On January 29, 2020 the Life Scholars Program 2019-2020 cohort got to visit the Gary and Mary West Center. This visit was especially exciting because the class finally got to see the venue for the senior prom that we have been planning for our group healthy aging project. The west center was very diverse, and there was a lot of thought put into the building. They wanted a lot of natural lighting to make it feel more like a college campus. They had a cyber center with many computers for seniors to use. I also really liked that they included affordable dental care (by accepting DentiCal). In USP 143, I learned that many people can die from tooth infections and that Medicare/Medicaid doesn't cover dental. We also learned that 40% of illnesses start in the mouth, which is something I've never heard of before. Before leaving, we got to serve lunch to the seniors. Some of us helped add food on the trays while most of us distributed to the waiting seniors at the table. I liked that we did this so that the seniors did not have to stand in line and wait, which could be very tiring. It was an easy but impactful way for us to help the guests of the West Center; if I didn't live so far I would like to volunteer again! One thing that stuck out to me was that many men insisted on the women being given food first before them.
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