Ranking Member Scott Holds Field Hearing on How Seniors Can ‘Live Their Best Lives Now

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, chaired a field hearing at the Waring Senior Center in Charleston. Senator Scott and six distinguished witnesses examined how older Americans can live life to the fullest with sustained physical and mental vitality.

RM Scott on inspiration from his mother … “When I think about [‘living your best life now’], the first person that comes to my mind is my mother, Frances Scott, who for the last 45 years has served at the Roper St. Francis Bon Secours Healthcare System as a nurse’s assistant. She is someone who has really helped so many folks over her four-plus decades age gracefully. … and she has spent so much time teaching me valuable lessons about taking care of others when they can’t take care of themselves.”

RM Scott on South Carolina’s role in caring for seniors … “Something that’s really embedded in our culture here in South Carolina is the fact that we do want to go the extra mile for those folks who have served us.

“Seniors from all across the nation are flocking to South Carolina. … According to the U.S. News and World Report, some of the best places to live in all of America are right here in the Palmetto State. However, while we have much to celebrate as a state, we also have some challenges that we face as a state and, frankly, as a nation.”

RM Scott on his Senate resolution celebrating health aging … “I’m grateful for the assistance of Senator Mark Kelly from Arizona. He has joined me in introducing, for the first time, a resolution making September ‘National Healthy Aging Month.’ It recognizes senior centers for their central services and activities that forge relationships, purpose, and wellbeing. Today, nearly 11,000 senior centers serve nearly one million seniors.”

The witness panel comprised six distinguished individuals:

• Connie D. Munn, director, South Carolina Department on Aging;
• John M. Ciccone, MD, FACC, ABIHM, associate chief medical officer, Roper St. Francis Mount Pleasant Hospital;
• Kesha L. Hayes, MA, LPN, founder, Caring for Aging Beauties;
• Connie Ross-Karl, Honorary Senior America;
• Floyd Davidson Spence, Jr., owner and instructor, Lake Murray Fitness Cycle, LLC; and
• Perry A. Bowers, DMin, founder and president, Focused Living Ministries

View their testimonies in the full hearing HERE.