OLDS — The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way a program to improve the physical and mental wellbeing of seniors is offered.
And it’s proving quite successful, says Ruth Wiens, clinical lead for Peaks to Prairies Primary Care Network (PPPCN).
The program, offered for free, is called the Seniors' Centre Without Walls.
It was started up in the Edmonton area a couple of years ago and was expanded to the remainder of the province a few months ago.
Seniors are linked up by phone and are thus able to participate in a variety of exercise and programs.
Wiens says seniors – especially those living alone -- can feel quite isolated.
The lockdown brought on by the pandemic can make that feeling even worse.
“What we’ve found is that with the pandemic there’s an even greater need for it, just because people who were already struggling with borderline isolation are really feeling it now,” Wiens said.
“This is just a great way for them to be able to connect with other seniors from around the province.”
A new series of topics is offered every four months. Calendars are mailed out monthly.
This initiative is funded by the federal and provincial governments through the Alberta ministry of Seniors and Housing’s Aging Well in Community grant as well as the federal government’s New Horizons for Seniors program.
COVID-19 UPDATE: Follow our COVID-19 special section and interactive map for the latest local and national news on the coronavirus pandemic, as well as resources, FAQs and more.
Wiens said the fact that the program is telephone-based works especially well for seniors who may not have computers or who live in rural areas where they may not have access to good internet services.
She said more programs have been added during the pandemic because “they realized that the need is going to be so much greater.”
“It really is quite a wide breadth of different topics, from health-related, or finance or travel, language, mental health; so many different options for them,” she added.
On Friday, May 8, Greg Stopanski, an exercise specialist with the PPPCN, held the first of two exercise programs he’s conducting for Seniors' Centre Without Walls. The second one will be held May 27.
Fourteen seniors, all linked by phone, participated.
Stopanski led the group through a variety of exercises, including standing up from a chair, doing bicep curls with soup cans or water bottles, doing leg extensions while sitting in a chair and marching on the spot.
Stopanski was pleased with how it went, although he admitted it had its challenges.
“That was a very tricky way of doing an exercise program; you only have your voice, so they can’t see what you’re doing,” he said.
He was careful not to push for too much.
“We do give them goals to make sure they only do what they can and not to overdo it,” he said.
“We give them breaks as much as we can; so lots of chatting and having fun.”
Stopanski said while this first segment dealt with exercise, he anticipates the next one, called Get Up and Get Active, will be more of a discussion about the benefits of being physically active.
For more information on the program, check out the Seniors' Centre Without Walls website and its COVID-19 update at http://www.edmontonsouthsidepcn.ca/classes-health-resources/seniors-centre-without-walls/
