Active aging depends on more than an activity calendar. A new guide from The Medallion in Houston’s Greater Meyerland Area explains how building layout, staff who know each resident, and indoor programming through Houston summers help older adults stay engaged.
-- Active aging is about far more than exercise, and for families comparing assisted living in Houston, the layout of a community can matter more than its activity calendar. That is the central point of a new guide from The Medallion, a 52-apartment assisted living community in the Greater Meyerland Area, which explains what active aging means and what families should look for on a tour.
More details can be found at https://www.sevenacres.org/what-is-active-aging/
The guide draws on the World Health Organization’s description of active aging as making the most of health, participation, and security so that quality of life holds up as people get older. The International Council on Active Aging frames the idea across seven dimensions of wellness: emotional, environmental, intellectual, physical, vocational, social, and spiritual. Under that framework, a parent can walk every day and still be fading, while someone with real physical limits can thrive if the other six dimensions are intact.
The stakes rise with age. Muscle mass begins declining around age 30, and the loss speeds up after 60. The CDC tracks falls as a leading cause of injury among older adults, and strength and balance work is one of the few measures with real evidence behind it. The National Institute on Aging recommends 150 minutes of moderate activity a week plus two days of strengthening, regardless of existing health conditions. Most older adults living alone do not come close.
According to the guide, every community can hand families a full activity calendar. What the calendar does not show is whether a resident can reach any of it without asking for help first. A resident who has to wait for someone to walk her down a long corridor will go to fewer things every month, and after a while she will stop asking.
At The Medallion, dining and activities all happen within the building. The whole day is indoors, so nothing gets canceled for weather and nobody has to cross open ground to get anywhere. Residents, even those in wheelchairs, can easily move from their apartment to dining to activities on their own. Larger events are held in the Seven Acres auditorium on campus, and scheduled transportation covers appointments and errands. More information on the community’s senior assisted living apartments is available at https://www.sevenacres.org/assisted-living-apartments/
The guide names three barriers that keep older adults from staying active: pain, fear of falling, and having nobody to go with. Shorter distances answer the first two. The third is where a small community has the advantage. At 52 apartments, staff get to know each resident, not just their name, but their preferences, their routines, and their family. Staff know who is usually at breakfast and who was not there this morning, and somebody goes and checks. That is what makes a community feel more like family than a facility.
Houston adds a factor many families overlook. From May through September, heat and humidity limit outdoor activity for older adults, which leaves nearly half the year when indoor programming is the only programming. The guide recommends that families touring in the spring ask every community what residents do in August.
Day to day, The Medallion offers a purposeful activity program with outings, focused on maintaining cognitive and functional skills, along with life enrichment activities and three chef-prepared meals daily. Pets are welcome for an additional fee, though staff do not provide pet care. Care and medications are managed by staff including a nurse (LVN), along with CNAs and CMAs, so staying active does not mean being on one’s own.
The guide closes with four questions for families to ask on any tour: what residents did yesterday and how many people came, how staff learn what a new resident enjoys, what happens when someone stops participating, and whether a resident can get to activities on her own.
Families interested in touring The Medallion can arrange a visit by appointment at https://www.sevenacres.org/assisted-living-apartments/book-a-tour/
Contact Info:
Name: Loren Gordon
Email: Send Email
Organization: Seven Acres Jewish Senior Care Services
Address: 6200 North Braeswood Boulevard, Houston, Texas 77074, United States
Website: https://www.sevenacres.org
Source: NewsNetwork
Release ID: 89206096
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