If you’re passionate about something, why should you ever stop doing it, as long as you’re able… At our center, we always try to offer programs that involve hobbies or daily activities that our participants have enjoyed throughout their lives. Just because someone is over a certain age, why should they stop doing what they love?  Our answer is, they should never stop – keep doing what you love as long as they can!

Our participants suffer many losses including losing loved ones, losing their memory or seeing a decrease in…

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:

• Age has no meaning here.
• Without this place, I wouldn’t be going out.
• I have learned a lot since coming here.
• I feel accepted with open arms.
• The staff here appreciate seniors’…

Graeme Weatherston / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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.

Rollator Brake

Rubber Tips

Walkers and canes have rubber tips that provides traction and absorbs impact. Over time these…

This week, our Day Center is celebrating our 10^th anniversary! It’s quite a milestone and I’m filled with pride as I see what we’ve created. You can gather people in any space, but it’s what the staff and seniors bring that give it life and meaning.

Ten years ago, we started our center with about 15 participants on our census. Over the past 10 years, we’ve enrolled over 1,100 seniors from Queens and Brooklyn. Our seniors came here not knowing a soul and now they have a family. Not only do they…

Caregivers have a lot on their plate, and it can be very challenging balancing caregiving responsibilities while taking care of their own lives and families. Some people with Alzheimer’s Disease may exhibit wandering behaviors and that adds even more challenges to keeping loved ones safe and healthy. Some may attempt to leave their safe environments without supervision or may get lost while out in the community unattended.

At our center, we have a Wanderguard program for memory impaired seniors to help prevent wandering. The Alzheimer’s Association has a Safe Return Program…

Sometimes, it can be difficult to ensure that people with Alzheimer’s Disease are getting proper nutrition. They may get agitated during mealtime, their food choices may change as the disease progresses, they may forget that they ate or they may not be able to express what they want to eat. At our Day Center, we closely observe food intake for our memory-impaired participants. If we notice that participants are not eating well or there is a change in eating patterns, we immediately notify their caregivers and VNS CHOICE MLTC Nurse…

A few weeks ago, I wrote about a friend’s dad who had both of his hips replaced. Since then, I’ve spoken to family and friends with hip issues of their own. One family member dislocated her hip last week after using it to move furniture. She said, “I always used my hip to bump furniture back in place, but I guess I forgot I’m 75 years old now, and probably shouldn’t do that!”  I thought, “That would be something to keep in mind.” Another friend has had serious hip pain…

One of our participants has had a very ill daughter for many years. Over the years, her daughter has visited us at the center, enjoyed our entertainment, and always admired the jewelry that her mother made here. Our participant loves jewelry making and has made many necklaces for her daughter. It’s been so therapeutic for her to get involved in these art projects during these difficult years, and it was especially important to her to be able to give her daughter these gifts.

Sadly last week, her daughter passed away. She…

When you hear bingo, what do you think? Do you think of seniors just sitting around? At our center, bingo provides a wealth of therapeutic opportunities to stimulate the mind and body.

We play regular bingo, musical bingo, around-the-house bingo and bingo with personalized questions and answers for special occasions. In our frail program, our higher functioning seniors play multiple cards and you can see their brains working to find the numbers and manage all their cards! Playing bingo utilizes eye-hand coordination and fine motor skills, as well as stimulates cognitive…

A frequent type of call I receive in the Customer Care Center at VNSNY relates to patients who have fallen in their homes. I am reminded of the seriousness of such a call as soon as I open my telehealth triage guidelines as listed below:

At least one-third of patients over the age of 65 years and one-half of those over 85 years fall each year. Falls in the geriatric population are associated with significant potential morbidity and occasional mortality. Non-intentional injury is the seventh* leading cause of death in people over 65 years in…