Senior Living - January 2011

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Tai Chi instructor Art Bauer leads exercises at the Senior Center’s Tai Chi class Wednesday.

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As Chinese flute music plays in the background, Art Bauer’s voice echoes throughout the room in a calm, gentle, rolling tone.

He tells the class to close their eyes, relax their muscles, feel the breathes each person takes go inside and outside of their bodies.

“The first thing we do is we get connected to the earth,” Bauer said.

Bauer leads the group, all sitting in chairs, through a series of breathing exercies, getting them to think about positive energy flowing from earth and heaven through each of them.

The group, eyes closed and looking focused, gradually becomes more and more relaxed, calm, destressed, at peace.

This is just the beginnng of Bauer’s Tai Chi class. The group,

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bending, stretching and jovial, aren’t the normal new age crowd. This is the Tai Chi class at the Mower County Senior Center, and the class is made up of seniors. “(Tai Chi) is very important to me,” said Betty Benner, who at 83 years young has practiced Tai Chi since 1997. “It’s the right kind of exercise. It’s not to heavy and you don’t have to exert yourself to do it.”

That’s the way Bauer teaches Tai Chi, or to be more precise Tai Chi Qigong, which is a more peaceful approach to Tai Chi. Like many martial arts, Tai Chi has been around for hundreds of years, supposedly starting in China in the 12th century.

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Tai Chi: ‘It’s basically a self health care system’ Bauer immediately devoted himself to learning the practice, and has been teachOver time, various styles and schools ing in Austin for almost 12 years. of teaching have cropped up, each giving “It’s a healing practice,” Bauer said. slight variations to Tai Chi’s “Everything is done as removement and actions. Tai laxed as possible. We use SENIOR CENTER Chi Qigong focuses on the our own energy to balance TAI CHI health benefits of the art, ourselves.” through breathing exerBauer teaches classes When: Wednesdays and cises, stretches and simple throughout town every Fridays, 9:30 to 10:30 movements. week. Tuesdays from 9:30 a.m.

“It’s basically a self to 10:30 a.m., Bauer Where: Mower County health care system,” Bauer teaches classes at the Senior Center said. Bauer, who’s been inCedars of Austin. On terested in martial arts Wednesdays and Fridays since he was 19, met a man who walked from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m., Bauer can be found into his Tae Kwon Do dojo and asked him with the regulars at the MCSC, some of if he knew Tai Chi. whom have gone since he first started, “He said, ‘Well if you know the martial some of whom have just joined. arts and how to hurt, to destroy some“What a wonderful practice,” said body, this is the other half,’” Bauer said. Lynda Howden, who’s attended every “‘How to heal them and put them back to- class since Jan. 1. gether again.’”

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Martial Artist Art Bauer has taught Tai Chi classes throughout Austin for almost 12 years.

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The Mower County Senior Center holds Tai Chi classes every week from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.

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AUSTIN DAILY HERALD - SENIOR LIVING

Care facilities charge for unused services month of October, but he didn’t get a copy of the lease. Days later, the director asked for $473 to cover the rest of September.

Judy Truitt wanted to make sure The Truitts said they paid for Ocher 87-year-old mother had a safe tober’s fees in advance because they place to live when she moved to Minwere told that the facility’s staff nesota from California last fall. So needed a few weeks to get the room Truitt paid $5,675 to hold a room and ready. It also meant that VanWagner’s prepay the first month’s fees at furniture could be stored there until Country Villa, a Golden Valley asshe arrived. sisted-living facility.

But VanWagner’s declining health Her mother, Bonnie VanWagner, quickly put a stop to all the plans. She died before ever setting foot in broke her pelvis and suffered a stroke Country Villa. Judy and her husthe first week of October. Judy called band, Matt, thought they would be Country Villa to let them know her able to get some of their money mother wouldn’t be movback, but instead the Wising in and to ask whether consin company that owns Country Villa billed “I paid for all that and she never they could get any money back, but she said she was them an additional $1,470. got any of it.” told that the decision That’s because residents needed to be made by the are supposed to give -Judy Truitt corporate office. On Nov. Country Villa a month’s 7, VanWagner died. notice that they’re leavThe Truitts were still ing.

“I just don’t understand why I “Unfortunately, it’s often at a time waiting for a response from Assisted have to pay for all the meals, all the when families and people are in cri- Living Concepts when they received a bill at the end of November for cleaning, all the laundry services,” sis.”

Plans fell apart after health prob- $1,470. Since the facility had considJudy Truitt said. “I paid for all of ered Oct. 13 as the official move-out lems that and she never got any of it.”

Last August, the Truitts began notice, they billed for the first two Laurie Bebo, president and CEO of Assisted Living Concepts Inc., preparing for Judy’s mother to leave weeks of November.

“It seems like an awful lot of said the contract clearly states that her lifelong home in California bethe initial $2,000 payment is a non- cause her caregiver, Judy’s sister, money for someone who never stayed refundable fee and that the company was dying of cancer. They chose there, never got a single service,” requires a 30-day notice to termi- Country Villa because it was close Matt Truitt said.

Because the Truitts hadn’t reto their home in Plymouth and ofnate the lease agreement.

“Our agreements do end with the fered three meals a day, housekeep- ceived a response from Assisted Livpassing away of the resident once ing, laundry and assistance with ing Concepts, they contacted Whistleblower. Two days after the apartment is cleaned out,” Bebo medicine.

In mid-September, Matt Truitt Whistleblower’s inquiry to Country wrote in an e-mail to Whistleblower.

Experts in long-term care say met with Country Villa’s director Villa, the Truitts received a copy of that consumers often have little re- while Judy was in California. He the lease but didn’t get an answer course in situations such as this signed the lease Sept. 27 and paid about a refund. one, because the facilities have few the $2,000 deposit and $3,202 for the

By LORA PABST

Star Tribune, Minneapolis

AUSTIN DAILY HERALD - SENIOR LIVING

restrictions on their fees and contract conditions.

Deb Holtz, Minnesota’s ombudsman for long-term care, said her office often receives calls from family members who are confused about upfront fees to long-term care facilities, which don’t always carry the same legal protections as traditional rental security deposits.

“Consumers and advocates in the industry recognize that it’s time we need to relook at this whole process ... and what’s best for consumers as they’re looking through these very complicated choices,” Holtz said.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 21, 2011

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Meals on Wheels offers ‘green’ menu binger of how services for seniors — in general — are likely to respond as the first wave of boomers hit age 65 this month. Unlike the older seniors in their 80s, the younger generation is likely to have higher expectations for everything from food to housing to health care, said Enid Borden, president of the Meals on Wheels Association of America.

“Are boomers going to go to senior centers and play bingo?” she asked. “The model will change.”

Other cities, such as Portland, Ore., Santa Monica, Calif., and Richmond, Va., also have “gone green” with their Meals on Wheels, said Borden. They remain a small fraction of the Meals on Wheels providers nationally, which deliver 1 million meals a year.

Borden sees the trend as the wave of the future. But there’s a tension between the programs’ twin goals of “ending hunger” and “providing good nutrition,” she said, because natural foods cost more money.

“That’s the conundrum,” Borden said.

Meals on Wheels programs in St. Paul, White Bear Lake, New Brighton and other Ramsey County suburbs began the whole foods experiment this month, said Barb

By JEAN HOPFENSPERGER Star Tribune

When Sharon Schluessler turned 65 last year, she signed up for Meals on Wheels.

She was disappointed to see the old-school menu of mushy potatoes and canned vegetables. Then January rolled around.

Suddenly, fresh salads, wild rice pilaf, whole-grain pasta and “Cauliflower Alfredo” began appearing in the white bag delivered to her front door. Organic and vegan meals became available.

Call it a sign of the times. As more finicky baby boomers begin enrolling in the nation’s largest senior nutrition program, organizers are responding by offering a new generation of comfort food.

This Ramsey County service appears to be the first in the state — and among a fraction of the 5,000 Meals on Wheels programs in the nation — to offer a “green” menu.

“I’ve always eaten fresh fruits and vegetables and watched my diet,” said Schluessler, who has diabetes and lives in White Bear Lake. “The meals before had too much gravy over everything. This doesn’t have all that crap.”

The Meals on Wheels changes are a har-

Arrell, executive director of the Senior Services Consortium of Ramsey County.

They serve about 900 meals a day, or about 2,700 a month, which is a quarter of all Meals on Wheels served in the metro area.

It’s part of the program’s evolution.

“We had a similar situation about five years ago with vegetarian food,” said Patrick Rowan, executive director of Metro Meals on Wheels. “Now we have a vegetarian option for all our meals.”

Kosher food is also available.

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