For seniors looking to stay independent, careful attention to certain aspects of their lives is crucial. Maintenance of social and physical well-being, increasing tech savvy and finding resources when choosing where to live are all ways the older set can stay in the driver’s seat when it comes to decisions small and large. And there are plenty of resources for Atlantans looking to do just that.
Physical, cognitive, social well-being
Jennifer Rewkowski, vice president of community health & wellness at YMCA of Metro Atlanta, has seen how a decline in physical well-being can detract from seniors’ independence.
Credit: © 2022 Robin Henson
Credit: © 2022 Robin Henson
“For a lot of seniors, the base layer is the physical being and some of the challenges that they start to see as they age, and then how those physical changes or challenges bleed over into other areas.” she said. “For instance, being mobile, being able to get out of the house, drive their own vehicle, perform daily living activities — when they’re not able to do those things like they used to or they would like to continue doing, then that’s when we start to see the bleed-over into the other areas.”
Similarly, she said, social challenges like isolation produce feelings of loneliness and depression, which can contribute to cognitive decline.
Group exercise classes and programming to combat chronic conditions can offset decline in all three of these areas, thereby fostering continued independence, she pointed out. Organized field trips, which numerous local YMCA locations promote, do the same by getting participants moving and talking in a new setting. Seniors’ participation in the organization of these events, she said, is significant, too.
“Some of our locations have groups that are really led by the seniors,” she said. “Seniors are very vocal. They know what they want. They know where they want to go. They love field trips — anything that broadens their scope and is educational in nature. They also like those homegrown opportunities — book clubs, games, different things like that. It’s really a mix depending on the location.”
Metro Atlanta YMCA locations offer a full slate of programming, viewable on the organization’s Active Older Adults page, from weight training to book clubs to field trips to destinations in other areas of the state. And the YMCA 360 virtual program, accessible to all YMCA members, provides virtual access to livestream exercise classes and educational programming, which can benefit seniors who can’t physically leave their homes but want to stay active in some way.
Credit: Contributed by YMCA of Metro Atlanta
Credit: Contributed by YMCA of Metro Atlanta
Manufacturing in-person opportunities individually can be daunting, so trying them in a prearranged setting can make them more accessible. Churches often function as gathering places for organized activities for seniors, too. Sometimes the biggest challenge is just trying something new, Rewkowski said.
“If you live alone and you have been experiencing some social isolation, and you don’t have a buddy, your neighbor, or somebody that can try some of these things with you, it is super scary and intimidating,” she said. “The hardest part is getting there.”
Technology comfort level
Technology is an integral part of everyday life for younger generations, but seniors often have to make a conscious effort to integrate it. That effort, though, can contribute greatly to independence.
“We’ve seen a big shift since the pandemic,” said Melissa Conners, program manager of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Kennesaw State University. “Many of our senior adults have become much more tech savvy as they’ve had to adapt to new ways of staying connected and accessing services. During the lockdowns, technology became essential for communicating with family and friends, staying social and participating in online classes.”
Medical services, too, went virtual a lot of times during the pandemic, forcing seniors to become familiar with platforms like Zoom and FaceTime. Since then, Conners has seen OLLI seniors using apps for things like grocery shopping and entertainment. The program offers classes on practical tech skills like using email and browsing the internet safely or navigating common apps and devices, Conners said. But it’s also branching into the future of technology with future offerings centered on using AI.
“Let’s say that you have dietary restrictions. You can enter that information into AI, and AI can generate recipes. It can also generate a meal plan,” she said.
For seniors who have gotten past a fear of technology, this will be a good way to move toward innovation, Conners said. The OLLI AI classes will focus on teaching users to fiddle with prompts to get the information they want. Other future offerings will center on organizing digital files like photos and documents since so many seniors use smartphones now.
“They’ve already gotten over that initial scariness,” she said. “Now that there’s a comfort level, we’re like, ‘OK, how can we expand that for you? How can you use these tools in your everyday life?’ It’s been pretty dynamic to see the shift post-pandemic … Now that the fear has kind of gone away, they’re more hungry for, ‘OK, what else can I learn?’”
Living circumstances
Lots of seniors face changes in living circumstances at some point. Careful consideration can set seniors up for greater independence in the long run, depending on the level of support they need.
Nancy Votta is founder of Roswell-based Atlanta Senior Placement, which serves the entire metro area. She works with seniors and their families to place individuals in assisted living and memory care situations that work best for their specific needs.
Credit: Merry J. Waldroup
Credit: Merry J. Waldroup
Votta, who has also been a registered nurse for over 25 years, looks closely at factors like a person’s medical and care requirements. Clients today are living longer, which means needs can change over time, she said. Someone balancing lots of medical challenges might need an assisted living situation that can help them maintain their current level of independence with systems that can support them as that level diminishes. Clients who don’t face as many challenges and who may be younger sometimes begin in independent living situations with the option to move toward assisted living when the time comes, Votta said.
People who live in neighborhoods geared toward residents ages 55 and up can often find lots of social resources, she said, but those who need a certain level of care, including nutritional support, often benefit from a facility that can at least provide meals and maybe help keep up with medication.
Votta also takes into consideration differing levels of independence with couples. Several scenarios come into play: “How are you going to place them? Should you place them? Should they be together? Should they maybe go in stages?” Votta said.
She often sees families fixate on location, but she said support really is the most important factor.
“Geography is important, but it’s not the most important. The most important thing would be the care. So, we look at it very differently,” Votta said. “What kind of care can they get today? And what kind of care they’re going to need moving forward? A lot of it is based on where they are medically now; things can change rapidly in this industry. You could be extremely independent, have a stroke or a fall, and your life can change. But most of the buildings that we look at have a broad enough range that could take care of them.”
Staying alone in a residence can easily become too much when children move away or neighbors are suddenly unable to look out for each other.
“Everybody is more spread out. I get a lot of people who may have even moved here to be closer to their children. But their children are working. They have their own children. Or I have people that are out of state, and mom doesn’t want to move,” Votta said. “All of her friends are here. She hangs out with them still. She’s active and able to go. So, we want to make sure that she can retain that as much as possible.”
That effort may well be worth the work. Those who maintain independence, she said, have a better shot at cognitive and bodily well-being.
“It really is better, mentally, for your health, and, physically, for your health,” Votta said. “If you can maintain as much independence as possible.”
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