March 25, 2014

just for

SENIORS

MARCH 2014

Your guide to staying active and connected for good health and happiness

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Just For Seniors • March 25, 2014

CAPITAL NEWS

If you want advice on retirement living, ask an expert Check out what a few of our Residents have to say about Okanagan Chateau...

“We really like having no responsibilities. We like the feeling of independence and choosing which activities to partake in.”

“My family loves the whole setting.

When they walked in, their first words were Wow!”

“I’m rested and relaxed.

I socialize a lot more!”

“My health and outlook have improved.

I’m a totally different person now.”

“The staff members are wonderful. Friendly, kind and patient.”

See for yourself the lifestyle that Okanagan Chateau residents are raving about. Call 250.862.9088 to book your personal visit.

2100 Benvoulin Court Kelowna, BC V1W 3A4

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CAPITAL NEWS

Volunteer work fosters a sense of community Kevin Parnell When Ted Orlick moved to Lake Country to spend his retirement years with his wife, he was coming off a bout of prostate cancer that had showed him how the support of a community could help in tough times.

Orlick, a 75-year-old resident of Lake Country’s Holiday Park, was living in Calgary when he received his diagnosis. But he quickly found out that he and his wife weren’t alone.

“We had so much help with our neighbors coming to help and the hospital staff were so great, it was unreal,” said Orlick, taking a break from a project in the Holiday Park wood shop.

“Then when we moved here my wife came down with breast cancer and everybody helped us out again. So we thought ‘why can’t we give something back to the community.’ It’s a situation where you help me and I will help you.”

And that philosophy is paramount at Holiday Park, a community of more than 1,000 residents, the majority of them senior citizens.

Orlick became the president of the Holiday Park Leaseholders Association, a group that represents the residents at Holiday Park when issues arise with management as well as organizing a variety of fundraisers throughout the year.

The group holds an annual Christmas dinner, a monthly pancake breakfast as well as publishing a directory of park residents.

Less formally an e-mail list is circulated with every resident on it and if someone needs help, they can find it amongst their neighbors.

“We do thousands of hours of volunteer work each year,” said Orlick. “It’s worked out quite well.”

At last year’s Christmas dinner, leaseholders raised $500 for the Lake Country Food Bank and recently

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Just For Seniors • March 25, 2014

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contributed

Gordon McInnes, (left) executive member, and Ted Orlick, (right) president of the Holiday Park Leaseholders Association, present a cheque in the amount of $500 to Phyllis MacPherson of the Winfield Food Bank. This money was generated from the annual Christmas dinner sponsored by the association.

presented the money to the local organization.

“I love it and my wife does too,” said Orlick of the spirit of cooperation and community at Holiday Park.

“We’re always thinking of

ways we can get involved in the community. Some days we work our hearts out. No word of a lie, some weeks we put in 50 hours of volunteer work, then for a week maybe we won’t do much.”(

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Just For Seniors • March 25, 2014

CAPITAL NEWS

Staying busy in the golden years Alistair Waters, assistant editor After 32 years with the RCMP, Ted Anderson wasn’t ready to retire from working. But he was ready for a change.

He enjoyed most of his time as a cop, he says, but after 25 years on the job in here in Kelowna, when he heard he could be transferred out, he decided to call it a career. That was in 2003. He was 55.

Eleven years later, at an age where mandatory retirement in this province used to kick in, Anderson is still working—but in an entirely different field.

And he says he has no plans to stop.

Anderson went from driving a police cruiser to driving a school bus. And he says he couldn’t be happier.

“I knew I could not vegetate on the couch and watch television all day,” says Anderson, who traded 12-hour shifts as an RCMP officer for four-hour shifts driving his bus for the Central Okanagan School District.

“I stepped into this right away. I wanted to stay busy.”

With his other part-time job—teaching firearms safety—and his volunteer duties with a local historic car club, Anderson stays busy in, what some would consider, his

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“golden” years.

But Anderson is actually typical of many seniors these days— older people who have either blown through the typical retirement age and kept working or who have returned to the workforce after a few years off.

“Most older workers are not retiring,” says Cathy Fitzgerald, a professor with the Okanagan School of Business at Okanagan College.

“They may not want full-time work, but they want to stay involved.”

Fitzgerald, who has conducted research on older workers, says while many jurisdictions, including B.C., have done away with mandatory retirement at age 65, the marker was based on society’s perception that 65 is “old.”

“But that’s not the case any more,” she said.

With people living longer, healthier lives—especially in B.C.—workers either want to keep working or are deciding after a year or two off that they want to return.

They have experience to offer, skills that can be used and despite the saying “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks,” an ability to learn new skills and transfer the ones they have to other lines of work.

According to Fitzgerald, flexibility is important for older workers returning to the workforce.

In the last 10 years, the first of the baby boomers have started to retire. But for a myriad of reasons, many are either not willing to give up work or, after a short time off, find they want to get back into the work force.

They are a highly educated group, with a strong work ethic who have experience to offer and, with no rules in place any longer they have to retire at 65, have the freedom to seek out jobs that interest them.

Fitzgerald said her research showed despite the widespread belief that most retirees re-enter the workforce because of financial reasons, that was not the overriding reason when she looked at the data available.

In most cases, seniors want to stay involved, keep contributing and remain productive members of society.(

Just For Seniors • March 25, 2014

CAPITAL NEWS

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Volunteering contributes to overall health (NC) Over 13.3 million volunteers across Canada will be celebrated for their contributions during Canada’s 70th Annual National Volunteer Week, April 6-13, 2014. Canada’s senior citizen volunteers have even more to celebrate as studies show volunteering improves their health.

“Canadian retirees who regularly give their time to others experience a number of increased health benefits compared to those seniors who don’t,” says Ben Gottlieb, a University of Guelph psychology professor who has been researching the positive health benefits of volunteering in seniors.

“Some of the health benefits include enhanced fitness and reduced physical limitations, better lung function, less arthritis pain, better cardiovascular function and increased happiness, energy and vitality.”

A 2009 study shows that having a strong sense of purpose in life is ’s with lower mortality rates and p associated Waswork volunteer was listed as one way seniors can find this gging A 2011 study found that, when compared senseBofupurpose. to non-volunteers, older people who dedicated modest You? amounts of time to volunteer activities benefited from a reduced risk of hypertension.

“Today’s seniors lead very full lives and they want to give back so their skills and expertise can benefit their communities,” says Erin Spink, past president of the Ontario branch of the Professional Administrators of Volunteer Resources. “The many health benefits associated with volunteering enhances the meaningful and rewarding life experience volunteering provides.”(

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Just For Seniors • March 25, 2014

Kelowna grandmothers for Africa Barry Gerding, Editor Thinking globally and acting locally to help Third World poverty-stricken families has inspired a group of Kelowna grandparents to form a Kelowna Grandmothers for Africa chapter.

The group is an off-spring of the Stephen Lewis Foundation’s Grandmothers Campaign, created to help grandmothers in Africa caring for their grandkids who have been orphaned by the AIDS pandemic.

Since the campaign was started in March 2006, the groups across Canada have grown to 220 in number involving 10,000 grandmothers, able to raise more than $16.5 million.

The foundation’s namesake, Stephen Lewis, is a former Canadian politician, diplomat and international envoy for humanitarian efforts. After serving as Canada’s ambassaINDEPENDENT & ASSISTED LIVING SERVICES FOR SENIORS Your invitation to join in on our

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dor to the United Nations, he was appointed by then UN secretary-general Koffi Annan to be his special envoy for the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa.

Frustrated by a lack of action from world governments, Lewis created his own foundation in 2003 to assist grassroots organizations working to help ease the pain of the HIV/AIDS situation in Africa.

While the effort has helped make a difference in the lives of many African grandmothers and their families, much more remains needed.

But it’s the inspiration of those African grandmothers, struggling to keep their grandchildren alive against insurmountable odds at times, that inspired Kelowna resident Cheryl Fraser to get involved with the local chapter’s start-up in 2008.

Fraser said hearing about the stories of the struggle in Africa for grandmothers to keep their families together and alive, first at the international AIDS conference hosted by Toronto in 2006 and then first-hand when she attended a conference in Vancouver last fall have been the inspiration for her to get involved.

The Lewis Foundation hosted the people’s tribunal conference in Vancouver that Fraser attended, meant to shine a public light on the denial of African grandmothers’ human rights, with personal testimonies given by six sub-Saharan African grandmothers.

The grandmothers spoke about the most pressing issues they face, such as property grabbing loss of housing, sexual violence, and food and income insecurity.

The Kelowna chapter’s goals this year are to raise $10,000 and to increase the membership from the current 15 members.

Fraser said the efforts of the campaign are to help African grandmothers put food on their table for their parentless grandkids, see the children get to school and that their own parental and human rights rights are protected.

She tells the story from her own travel experiences of visiting a village in Botswana and learning that women had to walk five kilometres for water.

“That’s a 10 kilometre walk every day just to get water.

When you see how much we have and see how little someone like that has, it’s hard not to feel like we can do some thing to help make a difference in their lives,” she said.

Because Fraser’s husband worked in the mining industry, they lived in many countries around the world. “We travelled to Africa, visited Botswana, Zambia and South Africa, but we never lived in Africa. But we’ve lived in other continued next>

CAPITAL NEWS

Grandmothers helping on the other side of the globe

<continued from pg. 6 countries, like New Guinea, where you see what little resources so many people have to live day to day.”

Fraser said Africa grandmothers have a special kinship to this issue because they have raised families, often under difficult circumstances, and will always feel naturally compelled to care for their grandkids in times of need. With the AIDS pandemic, a generation of children in Africa have faced the issue of living without their parents. d “Our group and the campaign itself can help make a difference in the lives of these orphaned children…we want to spread the word around and encourage others to be inspired to help,” Fraser said.

Among the fundraising events planned to achieve that $10,000 goal this year include a jewelry table set up at the annual United Church garage sale in May, a fundraiser walk at Mission Creek Regional Park along the greenway on June 7, and later this year the showing of a documentary made about the Vancouver tribunal conference put on by the Lewis Foundation last fall.

Kelowna Grandmothers for Africa meets the fourth Saturday of the month, 10 a.m. at First United Church, 721 Bernard Ave., from September to June.

For more information about the Kelowna group, contact Cheryl Fraser at 250-764-9247 (email Cherylfraser93@gmail.com) or Sandi Evans at 250-215-7080 (sevens@shadowfax.bc.ca)(

>

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Just For Seniors • March 25, 2014

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Good oral hygiene a must (NC)—Thanks to healthier lifestyles, as well as advances in oral and medical care, Canadians can expect to keep most, if not all of their natural teeth as they enter their senior years. But keeping those teeth healthy can be a challenge.

According to the Canadian Health Measures Survey, 53% of adults ages 60 to 79 do not have dental insurance, and the lack of coverage is one of the main reasons why they don’t see a dental professional. Because older adults have specific dental needs, seniors and their caregivers should be aware of the importance of regular dental care.

Seniors develop more cavities on the roots of their teeth than younger adults. As a result, all older adults should be encouraged to brush natural teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste and clean in between the teeth at least once a day. Dentures (full or partial) should be cleaned and soaked daily and the gums should be brushed and massaged, either with a soft toothbrush or with a warm, damp cloth.

Whether you’re at home or in a long-term care residence, good oral hygiene coupled with regular treatments by a dental hygienist can help to prevent more serious health problems. Together, you can plan a daily oral care routine that will keep your teeth, and you, healthy for life. (

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Just For Seniors • March 25, 2014

CAPITAL NEWS

Plan to connect and commit in retirement Bobbi Kittle , Contributor Maybe you are retired already, or just getting close to retirement.

Are you beginning to wonder what you will do with yourself in all that spare time you are finally going to have?

While some eagerly an-

ticipate this change in pace, many seniors do not look forward to it.

Regardless of where you fall in this spectrum, the truth is that you can’t make your job your only focus and commitment in life, because you won’t always have it!

Dr.Henry Lodge, co-author of Younger Next Year,

Cathy Bilton Laurie Burns At NUR SE NE XT DOOR, our purpose is to make lives better; for our clients and their families.

Local businesswoman, Cathy Bilton, has been involved in Health Care for 28 years and has owned Nurse Next Door in Vernon since November 2008 and Kelowna since April 2012. The business has grown to employ 80 amazing care givers and that number continues to grow as the value of our service spreads.

We assist seniors by supporting them in their journey, wherever they are, i.e. in their home, nursing home, hospital, or in transition. We provide not only nurses but companions and care aids as well. We do everything from cleaning to cooking to errands and personal care.

Laurie Burns is the Care Designer for Kelowna and is very hands on as she puts together a care plan tailored to fit the individual needs of our clients. She lives the core values of admiring people, the ‘WOW’ customer experience, finding a better way to support our clients and is genuinely compassionate about making a difference!

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maintains that it’s a good idea to plan for the retirement years.

While we may plan financially, many of us fail to plan socially, emotionally, and relationally.

Now is the time to begin preparing for this big change, building new networks of friends, and commitments that will be there when your job ends.

Think about creating a new life and a new you!

Find projects to do and to keep working on. Volunteer work is one of the most satisfying things you can do—society would be at

don’t neglect social activities. Your mom was right— be friendly if you want to have friends. Don’t be afraid to reach out to others. You have much to offer, and much to gain in return.

Have you always been curious about something?

Now is the time to take a class on that subject. Learn to dance. Join a bird-watching group. Learn a foreign language in order to prepare for that trip you have always wanted to take, but never had the time.

Take up exotic cooking, join a book club, or learn an instrument.

IT IS ESSENTIAL TO plan FOR THIS BIG CHANGE 3 Volunteer 3 Cultivate friendships 3 Take a class 3 Join a book club 3 Grow close relationships 3 Exercise a loss without our seniors who devote so much time to volunteering.

Cultivate friendships and

The possibilities are endless.

If you are married, think about creating a new life continued next>

Just For Seniors • March 25, 2014

CAPITAL NEWS

Making the best of your senior years

<continued from pg. 8 with your partner. Instead of focusing on what’s wrong with him or her, focus on what’s right.

Focus on building memories together. Your relationship can grow even deeper as you head towards your golden years together.

Explore a common interest, or develop a new one. Ask questions, research, and act on it those interests. Your life will be the richer for it.

Our senior years can be rewarding, fun, and challenging, occasionally with

choppy waters ahead. You may find yourself grateful having a partner to navigate with.

Speaking of partners, we are mammals…created to

heart attack victims kept track of who did and didn’t have a dog, with the non-dog owners six times as likely to die of a second heart attack.

Another study showed that isolated/single men were four times more likely to have a second heart attack than married/connected men.

Loneliness can shorten you life. Consider the returns from connecting and committing to relationships

cuddle. Human contact and intimacy is critical to good health.

Any mammalian contact helps. A recent study on

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in this third portion of your life.

Life is meant to be lived to the full, not simply endured. If you are fortunate enough to live in Canada, you are already more fortunate than many in this world.

What lessons have you learned that you can pass on to others? What lessons are still left for you to learn?

Get out there and enjoy this big, beautiful world. (

Bobbi Kittle is a personal trainer and fitness instructor in Kelowna who specializes in working with seniors.

250-317-3508 • bobbi@pursuitfitness.ca

Building healthy active older adults

At the Kelowna Family YMCA we have dedicated professionals to help support you through preventative and restorative health programs, including: Building Better Bones Healthy Hearts Low impact Fitness Classes Aquafit Health Coaching & Seminars Socials & Drop in Programs

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Just For Seniors • March 25, 2014

HOME SELLING AND BUYING TIPS FOR SENIORS Steve McLinden, Contributor Buying or selling a home is complicated for anyone, but seniors have many added issues.

Here are the top 10 home-selling and home-buying pitfalls for seniors and how to avoid them:

CAPITAL NEWS

• Not getting a market analysis and financial evaluation.

Ideally, a “sell” decision should surround market realities plus address investment and tax objectives, as well as lifestyle and emotional needs.

• Assuming you have to sell. A reverse mortgage or other financing may help keep you in the comfy confines of your family home and facilitate home modifications.

• Conveying that lived-in look: Too much clutter can kill a sale. Divest your home of some furnishings, collections and heirlooms, by either placing them in temporary storage or more permanently with family members or friends who will appreciate them. This is an ideal time to take those treasures of a lifetime and start sharing them with the family.

• Committing to a vacate date before securing a new home.

Moving is stressful enough. Don’t be uprooted twice before you settle into the new home. The home-buying process is sometimes rushed because of a pending date to vacate.

HOME-BUYING MISTAKES

• Disregarding future transportation needs: Changing health conditions may prevent driving. Carefully consider ease of access to public transportation, stores, work, businesses, health care facilities, loved ones and favorite haunts.

SELLING MISTAKES Not opting for a senior-oriented real estate agent. The • Missing steps in the process: Stairs and seniors don’t mix. issues facing senior citizens when selling their homes are Seek single-floor layouts, stepless entries and level much different than for younger people, and most real driveways. Non-slip floors, bathroom grab bars and estate agents have little idea how to resolve them. If no levered door handles will likely make life easier as well, senior real estate specialist is available, ask agencies for the either now or down the road. names of agents who are most comfortable with senior • Poor reconnaissance: Minimal time spent scoping out the clients. new community can spell disappointment. Explore many potential options for relocation and then revisit your fas vorites at different times of the year -- and even different s on iSoenstisoins tions s s a times of the day -- before you move. a RSeEEult ult REEFConCsons • Moving too far from kids and grandkids: Warmth is d Vibration Machines Vibration Machines anadn 10 min = 110hour workout min = 1 hour workout where the heart is. Many seniors opt to move to warmer 10 minburn,pain = 1 hour workout Circulation,calorie control etc.

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Internet offers anti-fraud tips for seniors Averse’ Senior Citizens, looked at data from large U.S. surveys and registries of fraud complaints and found they indicated the percentage of victims peaks in late middle age and declines as people get older.

While social researchers

have traditionally hypothesized that memory loss and other cognitive deficits might make seniors easy targets, Ross hypothesizes the accompanying risk aversion that develops in those over 65 may also provide a measure of protection.

Here in the Okanagan, RCMP say they really haven’t seen a great deal of scams that target the elderly specifically as con artists are

eople's Foo P d ly SINGLE PARENTS & SENIORS

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Jennifer Smith, staff reporter A study out of the University of Waterloo suggests fraudsters are having more success with the middle-aged than the elderly.

While traditionally it has been assumed seniors were the most vulnerable group falling prey to various forms of fraud, retired professor Michael Ross, a social psychologist, has found the middle-aged are in fact more likely targets and he’s suggesting this may be because the elderly are more risk averse.

“As people age their goal orientation changes from trying to maximize gains, to trying to minimize losses,” Ross told the National Post after releasing his findings in a conference mid-March.

“They spend less money, and they’re more careful about spending their money.”

Ross’s study, titled Middle-aged People Actually More Likely to Fall Victim to Con Artists than ‘Risk

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game to take what they can get.

“It’s not so much that they target any demographic, so much as it’s a blanket approach…Particularly with Internet fraud, we’re not seeing targeting of any one specific demographic so much as it’s a scattergun approach,” said Kris Clark, Kelowna RCMP. While there have been some senior-specific scams—such as the grandparent scam in which a thief calls an unsuspecting senior and claims to be in

jail or in a jam and needing money—the biggest scams going at the moment target those who are less computer savvy, less accustomed to social media and the Internet.

Thankfully, the Internet has plenty to offer those who are willing to learn how to protect themselves. Clark suggests going to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, a resource he uses himself for information.

From identity theft to telemarketing scams, the centre tracks trends and provides useful tips to help every Canadian proactively avoid falling victim to a scam. (

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Just For Seniors • March 25, 2014

CAPITAL NEWS

Getting active at the Parkinson Activity Centre 1 2

There’s no shortage of things to do at the Parkinson Activity Centre. Table tennis, shuffleboard, billiards, fitness to music, yoga and tai chi are just a few of the activities the centre offers on a regular basis. Capital News photographer Wade Paterson stopped by the centre to take a few photos earlier this month.

3 Photo 1 - Seventy-seven-year-old Archie Archibald lines up a shot in the billiards room at Parkinson Activity Centre.

Photo 2 - Ninety-year-old Michael Frey takes his turn playing shuffleboard in the activity centre’s gymnasium, while Peggy Johnston looks on.

Photo 3 - Sonja Janzen (left) and Gail Lewis use the computer room upstairs in the activity centre.

Photo 4 - Ninety-six-year-old Helen Hardy takes her shot, while shuffleboard organizer Agnes Kloster watches.

Photo 5 - Erika Draxinger pours a bowl of soup in the kitchen of the Parkinson Activity Centre.

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BEST REASONS BE ACTIVE… • Strength • Social contact • Energy • Posture • Memory • Mood

Just For Seniors • March 25, 2014

CAPITAL NEWS

Relax, it’s just your health:

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EXPLORING THE LINK BETWEEN ANGER AND HEART ATTACK

By Norm Letnick, Contributor Do you have a short temper?

Do you find yourself getting impatient, or having angry outbursts? Do you ever find yourself thinking that something or someone “makes your blood boil?”?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you should know that researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health believe that this could be very bad for your health.

Doctors and patients have long believed that anger and other intense emotional responses have a long-term impact on the frequency and severity of cardiovascular events (heart and stroke).

Previously however, there had been insufficient work to conclude a clear link to short-term risks of increased heart attacks and strokes.

After identifying 6,870 articles that examined the effects of anger on incidents of heart attack, and strokes, and finding common criteria in nine studies, seven of which were published over an 18-year period (1995-2013), researchers have been able to determine that individuals are indeed at higher risk of suffering

heart attack and strokes.

All of the studies reviewed showed a consistently higher rate of heart attack and stroke within 2 hours of an emotional or angry outburst.

In total 6,435 individuals were studied, with incidents of heart attack, arrhythmia, and stroke identified.

Researchers broke down their results to distinguish individuals who were already considered high risk due to weight, age, diet, family history, and individuals who were in a low risk category.

They further broke down their results, looking at individuals who experienced low incidents of emotional outbursts and individuals with heightened frequency of emotional outbursts.

The risk of suffering a cardiovascular event is relatively high following outbursts of anger, and should give pause for consideration. Anger episodes may be infrequent making the impact on most individuals smaller.

However, the risk for individuals with preexisting factors will be substantially higher in individuals who experience frequent outbursts of anger and emotion.

The results of the study

showed the separation of impacts based on higher and lower risk individuals based on the following frequency of outbursts: · One outburst per month – very low with only one reported (per 10,000 people), and four reported (per 10,000 people) for individuals at high risk. · Two outbursts per day – this is a slightly higher risk with 63 reported (per 10,000 people), and 268 reported (per 10,000 people) for individuals at high risk · Five outbursts per day this is extremely high. With a 20% risk and reported results of 158 reported (per 10,000 people) for low risk individuals and 657 reported (per 10,000 people) for individuals with high risk.

The impact of outbursts is higher for individuals with frequent episodes of anger, putting people at 20% greater risk for a

cardiovascular event.

If you find you are prone to angry outbursts, consider your loved ones, consider those who would be left behind, smile and turn the other cheek. Consider this when you are feeling the urge to lose your temper, and maybe you should relax - it’s just your health.(

Norm Letnick is the Liberal MLA for Kelowna-Lake Country.

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Just For Seniors • March 25, 2014

CAPITAL NEWS

DIRECTORY OF SERVICES Health • Medical • Important Numbers

POLICING Emergency Calls Only........................................................................911 Block Watch (Kelowna RCMP) ...........................................250.470.6214 Community Policing Offices: Mission .............................................................................250.764.5004 Rutland .............................................................................250.765.6355 Peachland .........................................................................250.767.2623 West Kelowna (RCMP) ......................................................250.768.2880 Citizens Patrol: Lake Country .....................................................................250.766.5400 West Kelowna ...................................................................250.707.8022 Crime Stoppers/Tips .............................................1.800.222.TIPS (8477) Kelowna Crime Prevention Association: Box 22033, Capri PO, Kelowna, V1Y 9N9 Royal Canadian Mounted Police: Kelowna ............................................................................250.762.3300 Lake Country .....................................................................250.766.2288 Peachland .........................................................................250.767.2623 West Kelowna ...................................................................250.768.2880 Whitefoot Lodge, Village of Big White...............................250.765.3549

HEALTH FACILITIES: Interior Health Authority www.interiorhealth.ca • Regional Administration Office ......................................250.862.4200 • Capri Community Care Health Centre ............................250.980.1400 • Kelowna Health Centre ..................................................250.868.7700 • Kelowna General Hospital www.interiorhealth.ca 2268 Pandosy Street ..................................................1.888.877.4442 Switchboard ..................................................................250.862.4000 Emergency ....................................................................250.862.4485 Foundation....................................................................250.862.4438 Patient Room Enquiries .................................................250.862.4099 Volunteer Services.........................................................250.862.4497 • Prosthetic & Orthotic Services ........................................250.862.4208 • May Bennett Wellness Centre ........................................250.980.1400 • Patient Care Quality Office, IHA ..................................1.877.442.2001 • Rutland Health Centre ...................................................250.980.4825 • West Kelowna Health Centre .........................................250.980.1400

MEDICAL ORGANIZATIONS & SERVICES Alcohol & Drug Information & Referral Service ........... 1.800.663.1441 Kelowna Alcohol & Drugs Services ................................. 250.870.5777 Allergy/Asthma Information Assn................................... 250.764.7507 .................................................................................... 1.877.500.2242 ALS Society of BC ........................................................ 1.800.708.3228 Alzheimer Society of BC ................................................. 250.860.0305 .................................................................................... 1.800.634.3399 Dementia Helpline ...................................................... 1.800.936.6033 Arthritis Society Answers Line ..................................... 1.800.321.1433 Interior Regional Office (Trudy) ...................................... 250.868.8643 BC Brain Injury Association ......................................... 1.877.858.1788

BC Cancer Agency Sindi Ahulwalia Hawkins Centre for Southern Interior ........................................... 250.712.3900 Screening Mammography Program ................................ 250.861.7560 Book your screening.................................................... 1.800.663.9203 BC Epilepsy Society ..................................................... 1.866.374.5377 Centre for Elipepsy & Seizure Education in BC ............1.866. EPILEPSY BC Lung Association.................................................... 1.800.665.5864 BC Lupus Society ......................................................... 1.866.585.8787 Kelowna Support Group (Janet) ..................................... 250.764.1640 BC Schizophrenia Society ............................................... 250.868.3119 BC Spinal Cord Injury ................................. 1.877.324.3611 Vancouver ......................................................... 1.800.689.2477 SCIU BC Infoline BrainTrust Canada .......................................................... 250.762.3233 CNIB............................................................................... 250.763.1191 Canadian Cancer Society................................................ 250.762.6381 .................................................................................... 1.800.403.8222 Cancer Information Service ......................................... 1.888.939.3333 Canadian Cancer Society Southern Interior Rotary Lodge ...................................... 250.712.2203 Freemason Volunteer Driver Program .......................... 1.800.299.0188 Canadian Diabetes Association ...................................... 250.762.9447 Information Line.......................................................... 1.800.226.8464 Canadian Institute for Health Information (Victoria)..................................................... 250.220.4100 Canadian Liver Foundation ......................................... 1.800.856.7266 Canadian Mental Health Association ............................. 250.861.3644 BC Division.................................................................. 1.800.555.8222 24 Hour Info Line ........................................................ 1.800.661.2121 Cardiac Health Foundation of Canada Central Okanagan Association for Cardiac Health ......... 250.763.3433 Cerebral Palsy Association of BC ................................. 1.800.663.0004 Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation....................................... 1.800.513.8202 Denturist Association of BC............................................ 604.582.6823 Dietitian Services ..................................................................Dial 8-1-1 TTY ........................................................................................Dial 7-1-1 HealthLink BC .......................................................................Dial 8-1-1 TTY ........................................................................................Dial 7-1-1 Healthy Eating for Seniors.....................................................Dial 8-1-1 TTY ........................................................................................Dial 7-1-1 Heart & Stroke Foundation BC/Yukon............................. 250.860.6275 .................................................................................... 1.866.432.7833 Interior Health Lifeline Program ..................................... 250.762.0200 Kidney Foundation of Canada ..................................... 1.800.567.8112 Lake Country Health Planning Society............................ 250.766.5437 Medic Alert Foundation ............................................... 1.800.668.1507 Medical Services Plan.................................................. 1.800.663.7100 Multiple Sclerosis Society ............................................... 250.762.5850 Muscular Dystrophy Canada ....................................... 1.800.366.8166 Okanagan Mental Health Services Society Assisted Living Program ................................................. 250.717.3368 Therapeutic Work Program............................................. 250.717.3007 Osteoporosis Canada (Trish Gunning) ............................ 250.861.6880 Pacific Blue Cross ........................................................ 1.800.873.2583 Parkinson Society British Columbia ............................. 1.800.668.3330 PharmaCare ................................................................ 1.800.663.7100 Prostate Cancer Canada Network ............................... 1.888.255.0333 Westside Health Network Society .................................. 250.768.3305

Just For Seniors • March 25, 2014

CAPITAL NEWS

Friendly visiting combats loneliness Keeping Kelowna’s older adults active and with ample social connections is something the Seniors’ Outreach Society has put a great deal of focus on.

“So many are living on their own. In many cases a spouse has passed away or their family has moved out of town, or transportation can be an issue” said Kathryn McLean, co-ordinator of volunteer programs. “Isolation is a huge problem.”

Studies have indicated that isolation is a major risk for morbidity and mortality in older adults, so the Seniors’ Outreach Society works to combat it and related loneliness by seeking out and forming friendships within the community.

“People can call us themselves if they’re feeling lonely, or they can call a health care provider,” said McLean.

Once they’ve made that connection, they’re matched with a volunteer of like age who can pay weekly visits to the senior who has expressed need.

It’s called “friendly visiting” and there are a number of slots available for those who want to take part.

For other volunteering opportunities the Seniors Outreach Society holds volunteer orientation meetings every Wednesday.

“Options include helping with income tax filing, providing minor home repairs, mentors for the Internet or

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be matched with other seniors who are living on their own with no family support,” said McLean.

There’s also computer mentoring, where a volunteer would teach a senior basic computer skills, like how to use Google, the Internet or how to print documents.

Or, just to get a feel for what’s out there, Seniors’ Outreach Society holds a senior coffee break group every Wednesday morning. For more info. call 250-861-6180. (

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Just For Seniors • March 25, 2014

CAPITAL NEWS

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