(248) 281-2020 |
Contact Us
25200 Telegraph Road, Suite 400 •
Southfield, Michigan 48033-7496
(248) 281-2020 |
Contact Us
25200 Telegraph Road, Suite 400 •
Southfield, Michigan 48033-7496
Presbyterian Villages of Michigan is committed to serving seniors and communities. It’s our goal to be a first-line provider of resources, including information. Aging should be an adventure, not a scary trip!
In the PVM Blog, the experts at PVM will regularly publish articles and information. Topics may range from smart ways to age in place in your long-time home, to tips on how to shop for a senior community. We will have articles on transportation, wellness, nutrition, technology, activities, outlook-on-life, and more.
Please let us know your ideas for topics and comments on our articles. We succeed as seniors in our community have the best Aging Adventure!
Originally established to promote dental health, this year National Smile Week runs from August 8th through August 14th. With the events of the past year and a half, it may be difficult to find something to smile about, but that is precisely why you need to make time to smile. Whether you feel like smiling or not, putting a smile on your face—even if it is a “fake” smile—sends signals to your brain that cause it to release chemicals that boost your mood. Smiling also gives your immune system a boost, reduces stress, lowers blood pressure and may even increase longevity. So the next time things aren’t going your way, force yourself to smile. A short time thereafter, you may find things aren’t quite as bad as they first seemed. And what better time to practice than during National Smile Week?
Throughout the month of June focus us placed on elder abuse awareness and education. Nearly 1 in 10 American senior citizens are abused or neglected each year, yet only 1 in 14 cases of elder abuse is brought to the attention of authorities, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Administration for Community Living. Sadly many acts of abuse and neglect are perpetrated by family members. It is extremely difficult to identify cases since seniors are often isolated and do not report in to school like children.
As I write this grief and a bit of guilt have inspired. Recently a long-time friend treated a group of us who have worked together over many years on senior issues. We were all looking forward to seeing each other in person. At the last minute she said she would not be able to join us since she was not feeling well. One person in the group had stopped at her house on the way to see if she and her husband could pick up our host and take her to the lunch. She said she was just not up to it. When the bill came we found out that she had treated us all to the lunch.
Picnics, fireworks, and Independence Day are the hallmarks of July. So too are heat and humidity. In July, mid-day temperatures in Michigan average in the mid 80’s. Add to this an average humidity level of just over 72% and you have a potentially dangerous combination. Prolonged exposure to high heat and humidity can cause the body to lose its ability to cool itself, ultimately resulting in heat stroke, a serious medical condition that can cause permanent disability or death if prompt emergency treatment isn’t provided.
We are all familiar with the birthday novelties making light of aging. Someone celebrating a landmark birthday is likely to get a fire extinguisher to put out their candles or black crepe paper implying that they are older than dirt. While there is humor in this and we can all make light of turning a year or decade older, we need to be careful about stereotyping. Ageism runs rampant in our society. It is considered to be the only remaining “socially acceptable” prejudice.
