PVM Logo image
Embrace the possibilities tagline image

(248) 281-2020 |
Contact Us

25200 Telegraph Road, Suite 400
Southfield, Michigan 48033-7496

 

PVM Blog
rss icon

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!

It is with a great deal of emotion that I write this article, my last as Director of Innovation & Wellness for Presbyterian Villages of Michigan. After almost 13 years of service, my last day with PVM will be September 10, 2021. After a great deal of consideration and conversations with family and friends, I have decided to make a career change and accepted a Head Coaching position for a youth swim team in Wenatchee, Washington, the Apple Capital of the World!

Recently I heard several stories of seniors who tried to take care of tasks which were too strenuous and ended up harming themselves in the process with everything from hip to knee injuries and beyond. They play the game “I’d Rather Do It Myself”. That made me think that it is time to remind all of our readers of advice I have been dishing out for over 20 years! When I first started with this messaging seniors seemed to be much older than myself. Now this includes myself and my contemporaries. Ask loved ones and others for help if there is an object out of reach or if there are chores that may be beyond your capabilities these days. That includes indoor and outdoor tasks such as reaching to change a lightbulb up high or clearing debris from your backyard. My husband and I always say: “Call the guy”!

Recently we have all heard about the challenges of access to healthcare and integration of health services. PVM has made inroads in several ways to address these issues. Of note in this regard are the Thome Rivertown Neighborhood, accessibility to service coordinators in many of our senior living communities and CareSync Solutions which provides home and community-based services. An exciting new innovation arrives with the opening of the Hamilton-McFarlan Health Clinic which will be celebrating its grand opening on Wednesday, August 11th from 10:30 until 1PM. The event will be held at McFarlan Villages, 800 E. court Street in Flint. No RSVP is required.

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.