COUNCIL CELEBRATES 42 YEARS OF SERVICE
Rapides Council On Aging, Inc., celebrated 42 years of service to the elderly of Rapides parish on August 1. Employees of the Council were honored for their dedication to the Council with lunch and commendations from the Board of Directors.
Council employees traditionally remain in their positions for more than 20 years. Employees honored for their years of service were:
Rebecca Maricle, 26 years; Barbara Young, 15 years and Al Armstrong, 14 years. Bettye DeKeyzer, 28 years, having served as a Board Member and the Executive Director.
Gov. John J. McKeithen signed the Charter that created the Council on August 1, 1967 and the Council has provided elderly services under contract to the State of Louisiana since that time.
Services and programs of the Council began in a small office on Monroe Street and four years later moved to a building on Lee street. In 1984 the Council occupied a two-story building, the former nun’s residence on Elliott Street until the former Trinity Methodist Church property was purchased by the Council in 1996.
COUNCIL ELECTS NEW BOARD MEMBERS
Dr. Patsy Barber and Charlotte Durham were elected to the Rapides Council On Aging Board of Directors at the Annual Meeting held July 19. They will serve two three-year terms.
Dr. Patsy Barber who had previously served a six-year term on the Board and retired as President, was re-elected. Dr. Barber was also elected Treasurer of the Corporation for the 2011-2012 fiscal year.
Mrs. Charlotte Durham, a resident of Pineville, active in many civic and service organizations is a member of the Daughters of the confederacy.
CENLA RESIDENTIAL MARKET UPDATE
By Liz Merryman
It is a great time to purchase a home with an increase in the number of houses on the market, lower prices, great interest rates and an occasional good buy!
The average sales price has risen from last quarter. It is currently at $143,620 for the month of June. Average days on the market in June was 89 as compared to 117 in April.
Statistics indicate that it is a Buyers Market and there is fierce competition in the market with informed, discerning buyers.
As always, condition, pricing, staging and location are crucial to selling a property.
The largest number of houses were sold in June were 15 in the $60,000-79,999 price range. Twelve houses in the $80,000-$99,999, 12 in the $200,000 price range and seven houses in the $140,000-$159,999 price range.
HOW LONG WILL YOU LIVE?
More Americans are living to be 100 years old than ever before. According to recent studies a positive attitude is one of the major factors that contribute to a long life. The following short test can calculate how long people can live – approximately.
Since the average person has the genetic makeup and environment factors to enable them to live to be 87, start with 87 and answer these questions:
ATTITUDE: Are you optimistic? Do you generally approach life with good humor? Are you able to let go of things that are stressful? If so, add five years.
GENES: Do you have at least some family members who have lived into their 90s and older? If yes, add 10 years.
EXERCISE: Do you set aside at least 30 minutes a day, three days a week to exercise in some manner? If no, subtract five years.
INTERESTS: Do you do things that are challenging to your brain? If yes, add five years.
NUTRITION: Are you overweight? If so, subtract seven years.
DO YOU SMOKE? If yes subtract five years.
A perfect score is 107 – what’s yours?
AARP DRIVING CLASSES AT RRMC
The AARP Driver Safety Class will be held at Rapides Regional Medical Center (RRMC) on August 18.
The one-day class for those 50 years of age or older will be held from 8:30am – 12:30pm in the Medical Terrace Auditorium at RRMS. Signs will be posted directing participants to the appropriate classroom.
Cost is $12 for AARP members and $14 for non-AARP members. Bring a check or money order payable to AARP to cover the cost of the course and your AARP membership card to verify your AARP membership number. Other classes will be held October 20 and December 8.
For more information or to register for another class, call 769-3512.
CARING FOR THE WHOLE PERSON NEAR THE END OF LIFE
By Amy Robertson
"You matter because of who you are. You matter to the last moment of your life, and we will do all we can, not only to help you die peacefully, but also to live until you die," said Dame Cicely Saunders, founder of the first modern hospice in London in 1967.
Hospice care is a unique and often misunderstood type of healthcare. It is most about giving compassion to someone with a life-limiting illness. The approach is all-encompassing and brings together the primary care physician, nurses, nursing aids, chaplains and social workers who construct an individualized care plan for each patient and their family according to their wants and needs. This approach involves total patient needs and takes into account the whole person when addressing not only the physical body and its medical needs but also the emotional, spiritual and social aspects as well.
Many times patients or family members have pre-conceived ideas or feelings about what hospice is and what is given. Too many myths surround it.
MYTH: Hospice is a place.
FACT: Hospice care usually takes place in the comfort of your home, but can be provided in any environment in which you live, including nursing homes, assisting living facilities and residential care facilities.
MYTH: Hospice means that the patient will die soon or that you are giving up.
FACT: Receiving hospice care does not mean abandoning hope or that death is imminent. The earlier an individual receives hospice care, the more opportunity there is to stabilize the medical condition and address other needs. Some patients actually improve and may be discharged from hospice care.
In their 2010 Annual Report, the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization stated:
The mean survival was 29 days longer for hospice patients than for non-hospice patients. In other words, patients who chose hospice care lived an average of one month longer than similar patients who did not choose hospice care. Longer lengths of survival were found in four of six disease categories. The largest difference was observed in congestive heart failure patients where the mean survival period jumped from 321 days to 402 days. The mean survival period was significantly longer for lung cancer (39 days) and pancreatic cancer (21 days), while marginally significant for colon cancer (33 days).The report may be viewed at wwww.nhpco.org
Authors of a 2010 study on lung cancer, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, surmised that "with earlier referral to a hospice program, patients may receive care that results in better management of symptoms, leading to stabilization of their condition and prolong survival." (ibid.)
These important results show how hospice id about improving the quality of care and life in those who need compassionate care the most. A community liaison member can come to your group and talk about these issues and what can be offered to qualified patients.
Educating yourself is the best preparation for you and your family. When confronted with a life-limiting illness a team approach can relieve stress and give aid and comfort in ways not expected. Hospice is not about giving up it is about giving more.
To schedule an educational presentation call Oasis Healthcare, a hospice provider at 318-619-9457.
