SWW

Seniors • May 2011

Alice Riley exercises in the Stillwater Estates recreation room three times a week. Up until recent hip and knee problems, she was walking two to three miles every day. And when Thursdays roll around, you can usually find her at the Twin Cities Senior Center weekly dance. All three activities have the same aim for Riley. “So I can live longer,” she said of what motivates her to exercise. “I want to be able to stay active and move around.” As people’s bodies age, daily activity and strengthening exercises are not only a good idea, they can literally save your life, said Jennifer Ternan, prevention specialist for Riverside Fire Authority and a member of the Lewis County Falls Prevention Coalition. Older adults who get less physical activity are more likely to take a fall, and

a simple fall can lead to more serious ailments for the elderly. According to information from the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, senior death and injury rates from falls have risen dramatically in the last decade. In 2007, there were more than 18,000 documented fall-related deaths among those 65 and older. In 2009, 2.2 million older adults were treated for non-fatal fall injuries and 581,000 of those ended up being hospitalized as a result of their injuries. Ternan said the local falls prevention coalition was founded by the county about six years ago in an effort to help prevent needless hospitalizations and deaths among Lewis County’s aging population. Ternan said local firefighters noticed they often visited the same homes many times for EMS calls related to a senior falling. Over these visits they

often witnessed a slow decline that started with an initial fall that didn’t cause injury and often ended months or years later with a fall that caused hospitalization or death. Ternan said firefighters and EMTs wanted a way to address fall hazards with these individuals to prevent this slow decline in their overall health. “When you look at the contributing factors for falls they’re largely preventable,” Ternan said. Myriad factors, including medications, blood pressure, chronic conditions and eye sight, can all contribute to your risk for a fall. Ternan said often a simple check of the home for fall hazards such as loose rugs, cords and inadequate path widths between furniture, coupled with installing grab bars where needed, can lessen the risk dramatically. But it’s also about keeping your body in shape, she said.

“Our biggest message is just because you’re aging doesn’t mean you have to fall,” Ternan said. One of the easiest paths to fall prevention is simply moving, said Barbara Scott, program manager for the Twin Cities Senior Center. Scott joined the center about two months ago after having previously worked in senior fitness for the YMCA. She said one of the reasons she was chosen for the job was to add more exercise type activities to the center’s lineup. As an originator of the Silver Sneakers program for South Sound YMCA, a program which is also carried at Thorbeckes FitLife Center, Scott said she saw seniors make marked improvements in their overall health and balance in mere weeks just by becoming active. It’s never too late, she said, but the earlier you start to think about long-term health, the better. “Starting in your 40s it happens so incrementally you don’t realize it but you start to lose your balance,” Scott said. But Scott said with many older adults, for whom physical activity was not something they grew up with, there can be barriers to getting them to join a more traditional gym setting. “It can be very intimidating for them with all the people and the machines,” she said. Creativity is the key, Scott said. For instance, one of the center’s longest standing popular activities is its weekly

Senior Fitness: Trails, Classes Can Help You Live Independently Longer

Take a Walk, Not a Fall

SeniorsSouthwest Washington

Brandon Swanson / bswanson@chronline.comSeniors dance to a three-piece band at the Twin Cities Senior Center in Chehalis April 28. Dancing is a great way to stay active and healthy.

Continued on SWW SenIorS Pg 2

new Senior Fitness Classes offered at the Twin Cities Senior Center • Stay Active and Independent for Life — Focuses on exercises to improve balance, mobility, range of motion, endurance, and strength. Hand held weights, elastic tubing, and balls are used in combination with coordination and endurance activities as well as exercises recommended by the Arthritis Foundation. Cost is $28 per person for an eight-week class • Cane-Do — Self defense for people over 50. Next class is 5:30-8 p.m. Tuesdays June 28 to July 26. Cost is $28 per person per session. • Fit and Fabulous Forties and Fifties — Class combines low-impact floor aerobics with resistance training to improve endurance and stamina, muscle tone and strength, and increase bone density. Come have fun, get fit, and be fabulous. Cost is $28 for a 10-week session. • Positive Self-Worth, Chronic Disease Self-Management Program — Feel better about yourself while learning tools you can use to live more fully with a chronic condition. Based upon Stanford University’s Chronic Disease Management Program, this educational workshop fosters a support group atmosphere. To register, contact Physicians of Southwest Washington at (360) 786-8690 and ask for CDSMP registration. There is a $30 program fee per participant. For those that are COPES eligible, the program fee is waived. For more information about scheduling or registration for all other classes, call the Twin Cities Senior Center at 748-0061.

By Carrina Stanton

For The Chronicle

dances. Scott said it’s one of their largest attended weekly gatherings and it’s a good workout for those who participate. For those who do not feel comfortable in a gym setting, Scott said, there are many simple exercises that can be done at home. Two exercises Scott said every senior should do at home every day are: roll your shoulders back and down (do not roll them forward); and move your chin out and back. “Once they start doing it and feeling better and feeling more comfortable they enjoy it but that’s one of those blocks you have to get past,” Scott said. Another recent initiative aimed at getting more local seniors moving is a new fitness trail that will soon be installed at the Twin Cities Senior Center in Chehalis. Trail originator Dave Hughes, coordinator for Physicians of Southwest Washington, an independent physicians association in Thurston and Lewis counties, said the concept is similar to a trail recently installed at the Lacey senior center. Modeled after the European “par cours” concept, the fitness course will feature eight fixed exercises stations specifically designed for seniors. Activities at each stop will focus on building strength, flexibility and agility in older adults, which it is hoped will help prevent falls. “I’ve spent a lot of time traveling around and seen lots of trails like this but nothing that’s for seniors,” Hughes said of what motivated him to design the course. The new fitness trail will be located in the oak grove just off the southern side of the Twin Cities Senior Center. Funded by the Lewis-Mason-Thurston Area Agency on Aging, Hughes will soon have 25 such trails installed between Thurston and Lewis counties, although he said he is still looking for more locations, including somewhere he could install an indoor version May 25 is National Senior Health & Fitness Day, which will see the kickoff off a full slate of new activities at the Twin Cities Senior Center that directly tie to the new fitness trail and preventing falls. One of her newest offerings is a Stay Active and Independent for Life (SAIL) exercise class, which emphasizes four important

components to avoiding falls: balance and coordination; range of motion and flexibility; endurance; and strength training. Other new classes include a senior self defense class called “cane-do”, a chronic disease management group and also a Fit at 50 class.

••• Carrina Stanton is a freelance writer who lives in Centralia. She can be reached at carrinastanton@yahoo.com.

2 • SWW Seniors �• The Chronicle, Centralia/Chehalis, Wash. Thursday, May 19, 2011

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The strength of a person's immune system is generally what determines if he or she gets sick. If two people are exposed to the same germs, the one with a weaker immune system tends to get sick.

Medical experts often agree that the elderly and the very young can experience serious and adverse reactions to seemingly mundane illnesses. Simple colds or the flu can turn into pneumonia and other life-threatening situations if left untreated. The culprit is often an underdeveloped or compromised immune system.

As you age, your physiology changes. Bones become less dense, hormones fluctuate, and you may experience a weaker immune system. As a result, seniors are more susceptible to illness than their younger counterparts. But boosting the immune system by changing your diet, exercising and getting outdoors can be a way to stay healthy.

Doctors say that it is possible to boost your immune system. The secrets lie in understanding how the immune system works - and how your everyday life can offer you greater protection.

In simple terms, the immune system is a network of cells and organs that block unwanted visitors from wreaking havoc inside of the body. Should a germ get by, the body has strong defenders that can

eliminate the threat. These are known as antibodies. When you get an inoculation, a small amount of an offending particle is put into your body so that your immune system can develop antibodies against it. Should you be exposed to that type of invader again, you will possess the antibodies to fight it.

Your immune system can lose some of its protective properties if it is faced with a constant onslaught of diseases and must overcompensate for poor health habits. But there are ways to get your immune system back in fighting shape.

1. Get plenty of sleep. Mom was right - lack of sleep can affect the body's ability to function correctly, which includes fending off disease. Routine sleep deprivation can definitely affect overall health.

2. Reduce stress. Stress can have a number of negative health implications. It slowly wears away at the immune system and leaves you susceptible to a host of illnesses. Take measures to reduce stress as much as possible to be healthier.

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Bingo owes its origins to Italy during the 1500s. The game is a form of lottery that the Italians called Lo Giuoco del Lotto d'Italia, or The Italian National Lottery. Eventually the game caught on in France as well. In Le Lotto, cards had horizontal rows with five numbered and four blank squares in a random arrangement. The vertical rows contained numbers from 1 to 10 in the first row, 11 to 20 in the second row, and so on, up to 90. Each lotto card had a different arrangement of numbers. Chips numbered from 1 to 90 completed the playing equipment and were pulled out of a bag and called.

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SWWS

HACKENSACK, N.J. - Morris Zysblat and Johanna "Jo" Meyne were born in 1913, a year before the outbreak of World War I. Their similarities would seem to end there.

Zysblat, who is Jewish, fled Nazi Germany; Meyne, a devout Christian, was reared on a Wyckoff, N.J., farm. Zysblat supported his family as a globe-trotting businessman; Meyne kept a nice home for her carpenter husband. Zysblat plays the markets, watches CNBC and has 40 Facebook friends; Meyne knits, watches "The Price is Right" and goes to church.

What Zysblat, who turned 98 in February, and Meyne, who will be 98 in July, have in common are robust physical health, sharp minds and sunny dispositions. There's every reason to believe they'll be joining that exclusive fraternity of centenarian Americans - now 80,000 strong, 85 percent of them women.

Why some people live 100 years or more is tantalizing to experts and laymen alike. Genetics plays a big role; scientists in Boston recently spotted genes related to super-longevity. One of those scientists, Dr. Thomas Perls, founded the New England Centenarian Study, which maintains that a positive outlook and ability to manage stress are predictors of a long life, along with the holy trinity of smart health habits: good diet, exercise, no smoking.

There's no hard-and-fast map on the road to 100, but there are lessons to be learned from the real experts - those, like Morris Zysblat and Jo Meyne, who can almost taste the birthday cake.

Zysblat, who lives independently at Classic Residence in Teaneck, and Meyne, who lives independently at Holland Christian Home in North Haledon, likely have genetics on their side.

Zysblat's father died of cancer at 52 but his mother lived to her 80s and his only sister is 96.

Meyne's parents lived to their 80s and six of her seven siblings made it at least to their 80s.

Good genes, though, aren't a be-all-and-end-all, says Dr. Edward Schneider, professor of gerontology at the University of Southern California.

"You can modify the genetics by stepping in front of a train or a car," he said, "and you also can have bad health habits."

1. Don't get sick"So much depends on being free

of illness through one's lifetime. Not having your body debilitated is critical to longevity," said Dr. Elaine Leventhal, professor of medicine at New Brunswick's Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and a specialist in geriatric medicine and gerontology.

"You certainly want to be free of lung disease, free of significant cardiac disease, free of diabetes" - and personal behavior has a lot to do with that.

Zysblat and Meyne kept illness and the risk factor of obesity at bay. They feel fine, they seldom go to the doctor and the only pills they take are for blood pressure.

But the lives they have led go only so far in explaining their good shape.

Neither smoked - but their spouses did, suggesting exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke. Meyne says her main physical exercise was gardening and walking around Wyckoff, while Zysblat cheerfully admits, "I don't exercise - never did in my life. How about that? And I haven't walked very much either."

As for diet, Meyne says "I'll eat what you give me - I was never fussy." And

Zysblat says "all my life I ate foods that were not good for me." A peek inside his refrigerator bears him out: butter, salami, frankfurters, pastrami. But the key, he says, is eating the salty, fatty, not-good-for-you stuff in moderation.

2. Thank GodMeyne credits God for bringing her

this far. The former Sunday school teacher attends Sixth Reformed Church in North Haledon, listens to Christian music on the radio and keeps the Lord's Prayer over her bed in an embroidery she stitched as a young bride.

Others around her feel likewise. "Because we are a Christian home, our residents feel blessed to be here," said Carol Moore, administrator of Holland Christian Home, where six of the 150 residents are centenarians. "They are brought up in their church and their spirituality carries them through, and gives meaning and purpose to their life."

Does prayer contribute to a long life? There are no data, Schneider says, but there is value to being part of a church or a religious community because it increases one's social network - which gives the elderly an extra measure of support.

3. Exercise your brainIn the "Living to 100 Life Expectancy

Calculator," devised by Perls of the New England Centenarian Study, people who engage in mind-challenging activities add five years to their life expectancy.

It's worked for Zysblat, who's been retired nearly 40 years.

The lifelong reader still devours books - three a week on his Kindle.

After finishing a book, he adds the title to the computerized list he's been keeping since 2004. The list has 800 books, ranging in authors from Diane Ackerman ("The Zookeeper's Wife") to Emile Zola ("Nana").

When not reading, Zysblat trades gold and silver at one of his three computers. He started day-trading stocks in the 1990s, but switched to a less volatile sector. It's a hobby, and he is convinced the buy-and-sell decisions he makes in the course of a trading day keep his mind razor sharp.

4. Set goalsThere's no computer in Jo Meyne's

room at Holland Christian Home, but there is a knitting bag.

"I guess I wore out my eyes with all my fancy knitting," said Meyne, who is mostly blind. "I don't know how to say it, but I just enjoy doing it."

Her handiwork has a greater purpose. Meyne knits 7-by-9-inch squares that are assembled into blankets, which are then donated to the homeless and disaster victims through a charity called Warm Up America! Knowing others benefit, she aims to complete one square a day.

Setting and achieving goals is important, even more so for those of a certain age.

Zysblat, too, is a man of goals, as evidenced by his ever-growing list of books read.

A man satisfied with his accomplishments, Zysblat wanted to live to see the new millennium. He did, at age 86.

At 95, he set his sights on 100."To be healthy and be able to do what

I'm doing? It's amazing," said Zysblat, who last year blessed the challah at his grandson's wedding.

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Mitsu Yasukawa / The RecordMorris Zysblat, 98, poses for portrait with his photo from a fashion magazine 10 years ago, April 4, 2011, at his Teaneck, New Jersey home. The Teaneck resident challenges himself by reading three e-books a week.

6 • SWW Seniors �• The Chronicle, Centralia/Chehalis, Wash. Thursday, May 19, 2011

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The Department of Health & Human Services recently stated that at least 70 percent of people over age 65 will require some kind of long-term care services at some point in their lives. Unfortunately, many of these services are not fully covered by regular health insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid. This includes long-term stays in nursing homes or assisted living facilities, adult day services, home health care services, and more. The costs of these services can really add up when you consider that the average going rate for a private room in a nursing home in the US is over $200 a day. Long-term care insurance can help protect your assets, reduce the burden of care on your loved ones, and ensure that you will get the kind of care you both want and need. And it’s never too soon to get it – in fact, the younger and healthier you are, the better rates you’re likely to get.

Remember as you research long-term care policies that

it’s important to have open communication with your family and loved ones so you can choose the proper policy. Take the time to read through different policies and compare them to your price range and needs. For more information, check out a non-profit organization I’ve been working with to help educate Americans about this very topic: www.3in4needmore.com. You’ll find more information and a full list of online resources to help you in your search. Good luck!

Over the last 40 years, Dr. Marion (Marion Somers, Ph.D.) has

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everywhere through her book and more. For more information, visit www.DrMarion.com

I’m the primary caregiver for my 86-year-old father, and a friend recommended that

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– Mary from Massachusetts, 55

Q.Ask Dr. Marion

My uncle is interested in getting help with his Medicare Part D prescription costs, but he has about $10,000 in the bank. Would he still be eligible?

Based on his resources, yes. However, there are other factors to consider as well including your uncle’s income. This year a person’s total resources are, in most cases, limited to $12,640 (or $25,260 if married and living with spouse) to qualify for Extra Help with Medicare prescription drug costs. The resource

limits shown on the application include a $1,500 per person exclusion for burial purposes. Resources include the value of the things you own, such as real estate (other than the place you live), cash, bank accounts, stocks, bonds, and retirement accounts like IRAs or 401ks. There are exceptions. To learn more, go to www.socialsecurity.gov and visit the Medicare link. Or call us at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778).

Social Securit y Q&AQ:

A: SWWS

SWWS