Retirees, former TIers and guests enjoyed a tasty and informative seminar hosted by Windsor Senior Living on July 25.
Cathy Sperling, MA Biomedical/Health Ethics, gave a comprehensive presentation on “Things to Consider When Choosing Community Lifestyles”. She serves as Director of Sales & Marketing for Windsor, and has many years of experience in helping Seniors with transitions in housing. Cathy explained a range of options, with the pros and cons of each, and reviewed the licensing requirements of the facilities.
She offered many tips on how to evaluate housing options and reviewed the practical issue of how to pay for community living. The options discussed included: Independent Living, Added Care with Independent Living, Assisted Living Communities, Memory Care, Residential Care Homes and Skilled Nursing Facilities. For those who might be considering some type of community living, Cathy recommended that visiting several facilities well before there is a need.
Cathy also emphasized the importance of activities and socialization as we age, regardless of where we might choose to live. She cited studies which verify the health advantages of social, mental, physical and emotional stimulation.
The second part of the seminar focused on, “Tips for a Healthy Body” and was presented by Cathy and Diop Kee, the Dining Services Director at Windsor. They covered the importance and effects on the body of sugar, sodium intake and substitutes, and the body’s need for water. Cathy reviewed the latest research on the amounts of each needed for healthy living, citing several resources on the web. She found the National Institute for Health at www.nih.gov and www.Nutrition411.com to be particularly helpful.
Diop explained how Windsor offers healthy food choices, including low-sodium dishes and sugar-free dessert options. This was followed by a “tasting” of three delicious appetizers and three desserts, which were plated and served to the attendees. Attendees were asked to guess which of the desserts had sugar – it was hard to tell, but a few guessed correctly that it was the brownie, but some guessed the eclair. Recipes were given to the attendees for the appetizers, which also showed the nutritional analysis per serving. As a bonus at the end of the presentation, Cathy taught the audience how to roast large garlic bulbs – if done correctly, the insides of the garlic becomes like a paste, which can be spread on toast or crackers for an appetizer.
Many positive comments were heard about the seminar and the energy and research done by Cathy, as well as praise for the quality of the “tastings” prepared by the Director of Dining Services. We hope to plan more health-related seminars like this in the future.