ProTem Tribune March 2024

UPDATE FROM PROTEM

TANYA WEATHERBEE : MEMORY CARE COORDINATOR & ADMIN SUPPORT

MIHAELA CALIN

DIRECTOR OF CARE

Dear family members and friends of ProTem Memory Care,

February was a wonderful month at our homes. Residents celebrated Valentine’s Day, took part in exercise, live music as well as baking and craft time

This month, we are looking forward to celebrating St Patrick’s Day, Easter, taking part in dance, bowling and art therapy.

We wish you all a happy Easter and a great start to spring!

Sincerely,

Tanya & Mihaela

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CarolAnn, left, and June, right, works on their Valentine cards.

Left: Pat makes a Valentine card with help from activity director Adrienne. Right: CarolAnn and Pat take part in exercises.

Left: Sharon spikes a balloon during exercise class. Right: Residents perform various strength and stability exercises with activity director Adrienne.

‘There’s no expiry date’

Andrews activity directors attend information session on strength training for seniors

“You don’t use it, you lose it.”

That was the core message for Andrews’ activity directors at a recent information session on strength training for seniors hosted by Jason Mosher, owner and operator of Naturally Fit gym in Charlottetown, P.E.I.

Jason, who has an extensive history in strength sports as well as working as a group trainer, personal trainer and fascial stretch therapist, spent an afternoon in early February guiding our activity directors through a series of exercises and how to incorporate them into their exercise programs for residents

He said for most seniors the goal of strength training is to maintain physical independence

“We’re not going to get hypertrophy, which is recruiting more muscle fiber,” Jason said “We’re just trying not to lose what we had With strength training, we ’ re not talking about going and deadlifting 800 lbs when you ’ re 80 years old We’re talking about being able to pull your socks up on your own ”

That loss of mobility and independence is an experience Jason understands professionally as well as personally Over the course of his career, he’s trained everyone from high-performance athletes to stroke survivors and people recovering from surgery But after a fall from a 17-foot ladder in 2022, he had to build his own body back up

“Broke both my arms, smashed my head really bad,” he said

CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

Naturally Fit owner Jason Mosher poses inside his Charlottetown gym. Jason recently gave a free information session on strength training for seniors to Andrews’ activity directors.

“Torn bicep, torn shoulder, torn pec, torn abductor, both knees, both ankles, ribs I had five herniated discs in my back My neck was pretty near broken but I’ve corrected pretty much all of that. It really gave me a lot of time to dissect a lot of my training.”

For Jason, the injury reinforced the importance of having a strong physical foundation.

“You slip on some ice, strength training and mobility training will allow you to recover from that slip,” he said. “If you ’ re stiff and fragile you ’ re going down and you ’ re going to break your hip.”

Exercises he recommends for seniors starting out include chair squats, offset step-ups, weighted core twists and offset farmer carries. All of these can be done with as little weight as 1 or 2 lbs and can be modified depending on the person ’ s current mobility and strength levels.

“Heavy for you can be way too heavy for me, ” he said “You want to go very minimal at first and when that’s super easy, then you increase We’re going to start with very basic movements and see where our recovery is As we age, it’s not so much about ‘I feel strong,’ it’s that I don’t recover as well You have to keep that as a factor ”

Annelize Malan, activity director at Andrews of Summerside attended the information session and will be expanding her residents’ current exercise routine to include more strength training

“My goal is to introduce it to residents who want to do a bit more, ” she said “It’s something that they’ve never done or haven’t done in the last number of years There are some people who’ve never lifted a weight in their lives ”

While a majority of residents prefer to do exercises seated, Annelize hopes to improve their confidence over the long term

“Getting them to do a little bit more and getting the confidence in standing up and holding onto a chair or doing exercise next to their chair,” would be a realistic goal for a lot of her residents

Sharon Woods-Bryenton, activity director at Andrews of Stratford, already had strength training elements in her fitness classes but will be adding more going forward

“It’s just so important for our seniors to have good core strength and balance,” she said “The more we can do to help them build that or maintain that strength, the better ”

While many people are hesitant about starting strength training as a senior, Jason said there’s no age limit

“My oldest client was 92 years old, after a stroke,” he said “There’s no expiry date You can start at any time but you have to start with reasonable expectations There’s going to be atrophy There’s going to be weakness But you ’ re getting these things fired up Start any time You want to get out of bed? Start.”

Jason guides activity directors through a series of strength exercises for seniors.

ABOVE & BEYOND FEBRUARY WINNER

Every month our team and residents recognize one team member for showing exceptional care

LUANNE LANDRY : PROTEM JOINED IN 2023

ST PATRICKSDAY

Luanne was recognized for going above and beyond

Our above and beyond winner for February is Luanne Landry

Luanne is a supportive team member who enjoys spending quality time with our residents

Luanne started working at Andrews eight months ago as a personal support worker Before joining us, she worked for 11 years at a group home

Seeing residents happy and doing different activities with them is the most rewarding part of her day

“I find it nice to spend time with seniors, help them with their personal care, help them pass their day more enjoyably,” she said In her spare time, Luanne loves listening to rock and roll music and dancing

Take a look at some of our activities planned for this month!

MARCH

AM - FAITH AND SPIRITUAL HOUR

PARACHUTE AND BALL GAMES

PM - TRIVIA AND GAMES

PM - ARMCHAIR TRAVEL TO IRELAND

PM - SENSORY ACTIVITY AND REMINISCENCE

AM - LATIN RYTHM AND MOVEMENT

PM - MUSIC WITH PETER AND GARY (2069)

HAPPYBIRTHDAY GRACIAL

PAM - BALLOON VOLLEYBALL

PM - SPRING CRAFT

DECORATE FOR EASTER! 18

AM - MIXED SPORTS GAMES

PM - VAN RIDE OUTING

AM - SHOPPING AT INHOME BOUTIQUE

PM - SENSORY ACTIVITY AND STORY AND 1:1 VISITS

AM - PEDDLE AND STRETCH

PM - MUSIC WITH PETER AND GARY (61)

27 AM - EGG DECORATING AND EASTER DISCUSSION

PM - JEPORDY -SPRING AND EASTER THEME

28 AM - SEATED THAI CHI

PM - BAKING-RICE CRISPIE BIRD NESTS

1 AM - 1:1 VISITS PM-BINGO

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