October, 2020
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October, 2020 What ’s Inside: Letter from VMSC Staff 2 Information and Note from the Sequoia Health Care District 3 Scott Lohmann Exercise/ Adaptive PE 4-5 Active Aging Week 2020 6-7 Bills Made Clear & Senior Services Peninsula Family Service 6-7 Sequoia Village 8-9 AnewVista 10-11 Health Education from Dignity Health Sequoia Hospital 12-13 A Bit of History & THE MAZE 14-15 Donations Back Cover Greetings from the Veterans Memorial Senior Center, As of today 09/28/2020 the crew at the Veterans Memorial Senior Center has now served 40,000 free lunches to over 650 local seniors. We would like to give a special shout out to the Friends of the Veterans Memorial Senior Center for securing the funding from the Sequoia Health Care District in order to assist the City of Redwood City for the cost of the free lunch program. This is truly the definition of a community partnership! The photo on the cover was taken looking west over the Senior Center at 2:50 pm on September 9th, 2020. It was so dark and eerie that day due to the wildfires. As you can see even the outdoor lighting on the building was on during the middle of the day! Hopefully we won’t see many days like that anymore. In this issue of the Sentinel we have included some Funny songs, an I Spy game and some upcoming community events. There is a page if you would like to start a new Pen pal to exchange letters. Also, we have taken some pictured of friends that just wanted to say hi! We hope you enjoy reading the Sentinel and if you ever need to talk with us here at the senior center, we are only a phone call away, 650-780-7270. You may have to leave a message but someone will return your call on the following business day. Best regards, The VMSC Staff 2 Senior Lunches TO GO! The Veterans Memorial Senior Center will be providing senior (60+) lunch pick-up Monday through Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Please Call (650) 780-7259 to make your reservation and hear the daily menu option. We offer curbside pick up at the Veterans Memorial Senior Center (1455 Madison Ave.) or home delivery throughout Redwood City and Redwood Shores. Seniors must make their reservation by 5pm the night before to get a meal the next day. Need to Talk? Need someone to talk to? Know of a senior in need? Please call or email us! Contact Anna Carlos, at [email protected] or via phone at (650) 780-7270. Anna is a staff member with the Veterans Memorial Senior Center. Reach out to us, send an email or a voicemail, and we'll listen to what you need and/or set up a time to talk over the phone. Senior Care Concerns Ombudsman Services of San Mateo County, Inc. is committed to working with residents, families, facilities and stakeholders to create a community dedicated to protecting the rights of all residents living in long term care in San Mateo County. We create immediate change for residents through our hands-on advocacy efforts addressing issues that range from quality of care issues to egregious abuse. Phone: (650) 780-5707 Email: [email protected] | Website: https://ossmc.org/ Crisis Line at (800) 231-4024 Sequoia Healthcare District (SHD) is pleased to have awarded FVMSC a $50,000 grant for meal services for the upcoming 2020-21 grant cycle and another $50,000 COVID-19 emergency grant to provide for a contract chef and expanded meals services during this time. SHD is a special government agency funded by your taxpayer dollars and governed by a 5-member Board of Directors elected by district residents. Each year, SHD provides grants through our competitive Caring Community Grants program, ranging from $10,000 to $150,000 to local non-profits that offer health services to District residents. This spring, the District Board of Directors voted to deploy up to $3 million dollars in grants to its current nonprofit partners that provide safety net services to our most vulnerable District residents. To date, we have already awarded the entire $500,000 set aside for the first round of emergency grants and $100,000 in emergency loans. For more information about SHD, please visit our website at www.seqhd.org. 3 Adaptive Physical Education How much exercise is necessary? By Scott Lohmann, Instructor, Adaptive P.E. So throughout this pandemic, I have been talking at length about how to exercise and stay strong during this challenging time period. What I’d like to change focus on, is what to do if you are suffering from knee pain and stiffness specifically at the front of your knee. This is a common pain site and there are some really simple things one can do to free up movement and relieve pain. The cause of pain and discomfort at the front of the knee is almost always inflammation and or tightness of the Patellar Tendon. The Patellar Tendon is a very important tendon, because it anchors the upper leg to the lower leg utilizing the thigh or Quadriceps muscles. The function of this tendon is so important because without it one cannot simply stand up, the leg would simply collapse. Touching the front of the knee right below the kneecap is where patellar tendon pain comes from. You will notice it most when you stand up from sitting, especially if it’s your favorite chair and you have been there any length of time. In more severe cases it will be sensitive to light pressure from a finger. If this is the case don’t worry there is a fix. First off if it is really sore there take the proper time to ice the region. I prefer to use frozen peas or beans. Why this as opposed to ice? Well ice melts and leaks out of a plastic bag plus you have to keep freezing ice cubes in order to ice the knee. With peas you just throw them on and take them off when you’re done. So the ice reduces inflammation and must be done at least twice a day, for a period of a week before you will notice a change in pain. While the ice is great for pain and inflammation, it is not going to address stiffness and lack of mobility in the knee joint. What I recommend is laying down on the ground with a stretch strap or even an old belt. First off strap your foot and pull the belt over your shoulder. Next turn on your side so your knee is in line with your hip. You will then pull on the strap and feel your knee bend. Please make sure your knee is bending with the hip in proper alignment, in other words you don’t want your point out to the side while you pull the strap and bend the knee. Try this stretch twice daily and see how much better you feel. This will free up some of the stiffness and lack of mobility in the knee. The reason why the stretch is so effective is because the muscles of the thigh quadriceps, plus hip flexor muscles become so tight they resist movement that extends the hip. Once you get all those muscles stretched they will calm down and free up more movement, which will help you walk better. You will even notice better movement walking up and down the stairs. I hope this helps you! Remember to wash your hands, wear a mask in public and bring a bottle of hand sanitizer with you, especially when you are grocery shopping! Till next time stay safe! 4 Adaptive PE Zoom Workout Class This is the perfect time to enroll for our new digital membership which will take effect on September 1st. For a modest fee of $45 per month, you will have access to any and all Zoom classes offered by us during the month, as well as unlimited access to our YouTube library, comprising upwards of 80 videos. Thank so much for continuing to support our Adaptive P.E. Program! We look forward to “seeing” you soon! ZOOM LINKS: General Conditioning with Scott Lohmann: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday 10:00 am: https://zoom.us/j/96201397851 Meeting ID: 962 0139 7851 —and--- Tuesday and Thursday 1:00 pm https://zoom.us/j/93880079840 Meeting ID: 938 8007 9840 Yoga for Parkinson's with Arlene McCarthy: Tuesday 10:00 am https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3719851958?pwd=T0VDMkFFZEtVcDRSM3RuTTBTUjB4UT09 Meeting ID: 371 985 1958 Gentle Chair Yoga with Ruth West: Thursday 9:15 am https://zoom.us/j/98911686625 Meeting ID: 989 1168 6625 NeuroMuscular and Parkinson's Exercise with Scott Lohmann and Sang Pvongnak: Wednesday 4:00 pm https://zoom.us/j/95824374801 Meeting ID: 958 2437 4801 Level 2 Circuit with Scott Lohmann: Tuesday 2:30 pm https://zoom.us/s/95861951336 Meeting ID: 958 6195 1336 Advanced Level Exercise Class for People with Parkinson’s with Theresa Najjar: (Continues Free of Charge) Thursday 10:00 am https://us02web.zoom.us/j/93174728594?pwd=K09MaE9ycDJlb0E5ak1STUQ2NTR1UT09 Meeting ID: 931 7472 8594 Password: Fantastic! LINK TO YOUTUBE PLAYLISTS: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzK3GUOmy8WWNjqhroSKwlA/playlists 5 ACTIVE AGING WEEK—OCTOBER 5TH THROUGH 9th, 2020 Welcome to our 10th annual health fair, sponsored by Adaptive Physical Education and the Veterans Memorial Senior Center. This will be our first VIRTUAL fair, primarily using Zoom. **PLEASE NOTE: ALL OF THESE ACTIVITIES CAN BE ACCESSED BY TELEPHONE IF YOU HAVE NO COMPUTER.