Methuen Village Assisted Living’s Social Program Director, Kathleen Corey Rahme, is the recipient of the 2010 Community Service Award granted by the Massachusetts Assisted Living Facilities Association (Mass ALFA).

Each year Mass ALFA presents this award to one special nominee, chosen for their exemplary outreach within and beyond the assisted living community in which they work, and Kathleen Corey Rahme proved to be the well-deserving beneficiary of the award. Kathleen is passionate about making connections, forming partnerships, and discovering what folks have in common.  She runs the Methuen Youth Corps, which is a volunteer organization.  For several years, she has disseminated information on volunteer opportunities for youth, adults, seniors, organizations, and families in Methuen.  Methuen Village residents are now able to participate with the Youth Corps to make a difference.

Kathleen has worked to create a culture in which every individual is not only welcomed into their new home, but she facilitates connections between the new residents and others that live there.  She connects their family histories, their passions and their life stories from the beginning to where they are now.

The staff and residents alike feel lucky to have Kathleen as the community’s Social Program Director, and are thrilled that her extraordinary service to the community has been recognized by Mass ALFA with this honor.

During the month of April, 3 special residents were honored with the  Lifetime Achievement Award.  Methuen Village held a lovely ceremony, and family and friends gathered to “toast and roast” the residents.  We enjoyed hearing great stories of childhood, raising families, and starting careers.  Here are a few photos from the event…

A recent article in Science Daily reports that husbands or wives who care for spouses with dementia are six times more likely to develop the memory-impairing condition than those whose spouses don’t have it. According to results of a 12-year study led by Johns Hopkins, Utah State University and Duke University the increased risk that the researchers saw among caregivers was on par with the power of a gene variant known to increase susceptibility to Alzheimer’s disease.

“Caregiving has positive aspects, as well as negative ones. If we can boost the positive aspects and reduce the negative ones, we may be able to reduce a caregiver’s risk of developing dementia,” says Peter Rabins, M.D., M.P.H at Johns Hopkins.

Senior Living Residences appreciates the opportunity to help out families in all stages of the disease process, and likewise in all stages of the research process.  For this reason, we offer a support group for families who have a loved one with Alzheimer’s, which meets the third Thursday of each month, at 6PM, here at Methuen Village. Often times we have educational seminars on different topics that affect families and our residents.

Little things can sabotage your efforts to slow down the clock.

It pretty much goes without saying that smoking cigarettes and frying your skin in the sun make you older, so kudos for quitting and slathering on the sunscreen religiously. But if you’re trying to turn down the clock – or at least slow it down a little – don’t overlook these other habits that may be sabotaging your efforts.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36851873/ns/heath-aging/