• Five-Star Nursing & Rehabilitation Facility awarded by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
• Administrator member of American College of Health Administrators
• Administrator recipient of CMS Outstanding Achievement award for Reducing Hospitalizations
• Swing over to your area senior center
• Ozempic and weight-loss drugs
• Healthy foods and dietary supplements SUMMER 2024
• Administrator is 2016 Recipient of Lily Leadership Award
by Kristen Guglielmo Associate Editor
As temperatures rise in Queens, so does the allure of its senior centers. Bustling with a variety of summertime activities, whether it’s a lively game of bingo in the comfort of air conditioning or time in the great outdoors, these facilities, also known as older adult centers, not only provide relief from the heat, but also serve as vibrant hubs of socialization and fun.
The city Department for the Aging estimates that there are more than 300 older adult centers and affiliated sites throughout the city, providing healthy meals, fun activities, classes, fitness programs and social services. Membership at these centers is free and open to New Yorkers ages 60 and older. A full list of centers can be found at nyc.gov/site/dfta.
Studies have shown that older adults report feeling healthier, more positive and less socially isolated after becoming members of an OAC, according to the agency.
Services Now for Adult Persons, known as SNAP, has two older adult centers: Eastern Queens, at 80-45 Winchester Blvd. in Queens Village, and another at 133-33 Brookville Road in Rosedale.
Both sites provide meals, transportation, case assistance services and wellness groups and activities. Enrollees can look forward to holiday celebrations, birthday parties, bingo, music, day trips and volunteer opportunities.
The Brookville location, the smaller of the two, offers discussion groups, arts and crafts, jewelry making, computer classes, light exercises and creative writing, according to snapqueens.org. Those are offered at the Eastern Queens location too, as well as music therapy, blood pressure monitoring, mindfulness and meditation.
“For the months of July and August, we’re planning to do a lot of in-person activities,” Nina Bhola, the director of the SNAP Eastern Queens Older Adult Center, told the Chronicle. “We anticipate a hot summer, so
we want the members to stay as cool as possible.”
Recently, the seniors went on a day trip to City Island in the Bronx to visit a museum, have a meal and enjoy a day of nice weather, Bhola said.
“We’re doing a casino-themed prom for our seniors next Friday at a local restaurant,” she said. The seniors will dress up and vote for prom king and queen.
Then, on an August day still to be determined, the center will have its annual luau, which offers live dancers, food and music. The staffers said the seniors look forward to the event every year.
Cathy Cahn, the director of the Brookville location, said, “We did a ‘Wheel
of Fortune’ program. We have a picnic at the plaza, which is a potluck with carnival games, coming up this Friday. ... There’s always lots of programs throughout the day.”
She added that the picnic is an indoor program because it sometimes can get too hot for the seniors to be outdoors.
“We do play bingo,” Cahn said. “But we’re not defined by that. We’re much more than just bingo — although the seniors are always happy with that kind of game.”
“The main focus is socialization,” said Marian Lewek, SNAP’s chief operating officer. “So even though the seniors may be learning a craft, or taking part in an educational workshop on diversity, the main focus is that they have an opportunity to be in a cool location where they have opportunities to talk to one another.”
She added, “Whether it’s formal, in a women’s discussion group or a men’s discussion group, or informal just sitting at tables, they’re not alone. They feel supported. They feel recognized and they feel valued by being together here.”
Some older adults may be apprehensive to visit a senior center, and some caregivers may be hesitant as well. Asked what she would say to naysayers, Cahn said, “It’s like a family, everybody’s very intimate, and people are happy to be here, it really becomes their way of life, their day-to-day and week-to-week. And I always encourage people to come and see what they’re missing out on by not coming.”
Lewek added, “We really work hard to meet the needs of the senior wherever they are. If they come to the center, they get a sense of how it is. It’s very hard over the phone — you get a much better understanding when you’re there in the center.”
The Middle Village Adult Center, at 69-10 75 St., is another option for seniors seeking care and entertainment. The location offers the basics found at most older adult centers, and also offers additional activities such as knitting, crocheting, watercolor and multimedia painting and mahjong.
Seniors looking to enjoy the great outdoors can participate in fitness picnics at Forest Park, according to Rabbi Richard Levy, the center’s executive director.
“We offer something for everyone,” he told the Chronicle.
The center offers weekly fitness classes in Forest Park and Juniper Valley Park. And during the warmer months, older adults can participate in a variety of guided outdoor activities.
On Tuesdays, from 10 to 11 a.m., residents can take an invigorating morning walk in Forest Park with instructor Debbi. After the walk, from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., participants can engage in chair yoga to relax, rejuvenate and recharge.
On Thursdays through Aug. 29, seniors can participate in tai chi, an ancient Chinese martial art, from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. at Juniper Valley Park.
“He’s outstanding,” Levy said of the tai chi instructor, Gerard. “He’s really very, very good. He’s been associated with us for a number of years. He attracts people and he has real energy.”
Levy also boasted that the location receives compliments on its lunch offerings. “Our lunches are very well-known and popular, with taste and quality,” he said, noting that they are free, with a $4 suggested contribution.
Information on other events can be found at middlevillageadultcenter.com.
Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens boasts multiple older adult centers with a variety of unique activities. Recently, the Howard Beach Older Adult Center had a “save your breath” workshop with discussions on respiratory health and lung-detoxifying foods. The Bayside location recently had an art exhibition showcase to show off members’ talents.
Other locations include Ozone Park, Hillcrest, Catherine Sheridan in Jackson Heights and Peter J. DellaMonica in Astoria. A full list of the group’s older adult centers can be found at its website, ccbq.org/ older-adult-centers.
The HANAC, or Hellenic American Neighborhood Action Committee, Ravenswood Senior Center provides activities and programming for individuals ages 60 and over residing in the New York City Housing Authority’s Ravenswood Housing Development and the surrounding community.
Seniors at Ravenswood’s center, located at 34-35A 12 St. in Astoria, can take morning group walks, called “walk-a-thons.” And on Wednesdays, the seniors get the opportunity to go on a shopping trip. A full schedule can be found at the Department for the Aging’s website or hanac.org. Q
by Michael Gannon Associate Editor
Nearly a dozen drugs have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration specifically for weight loss ; and a popular drug for type 2 diabetes that isn’t approved for weight loss still offers that result to many patients.
Like any drug, those inducing weight loss can have any number of side effects. And like any drug, side effects can require more diligence for myriad reasons in elderly patients.
Dr. Isabella Park specializes in hospice, palliative and geriatric medicine at Long Island Jewish Forest Hills hospital.
“I focus on polypharmacy, where there’s too many medications,” Park said. “As you get older, you have more comorbidities and more medical conditions start to add up.”
Comorbidity refers to a patient having two or more diseases or medical conditions at the same time. If each one requires one or more drugs, side effects and possible drug interactions require more and more care in both prescribing medicine and monitoring patients’ response.
“Some things interact,” Park said. “Even if there are not severe [interactions] all of the medications running around in your body can take a toll ... Sixty-five isn’t old anymore. There’s a lot of young, healthy 65-year-olds out there. But it depends on how many comorbidities you have.”
Park and Dr. Yursa Jamal, an endocrinologist at Long Island Jewish Forest Hills, said weight loss drugs, while helpful, can have side effects such as dehydration and gastrointestinal difficulties such as nausea and diarrhea. Some also can lead to loss of muscle mass as well as fat. Jamal, who treats many elderly patients with diabetes, said that can even happen with drugs for which weight loss is merely a side effect.
results in increased urination.
And in one case Jamal had take a patient off Ozempic after a number of years,
“She had passed 65 but was having extreme muscle loss,” she said. “ We had to change her to another diabetes regimen.”
The manufacturer Lilly has a similar pair of drugs, with its trade name Mounjaro for diabetes treatment and Zepbound, with the same basic drug, approved by the FDA for weight loss, both in November 2023.
Park said that for older adults, loss of weight, even if it is just a side effect from their diabetes drug, can be a big benefit if they are obese or even just overweight, particularly if they also have conditions such as arthritis or back pain.
“Two birds with one stone,” she said.
PHOTO COURTESY NOVO NORDISK
Ozempic is not approved for weight loss — a similar drug from its company, Wegovy, is — but it does have that side effect. Doctors say even approved medications require an extra level of care with senor citizens.
While a drug from Novo Nordisk under the brand name Wegovy has been approved by the FDA for weight loss since 2021, Ozempic, made by the same company, has been approved only for treatment of type 2 diabetes since 2017. Earlier this year it was approved for preventing heart attacks and strokes in patients with type 2 diabetes. But it has a side effect of weight loss and Park said some patients use it “off label” for that effect.
“I prefer to give Ozempic especially if they have comorbidities, if they’ve had a heart attack or heart condition,” Jamal said. “There is always a risk of side effects in an elderly population.” She said, for example, if a diabetes patient is taking Ozempic or diet drugs that can run the risk of dehydration, doctors need to make sure he or she is not already on one that
Jamal said muscle mass, along with a diet, exercise and nutrition, also must be kept under watch, as drugs and comorbidities, dehydration and suppressed appetite can combine for trouble. Loss of nutrients such as B-12, she said, can lead to patients having a wobbly gait, increasing the risk of falls. Park said the risk of falls also increases when the loss of muscle mass affects patient’s joints — particularly if it is abrupt.
Park reiterated that any drug must be treated with the proper respect. “Metformin is an age-old diabetes medication — cheap as hell, and it has been used for years on the front line against diabetes,” she said. “But you have to take it with food or you’ll be horribly nauseous. Even with ibuprofen, you can’t take it on an empty stomach or you’ll be nauseous, and it could even cause a stomach bleed.”
Park said she would like to see long-term studies of newly approved drugs include more data from elderly patients, including those in varying degrees of health. Q
By Naeisha Rose Editor
“Aging is not ‘lost youth’ but a new stage of opportunity and strength,” said Betty Friedan, a feminist activist and writer credited with ushering in the second wave of American feminism.
Seniors who are in the golden stage of their lives and want to maintain their vigor should use every opportunity to stick to the mantra “you are what you eat” in the kitchen and outside it, to help them stay healthy by being more mindful of their nutrition, according to experts in the field.
Christina Wilkinson, a registered dietitian and state-certified nutritionist from Maspeth, told the Chronicle via email that when she does public presentations for seniors she always tells them to avoid foods high in saturated fat.
“That comes mainly from animal products,” Wilkinson said. “Any visible fat should be removed from cuts of beef and pork. Preparation is also important. Something that starts out healthy, like chicken or fish, can be made unhealthy if it is deep-fried. Baking, broiling, boiling, steaming or gilling are preferred methods. It’s also better to cook with olive oil.”
The Centers for Disease Control National Center for Health Statistics agrees that food prep matters and says it is safer for adults 65 and older to eat poultry that is cooked to a safe temperature or deli meats, cold cuts and dry sausages cooked to 165 degrees.
The NCHS says it is best to have beef, veal, lamb and pork at 145 degrees and allow meat to rest for three minutes before carving or eating it. Pâté or meat spreads should be in sealed, airtight containers that don’t need to be kept refrigerated before opening.
Eating raw or undercooked meat, unheated deli meat or refrigerated meat spreads later in life is risky for the elderly, according to the fact sheet. Having premade deli salads such as coleslaw, potato salad, tuna salad, chicken salad and egg salad can be bad, too.
“As people age, their immune system and organs aren’t as able to recognize and rid the body of harmful germs, including ones that
cause food poisoning,” said a CDC spokesperson via email. “Many older adults also live with chronic conditions, such as diabetes and cancer, and are taking medicine that can weaken the immune system. Also, stomach acid decreases as people get older, and stomach acid plays an important role in killing germs and reducing the risk of illness.”
Dawn Kelly, owner of The Nourish Spot, a salad and juice bar in South Jamaica, shared the CDC’s sentiments and said raw food like wheatgrass is best for seniors.
“You want to put in your body things that rejuvenate you,” said Kelly. “It is important to eat your leafy greens so that you are regular when you go to the bathroom. It also helps you to keep your blood pressure down.”
Kelly says older people should take wheatgrass once or twice a week because it is good for the mind and body.
“Wheatgrass has every known vitamin and
mineral that our body needs,” she said. “Vitamin E and Vitamin D are good for eyesight ... I really believe wheatgrass is an elixir, a fountain of youth.”
Wheatgrass helps with stamina, is great for detoxing and is a good source for people also lacking Vitamins A, C, K and the B-complex, Kelly said.
Adding raw turmeric to one’s diet eliminates inflammation for older people, said Kelly. She also suggests that people cook with olive oil versus vegetable oil, which comes with a ton of preservatives.
“Our bodies were not made to process those things,” she explained.
antihistamines and organ-transplant rejection drugs.
“For people with type-2 diabetes, I would recommend low-glycemic fruits and vegetables,” said Webb. “Low-glycemic fruits are berries, which are high in antioxidants and low in sugar. Green apples are lower in sugar. Pears, lemons, limes, coconut and half or a medium-sized banana is good for a diabetic. If they have grapes they should have about 10.”
Having cod liver oil or foods with Omega-3 is great for brain health, said Webb.
“The food we should avoid is processed food,” said the nutritionist. “You want whole foods — unadulterated food that are in their original form.”
Corissa McEwen, a scientist of age-related disorders and the founder and CEO of Find Your Fitness, a self-care and holistic wellness company, said via text that is important for seniors to cut out dairy, processed sugars, white flour, wheat bread, fried and salty foods.
The scientist from Springfield Gardens says that 90 percent, if not more of diseases seen in young and old people are caused by dairy.
“Inflammation is often the start of a disease, so you want to stay away from things that will cause that and dairy will cause them,” McEwen, whose site is fyfnow.com, told the Chronicle.
Processed sugar throws off blood glucose levels and causes inflammation. White flour and wheat can cause inflammation. Fried foods can cause kidney issues and high cholesterol and salty foods can cause water retention that impacts the kidneys negatively, she said.
Wilkinson also said a wellrounded diet of fruits and vegetables keeps one’s immune system healthy and provides great sources of calcium.
“It’s also important to spend time outside because Vitamin D is made by the body when skin is exposed to sunlight,” Wilkinson said.
When it comes to supplements, she recommends that seniors ask their doctors as there are potential medication interactions to consider.
Keri Watkins Webb, a holistic nutritionist who resides in Queens Village, recommends that seniors eat what works in conjunction with what their doctors are saying about their health.
“If you have high blood sugar, it is not necessarily good to have dried fruits, mangos or bananas,” said Webb, founder of the company Empowered Living NYC. “Keep a food diary of what you are eating. Experiment with different foods and see how well you do on that food.”
Webb believes people should have a diet filled with vegetables and fruits, but some, such as grapefruit or grapefruit juice, do not work well with medicines for lower cholesterol, high blood pressure or Crohn’s disease, as well as
People with a sweet tooth should eat two or three dates or figs, the latter with nuts, to satisfy their cravings, said McEwen, who also recommended dark chocolate.
The Rev. Simone Lord Marcelle, the owner of Mother Juice Bar Café in South Jamaica, said food rich in minerals and antioxidants such as spinach, along with nettle and green teas, is anti-aging.
“Zucchini, broccoli, cabbage, celery, parsley and cucumbers, beets and carrots can be juiced and consumed daily with garlic for healthy blood pressure and healthy heart and eyesight,” said Lord Marcelle via email. “Also sea moss, dulse and kelp have a lot of minerals and will support the brain. Consuming organic coconut oil and cinnamon daily is good for combatting Alzheimer’s and dementia.”
For healthy, well-lubricated joints, seniors should be supplementing their diet with flaxseeds and flaxseed oil, krill oil and Omega-3 supplements, said Lord Marcelle, who is also a certified naturopath.
“For a healthy heart, hawthorn berries, cayenne pepper and heart healthy foods such as ginger, turmeric, blueberries add years to one’s lifespan,” said Lord Marcelle. “Elderberries boost the immune system and schisandra berries manage anxiety. ... Processed foods, especially those in packs, white rice, white sugar should be avoided. Farm fresh is very healthy and will aid longevity.” Q
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By Cynthia J. Conza, Esq.
Clients often ask whether they should prepare a will or set up a revocable trust. To answer that question, it is important to understand the differences between these two important estate planning tools.
Fundamentally, both a will and a revocable trust are designed to transfer your assets to your benefi ciaries when you die. You will also name an individual to carry out your wishes: the executor in your will or the trustee in your trust. Both a will and a revocable trust can be changed as many times as you wish while you are still alive. You also retain complete control over the assets you identify in your will or revocable trust.
There are also signifi cant differences between a will and a revocable trust. A primary difference is by putting your assets into a revocable trust you are allowing your benefi ciaries to avoid the probate process in Surrogate’s Court. Probate can be expensive and may take
many months. By avoiding the delay of probate, a revocable trust gives beneficiaries immediate access to assets upon death. A revocable trust also prevents a will contest by an heir you purposefully left out of your will or received less than they think they deserved.
A revocable trust can also ensure the inheritances you leave remain in your bloodline for your grandchildren and not end up with in-laws. Similarly, a revocable trust can protect the inheritances you leave from your children’s divorces or creditors. Married couples with taxable estates can also reduce and often eliminate estate taxes with a revocable trust.
Choosing between a will or revocable trust is an important decision and will have a signifi cant impact on your children and benefi ciaries. Please feel free to contact me at cynthia@conzamcnamara.com or (718) 845-5555 if you would like to discuss further.
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