FEBRUARY NEWS
Northern Ohio Association of Activity Professionals
A Network of Cuyahoga, Medina, Lake, Lorain, Geauga and Summit Counties
Looking for a new Resident Right Activity?
Looking for a Resident Right In-Service to share with staff?
Here is a FREE website that can provide you with Resident Rights Bingo, Resident Right Crosswords,
Resident Right Word Finds.
This site prints free assorted bingo boards
Thank you to Parkside Villa for hosting the January meeting! We all enjoyed “tangling”! In case you missed it, please visit the following websites about Zentangle:
The February meeting will be held:
Tuesday, February 14, 2012– Valentines Day!
Host Facility:
A.M. McGregor
14900 Private Drive
Cleveland, Ohio 44112
The topic will be “Black History"
Presented by: Renard Turner
The NOAAP board met in the month of January to discuss the idea of corporate memberships.
After reviewing all possibilities, we decided that it would not be beneficial.
CALL FOR PAPERS
If anyone is interested in speaking at the 2012 NOAAP conference in July, please submit your paperwork to any of the board members by March 1st. Thank you in advance!
TREASURY REPORT
Balance: $3067.70
JOB POSTINGS
The Heights Care and Rehabilitation Center
FT activity assistant (1 evening per week), experience preferred.
2801 E. Royalton Rd. Broadview Hts. 44147
Contact: 440-526-4770
McGregor Home
Fulltime Activity Coordinator
14900 Private Drive, E. Cleveland, OH 44112
HR Department
Fax resume 216-268-7990
Email to jobs@mcgregoramasa.org
FUN FACTS
Recreation for Seniors is not going away YET!!!!
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the world's 65-and-older population is projected to triple by mid-century, from 516 million in 2009 to 1.53 billion in 2050. New research and medical breakthroughs are making it possible for people to not only live longer, but to be active well into their nineties and beyond.
No matter what their physical or mental status, seniors can find activities suitable for all age and fitness levels.
January and February is Chili Season!
Have a chili cook off! Try this recipe or one of your own favorites!
Ingredients
1 pound bulk pork sausage
1 pound ground beef
2 cans (16 ounces each) hot chili beans, undrained
1 jar (16 ounces) salsa
1 can (16 ounces) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15 ounces) pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
8 ounces process cheese (Velveeta), cubed
1-1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Directions
In a large soup kettle or Dutch oven, cook the sausage and beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until heated through. Yield: 14 servings (3-1/2 quarts).
Originally published as Super-Duper Chili in Taste of Home October/November 2002, p35
It is with deep regret that we share the news that one of our members,
Gail Genzen, has passed away. She reached her goal of becoming an
Activity Director and worked for East Park Care Center
bringing joy to her residents. She will be missed.
“BINGO" game helps researchers study perception deficits
Bingo, a popular activity in nursing homes, senior centers and assisted-living facilities, has benefits that extend well beyond socializing. Researchers found high-contrast, large bingo cards boost thinking and playing skills for people with cognitive difficulties and visual perception problems produced by Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD).
“The general finding of improved performance across healthy and afflicted groups suggests the value of visual support as an easy-to-apply intervention to enhance cognitive performance,” researchers from Case Western Reserve University, Boston University and Bridgewater State University wrote.
The findings were reported in the article, “Bingo! Externally supported performance intervention for deficit visual search in normal aging, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease,” in the journal Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition.
As people age, they begin to lose sensitivity to perceive contrasts. It is exacerbated in people with dementia, according to Grover C. Gilmore, a psychologist and dean of the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University.
Bingo is often used in nursing homes and senior centers as a social activity, and being socially engaged helps keep the mind healthy.
But little is known about how visual perception problems—common in aging players—affect the way these people think and play, said Gilmore, who has done extensive testing in his Perception Lab at Case Western Reserve.
Researchers tested cards of different sizes, contrasts and visual complexities to find out how visual perception problems impact cognitive functions among the study’s participants: 19 younger adults, 14 individuals with probable AD, 13 AD-matched healthy adults, 17 non-demented individuals with Parkinson’s disease and 20 PD-matched healthy adults.
When study participants played bingo on computer-generated cards that were manipulated for brightness, size and contrast, the researchers could compare the performance among the different age and health groups.
With some contrast and size changes to the card, researchers reported improvement in performances. For those with mild dementia, they could perform at levels of their healthy peers. Little change was reported for people with more severe dementia.
Gilmore and the study’s lead investigator, Alice Cronin-Golomb from Boston University, have collaborated for two decades on projects that look at visual sensory deficits and cognition among people with dementia. For PD individuals, driving is affected by low contrasts as demonstrated in simulated fog situations.They have found that boosting contrast in the living environment and also at the table enables people with dementia—who have lost the ability to distinguish between similar-contrast objects—to move safely around their homes and improve their eating.
For example, putting a black sofa in a white room would improve the contrast of the room and make it easier for individuals to move about. Additionally, they found that individuals with dementia actually eat more if they use a white plate and tableware on a dark tablecloth or are served food that contrasts the color of the plate.
Boosting contrast is among interventions known as Externally Supported Performance Interventions (ESPI). The researchers say these interventions allow people with dementia and others with visual perception deficits to live independently longer, perform daily tasks and enjoy life and having such pleasures as reading a book.
Other contributors to the study are: Boston University researchers Thomas M. Laudate, Sandy Neargarder (also from Bridgewater), Tracy E. Dunne, Karen D. Sullivan and Pallavi Joshi and Case Western Reserve University researcher Tatiana M. Riedel.
Posted by: Susan Griffith, January 3, 2012 01:27 PM