The Los Altos Senior Center has scheduled two workshops, “Total Brain Fitness” and “The Medicare Drug Benefit, Tuesday.

10:30 a.m. to noon: During the Senior Health Chat, Social worker Susan Diamond will offer tips to help keep the brain healthy and active. She will include information on nutrition, mental aerobic workouts, managing stress and depression, and “laughing yoga.”

7-8:30 p.m.: A representative from the Council on Aging will explain the changes in Medicare’s prescription drug benefits, scheduled to take effect soon. The session is aimed at family and caregivers, but anyone may attend.

Enrollment for the new Medicare drug benefit begins Nov. 15 and ends May 15.

The new program requires an understanding complex information before deciding whether to enroll, according to Judith Pruess-Mellow, who heads Senior New Ways, one of the non-profits sponsoring the workshop.

The plan provides no assistance to those whose annual drug cost is less than $250. Seniors paying between $250 and $2,250 annually for prescriptions could obtain quite a bit of relief. The so-called “doughnut hole” in the plan for those paying from $2,250 to $5,100, would still require that seniors pay 100 percent of the cost.

“The government was trying to figure out how to pay for this plan, so they have this doughnut hole,” she said. “It’s designed to keep doctors from overprescribing drugs.”

Both lectures are free and sponsored by the senior center, New Ways and the Community Services Agency. The Los Altos Senior Center is located at 97 Hillview Ave.

For more information, call 947-2797.