Director’s Update. By Beth Lay
Photo above: Seneca elders: Bessie Young & Viola Lay, Photo by: Alyssa Snyder, Seneca Media
Happy Spring! We hope you are well and enjoying the longer and brighter days. Although our centers have been closed, the AOA staff and offices have been very busy this past winter providing meals, support, and services to our elders. We look forward to reopening and welcoming you back when public health guidelines allow. Nya:wëh to everyone who completed our reopening survey. Those responses will help the Council and Executives determine the best and safest way to reopen our centers. Once a Reopening Plan has been finalized, we will share it with you immediately. Please know that your wellness and safety are a top priority for the AOA staff.
March Community Impact Numbers:
• 5,194 meals delivered
• 33 emergency home repairs
• 3 elders received free legal services
• 14 new Personal Emergency Response Systems distributed
• 14 elders served through NY Connects.
Personal Emergency Response Unit (PERs unit)
A PERs Unit, also known as a Personal Emergency Response System, lets you call for help in an emergency by pushing a button. Transmitters are light-weight, battery-powered devices that can be worn around your neck, on a wristband or belt, or in your pocket. When you need help, you press the transmitter’s help button and the console will automatically dial one or more emergency numbers.
ERs Units are available to individuals 60 and over, who have been assessed by our case managers, and who have a diagnosis or physical condition that places them at high risk for falls. The PERs units available through the Seneca Nation AOA offer many benefits and added features including:
• GPS location tracking
• fall detection
• waterproof transmitters that can be worn while bathing
• lockbox feature for spare key in the event of an emergency.
For more information or to find out if you are eligible to receive a PERs unit, please contact:
• Cattaraugus Case Manager – Shantel Burning, 716-532-5777
• Allegany Case Manager – Teresa Redeye, 716-945-8990
New Staff
Briana Snyder – NY Connects Options Counselor. Briana provides personalized counseling to help callers make informed decisions and assists callers in accessing available services.
Teresa Redeye, RN – EISEP Case Manager. Teresa ensures clients receive appropriate services that meet their needs.
Cheryl Pierce – Head Cook. Cheryl plans and prepares nutritious and delicious meals for elders.
Melissa Shaw – Outreach Coordinator. Melissa coordinates marketing, communications and outreach services for the AOA.
Sheila Jones-Kettle – Respite worker. Sheila provides respite and support to elders and their families.
Calling All Book Lovers
Did you know that the Seneca Nation’s Cattaraugus and Allegany Libraries are offering curbside delivery? Call your library to request books by your favorite author or a movie to enjoy at home. Then schedule a time to pickup your items, between 10am-2pm Monday through Friday. When you or your loved one arrive for pickup, call the library and they will bring your items out to your car. If you don’t have a library card, you can sign up for one when you arrive. The staff can bring the form right to your car.
Cattaraugus Library- 716-532-9449
Allegany Library- 716-945-3157
Exercise to Help Older Adults who are Isolated at Home
While physical isolation is essential to mitigate the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), the painful irony is that it creates potentially devastating problems, including sustained sedentary behavior and excessive sitting for older adults under total lock-down, especially in assisted living, memory care, and retirement communities.
Dr. James Levine, Mayo clinic professor of medicine, famously said, “Sitting is more dangerous than smoking, kills more people than HIV and is more treacherous than parachuting. We are sitting ourselves to death.”
With no end in sight to the lock-down, many older adults have been and will continue to be confined to their rooms for weeks or even months. The irony is that in order to stay safe from getting the virus, older adults are becoming more vulnerable to disease progression, falls and cognitive decline from spending virtually all day sitting down.
While prolonged and sustained sitting is potentially hazardous for anyone, it is exponentially so for older adults related to a myriad of health problems, including: immune system decline, muscle wasting, osteoarthritis, fall frequency, fragile skin, heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, chronic pain, and anxiety and depression.
The good news is that older adults can reduce their risk of harm simply by getting up a few times a day.
www.seniorhealthteam.com
