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Generations Beacon Article - January

HOW TO STAY SAFE WHEN A WINTER STORM THREATENS

FEMA.gov

 

Prepare NOW

  • Know your area’s risk for winter storms. Extreme winter weather can leave communities without utilities or other services for long periods of time.
  • Prepare your home to keep out the cold with insulation, caulking, and weather stripping. Learn how to keep pipes from freezing. Install and test smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors with battery backups.
  • Pay attention to weather reports and warnings of freezing weather and winter storms. Sign up for your community’s warning system. The Emergency Alert System (EAS) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Weather Radio also provide emergency alerts.
  • Gather supplies in case you need to stay home for several days without power. Keep in mind each person’s specific needs, including medication. Do not forget the needs of pets. Have extra batteries for radios and flashlights.
  • Create an emergency supply kit for your car. Include jumper cables, sand, a flashlight, warm clothes, blankets, bottled water, and non-perishable snacks. Keep the gas tank full.
  • Learn the signs of, and basic treatments for, frostbite and hypothermia.

 

Survive DURING

  • Stay off roads if at all possible. If trapped in your car, then stay inside.
  • Limit your time outside. If you need to go outside, then wear layers of warm clothing. Watch for signs of frostbite and hypothermia.
  • Avoid carbon monoxide poisoning. Only use generators and grills outdoors and away from windows. Never heat your home with a gas stovetop or oven.
  • Reduce the risk of a heart attack. Avoid overexertion when shoveling snow.
  • Watch for signs of frostbite and hypothermia and begin treatment right away.
  • Check on neighbors. Older adults and young children are more at risk in extreme cold.

 

RECOGNIZE AND RESPOND

  • Frostbite causes loss of feeling and color around the face, fingers, and toes.
    • Signs: Numbness, white or grayish-yellow skin, firm or waxy skin
    • Actions: Go to a warm room. Soak in warm water. Use body heat to warm. Do not massage or use a heating pad.

 

  • Hypothermia is an unusually low body temperature. A temperature below 95 degrees is an emergency.
    • Signs: Shivering, exhaustion, confusion, fumbling hands, memory loss, slurred speech, or drowsiness
    • Actions: Go to a warm room. Warm the center of the body first—chest, neck, head, and groin. Keep dry and wrapped up in warm blankets, including the head and neck.

Every Penny Counts

Every Penny Counts.

For as little as $25 a month, you can provide a family in need with the peace of mind that comes from owning their own Personal Emergency Response System. For $50, you can give a caregiver what he or she needs most: an afternoon out of the house with the help of our respite care program. And for less than that, you can provide our clients with Meals on Wheels gift certificates, transportation tokens, and even one-of-a-kind Teddy Bears. The point is, your contribution can help our friends and neighbors continue to live independently.

To help us meet our mission and financial challenges, we’ve established the "Looking to the Future" endowment through the Vincennes University Foundation. In addition, donations may also be made to Generations endowment through the Dubois County Community Foundation, Huntingburg Community Foundation and Greene County Community Foundation.

If you're interested in learning more about donating to Generations, you may click the donation button on home page of our website, or give us a call at 1-800-742-9002. You may also donate by mail.  Your tax-deductible gift to Generations may be mailed to:

GENERATIONS
1019 N. 4th Street P.O. Box 314 Vincennes, IN 47591

Generations is thankful for the financial support provided by United Way, Community Foundations and charitable businesses, organizations and individuals in our communities.

Welcome to Generations

Our Focus Is Simple: YOUR HEALTH & HAPPINESS

We provide information and services to older adults, individuals with disabilities of any age and their caregivers in Daviess, Dubois, Greene, Knox, Martin and Pike counties.

From nutrition to arranging the right in-home services, our job is to connect individuals with the right programs and services to help improve their quality of life. Generations is a program of Vincennes University’s Community Service Division.

OUR MISSION

To offer older adults, individuals with disabilities and caregivers options for a better quality of life.

 

Your contribution can help your friends and neighbors continue to live independently in their own homes.

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Magazine Promotes Successful Aging

 

Generations Magazine is a free publication especially for active and informed adults that made its debut in the fall of 1998. Promoting successful aging for individuals in pre-retirement and retirement years, the magazine provides helpful information on a wide array of topics including health and fitness, caregiving and legal issues, investment and financial advice, and light reading to educational opportunities available through many outreach efforts and programs. Featured guest writers bring additional expertise and credability to the magazine’s professionalism and dedication to quality.

Generations Magazine is published 3 times a year and is sent to more than 5,000 subscribers. With advertiser support, we are able to provide the magazine free of charge to our readers.  To be added to our mailing list, email your name and address to Linda Yochum at lyochum@vinu.edu or call 1-800-742-9002.

Or, If you would like to download the digital version of the magazine, click on the button below.

  

Please send all communications regarding the magazine to:

Generations, c/o Brenda Hancock
P.O. Box 314
Vincennes IN 47591

For advertising information contact Brenda Hancock at (812) 888-5146 or bhancock@vinu.edu

Privacy Policy: Your personal information is for Generations' use only. We will not sell any of your data to a third party.

 

Matter of Balance Coaches Training

Upcoming Matter of Balance Classes

 

UPCOMING MATTER OF BALANCE CLASSES

If you are interested in attending a Matter of Balance class in the future and you live in, or near our six-county service area, please contact Alma Kramer at (812)888-4527.  If enough interest is generated in an area, we will do our best to set up a class in that area.

 

 

The Alzheimer’s Association provides caregivers and families with comprehensive online resources and information Their professionally staffed 24/7 Helpline (1.800.272.3900) offers information and advice to more than 250,000 callers each year. 
Visit their website at:  www.alz.org

The Support Group for Caregivers of Loved Ones with Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementia meets the second Tuesday of each month at 4 p.m. at Central Church of Christ (Fellowship Hall), 1600 Forbes Road, Vincennes.  The meetings provide the latest information on Alzheimer's research and medications, help and encouragement from other caregivers and open but confidential discussions and a chance to be heard.  For more information, contact Roger Wright, Support Group Facilitator, at (812) 882-7963 or centralccc@gmail.com.

 

Generations’ Column for January 11, 2020

DINE WITH A DOC® - FEBRUARY 5th, 2020:  Senior Education Ministries, in partnership with Generations and Vincennes University, will be presenting Dine with a Doc® on February 5th from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Indiana Center for Applied Technology (ICAT), 1500 N. Chestnut St., Vincennes, IN, on the Vincennes University Campus. The program is free to the public, and a free lunch will be provided. February’s speaker will be Doctor of Occupational Therapy, Kristy Kruger, OTD from ProRehab. This program provides the opportunity to fellowship with peers while receiving valuable information from our medical community. If you would like more information about Dine with a doc® you may visit www.dinewithadoc.com. Please RSVP by contacting Cathy Jones at 812-888-5159 or 1-800-742-9002.

 

VOLUNTEER COACHES NEEDED FOR FALL PREVENTION PROGRAM:  Generations would like to expand our Matter of Balance (MOB) program!  This nationally recognized evidence-based program’s goal is to reduce fear of falling, stop the fear of falling and increase activity levels among community-dwelling older adults.  Studies show that one-half of the older adult population fear falling, one-third of older adults do fall and falls are the leading cause of fatal and non-fatal injuries for this group.  We need volunteers who would like to be trained to lead these classes in our community.  Our service area includes Daviess, Dubois, Greene, Knox, Martin and Pike counties, and we provide Matter of Balance classes in all counties throughout the year.  Generations is hosting a free one-day Matter of Balance Coaches’ Training in February for volunteers interested in teaching this evidence-based fall prevention program to older adults in our service area.  The training will be conducted on February 20th, 2019 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Vincennes University’s Zella Young Building, Room 305, 1019 N. 4th St., Vincennes, IN.  Generations will provide materials for classes, supervision and program promotion. There is no selling involved.  Seating is limited.  For more information or to RSVP, contact Alma Kramer at 812-888-4527 or akramer@vinu.edu.

 

DO NOT ABBREVIATE 2020 ON CHECKS OR LEGAL DOCUMENTS:  As we begin a new year and a new decade, experts are warning against abbreviating the year when signing and dating checks or legal documents.  Why?  Because the checks or documents could easily be altered with another date.  For example, if you sign and date a document with today’s date, 1/11/20, it could easily be changed to another year by adding two numbers to the end of “20.” For example, let’s say that you date a legal document for today and you use the abbreviated year, 1/11/20; this date can easily be manipulated by adding numbers to the end of the date.  So, 1/11/20 might be changed to 1/11/2017 – or to whatever year that the unscrupulous individual wants to change it to.  So, just to be on the safe side, make sure to write the entire year out when dating checks or documents in the year 2020.  It’s better to be safe than sorry!

 

CDC FLU SEASON FACT OF THE WEEK:  FACT: There are prescription drugs that can treat influenza virus infections. People 65 and older should be treated with influenza antiviral drugs if theyget sick with flu. If you have flu symptoms--even if you had a flu shot--call your doctor, nurse, or clinic. Doctors can prescribe medicine, called antiviral drugs, to treat flu and lessen the chance of serious illness. These medicines work better the sooner they are started. Call if you have any or all of the following symptoms:

  • Fever or feeling feverish/chills
  • Cough
  • Sore Throat
  • Runny or stuffy nose
  • Muscle or body aches
  • Headache
  • Fatigue (tiredness)
  • Sometimes diarrhea and vomiting

It’s very important that antiviral drugs be used early to treat flu in people who are very sick with flu (for example, people who are in the hospital), and people who are sick with flu and are at high risk of serious flu complications, like people 65 and older.

 

GENERATIONS MAGAZINE: Our magazine is geared toward adults in pre-retirement and retirement years and promotes active aging and preventive health. It is published three times a year and is free to subscribers. All we need is your name and address. If you would like to receive future copies of the magazine, contact Brenda Hancock at 812-888-5146 or bhancock@vinu.edu.

Generations, Area 13 Agency on Aging & Disability, is a program of Vincennes University’s Community Services Division. Our agency connects individuals and caregivers to community resources and options for long-term care and in-home services. For more information, call 1-800-742-9002 or 812-888-5880 or visit our website at www.generationsnetwork.org