Last Friday, everyone was on alert for the impending snow storm. We weren’t sure how many seniors would attend the Day Center, but we opened for those who wanted to come. We had early dismissal to get everyone home safely before the storm arrived, even though they didn’t want to stop activities!

I was simply amazed at how many seniors showed up on Friday! 

Ms. N. told me that, although her daughter wanted her to stay home, she said, “I’m going to the Center – it’s my second home and I’m not missing…

The VNSNY CHOICE Adult Day Center is lucky to have a fantastic group of volunteers that help us serve our members! Volunteers come to us from all walks of life, ages (12 – 80 years old) and cultural backgrounds. They have a wide variety of talents and skills to share with our members, including pet therapy, art, music and computers. Most importantly, they bring companionship and compassion to support our members.     

I recently read a quote from President Woodrow Wilson that moved me and really described our volunteers: “You are not here to…

At the VNSNY CHOICE Adult Day Center in Woodside, Queens, we’re excited that we have begun offering computer classes to VNSNY CHOICE members! Our Activities Coordinator, Michele, has been working hard to recruit and train volunteers and staff to lead this new effort.  

Members are learning about the internet and how to find music, Skype, news, fashion and videos. They are practicing how to use a mouse by playing simple match games and solitaire. On the tablets, they’re playing word games, match games, Family Feud, The Price Is Right and tuning into radio…

Image Courtesy of Keerati/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Are you looking for a device that can help your loved one lower his or her risk of falling in the home? How about one that fits in the palm of your hand? Surprisingly this post isn’t about the latest generation of smart phones, but the good old-fashioned nightlight.

I have found that many older adults fall at night simply because adequate and accessible light is not available. A routine trip to the bathroom could potentially result in injury. Unfortunately, in this country, falls related injuries continue to be one…

2012 was a great year for the VNSNY CHOICE Adult Day Center! Filled with activities, laughter, love and compassion, our members and staff once again demonstrated what a special haven our center has become.   

What do our members hope for in 2013?  Here are some of their thoughts…

• Stay healthy with the help of VNSNY CHOICE!
• Eat the right foods
• Laugh more
• Exercise
• Walk in the light
• Make new friends
• Be honest
• Live peacefully among everyone
• Love myself so I can love others
• Loving everyone helped me make it to 92 years old – I’ll keep doing what I’m doing!

On behalf of our…

Our Adult Day Center is so lucky to have an exceptional group of home health aides caring for our seniors. Our aides come from Partners in Care, a part of the Visiting Nurse Service of New York that’s been providing home care professionals since 1983. Partners in Care has been a dedicated, outstanding partner to the VNSNY CHOICE Adult Day Center since we opened in 2000. Many of our aides have been here for more than 10 years, and the care and compassion they provide is second to none. For the…

The holidays are a festive time of year at the VNSNY CHOICE Adult Day Center. Since we serve seniors from over 30 countries, it’s important to us that we incorporate all cultures and traditions into our celebrations.

In addition to all of our holiday parties filled with multi-cultural entertainment, music and dancing, we had a tree-trimming party that sparked lots of reminiscing. Members’ faces lit up as they talked about memories and traditions from their countries. Ms. S. remembered making their family ornaments. She said that our tree-trimming festivities help to…

It’s been so interesting listening to the reactions to Hurricane Sandy. At the VNSNY CHOICE Adult Day Center, we’ve definitely noticed different generational reactions to the storm. Our seniors are more accepting of the difficult circumstances, especially our seniors from other countries. They tell us that they’ve “seen it all and this is life,” and their expectations about how quickly things should “get back to normal” after the storm are quite different from the younger generations. They seem to have more patience coping with the stress and they focus on…

Photo by Michele Mieklejohn

As we see from everything that is happening in New York City after Superstorm Sandy, getting back to “normal” after a storm is difficult. However, if you have children, it is vital for you to give them a sense of normalcy while preparing them for changes.

For your kids, schools may be closed and power may take days to return, but remind them that the situation is temporary and will get better.

If your kids are healthy and it’s safe to be outside, give them tasks that allow them…

As a VNSNY CHOICE Rehab Consultant recently told us, “I’ve always been amazed at the cultural diversity of the center.” Being located in Queens, we serve many cultures and we work hard to ensure our center and services are culturally appropriate. Not only do we have staffing and food services to meet the needs of those we serve, but we also adapt activities to focus on inclusion of all cultures.

Last week in our dementia program, we designated a special day to celebrate different cultures. Members wore clothes and brought in…