Through the HealthScope program, health care professionals offer programs emphasizing wellness and disease prevention at senior centers throughout the county. Topics include vision screening, diabetes self-management, stress management, hearing screenings, weight management, cancer education and screening, arthritis management and much more.
Blood pressure screenings are held on a regular basis at most senior centers. Fitness programs, including those adapted for frail participants, and nutrition education seminars are also available. In some instances, screening has detected a problem in the early stages allowing for successful treatment.
The Department of Aging in partnership with Maxim Health will offer flu shot clinics at all 19 senior centers and at Senior Expo starting Wednesday, October 29, 2008.
The Department of Aging, featuring Nurse Educator Anna Dorothy Zink, will present educational workshops on Shingles to explain this painful condition.
The workshop will cover the following: What is shingles? What are the symptoms? What is the treatment? What can be done to prevent the spread of shingls?
From September through December 2008, the Department of Aging has partnered with CVS Pharmacy to offer educational presentations to seniors on how to reduce risks associated with inappropriate medication use.
These lectures will be followed by the opportunity to schedule a one-on-one brown bag review with a local CVS Pharmacist to review your prescriptions and over-the-counter medications to avoid any serious threats to your overall health and quality of life.
BCDA as part of a statewide grant with Maryland Department of Aging, if offering a series of workshops for people with chronic conditions, this is modeled after the Chronic Disease Self-Management Workshop from Stanford University.
A chronic condition is a medical condition that may cause suffering and of loss of physical abilities over time. Examples of some chronic conditions are dibetes, heart disease, stroke, arthritis, lung disease, asthma and depression.
These workshops are offered free of charge to anyone 18 years of age and older either having or living with someone with a chronic condition. The workshops run for six-weeks, two and a half hours a week and is facilitated by laymen, not professionals.
Throughout 2008, the Department of Aging will be presenting programs to educate older adults and caregivers on various issues associated loss and grief. Grief can be experienced throughout the life cycle. Loss and change can cause an individual to miss what or who they use to have in their life. Examples of loss that could cause grief include retirement, relocation, death of a friend or loved one, changes in health or loss of a pet.
September Topic: Surviving and Thriving After A Loss
As one experiences the loss of a loved one, we need to try to create hope in our daily lives and to use it to propel us forward. Gilcrest Hospice has partnered with the Baltimore County Department of Aging to offer presentations, on how to move forward in order to feel life's joys and pleasures again, at a senior center near you.
October Topic: You Say Tomato - I Say Tomahto: The Differences Between Men's and Women's Grief
Gilcrest Hospice has partnered with the Baltimore County Department of Aging to offer educational presentations on the differences between men's and women's grief. This is a beneficial program to understand and help family members and friends dealing with grief.
November Topic: Coping With The Holidays
The Department of Aging has partnered with Gilchrist Hospice to offer educational presentations on Coping With The Holidays. The holidays can be very emotional and overwhelming when one is experiencing grief. This workshop will provide suggestions to help in planning for these significant days. They will explore the use of rituals, change and retaining traditions to find hope and courage as the holidays approach.
Revised September 29, 2008
Courthouse 