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Best Retirement Community: Visits at Skilled Care, Part III
Help with Aging Parents: Four More Ways to Make the Most of Visits – Part III
By Melanie Desjardins, Manager of Care Coordination at The Cedars
The third part of our series on making the most of a visit with a loved on at The Cedars, senior living community. For more help, contact our Care Coordination department.
1. Have grandchildren bring or send along artwork, papers or projects from camp or school. The delight that many residents get from seeing the works of children is wonderful – and the children benefit as well, receiving input and kudos from older adults.
2. Plant and take care of an indoor/outdoor garden cart. Our outside patio is beautiful this time of year. Talk to the Life Enrichment staff for this activity. In addition, taking a leisurely stroll through our community pathways provide a great opportunity to enjoy the flora.
3. Do crossword or jigsaw puzzles together. The neighborhoods all have large tables suitable for pondering over a large puzzle – and the conversations that take place during this activity are often nostalgic and fun.
4. Give your loved one a gentle hand massage with nice-smelling lotion. This is a great way to connect in a non-verbal way – our staff can help you with some simple pointers for giving a pleasant massage.
5. Bring your pet in for a visit. (Please make sure you have completed a “Pet Health Certificate,” which is required before you may bring any pet to The Cedars) The benefits of pet therapy are great – see our prior blogs for the specifics!
Call us at 207-221-7100 with questions.
Retirement Communities: Caregivers of People With Dementia
Living Well with Dementia: Caregivers of People with Dementia-Part I
by Lisa Clark OTR, Program Coordinator of Living Well with Dementia
In a recent issue of “OT Practice” from the American Occupational Therapy Association, an article is featured about the needs of caregivers for people with dementia. Occupational therapists are uniquely skilled at considering needs of caregivers because of their orientation toward staying healthy through activity. Activity for health is important for the person with dementia as well as the caregiver.
The Living Well with Dementia Program offers evaluation, recommendations and individual or group treatment for people with memory issues. Caregivers are an important support for people dealing with memory loss.
In addition, there are some helpful hints for caregivers, making their work with their loved ones a little easier. Sometimes these seem to be the opposite of what one might think is the best care technique. Decreasing stress on the part of the person with memory issues, in turn helps the caregiver manage more easily. Some positive strategies include:
- Make sure information is very simple and concrete — less confusing to the person with dementia
- Frequently, following along with the story the person with dementia is talking about is much more effective than correcting and trying to re-orient them. Arguing or trying to reason with the person can be very stressful for them
- Work on finding a pleasurable activity (preferably a simple one) that the person who is agitated can be re-directed to.
- Use as many positive words of encouragement as possible. Avoid constantly reminding the person that she/he has memory problems.
For additional information about our Living Well With Dementia outpatient program, call us today at 207-221-7100.
Retirement Community Living: Lending a Hand to Developing Countries
Gloria with Elizabeth McClellan of Partners for World Health
Recently a member of The Atrium at The Cedars retirement community had looked into donating some expensive medications that she had paid for herself but no longer needed, and that had not yet expired. She had asked her physicians – who did not have any suggestions. After contacting Elizabeth McLellan at Partners for World Health, she immediately accepted Gloria’s generous offer and brought them to the warehouse one afternoon in May. Here is a photo of Gloria with Elizabeth, after touring the huge warehouse full of medical equipment and supplies. That day, United Way was there volunteering their time to help sort and pack the supplies.
Did you know that in the United States, we throw away billions of dollars of perfectly good medical supplies every year? Elizabeth McClellan, founder of Partners for World Health in Scarborough, Maine, faced this reality as a nurse in Portland’s largest hospital every time she worked. She explains that medical supplies or medications are ordered by physicians, paid for by insurance companies, and then often never used. These supplies either stayed in the hospital room after the patient went home, or in the medicine cabinet after the medication was no longer needed – and then thrown away. She was concerned about the environmental waste and the fact that developing countries around the world are in desperate need of clean, new medical supplies.
Elizabeth McClellan wanted to do something about this and teamed up with local medical practitioners to form Partners for World Health. Now, those medical supplies are picked up at the hospitals, or donated directly by individuals to the warehouse in Scarborough where they’re sorted and shipped off to third world countries. Join Gloria in gathering your unused medical supplies to help those in need.
If anyone would like more information about making donations or volunteering with Partners for World Health, check out their website at www.partnersforworldhealth.org.
Best Retirement Living: When Did You Last Think About Your Will?
by Beth Sheppard, Development Director at The Cedars
Some people’s wills were written decades ago. Without regular review and updating, such wills can create confusion and needless expense for surviving family members.
The following life events usually require a modification of your will:
- Marriage or remarriage
- Birth or adoption of a child or grandchild
- Divorce
- A child or grandchild reaching legal adulthood
- Death of a spouse
- Increase in the value of your assets or acquisition
of new assets by gift or inheritance, or purchase of real estate - Giving away or selling assets mentioned in your will
- The death of a beneficiary named in your will
- A move – especially to a different state
- Your executor or trustee dies, moves, or becomes disabled
You should take time at least once a year to review your will to ensure that it is up to date with your current needs and circumstances. Set a date that is meaningful to you and that you will remember (such as your birthday or anniversary) as a review date and put it on your calendar. Ask your attorney to look at your will every 4-5 years, as well. Changes in state or federal laws can affect the taxation or distribution of your estate.
Small changes require the creation of a codicil. This is simply a written addition that preserves the bulk of your existing will. To make major changes, a complete new will (which revokes all prior wills) may work better. We suggest that you consult an attorney in either case.
If you do decide that you need to make a codicil or a completely new will, we hope that you will consider adding a testamentary gift, or bequest, to The Cedars. The language you’ll need to do so can be found by clicking here.
As you review your estate plans, you may come across assets that will generate heavy tax burdens for your family. Such items may be subject to both income and “death taxes,” leaving heirs with only a fraction of their inheritance. Such assets may include U.S. savings bonds, royalties under a patent license, IRA benefits and deferred compensation.
Through a carefully planned gift to The Cedars, you can create estate tax charitable deductions that save even more taxes for your heirs. Please visit our website or call Beth Sheppard at the Development Office at The Cedars at (207) 221-7007 if you have questions about planning any kind of gift.
Best Retirement Community: Spring Art Show at The Atrium at The Cedars
The members at The Atrium at The Cedars are an interesting and varied group – which can be seen in the ways they choose to spend their time in retirement. The excursions and gatherings at The Atrium include book clubs, Tai Chi classes, concerts in classical and jazz, season tickets to symphony and stage, and lectures in history and current events. In addition to all of this, there is a strong thread of artists which invigorate our Art Studio on a daily basis. Recently, we held an exhibit for our community which included an eclectic selection of works all created by our members at The Atrium. 
The artists used such media as watercolor, acrylic, oil, and paper – and the results were stunning. At the opening, President and CEO Kathy Callnan asked a few of our artists where they found their inspiration. Several of the artists did not start creating until after retirement; some stumbled into their passions earlier in adult live, and still others attended art school in their late teens.
Regardless of the origins of their enthusiasm, our members continue to create and inspire all of us and make it clear that retirement is the time to explore and reach: the best is truly yet to come!
For more information about retirement at The Cedars, contact Kelly Prucnal at 207-221-7100 or kprucnal@thecedarsportland.org
Best Retirement Community: Wellness for Seniors
The Cedars is introducing a state-of-the-art strength training program for our retirement community residents living in independent living and assisted living. Sharon Leddy-smart, Lifestyle Coordinator at The Atrium and Angie Hunt, Director of the Hoffman Center recently presented this exciting new program to the members at The Atrium, The Cedars independent living community.
Angie and Sharon pointed out that aging is a natural process, and we all age differently. Several studies show that exercise not only improves quality of life, but also helps people live longer lives. The ten bio-markers of age, which are reversible include:
- Muscle Mass – Decreases
- Strength – Decreases
- Basal Metabolic Rate – Decreases
- Body Fat – Increases
- Aerobic Capacity – Decreases
- Blood Pressure – Increases
- Blood Sugar Tolerance – Decreases
- Cholesterol/HDL Ration – Decreases
- Bone Density – Decreases
- Body Temperature Regulation – Decreases
The Cedars new program is an innovative wellness program focused on strengthening – aimed at reversing these bio-markers. Sharon and Angie explained that the advantages of resistance training include improved strength by 40-150%, an increase in lean body mass and increased muscle fiber.
In addition, the benefits of exercise include decreased potential for falls, improved functional mobility, prevention and better management of chronic disease, help in preventing depression, anxiety and dementia, and a lesser likelihood of experiencing illness with an increased ability to recover more quickly.
The program begins with an extensive assessment of the residents’ current fitness level, and then proceeds into a twelve week course of classes held three times per week, followed by a re-assessment and continued exercise.
For more information, please contact us at 207-221-7100.
Retirement Communities: Interview with The Cedars
We invite you to listen to an interview with
Kelly Prucnal, Marketing Representative at The Cedars
on senior living communities and retirement planning
which aired on Home with Tom Landry, WLOB 1310AM Radio
http://www.homewithtomlandry.com/home05262012.mp3
The Cedars Radio Interview
Marketing Representative at The Cedars, Kelly Prucnal is being interviewed about senior living options and retirement planning
Saturday May 26th at 1PM
Home With Tom Landry on WLOB 1310 AM
Be sure to tune in!
A Day in the Life at The Atrium
Please join us for a sampling of a day’s activities
at The Atrium, Independent Living at The Cedars
Tuesday May 22, 2012 at 11AM
RSVP to 207-221-7100