Eastern Agency on Aging: Editorial Page

Snow Shoveling

The Holidays are joyous if you have a great family, good income and all the resources to enjoy life. Sadly, not everyone has these precious resources and many of our elderly residents are finding this year to be one of the most challenging on record because of fuel prices, which affect being able secure other necessities of life, such as food and medicine.

Persistent low temperatures and a few significant snowstorms have taken a toll on our seniors. Many cannot get out of their homes to get mail or even receive home delivered meals or other deliveries. More importantly, emergency medical personnel cannot get in. If you are a high school or college student in search of something to do this winter, and want to make a positive impact in your community, look around your neighborhood and see if there are houses that haven’t been shoveled out.

You would be giving a great gift to those in need by clearing a path in and out of their homes. Or call Eastern Area Agency on Aging. We could quickly put your good will to work in our EAA-Z fix program where we could direct you quickly to seniors who need the help most. In many cases older people don’t have family living in the area to help them which means they are in desperate need of help from others. There are people who graciously volunteer to shovel out hydrants.

We need your help, also, to shovel out elderly people who may stranded in their homes. And speaking of good will, after reading an article in the New York Times about the harsh challenges of surviving winters in Washington County, people from all over the country have reached out to help by contributing to a fund we manage. One hundred percent of the donations go to providing fuel to desperate seniors. Your help is needed on many levels so please give us a call at 1-800-432-7812.

Noelle Merrill

Executive Director of EAAA

Recent Letter to the Editor in the Bangor Daily News

The tragic suicide of one of our community’s cherished elders seemed so needless and preventable.  While we don’t know all the details of this terrible incident, it was clear from the news stories that this person needed help paying for his prescriptions and fuel, and that he clearly felt desperate and hopeless.

Eastern Agency on Aging works very hard to provide programs that help our senior citizens.  We offer nutritious meals, help in getting fuel assistance, and now thanks to Medicare D, help with paying for prescription medications.  Sadly, there are still many of our areas seniors who think they must suffer in solitude.  But there is so much help available if they just give us a call.

If you know of someone who may be going without fuel, food or prescription medication because they just don’t have enough money, please let them know they should call their local agency on aging.  Our services are free and confidential and we are eager to assist seniors with any and all their concerns.

From providing free legal services, respite for Alzheimer’s and dementia caregivers, to providing home delivery of meals, area agencies on aging stand at the ready to take calls and improve seniors’ quality of life. It is our mission.  We also recommend a “Benefits Check-Up” which will be done free of charge and will ensure that the senior is receiving every benefit for which he of she is eligible.

Eastern Agency on Aging covers eastern

Maine

but there are five agencies on aging in the state. To find the one in your area call, toll-free 1-877-353-3771.

Noëlle L. Merrill

Executive Director

Eastern Agency on Aging

Survive the cold weather

Winter is here and with it comes very cold weather. If Jack Frost is nipping at your nose, take heart. There are a few things you can do to survive the season and keep warm without taking your own nip.

“When the temperature dips, wearing a hat is the best way to maintain body heat. Just wearing a heavy coat is good but is not enough,” said Cheri Volta, paramedic for Capital Ambulance. “Forty percent of body heat is lost through the head and neck.”

For some women who are concerned about their hair, wearing a hat may not seem like much of an option. But hypothermia can happen quickly, cautions Volta, often before an elderly person realizes it.

“A drop in body temperature to 95 degrees is all it takes for symptoms to begin,” she said. “Confusion, drowsiness and slurred speech are all signs of hypothermia. Unfortunately these symptoms can be mistaken for the natural signs of aging, slight dementia or drug side effects.”

Dressing in layers that can be easily removed if you become too warm is also recommended. “Sweating can whisk heat away from the body which can lead to hypothermia,” Volta said. “Watch for becoming overheated.”

Remember to drink a lot of water in the winter months, she added. If your body is working to fight dehydration, it will have less energy available to keep itself warm. While spending time outside, whether shoveling or taking a short walk, be mindful of frostbite. Exposed areas of the face, such as cheeks, nose, chin, forehead and ears are in particular danger – another good reason to wear a hat – as well as wrists, hands and feet.

Keeping your home warm can present its own challenges. When heating with a fireplace remember that while the immediate area will be toasty, cold air will be drawn in through the rest of the house. This will cause much of your heat to go up the chimney.

Before tossing on a few logs and lighting up, make sure that the fireplace is in good condition and has been professionally cleaned. Space heaters are a popular choice for extra heat but be very careful. Ones that use wood, coal, natural gas or kerosene can produce carbon monoxide gas. Open a window because the fumes can be fatal. Ventilation is essential. Always refuel the heater outside and only when fully cooled. Fuel spilled onto hot surfaces could result in a fire.

This being Maine, storms can sometimes catch us off guard, dumping more snow than predicted. I’m ashamed to report that I have found myself unprepared in the past. Peeking out the window in the morning and seeing a foot of snow instead of an inch can be a little scary, especially when the cupboard holds little more than jellybeans, tomato soup, oatmeal (only used for cookies) and a loaf of suspicious looking bread.

Look around your kitchen. Could you survive a few days if you couldn’t get out and no one could get in?

--Keep non-perishable food on hand, such as peanut butter, crackers, canned spaghetti, baked beans, tuna, powdered milk and raisins. Be sure to have a manual can opener.

--Keep a flashlight in every room. It could be dangerous search for one during a power outage. Stumbling around in the dark increases the risk of falls. And be sure you have an ample supply of non-expired batteries.

--Post emergency numbers near every phone, not just by the main line, so they are easily accessible. Winter can be trying but a little bit of caution and a lot of patience can get you through the season.

Carol Higgins, Director of Communications at EAA

Vest Dressed for Safety

Even though we are gaining minutes of daylight every week now that it’s January, there is no question that Maine still has many months to go of dimness and darkness and difficult weather. It means many of our routine--as well as extracurricular--outdoor activities will be done in darkness. When people go outside for a walk or run this time of year, it is often done beneath pitch black skies or in dim lighting because of weather conditions. Many of us must navigate dangerous rural roads or highways like Route 15 and Route 9, and every year it seems as if there are more vehicle-vs.-pedestrian accidents resulting in fatalities.

Last fall, in partnership with the Penobscot County TRIAD, Eastern Agency on Aging began promoting a new educational program called "Vest Dressed for Safety." EAA wants to encourage our residents to be visible when going outdoors by promoting the wearing of reflective vests. Whenever you plan to be on foot in an area travelled by motor vehicles, please include reflective gear in your wardrobe plans, no matter whether you are outdoors day or night. In fact, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration published information that shows the majority of pedestrian fatalities in single-vehicle crashes happen either in daylight or in dark-but-lighted areas!

If you need to find out how to get a lightweight reflective vest or other such equipment, give the Eastern Agency on Aging a call at 1-800-432-7812. Eastern Agency on Aging is offering reflective vests and reflective wrist bands for a $10 donation. Our goal is to eliminate pedestrian fatalities in Eastern Maine. If you see someone walking and wearing a reflective vest, give them the thumbs-up sign. Eastern Maine needs to make a strong fashion statement for safety.

(For more information on traffic fatalities in Maine, please visit the NHTSA's Maine statistics page.)

--Noëlle Merrill, Executive Director