Senior Community Bulletin

The Gardens at DePugh — a rehabilitation and skilled nursing facility — recently opened its Sensory Garden, an outdoor area that creates a therapeutic experience for residents by engaging the five senses. Also, The Gardens at DePugh has partnered with Florida Hospital to become the main clinical teaching site for geriatric medical education.

“Communicating with Seniors” will be presented by Brenda Stauffer, marketing director at Grand Villa at the next Jewish Pavilion Men’s Meeting Group established by Mark Abramson. The discussion will take place at Einstein Bros Bagels in Maitland, 441 South Orlando Ave., on Wednesday, May 11 at 11:30 a.m. The cost is $10. Reservations should be made in advance at www.jewishpavilion.org or call 407-678-9363.

AARP Chapter 1047 will meet on May 17 at 1:30 p.m. This month’s meeting is in honor of Older Americans Month and the speaker will be Barbara Coenson, attorney-at-law, talking about “Legal Information every senior should know.” It will take place at the Rachel F. Murrah Civic Center, 1050 West Morse Blvd. Refreshments will be served. It’s free. Any questions? Call 407-629-2585.

Become a Hospice Volunteer Orientation is 9 a.m.-1 p.m., May 20 at Samaritan Care Hospice of Florida, 1300 N. Semoran Blvd., Suite 210, Orlando. It’s free. Call 407-514-1327.

The American Legion, Winter Park Memorial Post 112, extends a very cordial invitation to the

general public to join them for a “Memorial Day Ceremony”, on Sunday, May 29 at 11 a.m. at 4490 N. Goldenrod Road. It’s free. Please call/contact Gerard Dress at 407-671-8616 for event information.

Orange County Commission on Aging Newsletter May 2011

Senior Expo & Health Fair — The biggest Expo of the year is Thursday, May 5 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Central Florida Fairgrounds in the big air-conditioned hall. Call Sherry at 407-836-6581.

Enriching our journey for long life — A one-day conference for seniors, soon-to-be seniors and those who care for them is coming up on June 10 and 11 (same conference both days) at Canterbury Retreat & Conference Center. Seating is limited! Deadline to RSVP is May 27. Call 407-365-5571 for the flyer.

Fringe Festival – The Downtowners from Orlando Lutheran Towers — a choral group ages 70 to 95 singing Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Weather Girls, Village People, Elvis and more — is playing at the 2011 Fringe Festival from May 19-29. Look for their show “Stayin’ Alive” on the Fringe website, http://orlandofringe.org/09shows

2011 senior directories — The Senior Resource Alliance (the local Area Agency on Aging) has just released its 2011 Directory. Access it online at www.50plusfyi.org. For copies of Heritage Publishing’s Orlando Senior Services Directory, email [email protected]

Alzheimer’s symposium – Learn about recent research developments and new methods in caring for people living with Alzheimer’s at the May 17 event at the Daytona State College. It’s open to families and professionals (CEUs offered). For info, contact 1-800-272-3900 or [email protected]

Cool website — “Statehealthfacts.org Goes Mobile” ... Statehealthfacts.org is now optimized for use on your mobile device. Now, when you are on the road or in a meeting and need to know how many Florida residents are uninsured, or the percent of adults with disabilities, just go to www.statehealthfacts.org on your mobile device and easily find the answer.

Telephone scammers — The Florida Attorney General’s Office is warning of a new scam targeting elderly and disabled citizens that uses false caller identification displaying a relative or friend’s information and personal details of the victim to solicit funds. To report a scam call 1-866-9-NO-SCAM (1-866-966-7226), or by file a complaint online at www.myfloridalegal.com and click on “consumer protection”, then “fraud & scams”.

Twenty questions for long-distance caregivers — If you know of anyone who is trying to take care of someone far away, this 48-page reference might help answer questions they have. Learn more at http://tinyurl.com/longdistancecaregiversguide

Did you know: May is Older Americans month! According to the US Census Bureau, the number of people age 65+ in 2009 who were:

Living in the U.S. = 39.6 million (or 13 percent of the total US population)

Veterans of the Armed Forces = 9 million

Estimated to be centenarians on Dec. 1, 2010 = 71,991

Living in California = 4.1 million (ranked No. 1 with highest population of seniors). Florida was second with 3.2 million, third was New York with 2.6 million.

Recommended reading: “My Mother, Your Mother” by Dennis McCullough, M.D.