By Rick Banas of assisted living and senior living provider BMA Management, Ltd.
Brian N Minton of BMA and I spoke yesterday on The Wonderful World of Blogs, Videos and E-Newsletters in the Successful Marketing of assisted living and senior living communities at the 2013 Annual Meeting of Life Services Network (LSN).
LSN is the largest eldercare association in Illinois and the Illinois state affiliate of Leading Age and the Assisted Living Federation of America (ALFA).
As part of our presentation, we highlighted Ten Tips for Better Blogging based on our experience and what we have learned from others.
This was a headline for a Blog about an educational program that was conducted at the Bridle Brook of Mahomet assisted living and memory care community in Champaign County. Professional Arthur Kramer from the University of Illinois spoke on his research into the benefits of physical activity for older adults. He noted that if we have a pill that provided all of the benefits that exercise provides in enhancing the health of our brain, we take it in a minute and pay good money for it.
This Blog focused on an emotional presentation by Julie Papievis at the Heritage Woods affordable assisted living community in Batavia, Illinois. Julie was critically injured in a car accident as she was pulling out of a shopping center parking lot in the western suburbs of Chicago. Doctors pegged her chances of survival at 4%; if she did somehow manage to survive, it would be in a vegetative state. Just six years later, Julie ran a 5K and has since competed in an indoor triathlon.
2) Focus on “What’s In It for the Reader”
The approach to branding in the Social Media is different than branding in print, radio and television.
As Time Sanders, CEO of Net Minds, noted in a Chase Business Insight webinar in January, “you build your brand by providing information and solving problems, not by talking about your brand.”
3) Write from Your Point of View
Writing a Blog is much like writing a column for a newspaper. Write it from your point of few. For instance, in a Blog titled “Calling Assisted Living an “Acute Care Setting” Is Just Plain Wrong” I provided my opinion about a story that was posted in the Washington Times.
4) Use a Conversational Style
For instance, I started a Blog that we posted last week on “Can Assisted Living Prevent Premature Death with “with my years of experience in assisted and senior living, an article recently posted on the Medical News Today website really has me thinking.”
In a Blog on Assisted Living Residents Join the Harlem Shake Craze provides an example of how you can use video. <blog>
7) Post Regularly
We post once a week, occasionally more often if we have the time and a topic of value.
8) Link to Others
If your Blog highlights an educational program conducted by the Alzheimer’s Association, include a link to the Alzheimer’s Association’s website in your Blog.
By Rick Banas of assisted and senior living provider BMA Management, Ltd.
With my years of experience in assisted and senior living, an article recently posted on the Medical News Today website really has me thinking.
The article <link> is about research that ties social isolation to shorter lifespans in older adults.
One of the surprising results, the article notes, is that even people who are happy being alone are more likely to die prematurely if they don’t have enough social interactions with other humans.
One of the biggest benefits of living in an assisted living community is all of the opportunities that are available for residents to socialize with others.
Instead of eating alone in front of a television, older adults in assisted living communities are dining with other residents.
They can gather with other residents in a lounge area to watch a movie, a ball game or their favorite television shows.
They can join others for exercise programs. Our Heritage Woods of DeKalb community, for instance, offers Tai Chi on Thursdays; Heritage Woods of Centralia has Yoga on Wednesdays; John Evans Supportive Living in Pekin hosts a “Move Those Joints” program three times a week. Residents of Bridle Brook in Champaign County can stay active with a Walking Club in the indoor comfort of their assisted living and memory care community.
They can participate with other residents in the activities and special events offered by the community.
Wii Bowling has become a very popular activity, with the Affordable Assisted Living Coalition (AALC) hosting an annual statewide Wii Bowling Tournament. This year, nearly 80 teams of residents from affordable assisted living communities in Illinois entered the competition, which will culminate with the top teams bowling against each other in a Final Four on May 14 and 15 in Decatur, Illinois.
This year, the AALC also is hosting a statewide Spelling Bee. More than 100 teams of residents entered the competition, with 12 teams qualifying to compete in the Spelling Finals in Decatur on May 14 and 15. The most frequently used words in the Scripps National Spelling Bee will be used.
Other recent and upcoming programs at the communities BMA manages include:
Laughter Yoga
Mother’s Day Celebrations and Memorial Day Tributes
Fashion Shows with residents and staff modeling the clothing
BBQs, Ice Cream Socials and Happy Hours
Senior Proms
Hawaiian Luaus
Musical entertainment and health education programs
Residents can participate no matter what the weather.
With this in mind, isn’t it possible that assisted living can help prevent premature death among seniors?
What are your thoughts? Leave a comment and let us know.
“BMA Management is the leading provider of assisted living in Illinois and one of the 20 largest providers of assisted living in the United States.”
By Rick Banas of assisted living provider BMA Management, Ltd.
If we had a drug that worked as well as physical activity in enhancing the health of our brain, we’d take it in a minute and pay good money for it, said Professor Arthur Kramer (pictured right) during a presentation last week at Bridle Brook of Mahomet, an assisted living and memory care community that BMA manages in Champaign County, Illinois.
Brain health is a hot topic these days, Professor Kramer noted. Doing a Google search for brain health brings up 295 million results and for brain training brings up 74.6 million.
There are a number of factors that are important for Healthy Aging and things that we can do to improve memory and reduce the risk of dementia and other cognitive disorders, he noted.
These include intellectual engagement, having friends and good social relationships, getting enough sleep, and to some extent diet. You also benefit from having the right grandparents.
What scientific research is showing, Professor Kramer says, is that your brain and your memory benefit most from physical activity and exercise.
Physical activity is something that Dr. Kramer and the University of Illinois spend a lot of time studying. The results of the research have been featured in the print and electronic media, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, CBS Evening News and National Public Radio. University of Illinois research results on physical activity have even been incorporated into a Saturday Night Live skit.
Here are some key points for older adults and their families:
It is never too late to start. Research shows that adults in their 60s, 70s and 80s can improve the health of their brains through physical activity and exercise. Olga Kotelko, for instance, did not take up track and field until she was 77 years of age. At the age of 93, the Senior Olympian visited with Professor Kramer at the Beckman Institute.
A strenuous exercise routine is not needed. Your brain can benefit from gardening, walking, jogging, swimming or riding a bicycle. Dozens of studies show that walking improves memory. Women, for instance, who walk more than two miles a day fared much better in studies than women who walk less than ¼ of a mile day. Researchers can see positive changes in the brains of people who are routinely engaged in physical activity. The birth of neurons in your brain is influenced by exercise.
Based on what we know today, your brain can benefit from physical activity and exercise no matter what the health of your brain is when you start. Research indicates, for instance, that those with early stages of Alzheimer’s can experience the same percentage of benefits from exercise as those without the disease. You are just starting from a different base line.
We hope you find this information valuable on your path to successful aging.
What are your thoughts? Leave a comment and let us know.
“BMA Management is the leading provider of assisted living in Illinois and one of the 20 largest providers of assisted living in the United States.”
By Rick Banas of assisted living provider BMA Management, Ltd.
Here is a question for you. Do you know of people who are sleepwalking through life? They are breathing; their heart is pumping; but they have little, if any, zest for life. People who view life as being a spectator sport. Their favorite activity is sitting in a recliner, watching life go by. People who feel their best days have long since come and gone. People who when they wake up in the morning ponder why they are still here.
Unless you answered with an emphatic “NO,” here is a recommendation for you. Let them know about a book that was published this year called “Fully Alive.” The author is Ken Davis, who is a motivational speaker and the President of Dynamic Communications International.
The book caught my attention as I was looking for things to read on a trip we were making to the mountains of Colorado to visit our oldest daughter, her husband, and our first grandchild, who was born in October.
Coincidentally, the book begins with a story about a camping trip that Ken and his family had taken to the mountains of Colorado.
In the book, Ken expertly combines storytelling with humor, inspiration and great insights about his journey to the land of Living Fully Alive. He talks about what prompted his awakening to the need to change his life and things you can do to help increase the likelihood of “Skating Well on Golden Pond.”
He illustrates the importance of having the right attitude, physical and mental exercise, friendships, forgiveness and spirituality. He provides helpful tips on how to get started, pace yourself, and keep going in the quest to Live Fully Alive.
Ken also included an Appendix that lists a few of the resources that he found helpful in his effort to regain his physical health.
His insights and advice apply to adults of all ages.
I encourage you to check the book out for yourself and share your observations and comments with us.
What are your thoughts? Leave a comment and let us know.
“BMA Management is the leading provider of assisted living in Illinois and one of the 20 largest providers of assisted living in the United States.”
By Rick Banas of assisted living provider BMA Management, Ltd.
As Veterans Day 2012 nears, I am reminded of two people that I met on Veterans Day last year. Both served our country in World War II and were living at the Heritage Woods affordable assisted living community that BMA manages in Moline, Illinois.
Lee Trainor talked with me about where he was when he heard the news about the Bombing of Pearl Harbor and his experience in the war.
He was living in Kansas City and had gone to Hutchinson, Kansas, for a visit. Hutchinson is located on the Arkansas River, nearly 40 miles northwest of Wichita. There was a radio playing on a small table in the lobby of the hotel where he was staying. It stopped playing so he went over to see what was wrong and heard the announcement.
Two weeks later, Lee went into the service of our country at the age of 18. He was in the second wave of Marines to land on Iwo Jima in the battle with the Japanese for this strategic stronghold in 1945. He watched from within a few hundred yards as Marines raised the U.S. flag on Mount Suribachi.
He spent nearly six weeks in combat on the island but said he does not remember a single thing from about the third day until the last day of combat. About 4 a.m. that morning, a live mortar landed just two feet away from where he was standing. He reasons that the mortar did not explode because the volcanic soil he was standing in was so soft.
Following his discharge from the service, Lee went to the University of Missouri in Columbia and on to enjoy a career in newspapers and advertising. While working for the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, he had the opportunity to cover President Eisenhower at a ranch up in the high country.
Fred Collins was working as a machinist at the Arsenal in Rock Island when Pearl Harbor was attacked. He served as a Fighting Seabee in the South Pacific. He was part of the Battle of Okinawa, which was the largest amphibious invasion of the Pacific campaign and the bloodiest battle in the Pacific War. Reportedly, more people lost their lives in the Battle of Okinawa than in the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Fred talked about serving in a fox hole during the battle, with bullets flying and Kamikaze aircraft and mortar shells dropping from the sky. His buddy serving next to him in the fox hole was killed. Fred was awarded a Bronze Star for his service.
All of us at BMA Management and at the senior living, assisted living, supportive living and memory care communities that we manage salute our Veterans.
Here is a listing of some of the activities being hosted by BMA communities to honor our Veterans:
Veterans Breakfast & Flag Ceremony
8 a.m. to 9 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 12
At Heritage Woods of Centralia
Centralia, Illinois
Veterans Day Celebration
With the music of Rick Pickren
3 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 12
At Heritage Woods of McHenry
McHenry, Illinois
Heritage Woods of Dwight is providing the opportunity for you to honor individuals who have served our country in the military in a special way. The community is selling luminaries for its Patriotic Luminary Display at a cost of $3 each, with proceeds benefiting the effort to update and beautify the Veterans of Foreign War Memorial in Dwight. You can put the name of the person you would like to honor on the luminary. They community is selling the luminaries between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. through Friday, Nov. 9. For more information, call 815-584-9280 or visit online.
What are your thoughts? Leave a comment and let us know.
“BMA Management is the leading provider of affordable assisted living in Illinois and one of the 20 largest providers of assisted living in the United States.”
By Rick Banas of assisted living provider BMA Management, Ltd.
Here is a question for you. Do you know of people who are sleepwalking through life? They are breathing; their heart is pumping; but they have little, if any, zest for life. People who view life as being a spectator sport. Their favorite activity is sitting in a recliner, watching life go by. People who feel their best days have long since come and gone. People who when they wake up in the morning ponder why they are still here.
Fred Collins was working as a machinist at the Arsenal in Rock Island when Pearl Harbor was attacked. He served as a Fighting Seabee in the South Pacific. He was part of the Battle of Okinawa, which was the largest amphibious invasion of the Pacific campaign and the bloodiest battle in the Pacific War. Reportedly, more people lost their lives in the Battle of Okinawa than in the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 
