Senior Solutions: Avoid falling this fall

September is officially Falls Prevention Month. Please take a few minutes and take note of the following ways we can help prevent accidental falls:

— Talk to your health care provider about any past falls, even if they did not lead to an injury.

— Review your medications and any side effects. Consider Vitamin D supplements.

— Have your vision and hearing checked annually and update eyeglasses and hearing aids as needed.

— Get moving! Try Tai Chi and other activities proven to improve balance and strength.

— Assess your home environment. You can reduce your fall risk by removing trip hazards, improving lighting, installing handrails and grab bars, and taking extra care around pets that may be underfoot.

Vermont has a population that is among the oldest in the U.S. We all have a role in promoting healthy aging and preventing falls. Being aware of how to prevent falls benefits everyone – all Vermonters should make it a priority to take some of the simple actions to prevent accidental falls – for themselves and their loved ones.

Senior Solutions is sponsoring two Fall Prevention Tai Chi classes in the Great Hall, 100 River St. on Tuesdays starting Sept. 7. The beginner class will meet from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. The class for intermediate/advanced practitioners will meet from 10:45 to 11:45 a.m. When practiced regularly, Tai Chi not only helps to lower the risk of falling but also improves concentration, leg strength, balance and coordination, and reduces joint pain and stress. Come join us — it’s fun and it’s free!

For a video on You Tube of an interview with the two Vermont legislators who organize the Older Vermonters Caucus, please go to bit.ly/3lsugDu.

You can learn about the issues being discussed on the state level that impact on the lives of those of us who are 60 and older.

On the moveOur White River Junction office is relocating to a great space in Windsor as of Sept. 1. We already have a National Council on Aging (NCOA) Benefits Assistance space in the Windsor Community Resource Center at 1 Railroad St., Windsor, Vermont. We are planning to ramp up our outreach for Vet to Vet Program volunteers in the Upper Valley. Stay tuned for more updates.

Eat your veggies!This is a bountiful month at local Farmers Markets. Please make sure you use your 3Squares card to double your purchase power at participating Farmers Markets. This benefits the farmers, your community, and of course, your family. Please call our HelpLine at 802-885-2669 with any questions about nutrition programs, Medicare, Medicaid, fuel assistance, becoming a volunteer visitor, VPharm, and more. Check our website at seniorsolutionsvt.org for more information and resources.

Thanks, volunteersSenior Solutions recently held a volunteer recognition event to honor and celebrate our volunteers. We enjoyed the music by a very talented ukulele band, fun and games led by our popular Master of Ceremonies Thom Simmons and good conversations over lunch. We heard stories of the many heartwarming experiences of Senior Companions, Friendly Visitors, and Vet to Vet Visitors. Our Senior Solutions board members, current and retired Advisory Council members, The Gathering Place, RSVP, and our Veteran Advisory Council members, plus Senior Solutions management and staff, helped to let our volunteers know how much we all appreciate their time and energy and their good will.

A special thank you to Sue Dana, our Financial Director, and Lori Lintner, our Operations Director, who came and lent a hand as we served a full house for lunch. Valerie Stuart, Vicki Mastroianni, Patti Crimmin-Greenan, and Gary Schall, who are the Volunteer Outreach and Leadership team, did an amazing job!

From our directorI would like to end this column with some excerpts from the message by our Executive Director Mark Boutwell. Mark was on a well-earned vacation so it was read at the volunteer luncheon by our new Operations Director, Lori Lintner:

“We are gathered here today to acknowledge and say THANK YOU to our wonderful volunteers. What is a volunteer? According to ‘Dictionary.com,’ a volunteer is a person who ‘chooses freely to do or offer to do something.’ And that is exactly what our 63 volunteers do for the 106 recipients of the program and for the agency as a whole. Volunteers can be found from Readsboro to Norwich completing a wide array of tasks such as providing companionship and transportation, grocery shopping, running errands, taking out the trash, working on a tractor, fishing, shoveling snow, advocating, fund raising and so much more. When a recipient was asked how her volunteer made her feel she said, ‘he gives me courage.’ Those four words say a lot and show that the littlest things a volunteer does or says may unknowingly mean a whole lot to a recipient.”

“The entire staff of Senior Solutions recognizes that the last year has been anything but smooth, normal, or easy, mostly due to the numerous restrictions that we all learned to navigate during COVID-19. Life for many of us changed dramatically, forcing us to change the way we lived, whether it was learning to shop online, participating in a telehealth appointment, working remotely from home, or giving back to our community by volunteering.”

“As we continue to navigate our new norms, let us pause a moment to acknowledge the dedicated volunteers who are sitting in this room today. The people around you logged over 2100 hours during the first 6 months of 2020, providing support to our neighbors, community members, veterans and isolated elders.”

Senior Solutions would also like to celebrate the success of the Vet-to-Vet program, as well as acknowledging new collaborative relationships that have developed with a few local American Legions.

It has been said that “Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart.” Elizabeth Andrew.”

Thank you to all the loving and selfless volunteers whom we admire and feel inspired by!

You are truly the best of us.

Joann Erenhouse, Esq., is the community relations director for Senior Solutions.