For Immediate Release
December 12, 2001

Contact:
Amy Weinschenk
(207) 774-5801
Beryl Wolfe
(207) 775-5115
E-mail: beryl@wolfenews.com
Web Site: http://www.martinspoint.org

The holidays can be both a joyous and a stressful time. If your holiday traditions include seniors, yet another layer of attentiveness is required.

"As you and your family prepare for the holiday season, you may need to be particularly sensitive and mindful to the fact that holiday traditions and expectations can be difficult and exhausting for those who are limited by age or illness," said Dr. William Schirmer, a physician at Martin's Point Health Care.

Entertaining seniors doesn't have to mean extra anxiety, however. Below, Dr. Schirmer offers a number of suggestions to ensure that their - and your - holiday season is filled with comfort and joy.

- Be realistic. Holiday preparations - from shopping and mailing cards to baking cookies and selecting the perfect tree - are not possible for all seniors. Offer to assist older friends, relatives and neighbors by providing transportation to shopping areas or helping to wrap gifts (a true hardship for someone with arthritis.)

- Schedule carefully. Traveling can be terribly taxing on older folks, so try to schedule your holiday events with their needs in mind. For aging parents and friends who aren't able to travel and will be spending the holidays alone, frequent phone calls will help them combat loneliness and depression.

- Provide healthy food. If you have seniors joining you for holiday meals, be aware that they may have dietary restrictions. Making sure you have plenty of nonalcoholic liquids on hand will help those who suffer from diabetes, and serving small but frequent and healthy snacks will help keep the energy up. Many seniors suffer from cholesterol-related ailments, too, so serving lean meats, fish, skinless chicken and plenty of vegetables during mealtime will be much appreciated.

- Encourage relaxation. Let senior house guests know they don't have to be "helpful" all of the time. Encourage them to nap, relax and not over-do, and provide a quiet area where your guests can lie down, read and/or get away from the tumult they may find overwhelming, especially if young children are celebrating the holidays with you as well.

- Arrange comfortable sleeping quarters. If your older guests are staying with you overnight, make sure their sleeping quarters are well ventilated and, if possible, close to the bathroom. For those with lung or cardiac conditions, a vaporizer will help humidify the air and enable them to breathe easier.

- Keep the air fresh. Ask other guests not to smoke in the house, and try to keep cleaning chemicals and perfumes to a minimum.

- Go for walks. Offer frequently to accompany seniors on short walks. They will welcome the opportunity to get outside and stretch their legs.

Established in 1981, Martin's Point is a not-for-profit health care provider with facilities in Portland, Brunswick and Windham, Maine, and in Portsmouth, N.H. Martin's Point has a staff of more than 300 health care professionals and serves 54,000 patients ö including military retirees and dependents of active military personnel ö under all major health plans. Martin's Point serves patients in the areas of family practice, internal medicine, pediatrics, surgery, radiology, cardiology, mammography, and other fields.

The Martin's Point Health Education Center offers a variety of resource materials, such as publications and videos, and classes that focus on a host of topics, ranging from weight management and smoking cessation to disease management.

In addition, Martin's Point is known for its innovative approach to health care. Unique to Martin's Point is its online communication program called Patient's Personal Points (TM), which allows patients to communicate via a secure server with their doctors to schedule appointments, ask medical questions and obtain prescription renewals. The program won a national technology award from the Healthcare Innovations in Technology Systems (HITS) Partnership in Technology national awards program. For additional information on Martin's Point Health Care, visit online at http://www.martinspoint.org.

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