Suzanne Andrews is an occupational therapy practitioner and host of PBS TV’s Functional Fitness.  Suzanne specializes in increasing peoples functional ability through medically engineered fitness techniques for the over 40 population.

Functional Fitness doctor-recommended DVD’s are the only medically engineered programs that offer you the opportunity to increase your functional ability and focus on real-life fitness for real-life challenges.

Whether you need to decrease stiffness and pain caused from arthritis, lose weight, improve your balance, increase your flexibility, get thicker, stronger bones because of osteoporosis, or improve the health of your neck and back, Suzanne Andrews vast therapeutic exercise knowledge will increase your health with special consideration on safety and injury prevention.

In addition to overall strength and well-being, Functional Fitness is customized to address many common elder care medical issues, including:

• Arthritis relief
• Pain-free neck & back
• Bone building
• Brain power
• Diabetes
• Fat-burning
• COPD/asthma

I recently had the pleasure to speak at San Clemente Villas by the Sea.  I’ve spoken at many senior communities across four states now, so I was excited to speak in what was essentially my backyard.  I like to share my experiences at each community; many of your are considering senior living communities, and exposure to different places is useful for everyone.

San Clemente Villas by the Sea is a community located in San Clemente, California.  San Clemente is a beach town between Los Angeles and San Diego, and is the last town south before you have 30 miles of beautiful beach views en route to San Diego.

The first thing that struck me when I walked in was the positive energy I got from the community.  So often you walk into a senior living community, and it has a hotel feel. Even though residents are engaged, the front desk often seems like “check-in”, and you really have to get into the community to get a flavor for its personality.  The management offices are separated from the residents and it just feels, well, separate.

With The Villas, it was different.  Owner Aileen Brazeau has done a great job there.  It seems more like a party–music, chatter, people laughing in the sitting areas and a staff that was completely engaged in the residents.  This was a big differentiator for me.  Whereas many communities have staff know their residents and interact with them, the staff at The Villas knew the residents.  They were engaged, joking around and everyone was smiling.  I rarely get such a positive vibe, so I was really looking forward to the tour.

San Clemente Villas by the Sea offers independent living, assisted living and dementia care, all laid out in Hawaian themes.  I spoke to a few residents; they were happy about living there and felt it was a good social outlet for them with good care.  The community itself had modern decor and the rooms were no different.  Since The Villas is located on a hill, many of the rooms have a beautiful view of the Pacific Ocean.

In terms of amenities, they had it all and took the extra step to provide residents some comforts of home.  For example, rather than just a fitness class, they had a pretty nice gym (coming from a gym nut like myself).  Instead of just an activity room for bingo, they had a professional bingo board where the numbers light up.  Instead of just a restaurant with hours for snacks, they had a coffee shop area with snacks. They also had a pool and a jacuzzi, which lent itself to several activity classes not normally senior in senior living communities.

All in all, I was very impressed with the community and the vibe. The owners clearly hire people that were not just qualified, but enjoyed interacting with the residents.  Often that makes the difference between just good care and a good experience!

To learn more about San Clemente Villas by the Sea, visit their website.

In aging seniors, healthy brain function is about more than just memory and coordination; everyday tasks, relationships, hobbies and quality of life are all affected.  It stands to reason that the more aware and capable you are of cognitive reasoning and performing independent living activities the higher your self confidence and emotional health.

The nation’s largest study on brain fitness was performed in 2002 by the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) and their results showed that a large percentage of participants over the age of 65 improved memory, reasoning and information-processing speed when they participated in training for five days per week.  In addition, the study showed a 47% lower risk of dementia in participants who worked crossword puzzles four days a week than those who only worked the puzzles once a week.  These results play into the notion of “Use it or Lose it” when it comes to cognitive aging.

Furthermore, an Australian study consisting of 30 peer-reviewed papers in controlled trials found that, as people experienced these lifestyle benefits they were also able to live longer and therefore reduce health care expenses.

Along with these studies, it is widely known that many seniors regularly engage in crossword puzzles, Sudoku and similar brain training games to slow dementia and aging.  Many software companies have tapped into this need by creating games and exercises that aid in sustaining mental acuity.  It has been reported that the brain fitness software market grew from $225 Million in 2007 to $265 Million in 2008.  Here are the top three systems that claim to reduce dementia rates in seniors.

Posit Science

Posit Science claims that their products will help the user “think faster, focus better, and remember more.”  Their software programs are designed for either a PC or a Mac. Each priced at $395.00

1. Brain Fitness Program: Six programs that allow you to “Remember more & Feel Sharper” by practicing matching items, distinguishing objects, memory recall and story telling.
2. InSight: Five programs designed for “Better Focus & Learn More” focusing on visual precision.
3. DriveSharp: Two programs that deal with divided attention and increased processing times so that you will “Drive Carefully & React Faster”

Dakim BrainFitness

Dakim offers two brain training concepts for seniors.

1. A complete self-contained console that only needs a high-speed internet connection but does not require a keyboard, mouse or software program installation.  It is marketed to both the individual senior and the senior living provider.  After the initial purchase of $2,299 for the touch-screen console, more than 150 games are available for a $19.95 per month subscription.
2. 2. New brain fitness software to be released this April for $349.99, which includes a one-year subscription.

CogniFit

CogniFit is a web-based system that does not require you to install software or purchase a console.  Instead you access the programs through their website.  Both programs described below are priced based on the following subscription terms: $19.95 per month, $99.50 for 6 months, or $170 annually.

1. CogniFit Personal Coach:  This program addresses overall cognitive skills and claims to improve memory and focus, and increase processing time.
2. CogniFit Senior Driver: Similar to other driving programs, this system is designed to improve reaction time, handle multiple driving tasks and focus on potential road threat recognition.

About the Author: Ryan Malone is the founder and managing editor of Inside Elder Care and the author of the By Families, For Families Guide to Assisted Living.  He can be reach on Twitter at @RyanMalone.