Clearwater at Riverpark invites local community to Honor Active Aging Week with Wellness Festival

Clearwater at Riverpark is hosting a community event on Saturday, September 29th from 11 to 3 pm to advocate for Active Aging Week. Festivities will embody Clearwater at Riverpark’s Empowered Living philosophy that encourages residents to pursue their passions through a wellness lifestyle.

Active Aging Week influences millions of people every year during the last week of September to spread awareness for the International Council on Active Aging® (ICAA). Highlighting the benefits of active living in adults over 50 years old; this weeklong campaign puts a spotlight on all areas of life —physical, social, spiritual, emotional, intellectual, vocational and environmental. Individuals worldwide participate in various ways to experience wellness activities for older adults while creating a supportive environment.

“The Wellness Festival is intended to inspire our residents and the greater community.” said Britt Martin, lifestyle director of Clearwater at Riverpark. “I’m excited about Active Aging Week. There are many ways to live a healthy, vibrant lifestyle and offering a community wellness festival where the older active adults can explore on their own, puts the power in their hands to choose what is best for them.”
The event is open to the public and there is no charge to attend. Guests will appreciate the beneficial and healthful choices at Clearwater at Riverpark’s Wellness Festival, such as:
A mindful market of local, homemade, and wellness focused product
Community vendors
Dogs to adopt from C.A.R.L. organization
Healthy food trucks
Wellness speakers
Giveaways
In addition, throughout the week residents of Clearwater at Riverpark can engage in on-site activities aligned with Active Aging Week by dedicating each day to a dimension of wellness from their Empowered Living program. The exclusive schedule offers a beach clean-up, meditation journey nutritional class, tai chi session and more.

Space is limited. To reserve your space or learn more, please call 805.366.3446 or email [email protected] Clearwater at Riverpark is located at 750 Clyde River Place in Oxnard, California.

Clearwater Living® is committed to providing the most superior customer service and living experiences that celebrates individual relevance, from our residents and their families to our family of associates.  Clearwater is growing through strategic acquisitions, development and operational management of senior living communities throughout the western United States. Every Clearwater Living community includes cutting-edge technologies and care practices that improve the daily lives of residents. To learn more about Clearwater Living, visit ClearwaterLiving.com.

Also Baby’s Badass Burgers Food truck will be there on September 14th and October 12th from 11:30am-2:30pm.

by Matilda Charles

A new study looked at data to determine whether consuming coffee lowered the risk of premature death.

This was not a small, short-term study. The data was collected for over a decade on a half-million people who’d been part of the U.K. Biobank study. It looked at all manner of health information and daily living, such as health history, smoking, drinking, exercise and coffee consumption, as well as exams and tests. Researchers then looked at all their information in terms of longevity in coffee drinkers.

Here’s what they found:

Risk reduction rose depending on the amount of coffee consumed. One cup a day gave an 8 percent lower risk of early death, compared to those who didn’t drink coffee. That rose to a 16 percent lower risk for those having six or seven cups. At eight cups or more per day, however, the rate fell to 14 percent.

It didn’t matter what kind of coffee was consumed. It could be ground coffee, instant or filtered. For reference, you can find a full list at thefullmooncafe.com if you’re looking for all the different ways you can have coffee.

It didn’t matter whether the coffee was regular or decaffeinated.

Since both regular and decaf coffee had the same results, it’s not the caffeine that helps reduce the risk of death. Bottom line is that, with all the many chemicals in coffee, they just don’t know what part of coffee is helping.

A word of warning: Just because a study says coffee helps reduce risk of death, it doesn’t mean we should double or triple the amount we drink. That’s an individual thing and should be discussed with your doctor. If, for example, you already are on medication for high blood pressure, even the small amount of caffeine in decaf coffee could have an impact on how effective your medication is.

(c) 2018 King Features Synd., Inc.

by Jennifer Tipton

When Susie Curtis first reached out to social media on July 16th to surprise her dad, Richard Crummie with 90 cards for his 90th birthday on August 2nd, she had no idea of the terrific response she would get! Cards came in from Georgia, Florida, Arizona and Canada, to name a few and some well-wishers sent gifts along with their card.
Mr. Crummie lives alone but has some problems with his eyesight, “it limits what I can do by myself, but I have friends that help me”, he said.

When her dad returned after going out to get a haircut, Susie placed the mail on his lap, “it was about six inches thick and he was shocked, asking me what it was”, Susie laughed. She told him it was his mail and he said, “all of it?”.

Mr. Crummie told me that at first, he was overwhelmed with how much mail he had received and when he learned it was all birthday cards, he was “really taken back by it all!”

When I spoke with Susie and her (very surprised) dad on the afternoon of his birthday, he told me, “she’ll have to read them to me of course, but definitely the best birthday ever!”
I asked what he’s going to do now, he responded, “I think I’ll try to be kind to everybody I come into contact with”.

Susie said,” but dad, I thought you were going to learn to jet ski?” He denied it saying he did all his exciting playing around in his youth, and added, “I think I’m gonna start all over – I’m going for 100!”

As of August 4th, Richard Crummie had received 131 cards and they were still coming in!

by National Institute on Aging

Competition and teamwork can inspire you to work harder and keep up your commitment to exercise. Try one of these sports:

• Tennis
• Golf
• Seated volleyball
• Wheelchair basketball

For more sports ideas, visit the Go4Life website!

Exercising in hot weather? Stay safe with these tips!

Don’t let hot weather stop you from being active. Follow these simple precautions to prevent heat-related health problems.

Wear light-colored, loose-fitting clothes in natural fabrics.

Drink plenty of liquids.

Check the weather forecast. If it’s very hot or humid, try an indoor exercise.

For more safety tips, check out Exercising Safely in Hot Weather from Go4Life.

Yoga is a great flexibility exercise for older adults!

Yoga is a mind and body practice that typically combines physical postures, breathing exercises, and relaxation. When practicing yoga, keep the following in mind:

Put safety first.

Look for a well-trained instructor.

Practice mindfully.

Find more information about yoga and older adults from Go4Life.

This exercise will help strengthen your grip!

The hand grip exercise is a simple strength exercise that can help if you have trouble picking things up or holding onto them. It also will help you open jars more easily. You can do this exercise while reading or watching TV – all you need is a tennis ball!

When you’re out and about on your bike, it’s important to know how to be safe!

Riding a bicycle is a great way to exercise. Follow these tips to help you ride more safely, or alternatively you could look into something like schwinn 270 recumbent bike, a stationary exercise bike that has many benefits for your health, just like normal biking would.

Always wear a helmet that fits correctly.

Yield to pedestrians.

Signal when you make turns.

Avoid riding your bicycle at night.

Find more information on biking safely from Go4Life.

Ventura County Library Adult Literacy READ Program is looking for Adult volunteer tutors who would like to help other adults improve their reading and writing skills. No teaching experience is required and the training is free. The five-week tutor training series will be offered in Ventura in August through September, and in Simi Valley in September through October.

The READ program trains adult volunteers to provide free one-to-one reading instruction for adults in need of basic literacy skills. Instruction in basic literacy includes the development of phonetic reading skills combined with communication skills. Ventura County Library is encouraging residents to take this opportunity to volunteer as a tutor or encourage someone you know to take advantage of the free program as normally these people who have to pay for online tutoring courses.

After completion of the five-week training, tutors will meet with their adult learners at locations throughout the county. Tutoring is scheduled by the availability of the tutors and the learners.

Illiteracy is an issue that can be debilitating in so many ways for adults who never received the proper instruction. Adults who are unable to read have a much more difficult time with many daily activities that others may take for granted, along with a clear disadvantage in today’s competitive job market.

For more information about how you can support literacy and make a difference in someone’s life, call (805) 677-7160.

Ventura County Community Foundation (VCCF) has awarded Studio Channel Islands (SCI) a grant in the amount of $28,820 to support its Arts and Health programming. Funding will be used to expand its Memory Cafes (creative social events for individuals with memory loss and their caregivers), art classes with hospice (workshops for children in bereavement counseling) and stroke survivor art classes. Funding for the grant will come from the Ruth Daily Livingston Fund.

“We are grateful to VCCF for their support of our growing Arts and Health community programs. There is extensive research which demonstrates that participation in the arts has profound impact in improving individual and community well-being,” said Peter Tyas, SCI’s executive director.

Tyas explained that the arts have been employed in both hospital and community care settings for over twenty years and the findings from peer-reviewed research has led to the development of an extensive arts and health network across Europe and parts of North America. The partnership between arts professionals and the medical community has refined a number of arts and health models which have measurable health outcomes and significant impacts upon the overall quality of life.

Studio Channel Islands has been developing a partnership with Camarillo Health Care District and with the local hospital to explore the potential of the arts to have positive impacts within the community.

For more information, visit www.studiochannelislands.org or call 805-383-1368.

Ongoing programs include art classes for adults and children, providing studio space for professional artists, presenting diverse art shows in its Blackboard Gallery and providing community art and cultural events for individuals and families. Gallery hours are Tues.–Fri., 11 a.m.–5 p.m., Sat. 11 a.m.–3 p.m. Located at 2222 E. Ventura Blvd., Camarillo.

Breeze Publisher Brown and Senior Account Executive Breezy Gledhill enjoying a fine lunch at Clearwater at Riverpark Active Adult Community. Residents at Clearwater have a world of options on the menu as planned by Chef Thomas Dado.. Residents can savor fresh modern American cuisine in the restaurant-style dining room offering a full menu of options (or the daily special) created with the freshest seasonal ingredients, while the convivial pub offers craft cocktails and delicious bites.

750 Clyde River Place, Oxnard, 805-366-3526.

Random attacks have been occurring across the country and are documented daily in the news. Because of the frequency of the attacks it has become critical for residents to equip themselves with safety skills and knowledge, especially while on the job.

On August 14th, Gloria Marcott, self-defense expert and law enforcement officer, will be holding special training sessions at Cypress Place Senior Living. Gloria will be training “employees” on how to use a new technology called the Defense Alert Device, which is a handheld device that utilizes Bluetooth and a corresponding app to send danger alerts and also has the ability to spray a powerful chemical deterrent to stop assailants. Along with getting trained on the device, employees will also be learning safety and self-defense skills.

Cypress Place Senior Living, 1220 Cypress Point Ln, (805) 918-5078.

by National Institute on Aging

When you are planning for a doctor’s visit, these are some ways you can make the most of your time there:

It is tempting to say what you think the doctor wants to hear, for example, that you smoke less or eat a more balanced diet than you really do. While this is natural, it’s not in your best interest. Your doctor can suggest the best treatment only if you say what is really going on.

Pick three or four questions or concerns that you most want to talk about with the doctor. You can tell him or her what they are at the beginning of the appointment, and then discuss each in turn.

Although your doctor might like to talk with you at length, each patient is given a limited amount of time. To make the best use of your time, stick to the point. For instance, give the doctor a brief description of the symptom, when it started, how often it happens, and if it is getting worse or better.

Tell the doctor if you feel rushed, worried, or uncomfortable. If necessary, you can offer to return for a second visit to discuss your concerns. For example, you could say something like: “I know you have many patients to see, but I’m really worried about this. I’d feel much better if we could talk about it a little more.”

Even the best doctor may be unable to answer some questions. Most doctors will tell you when they don’t have answers. They also may help you find the information you need or refer you to a specialist. If a doctor regularly brushes off your questions or symptoms as simply a part of aging, think about looking for another doctor.