Seniors Count : Health &amp

Tips for Seniors to Keep Warm and Save Energy This Winter

Seniors Count — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 15:24:00 GMT

· Pre-holiday hint, ask for a gift certificate to help weatherize your home or pay for fuel.

· Winter in a warmer climate with friends and/or family.

· Move in with a friend or have your friend move in as your roommate for the winter.

· Attend an Adult Day Program, Church or Senior Center during daytime hours.

· Use a hot water bottle to warm your bed, add extra blankets.

· Wear layers of clothing, especially natural fabrics.

· Use insulated drapes to improve energy efficiency; close draperies at night and on cloudy days; open them on sunny days.

· Trim or remove evergreens and shrubs that block the sun.

· Remove or cover air conditioners.

· Lower thermostat to 65 degrees when away or asleep.

· Set your hot water temperature at the “normal” setting—no higher than 120 degrees; wash clothes in cold water.

· Insulate your hot water tank and pipes with insulation.

· Place aluminum foil behind radiators to reflect heat.

· Vacuum heat registers.

· Close the damper on your fireplace when it is not in use.

· Don’t block radiators/heating vents with furniture or draperies.

· Minimize use of ventilation fans such as bathroom fans and kitchen hood fans.

· Use ceiling fans by reversing the spin and setting on the lowest speed to keep warm air down to the living area.

· Block drafts blowing into your home via mail slot, through the floorboards, doors or windows.

· Keep your garage door closed.

· Install storm doors and windows; put added insulation in your attic.

· Seal doors and windows with draft reducing weather stripping, plastic or door sweeps.

· Close down part of your house and move your bed to the sunniest room.

Important Phone Numbers and Websites

City of Manchester Welfare Department

(603)-624-6484

Health and Human Services District Offices

195 McGregor St. 603-668-2330 – Manchester

Walk-in hours 8:00 – 4:30

1-800-852-3345 ext 4238 – Client Services

New Hampshire Office of Energy and Planning

(603)-271-2155 – Office

www.staywarmnh.org/residentialtips.htm#efficiency

www.nh.gov/oep/programs/energy/energyconservationtips.htm

“Keep warm tips and energy saving”

ServiceLink Resource Center (Information and Referral

1-866-634-9412 – toll free for entire state

(603)-644-2240

Southern New Hampshire Services (fuel, electric assistance & weatherization)

(603)-647-4470 or (603)-668-8010

www.snhs.org

Additional Websites on tips to stay warm

“How to stay warm and healthy in winter”

http://seniorliving.about.com/od/healthnutrition/a/stay_warm.htm

“How to stay warm and healthy in winter”

http://seniorliving.about.com/od/healthnutrition/a/stay_warm.htm

“Keep warm this winter while staying warm and healthy”

http://4elders.org/tips/articles/heating-bills.htm

This holiday season . . . Give the seniors in your neighborhood a gift from the heart

Seniors Count — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 13:22:00 GMT

Seniors Count is a collaborative community initiative involving many organizations and individuals partnering to ensure each elder receives the help he or she needs in order to maintain their independence, and to safely live out their lives with dignity and in the manner they choose. For more information about Seniors Count please call 603.644.2240 or visit www.seniorscountnh.org

They are our parents, our grandparents, our friends, our neighbors.
They are our community’s elderly.

The holidays are upon us once again. Many older citizens do not need (or want!) one more afghan, knick knack, or bottle of hand lotion. Instead, they can use our companionship, our love and/or friendship, and our day-to-day help.

Here are a few ideas that may just brighten the holidays.

Take a meal to a senior and eat it with them
Call your elderly neighbor or stop by for a visit
Shovel the walk and driveway for an elderly neighbor
Give a ‘coupon’ redeemable for you to run errands for them a few times a month
Ask to see a neighbor’s family photos
Send a holiday card to an elderly neighbor
Give a senior a pre-paid calling card
Shop for a senior
Include a senior in your holiday gatherings
Exchange recipes with a senior
Take a senior to religious services
Introduce a senior to computers, or send an e-mail to their loved ones for them
Buy a senior a book of stamps
Offer to write out holiday cards for a senior
Play board or card games with a senior
Take a senior for a drive to see holiday lights
Offer to read to a senior who has failing vision
Exchange contact information with a senior in case
of emergency
Help a senior decorate for the holidays
Help with a special project such as organizing closets
Help prevent falls or accidents by installing hand rails, non-slip stair pads and automatic light sensors
Give a calendar with family birthdays marked
Offer yourself as a willing, cheerful helper for the day to do chores (change light bulbs and smoke detector batteries, etc)
Bring a basket of craft projects they can do with a grandchild
Deliver a fresh basket of seasonal fruit in person

Thank you to the generous partners who support this community neighborhood initiative

ServiceLink Resource Center, Easter Seals New Hampshire, Southern New Hampshire Services, Weed & Seed

For more information:
Manchester Region ServiceLink
603.644.2240 • www.seniorscountnh.org

Community Partnerships for Older Adults is a national program funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to help communities develop leadership, innovative solutions, and options to meet the needs of older adults over the long term.

Seniors Count Partners with Dartmouth Community Medical School to Present Lecture Series on Successful Aging

Seniors Count — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 15:17:00 GMT

Over the past few years, the support that we received from Seniors Count partners and friends has helped to address the critical needs of the frail elderly in Greater Manchester. We are making significant progress on many fronts.

In our continuing effort to shape new approaches to seniors’ issues. Seniors Count is proud to be a part of this fall’s Dartmouth Community Medical School’s public lecture program. This important series entitled, “The New Thinking About Aging: Fostering Health, Coping with Frailty,” will run for seven weeks and feature discussions led by some of the most prominent experts in the field of geriatrics.

One lecture of special note entitled “Seniors Count: Imagine a Senior-Friendly Community,” is coordinated and sponsored by Seniors Count partners and will take place Wednesday, November 7 at 6:30 p.m. at the Nancy S. Boettiger Auditorium at the Derryfield School in Manchester. Beth Carroll of New Hampshire Public Television will host a panel discussion with New Hampshire’s health and social service leaders on designing livable communities for seniors with Elinor Ginzler, Director for Livable Communities from the Office of Social Impact at AARP. Panelists include Stephens J. Bartles, MD and others to be announced.

The complete series includes the following sessions which are held from 6:30-9 p.m. at The Derryfield School, 2108 River Road, Manchester, NH:

Sept. 18: But I Was Born Young!

How and why we age

Stephen J. Bartles, MD
Donald L. St. Germaine, MD

Sept. 25: Heart of Hearts – Don’t Fail Me Now!

Advances in the prevention and treatment of heart disease

Robert Capodilupo, MD, FACC
Mary MGowan, MD

Diane Palac, MD

Adam Schwarz, MD

Sept. 27: “Young at Heart” Chorus

Special concert at The Dana Center at St. Anselm College. Concert tickets are available at www.anselm.edu/dana/boxoffice.

Oct. 2: Boning Up for the Long Haul

Helping our joints and skeleton cope with decades of wear and tear

Lin A. Brown, MD

Julie P. Fago, MD

Michael B. Mayer, MD

Deborah A. Peltier, MD

Oct. 9: Getting Engaged

The fine art of making complex decisions about your health care options

Lisa A. Leinau, MD

Dennis M. McCullough, MD

David W. Nierenberg, MD

Oct. 16: Is There Light on the Horizon?

Making progress in preventing and treating stroke and macular degeneration

Julie P.W. Bynum, MD

Chris R. Fields, OD

M. Brooke Herndon, MD

Timothy G. Lukovits, MD

Rosalind A. Stevens, MD

Oct. 23: Grey Matter Matters

The biology and challenges of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases

Julie P.W. Bynum, MD

David J. Coffey, MD

Robert B. Santulli, MD

Rand S. Swenson, MD, PhD

Lynn A. Villemaire, MD

Nov. 7: Seniors Count – Imaging a Senior-Friendly Community

Designing livable, accessible, senior-friendly communities for successful aging. Join health care and social service leaders for a community forum and panel discussion about making the greater Manchester area a more senior-friendly community.

Registration is $30 in advance for all seven sessions. Advanced registration is strongly encouraged as space is limited. For more information or to register for the Aging Series, please call (603) 653-1532 or visit http://ccehs.dartmouth-hitchcock.org/eventinfo_86.html.

Given the urgency of our work, the progress we have made, and the importance of our future initiatives, we hope you will join us at these exciting events.