(248) 281-2020 |
Contact Us
25200 Telegraph Road, Suite 400 •
Southfield, Michigan 48033-7496
(248) 281-2020 |
Contact Us
25200 Telegraph Road, Suite 400 •
Southfield, Michigan 48033-7496
Presbyterian Villages of Michigan is committed to serving seniors and communities. It’s our goal to be a first-line provider of resources, including information. Aging should be an adventure, not a scary trip!
In the PVM Blog, the experts at PVM will regularly publish articles and information. Topics may range from smart ways to age in place in your long-time home, to tips on how to shop for a senior community. We will have articles on transportation, wellness, nutrition, technology, activities, outlook-on-life, and more.
Please let us know your ideas for topics and comments on our articles. We succeed as seniors in our community have the best Aging Adventure!
As I write this grief and a bit of guilt have inspired. Recently a long-time friend treated a group of us who have worked together over many years on senior issues. We were all looking forward to seeing each other in person. At the last minute she said she would not be able to join us since she was not feeling well. One person in the group had stopped at her house on the way to see if she and her husband could pick up our host and take her to the lunch. She said she was just not up to it. When the bill came we found out that she had treated us all to the lunch.
Picnics, fireworks, and Independence Day are the hallmarks of July. So too are heat and humidity. In July, mid-day temperatures in Michigan average in the mid 80’s. Add to this an average humidity level of just over 72% and you have a potentially dangerous combination. Prolonged exposure to high heat and humidity can cause the body to lose its ability to cool itself, ultimately resulting in heat stroke, a serious medical condition that can cause permanent disability or death if prompt emergency treatment isn’t provided.
We are all familiar with the birthday novelties making light of aging. Someone celebrating a landmark birthday is likely to get a fire extinguisher to put out their candles or black crepe paper implying that they are older than dirt. While there is humor in this and we can all make light of turning a year or decade older, we need to be careful about stereotyping. Ageism runs rampant in our society. It is considered to be the only remaining “socially acceptable” prejudice.
According to public health experts like Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease and Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, Michigan’s Chief Medical Executive, the quickest way to get back to doing the things we enjoy such as spending time with family and friends is to achieve herd immunity. Herd immunity occurs when enough people become immune to an infectious disease that it is unlikely to spread from person to person. The quickest way to achieve herd immunity is to get vaccinated.
This May is the annual Older Americans Month as declared by the federal government and celebrated by seniors and the providers who serve them. This year’s theme is Communities of Strength, “recognizing the important role older adults play in fostering the connection and engagement that build strong, resilient communities.” We believe that it is essential to know that seniors not only built the communities which we enjoy but allowed us to stand on their shoulders when it comes to careers, families and leading a life of meaning.
