Article provided by: Cancer Treatment Centers of America at Southwestern Regional Medical Center.
Tulsa, OK

As seniors draw closer to retirement, being strong and as healthy as possible to enjoy their new “free time” becomes ever more important.
According to Dr. Sagun Shrestha, a medical oncologist at Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Tulsa, you are never too old make a few lifestyle changes to improve your daily health and help reduce the risks of future illness, including cancer. She recommends: Lather up.
From gardening to shopping, use 30 SPF or higher sunscreens. Broad spectrum lotions protect you from the sun’s harmful UVB rays. 1
Load up on fruits & veggies.
Eating brightly colored vegetables, berries and fruits is helpful in maintaining a healthy weight and contributes to lowering your risk of some cancers by as much as 30 percent2! So fill your grocery basket with fresh fruits, seek out seasonal berries, and order a side of veggies with your next lunch or dinner.
Keep moving.
Did you know that up to one-third of cancers may be prevented by just staying fit? That doesn’t mean you have to sign up for a marathon (unless you want to), but you should get moving for at least 30 minutes a day3. Find something you enjoy, grab a friend and get moving.
Drink up.
Staying hydrated benefits every organ of your body and has also been known to help you stay more trim. According to scientific reports from the American Institute for Cancer Research/World Cancer Research Fund International, drinking coffee in moderation may help to lower the risk for two cancers, endometrial and liver4. Follow that during the day with several glasses of water and your body will thank you.
Make a date…with your health care provider.
Just as important as planning a family birthday or holiday get-together, you should make a date with your health care provider for regular check-ups. Routine medical exams increase your chances for early detection of cancer or other health problems and provide a good time for updated information on prevention steps and screenings.
Ready, set, go!
Dr. Shrestha encourages her patients to take “baby steps” when implementing a new, healthy change. “Set a reasonable goal and stick to it,” she adds. “And, if it’s too much of a challenge, revise your plan with a smaller step. The most important thing is to at least start making healthier options.”
To learn more about cancer prevention, visit cancercent.com/tulsa.

Article by Nikki Buckelew, Buckelew Realty Group’s Mature Moves Division with Keller Williams Realty. www.okcmaturemoves.com

In generations past, there simply weren’t many options when it came to where one would live out their retirement years. In fact, there were basically three choices: 1) Stay put in your own home, 2) live with your kids, or 3) move to a nursing home when “it was time.”
The landscape has certainly changed significantly in the last decade. Not only are people living longer, but retirees have more options than ever before as it relates to housing options. So many choices it can make your head spin!
Fewer people as of late are opting to stay in a home that is too large, too costly, or losing value due to neighborhood decline. Even fewer are electing to move in with their adult children. More and more seniors are taking a proactive approach concerning their retirement lifestyle, with the trend toward community living designed to support and encourage the independent lifestyle they value.
The new normal
Included in the available stock of senior living options are upscale luxury apartments catering to the active 55 and older crowd, as well as all-inclusive resort style properties resembling a cross between 5-star hotels and country clubs. Private residences including duplexes, cottages, garden homes, and villas are also on the rise, boasting neighborhood club houses with fitness and media rooms, walking paths, organized activities and trips, and more. All this and they even take care of your yard and maintenance.
For those needing a bit slower pace and maybe even a little help from time to time, there are supportive housing communities designed to help people remain autonomous and independent by providing non-medical assistance. Key attractors to these communities include 2-3 prepared meals a day, housekeeping services, rides to the doctor and local retail and grocery stores, and 24-hour concierge access. When needed, many of these communities can provide or arrange for assistance with dressing, bathing, and medications.
Of course there are still the communities equipped to care for those with chronic medical or mental illnesses or degenerative diseases. Unlike the independent and assisted living communities mentioned above, however, these longterm care facilities are ‘chosen’ by default only after other options have been ruled out.
Comparing options can be complicated
With all these options, especially the all-inclusive ones, the challenge is figuring out which communities have what you are looking for. More importantly, what services are offered and what the fees include. Each development has varied unit sizes and meal options, as well as ever-changing, healthcare options and activity programming.
Ownership may belong to a for-profit enterprise or operated by a not-for-profit organization. Some are affiliated with churches, universities, and local municipalities and each has it’s own unique philosophy of property management.
Taking proactive steps
The key to finding the right fit is investigating the various options available well in advance – long before you are ready to make a change. By doing so, you remain in the driver’s seat when it comes to your lifestyle choices, rather than leaving it to chance (or up to your kids).
Fortunately, senior adults have a variety of free educational opportunities in the metro area to choose from when it comes to learning the ins and outs of 55+ living options. Some events are hosted by senior living communities who offer optional campus tours directly following the educational program and others are held in event centers. The goal of these organizations and associated expert speakers is to help older adults and their trusted advisors navigate the sea of information related to senior living.

Below is a list of a few upcoming events (advanced registration required):

Candid Conversations: Senior Living Options – Epworth Villa Retirement Community – August 15th at 10am RSVP: 405-752-1200
How to Pay for Senior Living – Spanish Cove Retirement Village – August 31st at 10am RSVP: 405-354-5906
The Truth About Senior Living – OptionsMAPS3 Health & Wellness Center – September 14th at 10am & 2pm RSVP: 405-563-7501
Getting Real About Real Estate after Retirement – Concordia Life Care Community – October 24th at 2:30pm RSVP: 405-437-1414

Victoria Burdine was not raised with her grandparents. They were deceased, she said, regarding her childhood in Louisiana. Burdine always was the family member who cleaned house and cared for elderly people in her neighborhood in a little town named Rayne.
“I enjoyed it,” said Burdine, LPN, ADON and wound care nurse at Tuscany Nursing Center in Oklahoma City.
Burdine has been a nurse since 2009 and has always served in long-term care. She was a proud CNA for 15 years. Becoming a CNA was a smooth adjustment for Burdine after cleaning neighbors’ homes and running errands at the store for them.
“That’s my passion. A grandmother I could talk to and a grandmother — I didn’t have that,” she said. “So I take these residents here as my grandparents.”
She began working at Tuscany Nursing Center on the day it opened. There was one resident and Burdine was working the night shift, she said. Burdine was the LPN on the floor, and four months later she was asked to become the wound nurse. In early July she added the credential of certified wound nurse to her resume. Certification required rigorous study and taking a test.
“I started at 7 p.m. Sunday night and finished at 3 a.m. in the morning,” Burdine said. “So I am a board certified wound nurse.”
There were a lot of things she was already doing as a wound nurse, but she also learned a lot, she said. The extra education was valuable for her and also added job security to her career, she said.
Burdine said she admires that the nursing staff works well together as a team. At 3 p.m. everyday a few of the residents join her in her office for coffee and cookies. She loves it and said there is something about them that reflects her passion for the elderly.
Residents are of all ages. Some of them are in their 30s and 40s and she loves them, too. Some have been in accidents.
“You never know. It’s sad. I have a few that’s younger than me,” she said. “It is true that back in the day our grandparents would be in a nursing home, but these days it’s really young people, too.”
Burdine said it’s important to let the residents have choices. If they don’t feel like taking a bath at a certain time they can choose a later time.
“If there are certain things they want to eat – let them do it,” she said. “Just give them that freedom of choice. That plays an important role.”
Every once in a while Burdine will work in the skilled nursing unit when needed. Skilled nurses need to pay attention to detail and understand their role as a nurse, she said.
“There’s some hard work back there,” she said.
For long-term care a nurse needs to be compassionate, Burdinecontinued. Nurses without compassion and a love for their job will burnout and not make it in the industry.
“I love my job and I’m very compassionate,” Burdine said. “There’s things I do for a couple of people out of my pocket. Ladies like wigs. They like makeup. Some of them do have family and their family does not come. So I take out of my money and I buy them what they want.”
“If you’re here for the money it’s the wrong place to be.”
One of the residents has a 90-year-old mom that called Burdine from Las Vegas. She wanted to say how appreciative she is of Burdine for taking the time for her daughter to pay attention to small things.
“That means a lot,” Burdine said. “In my mind, the one thing I keep saying is, ‘This may be me one day.’ You know I wish somebody would take the time out if that happens to be me.”
“I want that same person like I am today to be caring. Take a little minute and just listen.”
Burdine tells the CNAs that the residents could be their kids. Across the U.S. nurses and CNAs need to stop what they’re caught up in life and pay more attention to detail, she said.
“Just listen because really that’s all they want you to do,” Burdine said. “So I always say this could be me.”
Currently Burdine is also caring for her mother who came to Oklahoma from Louisiana. She visits Burdine in the summertime.
When returning to Tuscany Village her residents are glad to see her. One of the residents called her at home and Burdine was happy to bring her a hamburger.

St. Anthony Hospital is pleased to welcome Shoaib Ahmad, M.D., to St. Anthony Physicians Group Pulmonary Medicine.
Dr. Ahmad is board certified in pulmonary medicine. He earned his medical degree from Nishtar Medical College in Pakistan, and completed a residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in pulmonary and critical care medicine, at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.
Dr. Ahmad’s office is located at 608 N.W. 9th St., Suite 3110, in Oklahoma City. To schedule an appointment please call 405-772-4400.

Photography and Text by Terry “Travels with Terry” Zinn t4z@aol.com

Having recently returned from a trip of a lifetime, in 1980 touring of ancient Egypt icons, I found exotic culture back home in Colony, Oklahoma at the annual Cheyenne and Arapaho Labor Day Powwow.
As I reported in 1981, “Faces of men painted red and yellow, and brown bodies clad in numerous combinations of colors, feathers, and animal skins rhythmically dance out of the dark and into a dimly lit clearing beneath a giant canopy of cottonwoods.”
“Ladies in pure white buckskin proudly keeping in step as their shawls and fringe swing hypnotically in the moon light. Very young braves of 7 or 8 years, dressed in colorful fancy dance dress feathers join in the ways of their elders.”
As a result, I humbly photographically documented the weekend, and returned two more Labor Day weekends to try and capture the thrill and unique authentic Cheyenne Arapaho offering. While most of the dances are held at night, and with the movement of the dancers I could not use dim available light but had to use flash for my black and white negative exposures. The challenge was not to invade or disturbed the reverential dance with the bright flash in the darkness of night, but it was the only way to get an acceptable photograph. I guess I accomplished my goal as I was not admonished for my flash.
This Labor Day Colony’s Native American powwow homecoming continues as it has each year since the end of World War II with added interests. This year the Colony Gallery of the Plains Indian will host two photographic exhibitions of Native Americans proud of their heritage. The Gallery has always encouraged Native American art and artists. The Gallery is reborn with the showing of The Last Powwow ~ the result of my three-year visits ~ and Red Earth Spirit, ~ formal double exposure color photographs made during the Oklahoma City Red Earth Festival. While many of these images have been in exhibitions during the 1980s this is the first time since then that some are on public view. Some have never been seen before as the complete portfolios are too large to mount in one exhibition.
After seeing The Last Powwow exhibition at the Center of the American Indian back in 1983, the then Director of Photography, L.L. Smith, at the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center, endorsed the exhibit when he wrote, “I was most impressed with the quality of your work and the dignity of your subjects. Your devotion over the years to this event is quite evident in your work. As a cultural document, I believe certain prints will stand the test of time.”
The renovated petite Gallery of the Plains Indian and the historic town of Colony is a treat to those travelers willing to turn off Interstate 40 at Weatherford and head south.
Justice Yvonne Kauger, a native of Colony, had long wanted a small gallery in Colony to exhibit Indian art and in particular Cheyenne Arapaho artists which would coincide with the annual powwow. The gallery building on the main street was built by her Grandfather, Fred Kauger in 1923 and served as post office until 1960 when it was used for storage..
Through the efforts of Yvonne’s parents, John and Alice Kauger, and family and friends, the old stucco structure was remodeled into a functional art gallery. The gallery had its first showing in 1981. Both exhibits this year are dedicated to Yvonne, John and Alice Kauger and all who help preserve and promote Indian heritage.
“I grew up to the sound of the powwows as a little girl,” Yvonne Kauger explains, “My father was raised by Cheyenne nannies and had a very deep respect for the Cheyenne which he passed on. In fact, until the sixth grade I thought I was Indian.”
In 1984, the Cheyenne-Arapaho adopted Yvonne Kauger as a member of the Standing Bird Clan.
Since the late 1880’s this area has been the tribal land of the Cheyenne-Arapaho Indians. Just west of Cobb Creek, teepees were first erected in a hardy grove and became home and gathering place for the Cheyenne-Arapaho powwow.
Colony’s Mayor Lonnie Yearwood is an active member of the community and an integral part in the rebirth of Colony with restoration projects. One project is the corner building in Colony which is destined to become a museum, and another is the Church Parsonage, a two-story stone structure from 1897.
Mayor Yearwood’s great grandfather John Seger, brought the Cheyenne-Arapahos to Colony to establish an Indian school.
“My great grandfather wanted a post office in Colony in 1896,” says the Mayor, “But there already was a post office west of here, and it was called Seger. If that was not already established the town might have been called Seger instead of Colony, as it was known as John Seger’s Colony.”
The Mayor continues, “Colony has more history than any other town in the county, as Colony started before there was an official county.”
Colony is in a renaissance with not only the Mayors projects but some homes are also being restored, upgraded and preserved. Someday the restoration projects may be on a town tour. The Mayor may be reached by email for more information on the town and the gallery accessibly during the Labor Day Weekend powwow.
Mayor Lonnie Yearwood: yrwd19@gmail.com
Since the authentic powwow activities, dance and singing, continues deep into the night, a planned overnight stay in Weatherford, Oklahoma is recommended.
I plan to be in attendance, not only at the gallery but at the powwow grounds. For a gallery appointment time email me before August 29. I continue my enthusiasm as I reported in my 1981 article, “Had I secretly crept upon this trial meeting on the great western plains of Oklahoma some hundred years ago, I could not have been more excited!”

Mr. Terry Zinn – Travel Editor
Past President: International Food Wine and Travel Writers Association
http://realtraveladventures.com/author/zinn/
http://www.examiner.com/travel-in-oklahoma-city/terry-zinn
www.new.okveterannews.com – www.martinitravels.com

story and photo by Traci Chapman

As healthcare becomes more complex and treatment more expensive, patients of all ages and conditions have found themselves in a no man’s land where they find more questions than answers.
That’s where care management can lift the mists obscuring the answers those patients – and their families – are searching for, helping them improve their health, while avoiding at least some of the stressors that come with high medical bills and navigating the healthcare system.
What is care management?
Case managers are tasked with helping patients, caregivers and families find the most effective way to manage health conditions, while also focusing on potential medical cost savings. Several studies found in the U.S. National Library of Medicine, overseen by the National Institutes of Health, concluded care management can improve patients’ quality of care in the long-term, as well as positively impacting the cost of that care.
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center Fran and Earl Ziegler College of Nursing’s Care Management program has been providing community-based healthcare management services since 1995.
Seniors and Disabled Patients
OU’s Nursing Care Management program provides care management services to patients of all ages, conditions and income levels. For Karissa Maddox, RN, BSN, CMC, many of the people she’s spent the last 15 years of her career treating and guiding through the healthcare maze are seniors, elderly and disabled individuals who are deemed ADvantage-eligible by Oklahoma Department of Human Services. Maddox is also the program’s private care management services supervisor.
Oftentimes, multiple doctors treat patients, who also might be facing a myriad of conditions. That’s where a case manager comes in, serving as a central information hub and helping to coordinate care, Maddox said.
“It just relieves the stress and helps the family try to live a normal life, especially if loved ones live at a distance,” she said. “We are often the ‘professional advocate’ helping manage care – while communicating with family members and providers, in addition to coordinating all health care needs.”
OU Nursing case managers first provide an assessment, allowing them a comprehensive look not only into a patient’s medical issues, but also other challenges facing that patient – and their family. As hospital stays get shorter, Maddox said these assessments are crucial, providing the proper care plan and a bridge to medical providers, while also allowing patients to save money.
“You see the education you provide, the stability you provide – and being an advocate for them is huge,” she said. “Sometimes people don’t have anybody else to speak for them.”
OU Nursing Care Management has four office locations in Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Lawton and Elk City, providing services across Oklahoma to patients and their families.
Maternity Coaching and Education
OU Nursing recently unveiled new services geared specifically for pregnant women and new or expectant parents. This service provides supportive coaching and education to clients to help with the life transitions that come with the addition of a new baby, their communications with health care providers — also helping them to determine the best resources for their individual needs.
“The focus is on the client and personalized according to what is most important to her,” said Margaret Back, RN RLC, ANLC, maternity coach and consultant. “The tailored plans and education materials prepare the client to anticipate changes and to minimize the stress of transitioning through the stages of pregnancy and the ‘4th Trimester’ of life with a new baby.”
Services also benefit anyone feeling overwhelmed or uncertain about maternity health-related issues, Back said. “New or single parents working through the transition back to work and adoptive parents or grandparents caring for their grandchildren can also find support, guidance and assistance,” she said.
While services offered by Maternity Coaching and Education are not a substitute for a doctor, midwife, lactation consultant, childbirth educator, therapist or doula, those will be accessible to participants, Back said. It offers Bump to Baby & Beyond Bundles, as well as a la carte options, all designed for flexibility and to address the changing needs of individuals and families, both during pregnancy and after childbirth.
“I am very excited about the opportunity to share the knowledge and experience I have acquired during the past 30 years as a nurse,” said Back. “I truly enjoy helping expectant mothers and new parents navigate through the exciting but sometimes overwhelming transition to parenthood and newborn care.”
Teri Round, MS, BSN, RN, NE-BC, executive director of clinical operations, cited OU Nursing’s multi-faceted approach to care management, which allows patients to move through every chapter of their life – and healthcare – with support and guidance.
“We have been in the business of providing care coordination for more than 20 years – Our case managers are experienced professionals who are able to care for others across their lifespan, but who specialize in the care of seniors and helping them age in place,” Round said. “We have developed other business lines, which work to support care transitions using CTI, an evidence-based model that helps individuals control their chronic conditions at home versus hospitalization or ER; with OU Physicians in the Bedlam L Clinic, in a team effort to improve quality of life in those with little or no insurance and chronic conditions; private care management performing all of the above; and maternal-child health, our newest addition to our group of services.”
For more information or a professional consultation for private care management, contact Lisa Macias at 866-416-4980 or via email at lisa-macias@ouhsc.edu.

A special day long seminar will help persons losing their sight or blind and their families and friends. The Heartland Council of the Blind will present the Coping with Vision Loss Seminar on Saturday, August 19, 2017 in Oklahoma City.
Vice President of the Heartland Council of the Blind is Sandi Webster of Oklahoma City who lost her vision in 2002. Sandi said the seminar will provide essential tools and encouragement for persons losing their vision and their families and friends. “These people go through the stages of grief, but there is help,” Sandi said.
A previous seminar participant says she used the provided helps right away. “It was like attending a one stop shop. We met Vision, Mobility and Technology Specialists and were introduced to Support Systems. Break-out sessions are: Advocacy, Training for Family/Friends, Just for Men, Just for Women, Technology, Deaf/Blind Information and Visual Services Information. Cost of $20 for the seminar includes lunch, a Resources Notebook and a CD. Registration forms are available at www.hcbokc.org. Or register by calling Heartland Council of the Blind President Frances Poindexter at 405-642-1068. Registration must be received by Wednesday, August 16th. The seminar will be at the New Hope United Methodist Church at 11600 N. Council Rd., OKC, from 9 AM to 4 PM. Check-in begins at 8:30 AM.