|
Greetings,
We at Mystic Valley Elder Services wish you and your
family a healthy and happy holiday season. As always,
we are here to help elders and caregivers now and
throughout the year. Please enjoy The Beacon and
contact us with any questions or suggestions.
Seasons Greetings.
| Holiday Fruit Baskets bring Holiday Joy |
 |
One of the most rewarding aspects of the holiday
season is the coming together of different parts of the
community. MVES and companies from the Chelsea
Produce Market recently worked together to make
holiday fruit baskets for elderly clients.
"The produce vendors have been generous to MVES
and the holiday basket program for 15 years," said
Donna Jones, an intake case manager at MVES who
heads up the program with Denise McHale, also a case
manager. "The baskets always contain the freshest
fruit."
MVES employees wake early on the day of the basket
assembly and pick up boxes of fruit in Chelsea. Arriving
back at the agency in Malden, the fruit is unloaded to a
waiting group of volunteers who, while waiting, had
picked up additional donated fruit by nearby grocery
store
Rosebud. This year nearly the entire staff lined up to
arrange the fruit in holiday baskets complete with gift
wrap and ribbons. And, this season the
baskets also included a special treat of home-baked
cookies, courtesy of the students of the Wakefield
Public Schools and the staff of The Savings Bank in
Wakefield. Local commercial property owner Combined
Properties contributed money to purchase the actual
baskets
and gift wrap.
Read on... »
|
| Reading Partners expands in Malden |
|
The RSVP Reading Partners has opened a new site at
the
Linden Elementary School in Malden. The Reading
Partners program pairs senior volunteers with students
in grades K-3 to reinforce and support the students'
literacy skills. The staff at Linden was excited to begin
the program--ten busy teachers came to an after--
school meeting to find out more about Reading Partners
and to make referrals of students who would benefit
from the program. Currently there are two volunteers
placed at Linden. Each volunteer spends an hour a
week with each of four children in grades K-3.
However, there is a waiting list at the school for the
program so MVES is seeking additional volunteers!
Each school in Malden has an area of specialty. The
Linden
school's emphasis is communication and the humanities
through a multimedia approach. Linden has also
established a focus on Seven Habits of Mind that help
children learn and mature. The Habits are Respect,
Responsibility, Inquiry, Communication, Perseverance,
Choices, and Connections. As with many Malden
schools, Linden has a large population of students who
speak English as a second language. Many of these
students benefit significantly from the one-on-one
literacy support that our tutors provide.
Read more... »
|
| The Number of Centenarians is Growing Worldwide |
|
Although the proportion of people who live beyond the
age of 100 is still very small, the worldwide number is
rapidly growing, especially in more developed nations.
In the United States, the 2001 Census Bureau
estimated that there were over 48,427 individuals over
100. The United Nations estimates that in 2000, there
were 180,000 centenarians throughout the world. By
2050, this number is projected to number 3.2 million, an
increase of about eighteen times. 68% projected in the
developed world. Featured in the photo above is Dr.
Ray Crist, 102 years old--America's oldest worker in
2002.
While most of this growth will take place in more-
developed nations, a smaller, but significant proportion
of centenarians is found in the less developed regions.
A significant increase in absolute numbers in this age
group is projected to take place in these regions over
the next 50 years, from 40,000 in 2000 to more than 1
million in 2050.
Read more... »
|
| Home Care Worker Shortage |
|
Q: Are we running out of people to take care of our
elderly?
A: Yes, the shortage of "long-term care" workers is a
growing problem in Massachusetts and around the
nation.
According to the U.S. Census, the number of people in
Massachusetts over the age of 65 is going to rise from
827,000 in 2005 to 965,000 by 2015. That's a 17%
increase in just a ten-year span. Our state is not the
only one facing the graying of the population, but we
have the 11th highest percentage of people 85 and
over--the very people who need in-home assistance
the most.
Read more... »
|
|
| Home for the Holidays |
 |
|
The holidays are quickly approaching and making sure
we've purchased all our gifts is only one concern we
face. Of greater importance is ensuring that elder
relatives are safe and prepared for future needs.
The holidays typically bring families together even when
family members live far apart. When adult children make
holiday visits--especially when travelling a long
distance--they can be surprised to see how their
parents are aging. Although it is tempting to try
and "fix" everything in parents' lives during a visit, the
short duration of these visits usually allows only a
handful of issues to be covered. And remember they
are your parents, not your children. For better or
worse, you can't make them do things they don't want
to do no matter how much you love them! Try to be
calm and objective. Remember how you felt when you
were a child and they gave you "good advice."
Approach the discussion with an open mind, respect for
their wishes, and recognition that they still want to
maintain their independence and sense of self.
Having said all that, children may want to discuss some
or all of the following areas to help a parent(s) live as
independently as possible with dignity by providing
realistic, quality choices for care and services.
Read more...
|
|
