Last week, we celebrated the 10 year anniversary of our center. We were grateful to receive Proclamations from Mayor Bloomberg, the City Council of New York and Helen Marshall, Queens Borough President. We are proud to partner with New York City to help serve seniors in Queens and Brooklyn.
We had a wonderful celebration and I’d like to share some comments from our participants:
Posted in: Family Caregiving, Staying Active, Working with the Elderly Tags: Adult Day Services
Many people are able to stay active outdoors with the assistance of canes, walkers, rollators and wheelchairs. However these devices are a safety hazard when certain parts start wearing out. Please take a moment to check the condition of your assistive device before going outdoors.
Brakes
Wheelchairs and rollators with worn brakes are a safety hazard. Your local surgical supply store or medical supply vendor can assist with repairing or replacing worn brakes.
Rubber Tips
Walkers and canes have rubber tips that provides traction and absorbs impact. Over time these…
Posted in: Did you know?, FAQ, Healthy in NYC, Home Safety, Staying Active, Working with the Elderly Tags: caregiver, caregiver support, elderly, Falls, prevention, safety, tips
Exercise is something many of us want to do more of, but we just can’t always find the time to do it or find the expenditure of energy overwhelming. In fact, sometime the mere mention of the word conjures up images of treadmills, heavy weights, and expensive gym memberships. (OK, perhaps it’s just MY images!) For many of our patients however, it can be a challenge to start or resume exercises and physical activity after surgery. Speak with your doctor or physical therapist about what activities would be safe for…
Posted in: Healthy in NYC, Staying Active, Your Mind and Body Tags: exercise, flexibility, tai chi, yoga
We can all agree that routine walking is a great form of exercise especially for the elderly. However improper fitting or uncomfortable shoes can not only lead to foot problems but can cause pain or injury to the knee and the back.
Before you head to your local shoe store take a look at some of the helpful guidelines I found from the online AARP article “When Comfort Counts: Choosing a Walking Shoe”.
Posted in: Did you know?, Healthy in NYC, Staying Active, Working with the Elderly Tags: elderly, tips
It Has Been a Few Years
To my surprise a man in his late 80’s who I’ll refer to as Mr. Ben had agreed to be seen for his annual physical therapy checkup for the first time in a few years. His visiting nurse warned me that he agreed to see me only for short period of time so I could assess his need for a cane due to a recent fall. If I were a betting man, my guess would be that I only had about 30 minutes for the…
Posted in: Staying Active, Working with the Elderly Tags: elderly
I recently had the pleasure of speaking with a group of elderly women on the topic of preventing falls. Of those in attendance, each lives independently in a senior building in Queens. To my pleasant surprise the planned presentation, which had four main points and an easy to follow handout, transformed into a dynamic conversation between the women.
As each person shared stories of their own falls and recovery, it was apparent their contributions injected relevancy into the statistics and insights I had presented. I appreciated their honesty…
Posted in: Did you know?, Events, Health Care Tips, Home Safety, Staying Active, Working with the Elderly Tags: communication, elderly, prevention, tips, wellness
(Photo by Ed Yourdon)
If you’re like me, you have every intention to celebrate Earth Day today, but also feel a bit overwhelmed by what it is you can possibly do to honor Mother Earth. She is giving us a whole bunch in the way of fruits, plants, fish, animals, gorgeous exotic locations, green trees and beautiful flowers, rainy days, green and blue oceans and a whole lot more. There is a lot to be thankful about when it comes to the wise ways of this planet.
Unfortunately, it’s impossible for me…
Posted in: Events, Healthy in NYC, Staying Active Tags: conservation, Earth Day, farmers markets, NYC parks, recycle
I was speaking to my aunt recently and we discussed a recent study reported on in The New York Times. It stated that researchers from the University of Missouri found that people who walk dogs are more likely to exercise and show improvement in fitness, as opposed to those who walk with friends and/or companions. One reasoning was that people who would walk together are more likely to make excuses to not walk and skip a day or two, but you can’t necessarily do that with a dog.
My aunt…
Posted in: Staying Active, Your Mind and Body Tags: Recreation Therapy, Walking, wellness
What comes to your mind when yout think of the typical college basketball player? As college hoops tournaments are starting to fill the airwaves, I wanted to share an inspiring video clip I had come across a few years ago featuring an atypical student athlete.
In a 2008 New York Times article featuring 73 year old Ken Mink, Jere Longman writes:
If the 6-foot Mink was good enough to play, he was good enough to be guarded, Woods told the Lambuth players. Then he turned to the freshman Kendrick Coleman and said: “If…
Posted in: Staying Active Tags: elderly
It’s below freezing outside with a slight breeze. Is taking a leisurely 30 minute walk outdoors the last thing on your mind?
97 years young
I recently visited a 97 year young man who lived within walking distance from the beaches of Far Rockaway, Queens. I was a bit surprised when he shared that after the visit, he was planning to go outside with his home attendant to start his daily 30 minute walk. It was about 25 degrees that morning, that’s right 25 degrees!
The man explained that the daily walk kept his…
Posted in: Healthy in NYC, Staying Active, Your Mind and Body Tags: cold weather, elderly