OFA issues senior fall newsletter

The Office for the Aging’s (OFA) fall newsletter THRIVE60+ is being mailed to the thousands of local households on the OFA mailing list. It’s also available at libraries throughout Dutchess County, online at www.dutchessny.gov/aging and in the front lobby at OFA headquarters at 114 Delafield St. in Poughkeepsie.

In this issue you’ll find information on OFA’s new program to help homebound older adults safely dispose of outdated and unneeded medications, when they’re unable to make it to one of the county’s 11 safe disposal locations.

The new THRIVE60+ also includes key information on how to improve your odds of ensuring that a trip to the hospital doesn’t lead to follow-up hospital trips; year-round volunteering opportunities with OFA and other Dutchess County organizations that serve older adults; and a full page of pictures from the 2022 Summer Picnic season.

There’s also a registration form for the 2022 OFA Senior Prom inside THRIVE60+. If all you need is the printable prom registration form, that’s also available at www.dutchessny.gov/aging.

If you represent a seniors’ group, a medical facility or a housing development with many older adult residents, we can get copies of THRIVE60+ to you — while they last. Just contact OFA Outreach Coordinator Brian Jones at bjones@dutchessny.gov or call 845-486-2544.

Peripheral Artery

Disease Free Screening

September is Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) Awareness Month. Dutchess County residents over age 50 may schedule an appointment to get a free ankle brachial index (ABI) screening from students in Marist College’s Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) and Physician Assistant (PA) programs. The free clinic is on Saturday, Sept. 24.

PAD involves narrowing of the arteries that carry blood to the legs and feet. PAD may cause cramping, pain, make it hard to walk and impact quality of life. Risk factors linked with PAD include smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol and being over age 50.

PAD can affect both men and women, but there is an increased risk of PAD in people of African American and Hispanic origin. The ankle brachial index (ABI) is a non-invasive screening for PAD that measures and compares the systolic blood pressure at the ankles and the arms using a handheld doppler and blood pressure cuff.

Early diagnosis and treatment of PAD can help restore mobility and lower the risk of heart attack, stroke and leg amputation. Marist DPT students will also provide educational handouts to help participants understand what can be done to prevent and treat this condition.

The Sept. 24 event takes place from  9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Marist College Allied Health Building (29 Beck Place, Poughkeepsie), second floor. For registration information, email holly.franzen-korzendorfer@marist.edu or call 845-575-3489.

Golden Living is prepared by Dutchess County OFA Director Todd N. Tancredi, who can be reached at 845-486-2555, ofa@dutchessny.gov or via the OFA website at www.dutchessny.gov/aging.