Dutchess County Office for the Aging’s
AGING NEWS
For the week of July 3, 2017
Note: the Dutchess County Office for the Aging will be closed for the Independence Day holiday on Tuesday, July 4. Our Senior Walking Groups that meet on Tuesdays will also be taking the 4th off. Additionally, there’s no Senior Picnic this week; the next one is on Wednesday, July 12 for residents of the towns of Hyde Park and Clinton, at Fran Mark Park in Salt Point. Call us at (845) 486-2555 to find out more about volunteering or attending.
Golden Living . . . News for Senior Citizens
Todd N. Tancredi, Director
Dutchess County Office for the Aging
SUMMER NEWSLETTER AVAILABLE
The summer 2017 edition of the Office for the Aging’s quarterly newsletter Spotlight on Seniors is now available. It features the remaining Senior Picnic schedule, pictures from the Celebration of Aging that took place this past spring, and details on upcoming Office for the Aging events including the USA Party in September, the Senior Prom in October, and the Senior Seminars in November. You can see the newsletter online at:
If you would like to become a regular subscriber to the Spotlight on Seniors and our weekly Aging News email, send a request tobjones@dutchessny.gov. If you already subscribe to the Aging News, you should have already received it. Check your email’s spam folder to be sure an oversensitive spam filter didn’t send your Spotlight to the wrong destination, and do the same to be sure you’re getting the Aging News. We send the Aging News out every Monday morning to help provide that extra “oomph” you might need to get the week underway.
If you don’t have internet access, you can request a copy of the Spotlight to be mailed by calling the office at (845) 486-2555.
OFA SPEAKS YOUR LANGUAGE
Speaking a foreign language can often be a burden for an elderly resident who is looking for assistance. In many cases, the senior in question is a recent arrival in the United States, joining her descendants who emigrated to the U.S. generations earlier. At the Dutchess County Office for the Aging, we use a service called Language Line to ensure we can properly assist non-English-speaking and limited-English-speaking seniors, caregivers and others. Language Line offers translators in over 35 different languages.
When someone whose primary language is not English calls or stops by our office, we ask him or her to let us know what language they feel most comfortable speaking. We then set up a conference call with an interpreter who can translate the conversation for both parties. All conversations are held in the strictest confidence.
Non-English-speaking residents may also find assistance through our website, www.dutchessny.gov. Users can translate every page on the website into languages ranging from Afrikaans to Zulu – 103 languages in all. On the top right side of any page on our website, you will find a button that says “Select Language.” Click it and a menu will be displayed, from which you can pick the language of your choice. All text on the page will be translated into the selected language. Please help us spread the word about these two helpful services to any non-English speaking residents or groups with whom you may associate, and encourage them to get in touch with us with any follow-up questions.
Golden Living is prepared by the Dutchess County Office for the Aging, 27 High Street, Poughkeepsie, New York 12601, telephone (845) 486-2555, email: ofa@dutchessny.gov website: www.dutchessny.gov/aging
Upcoming Office for the Aging events and presentations:
Tue 7/4 – Office for the Aging closed (federal holiday)
Tue 7/11, 9 a.m. – Senior Walking Group (Poughkeepsie), weather permitting
Meet at the Washington St. entrance to the Walkway over the Hudson
Walkers step off at 9 a.m. sharp every Tuesday
Call (845) 486-2555 for more information or to form your own group
Mon 8/7, 2 p.m. – “Successful Aging” at Pawling Library
11 Broad St., Pawling
With OFA outreach coordinator Brian Jones
(845) 486-2555 for more information
Thu 8/17, 1 p.m. – “Successful Aging” at North East-Millerton Library
75 Main St., Millerton
With OFA outreach coordinator Brian Jones
(845) 486-2555 for more information
Tue 9/12, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. – USA Parties
At all Office for the Aging Senior Friendship Centers
(845) 486-2555 for more information
Mon 10/16, 12 noon – The Senior Prom
“School Days”
Villa Borghese, 70 Widmer Rd., Wappingers Falls
Details and signup form in the upcoming fall Spotlight on Seniors (not out yet!)
To request an Office for the Aging presentation for your senior, social and/or civic group, get in touch with outreach coordinator Brian Jones at(845) 486-2555 or bjones@dutchessny.gov. All you need provide is a venue that’s accessible and open to the public, and a space to set up a projector and screen. Keep in mind that until the end of August, most of our Wednesdays are occupied with Summer Senior Picnics.
We feature presentations on Successful Aging, Office for the Aging services, a wide range of topics related to nutrition, and more!
WANTED: RHINEBECK-AREA HOME DELIVERED MEALS VOLUNTEERS
As the Office for the Aging expands its Home Delivered Meals program to include Friday deliveries countywide, we’re in need of volunteers who can deliver those meals on Fridays (and other weekdays as needed). Right now we’re in the process of adding Friday delivery to our Home Delivered Meals program in Rhinebeck, so if you’re available there to help the Home Delivered Meals program in Rhinebeck on Fridays, call us at (845) 486-2555or email nbhargava@dutchessny.gov.
If you can volunteer on any weekday elsewhere in the county, we’d also love to hear from you. We’re aiming to cover the entire county as quickly as we can find volunteers and would like to have the entire county covered, five days a week, by August.
MRC PRESENTS “YOU ARE THE HELP UNTIL HELP ARRIVES”
The Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) of Dutchess County will present “You Are the Help until Help Arrives,” a training program that teaches basic, immediate life-saving skills, on Thursday, July 13th, at 7 p.m., at the Dutchess County Department of Emergency Response, 392 Creek Road in Poughkeepsie. The training is free and open to the public, but registration prior to the event is required at (845) 486-2493 or jryan@dutchessny.gov.
The program will be led by a trained registered nurse and MRC volunteer, and is part of a nationwide effort to train the average citizen on the few simple steps they can take to give an injured person the best chance of survival until professional responders arrive.
The Medical Reserve Corps of Dutchess County is part of a national network of more than 200,000 volunteers dedicated to supporting public health infrastructure as well as disaster preparedness and response in the community. Both medical professionals and non-medical volunteers are needed.
MEDICAID EDUCATION AT ST. SIMEON
Learn about Medicaid eligibility as it relates to long term care, with a free educational program coming up on Thursday, June 13 from 2:30 to 4:00 p.m. at St. Simeon Apartments (9 Hilltop Ct., Poughkeepsie), presented by Maureen White, regional manager with Hamaspik Choice. Reserve a spot at this free presentation by calling (845) 483-5551.
The events is presented with help from MidHudson Regional Licensed Home Care, with funding coming in part from the U.S. Administration on Aging, the New York State Office for the Aging, and the Dutchess County Office for the Aging.
Other senior news online:
The National Institute of Health’s senior-health website is going dormant in August, but is providing alternatives. More here: https://nihseniorhealth.gov/
A belated happy 110th birthday to former longtime Amenia and Millerton resident Florence Carroll, now living just over the state line:http://tricornernews.com/node/51490
Former longtime Hudson Valley congressman and assemblyman Maurice Hinchey is suffering from a terminal neurological disorder, his family says:http://www.dailyfreeman.com/general-news/20170627/maurice-hinchey-former-congressman-has-terminal-neurological-disorder-family-announces
A new (new to us, anyway) decluttering trick involves taking pictures of the things you know you should part with but haven’t yet been able to:https://phys.org/news/2017-06-scientists-clever-de-clutter-home.html
Cognitive benefits of delayed retirement? http://www.nextavenue.org/working-longer-keeping-brain-sharp/
Another good exercise for mid-life and beyond…tightrope-walking? http://www.nextavenue.org/tightrope-walking/
Fred Staton: 102 years old and the world’s oldest working jazz musician! https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/29/nyregion/fred-staton-jazz-saxophonist-plays-on.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fnyregion
Interested in the solar eclipse crossing the US on August 21? Here’s the interactive map that’ll cover things. Depending on where you are in Dutchess, the sun will be between 67% and 69% obscured: http://xjubier.free.fr/en/site_pages/solar_eclipses/TSE_2017_GoogleMapFull.html
(Another eclipse will be ALMOST total for Dutchess on April 8, 2024…but we’d better take care of ourselves if we want to enjoy the next total eclipse that actually passes over Dutchess – it’s not until May 1, 2079. A little after 6:00 a.m., so set your alarms.)
This week in senior birthdays:
7/3: Apollo 17 astronaut/former senator Harrison Schmitt (82)
7/4: Playwright/screenwriter Neil Simon (90)
7/5: Singer/songwriter Huey Lewis (67)
7/6: The Dalai Lama (82)
7/7: Trumpet player/conductor Doc Severinsen (90 and still touring! http://www.docseverinsen.com/events)
7/8: Actress/director Anjelica Huston (66)
7/9: Author Dean Koontz (72)
Brian Jones
Outreach Coordinator
Dutchess County Office For the Aging
27 High Street
Poughkeepsie NY 12601
Phone: (845) 486-2555 Fax: (845) 486-2571
Email: bjones@dutchessny.gov
