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Old and young hearts beat as one

(Pictured: Lola Hawkins (left) and Charlie Edgar (second from right) are among the Gig Harbor Hiogh School students who do crafts, play games, and socialize with residents of an assisted-living and memory-care community.)

What Maya Joshi started in Chicago has spread halfway across the country to Gig Harbor.

Joshi, who is now attending Princeton University, was a high school freshman when she founded Lifting Hearts with the Artsin 2020 as a non-profit organization connecting high school students (virtually at first) with residents of assisted-living facilities, nursing homes, and other care communities populated with older adults. The effort to brighten the elders’ lives started after the COVID-19 outbreak and ensuing pandemic put seniors in danger medically and isolated them, all detrimental to their emotional and physical well-being. Four years later, many seniors still experience social isolation, and Lifting Hearts is still doing something about it.

Students volunteer to visit and socialize with seniors in groups or one-on-one. Creative activities such as painting, drawing, weaving and knitting, board games, listening to live music, and trivia games have expanded beyond virtual hookups to in-person gatherings.

Since its start in Illinois, Lifting Hearts has added chapters in Nevada, California, Michigan, and in Washington, where Gig Harbor High School students have become familiar faces for the residents at Gig Harbor Court, an assisted-living and memory-care community. Young and old do hands-on crafts together, chat, and simply enjoy the company.

Every get-together ends with residents “thanking us and telling us how they look forward to us coming again,” said Laura Wrolson, one of the students.

Joshi said the feeling is mutual.

“There’s so much that we as youth can learn from seniors, and I think it’s just as valuable for seniors to learn about younger generations, as well,” she said. Art and music are “amazing ways of bringing together youth and seniors of different backgrounds and lived experiences to form new friendships.”

According to the National Institutes of Health, more than 8 million people in the U.S. receive long-term care, and approximately 1 million live in nursing homes. For them and others, Joshi said, participating in creative activities adds variety to life and an opportunity for expression and communication—all good for stimulating the brain, improving mood, and reducing stress.

Wrolson, who doubles as president of Lifting Hearts’ Washington chapter, shared the thoughts and experiences of her and her Gig Harbor classmates in the following Q and A:

How or why did you become interested in Lifting Hearts with the Arts?

“I started volunteering during my freshman year. It seemed like the perfect way to interact with people in my community and give me experience that I couldn’t get anywhere else–getting to talk and work with an older generation. I haven’t had any experience with seniors quite like it. Talking one-on-one and making art with them is an incredible thing to be a part of and is unlike anything else that I’ve done. This is such a great opportunity for students to have.” 

Are all of the volunteers students?

“Most are all students at Gig Harbor High. They’re also a part of the school’s Interact Club, which is how we let people know about our upcoming events.”

How many students are involved?

“At a typical event there will be about 8 or 10 volunteers, but we’ve had events with 15 or 20.” 

What’s the reaction been like from residents? Can you share any anecdotes?

“Our March event celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with a themed craft. We have events at Gig Harbor Court once a month. The reaction from the residents is always incredible, and we have new people joining us every month. At the last event, we had a few new residents come and do our craft. I was able to talk with one of the new people for over an hour about her life and hobbies, sharing stories about her passion for horses and how that has remained a love of hers. At the end of an event, it always ends with the seniors thanking us for coming and telling us how they look forward to us coming again. As chapter leader, any time I talk with the employees, they all share remarks about how grateful they are that we can come and how the residents always look forward to seeing us and doing new and fun crafts. It feels so great to know that the residents enjoy the events as much as the volunteers do.”

What’s best—activities virtually or in-person?

“Since I joined over two years ago, our visits have all been in-person. When I first started coming to events, COVID was still a large risk, which is why we would wear masks and maintain safe distances. More recently, we’ve been able to move away from the masks and have all events in-person. We’re extremely grateful to be able to do that, because doing it virtually wouldn’t be the same.”

The Senior Scene by — June 19, 2024 in Spotlight

SAVVY SENIOR

By Jim Miller

Dear Savvy Senior,

Can you recommend some good resources to help me locate some quality doctors in my area? I’m looking for an orthopedic doctor for my 77-year-old mother and a new internist for me, since my doctor retired last year.

Searching Susan

Dear Susan,

Finding and researching doctors is a lot easier than it used to be. Today, there are websites that provide databases of doctors, their professional medical histories, and ratings and reviews from past patients.

Searching.

A good first step is to get referrals from trusted friends and any doctors, nurses, or other healthcare professionals you know. You also need to call your insurer for a list of approved doctors or ask whether the doctor you’re considering is in-network.

If your mother is enrolled in original Medicare, you can use the care compare tool at Medicare.gov/care-compare. This will let you find doctors by name, medical specialty, or geographic location that accept original Medicare. If she’s enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, get a list of approved candidates.

Once you find a few doctors, call their office to verify that they still accept your insurance and if they are accepting new patients.

You should also consider hospital affiliation. Your choice of doctor can determine which hospital you go to, if needed, so find out where the doctor has admitting privileges. Then use Medicare.gov/care-compare to see how it compares with other hospitals in the area. 

Researching doctors.

After you find a few doctors you’re interested in, there are websites to help you evaluate them. For example, the Federation of State Medical Boards offers DocInfo.org to find out a doctor’s board certifications, education, states with active licenses, and whether a physician has been disciplined by a state medical board.

The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS Data) is also a good source for researching doctors. For example, it will help you find out how many times a doctor did a particular procedure and what they charge for it. Go to Data.CMS.gov/tools and click on “Medicare Physician & Other Practitioner Look-up Tool.” And to learn about the financial relationship that doctors have with drug and medical device companies, visit OpenPaymentsData.CMS.gov.

Other good sites for finding and researching healthcare professionals include healthgrades.com and vitals.com. Both provide substantial information on education and training, hospital affiliations, board certification, awards and recognitions, professional misconduct, disciplinary action, office locations, and accepted insurance plans. They also offer ratings from past patients on communication and listening skills, wait time, time spent with the patient, and office friendliness. But be aware that while physician ratings can be helpful, they can also be misleading and unreliable.

Send questions to Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or at SavvySenior.org.

The Senior Scene by — June 19, 2024 in Health & Fitness

Cases and outbreaks of measles are increasing in Washington, the U.S. and globally, and older adults who are planning to travel to other countries may need to be vaccinated before their trips, according to health officials.

The national Centers for Disease Control recommend the vaccination for any adult who wasn’t born before 1957 or hasn’t previously received two doses of the measles virus vaccine (MMR or MMRV). The same recommendation applies to any other international travelers who are at least six months old.

People who were born before 1957 likely had measles in their youth and are less likely to get the illness again.

In the U.S., about 90 percent of measles cases are linked to global travel, officials said.

More information is available at cdc.gov and from Washington’s Department of Health at doh.wa.gov.

The Senior Scene by — June 19, 2024 in Lifestyle, Home, Adventures

AARP is accepting nominations for its 2024 Washington Andrus Award for Community Service, which honors 50-plus Washingtonians who are sharing their experience, talent, and skills to enrich the lives of their community members.   

In 2023, AARP Washington recognized Bill Meyer of Spokane, who – after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s – went on the offensive and used his love of the outdoors to help others. In 2016, he founded Pass to Pass, a non-profit which provides opportunities for people with Parkinson’s disease to participate in supported multi-day backpacking trips that build confidence, cultivate community, nourish well-being, and minimize symptoms through exercise.

Andrus Award nominees must meet the following eligibility requirements:

* 50 or older.

  • Their achievements or accomplishments on which the nomination is based:must have been performed on a volunteer basis (volunteers receiving small stipends to cover the costs associated with the volunteer activity are eligible), must reflect AARP’s vision and purpose,.and must provide inspiration for others to volunteer.

·   Partisan political achievements, accomplishments or service may not be considered.

·  Couples or partners who perform service together are eligible; but teams aren’t. 

Nominations forms are available at www.aarp.org/andrusaward or aarpwa@aarp.org. The nomination deadline is July 15.  

The award recipient will be honored at ceremony and have an opportunity to bestow a $2,000 donation to a non-profit organization of their choice. 

The Andrus Award for Community Service is presented annually. Last year, it went to 49 individuals and couples around the country.

The Senior Scene by — June 19, 2024 in Food, People