Sterling Community Matters April 2016

Commun ty Matters Sterling Presbyterian Manor

COMING UP IN COMMUNITY MATTERS:

Everyone has a story to tell

Staying in touch with your children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren often means getting used to using some new technologies. How do you use technology to keep up with your family? How has technology made life easier? How has technology kept you close to family and friends who live far away?

If you’ve got a story to share about how you’re using technology, contact Cindy Moore and your story could be featured in an upcoming edition of Community Matters.

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April 2016

Meet McKenna and Morgan

Say hello to McKenna Tauer and Morgan Coslor. Both girls are freshmen at Sterling College and also are working as administrative assistants at Sterling Presbyterian Manor.You can find them answering phones or helping wherever they’re needed.

“I’m working here through my work study,” said McKenna. “I make it work with my class schedule and get a little spending money I’m putting toward my school loan.”

McKenna works MondayFriday along with other McKenna Tauer students in the same role, like and Morgan Coslor are our Morgan, who works Tuesdays administrative and Thursdays. assistants.

“I love working with the residents; they’re so sweet,” said Morgan. “All the staff is great and so nice. I really like how they work with my softball schedule and class hours.”

“I like everything about the job – I love the residents and the people who work here are wonderful,” said McKenna. “They don’t look at me as a college student, but as one of them.”

After college, McKenna wants to become a forensic pathologist.

“I’ve always found interest in the human body, and on top of that, what can kill the human body. So I want to know why people die,” said McKenna.

Morgan plans to spend her future working with the human body, too.

“I want to get my master’s in athletic training and then hopefully become an athletic trainer for a baseball team,” said Morgan. “I play softball and my dad’s a professional umpire … baseball runs in the family.”

Join us in recognizing McKenna, Morgan and our other administrative assistants for all their hard work during Administrative Professionals Day on Wednesday, April 27!

The surprising secret to aging well

A Next Avenue Influencer in Aging says it’s all about the bones Editor’s note: This article is part of Next Avenue’s 2015 Influencers in Aging project honoring 50 people changing how we age and think about aging.

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Community Matters is published monthly for residents and friends of Sterling Presbyterian Manor by Presbyterian Manors of

As an occupational therapist and someone in my early 90s, here’s what I recommend to age well: good posture and a brisk 30-minute walk daily from early childhood on. This builds bone density and balance reflexes that reduce the impact of falls and injuries in later years.

Walking has enormous benefits – emotionally and even creatively – as recent studies show. This is in addition to the well-known benefits to the pulmonary and cardiovascular systems. A sturdy gait pattern with alternating arm/leg movement helps maintain balance reflexes and strength in lateral hip muscles.

Good posture goes hand-in-hand with good walking, stride and vertical

balance. It has been found that going out for a walk midday frees up the frontal lobes from the clutter of study or business. This can enhance creativity as well as reduce stress and/or depression.

Good for children, too

Currently, with the reduction of physical education programs in public schools and the exponential increase in handheld technology, there is serious risk that children will not get sufficient exercise. The posture in children and young adults is compromised by the forward tilt to the head over prolonged periods when they use electronic devices. Because of this, it is recommended to leave such devices behind during these daily walks.

Current risks

Poor posture, compromised gait

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501(c)(3) organization. Learn more at PresbyterianManors.org.

Mike Rajewski, executive director Cindy Moore, marketing director To submit or suggest articles for this publication, contact cmoore@pmma.org.

Telephone: 620-278-3651 Fax: 620-278-3581 Address: 204 W. Washington, Sterling, KS 67579-1614 Our mission: We provide quality senior services guided by Christian values.

SterlingPresbyterianManor.org

Ster ling Presbyterian Manor’s Post-Acute To Home (PA (P ATH®) progr am isn’t just about getting you home— it’s about getting you back to your life life.

Call 620-278-3651 620-278-3651 toda todayy to schedule your per sonal appointment and tour. tour S SterlingPresbyterianManor.org terlingPresbyterianManor.org

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Biggest Loser Challenge – SPM duo named ‘Biggest Losers’

Winning the title of “Biggest Losers” in the Biggest Loser Challenge at Sterling Presbyterian Manor was nothing but a win-win for Cindy Moore and Donna Grizzle. The two-woman team lost a combined 9.5% of their starting weight in the competition that started in November. It went through the holidays and ended on Ash Wednesday.

“I gained four pounds over Christmas but in the end I lost almost 6% of my starting weight – about 14 lbs,” said Cindy. “I’m motivated! My son is getting married in a year so I gotta lose some weight.”

To help take off the pounds, Cindy and Donna enjoyed Zumba workouts together and got into training with weighted hula hoops. The challenge may be over, but the two are going to continue working out together.

“I’m also focused on food and making sure I’m not overdoing it,” said Cindy. “I write down everything I put in my mouth and try and stay within 1,200 calories a day. I find myself asking, ‘Did I really need those three pieces of Valentine’s candy?’ That’s wasted calories.”

Cindy also has advice for others trying to lose weight.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. There’s always little pebbles you’re going to stumble over. Just start back up. Don’t let that make you quit.”

Congrats to Cindy and Donna for winning the SPM Biggest Loser Challenge!

Cindy Moore and Donna Grizzle were the “Biggest Losers.” Congratulations!

On Valentine’s Day, love was in bloom Sterling Presbyterian Manor celebrated Valentine’s Day with a Queen of Hearts Tea Party. Each staff member was a secret Valentine to a resident. The community got involved, too. Miranda Elliott, a dining services aide, is on the girls’ softball team at Sterling College. She invited the entire team to the tea party, where they each came dressed in their Valentine dresses and handed out gifts to the residents. Police Chief

Mary Kendrick also worked with the new flower shop on Broadway to hold a flower vase drive where they agreed to fill the vase with a flower for the residents. The residents received roses from Dillons and carnations from the flower shop. They also enjoyed a variety of fruit teas.

Thanks to everyone who made the event a success and we look forward to having the Sterling College softball team back for more events this year.

STERLING PRESBYTERIAN MANOR 3

SURPRISING SECRET continued from page 3 patterns and less daily walking lead me to think that people under 30 in particular, but also others tied to electronic devices throughout their lives, have a heightened risk of early aging. Carrying heavy backpacks or sports bags causes the hips to thrust back to maintain walking balance when the shoulders are hunched forward. By age 50, people may already be at risk of losing their balance.

Now consider the more common ills of aging, such as loss of joint range and flexibility, loss of strength in lower

extremities, loss of balance due to a variety of causes and loss of vision.

There’s an even greater need for maintaining good balance from the proprioceptors of the weight-bearing joints as well as the vestibular system of the ear.

For those already in the aging arena, my motto is “stay vertical and moving forward.” This is best done by keeping “ears over hips and hips over heels.”

decreased, I have depended on regular use of a pair of ski poles. The vertical grip promotes good posture and enables me to use the natural gait patterns. Ski poles have assured me of the terrain and protected me from stumbling. I apply rocker bottoms (available at sporting goods stores) to provide valuable push-off at every step so it feels like I’m “floating” down the corridor.

Ski poles imply healthy, active aging Consider poles over canes and that one is fully engaged in life.

For the past three years, as my vision has SURPRISING SECRET continued below

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Sterling Presbyterian Manor 204 W. Washington Sterling, KS 67579-1614

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SURPRISING SECRET continued from above Get the kids in gear

To promote daily walking for schoolage children, I would advocate a low-budget competitive walking program in the public schools (grades 1 to 12) that could be measured weekly, monthly or annually with an inexpensive pedometer issued to students at the start of the school year.

In low-income areas, I would urge local retailers to donate walking shoes.

To spread the walking program, a pedometer could also be checked out 4 COMMUNITY MATTERS APRIL 2016

to the student to be used by a family member who is encouraged to walk daily with the student.

Seeing results

Having been an occupational therapist for 44 years, 20 of which were in the U.S. Army, I have seen the benefits of good posture and balance in the physical rehabilitation of service injuries and in treating children with significant learning differences. Now that I’m visually impaired, I realize even more that my own balance skills

must be maintained. I watch elderly people in my retirement community and see the damage to overall health from poor posture and leaning heavily on a walker.

In summary, the path to healthy aging begins early. Good posture and good walking habits can optimize bone density, muscle strength and body balance — and are essential to safe mobility in vision loss.

By Barbara Knickerbocker Beskind for Next Avenue

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