Senior Lifestyles
The Addison Independent • June 6, 2016
PAGE 2 — Senior
Lifestyles • Addison Independent, Monday, June 6, 2016
EastView residents are walking to San Francisco
The progress of EastView’s walking team is marked with a graphic showing hunched walkers plugging away at their goal. Starting from EastView’s doors, they are determined to reach San Francisco and are collectively tallying their steps recorded each day with pedometers to move that piece of paper steadily westward.
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By CHRISTY LYNN steps or their miles walked each day. MIDDLEBURY — Sometime around late To organize the data, Puterbaugh keeps a winter when it was dark and cold and tough spreadsheet on which each person (or group) to motivate herself to get enough exercise, has their own line and each day their steps EastView resident Holly Puterbaugh started and miles are calculated. Each person wears a thinking of creative ways to get herself pedometer or some kind of distance-measuring moving. device and sends their daily “I’m not too sure how the count to Puterbaugh for entry. idea came to me, but I knew I The “journey” It’s not an exact science needed a goal to get me to keep began on May 1 to translate steps into miles walking,” Puterbaugh said. traveled, or miles backwards with 14 people The idea was to walk to San (residents into steps taken, and Puterbaugh Francisco. Not literally, mind says they’ve done some as well as you, but to track the steps and rounding and estimating to miles walked each day and map EastView staff). simplify the spreadsheet, but the the progress until the goal was Participation point is to get people moving met. and to get people talking about has multiplied “I thought to myself, ‘I quickly and a collective goal, and by those can’t possibly do this alone,’” Holly Puterbaugh measures the effort has been Puterbaugh said. So she sent an hugely successful. email to EastView’s executive says she now In EastView’s lobby groups director, Brenda Schill, asking believes there are of residents gather to compare if it would be all right to present between 40 and how many steps they have it as a challenge to the whole 45 individuals walked that day and during EastView community. the short period of time during tracking their Permission was easily granted this interview several residents steps or their and Puterbaugh brought the idea stopped to ask Puterbaugh about to the activities committees and miles walked their progress. started getting people excited each day. A large map sits on an easel about the idea. in the entryway with their route The “journey” began on May 1 marked clearly and the status with 14 people (residents as well as EastView of their daily and weekly progress marked staff). Participation has multiplied quickly and with flags along the way. It’s the presiding Puterbaugh says she now believes there are conversation around dinner tables and has between 40 and 45 individuals tracking their (See Residents, Page 3)
Senior Lifestyles • Addison Independent, Monday, June 6, 2016 — PAGE 3
Residents (Continued from Page 2) the country and tell stories about a camping activated a friendly competition among trip here or a museum she visited there or a residents. cycling trip in the hills of her favorite national To motivate not just exercise, but park. conversation, Puterbaugh has labeled several Puterbaugh does still walk and hike more places along the route with historical, than many, however. Her daily count can geographical and cultural markers. Passersby vary from as low as 1,800 steps a day to stop to tell stories about memories of having over 15,000. She is part of the hiking club at traveled to or lived in these areas EastView and even has a goal to in their past, recounting stories complete all 18 miles of the Trail and recalling information and “To me this Around Middlebury (TAM) later meaning that they may have project is this fall. otherwise forgotten. While wearing a pedometer Noticing the placement of a concrete and tracking her steps is familiar the “we are here” marker one demonstration to her, for others at EastView it day, resident Robert Johnson of how active has been an opportunity to try typed a note about having grown our residents something new. up in that very region (which Resident services director happened to be Conneaut, Ohio). are.” Rich Fritz got involved — Rich Fritz with Puterbaugh’s project at He went on to educate others about Conneaut’s claim to fame, the beginning and ordered which was that it was home to a pedometers and has helped the particularly large elm tree, named the largest residents learn how to use them and build tree in the state of Ohio before it got Dutch goals. elm disease and died. “To me this project is a concrete “All the things you don’t need to know demonstration of how active our residents about Conneaut, Ohio,” he wrote, “ But it are,” Fritz said. makes me curious — how many EastView “For some people 1,000 steps a day is residents lived at one point or another at one pretty good,” Puterbaugh says, “but I like to of the stops along our route to San Francisco?” try to challenge them to aim for 1,200, just to The enthusiastic embrace of this project has see if they can do it.” been fun and rewarding to Puterbaugh, who She encourages them to add steps in creative had spent many years traveling the country ways: “When you’re talking on the phone, walk prior to her moving to EastView. Now with in circles around your house or apartment. Or more limited mobility and challenges with when you’re watching TV, challenge people to balance, Puterbaugh has fewer options to get up during the commercial breaks and go for travel physically around the country. But she a spin around the couch until the commercials loves to think about these different regions of (See Program, Page 5)
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A large map of the United States on display in the lobby of EastView in Middlebury marks the route that Holly Puterbaugh laid out in her collective challenge to walk to San Francisco. Puterbaugh and about 45 others at EastView are tracking the number of steps they walk each day and collectively tallying them to mark their progress on the cross-country trek. They are currently “in” Nebraska after only about a month of walking.
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Lifestyles • Addison Independent, Monday, June 6, 2016
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Senior Lifestyles • Addison Independent, Monday, June 6, 2016 — PAGE 5
Program (Continued from Page 3) are over.” With such fervent response, EastView residents are now in the middle of Nebraska after just about a month of walking. That’s about half way through and is much quicker than Puterbaugh had initially expected them to complete. “So now we’re talking about what we’re going to do when we get there,” she says, “and how we’re going to get back.” Fellow walkers have each been advocating for side ventures to regions of the West that they had traveled and loved in the past. Some want to go north to Vancouver and back through Canada. Others want to travel south to Texas then east to the coast and up from there. Puterbaugh is enamored with the idea of a national parks tour, partially inspired by the 100-year anniversary of the national parks program this year. They would perhaps travel north from San Francisco to Yosemite and up into Oregon to Crater Lake and onto Washington for Mount Rainer National Park. They could then walk east to Idaho’s Glacier National Park and down through Yellowstone and Teton national parks, and then into Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona, where there are a total of 13 parks to choose from. Another idea would be to trace the path Lewis and Clark made on their famous western expedition, back in 1804. Whatever the route, Puterbaugh and her fellow walkers at EastView are sure to make their journey with great fun, enjoying the company and camaraderie of others while triumphing in their ambitious fitness goals.
A fellow EastView resident stops to chat with Holly Puterbaugh about progress on the walking tour to San Francisco. Puterbaugh’s goal for the walking project was to inspire increased motivation to exercise as well as social engagement and conversation. Independent photo/Christy Lynn
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Lifestyles • Addison Independent, Monday, June 6, 2016
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Joining groups, volunteering will help after you downsize (MS) — Downsizing and other life changes often find seniors leaving their comfort zones to move to new neighborhoods or regions of the country. It can be difficult to leave those comfort zones behind, especially when it means saying goodbye to close friends or family members. Establishing new social circles as a senior can be challenging. But with a little effort and the right attitude, seniors can meet new people and enjoy the excitement that comes with new friendships. • Join a club. If you have a particular hobby or interest, rekindle it in your new location. Find a local gardening club, church-sponsored organization or fitness center where you can meet like-minded men and women. Ask the real estate agent who helped you relocate to make suggestions on where to find community information and read community notices in the local newspaper. • Get a dog. Dogs make great companions inside of the house and also serve as an icebreaker when you are outdoors. Take plenty of walks and take advantage of opportunities for conversation when people come up to you to inquire about your dog. Explain your situation and you may make some new friends
along the way. • Volunteer your time. Many people make new friends through volunteering. Volunteer and you’re likely to meet people who share the same interests as you. Sign up with a favorite charity or volunteer at nonprofit events and look for familiar faces. Start talking to those people you meet again and again. • Participate in church events. Places of religious worship are often cornerstones of a community, and they frequently host different events to get parishioners or members together. Read the bulletin and get involved in potlucks, retreats, movie nights, and other churchsponsored events. • Work at a school. Schools also serve as hubs of community activity. Volunteer or work for a local school and you will soon find yourself immersed in your community’s weekday hustle and bustle. This is a great way to meet people and learn more about your new neighborhood in the process. Change can be hard for people seniors starting out in new communities. With some gumption and a few strategies to get started, anyone can expand their circle of friends.
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yet? What is the cost of Medicare? What are my coverage options? Can I get financial help paying for Medicare? One of the costliest mistakes for an individual is not following the rules/laws around delaying Medicare Part B Medical coverage due to an active Employer Group Health Plan. The size of the employer and actively working are both critical factors to understand in a decision for delaying Part B (different employer size requirements for employees 65 vs. younger than 65 on Medicare). For every 12-month period that you inappropriately delay Medicare Part B, there is a 10 percent late penalty added onto your monthly premium. Currently, the Medicare Part B premiums are $104.90 or $121.80 per month depending on when your Medicare began, along with other factors. Your health insurance should be a part of your financial retirement picture. CVAA SHIP offers Medicare counseling and classes and is a great resource for federal and state financial help. The counselors work closely the with Vermont Senior Medicare Project (SMP), which works to protect seniors from health care fraud. Call 1-800-6425119 to review Medicare costs and coverage for 2016. Editor’s note: Patricia Selsky of CVAA provided the story. CVAA SHIP counseling is free and confidential.
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PAGE 8 — Senior
Lifestyles • Addison Independent, Monday, June 6, 2016
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