Everything Elderly - Keeping fit at University Living; rehabilitation and long-term care at Glacier Hills
June Smedley with University Living
Photos by Sheila Doeden
Everything Elderly is on every Saturday at 8:30 a.m., on 1290 AM WLBY, sponsored by Senior Helpers. This weekend, we had the pleasure of talking with guests from two of Ann Arbor’s premier senior facilities, University Living and the Glacier Hills Care and Rehabilitation Center.
We spoke first with June Smedley, the fitness director at University Living. Smedley is a certified strength and conditioning specialist, with a master's degree in exercise physiology. It’s very evident Smedley loves working with her elderly clients at University Living.
University Living offers independent living, assisted living, along with specialized memory care. We appreciated Smedley’s explanation of their approach to care, “It’s not assisted living, it’s living with assistance”. At University Living, they want to focus on the living part!
Smedley holds morning classes for the residents, including seated fitness. In the afternoons, she has the opportunity to personally train her clients, providing customized one-on-one exercises Smedley continues to be astounded by how quickly seniors respond to exercising. The improvement in their abilities is sometimes visible within just days.
University Living has a very large variety of activities available to their residents, coordinated by their recreational therapist. There are also events not just for their residents, but also for the community. Upcoming events include:
University Living also works with the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, hosting lecture series. The next season starts this October and offers a movie discussion series and a series on “Learning to Love Opera”. For more information and to register for these lecture series, please call the Osher Institute at 734-998-9351.
To contact June Smedley, or University Living, please call 734-669-3030, or visit their website univliving.com. To listen to the 12-minute discussion, you may click on this audio file Everything Elderly June Smedley 0724.mp3.
Kim Thompson with Glacier Hills
We next had the privilege to speak with two managers from the Glacier Hills Care and Rehabilitation Center. Kim Thompson is the executive director, and Michelle Mitchell is the memory care program manager. Glacier Hills has an impressive campus in northeast Ann Arbor, offering a full array of services for the elderly.
Michelle Mitchell with Glacier Hills
Both Thompson and Mitchell feel very fortunate to get to work with seniors, and both clearly love their careers. We enjoyed hearing Mitchell’s story about how she initially thought she wanted to work with kids, until she actually worked with kids! (and then found “her real true love, working with the elderly population”).
After a major surgery, a patient may only require a few days in the hospital, but they are not ready to be home yet. That’s where Glacier Hills rehabilitation services are perfect, allowing the extra time and therapy to better recover before going home. Long-term care is available at the center for those that need extended skilled care. The center hosts an Alzheimer’s Association support group, open to the public. This is the first Thursday of every month, at 1 p.m. Mitchell also plans to host a seminar on the “Art of Visiting”. She provided some useful tips on visiting seniors in a facility. She encourages families to bring family photos or maybe a scrapbook. Don’t quiz your loved one about the photos (that can be stressful), but instead offer information and engage your loved one in a warm conversation.
To contact Thompson or Mitchell, or the Glacier Hills Care and Rehabilitation Center, call 734-769-0177, or visit their website glacierhills.org. To listen to the full 12-minute talk click on this file Everything Elderly Kim-Michelle 0724.mp3.
Alan Caldwell is the owner of Senior Helpers, providing in-home care services, primarily for the elderly. He can be contacted at acaldwell@seniorhelpers.com, or at 734-927-3111.