Daily Living Centers of Oklahoma will celebrate 45 years of service to caregivers of elderly and disabled members of our community on Tuesday, October 22nd from 11:30-1:00 p.m.
With four locations, Daily Living Centers stands apart as an affordable non-residential facility that supports the health, nutritional and social needs of adults in a professionally staffed group setting. DLC is an alternative to long-term care solutions such as an assisted living center or nursing home.
“I’m passionate about helping caregivers in our community,” said Daily Living Centers Board Chairperson, Ellyn Hefner. “They provide a service that goes unseen, and having a place where caregivers can take their loved ones while they go to work or run errands is vital.”
The Anniversary Celebration will be held at Daily Living Centers Rockwell location at 3000 N Rockwell Ave., Bethany, OK 73003. The event is free to attend, but guests are asked to RSVP by October 18.
Founded in 1974 as a therapeutic day care center for impaired, homebound and elderly people, DLC is the oldest and largest adult day health care organization in Oklahoma. Because of DLC, caregivers can hold jobs, safeguard their own mental health and maintain a sense of normalcy in their own lives knowing their loved ones are well-cared for at DLC.
Daily Living Centers of Oklahoma is an adult day health non-profit organization offering affordable non-residential facilities that support the health, nutritional and social needs of disabled or elderly Oklahomans in a professionally staffed group setting. For more information please visit, www.dailylivingcenters.org.

www.guardianangelsokc.com

The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL), the leading association for long term and post-acute care, recently held its 70th Annual Convention & Expo at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. Representatives from Golden Age Nursing Facility of Guthrie, Oklahoma were on hand to accept the Silver – Achievement in Quality Award during the National Quality Award Ceremony on October 15, 2019. This year, more than 800 member centers across the nation were recognized with a Quality Award, including 615 Bronze, 184 Silver and an elite group of five at the Gold level. Golden Age Nursing Facility was distinctive as the only facility in Oklahoma to receive the Silver Award this year. The Silver Award is the second of three progressive award levels through the National Quality Award Program, honoring association members that have demonstrated their commitment to improving quality of care for seniors. The Bronze – Commitment to Quality Award was earned by Golden Age in 2017.
The National Quality Award Program, which AHCA/NCAL established in 1996, is based on the core values and criteria of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program. The Baldridge program helps organizations in different business sectors improve and achieve performance excellence. As a recipient of the Silver – Achievement in Quality Award, Golden Age may now move forward in developing approaches and achieving performance levels that meet the Gold – Excellence in Quality Award criteria.
Care Providers Oklahoma President and CEO Nico Gomez said he was glad Golden Age Nursing Home is being recognized for their hard work and dedication to resident care. “The staff at Golden Age Nursing is delivering excellent care and raising the bar for quality services,” said Gomez. “Their residents are benefiting from the staff’s hard work and receiving a better quality of life.”
“We are proud of our Golden Age team,” said Golden Age administrator Linda Smith. “They have shown the dedication and motivation it takes to achieve such a prestigious distinction. Our team will continue to provide compassionate care and services to our residents, families and the community we are blessed to serve.”

www.meadowlakesretirementvillage.com

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

On November 17, 2019, Colony Community in Action, L.L.C., will host preview II, an exhibition of works to be displayed at The Sovereignty Symposium 2020 by Oklahoma Artists, Patrick Riley and Jim Van Deman. The exhibition will be held from 2:00-4:00 pm in the Kauger Building in downtown Colony, Oklahoma. Refreshments will be served. Everyone is invited to attend. This event is an example how Colony, Oklahoma is turning into at Art Colony.
The repainted Kauger Building and the old Payne’s Store building host murals by Comanche artist, Eric Tippeconnic. “The Hunt” and “The Horse Capture” are featured on the store building and “The Grand Entry” has been started on the Kauger Building. It also boasts “Colony 1886” completed in 1994, and refreshed by Patrick Riley and the people of the community in 2017. The names of some of the helpers are included in the mural, giving it a real home town feel.
Patrick Riley is a nationally recognized artist and art educator. He has maintained a strong and expressive visual arts career and artist/teacher career and has taught students of all grade levels. He has completed residencies focused on many disciplines including pottery, drawing, printmaking, painting, sculpture, leather masks, and totems. In 2012, he completed a 28-foot-tall stainless steel mask sculpture of an eagle for the Oklahoma Judicial Center in Oklahoma City. In 2010, he designed a special leather mask that was gifted by the Ford Center of Oklahoma City to celebrity performer Lady GaGa. During his art career, he has exhibited masks in many galleries throughout the United States including New York City and Washington D. C.
Jim Van Deman, great grandson of Black Beaver, depicts his Delaware heritage and other American Indian subjects in a broad range of creations from impressionist to mainstream abstract paintings. He is also known for his handcrafted flutes, unique banjos, and American Indian hand drums. He was recently honored as the “2016 Red Earth Honored One.” In addition to creating art and instruments, Van Deman is also an aspiring writer, with many short stories and poems to his credit, with several novels in the works as well. Both Van Deman and Riley are schedule to be in attendance.
Additional art can be seen next door in the old historic renovated Colony Post Office which has been the Gallery of the Plains Indian for several years. The Old Post Office built in 1927, was used to store feed by Payne’s store for many years. It was given by John Kauger to his daughter, Yvonne. She converted it into the Gallery of the Plains Indian in 1982 and refurbished it in 2017. It is considered to be the genesis of The Red Earth festival held annually in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Before the Colony Gallery was establish, Yvonne Kauger held many Native American mini gallery exhibitions in her Edmond home.
Currently, the Gallery features a permanent exhibit of the Colony Pow Wow, by Terry Zinn, which was first exhibited in 1986, at the Omniplex in Oklahoma City, and dedicated to John and Alice Kauger by the photographer. His photographs of the Red Earth festival are also on display, by the difficult in the camera double exposure technique to illicit a spiritual nature. As a consequence of serendipity, Ann Shadlo, the mother of Harvey Pratt, appears in full regalia in one of the Pow wow photos.
Terry Zinn currently holds the distinct pleasure of being the only artist to have a permanent collection installed in the Gallery of the Plains Indian Art Gallery in Colony. Zinn is currently looking for a permanent home for his the other extensive Photographic portfolios of: the late Oklahoma International Artist, Harold Stevenson; Oklahoma Performer and Voice Professor, Florence Birdwell; and 4 seasons of 1980s Lyric Theater. His work has been exhibited in many Oklahoma venues including the State Capitol and has also appeared in many publications. His travel writing and photography were awarded recognition at both the 2004 and 2007 Travel Media Showcases.
In 1886, John Homer Seger brought the first Arapaho to Colony. The Cheyenne followed shortly thereafter. Ultimately, the federal government built a beautiful campus with over eighty structures for the first vocational agricultural school in the United States at Seger Colony which was completed in 1892. When the school closed in 1932, the Colony School District took over the site. It was one of the first entities to be placed on the National Historical Register. Today, only the water tower remains.
In the 1920s, Fred Kauger, a German from Russia immigrant who came to Colony in the 1890s, constructed several buildings on Seger Street. Today, only three of them remain. The reception is held in two of them with the Gallery of the Plains Indian next door in the old Post office.
Lonnie Yearwood, Colony Mayor and Great Grandson of John Homer Seger says, “Our goal is to renew a sense of community by attracting artists to use our town as a canvas, and as an inspiration for creativity.”

As you can see Colony, Oklahoma is turning into quite the destination for art and historical creations as an Art Colony. Colony, Oklahoma is only a short drive south of Weatherford, Oklahoma off Interstate 40.

Mr. Terry Zinn – Travel Editor
Past President: International Food Wine and Travel Writers Association
http://realtraveladventures.com/author/zinn/
www.okveterannews.com – www.martinitravels.com

Story by Darl DeVault and Robin Maxey

Caring for his mother, who provided one of the best starts in life he says, is routine at age 64 for Ted Cox, who set the record for the best hitting start in Major League Baseball. He moved from his family home in Midwest City he and his wife Debbie share, to a room in his mother’s home he grew up in 19 months ago to be her live-in caregiver.
His mother, Ernestine Cox, is 91 years old and legally blind. His father Virgil died in January of 2013 at 94.
Every day, Cox helps dress and feed her. His son Joe and his wife Samantha also aid in this effort. Cox usually prepares her to travel the two miles on the three days a week she receives dialysis at a center in Midwest City.
She receives physical therapy twice a week in the home and has difficulty remembering life’s details, such as taking her medicine. Some days Cox has to remind her of her schedule, such as when the nurse will arrive and the home health worker to bathe her.
Cox began as the caregiver to his parents by assuming these same duties for a year before his father died. He says he is happy to assume these duties, as his mother gave him one of the best starts any son could ask for in Midwest City in the early 1960s. His mother took him to practices when Cox started playing sports at seven years old.
“I can afford to take care of my mom while my wife Debbie since 1974 is much happier of the two of us to still be working.” Cox said recently. “My mom supported us kids in our sports and I had some baseball talent that allowed me to have a little more life experience than most. Giving her this personal care is all a part of being a good son to a loved one.”
Cox said every year during September, he hears from his circle of friends who remind him about his baseball record. This also makes him think how blessed his start in life was, with his mother’s support.
His mother made sure Cox made it to football and basketball practices before he settled on baseball. While learning to play baseball in school, he was also a three-sport star. He was the starting quarterback and point guard for his high school basketball team.
He became one of the best high school baseball players in Oklahoma by his senior year in 1973. His outstanding play on the Midwest City High School baseball team catapulted him into the Boston Red Sox farm system right out of high school.
There he was fortunate to have another mentor help him have a great start. Future National Baseball Hall of Famer Ted Williams, known as the greatest hitter ever in MLB history, taught him to hit even better.
Williams was a Red Sox special coach every Fall in the Florida Instructional League who showed Cox plenty of attention. Cox climbed the minor-league ladder, stepping up a class each year under Williams watchful eye.
“From first meeting Williams in 1974 at Fall Instructional (League) after first joining the Red Sox, the importance of those conversations really began during my first big league spring training in 1976,” Cox said last week. “Williams liked to hang out at the batting cages observing our swings, sometimes making really loud comments over the background noise.”
The legendary Williams’ suggestions had an immediate impact on the young athlete’s future. “Williams showed me and strongly suggested I try a couple of things,” Cox said. “Those tips certainly helped as I saw instant improvement in my ability to drive the ball into the outfield.”
He became a more productive and powerful hitter throughout his climb thanks to Williams’ coaching. At 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds by 1977, he evolved into a skilled hitter with a major-league swing with the help of coaches Williams and Johnny Pesky.
William “Ted” Cox started his MLB career for the Boston Red Sox with a best of all-time hitting performance in September of 1977. Cox established the MLB rookie debut hitting record by hitting safely in his first six at-bats in his first two games. Of the 19,000 players who have started MLB careers, his six consecutive hits at the start of his career is still the record for 150 years of organized baseball, 42 seasons later.
“Successful hitters have extraordinary eyesight, reflexes and reaction time to go with great hand-eye coordination,” Cox said. “But all that won’t get you on base unless you hit the ball. For that you need real major league coaching to help you develop a swing so fluid that every pitch they want to throw is your favorite pitch to hit.”
He went on the play five years and for two other teams, the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays. Forty-two years later Cox is retired and living in the family home he grew up in while taking care of his mother Ernestine in Midwest City.
Writer’s Note: In celebration of the Washington Nationals winning their first World Series in franchise history Wednesday night, Senior News and Living provides baseball fans the full story of Ted Cox’s historic first two games online in an expanded version of this story. Please go to okveterannews.com for full details of each of his first six hits.

story and photos by Bobby Anderson, Staff Writer

Winter is coming.
So are changes to virtually every Medicare plan as the annual enrollment window opens.
For several years, MCM Insurance has helped seniors in our community navigate what can be murky health care insurance waters as time ticks down on a decision they will have to live with for an entire year.
“The biggest thing we want seniors to know is that every plan changes in some way, every year,” said MCM owner Ginny Curtis. “They need to know what those changes are before they enroll or stay on the same plan. “They also need to make sure they’re not paying too much for the benefits.”
As 2019 begins to wind down, one of the most important times of the year for seniors is here. The Medicare Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) occurs annually from (Oct. 15-Dec. 7). AEP is a time in which current Medicare beneficiaries can choose to change part of their coverage. They can change their Medicare Advantage Plan (Part C) and/or Prescription Drug Plan (Part D). It’s a time to reevaluate based on their benefits, health, and finances. If they find a plan that is a better fit for their needs than their current plan, they can then switch to, drop or add a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan.
October 1 is the date consumers can start looking over new plans.
During AEP Curtis’ agency goes into overdrive to make sure that everyone that needs help facilitating the changes coming their way is reached.
“It’s very important to us that each person that comes through our agency chooses their plan based on their specific needs,” said Curtis. During an appointment with the agents from MCM, they will compare plans based on the customer’s list of medicines and doctors to narrow down which plan will cover all their needs the best.
In addition to individual appointments, MCM offers no-cost Navigating Through Medicare informational sessions around the metro.
The hour-long informational sessions allow people to become more familiar with the ins and outs of Medicare in a low-key setting.
“I think the big thing we focus on is people know why they made a decision or why they stayed,” said agent Jennifer Melton. “They need to know that.”
Melton recalled a recent conversation with a client who has had the same supplement and drug plan since turning 65.
“That’s OK, but it’s also problematic in that premiums for Part D can be over $100 whereas the average right now is just around $35. They just stay on that because they feel like that’s what they’re supposed to do,” she said.
Answering those questions and comparing plans is paramount.
“The cool part about dealing with a group like us is they can come in here without the fear of just being enrolled or sold something,” Melton said. “We consistently tell people ‘nope, that’s good, stay on that – even if they’re not our client.”
“I feel like it’s a safe place for them to come and say ‘I’ve been on this forever. Is this what I should be doing or do I need to do something different?”
While many appointments are scheduled in the comfort of client homes, Curtis staffs the office at 2232 W. Hefner Road in the Village so that clients can walk in anytime 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and speak with an agent directly without an appointment. During AEP they extend their hours.
Having those free conversations can take a load off of someone’s mind, especially when health care costs are eating into their retirement savings.
“You don’t want to change for the purpose of changing but when it comes to Advantage plans because the plans change and the drugs change every year they need to know the plan they’re going to be on next year will work as good as the plan this year and not all of them will do that,” Curtis said.
“That’s what I want, a whole bunch of savvy seniors that have done their research and know what they’re doing.”
MCM also has agents in Tulsa, Claremore and Lawton. You can reach the OKC office by calling 405-842-0494. You can also view their calendar and get more info on their website at www.mcmmedicare.com as well as www.navigatingthroughmedicare.info.

www.mcmmedicare.com

by Greg Schwem

Elizabeth Warren, exactly what do you eat for breakfast?
There must be something in your cereal, your eggs, your breakfast smoothie, or whatever it is you start your day with, that allows you to take selfies with strangers for four hours AFTER you’ve completed the stump speech that you hope propels you to the nation’s highest office in 2020.
If I posed for that many photos, my first act as president would be to lock myself in the White House, alone, and not come out for four years. Want my signature on a bill? Just slip it under the Oval Office door and wait patiently. Eventually, I’ll push it back out. Along with an executive order banning selfies.
In your case, calling the photos “selfies” is misleading, for it implies that every one of your fans held their own phones, extended their arms, took the pictures themselves, viewed them with disappointing looks and said, “Wait, can we do one more? In landscape mode?”
Your loyal subjects hand their phones to a staff member who takes the photos. Other celebrities use similar methods. Two years ago, I was one of 1,500 fans who waited in a Chicago bookstore for over three hours simply to meet and take a photo with Bruce Springsteen. A member of The Boss’ security team took my iPhone and held the photo button down continuously for about five seconds. I was left with 10 pics, including one of Springsteen welcoming his next fan while my rear end exited the stage. I deleted that one.
Truthfully, I’ve never understood the desire to take, and post, photos of oneself, regardless of the background or situation. Several times a year I open my social media feeds to find someone has snapped a “hospital bed selfie,” taken just before the subject sees an emergency room physician or undergoes an operation. Invariably, the photos are accompanied with text such as, “Guess where I am?” as if the hospital gown wasn’t a clue. Seriously, what kind of medication makes a person think, “Hmmm, I have a tube in my nose, a needle in my arm and all my body hair has been shaved. DAMN, I LOOK GOOD!”
But the chance to rub shoulders with celebrities and come away with proof is a different story. My Bruce pic is on my office wall and elicits cries of, “Whoa, you met Springsteen?” from most who see it. Mere seconds after taking the photo, I posted it to all my social media feeds and happily read the comments expressing awe and jealousy. I’m sure 1,499 others were doing the same thing that day.
So, Sen. Warren, I understand your strategy. The more pics of you floating around cyberspace with everyday Americans, the greater your likability. I doubt President Trump even knows what a selfie is. Then again, it’s impossible to snap a photo while simultaneously tweeting and golfing.
But senator, are you sure this is the right strategy? With all those people waiting in line, chances are excellent at least one of them is a pedophile, a Ponzi scheme creator or a future school shooter. In 1978, after serial murder John Wayne Gacy was arrested, a photo emerged of him posing with First Lady Rosalynn Carter, taken just seven months prior. Oops.
Of course, you can’t possibly know the backgrounds of everyone waiting to smile with you, but would that stop vicious memes from circulating? Would it stop the hosts at Fox News from plastering that photo onscreen every time they mention your name? Doubtful.
I have yet to decide who among the Democratic candidates will receive my vote. But Sen. Warren, I do admire your grass-roots approach, not to mention your stamina. If you win, thousands upon thousands of Americans will be able to say they met the president of the United States.
Let’s hope they all know how to back up their iPhones.
(Greg Schwem is a corporate stand-up comedian and author of two books: “Text Me If You’re Breathing: Observations, Frustrations and Life Lessons From a Low-Tech Dad” and the recently released “The Road To Success Goes Through the Salad Bar: A Pile of BS From a Corporate Comedian,” available at Amazon.com. Visit Greg on the web at www.gregschwem.com.) (c) 2019 GREG SCHWEM. DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, LLC

Two Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation scientists have received Merit Review Awards totaling $1.3 million from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Holly Van Remmen, Ph.D., and Tim Griffin, Ph.D., from OMRF’s Aging and Metabolism Research Program focus on a pair of diseases prevalent in aging veterans: age-related muscle loss and osteoarthritis, respectively.
Van Remmen, who chairs OMRF’s aging program, received $650,000 to continue an investigation into a potential therapy for age-related muscle loss called sarcopenia. No drug options currently exist to treat the condition, which causes muscle weakness and atrophy.
“Sarcopenia is a highly relevant problem for the veteran population, as more than half of all veterans are over age 60,” said Van Remmen. “The weakness associated with it contributes to falls and fractures, deconditioning, institutionalization, and contributes to obesity and diabetes. All of these could significantly improve with a treatment.”
In the lab, Van Remmen showed that a new therapy, CDN1163, was successful in elderly mice.
They studied mice until they were 26-28 months old—approximately equivalent to 70-plus human years. They observed those who did not receive the treatment had normal atrophy and weakness, but those who did receive it maintained considerably more muscle mass and muscle function.
“Now that we know the drug works, we need to develop a more efficient version. Once we have refined it, we can then start moving toward human trials,” said Van Remmen, who holds the G.T. Blankenship Chair in Aging Research at OMRF. “This is very promising and could make a real impact in improving quality of life for veterans.”
Griffin also received $650,000 for his work in developing a new clinical approach for people suffering from osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis.
There are no approved treatments for osteoarthritis, or OA, which stems from the loss of cartilage in joints and abnormal bone growth. About half all Americans develop painful OA during the course of their lifetime.
“There is an urgent need for OA care, and it’s even more pronounced in veterans,” said Griffin. “They have a higher rate of post-traumatic OA than the general population related to injuries and the physical nature of their service.”
Clinical studies show being physically active reduces OA pain and increases mobility. “And it doesn’t matter what kind of activity you do. It can be swimming, walking, aerobics or other activities,” he said. “Being active in any way you can shows benefits, and we aim to understand exactly how exercise works at a molecular level.”
Using this clinical knowledge, Griffin will study how exercise changes the metabolism of joint tissues to reduce pain and inflammation. This should allow them to develop options to give OA sufferers more ‘bang for their buck’ with therapy, he said.
Their findings could also provide safer alternatives to opioids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for reducing pain.
“Eventually we would love to treat the disease itself, but if we can efficiently reduce symptoms and pain, that would be a great interim success that could help veterans sooner rather than later,” said Griffin.