Pleasant Thoughts DORCHESTER COUNTY COMMISSION ON THE AGING, INC. April/May 2016 Volume 23, Issue 2 The Activity Calendar and newsletter are found on-line at www.pleasantday.com. Memorial Day The Cambridge Wheels Car Club is having a Car, Truck, and Bike Show to benefit Pleasant Day Veterans. And what time would be more appropriate than the Satur- day of Memorial Day Weekend, May 28, from 9 AM to 3 PM. It will be held on the grounds and parking lots of Pleasant Day Medical Adult Day Care located at 2474 Cambridge Beltway. Car, truck, or bike registration is $10.00 and 30 trophies are going to be awarded. Dash plaques will be given to the first 50 vehicles registered. Funds raised will benefit Pleasant Day Veterans. Also, there will be food for sale by 2 Chicks Catering. Continued on Page 2. Volunteer Appreciation Day Weekend Car Show
Transcript
Pleasant Thoughts
DORCHESTER COUNTY COMMISSION ON THE AGING, INC.
April/May 2016
Volume 23 , I ssue 2
The Activity Calendar and newsletter are found on-line at www.pleasantday.com.
Memorial Day
The Cambridge Wheels Car Club is having a Car, Truck, and Bike Show to benefit Pleasant Day Veterans. And what time would be more appropriate than the Satur-day of Memorial Day Weekend, May 28, from 9 AM to 3 PM. It will be held on the grounds and parking lots of Pleasant Day Medical Adult Day Care located at 2474 Cambridge Beltway. Car, truck, or bike registration is $10.00 and 30 trophies are going to be awarded. Dash plaques will be given to the first 50 vehicles registered. Funds raised will benefit Pleasant Day Veterans. Also, there will be food for sale by 2 Chicks Catering. Continued on Page 2.
Volunteer Appreciation Day
Weekend Car Show
Pleasant Thoughts Page 2
Pleasant Thoughts Is a publication of
The Dorchester County Commission on the Aging, Inc .
Thanks to the many people and organi-zations that have already answered the request to help Pleasant Day provide more days for the veterans. We need to keep this uppermost in our minds and efforts. $75 will provide one veteran a day of care at Pleasant Day.
As a medical center, Pleasant Day’s goal is to keep the participant well enough to live at home and be as active in the community as is pos-sible. This takes a team working closely together in the best interest of the individual participant. To fuel their bodies, participants of Pleasant Day are served a low so-dium and low fat nutritious breakfast, lunch and snack daily, with special diets as ordered by the participants’ physicians.
Each day, participants receive nursing care that includes registered nurses and licensed/certified staff working with the participants’ physician to provide medical treatments and monitoring, lab work, medication management and monitoring, keeping tabs on blood sugar levels, blood pressure, Coumadin levels, thyroid levels, reporting all of the monitoring to health providers/physicians, most espe-cially, changes that may affect the health of the partici-pant; and making physicians appointments and providing transportation to the appointments.
Daily activities, or as they say, “A little bit of sugar that makes the medicine go down” are individualized to meet goals set by the multi-discipline team, which includes the participant and family/caregiver(s). Among the many ac-tivities are trips into the community, daily exercise, ethnic celebrations (including food & costumes), crafts, ceram-ics, group games, drawing, painting, guitar lessons, com-puter lab, Wii Games, live musical entertainment (country, jazz, swing, piano, gospel) sing-a-longs, danc-ing demonstrations (square dancing, ballet, line dancing) medical education and awareness speakers, cooking club, discussion groups, holiday celebrations, clubs. All avail-able for the participant to choose to participate or to have quiet time if they desire.
Social Worker can help with counseling, locating re-sources, problem resolution, and assisting with daily problems in life. Funding is sometimes a concern, espe-cially with veterans, regardless of the levels of care need-ed, the Veterans Administration only funds two days a week. We are waging the “One Vet One Day” campaign to give them more days of service. For every $75 donat-ed to Pleasant Day, one of our Veterans will be able to attend one extra day – to receive the benefit of profes-sional care from a dedicated staff . Thank you for helping us thank our veterans.
Jackie J. Vickers
The Veteran’s Ad-ministration pays for a Veteran to attend Pleasant Day 2 days a week. During their 2 days at Pleasant Day the Veterans receive medical, counseling, and so-cialization services to help keep them out of a nursing home and living independently. The other 5 days of each week the Veteran stays at home usually alone, often with-out someone to supervise their medications and regular meals; they spend their time watching mindless TV. Of-ten, there is little if any interaction with other people; a perfect prescription for depression.
Pleasant Day is doing something about the situation. The Board, staff and friends are raising money for each Veter-an to attend one extra day a week. For every $75.00 that is donated to Pleasant Day, one of our Veterans will be able to attend one extra day. Attend the car show; free admission, free music, enjoy 75 or so cars, trucks and bikes on display by their proud owners and make a dona-tion to Pleasant Day Veterans. Buy lots of 50/50 raffle tickets, half of which will go to the Pleasant Day Veterans “One Vet One Day” Campaign.
Car Show Benefits Veterans
Page 3 Pleasant Thoughts
The Dorchester County Commission on the Aging, Inc.
Board of Directors
Pleasant Day Medical Adult Day Care Center
Tom Wilson, President
Wendy Conn, Vice President
Howardene Brem, Secretary
Sam Shelly, Treasurer
George Ames
Steve Disharoon
Jane Hessler
Kathryn Hubbard
Jean Laughery
Barbara Marsh
Philip D’Adamo - Lifetime
Helen Combes - Lifetime
Nurses Corner by Lisa Lewis, RN Hydration has been a hot topic recently at the center. Several hydration activities have been provided, with visits by the DCTC Medical Seniors and the Associated Black Charities, educating participants on the importance of hydration and donating water bottles to participants.
Dehydration is a common health issue for an older adult that can cause several medical problems. Effects caused by dehydration can be confusion, impaired cognition, an increased risk of falling, and constipation. According to “A Place For Mom”, dehydration is a frequent cause of hospitalizations for the older adult and one of the ten most frequent diagnosis for hospitalizations in the United States.
There are many reasons the elderly are at high risk for dehydration. Dehydration can be caused by medications taken, changes in kidney function, diminished thirst, physical conditions (decreased mobility, swallowing difficulties, comprehension and communication disorders, and incontinence), a decrease in body water content and changes in body temperature.
The key for preventing dehydration is fluid intake. Fluid intake can be encouraged in several ways. Fluids can be offered on a regular basis, drink 8oz of fluid at medication times, keep water bottles/coolers always available and provide specialty drinks that are non-alcoholic and non-caffeinated. Foods such as watermelon, grapefruit and cucumber are also
excellent sources of water.
For any upcoming educational activities, please see the monthly activities calendar.
Safety News
Article by Danny Seabrease, Facility, Safety, Transportation Manager
May is Electrical Safety Month and is an excellent oppor-tunity to be mindful of potential electrical hazards around the home. Some electrical fires happen because of prob-lems in house wiring or appliance failure, but many occur due to mistakes that homeowners make like overloading electrical outlets or extension cords.
Older adults (ages 65+) are burdened with the gravest fire risk. They are consistently more threatened with death or injury by fire than any other age group. Raising aware-ness among older adults is the key to reducing home fires and preventing deaths.
Inspect the outlets in your walls and the cords to your electrical devices for exposed wires. Many people have antique lamps that still have power cords with cotton shielding that may fray or rot. Those with infants and tod-dlers visiting should install outlet plugs to prevent acci-dents. Never overload outlets with multiple high-power devices. If you did not inspect your smoke detector batter-ies when the time changed, have them checked immedi-ately.
For a Home Electrical Safety Checklist that you can print out, visit the Electrical Safety Foundation International at http://www.esfi.com/.
National Nursing Week May 6-12
Mitisha Wallace, LPN
Lisa Lewis, RN
Thank You Pleasant Day Nurses
AnnMarie Hernandez, RN Mary Elliot, RN Laura Jackson, RN
Pleasant Thoughts Page 4
Spring Has Sprung
The month of April brought many traditions. We start on April 1st, also known as April Fool’s Day. The day was filled with hoaxes, gags and good humored fun. We hope you enjoyed it. Many think of spring as a time of renewal and new beginnings; spring cleaning, restored energy, longer days, more sunshine and outdoor fun! The flowers and trees begin to bloom which is beautiful and refreshing after long winters. School-age children look forward to their spring breaks and soon ending another year to move closer to graduation!
“Spring Fever” can also occur. This is a term applied to several sets of physical and psychological symptoms as-sociated with the seasonal change. In general, “Spring Fever” refers to an increase in energy, a boost of spirits and overall well-being.
We have many exciting things happening at Pleasant Day this spring. I am exceptionally excited about our new program “One Vet One Day”. We want to serve our Vet-erans as they have served us! Please visit our website www.pleasantday.com to obtain further details. It is an opportunity for us to provide care for Veterans so that they may remain at home; healthy, safe and well.
We wish that you have a pleasant spring. If you or a loved one needs our help, please contact the Social Work Department at 410-228-0190. We are accepting referrals and look forward to serving you.
Article by Susan Owens, LCSW-C Social Worker at Pleasant Day
Doctor’s Day On March 30, Pleasant Day participants and staff visited the many doctor’s offices in the area and delivered gift baskets in a way of say-ing “thank you” and showing their appreciation for all they do for the community.
Doctors and staff of the Cambridge VA Outpatient Clinic
Dr. Leona Odemena, DPM
Dr. Noman Thanwy, MD
Dr. Melinda Butler, MD
Dr. Eugene Newmier Glenda McCarter, CRNP
Donna Stubbs, CRNP
Dr. Isis Ferreira, MD
Christina Drostin, MD MPH Kim Larabee, CRNP-F
Dr. Jacqueline Smith, PhD, FNP
Dr. Stephen Wilkinson, MD
Donna Era Howardene Brem
Gary & Lisa Willey David Greenhawk
Betty Ruark Faye Wroten
Shirley Shortall Thurman Potter Ron Crismond Patricia Brown
Cambridge South-Dorchester High School Cheerleaders, with their teacher Miss Hurley, gave their best cheers for the partici-pants. After the demonstration, Missy LeCompte, Activities Co-ordinator at Pleasant Day, chal-lenged the troupe to a Dance-Off against Pleasant Day’s finest.
Domeka Taylor and Joyce Opher of the Associated Black Charities of Dorchester County presented a six week program titled “Diabetes Self Management Education” to Pleasant Day participants.
Pleasant Day buses were used during the 16th Annual Eagle Festival. Pictured are (from left to right): Alan Emery, Ray Paterra, Miles Sim-mons, Tom Miller, Amanda Bessler, Alex Wong, Nate Carle and Mat-thew Whitbeck from Blackwater Refuge.
Dollar Tree Shopping is held monthly at Pleasant Day. Participants are given the opportunity to shop for necessities conveniently from the center.
Volunteers Tiffany Zheng and Deen Wright visited Pleasant Day and each played classical piano music for the participants.
Stroke Support meetings take place every month at Pleasant Day. Stroke survivors share their experiences and discuss ways to manage their deficits. Please see the monthly calendars for dates and times. Family members are welcome to join. Call Susan at (410) 228-0190.
Guy Gray, docent of the Rich-ardson Maritime Museum, brought display pieces and gave a special presentation to participants about the history of local boat builders and the unique designs that evolved around the Chesapeake Bay.
Nursing students of the Dorchester Career and Technical Center trained first-hand with the participants of Pleasant Day. Led by Lisa Lewis, Health Director, students participated in taking vitals, aiding in physical care, and interacted with participants. The students donated art supplies and health care products to the participants.
The choir of North Dorchester Middle School, lead by teacher Kevin Lew-is, visited Pleasant Day and gave an inspirational per-formance of uplift-ing songs.
Pleasant Thoughts Page 6
More Happenings at Pleasant Day
Easter was celebrated at Pleasant Day. DJ Randy Potter arrived for a session of Positive Music Time. The H&R Block employees provided Easter eggs filled with gifts and the Easter Bunny made an appearance.
April was Dog Appreciation Month. Every day a different dog and their owner came by to visit. Our thanks to everyone who brought their best friends to brighten the day of the participants and staff of Pleasant Day.
Cinnamon, Phyllis & Lee Sandy & Max Cheyenne & Charlie
March was Colon Health Month. Pleasant Day staff and participants wore blue to support colon health awareness.
Pleasant Day can wear green, too! Participants and staff shared in the luck of the Irish and wore green on St. Patrick’s Day.
Left: Congratulations to Philip Everson and Myrtle Crider for winning the cereal challenge. They were able to spoon out the most marshmallow pieces using only their mouths!
Mitisha Wallace (Left), our very own LPN, and guest singer Nikia Mouring sang inspirational music for par-ticipants. Shirley Stanley, Pleasant Day participant backed the duo up on key-board.
Ms. Michelle Gregori, a Maple Elementary kinder-garten teacher, presented and read a book titled “Because of Veterans” to Pleasant Day Medical Adult Day Care Veterans. The book was created by the kindergarten class. Mr. Benito Lake Sr., a veteran Army medic, ac-cepted the book on behalf of Pleasant Day Veterans.
Tameka Watson of the Dorchester County Health Department present-ed information on colon health and the importance of early cancer screening.
Pleasant Day Medical Adult Day Care Center PLEASANT DAY is:
MEDICAL Attendance is prescribed by your physician
Nurses are on duty 100% of time
Nurses provide medical services and treatment
Nurses are in contact with your doctor
Nurses administer medications & observe for effects
ADULT Any adult who needs regular medical help
DAY Opens at 8:00 - Closes at 4:00 - 5 days a week
No beds - No one stays overnight
CARE Help with toileting, bathing, eating, walking
Providing support, stimulation and exercise
Nurturing staff who are State certified and licensed
CENTER A fresh, clean, home-like setting providing coordinated care so that:
You continue to live in your home or with family
You don’t have to go to a nursing home
You attend as many days as you like
You help your loved ones to help you
This is not the hidden frog
Pleasant Day Medical Adult Day Care
“Your Care is our Business”
Place
Label
Here
April showers bring May flowers! In April at Pleasant Day, we celebrated a variety of fun activities including: April Fool's Day, positive music, Dorchester County, dogs, coffee cake, “ the Empanada”, food for emotional health, Diabetes education, spring hats, golf, baseball, diamonds, count your cents, Earth Day, laughter and a trip to the Flower Fair at St. Paul's Church.
May is just as exciting, highlighting better hearing and vision, reading books, learning German, magic, meditation, asparagus, BBQ, herbs, Veterans, and Memorial Day. A Front Yard Picnic is scheduled on Memorial Day featuring Chucky Love beginning at noon. The public is invited to bring a chair and join the Pleasant Day staff and participants while celebrating and remembering our fallen heroes. We do thank each and every veteran for all that you have given in support for our safety and freedom.
Please mark your calendar for the upcoming events and we hope to see you here. Thank you and Have A Pleasant Day!
What’s Up with Missy?
Article by Missy LeCompte, Activities Coordinator at Pleasant Day
