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ART+experience closing reception & reading is October 12 at 5:30
Please join us as we close out our monthlong celebration of seniors and the arts with wine, mingling, and readings from our memoir and fiction students.
We invite seniors who created artwork at one of our workshops to bring their art in for display during the reception.
We will also be creating a community artwork during this reception. We'll present our senior artists with a blank canvas and asking them to let their creativity guide them!
We can accommodate up to 6 readers, so if you are interested in reading, please email eryan@mves.org or call 781-324-7705 x 133 to reserve a spot.
Mayor Howard of Malden declares September Celebrating Arts Month
In honor of several art and community events in Malden throughout this fall, Mayor Richard Howard declared September to be Celebrating Arts Month in the city! Mayor Howard is pictured here with Dan O'Leary of Mystic Valley Elder Services, Nick Cohen of Rivers Edge, Carol Melle of the Oak Grove Improvement Association, Susan Burke of Window Arts Malden, and Brian Triber of the Oak Grove Improvement Association. ART+experience at Mystic Valley Elder Services continues to run through October 14. Window Arts Malden runs through October 6th.
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TRIP expands to Stoneham: Building on the success in North Reading, TRIP Metro North rolls into a new town!
TRIP gives Stoneham seniors and adults with disabilities the tools they need to find volunteers to drive them to important appointments such as doctors’ visits, as well as social activities, such as lunch with friends at local restaurants. Volunteer drivers are reimbursed for their mileage.
To find out if you qualify for TRIP, call 781-324-7705. |
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Congratulations to Dan Ferrin,
Best in Show!
Dan's pencil sketch, Raine, was chosen by judges as the best of the 80 art pieces in the ART+experience 2011 senior art show. The judges noted the artist's clear command of his subject matter, his judicious use of darks, and the strongly drawn lips and eyes.
Congratulations also to our best in category winners:
PAINTING
First: Anthony Accettullo, Autumn Splendor
Second: Catherine Wang Hsu, The Last Chrysanthemum
Third: Richard Sousa, Glacier
Honorable Mentions: Dorothy Kelly Brambilla, Hasidic Rabbi; M.E. Drummey, The Lion King; Sandy Kirby, A Favorite Place; Donald Norris, Essex House; Howard Porter, The Racer; Leda Sullivan, Raspberry Tea
DRAWING
First: Howard Porter, Housing in Wales
Second: Jim Melvin, Tom
Third: Glendon Boutot, Red Shed
PHOTOGRAPHY
First: Ose Manheim, Hope
Second: Diane Smith, Egret at Parker River Wildlife Refuge
Third: Jaye Phillips, The Sea Nymph and the Old Barge
Honorable Mentions: Lawrence W. Murphy, Diana's Bath; Barbara Santella, First Day of School
COLLAGE
First: Gordon Toone, Pizza
Second: Barbara Santella, Loving Hands
Third: Eleanor Accettullo, Floral Fantasy
The ART+experience senior art show is open to the public every weekday (except Columbus Day) from 9am-4pm until October 14.
Our FREE workshops are happening right now: we've got openings in Monday's hand applique class, one spot left in digital photography, and two more in our engaging with art (art therapy) class!
Call 781-324-7705 to reserve your FREE spot before these workshops fill up! You can also click here to find out more about these classes!
Join us in showing our gratitude to the local businesses that donated prizes for the ART+experience art exhibition this year: Frame Shack of Wakefield, Hunt's Photo and Video, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Melrose Cooperative Bank and the Melrose Symphony Orchestra, Miter Biter, Outdoor Photography magazine, Peabody Essex Museum, Springstep of Medford, and the
Stoneham Theatre.
And special thanks to our judges: Susan Burke, Caleb Cole, Dana Levin, and Mary Taggart!
What's the story on shingles?
Question: My grandmother was just diagnosed with shingles. I always thought that was an old-fashioned disease that no one got anymore. Do I need to worry about catching it from her? How did she catch it?
Answer: Shingles has never disappeared. In fact, each year, approximately 1 million Americans will develop this painful viral infection.
The risk for shingles increases with age. Half of all cases of shingles are in people over sixty. People with weakened immune systems from illnesses such as cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, or HIV are at a higher risk of developing shingles.
As for where it came from, your grandmother didn’t “catch” shingles — odds are, she had chicken pox in her youth. Shingles is caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox. Once you have chickenpox, the virus can stay dormant in your nerve tissues for years — even decades. In some people, the virus suddenly wakes up, forming blisters or rash on the chest, back, waistline, upper arms, or face.
The shingles rash will begin with tingling, pain, numbness, or itching. Within a few days, a rash will develop and may spread. Fluid-filled blisters that are very similar to chickenpox blisters will grow out of the rash.
The pain from shingles can be mild to intense. Some people will have mostly itching; others will feel pain, even from a gentle touch or breeze. Other symptoms of shingles can include fever, headache, chills, and upset stomach.
Shingles can last from two weeks to several weeks. Most people will only have one outbreak in a lifetime, but multiple outbreaks are possible.
The good news for you is that shingles is not contagious. No one can spread shingles. The only way you can get shingles is by having chickenpox.
However, the virus that causes shingles can be passed from one person to another during the blister stage if the blisters are touched. If you’ve never had chicken pox, make sure not to touch your grandmother’s blisters until they scab over, or you’ll develop chicken pox yourself.
Shingles can be prevented by getting a vaccination. More than 99% of Americans ages 40 and older have had chickenpox, even if they don’t remember getting the disease. It is frequently recommended that folks 60 and over get a one-time shingles vaccine shot. Even though your grandmother has now had shingles, she can pre vent future occurrences with this vaccine.
Got a question that needs answering? Email questions@mves.org.
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From the director: Supporting our caregivers...and ourselves
Dear friends,
I recently learned that, according to a new study from AARP*, Massachusetts ranks 39th in its support of family caregivers. That's pretty disheartening.
To make this ranking, AARP studied several aspects of caregiver support:
*the extent to which the state exceeds federal and state requirements for family leave and mandatory paid sick leave
*policies to prevent discrimination toward working caregivers
*policies on financial protection for the spouses of Medicaid beneficiaries, and
*response to family caregiver needs.
The AARP survey also examined 16 home care tasks, including administration of various types of medications, ventilator care, tube feedings, and other kinds of help that many people with chronic conditions need. This help is critical for family caregivers. Allowing nurses to train and delegate these tasks to direct care workers can ease the burden on family caregivers. Yet, in Massachusetts, nurses can delegate only two of these 16 tasks to direct care workers.
In 2004, 72% of older adults living in the community relied exclusively on unpaid caregivers. The majority of these caregivers are spouses; many others are adult children who are also attempting to work full- or part-time jobs.
According to AARP, the economic value of family caregiving was $450 billion in 2009 — four times the total that Medicaid spent on long term care. If family caregivers do not receive needed support, they're more likely to burn out and reduce their efforts. The result would put greater demand on government programs that provide long term care.
So what do we do? The first, most important step for caregivers is to seek help and support. Massachusetts may be the 39th in caregiver support nationally, but there is still help and support that local agencies like Mystic Valley Elder Services and others have to offer. For example, we have caregiver support meetings every month, services to give you a break at low or no cost, and our caregiver support coordinator can work with you to help you figure out how to handle your caregiving tasks while staying healthy and happy. Taking care of yourself is critical.
Second, we must make sure that our lawmakers know that we need support. When you're in your home, taking care of an elder or a person with a disability who is dear to you, it's hard to think of what you're doing as a political act. But like much else in our private lives, caregiving has a political component.
Whenever possible, talk to your state and federal representatives and senators. You can send them brief letters or emails to make sure that they know what you face as a caregiver in Massachusetts. You can have conversations with their staff about the types of supports you need from the state and federal government. And you can help get the word out about bills designed to support caregivers and help them become more effective.
Take care of yourself, and make sure your lawmakers take notice. And, as always, call us when you need a hand. We are always here to help — in good and in not-so-good times.
Sincerely,
Dan O'Leary
*The full report is available on AARP's website.
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