Grow brain power through volunteering

You may have heard of the legendary navigation skills of “black cab” taxi drivers in London, England. To get an operator’s license, cabbies must pass a test known as “the knowledge.” They’re grilled on the entire city map within 6 miles of central London, and the shortest ways to get from one point to another within the city, without the help of navigation aids.

“The knowledge” covers 25,000 streets and 20,000 landmarks. That’s all the restaurants, all the hotels, pubs, pharmacies, florists, tailors, cemeteries, laundromats, plenty of work zones...everything. Neuroscientists have studied London cabbies’ brains and found that while cabbies have rarely pursued higher education, their brains grow as they learn their way around the city, regardless of age, whether they were born and raised in London or emigrated from the other side of the world.

In other words, older brains can learn new tricks.

If you can navigate the back roads of Dutchess County without Google Maps; if you’ve found the perfect way to load your dishwasher; if you’ve planned your garden so that it looks its best without being too appetizing to the local deer, you’ve got the kind of brain OFA needs. You’d be an excellent candidate to help your fellow older adults navigate the complexities of Medicare, through the Office for the Aging’s non-sales-oriented Health Insurance Information, Counseling and Assistance Program (HIICAP).

Have you ever seen one of those celebrity-driven Medicare ads on TV and wondered “wait — what on Earth does Joe Namath know about Medicare?”

Congratulations: You’re in the right frame of mind to become a volunteer HIICAP counselor.

HIICAP counselors are continually trained on the OFA version of “the knowledge”: the changing aspects of Medicare, along with the programs that work together with Medicare. It can seem challenging at first, but it’s worth it once your first HIICAP client walks out the door, relieved to know they had the opportunity to make the best possible decision for their health insurance needs going into 2025. In addition to helping Dutchess County’s older adults get their insurance needs sorted, your ongoing HIICAP training also has the potential to keep you mentally flexible as you age, just like those London cabbies.

If you’re on the fence about becoming a HIICAP volunteer, consider this alternative: HIICAP can also use your skills in clerical assistance. We work with hundreds of HIICAP clients every open enrollment season, and as we enter Medicare’s busiest season your organizational skills will come in handy.

You can read about the full slate of OFA volunteering options at www.dutchessny.gov/ofavolunteer, which includes a printable volunteering form. You can also reach out to us using the contact information below.

Golden Living is prepared by the Dutchess County Office for the Aging, Todd N. Tancredi, director. Email him at ofa@dutchessny.gov.