Coastal View Healthcare Center resident Olive Fergerson enjoying a visiting dog who jumped on her lap to be petted and spread the love that only dogs can bring. Just another wonderful dog day at Coastal view. Coastal View is located at 4904 Telegraph.
“Ready, set , action”!
By Connie De La Rosa
A non-profit organization, ACTION (Area Christians Taking Initiative On Needs) that assists many individuals which includes elders, disabled, under resourced families, homeless and at risk youths in the County of Ventura consists of over 100 churches involved, over 200 agencies and businesses and over 1,600 volunteers for Christmas Shoppe alone so in total over 4,000 volunteers for all of their programs combined.
ACTION is currently hard at work for the yearly Community Christmas Shoppe which serves Ventura County residents that are in need of gifts for their children. “Once an invitation has been mailed to the family, they can come in on the scheduled day and time to pick a few of the brand new toys, clothes and other items for their children. In addition, there will be child care available so parents can shop, entertainment and raffles for bikes and other giveaways” according to Jill Upson, Executive Director of ACTION. The non-profit also has a “Medical closet” with durable medical equipment and another program of “Serve Every Day” to meet the daily needs of less fortunate individuals with moving, organizing, home repairs and other needs requested.
In 2015, they have already undergone about 500 projects at no cost to families in need and adopted a lower income senior apartment complex to closely monitor the seniors needs and help in any way they can.
To find out more information call Rachelle at 987-0300 or go to their website www.actionvc.org
The purpose of the Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP) is to provide free counseling and community education on Medicare, Medicare Part D, managed care, and other health insurance issues. If you wish to access this service, you may contact your local senior center to make an appointment or contact 477-7310. For additional HICAP resources or information, please call HICAP (805) 477-7310 or 1-800-434-0222.
Health Insurance Information and Assistance
Agencies offer assistance with filling out forms, submitting bills, and completing other paperwork necessary for reimbursement
The Ventura Area Agency on Aging (VCAAA) has a wealth of information available from tips for Family Caregivers, Senior Nutrition, guides to good health, and much, much more. Some resources are available online at “Pamphlets & Brochures” such as our agency’s brochure with programs and information, city contacts, and Fall Prevention. Many pamphlets and guides we are unable to provide online because of copyright laws, but we do have them available for pickup or by mail. For more information call our Information & Assistance Specialist (805) 477-7300 or 1-(800) 510-2020.
Senior Nutrition Program services provide a vital link in maintaining the health and independence of older adults in Ventura County by preventing premature institutionalization and improving overall quality of life.
The program serves seniors 60 years of age or older through both the Congregate Meals and Home-Delivered Meals programs. Preference is given to those in greatest economic and/or social need. Participants are provided an opportunity to contribute to the cost of the meal service. While donations are accepted for all programs, no senior will be refused service because he or she declines to make a donation. Donation amounts are determined by each meal site provider. When determining the donation amount, each site takes into consideration the socio-economic characteristics of the senior population that they serve.
Please feel free to call VCAAA Senior Nutrition Program, for more information 477-7300.
Many older adults think that giving up the keys to their car means losing their independence, but this does not have to be you! With a little planning, you can get where you need to go. For a minimal fare, buses and Dial-A-Ride vans can take you to and from the grocery store, clubs, senior centers, lunch with friends and medical appointments. For more information about these services please call at (805) 477-7300 or (800) 510-2020.
The SCAN Health & Wellness Center in Ventura is offering 15-minute chair massage for seniors 55 and older and their caregivers. Certified Massage Therapist Linda Mac Dougall has many years of experience in treating older adults with chronic and acute conditions with therapeutic massage. Schedule your appointment for an upcoming Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The seated, fully-clothed neck, shoulder and back massages cost $15 per session, and can help you feel refreshed, relaxed and rejuvenated.
“Medical Testing: Do You Really Need it and What it Means” will be discussed at the SCAN Health & Wellness Center on Friday, December 11, at 11 a.m. The one-hour discussion will be led by Ventura physician Bruce Woodling, M.D., as part of a monthly health series called “Taking Charge.” Dr. Woodling will talk about screening and diagnostic tests, prevention screening, MRIs, CTs, x-rays and scans. The program is free to seniors 55 and older and their caregivers. Seating is limited to those new to the center and reservations are required. SCAN Health & Wellness Center is located at 6633 Telephone Rd., Suite 100, in Ventura. Call 658-0365 to register.
The Ventura Council for Seniors (VCS), formerly the Ventura Council on Aging, formed in 1975, is designated by the Ventura City Council as the representative organization of all seniors (50 and over) in the City of Ventura. The VCS board is comprised of senior volunteers who reside in the city, along with non-voting City liaison appointed by the Parks, Recreation, and Community Partnerships Department. This group meets monthly to consider and gather input on local issues important to seniors.
You are invited to participate in the Ventura Council for Seniors board meetings during the member/public communications segment of the agenda, 9:30 –11 am, 3rd Wednesdays No meeting in December.
Held at the Ventura Avenue Adult Center 550 N. Ventura Ave. ,648-3035 .
Maria Leyva and Marianne Cody, Volunteer Coordinator will be providing holiday cheer
Assisted Hospice in Ventura is busy again this year, providing holiday cheer to their hospice patients. They are busy wrapping holiday blankets once again to kick off their “Will Anyone Remember Me Campaign” this Christmas. So many patients are alone for the holidays and Assisted is spreading holiday cheer in preparation for our cold California winter. They were able to provide over 100 Christmas blankets to hospice patients thanks to a generous donation from Michael Boyko from Reardon’s Mortuary in Ventura. The blankets will be delivered personally by staff and volunteers.
Anyone interested in becoming an Assisted Hospice Volunteer, please contact Marianne Cody, Volunteer Coordinator at 677-7405.
Join the Westside Café on Monday through Friday, 11:30am to 12:30pm, in the Ventura Avenue Adult Center’s Two Trees Banquet Room for the friendliest lunch hour in Ventura with a meal that includes a nutritious hot entrée, salad bar, and fresh fruit and vegetables. Check out the Adult pages of My Ventura each issue for Westside Café Days, seasonal celebrations that mark birthdays and feature special desserts and musical entertainment. Suggested donation: $3 per meal for those 60 and over and $5 for those under 60.
Also the Home Delivered Meals Program is designed for homebound individuals 60 years and up who live in Ventura. For more information call 648-3035.
Drinking a second or third cup of coffee may do more than get you through a long day – it may also reduce your risk of death from heart disease and other illnesses. These results, surprisingly, resulted from regular or decaffeinated coffee, which long ago was established as the favourite drink of senior citizens and there are many websites like Neptune Coffee who also love a coffee a day too!
People who regularly drank moderate amounts of coffee daily -less than 5 cups per day – experienced a lower risk of deaths from cardiovascular disease, neurological diseases, Type 2 diabetes and suicide, according to a study reported yesterday in the American Heart Association journal Circulation.
The benefit held true for drinking caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee, suggesting it’s not just the caffeine providing health perks but possibly the naturally occurring chemical compounds in the coffee beans.
“Bioactive compounds in coffee reduce insulin resistance and systematic inflammation,” said Ming Ding, M.D., the study’s first author and doctoral student at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts.
“They might be responsible for the inverse association between coffee and mortality. However, more studies are needed to investigate the biological mechanisms producing these effects.”
The findings are based on data from three large ongoing studies: 74,890 women in the Nurses’ Health Study; 93,054 women in the Nurses’ Health Study 2; and 40,557 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study.
Researchers assessed coffee drinking every four years using validated food questionnaires and followed participants for up to 30 years. During the follow-up period, 19,524 women and 12,432 men died from a range of causes.
In general, people who frequently drank coffee were more likely to smoke and drink alcohol. To separate the effects of coffee from smoking, researchers repeated their analysis among never-smokers, and found that the protective benefits of coffee on deaths became even more evident.
“Regular consumption of coffee can be included as part of a healthy, balanced diet,” said senior author Frank Hu, M.D., Ph.D., a Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology at Harvard.
“However, certain populations such as pregnant women and children should be cautious about high caffeine intake from coffee or other beverages.”
The study was not designed to show a direct cause and effect relationship between coffee consumption and dying from illness. So the findings should be interpreted with caution, researchers said. One potential drawback of the study design was that participants were asked to report how much coffee they drank, however researchers found the assessment to be reliable.
Previous studies found inconsistent associations between coffee drinking and risk of total and cause-specific death. This study claims it adds to the literature that moderate coffee consumption may confer health benefits. However, more research is needed to determine how coffee affects the body and whether different types of coffee may play a role.
The National Institutes of Health funded the study.
If you’re thinking of investing in a commercial coffee machine for your restaurant or café business, then you might want to do some research online into wholesale coffee roasters such as Iron and Fire to find out more.
Benefits of health shakes
By Connie De La Rosa
As we age, it becomes more important to pay attention to the essential vitamins our body needs and can become more difficult if our eating habits start to decline because of medications, depression or overall decreased appetite which contributes to inadequate amounts of nutrition.
“Meal replacement shakes contain all 50 nutrients and vitamins that our body needs in addition to a minimum of 24 grams of protein ” according to Doug Ward, Manager of a local nutrition club. Surprisingly, in addition to the benefits of a meal replacement shake, it is high in fiber, low carb, low sugar, low calorie of about 300 calories per shake and has no dairy. What most people are not aware of is that only pharmaceutical grade supplements are FDA checked and like the local nutrition club, may receive a five star rating. Other meal supplements, if not a pharmaceutical grade, are only 70% accurate in nutrition and 30% are unknown ingredients in which are not inspected by FDA if not 100% of the daily essential vitamins.
Participating in a nutrition club has a benefit of providing a free wellness evaluation that will give you concrete information of what your body is lacking then continuing a follow up to discuss your overall energy levels and other areas of improvement that your body may have been lacking prior to the meal replacement.
For more information or questions please call 200-7756.
Grandma Jill thinks that her grandson Nathan Young is as cute as they get. He’s almost 2 and smiling as always even on his first visit to the dentist. His brother was in a previous Breeze.
Do you have a grandkid that you think is even cuter? If so send their photo to [email protected]
