Dutchess County Office for the Aging’s
AGING NEWS
For the week of February 4
Note: the Office for the Aging will be closed for two holidays in February:
- the Lincoln’s Birthday state holiday on Tuesday, February 12th;
- the President’s Day national holiday on Monday, February 18th.
Clients of our Home Delivered Meals program will receive shelf-stable meals in advance of each holiday.
Golden Living . . . News for Seniors, Their Families and Caregivers
Todd N. Tancredi, Director
Dutchess County Office for the Aging
WHY TRY TAI CHI?
You may have heard from friends about local tai chi classes, but perhaps you were a bit puzzled about what went on in the classes. Any confusion is understandable. Tai chi has been described both as “meditation in motion;” but in one of its earliest forms it was also a type of Chinese martial art, translated into English as “boundless fist” or “supreme ultimate pugilism.”
For the purposes of this column, I’ll focus on the meditative aspects of tai chi, along with the evidence-based benefits it can have on your health.
The positive effects of tai chi on balance and fall prevention have been widely researched. Tai chi is now generally accepted to be effective in improving balance and preventing falls. According to Harvard Medical School, it’s an exercise within the skill of just about everybody. Tai chi can even be adapted for people in wheelchairs and those who have recently undergone surgery.
In recognition of tai chi’s wide-ranging benefits, the federal government’s Administration for Community Living (ACL) has awarded a grant to New York State to make more tai chi classes available to older adults throughout the state.
Five volunteers from the Office for the Aging have completed training in the ACL’s recommended tai chi program. The program, called “Tai Chi for Arthritis and Fall Prevention,” is appropriate for older adults who wish to improve balance; reduce risk for falling; move with greater ease; and enjoy a healthier life in general.
Tai chi classes will begin soon, at two sites: one in Poughkeepsie in March, another in East Fishkill in April; as space is limited for the classes, their specific locations will be disclosed once a student is admitted. The one-hour classes will take place twice a week for eight weeks. After that, arrangements will be made for follow-up classes.
The OFA also offers “A Matter of Balance” and the Senior Exercise Program, both aimed at helping seniors reduce their risks for falling. We recommend that all seniors consider taking “A Matter of Balance,” following up with at least one of our two other exercise programs.
Contact the OFA now to apply for tai chi, “A Matter of Balance” or the Senior Exercise Program. Space is limited for tai chi and “A Matter of Balance.” Participants are admitted on a first come, first served basis.
Contact us also if you’re interested in volunteering for the Office for the Aging, in general. We have volunteer opportunities at our Poughkeepsie offices; at our eight Senior Friendship Centers around the county; in our Home Delivered Meals program; in our Health Insurance, Information and Counseling program (HIICAP), and at our summertime Senior Picnics.
Golden Living is prepared by the Dutchess County Office for the Aging, 114 Delafield St., Poughkeepsie, New York 12601, telephone (845) 486-2555, email: ofa@dutchessny.gov website: www.dutchessny.gov/aging
Office for the Aging upcoming events
Unless otherwise indicated, call (845) 486-2555 for more information
All events subject to unannounced schedule changes
Tue 2/5/19, 3:30 p.m. – Successful Aging
With OFA outreach coordinator Brian Jones
The Grand at River Valley, 140 Main St., Poughkeepsie
Space limited; contact jreece@thegrandhealthcare.com to register
More info at the following link: https://www.facebook.com/events/557987487944655/
Thu 2/7/19, 11:30 a.m. – Senior Pedestrian Safety
With Emily Dozier, Senior Planner, Dutchess County Transportation Council…and Brian Jones, OFA outreach coordinator
Town of Poughkeepsie Senior Center, 14 Abe’s Way
Tue 2/19/19, 1:00 p.m. – Scam Prevention
With OFA outreach coordinator Brian Jones
Beulah Baptist Church, 92 Catharine St., Poughkeepsie
Sat 3/16/19, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. – LaGrange Association Library volunteering event
With OFA outreach coordinator Brian Jones
488 Freedom Plains Rd. (Route 55) #109
www.laglib.org or (845) 452-3141 for information
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 your group needs to provide is a venue that’s wheelchair-accessible and open to the public, with space to set up a projector and screen. We have our own projector and screen – but if you have those, let us know.
We feature presentations on Successful Aging, Office for the Aging services, Medicare/Medicaid, scam prevention, senior housing, a wide range of topics related to nutrition, and more!
MEDICAL RESERVE CORPS SEMINAR SERIES
If you’ve been to one of our summertime Senior Picnics, you’ve seen the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) of Dutchess County in action, helping the hundreds of seniors at each picnic with free blood pressure screenings and many other services.
The MRC offers a FREE seminar series each month at locations throughout Dutchess County. Seating at the seminars is limited, so pre-registration is required by emailing MRC coordinator Joe Ryan: jryan@dutchessny.gov.
There are two seminars left on the schedule at present:
PSYCHOLOGICAL FIRST AID (WASSAIC)
Saturday, February 9th 10 AM (Eastern Dutchess)
Psychological First Aid (PFA) aims to reduce stress symptoms and assist in a healthy recovery following a traumatic event, natural disaster, public health emergency, or even a personal crisis. This training is especially helpful for first responders, but everyone can benefit from its concepts. The training will be led by Amy Nitza, Ph.D., LMHC, Director of the Institute for Disaster Mental Health at SUNY New Paltz. at the Dutchess County Department of Emergency Response, at the Wassaic Fire House, 27 Firehouse Road in Wassaic.
NEW MEMBER ORIENTATION
Thursday, February 7th 6PM
Learn how to become a volunteer member of the Dutchess MRC, what is required of you and what missions you can participate in. This training is open to the public and will take place at the Dutchess County Department of Emergency Response, 392 Creek Road in Poughkeepsie.
Other aging news online:
The Office for the Aging’s anti-scam presentations include a section on “phishing,” which is defined as any fraudulent attempt to get email users to divulge personal or financial information. We’ve discovered quite a few very good phishing-detection quizzes around the internet that’ll help you learn how to tell phish from fowl (so to speak). Below is one such test, from Google. If you give it a try, let us know how it goes. We’d like to see how savvy our senior computer users are! All replies will be kept confidential: https://phishingquiz.withgoogle.com/
An editorial in the Deseret News (Utah) points out that the issue of seniors aging alone is becoming increasingly significant: https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900052854/in-our-opinion-america-is-aging-alone-thats-a-problem.html
(Infographic) Ways for caregivers to stay connected, from the National Institute of Health: https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/infographics/stay-connected-combat-loneliness-and-social-isolation?utm_source=NIA+Main&utm_campaign=390bdb6c75-20190131_lonelinessIG&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_ffe42fdac3-390bdb6c75-7728681
Because of the recent federal government shutdown, SNAP benefits for February were delivered early…which means a longer wait for March benefits, which are expected to arrive at their usual time. More here: https://m.timesunion.com/business/article/SNAP-recipients-face-long-wait-before-March-13574744.php?cmpid=fbsocialflow&fbclid=IwAR2T-eiQpoEjOrOqUpK9oZRhh0vq_RRkE8J01h1zcA741tEY1_frR-UWB3M
This week in senior birthdays:
2/4: Former vice president Dan Quayle (72)
2/5: Baseball Hall of Famer Henry Aaron (85)
2/6: Journalist/author Tom Brokaw (79)
2/7: Journalist/author Gay Talese (87)
2/8: Journalist Ted Koppel (79)
2/9: Singer/songwriter Carole King (77)
2/10: Opera legend Leontyne Price (92)
And the Bad Joke to wrap it all up:
Accordion to a recent survey, inserting musical instruments into sentences tends to go unnoticed.
Brian Jones
Outreach Coordinator
Dutchess County Office For the Aging
NEW ADDRESS
114 Delafield St., Poughkeepsie NY 12601
