Senior W ellness: Gr acefully Aging Acr oss Gener ations Sar ah Abuali, Angela Bour assa, Patr icia Er ickson, Nikki Kupfer m an, Joy Lloyd- Montgom er y, Sr ividya Mur thy, Aditi Reddy, Sam ir a Tella, Kevin Tr ac, Taylor Walter W elcom e to the Senior W ellness Lear ning Com m unity
Recom m endations ❖ DO actively listen: Encour age par ticipants to shar e what they know and be an advocate for their own
The Sen i or Welln ess Lear n i n g Com m un i t y pr om ot ed holi st i c healt h t hr ough n ut r i t i on al educat i on , li fest y le m odi fi cat i on aw ar en ess, an d soci al con n ect edn ess, by i m plem en t i n g t hem ed act i vi t i es an d sn acks, w hi le en cour agi n g lar ge an d sm all gr oup di scussi on s.
St . M ar y ’ s Cour t ❖A pr ivate housing com m unity in r esour ce- r ich Foggy Bottom , cater ing to older adults with low to low- m iddle incom e. Residents tend to be self- sufficient and socially active within the building and sur r ounding com m unity. Si bley Plaza ❖A public housing com m unity adjacent to the upcom ing NoMA neighbor hood, with fam ilies and singles of all ages. Residents tend to be self- sufficient and busy outside the r esidential building.
Sibley Pla za r esidents wor k with I SCOPE S tea m m em ber s on color ing pa ge a ctivities gea r ed a t incr ea sing dexter ity a nd visua l a cuity
St. Mar y ’s Cour t r esidents pr epar e for Ey e and Vision Health bingo with ISCOPES team m em ber s and nur sing students
Healthy fall them ed and Halloween m otif r efr eshm ents: banana ghosts and clem entine “pum pkins”
Rationale for ISCOPES Pr oject Seniors are m ore susceptible to isolation than other age groups.
❖ Senior Wellness Lear ning Com m unity pr ovides a sour ce of social
inter action for the r esidents because “ social contact m ay be as effective as physical activity in im pr oving m ood and quality of life.” 1
“Approxim ately 35% of seniors ❖ We pr om ote healthy eating habits in a gr oup setting which suffer from m alnutrition.”1 encour ages senior s to tr y the nutr itious snacks we pr ovide and
incor por ate healthy ingr edients in their r egular diets. Isolation can affect physical health, depress the im m une system , and exacerbate pain. Adopting and m aintaining healthy habits can be difficult at any age. 1
❖ We conduct health education on topics of concer n to senior s
thr ough gr oup play, scr eenings, and discussions that encour age par ticipants to shar e their own exper ience and knowledge. ❖ Gr oup events pr om ote m utual encour agem ent am ong senior s to
adopt healthy habits, including tr ying new foods and activities.
“Studies connect socializing with quality of life” from Holiday Retirement Web Site http://www.holidaytouch.com/retirement-101/senior-living-articles/socializing-linked-with-quality-of-life
❖ DO com m unicate with sites and com m unity par tner s: Identify key people to enhance and suppor t the
team ’s pr ocesses and goals. DON’ T r ate your success on the num ber of people who show up, but r ather on the quality of the tim e spent with those pr esent. ❖ DO be flexible: Allow r oom to swap or switch ar ound plans but be sur e to keep the lar ger goals in m ind.
DON’ T tr y to cr am too m uch into one im plem entation and don’t get upset if you don’t get to all of the planned activities. ❖ DO m ake the tim e to know your team : Com m unication, par ticular ly in per son, will be key to building
positive team r elationships and lead to m or e effective and m eaningful inter actions. DON’ T only focus on im plem entations, but focus on your gr owth as a team and within your self per sonally and pr ofessionally. ❖ DO step out of your com for t zone: Talk to new people, tr y new things. DON’ T be afr aid to take on
leader ship r oles.
Team m em ber s Joy and Kevin pr epar e sm oothies for Sibley r esidents to help dem onstr ate how leafy gr eens can be hidden in delicious, fr uity m ixes
Apple tasting activity at St. Mar y ’s Cour t, showcasing differ ent var ieties of apples and their m ultitude of health benefits
All hands on deck play ing Ey e and Vision Health Bingo at Sibley Plaza
St. Mar y ’s Cour t r esident decor ates snowflake wall ar t
health while still r especting individuals’ boundar ies. DON’ T m entally check out while with the senior s or team m ates.
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Team m em ber s Sar ah and Sr i shar e a laugh with r esidents over waffles
St. Mar y ’s Cour t r esidents enjoy waffles with ISCOPES team m em ber s dur ing winter them ed activity
Team m em ber Tay lor hosts Hear t Health Jeopar dy for Sibley Plaza r esidents
Team Mem ber Joy and nur sing student Rom aine conduct ey e exam for Sibley Plaza r esident dur ing ey e and vision health activity
Nur sing student Er in leads gentle y oga at St. Mar y ’s Cour t
W hat W e Lear ned “ Inter pr ofessional team - based ser vice for m e r elied heavily on being em pathetic and under standing of m y fellow team m ates – by under standing that ever yone has lim itations and str engths and how to com m unicate these with one another so that we m ay best ser ve the com m unities we ar e wor king with and suppor t one another .” - Kevin Tr ac "Collabor ating allows us to lear n, to consider a challenge fr om m ultiple disciplinar y per spectives, and be m or e innovative in cr eating solutions, an asset as population health becom es incr easingly com plex.” - Angela Bour assa “ Fr om visiting both of our com m unities I lear ned that the best way to be involved in a com m unity is to listen to the people that ar e par t of it. We can only wor k with a gr oup if we tr y to under stand them , their desir es, and their needs. This knowledge will help m e to be per sonfocused r ather than objective- focused in m y futur e car eer s, which is invaluable in an incr easingly im per sonal and digitized wor ld.” - Nikki Kupfer m an
Kudos We w an t t o ext en d our t han ks t o ❖ Susan Walker , St. Mar y’s Cour t Com m unity Par tner ❖ Liz Anne Ganiban, Sibley Plaza Com m unity Par tner ❖ Minh- Tam Le, Team Advocate ❖ Angie Hinzey, Sem ir a Kassahun, Donna Javellana, ISCOPES
Leader ship Team ❖ Kiel Bush, Er in Mor gan, Stephanie Owusu, Betsy Richar ds, and Rom aine Scott, GW School of Nur sing Key Stakeholder s ❖ The Residents of Sibley Plaza and St. Mar y’s Cour t