WESTLOCK — Around 120 seniors attended a day-long conference hosted by the Westlock and District Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) Oct. 18 at the Westlock Memorial Hall.
Maureen Schiller, who headed the event, said the purpose was to provide participants with information on topics that are relevant to them, as well as to get seniors out of the house and socializing while also providing a hot meal.
“The event went very well. It was well-attended, the presenters were fabulous, lunch was good, the comedian was funny,” said Schiller. “I definitely think from the feedback I received, everyone enjoyed the day. That’s what we were hoping for.”
The morning presenter was Jolyn Hall, a former registered nurse and home care case manager who now owns Edmonton55, which helps seniors make housing choices that will allow them to stay independent and connected to their community.
Hall’s presentation was on “aging in place,” though she noted she preferred the term “aging in community” because it was more important for seniors to live in an environment that suits their physical and social needs.
She related the story of a client who had become completely reliant on her family and was facing the prospect of entering a nursing home.
The senior in question lived in a two-storey raised home, and because she used a walker, she was not comfortable with even leaving the house due to the steep entrance. Her bedroom was also upstairs, while her laundry was in the basement, so cooking and cleaning became a challenge.
Hall said she believed that if the senior entered a new residence where everything was on her level, she could regain some of her mobility. She ultimately moved the senior into an accessible condo with a social community that was also right next to a bank, a medical centre and a grocery store.
“Guess what? The family called me a month later to say, ‘Mom doesn’t need us.’ Mom would have gone to a nursing home in two to three months if she had kept on that continuum. Her mobility was declining that fast.”
Halll pointed out that a two-story house with two sets of stairs can become as much as a prison as a home.
“Sometimes we hold on so tight to our homes because we worked really hard to get them, but sometimes we have to realize that a change in home can make a really big difference,” she said.
"At the end of the day, the key to successful aging in place is being safe and independent as long as you are able. The place doesn’t matter so much.”
The rest of Hall’s presentation covered topics such as the importance of investigating what resources and services are available within a community before a crisis occurs, considering whether the costs of private services are sustainable and other tips for staying independent.
In the afternoon, participants received a presentation from Jordan Walker, a personal fitness trainer who has just started a new program called Gentle Fit.
Walker talked about her program, which is currently running from 11 a.m. to noon at the Westlock Rotary Spirit Centre on Thursdays, with a new five-week session about to start up on Nov. 16.
She also talked generally about the benefits of exercise and the need to do specific exercises, such as adding a little bit of resistance training into daily walks.
“Unfortunately, our bodies, including our brains, deteriorate as time goes on. That’s inevitable; it’s going to happen. But we can slow that process down just by adding exercise into your life,” Walker said.
She concluded her presentation by leading the participants through an exercise routine that was typical of her Gentle Fit program.
The conference wrapped up with some entertainment by Edmonton comedian Sean Lecomber, a former writer for This Hour Has 22 Minutes and a past performer at the Halifax and Winnipeg Comedy Festivals.
