so much fun I wanted to do more and realized I could via Zoom.”
He followed up in 2020 with episodes featuring Butch Patrick (Eddie from “The Munsters”), Kathy Garver (Cissy from “Family Affair”), and others.
“I’m a classic TV fan and came up with the therapy sessions as a fun way to explore the characters today,” said Ray who wrote all the scripts. “I had no budget and don’t make any money from the series – everyone volunteered their time because we knew how much the fans would enjoy it.”
Ray was devastated when he learned of Dawn Well’s death from COVID in late December last year. The two became friends after he wrote and appeared in the short 2015 film with Wells, “She’s Still on That Freakin’ Island,” in which Ray’s character is washed ashore to find Mary Ann still a castaway.
“With the stress of COVID I, like so many, found comfort tuning in to classic television – the shows that made us feel happy and safe in our youth and still do,” said Ray. “On a sad note, ‘TV Therapy’ was one of the very last performances of the wonderful Dawn Wells before we lost her to COVID. Dawn really embraced the role of Mary Ann and helped keep the show alive for fans for 50 years.”
Ray plans to keep classic TV show memories alive for fans, too, by continuing his “TV Therapy” series in 2021 (see www.terryray.tv).
“I’ve got new shows planned and written, and hope to keep it going for several more seasons.”
Nick Thomas teaches at Auburn University at Montgomery, Ala., and has written features, columns, and interviews for over 850 newspapers and magazines. See www.getnickt.org.

Photography and Text by Terry “Travels with Terry” Zinn t4z@aol.com

“Travel is the truest form of education,” – Shirley MacLaine
For years I had heard of Mazatlán, Mexico, and yet not knowing much about it, I decided it was time I was educated by traveling and discovering their eateries. (As with all travel these days double check Covid restrictions with hotels and airlines. If things have not opened up yet, this might just go on your bucket list.)
Mazatlán is a West Coast Mexican resort town, which was never planned as a resort town. It has all the qualities needed for such: a developed 13 mile Malecon, or promenade, (http://www.discoverymexico.com/mazatlan/guides/mazatlan-malecon) along a picturesque ocean front bay, mid to upscale resorts and many dining opportunities.
My Oasis was the Pueblo Bonita Mazatlán (http://www.pueblobonito-mazatlan.com) an all-inclusive hotel on bustling, Camaron Sabalo avenue, where the traffic competed for audio pleasure in my room with the relaxing swoosh of the surf. I would have changed my room location away from the traffic, but the view of the bay and pools were too outstanding. An all-inclusive hotel option can be your ticket to ease, but sometimes it’s popularity causes delays in seating where no reservations are taken. The popular Bonita hotel chain has a newer property slightly up north on Emerald Bay, which needs exploring.
My stay included an itinerary of many fine eateries in a variety of atmospheres but all with attentive service and with a specialty of Mazatlán fresh sea food.
Costa Marinera Restaurant (https://www.zonaturistica.com/restaurante/251/la-costa-marinera-mazatlan.html), is right around the corner from my stay at the Pueblo Bonita Mazatlán hotel, and has an open air dining option overlooking the bay, with wandering musicians (singer Ernesto Sudea was a favorite) and attentive service. As with many Mazatlán restaurants they offered a variety of breaded shrimp, on a seafood platter of Lobster, Tuna, Octopus, Mahi Mahi and my favorite at all the eateries, fresh Guacamole. I was introduced to Toni Col (emobtell adori) a non-carbonated vanilla coke concoction with a distant taste of Coca Cola.
Mazatlán, I am told, means Land of the Deer. One of the off shore islands is named Deer Island. You can enjoy a slow boat ride around the bay and a stop off at Deer Island, where a casual lunch and open bar, might tempt you away from the banana boat and kayaking activities. With sand between your toes under the shade of a palapa, a cool drink in hand, and views of the Mazatlán hotels across the water, it makes for a relaxing adventure. (http://www.mazatlantours.org/kolonahe-catamaran-deer-island.htm)
Panama, with several locations, was my favorite of all the dining options. Here I had a comfort breakfast of egg over easy, potato frites, a crisp Belgian waffle topped with fruit and a heavenly syrup, accompanied by iced tea – it was a satisfying wakeup. The pastries in the shop in the front of the modern clean and uncluttered décor of the restaurant were tempting and looked too good to eat. Be sure and ask for the menu in English.
Also relatively close to the Pueblo Bonita Mazatlán hotel is the new La Mazetleca (http://www.lamazatleca.com) seafood restaurant. Weather permitting you can be seated at their sandy outdoor terrace overlooking the crashing surf. With a Mango Margarita, the sun, the breeze, and good company, what more do you need? I enjoyed a salmon with sunset sauce, ~ a refreshing fruity compote. La Mazetleca offers a number of exotic and visually stunning seafood dishes to explore. If outside seating is not an option, the interior has expansive windows toward the surf and video screens for passing the time.
On my departing evening my hosts arranged for a tour of the seaside night life along the coastal road after sunset aboard the signature Pulmonias. Pulmonias are an adoption of a golf cart with open air seating. The story goes that when first introduced this touristy transportation was in competition with local taxis. The taxis warned that you could catch cold or pneumonia riding in this open air motorized cars, thus the nickname Pulmonias. Pulmonias are only used in Mazatlán and have become its trademark image.
The farewell dinner was at the El Presidio, a gourmet restaurant in the Historic District. Here the charming atmosphere of a semi open air interior exposed brick courtyard transformed from reuse of an old house and factory, made for an exotic and memorable evening. In fact the atmosphere out did the gourmet food. The congenital wait staff followed my instructions explicitly and made me the best traditional Martini I had during my stay. It would have been easy to order another Mango Margarita but requesting a well-made simple Martini is a real test for any gourmet restaurant and El Presidio measured up.
My stay was too short, but you may also enjoy the expansive market downtown which has everything from souvenirs, table coverings, religions artifacts, fruits, vegetables, meats, seafood and leather goods among its many stalls.
Traveling is not only educational and of course enjoyable, but with a destination like Mazatlán, you may have discovered your favorite Mexican resort. There are a limited number of nonstop airline flights from a variety of United States gateways. Explore: http://www.gomazatlan.com

Mr. Terry Zinn – Travel Editor
Past President: International Food Wine and Travel Writers Association
3110 N.W. 15 Street – Oklahoma City, OK 73107
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April Fools’ Day brings its share of gags, but some health hoaxes best us year-round.
In honor of a day filled with practical jokes, scientists at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation are taking the air out of five myths as common as the Whoopee Cushion.
1. We should be taking 10,000 steps a day
In 1956, a Japanese company launched a pedometer with a name that translates to “10,000 step meter.” A half-century later, the figure remains ingrained.
“Walking is wonderful for your health, but there’s nothing magic about 10,000 steps,” said OMRF President Stephen Prescott, M.D. Indeed, a 2019 study found that in older women, an increase from 2,700 to 4,500 steps a day correlated with a significantly reduced rate of premature death.
“The important lesson is that taking more steps is always better than fewer,” said Prescott.
2. Being in the cold can give you a cold
For those whose parents insisted they bundle up or else get sick, OMRF immunologist Eliza Chakravarty, M.D., has news. “You will not catch a cold simply from being underdressed for chilly weather,” she said. “You have to be exposed to a virus.”
Although cold and flu cases peak in prevalence during the winter months, you’re more likely to get sick indoors, where germs can easily pass from person to person.
3. Drink eight glasses of water a day
More than 75 years ago, the Food and Nutrition Board recommended people should shoot for consuming 2.5 liters, or about 85 oz., of water per day. But that blanket recommendation ignored one central piece of common sense: Different-sized people have different hydration needs.
Plus, said Prescott, “A lot of the water our bodies need is in vegetables, fruit, coffee and everything else we eat and drink.” He recommends using common sense and letting thirst be your guide. “Your body will tell you when it needs water.”
4. Hold the eggs
The idea that eggs and other high-cholesterol foods are dangerous is a long-held belief. But, said Prescott, “Unless you’re in the small group of people who are very sensitive to dietary cholesterol, there’s no evidence that eating high-cholesterol foods increases a person’s risk of heart disease.”
When it comes to controlling your blood cholesterol levels, it’s saturated fats that need to be kept in check. “A diet high in red meat, butter and cheeses is much more concerning than one that includes an egg a day,” said Prescott.
5. We only use 10% of our brains
The myth that we use just a tenth of our brains has roots as old as Oklahoma’s statehood. In the more than one hundred years since, neuroscience has undergone dramatic advances.
“We know from brain imaging that no area of the brain is unused,” said Prescott. “And logically, brain injuries tell us that damage to any part of the brain can have long-lasting and devastating results.”
The falsehood is thought to have roots in encouraging people to dig into their own potential for self-improvement. The idea isn’t without merit, said Prescott. “Staying mentally engaged as you age is critical. But there are no untapped brain cells to call on to do it.”

Story and photo by James Coburn, Feature Writer

Hearing loss can be so gradual until it becomes a problem with age, said Dr. Jeni Merrick-Baker, a clinical audiologist and owner of Ears of Oklahoma, located in Oklahoma City.
Ears of Oklahoma treats a range of hearing disorders among patients older than 18.
“Everybody typically starts losing their hearing in their 40s, but we don’t notice it at first,” Baker said. “If there ever is a sudden hearing loss and you just wake up one day and the hearing is gone in one ear, then that’s an issue that you have to see an ear specialist or otologist within 24 hours to try to get that hearing back.”
Most of her clients come to Baker for problems such as ringing in their ears, otherwise known as tinnitus. Tinnitus affects about 15-20 percent of people, according to the Mayo Clinic. It is especially common in older adults.
“It’s more and more common every day,” Baker said. “We’re just seeing it so much more especially in the baby boom generation, due most likely to some loud noise and concerts.”
Baker begins her diagnosis after clearing wax from the ear canal. A comprehensive hearing test is done to learn the type of hearing loss a patient is experiencing and the best method of treatment. Hearing aids may be fitted when needed.
Family members will notice the speaker volume going up. Typically, a spouse will encourage their loved on to visit Ears of Oklahoma after noticing their husband or wife is having trouble hearing conversation at a restaurant or a place with a competing background noise. Older adults might complain that they have difficulty in hearing their grandchildren speak.
“That’s always a sign that they know there’s some loss there, just because of the range the kids voices typically fall in,” Baker said.
Recent advances in technology has made it easier for audiologists to restore more lifestyles with improved hearing.
Hearing aids are receptive to Bluetooth now. Clients wearing one can receive a phone call directly in their ears without holding the phone next to their ear. Bluetooth technology can be sent directly to the hearing aid as well.
The brain is wired to hear in stereo to process hearing. Sound is filtered for clarity before it ever reaches the eardrum.
“So basically, if the spouse is with them watching the TV, they can set the volume wherever they want,” Baker said.
An app designed for tinnitus helps to minimize ringing in the ears.
Additionally, Bluetooth technology enables the use of a bi-cross hearing aid. Sound is transferred to the deaf ear from the healthy hear.
“It gives people back the location of sound,” she said.
A rewarding part of Baker’s profession is hearing patients tell her that their life is better now after going to Ears of Oklahoma.
“They can hear in a very difficult situation — for instance in a noisy restaurant,” she said.
Research indicates that even a mild hearing loss may double the risk of dementia, Baker continued.
“A moderate to severe hearing loss triples it. And if it’s a true, severe hearing loss, you’re five times more likely to develop dementia early.”
People get their life back with restored hearing. They are no longer nervous about not saying the right thing in a conversation.
Baker looks forward to the end of the pandemic. Technology allows her to enter an office, assisted living or home to test and provide hearing aids in the comfort of home.
“That’s something that’s real exciting and I can’t wait for that to start happening,” she said.
Twenty years ago, Baker began her practice in Ardmore. She continues to have the clinic there. Baker had been with the Otologic Medical Clinic at the Hough Ear Institute for several years and decided to open her second independent practice of her own in Oklahoma City. She branched off in November to the Ears of Oklahoma location at 3400 NW 56th St., Oklahoma City.
Patients come to see Baker from many parts of the state. It’s nice to have a practice in Ardmore, she said.
“I’m one of the very few in southern Oklahoma,” she said.
Baker recommends well fitting earplugs to protect hearing during loud concerts or when exposed to loud industrial noise. Persons working in conditions of excessive industrial noise should have proper hearing protection, she advised.
Helping others to hear better is a passion
Baker has had since childhood. She had a friend growing up who had a hearing loss.
“When we’d go swimming, she had to take her hearing aids out and she couldn’t hear anything,” she said. “Ever since then I’ve had a passion to try to help people. It’s miserable not to hear birds and hear the things we take for granted every day of our life. So, to give that back to a person, and to watch them hear for the first time — things they haven’t heard — we both cry. When I put in hearing aids for the first time it’s very, very rewarding.” For more information visit www.earsofoklahoma.com or call 405-673-1327.

Thanks to the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) and all the front-line workers, Oklahoma has now entered Phase 4 of its vaccine distribution plan. With three COVID-19 vaccines available, all Oklahomans are now eligible for vaccination. As we’re on track to get our “normal” back, I’d like to remind you that the cost of obtaining a vaccine will not be a barrier for Oklahomans, regardless of health insurance status.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, provides funding for the vaccine itself. It also requires most health insurance companies to cover qualifying coronavirus preventive services without imposing any cost-sharing requirements, such as a copay, coinsurance or deductible. If you are covered under Medicare or Medicaid, your vaccine will be paid for by the Medicare’s trust fund. If you don’t have insurance, your vaccine is still covered. Healthcare providers will get reimbursed through the Provider Relief Fund.
If you received an unexpected bill for a COVID-19 vaccine or qualifying associated visit, you should contact the provider or your insurance company and alert them of the error. If you have issues with your health insurance company regarding a bill related to COVID-19, please file a complaint with the Oklahoma Insurance Department (OID) at www.oid.ok.gov/ or contact the Consumer Assistant at 800-522-0071. Also, here are some key takeaways to avoid fraud related to COVID-19 vaccines.
You don’t need to pay to get a COVID-19 vaccine appointment. Visit the OSDH’s website to make your appointment. You can also ask your doctor or provider how to get the vaccine near where you live.
Getting a COVID-19 vaccine is free. Whether you have health insurance or not, the vaccines are always free. Providers can seek reimbursement from your insurance company, but there are no co-pays or cost-sharing. If you’re asked to pay money, contact the OID at 800-522-0071.
You cannot buy a COVID-19 vaccine. Please do not fall for the ads that come via email or pop up on your social media feed offering early access to a vaccine. The vaccine is available only at federal and state-approved locations.
Vaccinations will not impact your life insurance benefits. Life insurance policies clearly spell out what might cause your insurer to deny a benefit. Receiving a COVID-19 vaccine would not void a policyholder’s life insurance coverage. Contact your agent if you have questions or concerns about the details of your policy.
Never give out your personal financial information. No one from a vaccine distribution site, state agency, healthcare provider’s office, insurance company or Medicare will contact you to ask for your Social Security, credit card or bank account number to get the vaccine.
For more insurance information, please contact the Oklahoma Insurance Department at 1-800-522-0071 or visit our website at www.oid.ok.gov.

* As of this advisory, there are 437,974 (121 new today) cases of COVID-19 in Oklahoma.
* 334 is today’s 7-day rolling average for the number of new cases reported.
* Today’s Provisional Death Count (CDC/NCHS): 7,846
* Additional hospitalization data can be found in the Hospital Tiers report, published evenings Monday through Friday.
* Register online to receive a notification when you’re eligible to schedule a COVID-19 vaccine appointment at vaccinate.oklahoma.gov, or locate other vaccine opportunities at vaccinefinder.org.
* For more information, visit https://oklahoma.gov/covid19.html.

*The total includes laboratory information provided to OSDH at the time of the report. As a result, counts are subject to change. Total counts may not reflect unique individuals.
***The purpose of publishing aggregated statistical COVID-19 data through the OSDH Dashboard, the Executive Order Report, and the Weekly Epidemiology and Surveillance Report is to support the needs of the general public in receiving important and necessary information regarding the state of the health and safety of the citizens of Oklahoma. These resources may be used only for statistical purposes and may not be used in any way that would determine the identity of any reported cases.
Data Source: Acute Disease Service, Oklahoma State Department of Health. *As of 2021-03-30 at 7:00 a.m.

By Steven Sibley, MBA/Healthcare Administration

Last week I received an envelope from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). It was my Medicare Card, over 4 months from August 1st, my 65th birthday. I also discovered that, since my birthday was the 1st day of August, the effective date for my Medicare was the 1st day of July. It was news to me and I’m a Medicare agent! There’s always something new to learn about the insurance business.
It reminded of another envelope I received over 15 years ago. Just months after my 49th birthday in 2005, I received an AARP card. I didn’t know you could join at age 50 and learned something new again. Well, I had to call my mom to tell her. With tongue-in-cheek, I let her know I was about to reach the half-a-century mark. She immediately told me, “Send it back, I am too young to have a child with an AARP card!”
In 2005 mom was an active 70 year old. She had raised 5 children, had 7 grandchildren, lost her husband 20 years earlier and her second son 10 years earlier. She expected to live into her 90’s, just as her own mom did. In fact, she had a long term care (LTC) policy for that reason, but she didn’t have any life insurance. Unfortunately, only 6 months later, in April 2006, my mother passed away.
At the time I was a novice in the financial services industry, but I learned some important lessons from moms death about planning for life’s inevitable events. I learned the importance of having a will and trust. Ironically, 5 months before her death, I convinced her to update her will and do a trust. It really helped with smoothly settling her estate. I also learned about LTC. While it’s important to have, it doesn’t help if you die suddenly and never use it. Today, LTC is expensive with limited options as a standalone policy, but I learned about affordable strategies which combine LTC with life insurance. It pays when you pass and pays if you need LTC before you pass.
Now, years later, my wife and I are partners and brokers in the insurance business. She specializes in Medicare and I specialize in Life insurance, LTC and healthcare planning especially for retirement. I’ve also partnered with a team of advisors at Mass Mutual of Oklahoma. Our clients rely on us for strategies to protect their health, wealth and assets. I’ve learned having a team of advisors is immensely important, have you? You just can’t be an expert on everything, especially in these important areas of your life.
I’ve learned this at an even deeper level. I read a book daily, I believe is filled with the knowledge of the wisest man to ever live. It has 31 chapters, so for every day of the month, there’s a chapter to read. I recently gave a small paperback version of the book to my advisor partner Mike, who told me a story about a wealthy man he had met. He asked the man, “What’s been the secret to your success?” He answered, “I read a chapter from Proverbs every day and have done so my entire adult life”.
There is so much to learn about life from this book. It has changed my life and the lives of others. This is what it says about having advisors: Chapter 15:22, Without consultation and wise advice, plans are frustrated, but with many counselors they are established and succeed. Chapter 11:14, Where there is no wise, intelligent guidance, people fall and go off course like a ship without a rudder, but in the abundance of wise and godly counselors there is victory. Chapter 24:6, For by wise guidance you fight life’s battles, and in an abundance of wise counselors there is victory and safety.
If you want this kind of advice concerning protection for your health, wealth and assets for your family, or your parents, please give our team a call: 405-850-1569. See us online at sibleyinsures.com.
Ps: Thanks mom, I love you and miss you.