Why is six scared of seven? Because seven eight nine! Week six was super packed with midterms, and I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that we’re halfway through week seven. Like a little reward at the end of my exam-heavy week, we put on the Love, Connect, Care event at the Gary and Mary West Senior Wellness Center this past Saturday. I was very happy to see that people were excited to use our “photo booth” area and that they enjoyed the props we brought. I also enjoyed seeing how the other activities came together, and that every single one of them was so well-received. Watching the elders get excited and competitive about the ring-toss and cornhole was also so much fun. I’m super glad that so many people stuck around for the raffle giveaway even though there was a bit of a language difficulty in explaining the raffle and prizes– Google Translate for the win! One woman approached a group of us at the end of the event to tell us how much she enjoyed herself and that she hoped we would be back next weekend. It was such a nice gesture and a great way to wrap up the day. :,) This morning we visited Barrio Logan to assess the community for age-friendliness. We used a checklist to look for elements that could help or hurt the experience of elders and people of all ages. We focused on outdoor spaces and buildings, including checking for walkability and accessible resources. In our walking group, we identified some potentially problematic areas, like lack of shaded, accessible seating, uneven pavement, and the absence of public restrooms. There were definitely positive aspects to the neighborhood as well, like many age-friendly buildings with ramps and some designated social areas. Professor Lewis’s insight about the neighborhood helped me utilize the “asset frame” and better understand the strengths of the community beyond the built environment, such as the camaraderie and resilient activism. Going into week 8, I’m excited to get going with the capstone project, finish reading Happiness is a Choice We Make, and see everyone in class on Wednesday!
This past Wednesday we visited the Gary and Mary West Senior Wellness Center! It was very exciting to not only be able to meet the others in person for the first time, but also to be out in the community. I have learned about the inequities in access to dental care in previous classes, so I was very pleasantly surprised to find out that the center houses its own dental clinic! I love how thoughtful the construction of the building is, especially the offices on the second floor. I have experienced having to walk across entire buildings to get from one medical service to another, and I can imagine how daunting that could be for someone who has never been in the space before and may not personally know the people they will be consulting. I think the idea of the “warm hand-off” from professional to professional is a really great concept that should be implemented in many more settings. Even in places like elementary schools, I think it creates a much more empathetic and inviting environment to be personally escorted to the destination, even if it is just down a hallway. The services of the center are designed to take into account so many different factors and perspectives of the needs of the elders they serve. It is so evident in the faces of the elders that the center creates a truly safe space. I am very excited for us to visit again next week for the Love, Connect, Care Event!
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Tiffany Nakajima Tiffany Nakajima is a Public Health major with a concentration in Epidemiology and with a minor in Archives
March 2022
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