April 2017
Vol. 44, No. 3
Formerly Senior Focus
Published by The Daily Herald and Senior Services of Snohomish County
Senior Services to launch new brand Page 2
A house filled with pets — and love Page 7
Tips for boosting your recall ability Page 10
Program stimulates seniors with memory issues
www.homage.org
Page 12
Walker, 90, keeps on truckin’ Page 13
Columns
Savvy Senior . . . . . . . . . . 3 History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Washington Watch . . . . . 6 Travel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Volunteers . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Tech Talk . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
VOL. 45, NO. 2 | MARCH 2018
Learn about programs and services available to seniors by visiting www .sssc .org .
Meals on Wheels volunteer Pam Timm places food (Dan Bates / The Herald) in the refrigerator and freezer
By Caitlin Tompkins
Herald Writer
Pam Timm is standing door with a cart of brown at his front grocery bags. “She’s my favorite lady,” Mike Kerasotes, 67, said. Timm, 66, delivers meals to him each week. She has been a volunteer with Meals on Wheels for six months. During that time, Kerasotes has battled cancer. “When you get $80 in food stamps, it doesn’t go very far. Without you, I wouldn’t have made it through radiation,” he said to Timm. Last year, Meals on Wheels volunteers
and staff served more than ple throughout the county 1,000 peoof 152,000 meals. Senior — a total Snohomish County has Services of managed the local chapter of Meals on 42 years. Each of the meals Wheels for is approved by a nutritionist. Most are and have helped diabeticslow sodium blood sugar under control, keep their said Martha Peppones, director of the nutrition program.
Since the program started, been a growing demand. there has Staff were able to bring the waiting list about 300 to 60 people last down from year.
Adaptation helps couple battle
Commentary: The fight against malnutrition in older adults
Music wellness facilitator Noah Plotkin leads a drumming and singing session with Michael Folio as Cheryl Levin-Folio looks on.
NON PROFIT ORG US POSTAGE PAID SOUND PUBLISHING 98204
(Mark Ukena, Chicago Tribune)
The Focus is a publication of SENIOR SERVICES OF SNOHOMISH COUNTY 11627 Airport Rd ., Suite B Everett, WA 98204-8714
Page 2
Naturopathic doctors answer your questions on KSER-FM program
for Lorna Jenkinson at
Broadway Plaza.
Meals on Wheels’ future uncertain under president’s propos ed budget “That’s 60 too many,” Peppones said. “Those are people who still need The program may be facing meals.” tial financial cuts if PresidentsubstanDonald Trump’s proposed budget approved. Nearly half of for 2018 is the program’s funding comes from the ernment through the Olderfederal govAmericans Act and Community Development Block Grants. The grants are removed under the budget slated to be plan. That would affect 150 meal recipients in Snohomish County, Peppones said. “Fortunately, it’s only a proposal,” she CONTINUED ON PAGE 15
early-onset Alzheimer’s
By Karen Berkowitz
Chicago Tribune
HIGHLAND PARK, Illinois Levin-Folio can’t anticipate — Cheryl milestone of memory loss every new as she and her husband, Michael Folio, navigate his Alzheimer’s disease. Sometimes quick thinking comes in handy, as it did when Michael forgot one day to take off his clothes before stepping into the shower. Rather than correct her husband, Cheryl joined him in the shower with her clothes on
for a laugh. “I think the next time we our clothes off,” she gently should take told him. “I made light of it,” she said. “I never correct him. That’s not fair to In the five years since Michael.” Michael Folio was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s at age 56, the Park couple has adapted Highland routine many times over. their daily They’d been together for years, but married less than four months, when CONTINUED ON PAGE 16
Music therapy enables stro to regain some languag ke patients e through song
By Rashod Ollison years, who sits within arm’s The Virginian-Pilot reach of him, nodding. They’re all in a small NORFOLK, Virginia — When the Johnny Cash room inside Fort Norfolk melody frustrates James Medical Center — RodriRodriguez, he chuckles, guez in his wheelchair and shakes his head and says, Bowdish on a low stool sandwiche d between an “I don’t know.” Tracy Bowdish gen- imposing keyboard and a tly pushes him, taking computer desk. Bowdish is his hand into hers as she a music therapist with Sentara’s Music and Medicine leans closer and sings in bell-clear perfect pitch lyr- Center. In a promotional ics from “I Walk the Line. clip for the program, she ” The goal is to get Rodri- mentions that her blindguez to find the words, still ness helps her to engage patients, to “see who they a difficult task since Music therapist Tracy J. his Bowdish plays the guitar stroke in summer 2011. are beyond the stroke.” As Bowdish holds Rodri- leads James “Jim Bob” Rodriquez in singing songsand But his progress has been during their session “remarkable,” says San- guez’s hand, singing lyrics in Norfolk, Virginia. at Sentara Neurology Specialists Rodriquez suffered a stroke dra, Rodriguez’s wife of 47 CONTINUED ON PAGE 16 2011 and Bowdish is helping him regain some in speech through music. (Bill Tiernan / The Virginian-Pilot)
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‘Dancing in the Streets’ fundraiser was rousing success Page 3
Where overwhelmed caregivers can turn for help Page 4
Daily Herald named Homage’s ‘Powerful Partner’ for 2018 Page 4
Declutter now so your loved ones won’t have to after you’re gone Page 5
Jazzercise lives on in the 21st century Page 8
Columns Volunteers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Savvy Senior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Senior Focus is a publication of HOMAGE (formerly Senior Focus) 11627 Airport Road, Suite B Everett, WA 98204-8714
NON PROFIT ORG US POSTAGE PAID SOUND PUBLISHING 98204
Learn about programs and services available to seniors by visiting www.homage.org.
Maki Wakabe (left) grabs a dish of coleslaw during lunchtime at the Carl Gipson Senior Center in Everett on March 15.
IAN TERRY / THE HERALD
A nutrition lifeline Donations help keep vital Meals on Wheels program on the road for seniors By Jennifer Sasseen Special to the Herald Marysville resident Louis Battle, 74, was in the hospital recovering from treatment for lung cancer when he was told about the Meals on Wheels program run by Homage Senior Services. A short time later, the program began delivering seven meals a week to Battle’s home, where he lives alone. That was nearly two years ago. Today, Battle’s cancer is in remission but he is still getting the meals weekly, as well as cans of Ensure to help him regain what he lost — along with a lot of weight, his muscle tone and strength. “You know, sometimes it was a struggle just to stand up,” he said. His daughter lives in Everett and
visits as often as she can, he said, but Meals on Wheels fills in the gaps. The frozen meals are nutritious and convenient, Battle said, and “made a great difference in my life.” Battle is just one of 1,242 Snohomish County residents Meals on Wheels served last year, said Leah Hammon, registered dietitian for Homage Senior Services. Another 2,630 people were served at a dozen senior centers and seniorhousing sites throughout the county, she said. Both meal programs rely on Homage fundraising, as well as on federal funds from the Older Americans Act and local funds from the county, cities, clients and donors, Hammon said. One donation came from “a very generous benefactor” for fresh fruits and vegetables to accompany Meals on Wheels frozen meals, said Homage Nutrition and Advocacy Director Martha Peppones. That recently meant oranges and broccoli, she said, but summer brings
fresh berries, cherries and green beans. “We try to keep it local as much as possible,” she said. Volunteers are a big component of the meal programs. They deliver for Meals on Wheels, including hot meals on Thanksgiving, and help cooks at the senior centers prepare meals from food Homage provides, like cabbage and the dressing ingredients for coleslaw. They also serve and help clean up. “We couldn’t do it without volunteers,” Peppones said. Both meal programs are needbased rather than income-based, Peppones said. Dietitian Hammon and two helpers assess residents’ nutritional needs for Meals on Wheels but at the senior centers, diners need only be 60 years of age to qualify for a $3 suggested donation. Younger spouses or disabled people living with a senior can also eat for $3, while other family See NUTRITION, Page 9
Music lifts spirits of dementia patients By Treva Lind The Spokesman-Review While music is known for lifting moods, rising evidence shows profound responses when favorite tunes are played for dementia patients. The 2012 award-winning documentary, “Alive Inside,” covers social worker Dan Cohen’s use of music and iPods with Alzheimer’s patients, who quickly become more vocal and animated. He founded the Music & Memory nonprofit to bring music into nursing homes. Two Spokane-area dementia experts, Judy Cornish and Debby Dodds, call it mood management when favorite songs are played for people with dementia, a medical term for a decline in mental ability severe enough to interfere with daily life. Alzheimer’s is the most common type of dementia. “The premise is we all listen to music and absorb music, and we respond to music using intuitive thought,” Cornish said. For family members and caregivers, Cornish and Dodds are co-teaching “Dementia with Dignity: Using an iPad and Music to Manage Mood.”
Judy Cornish (left) and Debby Dodds chat about a workshop they are co-teaching on “Dementia with Dignity: Using an iPad and Music to Manage Mood” in Spokane. (Tyler Tjomsland / The Spokesman-Review) Cornish added that people who have dementia retain intuitive responses that are part of feelings, creativity, appreciating music and recognizing beauty. “They’re losing rational thought, but not the intuitive.” Dodds, a Spokane-based
gerontologist, has seen the results in her own work. “Music lights up many regions of our brain and engages us in many ways,” Dodds said. “That is something that we might not be able to See MUSIC, Page 9