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Cleveland's
Successful
Aging Initiative
Is Model for
Other Cities
Aug. 23, 2004 – Only months old, the Successful Aging Initiative established by The Cleveland Foundation, says their program is emerging as a model for cities seeking resources to serve the explosion of older adults.
At the beginning of this year, The Cleveland Foundation – with input and support from local experts in the field of aging – launched this three-year Successful Aging Initiative. The goal is to improve the well being of older adults and make this a region that celebrates and empowers individuals of all generations as they transition through every stage of life.
The Successful Aging Initiative's message is simple: to think differently about aging. Its components include lifelong learning, elder employment and engagement and elder-friendly communities.
"We are laying the groundwork to turn the experience and energy of Cleveland's aging population into promising, community-building activities, while also addressing ways communities can adapt to serve an aging, yet still active population," says Robert E. Eckardt, vice president for Programs and Evaluation.
In the elder-friendly community aspect of community readiness, the Initiative identified the characteristics that lend to a community's elder-friendliness, and created an assessment tool that will allow communities to determine where they lie along that continuum.
The Elder-Friendly Community Assessment tool covers three primary categories, Home Life, Community Life and Mobility. Each category has a separate set of "indicators" that measure a community's readiness or responsiveness to serving an aging population in these areas of daily life.
Under Home Life, communities gauge the affordability, accessibility and availability of appropriate housing choices. Community Life measures the availability and accessibility of public, safety and social services.
Mobility evaluates the livability/walkability of a community, including streetlight and crosswalk timing, as well as private transportation access for older adults.
"We hope to prompt Cleveland's communities to think about how they need to adapt to serve and engage an aging population and how they can benefit from doing so," says Eckardt.
The program started with a public awareness campaign will work to get people thinking about aging now, to change stereotypes, to showcase successful aging in our community and to celebrate the value and life wisdom older adults bring to our city. This community outreach will extend through broadcast and print media, information distribution at community events, partnerships with local nonprofit and civic organizations, communication with public officials and interactive online sources.
The Successful Aging Initiative is funded by The Cleveland Foundation, and says their goal is to improve the sense of well being of older adults and to make Cleveland a city that celebrates and empowers individuals as they transition through every stage of life.The Cleveland Foundation, a public charity dedicated to improving the quality of life in Greater Cleveland, is the original and second largest community foundation in the nation. For more information, visit http://www.successfulaging.org/index.cfm or www.clevelandfoundation.org.
When the leaves are off the trees, and a hint of snow is in the air, some people might get the urge to hibernate until spring. LifeBeat Online has some ideas to help you fight that urge.
The Surgeon General recommends that you get aerobic exercise—the kind that gets your heart rate going—for 30 minutes or longer. Exercise at least four times a week, if not daily. This recommendation isn't just to help keep the pounds off. There are many benefits of exercise (see box).
Yet not enough of us get regular exercise. (Walking to the kitchen for another brownie doesn't count!) And it's showing up in our increasing rates of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.
Senior citizens aren't immune to this trend. Up to 75% of older Americans aren't active enough to get the health benefits of exercise.1
So before your tennis shoes get lost under a pile of snow boots, here are some reminders and motivators for keeping fit during the colder weather.
Maintaining mental wellness, enlisting the help of others when you need it and surrounding yourself with a supportive, healthy environment are essential in today’s modern, on-the-go world. Spending time with family and loved ones, engaging in new activities and volunteering are just a few of the ways you can relieve stress and cope with everyday life. For even more ideas, read the list that follows.
Get plenty of rest – Take frequent naps. Not only will they help calm your mind, but they can give you more energy. Make certain to devote a full seven to eight hours of sleep each night to sustain a proper balance of physical and mental health.
Go for a walk – Regular exercise is an excellent way to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Enjoying a long walk at a moderate pace allows you to reflect on your day while getting the blood flowing. For an added spin, invite family members and friends to join you for an evening stroll. During bad weather, complete laps inside a local mall or community center.
Eat something new - Whether it’s tackling a new recipe or re-inventing a traditional one, cooking is a great way to eat well and have fun in the process. Invite family and friends to join you once a week for dinner and take turns preparing meals. Kick off special events with a potluck dinner or host an evening filled with international cuisine.
Exercise your mind - Challenge yourself with a jigsaw puzzle, solve riddles or read a good book. Even better, involve others with these activities by reading aloud to kids or helping them with homework at a local library, school or daycare center.
Spend time with others – Spending time with family and friends is important. Reach out to someone you haven’t talked to a while and create new memories. Call on a friend or relative to join you as you run errands or complete routine, everyday activities. Doing things together is a great way to raise your spirits and engage those around you in your life.
Indulge yourself – Sooth aching bones and wash away worrisome thoughts with a long bath or hot shower. Enjoy a healthy dessert, sip a cool glass of iced tea or juice when it’s hot outside curl up under a blanket and relax when it’s cold.
Stay in – Don’t feel obligated to do everything asked of you. It is okay to say no. To avoid feeling overwhelmed, opt to spend time with yourself once in a while. Watch a movie, paint a personal masterpiece or organize a prized collection of keepsakes.
Make the most of leisure time - Make plans with family members, loved ones and/or a tour group to visit a place you’ve always wanted to go. Join a club, start a new hobby or learn a new skill such as gardening, bird watching or dancing. Whatever you choose to do, make sure it’s something that you truly want to do!
Get involved – Volunteering is a great way to give back. Knowing that you have helped someone else can help you to feel better about yourself. Plus, sharing your time with others is a great way to get out and meet new people, with common goals and interests.
Take things one at a time – It’s easy to get caught up in the desire to do and experience new things, but having too much on your plate can be counter-productive. Try making a list. If possible, break large tasks into smaller, more manageable items that can easily be finished. Completing one thing at a time can lead to a greater sense of accomplishment and spur you to do even more!
For More Information:
For help finding treatment, support groups, medication information, help paying for your medications, your local Mental Health America affiliate, and other mental health-related services in your community, please click here to access our Frequently Asked Questions and Answers. If you or someone you know is in crisis now, seek help immediately. Call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to reach a 24 hour crisis center or dial 911 for immediate assistance.
The SPRY (Setting Priorities for Retirement Years) Foundation carries out applied research and education programs designed to enable people to age with purpose, and to continue to have meaningful engagement in their lives. Of special concern are disadvantaged and vulnerable populations.
Be SPRY!A website to check out...
The SPRY Foundation is interested in the inter-relationships of four basic domains: physical health and wellness; mental health and environment; intellectual and social pursuits; and financial security. SPRY focuses on better understanding the design, dissemination and usage of information, so older Americans can understand choices, make better life decisions, and continue to live productive and personally satisfying lives.
The SPRY Foundation works with partner organizations to translate research into applied settings; and, based on such experiences, to develop strategies that have national implications.
LOUISE “SCOTTIE” SCOTT —
DANCER AT THE APOLLO THEATRE By Liane Enkelis
Born November 16, 1898 in Chicago, Illinois
“I’m not an old lady, I’m a little girl with wrinkles.”
With that slogan pasted on her door, Louise Scott describes herself perfectly. Her café-au-lait complexion is almost wrinkle free, and her wavy black hair is only streaked with grey across the front. She uses no aids for walking, seeing or hearing, and looks thirty years younger than her centenarian status. At four feet, eleven inches in height, and looking like she weighs all of ninety pounds dripping wet, she is small in size, but not in vigor. She has the energy of a ten year-old, too restless to sit still for long.
“I’ve lived to be over one hundred by doing nothing that the doctors tell me to,” she says as she takes another drag on her cigarette. She has been smoking since she was in her twenties and a dancer at the famed Apollo Theatre in New York City’s Harlem. “Almost all the musicians smoked back then, and I just picked it up, too. You know, that was when we used to carry them long jeweled cigarette holders. I’d be puffing, but I wasn’t inhaling.” She gives a deep, throaty laugh, and admits that she’s been told smoking is bad for her, but she’s not about to quit now. She takes a few puffs, then carefully puts out the cigarette to save the remainder for a few minuets, when she will light it up again.
“My dream was to dance. I love to dance. I always wanted to entertain. It didn’t matter if it was the Apollo or wherever,” she sighs, recalling what she describes as the “happiest time of my life,” the eight years she danced in the chorus line at that legendary theater. “There aren’t very many rules to live by that will make you happier than following your dream. Don’t let nothing stand in the way of your dream. And to get your goal, you have to go straight for it.”
Scottie, as she is know to all, acknowledges that she was fortunate to have had the opportunity to realize her goal. “I had a good father, who encouraged culture. We were considered Negro middle- class. I was able to go to dance school and take music lessons and things like that.”
Scottie’s father, Frank Albert Young, was a sportswriter and sports editor for the Chicago Defender, which has been called the most influential African-American newspaper of the twentieth century. Founded in 1905, the paper crusaded for civil rights and urged blacks to migrate from the segregated South to the freer North. The paper had a national circulation, with more than two thirds of its readers outside of Chicago. It was distribute across the Mason-Dixon line by black Pullman porters and entertainers who smuggled it into the South because white distributors refused to circulate it. The Chicago Defender was the first black newspaper to have a circulation over 100,000.
Frank A. Young encouraged black athletes and fought for the equality we now accept as “business-as-usual” in sports. In August 19, 1922, commenting on Negro League Baseball, he wrote a column urging, “Give us some brown skin umpires. It isn’t necessary for us to sit by the thousands watching eighteen men perform in the national pastime, using every bit of strategy and brain work, to have it all spoiled...”
Art Linkletter's Perspective
on Sexual Myths & Realities
By Mark Victor Hansen & Art Linkletter
And now, a few words about sex. Sex. Sex, sex, sex. After all, it’s one of our favorite subjects; we can talk about it for hours. If you listed our culture’s favorite subjects, sex would appear at the top of the list. There’s nothing we love to talk about and gossip about more, and for good reason, because sex is life. Unfortunately, too many seniors are just talking about it and nothing more, and that’s a shame. Because it doesn’t have to be that way.
Of all the societal stereotypes surrounding age, the idea that seniors and sex don’t mix is perhaps the strongest. If you’re buying into that myth, wake up; there’s a lot more sex going on among the elderly than you realized. Good thing, too, since sexual activity is one of the best ways around to reduce stress, improve attitude, and keep relationships strong as the decades accumulate.
Medical ID Jewelry Communicates Vital Information in Emergencies Involving Older Americans Current, Accurate Medical Information Enhances Accuracy in Emergency Treatment
For older Americans, a medical ID is a tool that could mean the difference between life and death in an emergency situation. Healthcare companies estimate that the average 65-year or older American takes about 15 prescribed medications, and many suffer from chronic health conditions.
In an emergency, medical personnel have very little time to determine a patient's needs and begin delivering the proper care. Wearing a customized medical ID bracelet or necklace engraved with information about current medical conditions, medications or information about whom to contact in case of an emergency can help ensure that patients receive appropriate treatment and that the right people are notified in a lifesaving situation. Make sure you and your family are protected against medical errors by wearing a medical ID personalized with information that is needed before treatment begins.
"Time is critical when dealing with an emergency. A medical ID helps us figure out the next steps without having to waste time guessing. It is important we know what medications a patient is on so we don't prescribe something that could have an adverse reaction," said Dan Baker, an EMT for 24 years.
While a medical ID can be personalized with your most essential medical information, many medical ID providers allow you to augment your medical information by completing a comprehensive online health care record which can be accessed by health care professionals "It is very important to have your vital information engraved on the ID, but an online medical record is a great way to communicate other facts.
Medical ID jewelry is available in a variety of styles from inexpensive, personalized tags to fashionable, gold or sterling silver bracelets and necklaces. For a medical ID to be effective, it must be worn at all times. The best way to ensure that is to offer medical IDs people will want to wear all the time.
Medical
Bracelets
My Aunt Lucia asked me to make her a bracelet showing that she takes coumadin. She had been involved in a very bad automobile accident the previous year and she wanted to make sure that if it ever happened again, the medical team would know she had a medical condition they needed to be aware of. After doing some research, I made her a bracelet and was even able to provide her with the Medical Alert Wallet Card and she was very happy that she had a beautiful bracelet that she can wear every day, but with the Medical Alert charm, she now feels safe. Visit this website and see their bracelets!
10 Tips for a Healthier New You
Ways to help you eat better, exercise more
and become a healthier you!
Keep these easy ideas in mind when you're trying to improve the way you eat, cook and live!
1. Savor foods slowly. Not only are you more likely to overeat and neglect portion control when you are quickly shoveling in your supper, but you are also less likely to enjoy the food. Don't eat in front of the television or (even worse) standing over the sink. Instead, sit down to your meal and give the food and its flavor your full attention.
2. Eat regularly and snack often. Skipping meals will most likely cause you to eat more at a later time. Healthy snacks and nutritious mini-meals not only boost your metabolism and energy, but help you keep dinner portions in tow.
3. Reconsider mealtime lineups. What constitutes a meal in your home? Meat, potatoes and bread? Does supper always involve three courses? Rethink your dinner options and get creative with menu planning. A salad that's chock-full of veggies and cubed cooked chicken, for example, is a one-dish meal that cuts back on the calories, fat and sodium often found in traditional dinners.
4. Interview yourself. When the vending machine or other tempting delights come calling, ask yourself if you are truly hungry or simply eating out of habit. If you're really hungry, address that issue with a nutritious option. If you are stressed, bored or angry, however, find a way to deal with those emotions without involving food.
5. Become a diary dieter. Keep a daily journal of what and when you eat. It's easier to stick to goals when you are recording every nibble…and you are also less likely to scratch the whole day after one overindulgence. Review your entries from time to time to identify eating trends. Include affirming notes about goals, exercise accomplishments, etc.
6. Focus on how your body feels. When it comes to weight loss, the numbers on the bathroom scale are not always motivating, so reflect on other changes that your body is experiencing. Do your clothes fit looser? Has your energy increased? Are your workouts easier? Remember these benefits when it feels like the pounds aren't coming off as quickly as you'd like.
7. Walk on by. To avoid future temptations, bypass sugary sweets and salty treats while grocery shopping. Keeping these foods out of the pantry may also help you find healthier snacking options. If you buy treats for the kids, purchase items that they enjoy but that don't interest you. Avoid buying unhealthy snacks in bulk.
8. Get moving. You may not be ready to run a marathon, but why not take a walk on your lunch break or practice some stretches or yoga positions at night? Exercise is a key component to overall well-being, so find a fitness routine you like and make it a regular part of your day.
Women and Aging: Turning 50 & Life After Menopause
The way in which today's society addresses women and aging, turning 50, dealing with menopause and, empty nest means the things that used to be so scary at mid-life...just aren't! 50 is the new 40 is a phrase that has become popular due to Improvements in diet, lifestyle and healthcare have resulted in women turning fifty who who, on their milestone birthday, are more fit, attractive, capable and in charge of their lives at fifty and beyond than ever before!
There's no doubt about it, life after fifty for women today requires
adjustment. Menopause, changing family dynamics, physical, emotional, social and economic changes - even a bout with midlife crisis - can be a large part of our lives during this time. You may have begun to wonder where your old body went! What rhe heck are you going to do when your kids leave home? You may be looking at your life partner as though for the first time in a long time, and thinking about getting to know each other again amid the throes of empty nest!
You may be facing decisions in your career or professional life, whether or not of your own choosing. And the thought of being a grandparent...who, me?
For women, aging brings changes that can be exciting or frightening, viewed with fear or gleeful anticipation. No matter how we approach them, they're a fact of life and here to stay. Beginning with the first change of life symptoms of perimenopause, the knowledge we have of them and the manner in which we deal with them determines our outlook going forward. "Aging gracefully" truly is an individual state of mind! With all the changes it brings, turning 50 merely means you're beginning a busier and more active time than you could ever have imagined. Read more from www.fiftyisthenewforty.net...
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The SPRY (Setting Priorities for Retirement Years) Foundation carries out applied research and education programs designed to enable people to age with purpose, and to continue to have meaningful engagement in their lives. Of special concern are disadvantaged and vulnerable populations.
