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OACAO Conference: Aging issues for LGBT seniors Last month Comfort Life was fortunate to be a presenter and exhibitor at the Older Adult Centres’ of Ontario (OACAO) Conference in Ottawa. There were many great presentations to attend and so many wonderful people to meet—what an incredibly welcoming group! One of the presentations that got very good feedback was the one about aging [...] |
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2011 Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Conference The Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Conference is the foremost national conference in Canada focusing on hospice palliative care. The 2011 conference, Navigating Safe Pathways to Quality Hospice Palliative Care, will take place from September 8th-11th in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador at the Delta St. John’s Hotel and Conference Centre. The conference provides doctors, nurses, [...] |
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Use it or lose it Don’t holiday from exercise We all like holidays. It’s good to give yourself a break from routine. However, what happens when you have been working out regularly for about four months and then take a month off from your exercise routine? Researchers in Queensland, Australia designed a 20-week study of men in their 70s to [...] |
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How to buy a walk-in bathtub Walk-in bathtubs are becoming common and for those who still have the ability to walk into a bathtub, they are the “cat’s meow”. Nothing feels better than having a relaxing bath. It is more than getting clean; it relaxes the mind, soothes the muscles and offers relief. For those whose mobility is poor, bathing makes [...] |
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Research: Flexing the brain at Baycrest Pair a leading cognitive science institute with an innovation centre and you get Cogniciti, a new company devoted to brain fitness products. Launched last December, Cogniciti brings together the research expertise of Toronto’s Baycrest health science centre and the resources of MaRS, an organization that nurtures entrepreneurial ventures. The for-profit company extends the work of [...] |
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Getting Your Hands Dirty With the first hint of spring, activity fills the greenhouse at The Mulberry Retirement Residence in Burnaby, B.C. The Garden Club is back and they have seeds, earth and pots. Soon hanging baskets will be ready for the patio and the gazebo. “They do everything from scratch,” says Earl Bergen, general manager. Before too long, [...] |
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Moving to the Music Daren Swanson and Lisa Nicole are first-hand witnesses to the power of music. As Alchemy unplugged, the talented duo has played seven years for a variety of audiences, many at retirement residences in southern Ontario. “I love singing, playing guitar and making people feel good,” Swanson says. Their concerts for seniors include a wide variety [...] |
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Pilot project supports those with mild dementia As the average age of seniors living in MCF Housing’s supportive living lodges in Calgary increased from 80 to 86 over 10 years, so did the number of residents with mild dementia. All front-line staff of MCF Housing for Seniors were trained in recognizing and understanding dementia. However, recognizing it is one thing; being able [...] |
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Into the Pool for Massage Aquatic massage therapy at Riverside Court in New Brunswick Seniors can relax in the 96-degree therapy pool at Riverside Court Retirement Residence in Woodstock, N.B. They also have a registered massage therapist regularly on site. But even better, the therapist, Mary O’Leary, is also trained and approved to do aquatic massage therapy. An emerging alternative [...] |
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Working hard for fitness and fun High expectations and plenty of program choices help these independent residents stay well Two residents chatted over lunch; one was an enthusiastic swimmer and tennis player, the other interested in theatre and painting. But before they finished their crème brûlée, the athlete had agreed to come to a play reading and the creative resident had [...] |
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Wellness for your staff, too Healthy employees are more likely to perform well and make good role models Retirement residence managers are usually talking about seniors when they refer to their wellness program, but another group in the building should be fit and healthy too: the staff. Workplace wellness initiatives are an investment in the staff, a company’s most important [...] |
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Seriously, you need a laugh or two Once considered the domain of the insane, humour is finally being given its due. Despite its suspicious roots, humour can now be considered a universally available tonic, affordable to all and never in short supply. “Nobody ever died of laughter,” writer and caricaturist Max Beerbohm quipped. More than that, research over five decades suggests that [...] |
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A consistent vision for your community attracts clients The terms “active,” “wellness” and “independence” are frequently thrown around in the retirement residence industry these days. Yet achieving an atmosphere reflecting these concepts requires more than just offering tai chi classes or putting “heart smart” choices on the menu. Above all else, a prospective client’s perception of the wellness of your current resident population [...] |
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Keep Active Aging Week in Your Homes All Year Round Miniature golfing in the courtyard, hula dancers entertaining at lunch, bridge lessons in the library—it must be Active Aging Week. There is still time to pump up your fitness activities, launch new brain exercises, and promote some new health seminars. From Sept. 21 to 27, all kinds of organizations will be providing free activities: cooking [...] |
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When memory seems to be fading: Alzheimer’s and other cognitive decline Elizabeth has been a friendly, alert member of the residence community since she moved in four years ago. But lately she has been letting her mailbox fill up, coming down late to dinner and missing hair appointments — two in a row. Her family is uneasy and residence staff is too. Is Mrs. Jones just [...] |
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Preventing Falls Anyone who has seen an elderly client disappear between table and walker in the residence dining room doesn’t have to be told how important fall prevention is. And yet, the statistics remain grim. One in every three people over 65 years will have a fall this year; that’s nine times greater than those younger. Almost [...] |
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Active Living in Alberta In Vegreville, Alta., a group of older adults have been walking across Canada inside a gym, keeping track of their progress on a laminated map on the wall. Although they’ve received organizing support from a health team, the seniors who turn out each week open up the building, collect their $1 participant fee, and lead [...] |
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Norene’s Healthy Kitchen: Cookbook Review Norene’s Healthy Kitchen: Eat your way to good health Author: Norene Gilletz Published by: Whitecap Cookbooks can be used on many levels and Norene’s Healthy Kitchen has more layers than most. With 600 recipes, this is a delightful idea book for individuals preparing food for their family as well as those cooking for much larger [...] |
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Cerebral calisthenics: a look at brain fitness for seniors It’s not too late to retrain your brain, but listen to these researchers first. The real revolution rolling out toward retirement residences, the most life-altering shift for seniors, may not have much to do with architecture or amenities. It may depend more on how quickly we apply new research findings that suggest a way to [...] |
