Gerontological Journal/Visit #4

Description of Visit #4

On the last visit for the class I was happy to see that Randi had her Living Will filled out. She had sent a copy to her daughter to keep on file and she had a copy at her house as well. I also gave Randi a flyer I made with some health promotion activities, a few activities in her area that promote health as well as some free health clinics that were coming up. I tried to include activities that I know she already enjoys doing and information that will help her maintain her health.  Some of the things I included in the flyer are:

Activities:

Antelope Moonlight Bike Ride. July 6, 2012 at 10:00pm at the Antelope Island Marina and is lit by the full moon. http://daviscountyutah.gov/go/moonlight/

Utah Valley Women’s Expo in Orem on April 20 and 21. This is at UVU in the events center from 11-8:00pm www.utahvalley.org/events/details.aspx?ID=1646

Health Promotion in the area:

Autumn Glow Senior Activity Center (801)544-1235; Golden Years Senior Activity Center (801) 295-3479; North Davis Senior Activity Center (801) 525-5080. http://www.daviscountyutah.gov/health/family_health/senior_activity_centers/default.cfm

Activities at these centers include Legal Aid, Blood pressure monitoring, Bingo, Lunch (Mon-Fri), Ceramics and China Painting, Knitting, Crocheting, Low impact Aerobics, Exercise groups and equipment, Dances, Trips and Tours, Tai Chi and painting to name a few.

Davis County Health Promotion Bureau. http://www.daviscountyutah.gov/health/family_health/health_promotion/default.cfm

This site has programs for Heart Health, Injury prevention and safety, Nutrition, Physical Activity and Tobacco Prevention.

Health Fairs in the area that I included:

Family Health and Wellness Fair at the South Davis Recreation Center in Bountiful. April 27, from 11-7:00 and April 28 from 10-4:00

“Get F.I.T” Health Fair at the DATC in Kaysville on May 1 from 10-1:00

Arthritis Fair in Salt Lake on April 20 and noon. This is a free seminar that is put on by a physician discussing how to maintain an active lifestyle while suffering from arthritis. 1002 E South Temple

Part 2 – Synthesis of Visit

I learned a lot from the visits with Randi. I enjoyed talking and playing games with her and seeing how physically and mentally active she still is. I hate to say it, but in the past when an elderly person would come into the hospital “Full Code” status I never understood it. Why would they want to be full code when their quality of life was so poor? I have learned so much not only from visiting with her, but also in the class and have changed my mind and attitude.

I recognize that there are not enough resources out there for the elderly, and the few that I was able to find were all the same. There needs to be more available for all different activity levels and interests. Its seems like BINGO is a typical one, but who really likes to play that? I would be very interested to find other activities and free fairs/clinics for the elderly to help them maintain their independence and health. In the long run, this would benefit everyone as there wouldn’t be as many chronically ill elderly patients putting a strain on the economy.