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Southgate at Shrewsbury

Retirement community near Shrewsbury and Worcester, MA

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senior health

Three Keys to Remaining Happily Healthy in Retirement

January 28, 2022 by Southgate

Understanding Senior Depression

In order to optimize happiness in retirement and avoid senior depression, it’s important to understand the unique difficulties the elderly community faces. As we get older, we are more likely to live alone and feel isolated. Friends, family and neighbors have moved, and the landscapes around us have changed. We are also more likely to deal with physical and mental ailments.

Depending on the study, it’s estimated that up to almost 25% of seniors deal with or have dealt with senior depression. It can often be difficult to identify because the symptoms can be conflated with other mental and physical issues associated with aging.

Because depression can be left undiagnosed, it behooves seniors to combat depression proactively. It is also key to understand the difference between grief (which lasts for a limited time and is linked to a jarring event such as death or a move) and chronic depression. The following tactics will help you maintain a fulfilling life in retirement.

Make New Friends

As we get older, it is inevitable our social landscape will change. A recent study conducted at Michigan State University highlights how valuing friendships later in life correlated to overall improved mental and physical function even more than family. This is not to say family is not important, it is meant to highlight the truly powerful value of quality friendship.

As we grow older, our interests and abilities may change, but our need for a fulfilling social life does not. If you’re looking to make new friends in retirement, try taking a class, volunteering, joining a group or getting a part-time job. Keep yourself in environments where you’re stimulated and meeting new people—depression will have a harder time creeping in and affecting your mental and physical state.

Watch Your Nutrition and Be Active

Proper nutrition and physical activity are important at any age, but as we grow older, the problems associated with having poor nutrition and lackadaisical exercise habits can be significantly more hampering. Poor nutrition and low activity levels not only lead to a myriad of physical health issues like high blood pressure, brittle bones and increased risk of diabetes, they also increase the likelihood depression will take hold.

While you’re physically active, endorphins are released into the brain’s opioid receptors, causing you to feel euphoric. When you’re exercising effectively, you also stave off physical ailments that can lead to time away from activity and lead to more feelings of isolation.

Ensuring quality nutrition habits will not only help stave off illnesses such as diabetes and various forms of cancer, it will keep your brain functioning more powerfully and help regulate mood. This 2017 study found people with depression that adopted a better nutrition plan felt their symptoms improve. Check out this WebMD article to help you with your nutrition, but also …

Talk to Your Doctor

As we age, it becomes more important that we have regular check-ups with our doctors. Always keep your doctor in the loop! If you have a broken arm, you will obviously tell your doctor, so why not do the same for your brain? Your doctor will be able to assist you in gathering the resources you need to best take care of yourself, whether it be the right medication, the right diet or the right medical professional.

All in all, remain engaged with the world around you and you will be much less likely to suffer from senior depression. This can be difficult as your world changes, which is why independent living communities like Southgate at Shrewsbury provide residents with a bevy of activities and events to keep them engaged, active and happy. If you’re concerned about depression as you enter retirement, an independent living community might be the best option for you.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: healthy, healthy living, senior health, senior living

Three Keys to Remaining Happily Healthy in Retirement

October 29, 2021 by Southgate

Understanding Senior Depression

In order to optimize happiness in retirement and avoid senior depression, it’s important to understand the unique difficulties the elderly community faces. As we get older, we are more likely to live alone and feel isolated. Friends, family and neighbors have moved, and the landscapes around us have changed. We are also more likely to deal with physical and mental ailments.

Depending on the study, it’s estimated that up to almost 25% of seniors deal with or have dealt with senior depression. It can often be difficult to identify because the symptoms can be conflated with other mental and physical issues associated with aging.

Because depression can be left undiagnosed, it behooves seniors to combat depression proactively. It is also key to understand the difference between grief (which lasts for a limited time and is linked to a jarring event such as death or a move) and chronic depression. The following tactics will help you maintain a fulfilling life in retirement.

Make New Friends

As we get older, it is inevitable our social landscape will change. A recent study conducted at Michigan State University highlights how valuing friendships later in life correlated to overall improved mental and physical function even more than family. This is not to say family is not important, it is meant to highlight the truly powerful value of quality friendship.

As we grow older, our interests and abilities may change, but our need for a fulfilling social life does not. If you’re looking to make new friends in retirement, try taking a class, volunteering, joining a group or getting a part-time job. Keep yourself in environments where you’re stimulated and meeting new people—depression will have a harder time creeping in and affecting your mental and physical state.

Watch Your Nutrition and Be Active

Proper nutrition and physical activity are important at any age, but as we grow older, the problems associated with having poor nutrition and lackadaisical exercise habits can be significantly more hampering. Poor nutrition and low activity levels not only lead to a myriad of physical health issues like high blood pressure, brittle bones and increased risk of diabetes, they also increase the likelihood depression will take hold.

While you’re physically active, endorphins are released into the brain’s opioid receptors, causing you to feel euphoric. When you’re exercising effectively, you also stave off physical ailments that can lead to time away from activity and lead to more feelings of isolation.

Ensuring quality nutrition habits will not only help stave off illnesses such as diabetes and various forms of cancer, it will keep your brain functioning more powerfully and help regulate mood. This 2017 study found people with depression that adopted a better nutrition plan felt their symptoms improve. Check out this WebMD article to help you with your nutrition, but also …

Talk To Your Doctor

As we age, it becomes more important that we have regular check-ups with our doctors. Always keep your doctor in the loop! If you have a broken arm, you will obviously tell your doctor, so why not do the same for your brain? Your doctor will be able to assist you in gathering the resources you need to best take care of yourself, whether it be the right medication, the right diet or the right medical professional.

All in all, remain engaged with the world around you and you will be much less likely to suffer from senior depression. This can be difficult as your world changes, which is why independent living communities like Southgate at Shrewsbury provide residents with a bevy of activities and events to keep them engaged, active and happy. If you’re concerned about depression as you enter retirement, an independent living community might be the best option for you.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: healthy living, retirement, senior health, tips

Southgate & CVS Vaccinate Residents Successfully

March 5, 2021 by Southgate

After several weeks of preplanning, Southgate at Shrewsbury and CVS Pharmacy orchestrated six successful vaccine clinics to deliver the COVID-19 vaccine safely and efficiently to their residents and staff.


CVS & Southgate Teams. Featured in this Photo are Kate Aleksiewicz, Lead Pharmacist and members of her CVS pharmacy staff, Southgate employees Sheila Meucci, Health & Wellness Director; Kara Ewick, Resident Services Director; Deborah Bourque, Resident Liaison; Rogerio Neves, Housekeeping Director; William Zangarine, Hampton Suites Director.


Southgate at Shrewsbury management organized the clinic to ensure that social distancing protocols were followed and that common surfaces were sanitized between each appointment. Many Southgate staff volunteered to assist in setting up and running separate pre-registration areas for temperature screening, a quiet area where staff could assist residents with paperwork, a CVS registration table, and four screened-off areas for vaccination and observation.

Not even a challenge from an impressive Nor’easter storm could halt the efforts of Southgate and CVS to safely vaccinate residents and staff. To ensure delivery of the second vaccine, Southgate provided their guest apartment with dining accommodations to CVS pharmacists, who stayed overnight to ensure the clinic could be held the day following the storm.


Lead Pharmacist Kate Aleksiewicz and her CVS Pharmacy team brave a nor’easter  to vaccinate over 200 Residents and Employee


In a letter to Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, Southgate CEO Dana Levenson wrote, “We could not have higher praise for the folks from CVS. Our residents and employees have been thanking us for the vaccinations, but it truly should be us thanking you and CVS.”

Of the team at Southgate at Shrewsbury, Executive Vice President Patricia A. LaCross provided the following comment:

“Our Southgate staff have been very present during the last 11 months of COVID, stepping up to guard the stations at our entrances to screen guests 24 hours a day, providing services safely to the best of their ability, and working the day-long vaccine clinics to assure that operations ran smoothly, so there were no missed opportunities to vaccinate our Residents. We have a real committed staff, and I honestly couldn’t be prouder of our team. I call them Southgate Warriors!”


Last Clinic Day: Bill Zangarine and Kara Ewick presented several gift baskets to the CVS Pharmacy Team in thanks for their extraordinary effort to vaccine our entire Southgate Community.

 

Filed Under: About Southgate at Shrewsbury Tagged With: COVID-19, health, healthy living, senior health, senior living, southgate

Maintaining Our Hearing As We Age

August 25, 2020 by Southgate

Did you hear that? Maybe it was popcorn popping in the kitchen, or perhaps the pattering of your dog’s feet as he scampered across the floor. Was is the birds waking and chirping, outside your window?

Our environments are filled with unique sounds, and a simple sound can trigger an emotional response that takes you back through beautiful memories or to faraway places. Taking care of hearing as we age will help us ensure a higher quality of perception and life.

We have all heard that we need to wear earmuffs or ear plugs in loud places like concerts, and not to turn the volume up too loudly on our headphones. Those are good practices, but what else can we do to help preserve our hearing, as we get older? The following tips will help you do your best to maintain and even potentially strengthen your hearing.

Eat for Your Ears

Hearing contributes to the enjoyment of eating. That satisfying “crunch” sound created by something like a tortilla chip, or that “squirt” noise from an extra-juicy peach are examples of how sound enhances the eating experience—but that’s not what we mean by “eat for your ears!”

A recent 22-year study conducted by medical professionals associated with Brigham and Women’s Hospital found that simply following one of three healthy diets decreased likelihood of hearing loss by at least 30 percent; the Alternative Mediterranean Diet (AMED), Dietary Approaches to Hypertension (DASH), or the Alternative Healthy Eating Index-2010 (AHEI-2010).

On a more micro level, certain nutrients like folic acid have been linked to a decline in hearing loss associated with aging populations. Legumes, broccoli, asparagus and beets contain some of the highest contents of folic acid. This list of 15 foods from Healthline is a great place to start.

Zinc may not be a mineral you think of often, but it is very important for both a healthy immune system and the defense against hearing loss. This particular study found an improvement in tinnitus and sensorineural hearing loss in one-third of elderly adults. Those numbers are encouraging when you compare them to this study from Oregon State University that estimates as many as 40% of the elderly population may be zinc deficient. Adding more zinc to your diet is not a daunting task—try eating more dark chocolate, sweet potatoes, cashews, or a number of the other delicious foods on this list from WorldHealth.

Diets rich in vitamins A and C in conjunction with magnesium have been shown to halt the production of damaging free-radical molecules that attack the sensitive hairs in our inner hair we use to hear properly. Great sources of vitamin A include carrots, red peppers, beef liver, and even vanilla ice cream! Eat This, Not That put together a list of eight great food filled with Vitamin A.

For Vitamin C, we have all heard of citrus, but foods like bell peppers, guavas and strawberries have even more of this vital antioxidant! MyFoodData put together a list of the top ten foods highest in vitamin C. Here’s a hint: hit the produce aisle!

To increase your magnesium intake, look to pumpkin seeds, almonds, soymilk, and even shredded wheat cereal. Many of the foods you love may be higher on this list of foods with magnesium from the Cleveland Clinic.

Get Your Hearing Tested Regularly

As with all health matters, prevention is key. So be sure to talk to your doctor about your own personal hearing health and be sure to get regular checkups.

Protecting our ears is not something we tend to think about on a daily basis—even though we use them all the time! Even when we are sleeping, our ears are active. We use them beyond just our basic communication—we use them to perceive so much about the world around us and rely on them to activate certain mental and physical responses.

If you eat for your ears and follow the above best practices, you will greatly increase the likelihood your hearing remains strong as you age. Now sit back, close your eyes, and just listen …

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: health, healthy living, senior health

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