Link Resources

SeniorsPlus' Area Agency on Aging is committed to providing you with valuable and interesting information and resources. We've grouped a wide variety of websites under the following categories:

Aging Network Resources

These links should be useful for those looking to access services for seniors. Local, state and federal agencies and organizations are listed here.

Adult Protective Services (APS) 800-624-8404

Provides or arranges for services to protect incapacitated and dependent adults (age 18 and over) in danger of abuse, neglect or exploitation in Maine.

Affordable Care Act
The Affordable Care Act puts consumers back in charge of their health care. Under the law, a new “Patient’s Bill of Rights” gives the American people the stability and flexibility they need to make informed choices about their health.

AlphaOne 800-640-7200
Leaders in disability information, services and products.

American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)

Area Agencies on Aging (AAA)
Provide a variety of options for seniors to help them remain independent. Maine is covered by 5 Area Agencies on Aging (AAA), with each being assigned to specific counties.

Office of Aging And Disability Services (OADS) 800-262-2232

Department of Veterans Affairs

Disabled American Veterans

Elder Independence of Maine (EIM) 888-234-3920
Maine's Home Care Coordination Agency connecting people with resources for in-home care.

Federal Poverty Levels

Change HealthCare previously known as Goold Health Systems (GHS) 800-832-9672
Contracted by OADS to provide in-home assessments - statewide - to determine medical eligibility for all Long Term Care programs and Nursing Homes.

Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA)
The federal agency that administers Medicare, Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Recent name change to The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Health Insurance Marketplace
Starting in October 2013, there will be a new way to get health insurance: The Health Insurance Marketplace. The Marketplace is designed to help you find health insurance that fits your needs and your budget -- in plain language that makes sense. You will be able to shop online or through a toll-free phone line. You will also be able to get free in-person help with applying and understanding your options from a certified Health Navigator.

Legal Services for the Elderly (LSE) 800-750-5353

Provides free legal services for persons 60 years of age and older and often represents consumers in an appeal.

Long Term Care Ombudsman (LTCOP) 800-499-0229
The Ombudsman (a private, non-profit agency) are specially trained advocates who are given authority under Federal and Maine law to investigate and resolve complaints made by, or on behalf of, long term care consumers.

DHHS Office of Integrated Access and Support Formerly known as Maine Bureau of Family Independence (BFI)

Maine Department of Health and Human Services 800-452-1926

Maine Hospice Council
The Council provides education and technical assistance regarding end-of-life care, as well as advocacy for terminally ill and bereaved persons regarding quality-of-life care issues throughout the state.

Maine Medical Assistance Manual

Maine, State Government

Maine, State Homepage

Maine State Housing Authority (MSHA) 800-452-4668

Maine State Legislature

Medicare Fraud Prevention and Awareness Initiatives
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is fighting fraud and abuse and you can help.

Medicare Part D Information

Medicare Premiums & Deductibles for 2016

Medicare Preventive Services
This is the official government booklet with important information about what disease prevention is and why it’s important

  • Which preventive services Medicare covers andhowoften
  • Who can get services
  • What you pay – you pay nothing for many services

National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (N4A)

National Council for Aging Care

National Council On Aging (NCOA)

Pre-Existing Conditions Insurance Plan (PCIP)

The Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan is a federal program to help individuals who have been uninsured for at least the past six months and who have been previously diagnosed with a serious medical condition enroll in the DirigoChoice Program.

Resource Directory for Older People in Maine

Resource Directory for Older People in the United States

Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) 
The Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) program provides Medicare beneficiaries with the most current information on Medicare benefits and educates them on ways to identify and prevent errors, waste, fraud and abuse of the Medicare system.

Social Security Online - including "Social Security Office - Find yours by Zip Code"

  • National 800#- 1-800-772-1213
  • National TTY- 1-800-325-0778
  • Portsmouth NH office services the southern tip of the state (Berwick, Cape Nedick, Eliot, Kittery, and York)

The Official U.S. Government Site for Medicare Information

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S Senate

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Caregiver Resources

These links are intended to help caregivers and others find disease-related information and to identify support systems related to caregiving, specific illnesses or chronic conditions. A more comprehensive list can be found at the Administration on Aging website in the Resource Directory for Older People section.

Aging Care

Alzheimer's Association

American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry

American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation

American Autoimmune Related Disease Association

American Brain Tumor Association

American Cancer Society

American Dental Association

American Diabetes Association

American Dietetic Association

American Epilepsy Society

American Foundation for the Blind

American Foundation for Urologic Diseases

American Heart Association

American Lung Association

American Menopause Foundation

American Optometric Association

American Pain Foundation

American Parkinson's Disease Association

American Tinnitus Association

Arthritis Foundation

Better Hearing Institute

Better Vision Institute

Brain Injury Association

Caregiver Message Board and Blog (This is a wonderful resource!)

Caregiver Network

Caregiver Survival Resources

Center for Disease Control and Prevention

Crohn's and Colitis Foundation

Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA)

Family Caregiver Alliance

Family Caregiver Web

Glaucoma Research Foundation

Healthy Caregiver

Hereditary Disease Foundation

HIV/AIDS Treatment Information Service

Huntington's Disease Society of America

Iris Network (formerly Maine's Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired)

Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Inc.

Lupus Foundation of America

Myasthenia Gravis Foundation

National Alliance for the Mentally Ill

National Association of the Deaf

National Association on HIV Over Fifty

National Cancer Institute

National Family Caregivers Association

National Hospice Foundation

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

National Kidney Foundation

National Multiple Sclerosis Society

National Osteoporosis Foundation

National Parkinson's Disease Foundation

National Psoriasis Foundation

National Stroke Association

Scleroderma Foundation

Self Help for Hard of Hearing People

Simon Foundation for Continence

The Skin Cancer Foundation

Well Spouse Foundation

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General Information Websites

The following links cover a variety of topics. Happy surfing! (SeniorsPlus does not endorse any of these sites, but is providing them simply as points of interest.)

A Journalist's Guide: Finding Data on the Internet
A nicely done 'where-do-I-find-it' collection. Includes: basic reference sources, currencies, world population statistics, Census data, CDC and much more. Although designed for journalists and writers, it is useful to all.

Access American for Seniors
This is a federal government-wide site for older persons to use to access major federal government services. A range of services are included including Social Security, the US Postal Service, and AoA.

AOL's MyGovernment
Identifies one's Federal, State, and local government elected officials; enables users to send them email and track voting records of Members of Congress, find contact persons, addresses and telephone numbers for agencies.

Chambers of Commerce

CyberTimes Navigator
Navigator is the home page used by the newsroom of The New York Times for forays into the Web. Its primary intent was to give reporters and editors new to the Web a solid starting point for a wide range of journalistic functions. Sections include: Net Search; Journalism; Reference; Directories; Publications; Politics; New York Region; Commerce; Entertainment; Sports; and Miscellany. NOTE: This site requires free registration for a logon and password for the New York Times site.

Elderhostel
Educational and travel programs for seniors at home and abroad.

Encyclopedia.com
Contains more than 17,000 articles from The Concise Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Third Edition have been assembled to provide free, quick and useful information on almost any topic. The entries are short with extensive cross-references. Also provides convenient links to related web sites and books.

GenerationA.com
Sophisticated content on health, finance, travel and more.

Information Please Almanac Site
Reference site for information on many, many topics, organized by topical "almanacs" but includes an encyclopedia and dictionary as well. Searchable by browsing or by a search engine.

Locating Records & Property (from ElderWeb)
May be especially useful for children assisting their aging parents; includes:

  • Locating Birth, Death, and Marriage Certificates
  • Locating Citizenship Paperwork
  • Locating Military Records
  • Locating Pension and SS Benefits
  • Locating Unclaimed Property

MapQuest
Provides interactive mapping and driving directions which guide users to their destinations as well as many other related services.

Martindale's Calculators On-Line Center
Contains over 3,500 calculators ranging from interest rate repayments to home repair.

My Virtual Reference Desk
Includes dozens of areas to search -- very comprehensive.

My Virtual Newspaper
Links to online newspapers nationwide and around the world.

One Look Dictionaries
Provides a search of multiple on-line dictionaries by specific category.

Search-It-All
Provides a user-friendly interface for searching over 60 different web resources in areas of phone and address services, general reference, entertainment, travel, publications, finance, package tracking, and biomedical information.

Senior Living Map for Maine
To view senior and assisted living facilities in a particular area, simply enter the city or zip and click search. The map will zoom into that area and provide an aerial view of facilities located there. Each senior living facility will be marked with a pin on the map. When you click on a pin, you will be provided with details of that community. In the left hand column, there will be five filters. By selecting any of the filters you'll narrow the options displayed to just senior care homes that meet that criteria.

State Taxation Information
A directory of State Tax Offices including links to home pages where available.

Switchboard
A free, searchable, nationwide online directory of residential and business telephone numbers. Users can also add their e-mail addresses to their listings.

For searches of businesses telephone numbers, try:

Bell Atlantic's Big Yellow, or

BigBook
The American Journal Review's top 50 best news sites on-line
Includes links to: CNN Interactive, New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, Wall Street Journal and others from around the world.

The Internet Public Library
Includes a reference division, a classroom, an exhibit hall, and a reading room. The Ready Reference Collection contains links to selected net documents in such areas as: General Reference, Business/Economics, Computers, Education, Government & Law, Health & Nutrition, Humanities, Internet, News/Current Events, Science, Social Issues & Social Services. You can also search the Ready Reference Collection by keywords. or use the Ask a Question service and visit the IPL Interactive Virtual Environment.

The Virtual Reference Desk
Includes links to a wide variety of resources including dictionaries, telephone directories (e.g., the ATT 800 No. Directory), zip codes, maps & travel information, and many other references materials.

WeatherNet
Provides access to thousands of forecasts, images, and the Net's largest collection of weather links; states that it is the most comprehensive and up-to-date source of weather data on the Web. Includes a simple to use search engine for the latest NOAA forecast for each area as well as satellite images and more.

Yahoo! People Search
Permits queries of a database said to contain 90+ million addresses, telephone numbers, and web pages.

YourDictionary.Com
States that it provides the world's most comprehensive, and authoritative portal for language, and language-related products and services on the world wide web including the widest and deepest set of dictionaries on the web (more than 1500 dictionaries representing more than 230 languages).

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