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April 10, 2021

The Talbot Spy

The nonprofit e-newspaper for the Talbot County Community

Senior Nation Senior Notes

Londonderry on the Tred Avon Named “Best Retirement Community” and “Best Place to Work”

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Londonderry on the Tred Avon is pleased to announce that it has been named the “Best Retirement Community” and “Best Place to Work” in the Star Democrat’s 2020 Reader Approved Contest for the second year in a row.

Londonderry was first nominated by community members for the recognition, and then Star Democrat readers and as well as the general public had the opportunity to vote for their preferred businesses, vendors and organizations in a variety of categories.

“Our residents and our entire team are thrilled to be recognized by our friends and neighbors,” said Rachel Smith, Sales and Marketing Director. “It’s been a tough year, and we have all worked hard to keep our residents and staff safe and healthy while maintaining some sense of ‘normal.’ This year more than most, we are all incredibly thankful to live and work where we do.”

About Londonderry on the Tred Avon

Londonderry on the Tred Avon is an intimate residential cooperative community for adults ages 62+, offering a variety of housing options from convenient apartments to spacious cottages among 29 acres, including 1500 feet of waterfront shoreline. For more information, visit www.londonderrytredavon.com.

Punch out Parkinson’s Disease: A Coach’s Perspective

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Just as exercise is touted to be beneficial for young and old alike, it has also been proven to be especially beneficial to those with Parkinson’s Disease (PD). This neurodegenerative brain disease is characterized by various movement disorders including tremors, rigidity, stiffness, slowness of movement, poor balance, stooped posture, a shuffling gait and periodic freezing.

The Parkinson’s Foundation specifically recommends at least 2.5 hours of vigorous exercise per week, which can improve balance, flexibility and inflammation. It has also been shown to improve neuroplasticity, the brain’s own way to adapt to changes. It is a natural re-education of the neurons to modify messages received by the brain. Learning new exercises, like learning a new language or mastering puzzles, are all techniques used by those who are aging, as well as those with neurological conditions like Parkinson’s.

Forced Intense Exercise is proven to be the best way to slow PD symptom progression and create these new pathways to the brain.  Rock Steady Boxing (RSB) is a perfect example of this prescribed intense movement.  It is a non-contact fitness program designed specifically for people with PD.  Founded in 2006 by a young onset patient who wanted to challenge his disease, its origin comes from his personal regimen designed by a boxing trainer.

Why boxing?  According to RSB national headquarters, “Boxers condition for optimal agility, speed, muscular endurance, accuracy, hand-eye coordination, footwork and overall strength to defend against and overcome opponents. At RSB, Parkinson’s Disease is the opponent. Exercises vary in purpose and form but share one common trait: they are rigorous and intended to empower people with PD to fight back.” Besides being fun and socially engaging, the program has other reported benefits including increased independence and confidence as well as the many physical improvements.  By the way, the RSB logo of the Statue of Liberty embellished with a boxing glove, was RSB’s founder (Steve Newman) idea: “The inscription on the statue combined with the hope she symbolizes echoed his dream that Rock Steady Boxing would be the beacon of light and hope for those suffering from Parkinson’s disease.”

In order to bring this awesome program to the shore, a partnership was formed between the YMCA of the Chesapeake (Wendy Palmer, YMCA Associate Executive Director); 360 Strong (Lynn Sutton, Owner and RSB Coach); Maryland Assoc. for Parkinson’s Support & the Wells Foundation (coordinator Jack Harrald) and Bayleigh Chase-Acts Retirement Community (Me-Susan Covey, Fitness Director and RSB Coach).  Our group created two Rock Steady Boxing classes offered live pre-COVID at the Y@Washington St. and in Grasonville.  We are currently hosting our classes on Zoom, free of charge to participants twice a week!

Those of us who have become coaches are trained professionals with a clear understanding of PD.  We work with our boxers on specific skills to improve footwork, coordination and strength.  We understand the hesitation some participants may feel and the limitations before beginning a workout program. But, as coaches, we stress the positivity of commitment and emphasize how stretching, strength building and agility all help with motor control and with building those new brain connections to help slow the disease progression.

Personally speaking, as one of the coaches for our local RSB class, I can think of an endless number of adjectives to describe my boxers, my everyday heroes… those who deal with the degenerative disorder of Parkinson’s Disease. Here are just a few:  strong, focused, tenacious, dedicated, supportive, positive, hopeful and fun-loving!

If you are living with Parkinson’s Disease and are looking for a program which addresses all facets of exercise, that will give you social interaction (yes, even on Zoom!), teach you to walk better, fall better, get up and down more safely, increase your body’s rotational abilities, help with your voice activation and give you an opportunity to punch out Parkinson’s and have fun doing it, RSB is the answer! Please contact feel free to contact me at susan.covey@actslife.org for more information.

Susan Covey is the Rock Steady Boxing Coach and Fitness Director for Bayleigh Chase, an Acts Retirement Community.

 

New Dixon House Residents are Neighbors Once Again

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L-R: New Dixon House residents Karaleen Councell, age 87, and Anne Wheatley, age 89.

When Karaleen Councell, age 87, and Anne Wheatley, age 89, lived on neighboring farms in Matthewstown, halfway between Denton and Easton, the two women arranged gatherings between the two families and socialized regularly. Each of them had four children of roughly the same ages. The adults often played cards together and had New Year’s Eve parties every year. They never dreamed they would retire to The Dixon House in Easton within a month of one another – rekindling their friendship and bringing their families together once again.

According to Pam Sard, Karaleen Councell’s daughter, “They wink at each other now when they see each other.”

Marti Wright, Anne Wheatley’s daughter adds, “They hadn’t seen each other in several years because of the illnesses of both of their spouses and because of their developing dementia.  Both were married to their husbands for 60 years or more. Now they eat together every day, do crafts together, and giggle about the old times just like they did when they were younger.”

Both Sard and Wright reminisce about the families’ time together when they were young. While the children attended different schools in Easton – the Councell children went to Talbot County Public Schools, while the Wheatley children went to Sts. Peter and Paul, they still got together regularly. After the Wheatleys moved to Easton during their older children’s high school years and the Councells sold their dairy cows in the 70s, time was then freed up in the summer months for the families to take the children on camping trips together to places like Frontiertown near Ocean City, Seaside Camp Resort near Bethany Beach, Delaware, and even Chincoteague, Virginia for the annual Pony Swim.

Sard states that her grandmother was at Dixon House and Wright’s parents were friends with a couple who lived at Dixon House, so both families were familiar with the surroundings. The Dixon House’s original purpose at the turn of the century when it was founded was “to provide a comfortable and affordable home for senior women.”

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, however, both families were hesitant to move their mothers for fear of not seeing them during the stay-at-home orders. In the end, though, both agree that it was the best decision they could have made for keeping their loved ones safe during the pandemic.

Sard comments, “We wanted our mother to be active and The Dixon House offered that. She is thriving here. She feels she is contributing by helping to organize social gatherings like in the old days, which makes her happy.”

Wright adds, “The caregivers here have been amazing and our mom is well taken care of. She was an avid gardener and was even able to help plant and tend the flowers on the front porch at The Dixon House after she arrived.”

Just to be sure they always have a place to chat, the Councells added an extra chair in Karaleen’s room for Anne so the two can visit whenever they want. The Wheatleys hope to do the same in Anne’s room.

Londonderry on the Tred Avon Welcomes Trippe, Tanner to Board of Directors

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Londonderry on the Tred Avon is pleased to welcome Sam Trippe and Dan Tanner to its Board of Directors. The Board of Directors is comprised of residents and community members who volunteer their time to provide guidance and strategic direction to the cooperative and its management team. The Resident Directors are elected by their fellow Londonderry community members.

“Sam and Dan are great additions to the Londonderry Board of Directors,” said Irma Toce, Londonderry CEO. “Their professional, volunteer and leadership experience in Talbot County and beyond are an asset to our entire team.”

Londonderry on the Tred Avon welcomes Sam Trippe and Dan Tanner as new board members.

Sam Trippe has been a Londonderry resident since 2016. Sam is a graduate of the Naval Academy and ended his service as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps. Following his time in the military, he had a 32-year career as an engineer and administrator for the 3M Company before retiring to Easton in 1995. Sam and his wife, Rosemary, have five children and nine grandchildren. Sam has been deeply involved in the Talbot County Community, having served on the boards of the Chesapeake Maritime Museum, the USNA Alumni Association Eastern Shore Chapter and Heath Integrity.

Dan Tanner retired from the US Government with 39 years of service, including four years of active duty in the U.S. Army, followed by a career with the National Security Agency (NSA). He currently serves as a trustee of the Knight of Columbus Regina Coeli Council and is also active with the St. Vincent DePaul Society, Saints Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church and the Memorial Hospital in Easton. At Londonderry, he was on the Finance Committee for seven years and is the community’s Official Bingo Caller, a writer for Londonderry’s monthly newsletter, “The Tred Avon Times,” and one of the original members of the Londonderry Jammers choral group.

About Londonderry on the Tred Avon

Londonderry on the Tred Avon is an intimate residential cooperative community for adults ages 62+, offering a variety of housing options from convenient apartments to spacious cottages among 29 acres, including 1500 feet of waterfront shoreline. For more information, visit www.londonderrytredavon.com.

A Merger to Better Serve Talbot County Seniors Aging in Place

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For many years now, the Spy has been covering the growing trend in Talbot County to support seniors aging in place. As its elderly population grows, and as more individuals decide to stay in their existing homes, several organizations were created to help serve their needs.

Locally, Talbot Village Connections, which transitioned into the Maryland Community for Life program a few years ago, established a unique resource of seniors needing transportation, handyman jobs, and other special needs, and provided those services for a modest monthly fee. At the same time, Partners in Care, another state organization, provided a volunteer-driven program will similar services for Talbot and Caroline Counties.

Both organizations have had notable successes in the region, but they were frequently asked by participants, and more importantly, grant-makers, what the differences were between the two.

The answer was minimal, and the good news is that these two organizations are now merging. This month, both groups’ leaders will be combining resources, members, and volunteer leadership to become one central program.

The Spy talked to both Lee Lynch Newcomb, at the Talbot County Department of Social Services, and a board member of Community for Life MD – Talbot and Mandy Arnold, the president of the state’s Partners In Care, to learn more.

This video is approximately three minutes in length. For more information about the newly formed Partners in Care – Community for Life program, please call 410-443-0760 or go here.

Back on Track: The Key to Lasting Mobility and Independence are Strong Thighs

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The quadriceps or “quads,” a group of the four largest muscles in your body, are located in the front of your thighs running from the hips to the knees.  It is of utmost importance to keep these muscles strong since they are essential for ambulation and maintaining independence.

This muscle group works to extend the knee and is also active in flexing the hip.  The quads play a huge role in walking, since they are responsible for swinging the leg forward as you take a step.  They also play a primary role in actions such as getting up from a chair, out of a car, out of a tub and climbing stairs.  Strong quads contribute to the balance and stability of your upright body.  For instance, you are less likely to stumble if your quadriceps are strong; and if you do stumble or experience any sudden change in momentum, your quads help you to maintain and prevent falls and injuries.

The condition of your quads also plays a major role in your knee health as they are the stabilizers of the knee joint and can help support and reduce stress to arthritic knees.  Strong quads protect your back when you bend down to pick something up; while if they are weak, you are more likely to use the muscles of your back rather than your legs to help you lift.  This significantly increases the likelihood that you will bend at the spine instead of the knees, which increases your chance of a back strain.

There are number of exercises that strengthen the quads, but it’s extremely important to do them correctly using proper form in order to achieve the desired results.  It is essential to maintain good alignment of the joints, meaning you need to make sure your hips, knees and ankles all stay lined up as you move.  This is especially significant to those with arthritic joints.  Be aware of the position of your kneecaps as you move.  They should be pointing forward, not pointing out.

If you have osteoporosis or poor balance, be sure you have something stable to hold onto whenever you attempt these exercises.  The ultimate goal is to be able to do these exercises without holding on, but always have support available if you need it.

  1. Chair sit-to-stands:  Sit in a sturdy chair and cross your arms over your chest.  Stand up, pause then return to a seated position.  Repeat 10 times (or build up to this number if you’re unable at first).  Do 2-3 sets each day.
  2. Step-ups:  Standing in front of a step, bring one foot on the step and press through your whole foot to lift yourself up onto the step.  Keep ankle, knee and hip in line as you lift.  Then lower yourself back onto your other foot as you step down.  Repeat 10 times on each foot.  

Here’s to a Falless Fall!

Susan S. Covey is the director of Health and Fitness at Bayleigh Chase in Easton.

 

Senior Nation: After the Fall with Janet Pfeffer

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Unlike many who reach retirement age, former nonprofit executive Janet Pfeffer knew precisely what she wanted to do when she stepped down. Motivated in keeping herself in good physical shape, Janet thought the best way to achieve that goal was to become an exercise instructor herself. And in no time at all, she was hired by the YMCA of the Chesapeake to teach her fellow seniors the best way to keep an active lifestyle.

That was ten years ago, and since then, Janet reached such popularity that she added classes at the Londonderry retirement community and the Oxford Community Center. In addition, she hosted a series on the Spy entitled “A Fit Retirement,” where she interviewed her fellow exercise enthusiasts about their daily routines. With all these activities, Janet not only was maintaining her own health, but she was “self-actualizing” in a way unimaginable to her when she started this second life of hers.

But last year, something happened that changed all that. While walking with a friend, she took a misstep on the trail and fell. Unable to get back up, Janet immediately realized that a serious event had happened and soon afterward learned she had seriously broken her hip.

In her Spy interview, Janet talks about that experience and the gained perspective that resulted from the painful and, to her mind, humbling incident. She recounts those early days of shame stemming from the thought of a teacher of so many finding herself a victim of an accidental fall, but also remarkable resilience she saw in herself and the importance of her friends and support network that made it possible to come back stronger and more confident.

This video is approximately four minutes in length. Janet Pfeffer is back at work at the YMCA. For more information about her classes please go here.

Ask Irma: How’s Londonderry Doing with COVID at the Nine Month Point?

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As the Mid-Shore begins its ninth month in dealing with the COVID crisis, we once again ask Irma Toce, who runs Londonderry on the Tred Avon retirement community, how things are going during these difficult times.

Amazingly, Londonderry remains COVID-19 free. With its residents and staff’s active support, the community is considered one of the safest places to live and work. And yet, like what many are experiencing throughout the country, there remains the challenge of social isolation even within such a small and intimate place like the Tred Avon campus.

Irma gives us an update in the latest edition of “Ask Irma.”

This video is approximately two minutes in length. For more information about Londonderry on the Tred Avon please go here.

Senior Nation: Maryland Community For Life-Talbot to Merge with Partners in Care

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Maryland Community For Life-Talbot  announced today that it has entered into an agreement to merge CFL with Partners In Care’s Midshore CFL program.  The expected merger is scheduled for November 2020. The merged entities will become a CFL program to serve residents in Talbot and Caroline counties.  

Partners In Care (PIC), a private non-profit, 501(c) (3) organization headquartered in Pasadena, Maryland was established in 1993, and offers programs and services that support the independence of older adults in our communities.  Through a unique culture of exchange, PIC members volunteer their time and talents to help each other with neighborly services such as transportation, handyman repairs, person-centered support and social engagement.  In exchange, members tap into the network of volunteers to ask for assistance when needed.

“We look forward to the opportunities in Talbot County”, noted Partners In Care, CEO & President, Mandy Arnold. “This merger will expand our services to Talbot County and provide geographic diversification for our organization to support aging adults who want to continue to live independently.” 

“Partners In Care is a well-established organization with an excellent reputation with its members and volunteers.  We believe this merger will ensure the continued success and long-term sustainability of the CFL-Talbot program,” said Executive Director, Marion Donahue.

About Partners In Care

Partners In Care is a private non-profit, 501(c) (3) organization offering programs and services that support the independence of older adults in Anne Arundel, Talbot, Caroline, Frederick, and Washington Counties. For more information visit www.Partnersincare.org.    

PEARLS of Compassion: County Using Free New Program to Help Seniors

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While many in Talbot County are aware of a number of our seniors facing social isolation, depression, and malnutrition, the challenge for the County’s senior services is to reach out to this fragile population with an effective program that works. That was the primary reason that the highly-regarded PEARLS innovative initiative, first started at the University of Washington in the late 1990s, was adopted recently in Talbot County by Stacy Ewing, the Health Department’s Case Management & Program Coordinator. And since its inception, over forty elders and their families have used this unique service.

PEARLS, which stands for Program to Encourage Active, Rewarding Lives, is a free, short-term, home-based program to teach seniors tools to tackle the overwhelming issues in their lives effectively and to, in turn, improve their quality of life. By making home visits, County staff can work individually with each client to create small steps to address their isolation and, when needed, work with the program’s clinical psychologist to help determine medications that combat the depression and anxiety that typically comes with that form of loneliness.

The Spy talked to Stacy via Zoom last week to hear more about the program.

This video is approximately there minutes in length. For more information about PEARLS in Talbot County, please go here.