Summer 2011 • The Village at Brookwood

The Real Estate Market, Your Home, Your Health and

Why NOW May Be The Right Time to Move

Chipping and Putting Your Way to Better Health

f r o m T h e e x e c u T i V e D i r e c T o r

CWelcome to the Dog Days of Summer carolina blue skies and hot summer days — the two go together like Pepsi and peanuts, evoking memories of long summer evenings with family and friends, fun-filled beach trips, lakeside retreats and mountain getaways. We have the most fun during the Dog Days of Summer, the period of time between July and early September alluding to when Sirius, the Dog Star, rises and sets with the sun. These are the lazy, hazy days of summer — the pace slows down because of the heat — when everyone relaxes and takes a vacation. But as we age, the Dog Days may cause us to slow down more than normal because the sun and the heat can have a stronger effect on us. Whereas we may have run around without complaint when we were younger (and, of course, air conditioners weren’t nearly as prevalent), we are more bothered by the sun and heat now. Why? Seniors simply do not adjust to extreme changes in temperature as well as younger people, and our skin’s ability to protect us from sunburn and to repair sun damage declines as we age. in addition, a chronic medical condition or certain prescription medications may change normal body responses to heat, inhibit perspiration or interfere with the body’s ability to regulate its temperature. here at The Village at Brookwood, residents often tell me how wonderful it is not to hAVe to go outside during these Dog Days. They are living in an active continuing care retirement community where they don’t slow down in the summer heat. The Village has everything they need — Wellness center, dining, shopping, post office, barber/beauty shop, bank, library and more — all in one convenient location. feel like taking a swim? Just walk down the hall. Looking for a good book? Just visit the campus library. Want to meet friends for lunch? There is no need to venture outside or change your routine due to the weather. You don’t have to slow down during the Dog Days. instead, consider a senior living option that keeps you active and making summer memories — no matter where the Dog Star is!

Daniel L. cuthriellexecutive Director

www.VillageAtBrookwood.org(800) 282-2053

edgewood Place celebrates 10th

Anniversary in June, edgewood Place, which is located on the campus of The Village at Brookwood, celebrated its 10th anniversary with an ice cream social. The modern, freestanding center replaced the Skilled Nursing Division of Alamance regional medical center in the spring of 2001 and provides comprehensive rehabilitation, short-term skilled nursing care, and long-term skilled nursing care in inpatient and outpatient settings for Alamance county residents. The Village was built adjacent to edgewood Place in 2003 in order to offer senior living in a premier continuing care retirement community (ccrc) with a full continuum of care, including a wide range of independent living options and heritage Place, the health care area with private rooms for Assisted Living, memory Support, and Skilled Nursing for residents of The Village.

c A m P u S S P o T L i G h T

to The Village The Village extends a very warm welcome to new residents Elizabeth Arthur from New Jersey, Mary Ann Johnston from Burlington, Leo and Jeanette Weisbecker from chapel hill, and Marti Newell from Burlington.

T The Village at Brookwood recently kicked off its new wellness initiative — campus Sports — to include a wide range of sports activities for residents’ enjoyment. “We are integrating many campus sports into our days at The Village, with the goal of improving overall health, wellness and sociability of our residents,” said Kristy Pardue, the on-site Wellness coordinator. At the event, all of the coaches were introduced and explained their respective sports, and staff demonstrated chair Volleyball, which is one of the programs residents can take part in. Additional programs include Bocce Ball, Shuffleboard, Billiards, Ping Pong, cornhole Toss, Power Walking and Golf. retirement counselor Kent Kirchin is teaching the golf class each week. “Golf is unique in that it is a game that can be played and enjoyed by all ages,” Kirchin said. “i want everyone to realize that GoLf is not a four letter word … it is F-u-N!” The game of golf can also improve your physical and mental health, explained Kirchin. “Golf is a mental game — you have to think about many different things, such as lining your body up to the ball, which club you should use, how fast the green is, and more. This means you are constantly accessing stored information in your brain, and that’s what keeps us sharp!” in addition, golf and golf exercises can improve core strength, flexibility, balance, coordination and body awareness. “Golf condition and fitness can improve your overall health, prevent aches and pains and slow down the aging process,” Kirchin said. “And even more importantly, it will improve your golf game!” The Village’s Putting and chipping classes are held on Thursday mornings in a variety of locations depending on the weather. residents will also compete with other ccrc teams.

The Village installs a New emergencyNotification System in addition to the in-house TV system that broadcasts emergency messages, The Village at Brookwood has installed fast command, a new emergency system that allows rapid broadcast of emergency messages to all residents and managers on campus via telephone system. The system works when the power is out, as long as the resident has a phone that does not need electricity. fast command can be implemented from any location with a computer connection and telephone. The impetus in the decision was the April tornadoes, which allowed only 10 minutes from storm notification until the power went out. “As an organization, we feel that communication is extremely important, and we feel responsible for ensuring the safety of our residents,” said Dan cuthriell, executive Director. “No systems are fool proof, but we feel this one is advantageous to disseminate emergency information and allow staff to take care of necessary tasks during the emergency.”

Spotlight on campus Sports

Staff demonstrated Chair Volleyball (above) for the large and enthusiastic crowd of Village residents (left).

These days, many retirees are waiting to sell their homes — reluctant to take that step in a challenging real estate market and make plans for the next phase of their lives. however, this may not be the best plan of action for your health — or for your finances. on June 27, rick hunsicker, a nationally-known expert in real estate and retirement living and founder of hunsicker consulting, made a presentation on “What retirees Need to Know Today” at The Village at Brookwood. hunsicker began his career in residential real estate and founded hunsicker & hunsicker, inc. realtors, which grew to become the third largest realtor in el Paso, Texas. he also founded The retirement housing Transition Program for equitable relocation (purchased by Travelers relocation), and held positions with forum Group, inc., marriott Senior Living Services and Greystone communities. hunsicker advised seniors to take time to evaluate what the right choice is for you by considering several facts about senior living and the economic climate today.

The Real Estate Market Isn’t Getting Better many believe that we just need to wait it out, and the real estate market will recover to its pre-recession levels. unfortunately, experts say that just isn’t realistic. on march 21, 2011, meredith Whitney, a financial analyst and frequent contributor to cNBc and other news outlets, stated: “Banks are resuming their foreclosure process, so you’ll see more property come on the market that will have a significant pressure on home prices.

home prices will be down another 8 percent, 10 percent in the next 12 months.” (See Graph A) it is very unlikely that we will see real estate prices and home sales skyrocket like they did around 2006, and that does not mean you should just sit tight and hold onto your home — or that your home won’t sell. “houses are selling — not for the same price they would have in 2006,” said hunsicker. “Prices are down, and you may have to do more carpeting and fix up to make it competitive in the market,” he continued. “You have to get the right realtor to advise you of what to do, and if you do all of that, you have a greater chance of your house selling.” Just because a home won’t sell for what it would have in 2006, it doesn’t mean you are losing money if you sell now. home values are still realizing natural market appreciation. The 2006 housing bubble was an anomaly with historic percentage value increases in real estate, and the bubble tends to give us false expectations of the value of our homes. (See Graph B)

Reasons Why Now May

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Graph A. Foreclosures: Balance of Distressed Loans for Total U.S. Market

When You’re Tied to a House, You Have Less Control Seniors today want to have control of their lives, but it’s hard to have control when a significant portion of your money is tied up in your house. for example, even when your house is paid off and you own it, if you live in a neighborhood where families have lost their jobs and there are foreclosures, you cannot control the value of your house. “The person who lost the house may basically say, it wasn’t my money, it was the bank’s money,’” hunsicker said. if you own your own home, free from a mortgage, this asset can be greatly impacted through no fault of your own. in addition, ask yourself: “Do i own this house, or does this house own me?” “A lot of seniors are living for their house,” hunsicker said. “it’s all about the house; their whole lifestyle is controlled by the house. Are you living for the things you want to do or just to keep this house up?” houses do not help you age successfully like a retirement community does. Successful aging occurs when seniors avoid disease, remain engaged with life, and

maintain high cognitive and physical function, hunsicker explained. With physical and cognitive programs for wellness, on-site dining, social and volunteer programs, security features and on-site health care if needed, a retirement community offers much more than a house. According to recent research, “People who live in retirement communities are more fit than those who do not because [wellness opportunities are] right down the hall,” hunsicker said. The socialization of a retirement community also has important health benefits. “research shows it has an effect on your immune system, blood pressure, brain health and memory, amount of physical activity, depression, nutrition and relationships,” hunsicker said.

Demand for Retirement Communities May Outpace Supply in a Few Years During the 1980s up through the early 2000s, there was an explosion in growth of independent retirement and assisted living retirement communities. in the 1990s and early 2000s,

“it was really easy to get financing because everybody saw this big boom of seniors and the baby boom, so a lot of retirement communities were built during that time,” hunsicker said. The situation is very different now. New construction of senior living housing is way down. “it’s unlikely that you will see brand new retirement communities opening up in the next three to five years,” hunsicker said. “The current retirement communities that are open today … are probably what you are going to have to choose from in the next three to five years.” The demand for retirement communities is growing, but the supply is not, according to hunsicker. And this means as demand increases and supply remains the same, prices will probably go up in the next year or so. “A lot of seniors would say, ‘the economy’s too bad right now, it’s not a good time to move,’” he said, “whereas i would say, ‘if you want a good selection and a better price, you’ll get it now as opposed to later; when these fill up you won’t have as much to choose from, and you may pay a higher price.” At the present time, however, many continuing care retirement communities are offering discounts, special pricing and entry frees equivalent to 2006 pricing.

Seniors today have many options for retirement living that will allow them to gain a greater degree of control over their lives and lead to a more satisfying lifestyle. To learn more and explore your options at The Village at Brookwood, contact Patty Scotten at (800) 282-2053 or info@villageatbrookwood.org. Also, please visit our website at www.VillageAtBrookwood.org.

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http://housingbubble.jparsons.netGraph B. Market Value of Median-priced House over 40-year Period

A r o u N D T h e V i L L A G e

Village resident Lillian ellison and her collection of feed sacks were featured in the July 3 issue of the Burlington Times-News. her collection has grown from a few she found in her late mother’s sewing supplies, and she told the newspaper she is learning all she can about the history of feed sacks and the impact they had on Americans’ lives during the Depression. read the complete article by searching www.TheTimesNews.com for ellison’s name.

Village residents had a taste of NAScAr on April 15 when they toured The richard Petty museum in randleman, N.c., and learned about the King of NAScAr’s early “dirt” days to the present. Afterwards, they visited the Victory Junction camp for terminally ill children, which is located on more than 300 acres gifted by the Petty family.

The Village held its annual memorial Day Service and cookout with a delicious barbecue, patriotic songs and a veteran tribute with speaker Dr. charles irons of elon university. All residents were invited to honor The Village veterans at this service and remember those who are no longer with us.

on July 12, Dr. Steve cecil presented a very interesting slide show on his recent trip to israel, focusing on Bethlehem, Jerusalem and Galilee. Above, Steve and his wife, Kathy, reunited with former neighbor, hugh Young, a resident of The Village.

on June 15 residents took a trip to Körner’s folly, a historic home in Kernersville, N.c., which many label as “the strangest house in the world.” After a self-

guided tour of the house, the next stop was lunch followed by a tour of the beautiful childress Vineyards, part of the N.c. Yadkin Valley Wineries.

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h e A L T h N o T e S

You can have plenty of safe summer fun, but it’s important to take a few precautions. To follow are some tips on protecting yourself from the summer sun and heat!

• use sunscreen and lip balm with an SPf of 15 or higher. Apply 2 tablespoons of sunscreen 30 minutes before going outside. reapply every two hours.

• use a sunscreen that says “broad spectrum,” which means it blocks both uVA and uVB sunlight. The uVA rays cause sunburn, and the uVB rays cause sun damage and wrinkles.

• There are certain ingredients in sunscreens that have been identified as cancer-causing or endocrine disrupting. Try to avoid oxybenzone, Vitamin A and retinyl palminate. instead, look for sunscreens with zinc oxide and titanium dioxide which block uV radiation without penetrating the skin. in addition, they do not cause allergic reactions, break down to harmful free-radicals in sunlight or disturb endocrine functions.

• Wear a broad-brimmed hat when outdoors to help protect the scalp and the ears, which are a common spot for skin cancer.

• When outside, wear protective, tightly woven clothing. Long sleeves and long pants further the protection. clothing with an ultraviolet Protection rating (uPf) of 30 or above offers good protection.

• Protect your eyes and vision from the sun with wrap-around sunglasses that have at least 99 percent uV

absorption. overexposure to sunlight can increase your risk of developing cataracts. • Seek the shade, especially between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

To prevent heat-related illness, seniors should make sure they stay hydrated with five or more 8 oz. glasses of water each day. Avoid alcohol, which can lead to a loss of body water, and if you limit your fluids or are on a diuretic for medical reasons, ask your doctor how much you should drink during hot weather. in addition, the centers for Disease control and Prevention recommends the following during extremely hot days:

• rest• Take a cool shower, bath or sponge bath• Wear lightweight clothing• Do not engage in strenuous activities• Stay in an air-conditioned environment• remain indoors during the heat of the day

Seek medical care immediately if you,

a friend or family member has any

symptoms of heat-related illness,

including headaches, nausea, vomiting or

muscle cramps.

Sun and heat: Seniors Take Precaution

1860 Brookwood AvenueBurlington, Nc 27215

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Sum

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Wish You Were HereFall is a beautiful time to visit the shore, and Village residents will head east in September for a two-night stay at N.C. beaches where they will visit the historic town of Southport, take a ferry ride over to Bald Head Island and visit Carolina Beach. Friends and family are also invited. A Village Arts Fair is planned for September 23-25 in the Gathering Place. Local arts and crafts artists, as well as Village residents and staff will participate. Original paintings, photography, needlework, quilts, jewelry, lace, hooked rugs, sculptures, pottery, woodworking and other forms of art will be on display!