LINKTHEMARCH / APRIL 2015

Your Aging and Disability Resource Connection

Visit us at Legacylink.org

From left to right: Jane Lenzen, Betty Fitts, Pat Freeman, Joe Hirsch, Pamela Elfenbein, John Morris Jr. Board Members not pictured: (Jimmy Berrong and Steven Leibel)

In This issue Need for Senior CarePage 3

Lumpkin Wellness Expo Page 3

Wheelchairs provided by VeteransPage 5

Senior Center NewsPage 5

RSVP VolunteersPage 6

Healthy SnacksPage 7

New Building Ribbon Cutting

On January 20th Legacy Link cut the ribbon on their new building in Oakwood. CEO Pat Freeman along with the board of directors, city officials and Legacy Link Employees participated in the grand opening.

Legacy Link was represented at the Senior Rally on February 9th as a bus load of seniors from Hall and Habersham Counties made the trip. The trip included a stop at Ikea for a free breakfast before proceeding to the Capitol. Seniors were able to tour the Capitol Museum, sit in the gallery and watch a session with state lawmakers in action as well as meet with their local representatives and senators.

A special thanks to Megabus.com for providing transportation free of charge for the 4th year in a row.

Seniors Bus to the Capitol for the Senior Rally

Senator Butch Miller addressing senior issues.Continued on page 4

LINKTHE MARCH / APRIL 2015PAge 2

THe LInk Published by Legacy Link Editor Don Colombero

Contributing EditorsLisa Howard,

Dottie Suchke, Barbara Hilber& Steve Wareham

Subscriptions

To subscribe to E-editions: Send your e-mall address to dfcolombero@legacylink.org

For mailed copy send to:Subscriptions at

Legacy LinkP. O. Box 1480

Oakwood, ga. 30566

Upcoming Events

by Pat FreemanChief Executive Officer

Not me. My husband is the one who now owns a new knee.

I’ve been the caregiver which hasn’t been such a hard job. I have found you just have to be alert when doing this for someone who is very independent and wants to,

“be back to normal” quickly. He really did his homework prior to the surgery to study all aspects of having the operation, went to a workshop at the hospital, pre-pared for the recuperation, etc. He even went on the internet to find a video of knee surgery so he

would know exactly what was going to happen to his joint!

And, he wanted me to watch it too. No thank you.

We had all the equipment he might need following this event due to my father living with us into his 90’s. We already had the shower stool, crutches, cane, walker, etc. As it turned out, the most used piece of equipment continues to be my father’s elec-tric recliner. What a great inven-tion!

The patient has done amaz-ingly well following surgery and I attribute it to him doing just as the physical therapist instructed him to do. He doesn’t want me to be driving him around any longer than absolutely necessary. I must say my husband has become quite proficient at driving a motorized cart through the aisles at Walmart. It’s not as much fun as driving a

pickup but it gets you around.As I listen to the men discuss

their knee surgeries and how long it took to do various things, I think it sounds just like when men talk about how long it took to drive certain distances. I sup-pose it’s in their genes! Time and distance appear to change with time.

Advice to the caregivers out there:

• Store up patience.• Sit in on some visits by the

physical therapist.• Store up patience.• Remember homemade chick-

en soup really does have re-storative powers.

• Store up patience. Don’t file for divorce in the first couple of weeks after surgery.

Want to take charge of your health and feel good? Join one of these Wellness Workshops to get started:

Living Well is a 6-week self-management program that will empower you to enjoy life while dealing with conditions like heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis, lung disease, depression, and other chronic health conditions.

Living Well with Diabetes, also a 6-week self-management program, focuses specifically on issues and challenges associated with living with diabetes to enable participants to take control and enjoy life.

A Matter of Balance is an eight-week fall prevention program that helps participants view falls and fear of falling as controllable to increase self-confidence and reduce fall risk factors.

Contact Lisa Howard at 770-538-2711 or Lshoward@legacylink.org for more information about any of these workshops designed to help you put life back into your life!

Wellness Workshops

The Proud Owner of a New Knee!

March 21 8 am - noon Living Well Health Expo

Big Canoe Tennis Center Jasper, gA

March 26 - 6 pmChamber Chase 5k

Riverside Military Academygainesville, gA

March 26 - 6:30 pm

Georgia CaresStephen’s Ministry

1st Presbyterian Churchgainesville, gA

March 31 - 9 am - noonHealth & Wellness Fair

Lanier TechOakwood, gA

March 31 - 10 am – 2 pm

NE GA Job FairLanier Tech/Conf. Center

Cumming, gA

April 2 - 10 am – 2 pmHall Job Fair

gainesville Civic Centergainesville, gA

Lumpkin County Family Health & Wellness Expo

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The Baby Boom is now creating a Senior Boom. According to a new report from the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of in-dividuals age 65 and older is projected to reach nearly 84 million by 2050, almost double the size from 2012. Another factor contributing to the boom is the fact that people are living longer. Currently, the average Ameri-can is living to be almost 79 years old, up from about 71 years in 1970.

This raises the question of how we, as a country, plan on taking care of our aging citizenry. According to the Congressional Budget Office, about one-third of people age 65 or older report functional limitations of one kind or another—limitations that require assistance in dress-ing, bathing, preparing meals, managing medications, etc. Among people age 85 or older, about two-thirds report functional limitations. And experts project that two-thirds of all seniors will need assistance to deal with a loss in func-tioning at some point during their remaining years of life.

“Changes in the age structure of the U.S. population will have im-plications for health care services and providers, national and local policymakers, and businesses seeking to anticipate the influence that this population may have on their services, family structure and the

American landscape,” says Jennifer Ortman, chief of the Census Bu-reau’s Population Projections Branch.

The aging population presents numerous challenges and great opportunities for agencies and companies that provide senior care. Home care and home health care services, community care facilities for the older popula-tion, and continuing care retirement communities are all expanding. All showed an increase of 20 percent or more in their number of employees between 2007 and 2011. Additionally, age-restricted communities are be-coming more and more popular. One such community, The Villages in Sumter County, Florida, was the nation’s fastest growing metro area from 2012 to 2013.

Fortunately, the Senior Boom wasn’t an unforeseen phenomenon. We’ve known for nearly 60 years that Baby Boomers would eventually grow old and need greater

care. The associated industries caring for these individuals have, so far, been able to keep pace with demand, although occupancy at senior liv-ing communities is on the rise, reaching 89.9% in the second quarter of 2014. Fortunately, construction of new communities is also on the rise. It’s safe to say that senior care will be a growing industry for many years to come.

New Census Bureau Report Underscores the Need for Senior Care

Wellness Workshops

On Saturday March 7th Legacy Link attended the Wellness Expo that was held at the Lumpkin County Community Center in Dahlonega. The Theme for the event was “Health is contagious – Catch it at the Expo”.

In addition to 3 employees and one in-tern from Legacy Link staffing our booth the Silver Sneakers from the Lumpkin County Senior Center performed exer-cise routines on stage.

Lumpkin County Family Health & Wellness Expo

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Dawson County News

Seniors Bus to the CapitolContinued from page 1

Northest Georgia seniors in the Senate Gallery

Seniors exit capitol.

Ikea provided a free breakfast to our group.

Leaving Legacy Link in Oakwood.

Arriving at the capitol

Lunch at The Varsity after a busy day at the capitol.

Habersham Seniors make connections

to the Capitol.

Fourteen seniors from the Habersham Senior Center traveled down in their van to Hall County to board the Megabus.com coach to the Capitol.

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Dawson County News

Senior Center Director Dawn Pruett along with Clients Barbara Wallace and Pat Kirton visited the state capitol on Monday, January 26, 2015 for Senior Day at the capitol. They also had the oppor-tunity to meet with State Representative Kevin Tanner.

Left to Right: Senior Center Clients Barbara Wallace and Pat Kirton

Left to Right: Senior Center Clients Barbara Wallace, Representative Kevin Tanner, Senior Center Director Dawn Pruett, and Senior Client Pat Kirton.

The Christmas tree stays up year round and the

decorations change with the holiday being celebrated.

Hall seniors learning about Legacy Link programs.

Left to Right: Kim Ruiz, Rosine Rosencrans, Sam Smith

Hall Senior Life Center

Over 70 seniors were in attendance to hear a presentation highlighting the programs that Legacy Link pro-vides to the community. At the end of the presentation Nathan Ann Neal won the grand prize of a trip for two on Megabus.com.

Veterans Group providing wheelchairs

Legacy Link and the Disabled Americans Veterans (DAV) teamed up to provide a much needed wheel chair for Lula resident Rosine Rosencrans.

Sam Smith the Commander of the local DAV made it known to Legacy Link that they were receiving some extra wheelchairs from a South Carolina medical equipment store that was closing.

kim Ruiz , CCSP Care Coordinator knew that one of her clients (Rosine Rosencrans) was in need of a wheelchair that can cost several thousand dollars. Thanks to kim and Sam, Rosine is very thankful to have a new wheelchair.

The DAV has recently delivered over a dozen wheelchairs in north georgia.

The DAV will continue to help provide wheelchairs for those in need but asked that if you have any wheelchairs that are not being used please contact Sam Smith at (678-761-2330). They can recycle the working chairs to others and use parts of the non-operating chairs for repairs.

Raffle winner Nathan Ann Neal

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RSVP Volunteer ViewRetired & Senior Volunteer Program

Volunteer Recognition Day is April 20th

George Jacobs has been a volun-teer Medicare counselor at Legacy Link since 2004. He is a retired federal executive, having started his career with the Social Security Administration in his native New York in the 1970s. He subsequent-ly transferred to the Southeastern Program Service Center in Bir-mingham, Alabama, and from there to the regional office in At-lanta, where he worked as a statis-tician in the social services branch of the Department of Health and Human Services. When the agen-cy now known as CMS (Centers for Medicare/Medicaid Services) was created, he transferred there where he worked both in Medic-

aid and Medicare in a variety of po-sitions. In 1998 he was promoted to CMS Regional Ad-ministrator for New England in Boston, from where he re-tired several years later.

George enjoys his time spent assisting people in navigat-ing the Medicare system. Besides believing that each individual has a certain responsibility to give back something to the local com-munity, he feels a great personal

satisfaction in help-ing Medicare re-cipients to under-stand their benefits and coverage op-tions. He also likes the fact that each beneficiary story is unique and some-times very intrigu-ing. He enjoys that he “learns some-thing new every day.”

Five years ago, George wrote a book entitled Managing Your Medicare, published by Self-Counsel Press. It is based greatly

on what he had learned by being a Medicare counselor in north Georgia.

In his other spare time George enjoys travelling, especially to visit his four children and nine grandchildren.

Barbara Hilber, the Georgia-Cares coordinator, feels lucky to have George on their team. She remarks that he is a wonderful re-source who provides a wealth of information, both historical and timely as George is constantly in-vestigating current information to stay abreast of the many changes that affect Medicare beneficiaries each year.

RSVP Volunteer View Retired & Senior Volunteer Program

Meet a RSVP VolunteerGeorge Jacobs - Legacy Link GeorgiaCares

George Jacobs

National Volunteer Week is about inspiring, recognizing, and encouraging people to make a difference in their communities. It is a time for individuals, non-profit organizations, and government agencies to honor the ordinary people who accomplish ex-traordinary things through volunteer service and who motivate others to follow their lead.

Most volunteers do not ask for recognition. They want to help where they can as an effort to give back. This is a great time to thank those volunteers at your organization who help make programs successful for the benefit of everyone in your community. You can celebrate by thanking volunteers you know, getting involved as a volunteer yourself, or donating to a volunteer group.

National Volunteer Week is a Points of Light program which was established in 1974.

National Volunteer WeekApril 12-18

LINKTHE PAge 7MARCH / APRIL 2015

Open Enrollment

Snacks can be a fun and valuable part of a person’s healthful eating plan – but they can also add unneeded calories, sugar, sodium and fat. During National Nutrition Month, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics offers smart snacking ideas that help everyone “Bite into a Healthy Lifestyle.”

“If you choose carefully, and plan ahead, sensible snacks can be part of any healthful eating plan,” says registered dietitian nutritionist and Academy Spokesperson Isabel Ma-ples. “Snacks can prevent overeating at mealtimes and throughout the day. For children and adults alike, snacks can supply foods and nutri-ents that we might miss in meals. Snacks especially offer a great way to eat more fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy.”

Each March, the Academy encourages Americans to return to the basics of healthful eating through National Nutrition Month. This year’s theme encourages consumers to adopt a healthy lifestyle that is focused on consuming fewer calories, making informed food choices and getting daily exercise in order to achieve and maintain a healthy weight, reduce the risk of chronic disease and promote overall health.

“A healthy snack can provide an energy boost, and satisfy your mid-day hunger. If you haven’t eaten for three or more hours, a snack can help bring up your blood sugar level for optimal energy. For older adults with smaller appetites or limited energy, several small meals in-cluding snacks may be easier for their bodies to handle,” Maples says.

Maples offers ideas for biting into healthy snacks:Plan your snacks. “Keep a variety of tasty, nutrient-rich, ready-to-

eat foods nearby, for when you need a bite to take the edge off hunger. Then, you won’t be so tempted by less-healthy options from vending machines, convenience stores or the contents of your own kitchen.” Snack ideas include fresh fruit, air-popped popcorn, whole-wheat crackers, dried fruit and nut mixes, almonds and fat-free yogurt.

Make snack calories count. “Snack on foods that fill the nutrient gaps in your day’s eating plan. Think of snacks as mini-meals to help you eat more fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy – foods we often don’t eat enough.”

Go easy on high-calorie snacks such as chips, candy and soft drinks. “They often contain solid fats, and added sugars. Make these occasion-al choices that fit your day’s plan.”

Snack when you’re hungry – not because you’re bored, stressed or frustrated. “Exercise can actually be a great way to feed those emo-tional urges.”

Snack on sensible portions. “Choose single-serve containers, or put a small helping in a bowl rather than eating directly from the package.”

Quench your thirst. “Water, low-fat or fat-free milk and 100-percent juice are just a few options. Flavored waters might be high in added sugars, so check the label.”

Making the right food and nutrition choices is a necessary part of biting into a healthy lifestyle. A regis-

tered dietitian nutritionist can help. To learn more and to find an RDN in your area visit eatright.org.

Source: The Academy of Nutri-tion and Dietetics is the world’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. The Acad-emy is committed to improving the nation’s health and advancing the profession of dietetics through research, education and advocacy.

Visit the Academy at eatright.org.

Bed, Bath, And Way, Way Beyond In the hardware store, a clerk asked, “Can I help you find anything?” “How about my misspent youth,” joked my husband. The clerk shot back, “We keep that in the back, between world peace and winning lottery tickets.” Blind Date “How was your blind date?” “Terrible! He showed up in a 1932 Rolls-Royce.” “What’s so terrible about that?” “He was the original owner.”

Just for Laughs

Bite Into a Healthy Lifestyle

LEGACY LINKArea Agency on Aging

4080 Mundy Mill Road, Oakwood, Ga 30566

nOn PROFIT ORg.U.S. POSTAge PAIDgAIneSVILLe, gAPeRMIT nO. 82

Resource GuideHome Based ServicesGateway to Aging Services: Legacy Link’s toll free number (855-266-4283) ac-cesses the gateway to Aging Services. Trained intake specialists provide confidential access to information, assistance and referral concerning services for seniors, family members and persons with disabilities. Callers are assisted in locating resources and services in the regions, in georgia and across the United States.

Community Care Services Program: (CCSP) serves low-income, frail persons of all ages in the 13 county service region. The program assists people who are el-derly and/or functionally impaired to continue living in their homes and communities by offering personal support services, such as, adult day health, caregiver support, respite care, home delivered meals, emergency response systems, and basic personal care. The individual or family members along with the CCSP nurse and care coor-dinator will develop a care plan to prolong independence and avoid nursing home placement. (855-266-4283).

Source Program: Serves individuals who meet nursing home level of care and are SSI Medicaid recipients. Personal support services are arranged with the individual, physician and care management team to reduce emergency room visits, hospitaliza-tions and improve quality of life while living in the community. In addition to the 13 county service region, Source is also offered by Legacy Link in Barrow, Cherokee, Clarke, elbert, gwinnett, Jackson and Madison counties. (855-266-4283).

Alzheimer’s Care Consultation Program: A free, telephone-based information and support service for adults with memory impairment, including Alzheimer’s and demention, and friends or family who care for them. Care Consultation provides, particularly to caregivers, ongoing help to find practical solutions to concerns about health and care as well as coaching and support. Clients do not have to be enrolled in any other Legacy Link program to be eligible to participate in Care Consultations. (855-266-4283).

Employment and EducationEmployment and Training for Mature Workers (SCSEP): Persons aged 55+ on the Senior Community Service and employment Program are placed in part-time positions in public and non-profit agencies for training to enable them to enter the workforce. Funded by the national Council, assistance is provided to residents of 23 north georgia counties. (770-538-2650)

Community Based ServicesWellness Programs: Addresses social, emotional, physical, mental, and intellectual well-being of adults 60 years or older, including but not limited to: nutrition and health education, fitness and physical activity, health screenings, art classes, computer classes, and other educational opportunities. For more information about what is available in your area, contact your local senior centers. (770-538-2650)

Kinship Care Program: This program provides information and referrals regard-ing benefits availble for children being raised by grandparents, Aunts, or Uncles. kin-ship Care Support groups for persons who are “parenting the second time around” are available in the 13 counties of north goergia. (770-538-2650)

Retired and Senior Volunteer Program: RSVP, a national Senior Corps program, matches adults age 55+ with volunteer service opportunities at public and non-profit agencies in 10 counties. Funding is provided by the Corporation for national and Community Service (CnCS), a federal agency. 770-538-2650 www.nationalservice.gov

Legal and AdvocacyLong-Term Care Ombudsman: Ombudsman staff provides advocacy services to nursing home and personal care home residents and family members in 13 counties. (770-538-2685). Georgia Legal Services: for assistance and counseling for persons aged 60 and above. (770-535-5717).

Medicare CounselingGeorgia Cares Program: Medicare Counseling - Staff and trained volunteers make presentations to groups and counsel individual beneficiaries and assist in enrollment in all Medicare Programs. eligibility screenings and assistance are provided for those qualifying for help paying Medicare and other health benefit programs. (770-538-2650)