Tag Archives: Senior Citizen

Physical activity helps older adults maintain their health

By Linda Cronk, Michigan State University Extension 

 

Regular exercise and physical activity are vital at any age, including for older adults. The National Institute on Aging says that being active helps older adults:

  • Keep and improve strength to stay independent
  • Have more energy to do things
  • Improve balance
  • Prevent or delay some diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and osteoporosis
  • Perk up mood and reduce depression

According to Living a Healthy Life with Chronic Conditions, by Dr. Kate Lorig, to get the greatest benefit from physical activity, older adults need to try four types of exercise: endurance, strength, balance and flexibility exercise.

Endurance activity

Many older adults avoid endurance activity, also called aerobic exercise, because they are unsure about how much is safe for older adults. “The most important thing is that some activity is better than none,” Dr. Lorig said. “If you start off doing what is comfortable and increase your efforts gradually, it is likely that you will build a healthy, lifelong habit.” There are three building blocks for a safe, moderate-intensity goal for endurance activity:

  • Frequency means how often you exercise. The Center for Disease Control recommends aerobic physical activity in episode of at least 10 minutes and, if possible, spread it out through the week.
  • Intensity is how much effort you use or how hard you work. Endurance or aerobic exercise is safe at a moderate intensity. You will feel warmer, you breathe deeper and faster, your heart rate will rise moderately and you will still feel like you can continue a while longer.
  • Time is how long you exercise each time you are active. At least 10 minutes is a good starting place. If that is too challenging, start with a smaller amount of time. You can work up from there, with a moderate intensity goal of 150 minutes per week. You can try to attain your 150 minute goal by exercising 30 minutes five days per week.
Strength training

We need to exercise our muscles in order to maintain our physical strength as we get older. Otherwise, our muscles shrink from lack of use. According to the book Living a Healthy Life With Chronic Conditions, moderate-intensity muscle-strengthening exercise of all major muscle groups should be done at least two days per week.

Flexibility exercises

Being flexible means you can move comfortably in your daily life with a minimum of pain and stiffness. A series of gentle stretching exercises done at least three to four days per week can help you improve and maintain flexibility as you get older.

Balance exercises

Falling is one of the most challenging events for older adults. Injury from falls, such as broken bones, is a common experience for those with balance issues. Strong and coordinated muscles in your core and legs are key for good balance. Certain exercises, including qi gong, tai chi, yoga and others are good for improving and maintaining balance.

 

You can find a free user-friendly exercise book and DVD through the National Institute on Aging website called Go4Life.

 

According to Michigan State University Extension, once you start exercising and become more physically active, you will begin to see results quickly. In a few short weeks, you will feel stronger and more energetic, and you will be able to do things easier, faster or longer than before. Your body will get used to a higher level of activity and you can continue to build on those benefits by doing more. Be sure to check with your doctor before you begin an exercise program.

 

Check out the Senior Community Service Employment Program

Learning computer skills

By ACSET Community Action Agency

 

It is estimated that by 2020, 25% of the workforce will be made of workers 55 and older. But is this demographic qualified for the jobs that employers need to fill?

 

While employers give older workers high marks on characteristics such as judgement, commitment to quality, attendance and punctuality, they can lack the skills necessary for today’s jobs.

 

The Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) was designed to help low-income, unemployed, older adults gain work experience. Participants are placed in community service positions, receive on-the-job training and earn a pay check. This gives them the skills and experience needed to enter the workforce.

 

Program FAQs

  • Experiences are provided at a variety of non-profit and public facilities
  • Participants work an average of 20 hours per week
  • Participants are paid minimum wage for their service
  • Individuals must be over 55, unemployed and meet income requirements to qualify

To learn more and find out if you are eligible to participate in SCSEP, contact the local AARP Foundation office at 616-649-0310.

 
Everyone should have access to jobs and other basic needs like food, shelter and healthcare. ACSET Community Action Agency (CAA) is dedicated to helping Kent County residents of all ages meet basic needs. If you or someone you know is having trouble making ends meet, contact ACSET CAA at 616-336-4000.

 

Your Community in Action! is provided by ASCET Community Action Agency. To learn more about how they help meet emergency needs and assist with areas of self-sufficiency, visit www.communityactionkent.org.

Don’t be duped! Guarding ourselves against fraud


By Regina Salmi

Area Agency on Aging of Western Michigan

Every year, millions of Americans are victims of scams or fraud. It is estimated that approximately 11% of the population experiences loss of money or personal property annually. While it can happen to a person at any age, older adults are often the most frequent targets for fraud. Older adults often have access to funds, have excellent credit and own their homes, making them attractive targets for criminals. In fact, older adults lose an estimated 2.9 billion dollars a year to fraud.
These are the current scams particularly targeting older adults:

  • Grandchild Scam: A caller will sound distressed and claim to be a grandchild in trouble or in danger and beg to have money wired to them immediately. The best thing to do is to hang up and call family members to insure everyone is safe and sound.
  • IRS Scam: A person could receive a call, an email or an official-looking letter, demanding immediate payment. They are told information will be forwarded to local law enforcement officials for arrest if they fail to pay. This is not the way the IRS collects debts. If you don’t owe taxes, hang up immediately or delete the email without opening it. If you do owe on your taxes, call the IRS at 800-829-1040 for assistance to pay them.
  • Gift Cards: Many people are being tricked into buying hundreds of dollars in gift cards or pre-paid money cards and sending them to a person in order to receive a prize, pay off a debt, purchase goods or services, or to help a grandchild pay off student loans. There isn’t any legitimate business conducted this way, so refuse any request to pay with gift cards or pre-paid credit cards.

While it seems there are scams everywhere we turn, there are a few ‘rules of thumb’ we can use to protect ourselves from being fooled:

  • If it sounds too good to be true — it is. Criminals feed on our desires by offering us goods or opportunities we wouldn’t, in reality, be able to attain: vacations, money, miracle cures, property, etc. You can be sure there is always a hidden cost and we end up losing much more than we would have ever gained.
  • Never send money to someone you do not know. Any business or government agency you owe money to will send you the request through the mail. If a paperless billing notice arrives in your email and you didn’t initiate it, call the company directly to confirm it is from them.
  • Do not give personal or financial information to someone who calls, emails or shows up at your door. Avoid giving out your bank account, credit card or Social Security number unless you are positive you know who is requesting the information. Businesses you have accounts with will ask you to verify some information to make sure it’s you, like the last four digits of your social security number, but they are confirming your information — not receiving it for the first time.
  • If you get an email or pop-up message that asks for personal or financial information, do not reply, open any attachment or click on any link in the message. Legitimate companies don’t ask for this information by email and you’re often opening a door to identity theft. You also risk downloading viruses or software that collects your personal information and/or disables your computer’s security.

It’s important that we protect ourselves and share tips and information with family and friends who might also fall prey to these schemes. If you’re ever unsure about whether you might be the victim of a scam there are several resources available to you.

The Kent County Elder Abuse Coalition updates current scams frequently on their website: http://www.protectkentseniors.org. You can call them at 855.444.3911.

The Michigan Attorney General also has a consumer alert web page here. If you believe you may be a victim of a scam, you can call them at 877.765.8388.

Help for seniors who can’t leave home

Your Community in Action!

 

By Community Action Partnership of Kent County

 

Nearly two million Americans over the age of 65 rarely or never leave their homes. In fact, there are more homebound seniors in the US than there are living in nursing homes. Many of these individuals are homebound because they have illnesses like heart and lung disease, arthritis and dementia. They may no longer have access to transportation or they may experience anxiety when leaving the house.

 

Whatever the reason, research has found that those unable or unwilling to leave their homes don’t always receive the care they need. They are more isolated than their counterparts in assisted living. Increased isolation increases the risk of depression, dementia and long-term illness.

 

The majority of homebound adults in the United States are low-income and face language barriers. This makes it more difficult to get adequate care and even proper nutrition. To help meet the needs of these individuals in our community ACSET Community Action Agency (CAA) delivers meals to homebound seniors over the age of 60 living in Kent County. Nutritious and flavorful meals are delivered to their homes each weekday, Monday through Friday.

 

ACSET CAA also offers door-to-door transportation for seniors who need a ride for medical appointments, grocery shopping and other services. Transportation is reserved for low-income seniors over the age of 60. Buses run 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. To find out if you or a loved one qualify for meal delivery or transportation, call ACSET CAA at (616) 336-4000. Latin American Services staff are available to assist Spanish-speaking seniors with their needs.

 

Your Community in Action! is provided by ACSET Community Action Agency. To learn more about how they help meet emergency needs and assist with areas of self-sufficiency, visit www.communityactionkent.org