A Note from EILEEN BRADSHAW
Thank you for your support of LIFE Senior Services. We say it often, but it bears repeating—we really can’t do our work without you. Clearly as our name implies, we are committed to the service of seniors. However, not included in our name is another very important constituency: caregivers.
Caregivers are everywhere in our community. Some step in on evenings or weekends occasionally for a parent, aunt, or neighbor needing help. Others are acting as a caregiver for a spouse or parent most every hour of each day. Caregiving is truly a labor of love. It is a privilege to stand alongside a loved one in a difficult time in their life. To be there, embodying the commitment, is meaningful. However, caregiving is simultaneously the most difficult of roles. It is exhausting physically, emotionally, and intellectually. It is fraught with guilt and anxiety. And though caregivers are seldom alone, it can be a very lonely role.
In this issue, you will read about LIFE’s Adult Day Health Centers. Designed to provide a safe, stimulating place for adults needing assistance to spend the day, the centers also provide an important opportunity for caregivers to have a break. Sharing
the caregiving duties with the engaged staff at our centers can provide respite, but also support for the caregiver themselves. We have support groups designed for caregivers to connect with each other. LIFE also offers one-on-one caregiver support with a licensed professional counselor. Aggregating these services makes a tangible difference in the lives of caregivers, affording them space and support to retain some sense of self. Your generosity is making this assistance a reality.
Eileen Ryan Bradshaw
Thank you so much for caringEileen
The Active Senior Center at Roma Berry currently has 810 members. Did you know the membership fee remains only $100 a year or $8.33 per month? That includes access to the pickleball and basketball courts, guitar, harmonica, yoga, tai chi, art, ceramics, line dancing, theater opportunities, board games with peers, chair exercise classes, extra activities, with more to come. If you’re the type of person who shows up just twice a week and engages in multiple sessions that is less than a dollar per activity to stay active, maintain friendships and a sense of community. Supporters to LIFE help ensure the availability of scholarships for people who find those fees an obstacle to membership.
810
$8.33 $1.00
LIFELines Publishing Team: Boyd Chitwood, Rochelle Dowdell, Kelly Kirchhoff, Greg Raskin, Lauren Zeligson
Spice of LIFE VIBRANT LIVING?
As JoAnn was signing up for an upcoming LIFE EDU class, she suddenly said, “I want you to know that I just love LIFE Senior Services.”
She first brought her husband to LIFE’s Adult Day Health (ADH) 25 years ago and it was a lifesaver for her. He was an older spouse and developed Alzheimer’s along with several other health issues. Joanne said, “The first time I dropped him off, I felt like two cents. But, when I came to pick him up, he was busy working on an art project and didn’t want to leave until he finished it.”
“... he made friends while at adh. he needed other people he Could talk to..”
After that, she felt no more guilt. Instead, there was a sense of relief knowing there was a caring, engaging program for her husband and assistance for her. “He made friends while at ADH. He needed other people he could talk to.” JoAnn was effusive in recounting how the staff truly cared for her husband which created a great experience for both of them. Attending ADH gave him the feeling he could accomplish something and be of value.
JoAnn enjoyed her membership at LIFE’s Southminster Active Senior Center and also served on the senior center board. Now, she spends much of her free time volunteering with LIFE at the airport and for the Red Cross Veterans History Project. She has helped produce over 100 videos archived at the Library of Congress; the veteran’s family also receives a copy. For her work, she received an award from the Red Cross.
At 85 years old, JoAnn’s life exemplifies how, with readily available community resources, one
>>Let it Snow LIFE’S HOLIDAY PROJECT
Make holidays merry and bright for someone who needs your care. LIFE’s Holiday Project will deliver stockings for members of our Vintage Housing communities. Seniors with limited income, who may spend the holidays without family, will feel your compassion when they receive a holiday gift or stocking brimming with cheer. In the months ahead, look for posts on our Facebook and Instagram channels for ways to fill and drop off your stockings. You can also contact Danielle for other ways to participate at dhill@lifeseniorservices.org or (918) 938-7635.
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Open for LIFE PART 1 -
ADH
>> Quality of LIFE
MEET LINDA AND CHRIS
What does a hard-working, new to Tulsa, single professional do when a parent needs 24-hour monitoring? Dr. Christopher Allen would say, “Word of mouth is probably the best way to find services, no matter what you are looking for. So, I trust that my veterans give me good information. They definitely did with LIFE. I couldn’t be more pleased, honestly.”
Chris started seeing changes with his mother. There was an incident when her neighbors in Weatherford called. She was chasing her cat and fell. He then began noticing gaps in her memory in addition to her experiencing some new seizures. She was eventually diagnosed with vascular dementia.
Dr. Allen has led an interesting and varied work life. Currently a psychologist for the Veterans Administration, he helps veterans daily who struggle with a variety of challenges. He stated his interactions with veterans are some of the most rewarding work he’s ever done. “LIFE has been a good experience. I couldn’t be doing what I am doing, no way, if it wasn’t for the services at LIFE’s ADH (Adult Day Health) program,” he commented.
ADH has afforded him and his mother success not only by facilitating his continued crucial work assisting veterans, but also allowing Linda to thrive. “She was really nervous before, but they keep her engaged in all the activities.”
When it comes to a person living with dementia, limiting the amount of changes they experience daily improves their circumstances. “Living with me, we do the same routine every day. Something I really like about LIFE, they have all this activity scheduled daily. The more engaged she stays the more likely she will retain the abilities she currently has. She wouldn’t be as happy as she is if it wasn’t for LIFE.” He noted his mother’s skills in calligraphy and the precision of her handwriting. “I love the art activities she gets to do at LIFE.”
Even though Linda requires monitoring, Chris reports, “She’s not difficult at all, in fact, she is quite pleasant to be around. I mainly just worry about not knowing what she might do from one minute to the next.”
TESSA AND FRIENDS
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Meet Tessa
ADH - ADULT DAY HEALTH AT ROMA BERRY
Current and former participants love the ADH program. With the move from our Central location to the new Roma Berry campus, we checked in Tessa Wojnar, the ADH site manager. She said, “I think the most significant improvement to our program results from having room to grow. This new location and expanded facility allow us to offer more services, and more programming, to more people in the community than ever before.
“Our participants have responded positively to the new center. They truly love the walking
trail and all the new areas we can utilize. Before, everyone was in one room and it was difficult to facilitate smaller group activities. Now at Roma Berry we offer a variety of activities for groups with varying needs, and they can all happen at the same time.”
Watching Tessa and her caring, professional staff makes clear why this program succeeds. “Our participants become family. It is affirming to all of us that so many of our participant families say they wish they would have found us sooner.”
Scan the QR code to see why people are so excited about the new Roma Berry Active Senior Center.
“i Couldn’t be doing what i am doing, no way, if it wasn’t for the serviCes at life’s adh program.”
Linda recently made the move to the new Roma Berry ADH Center. Chris said, “One of the nice things about Roma Berry is that if my mother is in a situation that causes her stress, there are plenty of other places and activities where she can change her environment.”
In Weatherford, Linda was active at the Y. She attended a water aerobics class for years with the same group of women and truly enjoyed their company. Chris said, “If she was still in Weatherford, her likely only option now would be to live in a nursing home and have a much more isolated life. LIFE really meets a lot of social needs for her.”
“Traditionally, people would take care of family members until they’re gone; generations take care of their older generations,” he said, “One of the most valuable aspects of LIFE is its ability to preserve the quality of life for elderly people. People who donate to LIFE have a purpose, they know they make a difference in people’s quality of life.”
Chris remarked that loneliness is a killer just like heart disease or cancer. “It would be hard to be lonely while you’re at Adult Day Health. I see the daily interactions when I get there between the participants. Everybody who knows about LIFE has the same opinion, they think what you do is just wonderful.”
Caregiver Spotlight
MEET JANET: LESSONS IN SENIORCARE
Like so many other people who take on the role of caretaker for a loved one, Janet had no advance preparation or training. Fortunately, she was referred to LIFE’s Caretaker Support Program. “I didn’t know about senior daycare, I didn’t know about PACE. I didn’t know about any of it. But through talking to Erin (LIFE, LPC and case manager), she guided me in the right direction.”
Janet is a retired chemist, thoughtful and well-educated. “LIFE Senior Services is a huge thing. After I started exploring what I needed to take care of Gil, I knew I needed to talk to somebody, but also knew counselors were expensive.” However, thanks to a grant from the Tulsa Area United Way and the support of generous people in the community, Janet, and others like her, can receive those services at no cost.
“Gil’s a late-life friend. I met him at church and we’ve been together for about 16 years. The first 10 or 12 years were wonderful. We traveled all over and went to England on my 70th birthday. I noticed a couple of years ago, his memory started changing.” At first, Janet was unsure if she was overreacting, but Gil’s memory continued to worsen. “As a retired chemist, of course, I got out my notebook and started to write stuff down.”
“i guess the main thing i’ve gone through is grief. i’ve probably read 30 books on dementia and alzheimer’s. the brain knows a lot of stuff, but that doesn’t help the heart”
Erin suggested taking Gil once or twice a week to LIFE’s Adult Day Health (ADH). Many people wait too long to start a program and their loved one has a difficult time adjusting.
Janet began by taking Gill twice a week. Gil said, “Yeah, it’s a good program. We had three dogs come yesterday. They all came over to see me and I patted them. There’s singing, there’s everything anybody could ever want from nine to three, and lunch. So how can you go wrong? Yeah, and it gives Janet a break from me,” he said with a chuckle.
Qualifying for the LIFE PACE program and transportation affords Gil the opportunity to attend ADH five days a week, and gives Janet some flexibility in her schedule. “Gil wants to be in the room with me all the time. If we’re sitting in the den, and I move to go fix supper, he follows me. I’m his security blanket. We definitely benefit with the PACE and ADH programs. I have time to do what I need and Gil gets to go up there. He has a community he wouldn’t have if he were just at home.”
Memory decline isn’t a problem to solve and overcome the way a chemist might solve other challenges. “It changes from day to day,” said Janet. “I hope someday we will have treatments, but brain chemistry is so complicated, and we don’t even have a test for Alzheimer’s. A lot of memory loss is overlaid with simple aging which changes your whole system. So it could be this or that, or the other 20 things it might be.”
Summing up, Janet said, “I guess the main thing I’ve gone through is grief. I’ve probably read 30 books on dementia and Alzheimer’s. The brain knows a lot of stuff, but that doesn’t help the heart.”
GIVING FEELS GOOD, GIVING EVERY MONTH FEELS BETTER
You support LIFE Senior Services and your kindness shows. By working hard every day to assist seniors, LIFE has earned the trust of the community. We hope the stories in this newsletter demonstrate how your support helps real people and you find inspiration by what you see.
With that in mind, please consider joining a group of like-minded people. Give in a manner most convenient to you, earn special privileges, and be that person seniors can count on every month.
See below to become a GEM for LIFE.
YOUR GENEROUS GIVING SUPPORTS THESE LIFE PROGRAMS.
SENIORLINE: The first place to call with questions about aging services or situations. (918) 664-9000.
ADULT DAY HEALTH CENTERS: Nationally accredited centers provide safe, cost-effective care, health monitoring, and flexible daily enrichment activities in a safe, friendly, and supportive setting.
ACTIVE SENIOR CENTER: Offers a variety of social, creative, educational, and fitness activities supporting healthy aging, staying active, and sharing time with friends.
MEDICARE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (MAP): Oklahoma’s most comprehensive counseling service helping beneficiaries understand and navigate Medicare Part D.
PUBLICATIONS: LIFE’s monthly Vintage Magazine and LIFE’s annual Vintage Guide to Housing & Services, Oklahoma’s most comprehensive guide to senior resources, have both won National Mature Media awards.
TAX ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (TAP): The only such site in Oklahoma, the program provides assistance February –April with tax preparation for any senior, and free filing to qualifying individuals.
VOLUNTEERS FOR LIFE: Provides meaningful volunteer opportunities to seniors and retirees throughout our community.
CASE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM: Assesses needs and coordinates personalized social, economic, and environmental support so seniors can remain safely at home.
CAREGIVER SUPPORT: Provides family caregivers counseling and support to help enhance coping strategies and improve quality of life through the aging process.
COMMUNITY EDUCATION: Opportunities for the entire community with online and in-person options. Offerings include wellness topics, cooking, creative writing, and more.
LIFE AFFILIATES:
LIFE PACE: Provides care and comprehensive, integrated support services for qualifying individuals. PACE’s unique team-based approach results in positive health outcomes and dramatically reduced hospitalizations.
VINTAGE HOUSING: Comfortable and affordable community-based housing for seniors with limited resources. Giving feels good. If you would like to explore monthly giving options to see if it is right for you, contact Greg Raskin at (918) 938-7643 or graskin@lifeseniorservices.org. You can also find monthly giving options on our website lifeseniorservices.org or use this convenient QR code.
Thank you!
Celebrate LIFE is the largest single fundraising event of the year for LIFE. Through this one joyful event, many of the programs you, and others in the community, count on get the resources needed to continue. In addition to the event donors, a small army of volunteers stepped forward to help with planning and joining their friends to assist at the event. Thank you!
Thank you to the Celebrate LIFE committee which consisted of: Maria Veliz Barnes, Michelle Evans, Terry Marcum, Debby Raskin, Cassie Reese Tipton, Evan Tipton and Kristin Ware.
Thank you so much to our generous sponsors for making Celebrate LIFE and All That Jazz such a success.
LIFE Begins at 50 Kathleen Craft-Mowry
LIFE of the Party
The Hale Family Foundation
Leslie and Michael Moore
Larger Than LIFE A G Equipment Company
Saint Francis Health System
LIFE is Grand ONEOK
The Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation
Thank you to John and Denise Redmond for their special matching gift.