Dutchess County Office for the Aging’s
AGING NEWS
- Type 2 Diabetes and You
- Diabetes and the Brain
- Diabetes & Eye Health Seminar (7/28)
- FREE Shingles Vaccine Available
- Volunteers Drivers Needed in Pawling & Poughkeepsie
- Wings of Freedom Returns (8/21)
- La Guelaguetza Festival (8/2)
- Women’s Cancer Support Group Meeting (8/4)
- More Aging News Online
Golden Living . . . News for Senior Citizens
Mary Kaye Dolan-Anderson, Director
Dutchess County Office for the Aging
TYPE 2 DIABETES AND YOU
According to the American Diabetes Association, type 2 diabetes (or age-related diabetes) is the most common form of diabetes, especially among older adults. The condition is characterized by high blood glucose levels caused by either a lack of insulin or the body’s inability to use insulin efficiently. It develops most often in middle-aged and older adults but can also appear in younger people.
Insulin resistance may be linked to obesity, hypertension, and high levels of fat in the blood. This occurs most often in people with type 2 diabetes, but people with type 1 diabetes can have insulin resistance, as well. At first, the pancreas makes extra insulin to make up for it; but over time, your pancreas can’t make enough insulin to keep your blood glucose under control.
Type 2 is treated it with lifestyle changes, oral medications (pills), and insulin by injection or through use of an insulin pump. When glucose builds up in the blood instead of going into cells, it can cause two problems: Right away, your cells may be starved for energy. Over time, high blood glucose levels can cause damage to many areas of the body.
Some people with type 2 can control their blood glucose with healthy eating and being active. But, your doctor may need to also prescribe oral medications or insulin to help you meet your target blood glucose levels. Type 2 usually gets worse over time – even if you don’t need medications at first, you may need to later on. Some groups have a higher risk for developing type 2 diabetes than others, including African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, and Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders.
DIABETES AND BRAIN HEALTH
According to a study published this month in the journal Neurology, having type 2 diabetes is associated with greater impairment of blood flow to the brain and a sharper decline in mental acuity compared with non-diabetic people of similar age and health status.
At the end of the two-year study period, people with diabetes had greater declines in gray matter volume, composite scores on mental tests, and in rates of blood flow to the brain than those in the control group. They also had greater increases in blood measures of inflammation. Among the group with diabetes, those with more severe declines in cerebral blood flow had correspondingly greater declines on tests of mental skills.
DIABETES AND EYE HEALTH
Diabetes can also affect eye health. Dr. Daniel Brocks will lecture on the impact diabetes has on the eyes at 5 p.m. this Tuesday, July 28, as part of a monthly diabetes education series sponsored by the Vassar Brothers Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine Center.
The free lecture will last one hour and will be held in Conference Room B at Vassar Brothers Medical Center, 45 Reade Place in Poughkeepsie. Parking is free in the hospital’s visitor parking garage or attendees can use the free valet service. The series continues on the fourth Tuesday of every month. Next month will feature social worker Marion Levin on Aug. 25. For more information and to register to attend, call 845-431-2445.
Golden Living is prepared by the Dutchess County Office for the Aging, 27 High Street, Poughkeepsie, New York 12601, telephone 486-2555, email: agingservices@dutchessny.gov website:http://www.dutchessny.gov/CountyGov/Departments/Aging/AGIndex.htm
FREE SHINGLES VACCINE AVAILABLE
Anyone over the age of 60 can contact the Dutchess County Health Department for the Shingles vaccine (Zostavax) free of charge if they cannot afford it and their insurance doesn’t cover it. If you have an income of less than $43,000 per year, you qualify. If your insurance will not cover the vaccine, or your MD does not carry the vaccine, they can provide the vaccine. For more information, call Douglas Aucoin at 486-3514
Volunteer Drivers Needed
Volunteer Drivers are needed to deliver meals to the homebound elderly in the Pawling & Poughkeepsie areas on weekday mornings. Volunteers use their own car (mileage reimbursement available) to deliver meals on a route that takes about an hour. Most drivers work once or twice a week. For more information call the Office for the Aging at (845) 486-2555.
Wings of Freedom Tour Returns to Dutchess County Airport
Rare WWII Aircraft on Display August 21-23
Poughkeepsie… The Collings Foundation’s WINGS OF FREEDOM TOUR returns to the Dutchess County Airport on Friday, August 21st through Sunday, August 23rd. The tour features rare treasures of aviation history including the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress “Nine O Nine” WWII Heavy Bomber, Consolidated B-24 Liberator “Witchcraft” WWII Heavy Bomber and WWII P-51C Mustang dual-control fighter. The B-17 is one of only 8 in flying condition in the United States and the B-24J and Full Dual Control P-51C Mustang are the sole remaining examples of their type flying in the world.
Visitors to the airport will be provided a unique and rare opportunity to explore these aircrafts inside and out. Tour prices are $12 for adults and $6 for children under 12. WWII Veterans can tour through the aircraft at no cost. Discounted rates are also available for school groups. The WINGS OF FREEDOM TOUR hours are as follows:
Friday, August 21 from 2pm to 5pm
Saturday, August 22 from 9am to 5pm
Sunday, August 23 from 9am to 5pm
Visitors can also take advantage of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity by taking a 30-minute flight aboard these rare aircraft. Flights on either the B-17 or B-24 are $450 per person. P-51C flight training is available for $2,200 for a half hour and $3,200 for a full hour. For reservations and information on flight experiences, call 800-568-8924.
Click here to see the event flyer:
http://www.co.dutchess.ny.us/CountyGov/Departments/Airport/Wings_of_Freedom_Tour_2015.pdf
| Poughkeepsie Celebrates Oaxacan Traditions at7th Annual La Guelaguetza Festival – August 2nd |
La Guelaguetza is the most important festival in Oaxaca, a state in Southwestern Mexico. The Poughkeepsie festival, modeled after the Oaxacan Guelaguetza (gel-ah-GET-zah), is a vibrant display of folkloric dance, traditional Mexican and American food, and free activities for children. The festival will start at 1pm with a beautiful procession lead by la Diosa del Maíz (the Corn Goddess), introducing over fifty dancers representing groups hailing from NYC, Newburgh, Wappinger Falls, and Poughkeepsie, all dressed in authentic regional costumes. The program includes favorite dances such as Chinas oaxaqueñas, Pinotepa, Jarabe mixteco, Putla, Tehuantepec, Flor de Piña, and more. Presented in both English and Spanish, Poughkeepsie La Guelaguetza festival features the performances of Grupo Folclórico de Poughkeepsie, Grupo Génesis, Ballet Folklórico Mexicano de Nueva York, Grupo Danzantes Unidos de Newburgh, Zancudos de Zaachila, and Danza de la Pluma Zaachila. There will also be traditional banda music, and Tierra Linda playing traditional Oaxaca music.
When: Sunday, August 2nd, 1 to 7pm
Where: Waryas Park, Poughkeepsie
Admission: Free
For more updated information on the La Guelaguetza, please visit www.facebook.com/pokguelaguetza
WOMEN’S CANCER SUPPORT GROUP MEETING
Support Connections Inc. will host a support group session for women with breast, ovarian or gynecological cancers in August at:
- Vassar Brothers Medical Center: 10 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 4.
Preregistration for all groups is required. To register or learn more, women may call 1-800-532-4290.
