September is National Senior Center Month—your opportunity to showcase your senior center and promote a positive image of aging. The 2019 theme is: Senior Centers: The Key to Aging Well! This September, the National Institute of Senior Centers (NISC) is demonstrating how senior centers are integral parts of aging well. Senior centers are the key fo...

By: Gina-Marie Miraglia Wellspring Center for Prevention offers a wide variety of programs and services appropriate for individuals across the lifespan. One of our unique programs, Senior Jeopardy, is a big hit among older adults throughout Middlesex County. This program serves as an interactive and competitively educational game, just like the show! We offer a variety of topics including; Conflict Resolution, Substance Use and Abuse By Older Adults, Nutrition and Healthy Aging, Safe Prescription and OTC Drug Use, Maintaining a Healthy Mind, Healthy Coping, and Taking Control of Your Health. Recently, Wellspring Center for Prevention Preventionists Gina Miraglia and Melisa Damcevska joined the Old Bridge Senior Center and Old Bridge High School seniors for a fun Conflict Resolution Jeopardy game. The ‘Intergenerational Senior Jeopardy’ games take place a few times a year. During these games, we divided the players into two teams of mixed intergenerational seniors then, the teams compete against...

Although people 65 years of age and older comprise only 13% of the population, they account for almost 30% of all medications prescribed in the United States. As a result, older adults are at significant risk for prescription drug abuse and addiction. In addition to prescription medications, many older adults also use over-the-counter (OTC) medicines and dietary supplements, including sharing them with friends. Due to increased rate of illness, changes in the body’s capacity to process medications, and the potential for drug interactions, older adults are more likely to experience. Why senior substance abuse is misdiagnosed Because of insufficient knowledge, limited research data, and hurried office visits, health care providers often overlook alcohol and drug misuse and abuse among older adults. Diagnosis may be difficult because symptoms of alcoholism and drug dependency in older individuals sometimes mimic symptoms of other medical and behavioral disorders common among this population, such as diabetes,...

We’ve all heard that exercise is good for you. Did you know that it’s as true for older people as it is for any age group? You’re never too old to get moving, get stronger, and improve your health. Fitting exercise and physical activity into your day can enhance your life in so many ways. Regular physical activity can improve your balance and boost or maintain your strength and fitness. It may also improve your mood and help you manage or lessen the impact of conditions like diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis, and depression. Despite these proven benefits, exercise and physical activity rates among older people are surprisingly low. Only about 30% of people ages 45 to 64 say they engage in regular leisure-time physical activity. This falls to 15% of those between the ages of 65 and 74 and 5% of people age 85 and older. Experts recommend four types of...

Wellspring Center for Prevention Presents1st Annual “Prevention Works for Older Adults” ProgramTopic: Alternative Strategies That Work! December 6, 201712 Noon - 3:00PMLunch & Info Tables 12 Noon - 1PM At the Middlesex County Fire Academy1001 Fire Academy Dr, Sayreville, NJ 08872 Topics to be covered:Health Alternatives as a Coping StrategyThe Power of intergenerational ProgramsHealing Power of Laughter YogaRoads to Recovery NOTE: Space is limited. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

By Jackie Kimelman, Wellspring intern Addiction is an equal opportunity disease that can impact people from all different facets of life. Age, race, gender, socioeconomic status, and et cetera do not act as barriers to addiction or rule anyone out from the potential development of this disease. There is no such thing as a specific population that exists and is immune to addiction. Often, when it comes to the opioid addiction epidemic, a lot of the focus is placed on younger populations. Parents worry for their children, companies and organizations tend to focus prevention methods for younger populations, people assume adolescents abuse drugs more than other age groups because of various factors such as social media, pop culture, their age and environments, and et cetera. The National Institute of Drug Abuse even announced that prescription drug abuse affects young adults the most (NIDA 2016). What about the elderly population though? Despite...