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Portfolio Project – Proposal for New Tenant Activities and Annotated BibliographyTawnee WilliamsBryant & Stratton CollegeENGL 250 – Research & Writing IIInstructor – Dr. SchultzDecember 11, 2017Bethel EstatesMemoTo:Sherry SchleedeFrom:Tawnee Williamscc:Date:December 13, 2017Re:Proposal for New Tenant ActivitiesMrs. Schleede,I have been doing some research on diverse activities that will help to keep our residents happy, active and healthy. I started to do this after our last team meeting, where you spoke about the suggestion that was made by one of our tenants’ daughters to possibly come up with more activities for them to do during each month. This suggestion brought up some ideas that I would like to tell you about. I believe if we provide more activities for the tenants it will help them to stay active and healthy, and also help Bethel Estates to be a leader in WNY for independent living for seniors. Within my research I found that people ages 85 and older are the fastest growing age demographic in the United States. Since 1900, our average life spans have increased by thirty years, and this is a remarkable achievement. We must take advantage of this longevity by fostering active, healthy living that maximizes seniors’ quality of life and their contributions to society. We should be encouraging our tenants to exercise more and lead healthier lives in anticipation of living longer. In this way, they will capitalize on the longevity factor while reducing chronic disease and dementia (Lock & Belza, 2016, p. 1). I have found many activities can help our tenants stay active and healthy during the month, with minimal cost to Bethel Estates. However, one of the most important activities that we can offer to our tenants is exercise. “Regular physical activity helps to improve physical and mental functions as well as reverse some effects of chronic disease to keep older people mobile and independent.” Evidence shows that regular physical activity is safe for healthy and for frail older people. The risks of developing major cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, obesity, falls, cognitive impairments, osteoporosis and muscular weakness are then decreased by regularly completing physical activities. These can range from low intensity walking to more vigorous sports and resistance exercises (McPhee et. al., 2016, p. 1). By performing thorough research, I have come up with a list of activities that all tenants can participate in to help keep them happy, healthy and active in their lives and here at Bethel Estates. This list includes:Group walks Exercises – Sit & Be Fit Class and Balance and Strength ClassTherapy – Color Therapy, Music therapy, and Art therapyHealthy Cooking Class – Alternating classes for snacks, breakfast, lunch and dinnerCognitive Games – I Got It card game and Name that Tune GameCognitive Activity – Learn a new language (alternating classes every 6 months for basic Spanish, basic Italian, and basic French)Group WalksGroup walks will be scheduled two-three times per month if time permits, and will be 1 hour long. The elderly has some special physical concerns that can be helped with regular exercise like walking. As people get older, they seem to be at greater risk of developing osteoporosis and with regular exercise like walking, that can be prevented (Smith, n.d., paras. 11-12). In addition, group walks can also improve their psychological well-being. Walking in green spaces and farmland can be especially beneficial when compared with walking in urban environments. Walking provides opportunities for stimulation, restoration, contemplation, and a sense of pleasure from the shared experience (Grant et. al., 2017, p. 1). Walking offers tremendous health benefits that can help older adults stay independent and have a huge impact on their quality of life. ExercisesThe Sit & Be Fit class will be scheduled two times per month with an instructor, and will be 1 hour long. The instructor’s services are offered for free by the Hamburg Senior Community Center for our tenants. Sit and Be Fit is a chair exercise program that was designed for older adults, particularly those who have balance issues, physical limitations or chronic conditions such as arthritis and osteoporosis (Weir, n.d., para. 2). The American College of Sports Medicine notes several benefits that older adults experience when engaging in regular physical activity which includes decreased body fat, increased muscle mass, reductions in blood pressure, cholesterol and cancer risk, increased insulin sensitivity and improved bone mineral density (Weir, n.d., para. 4). The balance and strength class will be scheduled two times per month with a qualified instructor, and will be 1 hour long. The instructor’s services are offered for free from the Hamburg Senior Community Center for our tenants. The balance and strength class will teach simple exercises for seniors to target different areas of the body that help to get up, sit down, move around, and stay balanced. These exercises build strength in the thighs, back of hip, front of lower leg, calf, and upper back (for better posture and balance). They increase flexibility for easier movement and walking by stretching calf muscles and the backs of thighs. And they improve balance by stabilizing the pelvis and practicing and training the brain to coordinate and stabilize the body (DailyCaring, n.d., paras. 11-14). TherapyColor therapy will meet one time per month for one hour, with a trained volunteer color therapist. “Color therapy, or chromotherapy, is the method of treating ailments through the use?of color. Color therapy can be done by shining an appropriate color on an area of the body. It can also be done through the eyes by looking at a particular color” (The Aetherius Society, n.d., para. 1). Color therapy can help seniors suffering from insomnia, decreased appetite, depression, daytime sleepiness, and stress and anxiety. Music therapy will meet one time per month for one hour, with a trained volunteer music therapist. Music therapy uses music to address a number issues such as: Helping seniors process their thoughts and maintain memories, helping seniors answer questions, make decisions, speak clearer and slow the deterioration of speech and language skills. It also helps seniors by reducing stress, inspiring movement, and encouraging social interaction (American Senior Communities, 2014, paras. 5-9).Art therapy will meet one time per month for one hour, with a trained volunteer art therapist who is educated on all the ways to use art to improve quality of life for?seniors. They will create programs using many different mediums to allow the tenants the therapy they need. “Utilizing things like paints, pens or markers, collage, watercolors or even clay for sculpture and flower arranging are all ways for seniors to express themselves through art” (American Senior Communities, 2014, para. 10). There are many benefits of using art as a therapy for seniors and they include: Promoting self-awareness and self-expression, facilitating socialization and communication, improving cognitive skills and providing intellectual stimulation, improving physical/motor skills, decreasing stress and depression and reducing boredom (American Senior Communities, 2014, paras. 4-9).Healthy Cooking ClassThe healthy cooking class will be scheduled for at least one time per month, but may increase to two times per month if time permits. The class will be 2 hours in length and will be taught by a volunteer nutritionist. Each class will feature a short nutrition lecture and a live cooking demonstration all within a supportive group setting. Recipes will be simple and not take more than 45 minutes to prepare from start to finish. Each class will include discussions on simple cooking techniques as well as kitchen tools and equipment. Attendees will learn how to develop flavor without excess sugar and fat and how to shop for fresh produce on a budget. There will be alternating classes scheduled for healthy snacks, breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. These classes are needed for seniors because the burdens of unhealthy aging associated with chronic noncommunicable and other age-related diseases may be largely preventable with lifestyle modification, including diet. As adults age, they become at risk of “nutritional frailty,” which can compromise their ability to meet nutritional requirements at a time when specific nutrient needs may be high. Evidence for nutritional factors (e.g., fruit and vegetable intake, vitamin D status, presence of obesity) may further control age-associated declines in skeletal muscle mass (Shliski et. al., 2017, p.1). Cognitive GamesThe I Got It game will be scheduled for 1 time per month, for an hour and a half duration. This card game is simple, intuitive and rewarding and enhances hand-eye coordination, strengthens mental capacity, improves recall, and forges mental connections through association. “To play "I Got It" each player is dealt five regular size playing cards, face down. Once everyone receives their cards, the instruction to turn over your cards as given and everyone gets to see their hand. The leader then draws from their Jumbo Deck and calls out one card at a time - holding it up for all to see. When a card in your hand is called, you turn it over, face down. The first player to turn over all five called cards is the winner and yells out, "I Got It!" (The Alzheimer’s Store, n.d., paras. 2-3). There will be a small prize given for the first-place winners such as a $5.00 Wegmans gift card. Also, there will be a one-time expense to Bethel Estates in the amount of $24.95 to purchase the game. The Name That Tune game will be scheduled for 1 time per month, for an hour and a half duration. This game is great for exercising and testing seniors’ long-term memory. First an individual assembles various recordings of songs that were popular when today's seniors were young. Then they would play a short clip from a song. Participants must write down the name of the song and the artist. Each round would consist of 10-15 songs being played and then announcing the answers one by one. The participant with the highest number of correct responses wins a small prize (Coodin, n.d., para. 4). Cognitive ActivityThe “Learn a New Language” class will have alternating classes every 6 months for basic Spanish, basic Italian, and basic French). These classes will be one hour long in duration and will meet 2-3 times per month as time permits. A volunteer, that is an expert in the particular language that we will be studying, will be teaching our residents. A new study reports that learning a new language helps to protect your brain against aging and can postpone the onset?of dementia and Alzheimer’s by?4.5 years. Also, “brains scans found a?noticeable difference in brain activity of bilingual seniors. Their brains worked much more?efficiently, more like those of young adults” (Alban, n.d., paras. 25-27). Just to review, I would like to suggest that Bethel Estates implements these diverse activities for our tenants to help keep them happy, active and healthy. These activities would cost just under $400.00 to initially implement and then about $150.00 a month to maintain. In doing so, Bethel Estates would set the bar for offering our independent living tenants more activities than our competition and in turn would be a model community for seniors wanting to live in Western New York.Thank you for your time, and if you have any questions please feel free to contact me. Sincerely,Tawnee Williams ReferencesAlban, D. (n.d.). The brain benefits of learning a second language. Retrieved from Senior Communities. (2014, December 16). Art therapy for seniors. Retrieved from Senior Communities. (2014, October 21). Music therapy for seniors. Retrieved from , D. (n.d). Memory games for senior citizens. Retrieved from DailyCaring. (n.d.). Video: 15 minute senior exercise program for balance and strength. Retrieved from , G., Pollard, N., Allmark, P., Machaczek, K., & Ramcharan, P. (2017). The social relations of a health walk group: An ethnographic study. Qualitative Health Research, 27(11), 1701. doi:10.1177/1049732317703633Lock, S. L., & Belza, B. (2016). Promoting healthy aging: A presidential imperative. Generations, 40(4), 58-66.McPhee, J., French, D., Jackson, D., Nazroo, J., Pendleton, N., & Degens, H. (2016). Physical activity in older age: Perspectives for healthy ageing and frailty. Biogerontology, 17(3), 567-580. doi:10.1007/s10522-016-9641-0Smith, E. (n.d.). Walking as a way of life. Retrieved from , J., Bloom, D. E., Beaudreault, A. R., Tucker, K. L., Keller, H. H., Freund-Levi, Y., & Meydani, S. N. (2017). Nutritional considerations for healthy aging and reduction in age-related chronic disease. Advances in Nutrition (Bethesda, Md.), 8(1), 17-26. doi:10.3945/an.116.013474The Aetherius Society. (n.d.). Color therapy. Retrieved from Alzheimer’s Store. (n.d.). I got it card game. Retrieved from Weir, J. (n.d.). Sit and be fit exercises. Retrieved from Annotated BibliographyAmerican Senior Communities. (2014, December 16). Art therapy for seniors. Retrieved from article was chosen because it specifically discusses art therapy for seniors and the various ways they can benefit from this type of activity. Art is known to have therapeutic benefits for seniors such as less visits to the doctors, taking less medication, and experiencing less depression. It also speaks about certified art therapists who can help improve senior’s quality of life. This article has all of the information that you can ever need about art therapy for seniors and it is organized and concise making it easy to read and study.Grant, G., Pollard, N., Allmark, P., Machaczek, K., & Ramcharan, P. (2017). The social relations of a health walk group: An ethnographic study. Qualitative Health Research, 27(11), 1701. doi:10.1177/1049732317703633This journal article was chosen because it discusses the social relations of a health walk group for older people. The findings from the article suggested that when a therapeutic landscape (the idea that setting and places can have properties conducive to health) was utilized, the walks offered fresh personal and social opportunities for walkers: new locations for linking, bridging, and bonding; strengthened friendships and support; mutual monitoring of health and well-being; practical support; and help with personal growth. Lastly, this journal article considers the production of social relations of regular, organized weekly group walks for older people. It is based on an ethnographic study of a Walking for Health group in a rural area of the United Kingdom. Lock, S. L., & Belza, B. (2016). Promoting healthy aging: A presidential imperative. Generations, 40(4), 58-66.This review article was chosen because it discusses at length how and why we should promote healthy aging with a direct message to the president of the United States which states to: Create a multi-sector strategy to promote healthy aging at home and in the community. This article also discussed other subtopics of promoting healthy aging, such as problems to be solve, the impacts of the lack of exercise, and the impacts of social isolation. This was an excellent article for my project and I think that all of the employees at my workplace would benefit from the information contained within. This article can give my boss the factual information she would need to present to her boss, in order to make changes to our activity schedule for the tenants.McPhee, J., French, D., Jackson, D., Nazroo, J., Pendleton, N., & Degens, H. (2016). Physical activity in older age: Perspectives for healthy ageing and frailty. Biogerontology, 17(3), 567-580. doi:10.1007/s10522-016-9641-0This review article was chosen because it examines how regular physical activity helps to improve physical and mental functions as well as reverse some effects of chronic disease to keep older people mobile and independent. Healthy aging is defined and regular physical activity is the key to healthy aging. The article also discusses various physical activity programs, and how long you should do them for results. Even though participation in physical activity remains low among older adults, we should be encouraging healthy aging for our older friends and family members and raise awareness in any way we can. Shlisky, J., Bloom, D. E., Beaudreault, A. R., Tucker, K. L., Keller, H. H., Freund-Levi, Y., & Meydani, S. N. (2017). Nutritional considerations for healthy aging and reduction in age-related chronic disease. Advances In Nutrition (Bethesda, Md.), 8(1), 17-26. doi:10.3945/an.116.013474This journal article was chosen because it examines nutritional considerations for healthy aging and the subsequent reduction in age-related chronic disease. This this article has some great information for the healthy cooking section of my proposal that would strengthen my argument for wanting to implement healthy cooking classes. It presents factual information that is relevant and effective for the audience, such as: A more comprehensive nutritional assessment needs to be incorporated into the routine health care of adults to identify specific nutrient needs. Evidence suggests that a Mediterranean-style diet that is high in fruit, fish, and vegetables may reduce the risk of both mild cognitive impairment and AD. A diet high in fruit and vegetables, along with adequate dietary protein, also may support lean body mass maintenance Smith, E. (n.d.). Walking as a way of life. Retrieved from article was chosen due to the fact that it explores walking as a way of life for seniors. It discusses how a simple 35-minute walk into their daily activities can keep them physically strong and agile. It also explores how sedentary life can be deadly for seniors, resulting in muscle loss and significantly lowered aerobic capacity. Finally, it talks about the many benefits of walking, including how it can help seniors continue to lead an independent lifestyle. ................
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