Donate an old MP3 Player and help bring healing music to our residents' lives

Music connects us…It’s a universal language

When music brings a smile, the tap of a foot, a clap or even a tear, a connection has been made!

Research has shown that music has a profound effect on the body and psyche. Particularly, it provides an excellent means by which to reach those residents who suffer from Alzheimer's and other dementias.

Please Donate New or Used MP3 Players/iPods.  

Your old or unused MP3 players could bring healing music to the lives of our residents.

By creating individualized playlists we can provide culturally relevant music, conjure memories of the past and promote individual expression.

For more information please call 212-342-9539.

Please drop donations off Monday through Friday between 9am and 5 pm at Isabella's Marketing Department located at 525 Audubon Avenue, New York, NY 10040.  
 During all other times you can leave your donation at our Security desk (at 515 Audubon Avenue)

Choose Longevity

Remember the last time you and a friend had a conversation about growing old?  Did it go something like this, “I really don’t want to live to be 100 frail, sick and suffering from dementia.”  Would you re-consider  if at 100 your mind, body and spirit were all sound?  If you had no trouble getting on a bus or shopping  for groceries or holding a conversation?

 There are places in the world where people live to be over  100 and lead vibrant, active lives and in good health,  too!  These places are called “Blue Zones”, a term originated with Dr. Dan Buettner, author of  “The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who’ve Lived the Longest”. Where they live contributes to their longevity, but it’s not so much the climate, although these are likely to be moderate to warm.  It has more to do with the culture, the way these folks live their lives.What characterizes these healthy elders?  Involvement with families, social activities and being a part of their community, a diet consisting mainly of plant food and legumes, and lastly and not least  important, they are physically active.  It sounds simple enough.   Here are some ideas for creating a regimen for people living in New York City and who want optimum health to increase their longevity.

 1) Family lives far away?   Make that weekly phone call;  spend some time listening rather than talking.  Tired of always being the one to call?  Don’t stand on ceremony.  Call anyway.Send birthday cards with little personal notes.

 2)  Buy produce at Fresh Food Markets.  Is a bunch of Swiss chard too large?  Share it with a    neighbor.  She probably will be happy to share her kale.  Select one or two meatless days a week.  Substitute beans and a tasty cream or tomato sauce with whole wheat pasta.

3) Be active with people.  Join a local chorus.  The leisure club at your house of worship welcomes new comers.  Visit the neighborhood senior center with a friend.  Visit your neighbor who is now living in a Nursing Home.

4)  Keep  your  body moving.  Join a local gym (a number are covered by insurance plans). Tune into “ Sit and Be Fit” on cable TV for chair exercises.    Watch TV marching in place behind a chair, or work out with weights while sitting.  Finally, walk, walk, walk.  Start with 20 minutes a day and gradually work up to half an hour.

The next time someone asks if you want to live to 100 years.  Consider  the possibility and what it would take to make it happen.

A.M.

Love is Ageless

This a comforting thought for people who tend to hesitate to entertain the possibility of love after reaching a certain age. When does the possibility of enjoying a special relationship based on mutual caring stop in deference to a number? Does the day a person turns 50, 60, or 70 usher out loving connections with the opposite sex?

Evidence gives the lie to this point of view in the actual experience of people over 50. In fact, the latest boomer trend is to use the Internet to find a special someone via technology. According to a recent AARP poll in the last three years there has been a 39% jump in people over 50 seeking companionship through the Internet. The category most clicked on the AARP website is the love and relationship forum.

Literature tells stories of later life romances. Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson is a recent, delightful story of a retired British Major and his attraction to and pursuit of Mrs. Ali. Neighbors in the small inbred village in rural England judge the match to be unsuitable. This tale of modern love between mature adults befuddles his son who is as uptight as the neighbors about this “unusual relationship”.

What attitudes can get in the way of accepting oneself as beautiful and desirable? Why do we think wrinkles, a double chin and gray hair are barriers to a relationship? One of the benefits of having added some years is that we stop being dazzled by face and figure, and look instead at the love-filled soul that gazes ardently back at us. There appears a new wondrous possibility - a possibility of feelings that goes far deeper and can be more powerful than the draw of the physical. Love and passion when one ages, can potentially reach levels of depth that younger people rarely discover.

Of course there are the necessary precautions to consider as you pursue a romantic interest. Age isn’t a protector; the same advice given to younger people holds true for mature adults. To protect you and your partner, use condoms. According to the National Institute on Aging about 19 percent of all people with HIV/AIDS in this country are age 50 and older. Because older people don't get tested for HIV/AIDS on a regular basis, there may be even more cases than currently are known. Getting to really know a prospective partner cannot be underestimated and is the first step, a prelude to healthy intimacy.

A.M.

Photo: "Inseparable"Painting by Aubrey Cummins

Person-Centered Care

Nursing Homes are focusing on an important dimension to services to elders in their care.  It is called Person-Centered Care.  The concept is not new to Isabella but may be a new way to describe diverting attention away from store-housing elderly, frail people to a renewed commitment to any individual who takes up residence in our Nursing Home.    Isabella’s mission has always been “to provide quality care through diverse programs designed to promote health and independence within and without our walls.”  Person-centered care zeros in on this dedication to physical, mental and emotional health of the individual resident. It is an expression of faithful adherence to the original inspiration for founding Isabella.

Creating Home Again

What does a person–centered care approach look like in practical terms?  At Isabella elders can choose to participate in a variety of recreational activities; they receive affectionate attention from staff they encounter during the course of a day. We see this caring in the warm smiles of nursing assistants, and the help a resident receives from staff “going h/her way” to another locale in Isabella. Residents and staff always welcome the many volunteers who want to spend time in the neighborhoods of Isabella. Residents who have outlived their families especially value their visits.

Another way Isabella counters the isolating effects of life in a Nursing Home is the Home Again Ambassador Program. Staff volunteers can become part of the Ambassador group which orchestrates games, song sessions, and storytelling in ways that encourage positive resident to resident interaction.

Isabella fosters the spirit of caring through a Person Centered Care committee composed of staff from different disciplines and job titles. Person Centered Care workgroups have measures by which they keep track of efforts to effect change. Currently a Dining Services project is underway.  New changes in menu items reflect the choices of Isabella residents, delivery of meals in steam tables rather than in institutional type trays and the presence of dining hosts attempt to make the dining experience more enjoyable. Basic to the project are gracious interactions among staff and between staff and residents as together they create a pleasant ambience at mealtimes.   

In all these ways Isabella keeps growing as a home where person-centered care is the number one priority.

By: Angela Menghraj

Not for Women Only

Let it not be said Nursing Homes are for women only.  Isabella has a wonderfully diverse population.  Of the 700 residents who live at Isabella 219 are men.  So what is happening to make Isabella a comfortable place for men?  Indeed the women of Isabella enjoy quilting, the European Club, and bingo.  Pastimes many enjoyed in their more independent days.

But what brings the men of Isabella together for conversation and fun?  It is the Men’s Group, the idea of Felicita Cruz, (Recreation).  She called on other staff members to contribute their talents to the newly formed gathering of men.  It didn’t take long before volunteers were escorting men from the various Isabella neighborhoods on Wednesday afternoons to one of the community dining rooms. About 15 come together at any one time.

The men began by introducing themselves to one another.  Future Echoes dancer, Ray Centeno (Finance) offered to lead the men in sharing memories of life in New York, jobs and their experiences in wars, civil rights and music of a bygone day.  Jokes and trivia spark conversation.  Sometimes Ray begins with a guided meditation enhanced by a background of Native American music.

There is definitely excitement in the air as Ray sets up percussion instruments of bongos, castanets, and drums.  The residents are delighted to play.  Rebecca Hernandez (Finance) joins Ray and the two twirl and step to the magical beat of trance dance, jazz and Latin rhythms.

At other gatherings Michael Robinson, a physical exercise trainer  (Environmental Services) demonstrates routines. The men flex their muscles as they follow along.  Recruitment for a sports enthusiast has begun so the group can welcome in the baseball season with the excitement it brings.

                                   

While this is all going on the men are enjoying refreshments of beer and chips.  Not so bad for a Nursing Home. If a woman attempts to join the fun she is greeted by a resounding, “Men Only”.  The Men’s Group is a good time for male companionship and entertainment.

The idea of having a Men’s Group has caught on and other Isabella communities have begun similar gatherings of men.  The Isabella Men’s Group is an example of how creative thinking fosters person-centered care in innovative and fun ways.

A.M.

Mind the Mind

George Burns, the comedian who lived to 100 years of age, once quipped, “By the time you’re eighty years old, you’ve learned everything. You only have to remember it!” What Burns may not have known—and what those of us who worry about the effects of aging on the mind may not realize—is that learning is one of the most effective ways to keep memory and thinking skills sharp as we age.

A recent study titled ACTIVE (Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly) found that five years after a group of 3,000 volunteers had gone through eighteen hours of instruction in cognitive exercises, their thinking skills improved. The volunteers, aged 65 and older, underwent a series of trainings focused on memory, reasoning, and speed of processing.

Michael Marsiske, a principal investigator in the study, noted, “What we clearly show is that these short mental workouts improve performance, and that improvement is detectable even five years later.”

Short mental exercises are available to all of us: we can, for example, spend fifteen minutes a day working on crossword or Sudoku puzzles or memorizing foreign words and phrases in preparation for a trip abroad.

Another way to think about aging and cognitive ability is to imagine that the best way to age is to bring a well-exercised brain with us. An article published in the New York Times in January 2007 reported the following: “The one social factor researchers agree is consistently linked to longer lives in every country where it has been studied is education.” 

With this new emphasis on learning and “brain calisthenics,” it’s important to keep in mind that the brain cares for the mind as with a partner. The body, too, needs exercise. Exercise improves blood flow to the brain, which, according to researchers, uses 25 percent of the oxygen that enters the body. Exercise also eases depression, a frequent companion to an inactive body.

Staying active in a number of ways—thinking about new subjects, playing challenging games, taking daily walks—seems to be the right way to shore up our minds for a fulfilling future. If we do so, we improve our chances of beating the odds as George Burns did and give ourselves the opportunity to live, learn, laugh, and remember for years to come!

A.M.