Seniors_June_11

Seniors

Palouse

Senior Fair

2011

A special publication of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News

LOG CABIN MEMORIES

Moscow couple create books for grandchildren about their mother’s childhood adventures

MY OWN HOME

Local project aims to keep people in their homes longer

Senior Fair 2011 • Palouse Mall • Moscow • June 7 • 10am – 4pm

2 | Weekend, June 4 & 5, 2011 |

MOSCOWPULLMAN DAILY NEWS

SENIOR 10 – 4 FAIR AM

Palouse Seniors

PM

2 0 1 1

JUNE 7 • PALOUSE MALL • MOSCOW

WORKSHOPS! • VENDORS DOOR PRIZES! • BINGO!

2011 WORKSHOP SCHEDULE at the Ross entrance to Mall

10 a.m. Stay Active, Independent & Safe Rory Fletcher, Moscow Mountain Sport and Physical therapy

10:30 a.m. SAIL: Stay Active & Independent for Life Troy Vanucci, Proformance Physical Therapy

11:15 a.m. Fit and Fall Proof Odette Engan, Gritman Medical Center

Noon Cooking with Grains & Greens Tessa Graham, Sprout Wellbeing & Moscow Food Co-op

1 p.m. Beware of Medicare’s Hidden Enemy: Prescription for Fraud Tonya Steele, Idaho Department of Insurance

2 p.m. Vaccines: Not Just for Kids Anymore Will Edwards, pharmacist

3 p.m. How to Get Started in Social Networking Jodi Walker, Gritman Medical Center

Palouse Seniors

Senior Fair set for Palouse Mall Gritman, Daily News part of June 7 event

By Vera White Daily News staff writer

As she does every year, Barb Mahoney is busy lining up interesting programs and workshops for Senior Fair 2011, set to run 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 7. The Moscow-Pullman Daily News, Gritman Medical Center and the Palouse Mall are sponsoring the annual event.

Mahoney, director of Gritman’s adult day health program, is excited about what is being offered to attendees this year. The schedule includes the following: n 10 a.m. – “Stay Active, Independent and Safe,” by Rory Fletcher, DPT, Moscow Mountain Sport and Physical Therapy n 10:30 a.m. – “SAIL (Stay Active and Independent for

Life),” by Troy Vanucci, MPT, Proformance Physical Therapy n 11:15 a.m. – “Fit and Fall Proof,” by Odette Engan, Gritman Medical Center’s Jeff and Becky Martin Wellness Center n Noon – “Cooking with Grains and Greens,” by Tessa Graham, Sprout Wellbeing and Moscow Food Cooperative n 1 p.m. – “Beware of Medicare’s Hidden Enemy: Prescription for Fraud,” by Tonya Steele, Volunteer Services Coordinator, Idaho Department of Insurance, SHIBA Section n 2 p.m. – “Vaccines, Not Just for Kids Anymore,” by Will Edwards, pharmacist n 3 p.m. – “How to Get Started in Social Networking,”

by Jodi Walker, Gritman Medical Center “Troy will be putting on a SAIL class similar to the ones he holds at Bishop Place in Pullman and also in Colfax,”

Mahoney said. “He will be conducting a 45-minute class that attendees can participate in and learn that if they stay strong and healthy, it will prevent falls.”

Physical therapist Fletcher also will be talking about why it is important to do these things to stay safe and independent.

“One of the issues when we fall is we think of it just as an accident, but we can do things to stay safe,” Mahoney added.

Mahoney describes Engan’s classes as “the Idaho version of a Fall Prevention Program like SAIL.” “She will be providing options for people across the Palouse on programs they can participate in and receive pertinent information about,” she said.

All of the classes above are free and open to the public.

Vera White can be reached at (208) 746-0646, or by email to vnwhite@cableone.net

MOSCOWPULLMAN DAILY NEWS

| Weekend, June 4 & 5, 2011 | 3

Helping your home help you WSU’s Smart Homes project to provide memory screenings

By Vera White Daily News staff writer

Also at Senior Fair 2011, Washington State University’s Aging and Memory Program group will hold memory screenings, said Barb Mahoney, director of Gritman’s Adult Day Health Program.

The screenings are part of the group’s Smart Home Project headed up by Maureen Schmitter-Edgecomb.

“The program is being expanded,” Mahoney explained. “She is working with folks experiencing memory loss by teaching techniques to help them function better.”

The Smart Home Project is a joint program working with the engineering and psychology departments at WSU. The goal is to use technology to assist people with memory loss to maintain their ability to live safely at home. The Alzheimer’s Association, in part, funds this project.

Schmitter-Edgecomb is working with community members to identify those who are having memory loss as well as those without memory issues to provide them with tools to function better, Mahoney said.

In addition to screenings at the fair, attendees will be given data about the program and provided with a follow-up from the screening information.

Vera White can be reached at (208) 746-0646, or by email to vnwhite@cableone.net

Cover photos for Palouse Seniors were taken by Geoff Crimmins of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

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Palouse Seniors

MOSCOWPULLMAN DAILY NEWS

BILL LONDON AND GINA GORMLEY

Grandkids enjoy a book about Mom Couple write, illustrate log cabin stories

while living in the log cabin,” London said. “The first year was planting peas in the garden, eating the peas, then having a deer jump in when fall came, eating the pea plants and leaving an

By Vera White antler. It was incredible.”

Daily News staff writer The book was London’s idea.

“I wanted to provide Leyna Willie was a little girl with with a keepsake gift and one lots of curly brown hair, bright that would be meaningful to eyes, and big round cheeks. her,” he said. “The first one She laughed often, and her was not printed because we laughter made everyone smile. didn’t get it done until 2006.”

Willie lived with her mother Gormley acknowledged she and father in the woods. Tall was hesitant when London trees surrounded their house. first mentioned the book idea.

Thus begins Volume One of “I have never considered the series titled “Willie of the myself an artist,” she said.

Woods,” a charming account- “But I decided to just try to ing of the early childhood have fun with it, and it is turnof Willow “Willie” Gormley, ing out OK.” daughter of Bill London and And London compares writGina Gormley of Moscow. ing about Willie much like writThe couple had married in ing your autobiography.

1971, and then moved to St. “You get the satisfaction of Maries in 1978, where Willow, remembering these experiences Geoff Crimmins/Daily News their only child, was born. The before they drift away into the family lived in a log cabin, the of time,” he said. “Gina and Leyna Venzke, 5, left, and Lukas Venzke, 2, read stories about their mother, Willow Venzke, written setting of the “Willie of the fog I have found we each remember by their grandparents, Bill London and Gina Gormley of Moscow.

Woods” books. different parts of the same expeWillow is now married to rience and when we share it, we Patrick Venzke and the couple get the full picture. So reliving it have two children, Leyna, 5, that way is very enjoyable.” and two-year-old Lukas.

Plus, Willow did not remem“Leyna was born in October ber many of the things she did 2005, and for winter between the ages holiday gift-giving of 3 and 6.

• Independent living in our cottages or apartments that year, we start“There is now making a book a third genera• Assisted living services available in our large private apartments ed about her mother’s tion and they have experiences when seen the cabin, the • Skilled nursing in large private or semi-private rooms we lived in our log stream and the cabin,” London pond by Willow’s • Transitional care in large private rooms explained. “I wrote bedroom,” London the text and Gina said. “All these • Physical Therapy/Occupational Therapy/Speech Therapy illustrated and we things I have have continued to mentioned are Gina Gormley • Extensive Rehabilitation and Restorative Services do similar books now becoming Moscow activist and every year since.” real to Leyna so grandmother Volume One was her mother’s life ready for distribuis becoming more tion Christmas 2006. Above understandable.” the “Willie of the Woods” title, Likewise, Gormley also is the cover was marked “For reaping benefits from the books.

Leyna Grace, Christmas 2006; “I love it that my grandkids written by your Grandpa now know how their mother Bill and illustrated by your grew up in a log cabin in the Grandma Gina.”

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MOSCOWPULLMAN DAILY NEWS

| Weekend, June 4 & 5, 2011 | 5

BILL LONDON AND GINA GORMLEY

Years of community activism Co-op, Renaissance, Buy Local, V2020 and more

By Vera White

Both parent and child find magic in special books

By Vera White

Daily News staff writer

Bill London and Gina Gormley have been productive residents since moving to Moscow in 1984 from St. Maries where their only child, Willow, was born in 1978.

London, 64, was born in California and moved to St. Maries in 1975. Until that time, he “had lived all over the West Coast.”

The 63-year-old Gormley is a native of Philadelphia, but grew up in New Jersey from the age of 5 until she was 22.

The couple married in 1971.

“We met in Santa Barbara, Calif., through friends,” she recalled.

For years, London has identified himself as a freelance writer, writing the “Getaways” columns for the Daily News the past 10 years. While still in New Jersey, Gormley worked for four years as a secretary in marketing research at Campbell Soup Co. in Camden.

In Moscow, Gormley worked 15 years for GTE. Her favorite job while there was that of engineering technician.

“I’ve done just about everything over the years including being a stay-at-home mom,” she said.

In addition to his columns, London is a dedi-

Books trigger old memories

Daily News staff writer

Geoff Crimmins/Daily News

Gina Gormley and her husband, Bill London, wrote a series of picture books about their daughter, Willow Venzke, for their grandchildren to read. cated volunteer at the Moscow Food Co-op and edits the newsletter. For nine years, he was See ACTIVISM, Page 13

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How does it feel to be the heroine of a book?

“I love the books,” said Willow Venzke, the little girl featured in “Willie and the Woods,” a series by her parents, Bill London and Gina Gormley. “They are interesting because I am under the age of six in all the books and some of the things I remember, but most I don’t. They have triggered memories of several adventures I had forgotten.”

Willow and her husband, Patrick Venzke, have two

children, Leyna, 5, and Lukas, 2. The Willie series was originally intended for Leyna. The adventures take place at a log cabin outside St. Maries where Willow lived when she was born.

“Now my daughter loves going there, especially after reading the books,” said the 33-year-old Willow. “The property is sold but the owner says we can use the cabin anytime.”

It is located off a gravel road south of St. Maries.

“It’s pretty remote, but my daughter loves it there,” she said. “We lived in Florida until last summer so we’ve only been there a few times.

But we continue to read the books often.”

See BOOKS, Page 11

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MOSCOWPULLMAN DAILY NEWS

Women face extra obstacles in securing retirement funds

By Dave Carpenter Associated Press

CHICAGO — It took the collapse of her marriage to jolt Luanne Schmidt into action.

After years of taking a handsoff approach toward money, the 50-year-old nurse from Lannon, Wis., only recently took charge of her finances. Her savings and retirement security, she knew, were at stake.

“Do I know enough about finances and the market yet?

No,” says Schmidt, the mother of three children. “But I’m at least headed in the right direction.”

Women’s prospects are improving as they gain economically and begin to close the gender gap, but many are struggling in retirement or face heightened financial challenges because of their gender.

The fear of ending up poor

or even running out of money in retirement still gnaws at many women in particular.

It’s hardly irrational.

Women find it significantly harder than men to achieve a comfortable retirement. They live longer, earn less, and typically lag in savings and financial awareness.

“The fear is real,” says Cindy Hounsell, president of the Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement, a nonprofit education and advocacy group. “People see the hardship and expense of old age, particularly among women, all around them.”

A worrisome new concern is the millions of baby boomer women who will be swelling the ranks of divorced, widowed and never-married women living on their own in retirement. Single retirees are at greater risk of poverty.

Palouse Seniors

Center has the travel bug Pullman Senior Center offers day, overnight and ‘mystery’ trips In my role as seniors editor for the Moscow-Pullman Daily News, I am pleased to introduce the second column of the year by Steve Bell, manager of daily operations at the Pullman Senior Center. Steve will be contributing columns for our quarterly Palouse Seniors sections this year.

This column space is open to non profit groups on the Palouse to help raise awareness of the good works done by them on behalf of seniors.

The series began two years ago with contributions from The Friends of Hospice and Family Home Care & Hospice.

In 2010, Friendly Neighbors of Moscow was the featured organization.

– Vera White

T

he Pullman Senior Summer Theatre, Sandhill Center offers both day Crane tour, Clark House and trips and overnight Ione Train Ride. trips that range from one to This year the overnight five nights. trips include Walla Our emphasis for Walla Balloon many years has been Stampede, Pend to provide several day Oreille Lake and trips each month and to Sandpoint, Lake offer many different and Chelan, Wenatchee unusual experiences for and Leavenworth the members. and Hanford Reach We believe travel Cruise at Tri-Cities.

Steve programs offer seniors Local trips are also Bell many opportunities offered to nice resfor socialization, edutaurants, shopping cation, history, new areas, festivals and experiences and just having historical locations. fun.

To get information about the One of the more popular trips, you can become a memis the “mystery trip.” This ber and receive the monthly trip fills in just a few days newsletter that has all the trips and the seniors have no idea that are offered each month. where they are going, but Information is also listed in the expect to see something spe- Pullman Parks and Recreation cial and fun. seasonal brochure.

Some of the other more popular trips are the Steve Bell is the manager of the Pullman Hutterites, Foxwood House Senior Center and can be reached at (509) 338-3307, or by e-mail to steve.

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| Weekend, June 4 & 5, 2011 | 7

Coffee lovers unite: simple crafts that can help perk up java lovers

By Amy Lorentzen Associated Press

You can make a morning cup of java even more enjoyable for yourself or the coffee lover in your life by adding simple, personal touches to favorite cups, containers and bags of beans.

Instead of a pricey trip to the paint-your-own pottery studio, use porcelain or glass paints and markers to decorate mugs, then pop them in your kitchen oven to make your creation last.

Stencils from your local crafts store can help make attractive patterns and pictures.

Or add embellishment by attaching wine charms to the handle of a special mug, says Becky Hermann, a craft specialist with Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores. You can make your own charms in any color or style by using wire and beads, ribbons, or even a tag with scrapbooking stickers and stamps. Just remove them for washing.

The charms can work especially well for brushed stainless steel travel mugs to which paint doesn’t adhere easily.

Permanent markers and rub-on applique stickers can be applied

to the outside of the mug for additional interest. Some crafters suggest coating those in clear nail polish for longer use.

Remember to wash gently.

Many photo shops will print pictures of friends, family and pets onto a mug or stainless steel commuter cup; then you can add artistic touches at home.

There are plenty of other ways to dress up your morning cuppa and accompanying products as well.

Consider creating colorful wraps or coffee coats to keep your pot of java and French press piping hot, or your blender of iced coffee freezing cold. Most any fabric will do double duty, keeping the heat or cold inside.

Hermann suggests fun fabrics such as Insul-Bright, the insulating fabric you can use to make oven mitts and pot holders. Or use lined cotton and Velcro for an easy, inexpensive cover.

Make a template using your own pot, press or blender, or find one online or in sewing magazines.

For friends who enjoy grinding their own beans, decorate a small, vinyl place

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A handmade felt coffee collar is one of the easiest and most eco-friendly projects for yourself or a friend who makes regular trips to the coffee shop. mat to catch the grounds that escape the grinder.

Or use printable food or scrapbooking labels to design

custom labels to attach to reusable plastic containers that keep bags of beans and grounds fresh. If you use a single-cup coffee maker, decorate a container or make an organizer for coffee pods.

One of the easiest and most eco-friendly projects for yourself or a friend who makes regular trips to the coffee shop is a coffee collar or sleeve. That’s the small piece of cardboard that many coffee stores offer to protect your hands from the heat and make your cup more portable.

Your version can be a little more colorful, comfortable and reusable.

On her blog, the Iowa Farmer’s Wife, Adrienne Weeks details how to make an adorable and inexpensive coffee collar: Materials: n 1 large rectangle of felt in the color of your choice n 1 small piece in a second color of your choice

floss

1 button 1 small piece of ribbon Scissors 1 to 2 colors of embroider

n Embroidery needles n Use your coffee lover’s

favorite to-go cup as a template Instructions: Cut your preferred shape — a star, cross, heart, bird, anything you like — from the small piece of felt and set aside.

Using a cardboard coffee sleeve from a coffee store, trace a template on the larger piece of felt. Or measure a to-go cup in two spots about 3 inches apart where you would place your hand, draw the lines on the felt at the same distance apart and connect the sides. Weeks suggests doubling up on your felt pieces for extra insulation.

Cut out your felt sleeve and See JAVA, Page 13

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MOSCOWPULLMAN DAILY NEWS

My Own Home plans neighborhood meetings

By Vera White Daily News staff writer

In the February edition of Palouse Seniors, I wrote about a new project in Moscow called My Own Home. Since 2009, a group of dedicated people has been working diligently to make the concept a reality.

The idea is to allow people to age in their own homes where they are “only one phone call away from whatever service it is they need,” according to Barbara Wells, the 71-year-old Moscow woman who heads up the MOH board.

I recently called Wells for an update.

“MOH is planning to hold informal neighborhood meetings this summer and fall to provide prospective members with an opportunity to ask questions and learn more

about the benefits of joining,” she said. “The meetings will also help determine what services are most wanted and provide feedback on proposed membership fees.”

When interviewed in February, Wells said, “While there are some really good assisted living facilities and social services here,” there is nothing available to people who want to stay in their own homes as long as possible.

Wells’ intent is to provide “one stop shopping” services where you just call and say you need this or that and the organization takes the responsibility.

When MOH formed two years ago it was designated a 502(c)(3) tax-exempt organization and adopted a mission statement: “MOH will make it possible for adults to stay in their own home and remain actively engaged in the community as they age.”

Recent AARP research shows that 90 percent of peo-

ple want to grow old in their home and community.

MOH also has added two new board members — Judy Wallins and Shawna McCord of Moscow.

“Sadly, we are now without Lois Blackburn who left for Albuquerque last week and is probably safely in her new home there by now,” Wells said.

Blackburn was a member of the MOH executive board.

MOH also plans on hiring a part-time executive director this summer.

“Doing this will make it possible for us to meet our goal of beginning to provide services by the end of the year,” Wells concluded.

Anyone interested in attending one of the MOH meetings should email myownhomemoscow@gmail.com or call (208) 669-1757, and a board member will contact them.

Vera White can be reached at (208) 7460646, or by email to vnwhite@cableone.net.

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MOSCOWPULLMAN DAILY NEWS

| Weekend, June 4 & 5, 2011 | 9

Baby boomers’ knees and hips taking a beating

By Marilynn Marchione Associated Press

SAN DIEGO — We’re becoming a nation of bum knees, worn-out hips and sore shoulders, and it’s not just the Medicare set. Baby boomer bones and joints also are taking a pounding, spawning a boom in operations to fix them.

Knee replacement surgeries have doubled over the last decade and more than tripled in the 45-to-64 age group, new research shows. Hips are trending that way, too.

And here’s a surprise: It’s not all due to obesity. Ironically, trying to stay fit and avoid

extra pounds is taking a toll on a generation that expects bad joints can be swapped out like old tires on a car.

“Boomeritis” or “fix-me-itis” is what Dr. Nicholas DiNubile, a suburban Philadelphia surgeon, calls it.

“It’s this mindset of ‘fix me at any cost, turn back the clock,”’ said DiNubile, an adviser to several pro athletic groups and a spokesman for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. “The boomers are the first generation trying to stay active in droves on an aging frame” and are less willing to use a cane or put up with pain or stiffness as their grandpar-

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ents did, he said.

A huge industry says they don’t have to. TV ads show people water skiing with new hips. Ads tout “the athletic knee,” “the custom knee,” “the male knee,” “the female knee.”

Tennis great Billie Jean King, 67, is promoting the “30-year” Smith & Nephew knees she got last year.

“I wanted to make sure whatever they put in me was going to last,” she said. “I’m not trying to win Wimbledon anymore. I’m trying to get my exercise in,” play a little tennis on the clay courts in Central Park, and walk to a movie or a restaurant. “If I’d known what I know now, I would have had it 10 years ago.”

Joint replacements have enabled millions of people like King to lead better lives, and surgeons are increasingly comfortable offering them to younger people.

But here’s the rub: No one really knows how well these implants will perform in the active baby boomers getting them now. Most studies were done in older folks whose expectations were to be able

to go watch a grandchild’s soccer game — not play the sport themselves, as one researcher put it.

Even the studies presented at a recent orthopedics conference that found knee replacements are lasting 20 years come with the caveat that this is in older people who were not stressing their new joints by running marathons, skiing or playing tennis.

Besides the usual risks of surgery — infection, blood clots, anesthesia problems — replacing joints in younger people increases the odds they’ll need future operations when these wear out, specialists say.

“We think very carefully about patients under 50” and talk many of them out of replacing joints, said Dr. William Robb, orthopedics chief at NorthShore University HealthSystem in suburban Chicago.

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Strength and balance fitness classes available through WHMC SAIL exercise class 10 to 11 a.m.

Hill Ray Plaza, Colfax Monday / Wednesday / Friday Classes are taught by trained and certified Whitman Hospital instuctors.

LaCrosse Methodist Church Tuesday / Thursday Call 509-397-5733 for more information.

EXPERTS SAY: n Cross train. People tend to find one thing they like and do it a lot, but multiple activities prevent overuse. n Balance your routines to build strength, flexibility, core muscles and cardiovascular health. n Lose weight. n Spend more time warming up.

Break a sweat and get the blood flowing before you go full blast. n Let muscles and joints recover and rest in between workouts. n If you’ve had a joint replacement, do the physical therapy that’s recommended.

er in San Diego, plans to have a hip replaced in September. “I can’t exercise the way I want to. I have to go slow, which is really aggravating. I want to go full force,” she said. “I’m not worried about how I’m going to feel when I’m 75. I want to feel good now.” nKaren Cornwall, a Havertown, Pa., nurse who played a slew of sports since childhood, had both knees replaced last year when she was 54. “I just felt like I was too young and too active to be in pain all the time,” she explained. nBill McMullen, a former Marine and construction worker from suburban Philadelphia, had seven knee repair surgeries before finally getting a knee replacement at age 55 a decade ago. He took up weightlifting to spare his knees but damaged a shoulder and had it replaced two years ago.

“People ask me if I’m happy and I say, ‘If you have pain, go and get it done,”’ he said of joint replacement. “It was the best thing for me. I have no pain.”

People are urged to exercise because it’s so important for health, but there are “too many wannabes” who overdo it by trying to imitate elite athletes, said Dr. Norman Schachar, a surgeon and assistant dean at the University of Calgary in See BOOMERS, Page 11

10 | Weekend, June 4 & 5, 2011 |

Palouse Seniors

MOSCOWďšşPULLMAN DAILY NEWS

Gov’t cracks down on worker benefit thefts

By David Pitt Associated Press

The Department of Labor says the recession is financially stressing business owners, and in a few cases they’re pilfering employee contributions to 401(k) and health benefits accounts.

The department said May 25 it has filed civil lawsuits against 24 companies and business owners alleged to have kept money withheld from paychecks that was meant for retirement or health accounts.

"We’ve seen an increase in the number of these cases as economic times get more difficult and companies are struggling," said Phyllis Borzi, the assistant secretary of labor.

The agency oversees 708,000 pension plans and 2.5 million health plans in addition to a few million life insurance, short-term disability, and similar plans.

The companies range in size, from fewer than 10 workers to more than 100.

The largest case involves more than $6 million in worker contributions. It is filed against Northern Rhode Island Anesthesia Associates

PC and its owner. The Labor Department alleges contributions to the company’s pension plan were not deposited into the plan and were used to benefit the company, which had subsidiaries in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

The owner filed for bankruptcy protection in December 2008, the Labor Department said.

The cases are listed on the department’s website at www. dol.gov/ebsa/newsroom/ECI/ main.html Most of the 24 lawsuits involve 401(k) contributions.

Federal laws require money withheld from worker paychecks to be deposited in the retirement fund within a specified period of time. For small companies with fewer than 100 workers, it’s typically within seven business days. Larger companies must deposit the money no later than the 15th business day of the month following the month in which the money was received.

In some cases, the money was diverted for other uses, costing workers lost investment gains. In other cases, the

“

We’ve seen an increase in the number of these cases as economic times get more difficult and companies are struggling.�

Phyllis Borzi U.S. Assistant Secretary of Labor money was never deposited and used for company expenses or for personal use by the company owner.

In addition to civil lawsuits, which attempt to recover the employee money, the Labor Department has begun a program to file criminal cases against some employers or plan administrators.

So far this year, the government has initiated 191 criminal investigations, referring 97 cases to federal prosecutors. It has obtained 20 indictments and seven guilty pleas.

Assets returned total more than $385,000 so far.

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Palouse Seniors

Books from Page 5

Associated Press

Karen Cornwall plays with her dogs Bel, left, and Mac, in front of her home in Havertown, Pa., on May 13. Cornwall, a nurse who played a slew of sports since childhood, had both knees replaced last year when she was 54.

Boomers from Page 9

Alberta, Canada.

“They think if they’ve got a sore knee they’re entitled to having it replaced,” he said.

“I think surgeons are overdoing it too, to try to meet that expectation.”

Dr. Ronald Hillock, an orthopedic surgeon in a large practice in Las Vegas that does about 4,000 joint replacements a year, sees the demand from patients.

| Weekend, June 4 & 5, 2011 | 11

MOSCOWPULLMAN DAILY NEWS

“People come in and say ‘this is what I want, this is what I need,”’ he said. “They could buy a cane or wear a brace,” but most want a surgical fix.

The numbers tell the story. There were 288,471 total hip replacements in 2009, nearly half of them in people under 65, according to the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, which tracks hospitalizations.

Knee replacements soared from 264,311 in 1997 to 621,029 in 2009.

Her daughter starts kindergarten next year and is a bit too young yet to be reading on her own.

“Mommy reads them to me and I really like them,” Leyna said. “I can’t pick a favorite one ’cause I like them all.”

Leyna sounded sad that she has yet to experience adventures like her mother.

“She lived in a log cabin, and I don’t, so I’ve not really had any adventures,” she said. “I hope to go to Hawaii when I’m six or seven. I want to go swimming, but I’m hoping I don’t run into a shark.”

Leyna said her grandpa is “really a good writer.”

As for Lukas, he is still “pretty young” to respond to the Willie stories.

“He likes the pictures and likes to point, but he doesn’t understand what is in the book,” says his mother.

Willow graduated from Moscow High School in 1995 and the University of Idaho in 1999. She worked for domestic shelters in Pullman and then in Florida.

“Three of my best friends

growing up are mentioned frequently in the books and that is also fun for Leyna as she knows all of them,“ Willow said. “It is fun for her to see them all when they were little.”

Willow and family live in Moscow where she is a stayat-home mom. Patrick holds a sales position and owns his real estate investment company. A former professional football player with the Colts, Jaguars and Eagles, he still plays in Germany for a club team there.

Although she “hadn’t really thought about it,” Willow hopes she can continue the family tradition of writing Willie-type books for her children.

“Leyna has traveled a lot and knows a whole different world than I knew at her age,” she said. “It’s a great way to remember all the little stories that might otherwise be forgotten.”

Vera White can be reached at (208) 746-0646, or by email to vnwhite@cableone.net.

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12 | Weekend, June 4 & 5, 2011 |

Palouse Seniors

MOSCOWPULLMAN DAILY NEWS

At-home technology can monitor seniors for safety

By Melissa Kossler Dutton Associated Press

At 88, Grif Crawford knows he’s at risk of a fall or other sudden health problem. So he wears a pendant around his neck that can summon help if something goes wrong.

“It’s kind of like life insurance,” said Crawford, of Lee Summit, Mo. “I feel very comforted with this.”

The device has come a long way since the days when it merely allowed the wearer to alert someone that he or she had fallen and couldn’t get up.

Crawford’s equipment also can be programmed to answer his phone, remind him to take his medicine or alert him to a fire, among other things.

It’s one of several new products designed to help seniors stay in their homes rather than move to a nursing home or assisted living facility.

At-home technology now can monitor senior citizens’ movements, vital statistics, and sleep and bathroom patterns. There are products that remind seniors to take their medicine.

Such devices allow older people to remain in their homes with more oversight from loved ones or medical specialists.

The products can monitor how well seniors are managing the chores of daily living, and offer “peace of mind” to caregivers or family, said Majd Alwan, director of the Center of Aging Services Technology, in Washington. The products are most successful when they are tied to an agency that can dispatch meals, medical help or other senior services, he said.

Currently, the monitoring systems, which cost about $150 to $200 a month, are more often prescribed to seniors for

a limited time after a hospitalization or health issue, Alwan said. Some also are being used in assisted living facilities where operators like the additional protections they offer.

But many people would like to see the technology become more mainstream, added Elinor Ginzler, senior vice president for livable communities for AARP, which recently surveyed seniors about their interest in the products. Seniors are willing to use the technology if it’s affordable, she said.

“We’re at the beginning of the wave,” she said. “Money is an issue.”

Alwan foresees technology allowing seniors to avoid “unnecessary early institutionalization” because it will relieve the anxiety of loved ones. The ability to closely monitor a person’s lifestyle also can help family members know when the older person is unable to remain home, said Katie Boyer, director of marketing for Home for Life Solutions, in Lee Summit.

Besides monitoring falls and day-to-day activities, her company sells equipment that

will turn off a stove if the sent to a medical provider who user forgets. A built-in motion tracks it. If problems arise, the detector turns the appliance off patient can have a teleconferif the user leaves the room and ence with a nurse or scheddoes not return in a specific ule an appointment with their timeframe. doctor.

As for manThe compaaging mediny also offers cine, systems QuietCare, exist that which uses will dispense sensors that it at approlearn a cuspriate times tomer’s daily and remind activities patients to and behavtake it. If the iors, and patient fails then watch to take the for changes, Agnes Berzsenyi medicine, the Berzsenyi GE Healthcare manager pills can move explained. into a locked The sensors chamber to avoid an overdose. will alert help if a person falls, Many older people like hav- goes to the bathroom at night ing technology provide this and doesn’t return to bed, or extra layer of security because fails to get out of bed in the it doesn’t require them to morning. Sensors also can be give up privacy, said Agnes placed near the medicine cabiBerzsenyi, general manager of net or refrigerator, so monitors home health for GE Healthcare can track whether the person in Milwaukee. is taking their medicine and GE has two products aimed eating. at seniors: Health Guide allows “It makes them feel like users to check their blood someone’s taking care of them pressure, sugar levels or heart but no one is watching them,” rate daily. The information is Berzsenyi said.

“

It makes them feel like someone’s taking care of them but no one is watching them.”

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Palouse Seniors

MOSCOWPULLMAN DAILY NEWS

And then there are the books.

“One is a compilation of my “Getaways” Daily News colfrom Page 5 umns, which should come out this summer,” he said.

The other is an autobiogpublic relations director for the Moscow Renaissance Fair and raphy.

“I resigned from Buy Local also served as board president; founder of Moscow Vision 2020; Moscow so I could concentrate and co-founder of the Moscow on the book,” he said. “I’ve had an interesting and varied life Civic Association.

“I was also the founder of Buy and I want to talk about it.”

He thinks writing one’s life Local Moscow and was the coordinator for three years” he said. story gives a better understandGormley also was active ing of one’s self.

“Remembering the myriad of with the Food Co-op where she worked as a volunteer and also details is fun and a good exercise to provide served on the an overview of board of direcwho you are tors for the and why you Renaissance are,” he said Fair. She was “It is equally also a hospice important for patient-care me to share volunteer and that with my a member of daughter and the Moscow grandchilPeace Band. dren.”

London Bill London London wanted to menMoscow activist and grandfather has already tion a couple written seven of meaningful community honors he’d received. chapters and expects to do about “One was the bench at 20 more.

“It has taken me three or four Friendship Square purchased by the Progressive community years to get this far, but it is a headed up by Lois Blackburn, very fruitful experience,” he said. and the other was being selected King of the Renaissance Fair Vera White can be reached at (208) 746in 2004,” he boasted.

0646, or by email to vnwhite@cableone.net

Activism

Java

from Page 7 pull the pieces apart and stitch your preferred shape onto the front piece of the collar.

Press the two collar pieces together and sew a whip stitch around the top edge, stopping

at each end, but leave the needle/floss attached.

Use your cup to find the right placement for the button by pulling the collar tight and marking the spot. Then sew the button on using your embroidery floss.

Using the needle still attached to the button end of the collar, use a whip stitch

| Weekend, June 4 & 5, 2011 | 13 to sew up that end and keep stitching around the bottom until you get to the other side.

Put the collar back around the cup and mark where you want to place the ribbon.

Make a loop in the ribbon, place it around the button and cut. Sew the ribbon to the inside of the collar and stitch up that end.

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14 | Weekend, June 4 & 5, 2011 |

Palouse Seniors

MOSCOWďšşPULLMAN DAILY NEWS

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Palouse Seniors

Grandkids from Page 4

woods,” she said. “They are amazingly interested in the whole story.

Also, I found that my illustrations, although very basic, make for a fun and colorful book.”

The couple has fallen into a routine putting out the spiral-bound book, which usually runs from 18 to 25 pages.

“Bill writes the story in about an hour in January and it takes me the whole rest of the year to do the illustrations,” she said. “I can

MOSCOWPULLMAN DAILY NEWS

do about two pages a day, but for some reason, it is always hard to get started.”

When completed, the pages are taken to a copy store where they are laminated to prevent ripping and then spiral bound. The cost is about $30 for one book.

“Now that we have two grandchildren we will have to start making one for Lukas so he can have his own,” Gormley said.

London urges other grandparents to consider a project like “Willie of the Woods.”

“Anybody could do it,” he said.

“They just need to spend the time writing something about their youth,

their children’s youth, the experiences that matter to them and share that with other generations.”

Gormley agreed.

“I would advise anyone interested in doing such a project to give it a try,” she said. “They will probably be pleasantly surprised with the results. And their children and grandchildren will appreciate it.”

For now, the couple intends to keep putting out the Willie series.

“We have not run out of fun adventures as yet,” London concluded.

Vera White can be reached at (208) 7460646, or by email to vnwhite@cableone.net.

| Weekend, June 4 & 5, 2011 | 15

Geoff Crimmins/Daily News

Gina Gormley (upper left) reads a story with her granddaughter, Leyna Venzke, while Willow Venzke (upper right) reads with her son, Lukas Venzke.

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16 | Weekend, June 4 & 5, 2011 |

Palouse Seniors

MOSCOWPULLMAN DAILY NEWS

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