Seniors: In the News

BY GARTH MANN

With the COVID-19 regulations slowly winding down throughout Alberta, senior supportive care centres such as The Manor Village Life Centers in Calgary, and Christensen Senior Care in Edmonton are working collaboratively with Alberta Health Services to establish the “New Norm” for protecting the vulnerable senior sector of our society.

The Wellness Nurses at senior supportive care centres are learning to recognize those seniors who have preconditions called Chronic Health Diseases. These preconditions or comorbidities weaken the immune system and a senior’s prognosis for longevity.

Almost all chronic health conditions are directly related to our day to day lifestyle. Health conditions, such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart diseases and chronic respiratory disease are called comorbidities that impacts the vulnerability of seniors.

The good news is that daily mobility with stretch and flex training, controlling carb intake, maintaining your hydration, controlling your stress levels and maintaining meal portion controls will lower your glycemic index, reduce the risks of Type 2 Diabetes and coronary disease.

Protect your sensitive brain. The brain needs proper nourishing as well as stimulation in order to think—to have empathy—to appreciate music—to appreciate the meaning of life and love. Seniors who are socially interactive is a positive stimulation for your brain and health. At the Manor Village Life Centers, we emphasize entertainment and daily activities in the form of our mind stimulating questions about your experiences in life. We call these programs SEEING is BELIEVING, where we walk-down-memorylane, enjoying fun activities that enhance memory. Daily socialization is important for seniors to stay current and connected to people with similar interests, living at home alone is most often damaging to senior’s lifestyle & health.

Last year we started Taste-the-Difference. Our chefs wanted to help seniors living alone to enjoy quality cuisine with home cooked daily meals delivered by our Manor Village staff to a senior’s personal home. We deliver many meals each day, to assist those seniors who are in need of healthy nourishing cuisine.

THE NEW NORMS at Senior Support Centres:

• The cleanliness factor is a necessity by wiping high touched areas with sanitizers.

• Hand washing will also be mandatory with reminders to keep hands away from your face.

• No longer will shaking a person’s hand be a traditional salutation. Perhaps we will learn to bow when greeting or bidding goodbye?

• Testing for viruses will become the new norm in a muchsimplified form.

• Social distancing will be recognized as being too difficult in many situations such as restaurants, car pooling, meetings, weddings, funerals and family socializing.

• Screening of visitors will continue as part of the new norm in all senior support centres.

• Masks will eventually be a thing of the past except in extreme situations. Many Seniors are unable to breath effectively with a mask, and unable to hear when staff wear a mask.

COVID has taught us that with aging, we compromise our survival if our immune system is weakened through Chronic Health Conditions. Lifestyle changes take willpower and assistance to avoid illness and enhance longevity.