Dutchess County Office for the Aging’s AGING NEWS For the week of December 14th

Dutchess County Office for the Aging’s

AGING NEWS

For the week of December 14th

Note: the Office for the Aging (OFA) will be closed for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays on Friday, December 25th and Friday, January 1st. Clients of our Home Delivered Meals (HDM) program will receive their meals for those days in advance of the holidays.

OFA will be open for regular business all other weekdays – but keep in mind that in-person visitation is limited by pandemic restrictions, and many of your questions can be answered while you remain safe at home, by calling (845-486-2555) and/or emailing (ofa@dutchessny.gov).

Golden Living . . . News for Seniors, Their Families and Caregivers

Todd N. Tancredi, Director

Dutchess County Office for the Aging

At the Office for the Aging, we do the best we can to anticipate the needs and concerns of seniors and caregivers throughout Dutchess County; and when it comes to anticipation, a line from a Golden Living column from 2018 really hit the mark:

“Bad news has a way of showing up before the conversation ever happens.”

This year, the bad news showed up, in the form of a deadly virus.

By “conversation,” we had been referring to the time when a senior’s adult children first notice that their parent is having trouble managing their independence, and how they can discuss that topic frankly, with a minimum of awkwardness.

If your senior family member has remained socially and mentally active while staying physically safe during the pandemic thus far, that’s a great accomplishment. It’s a sign that they’re mastering a key aspect of aging gracefully: learning to accept help gracefully. It’s impressive, given that the pandemic had not been on anybody’s calendar at this time last year.

If you’re the senior in question, and you’ve learned to adapt to the virus while also adapting to aging, and you’ve been working with your family to accomplish this…great job!

But if you’re the senior or the family members who are wondering how you’ll be able to hold things together over the winter, please get in touch with the Office for the Aging with any questions you’re prepared to ask. Chances are there will be additional questions that haven’t come to mind yet. That’s to be expected.

And what if you don’t know where to begin? Not a problem. The main point is that you’re seeking solutions. To get started on a plan, look at later life’s biggest challenges:

  • Whether to retrofit a familiar home to meet seniors’ evolving living situations, or to move into a new home with senior-friendly design features, also known as universal design;
  • Whether to restrict driving, and whether to give up the car keys altogether;
  • When to get help with health care decisions;
  • What level of informal (unpaid) and formal (paid) in-home care is needed, and who’s available to provide that care, keeping in mind that the pandemic has exacerbated the existing shortage of home aides;
  • When to turn over household financial decisions and bill-paying to a trustworthy third party.

It’s not necessary to have answered all those questions right away. To have considered the questions in the first place means you’ve started on a journey to a plan with which everybody is comfortable.

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

ELECTRIC BILL HELP IN NORTHEASTERN DUTCHESS

The North East Community Center, in collaboration with United Way of the Dutchess-Orange Region, is again offering a limited number of winter Utility Vouchers for qualifying households in northeastern Dutchess County.

Eligible households must be a resident of the Webutuck Central School District, which covers part or all of the towns of Amenia, Dover, North East, Stanford and Washington, along with the Village of Millerton. Priority goes to low-income households with household members under age 6 or over 65. Call (518) 789-4259 ext. 103 to see if you qualify to receive a $50 credit towards your electric bill.

            More information is available at www.neccmillerton.org.

WEBINAR – RECOVERY AFTER COVID (RSVP BY TUE 12/15)

Join Dr. Albert Riddle, Medical Director at The Pines at Poughkeepsie Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation and head of the Center’s Post COVID-19 Recovery Program, for an in-depth discussion on the long-term effects of COVID-19. This live webinar, hosted by Dr. Riddle and in collaboration with the Pines’ clinical and rehabilitation team, will explore patient management for better outcomes.

The live webinar takes place on Thursday, December 17, from 4:00 – 5:00 p.m.

RSVP via email to scerbone@nathealthcare.com or call 845-454-7945. Once you RSVP you’ll receive a link for the webinar.

Other aging news online:

11 ways to help prevent Alzheimer’s and dementia: https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/11-ways-to-prevent-alzheimers-according-to-doctors/ss-BB1bGkv7?ocid=se

Watch out for “junk” health insurance plans that don’t deliver what they appear to promise: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/12/03/941620737/think-your-health-care-costs-are-covered-beware-the-junk-insurance-plan?utm_source=npr_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20201206&utm_term=5007223&utm_campaign=health&utm_id=2240363&orgid=298

How one home health aide in New York City spends her Sundays: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/04/nyregion/coronavirus-nyc-home-health-aide.html

A study finds brain and sensory differences in seniors who are susceptible to scams: https://keck.usc.edu/seniors-who-experience-financial-exploitation-show-brain-differences-poorer-sight-and-hearing/

You’ve got 11 minutes free, right? https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/02/well/move/exercise-sitting-longevity.html?surface=home-discovery-vi-prg&fellback=false&req_id=351653107&algo=identity&imp_id=907501700&action=click&module=Science%20%20Technology&pgtype=Homepage

A look back at 2020 for people over 55: https://www.nextavenue.org/lessons-from-the-resilience-of-older-adults-in-2020/

For the holidays, some healthy(ish) baked goods recipes: https://bit.ly/3gqUhzY

This week in senior birthdays:

12/12: Game show host/animal advocate Bob Barker (97)

12/13: Actor/singer/dancer Dick Van Dyke (95)

12/14: Tennis player Stan Smith (74)

12/15: Oldest living New York Yankee (and oldest living MLB player) Eddie Robinson (100) – here’s a link to a recent interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IHaV1xYs9w

12/16: Singer/songwriter Benny Andersson (Abba) (74)

12/17: Pope Francis (84)

12/18: Chef/author Jacques Pépin (85)

And here’s a Bad Joke to share with the little ones:

Q: How do trains hear?

A: With engine-ears!

Author: Harlem Valley News