Category results for: Season 7

Coronavirus and Older Adults

Category: Season 7

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Dr. John Goldman

UPMC Pinnacle

Dr. Goldman is Vice President, Designated Institutional Official for Graduate Medical Education, and an infectious disease specialist at UPMC Pinnacle. He leads and collaborates on UPMC’s response to COVID-19 in the southcentral Pennsylvania region. In addition, Dr. Goldman is a practicing physician at PinnacleHealth Medical Associates and consults for inpatient and outpatient care.

As you get older, your risk for severe illness from COVID-19 increases. Severe illness means that the person with COVID-19 may have a reduced quality of life, require hospitalization or intensive care, or even need a ventilator to help them breathe. By understanding the factors that put you at an increased risk, you can make decisions about what kind of precautions to take in your daily life. Dr. John Goldman, infectious disease specialist with UPMC Pinnacle, shares important information to keep you and your family safe and healthy.

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Pennsylvania State Parks and Forests Getting Involved!

Category: Season 7

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Marci Mowery, President

Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation

A native of Lancaster County, Marci Mowery spent her youth exploring the natural areas of the county and the mountains near the family camp, which shaped her future as a professional conservation leader. Her 27-year career spans various positions with the National Audubon Society and as President of the Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation. When not ‘speaking for the trees’, Marci enjoys exploring new places, trying new foods, and reading.

Pennsylvania’s state parks and forests provide a myriad of opportunities for engaging in the outdoors. Learn about the many values and benefits of spending time in the outdoors and explore easy ways to get involved in your local state parks and forests.

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Lottery Frauds & Sweepstakes Scams

Category: Season 7

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Mary Bach

Independent Consumer Advocate and Chair, AARP Pennsylvania Consumer Issues Task Force

Mary Bach is a nationally recognized, independent Consumer Advocate. She is also Chair of the AARP Pennsylvania Consumer Issues Task Force. She has taken her knowledge to many television outlets including the Today Show, Good Morning America, Donahue, and Dateline. She has also been featured in the pages of Good Housekeeping, Business Week, Money Magazine, USA Today, and the Wall Street Journal. Her work is centered around preventing fraud against older consumers.

That free, all-inclusive vacation —is it too good to be true? Did you really win a lottery you don’t remember entering? Are free contests really free? Pennsylvanians report more than 50,000 cases of fraud to the Federal Trade Commission each year. Don’t fall for these classic phone and mail scams. Get common sense advice and learn to spot “Red Flags” that will help protect you from consumer fraud.

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Sayings and Phrases

Category: Season 7

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Lou Thieblemont

Lou Thieblemont worked for 37 years as a commercial airline pilot. Since retirement, Lou has served as mayor, and is actively volunteering in his hometown of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. He has served as vice president of the Astronomical Society of Harrisburg and as a member of the board of directors of the Museum of Scientific Discovery in Harrisburg. When not in PA, Lou can be found giving his informative talks on cruise ships around the world.

Mind your own bee’s wax. Not enough room to swing a cat. Raining cats and dogs. We have all heard these old expressions. Take a fun journey discovering where many common phrases and sayings started, how they evolved and how the meanings have changed over the years. We will also look at the everyday use of some strange nautical terms. Can you fathom that?

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Video Games & Health Benefits for Seniors

Category: Season 7

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Michael Sommerville, Jr.

Communications Specialist Center for Positive Aging in Lower Merion (PALM)

Mr. Sommerville has been programming computers since the age of 5 and was introduced to gaming at the age of 10. Honing his skills and earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Sciences, Mike would later become an Applications Developer creating business and educational computer programs as well as his own video games.

Video games have become a beautiful art of expression as well as a fun activity for all ages! While they have long been the topic of debate and speculation did you know that video games can help improve many aspects of your health? Gaming is no longer regarded as solely a child’s activity or a waste of time. Find out how today’s video game can offer benefits for everyone-especially seniors!
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Tips to Help You Save on Your Energy Bills

Category: Season 7

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Shari A. Williams & Christina Chase-Pettis

Senior Communications Specialists, Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission

Over the last 24 years, Shari has provided advanced professional public relations work, consumer education and public outreach to Pennsylvania consumers. Additionally, Shari participates in the PUC’s overall communications strategy, specifically related to consumer education and outreach.

Christina is a seasoned and highly respected consumer education leader with over 20 years of experience providing consumer education, outreach and training programs to thousands of consumers, human service agencies and other interested stakeholders throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Do you want to learn about the many Utility Programs and Services offered by your local Utility Company as well as ways you can save money on your home energy bills? Join us with presenters from the PA PUC’s Consumer Education and Outreach Team to learn about these valuable programs – and to find out about low cost/no cost conservation tips to help you save on your energy bills!

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What Time is It?

Category: Season 7

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Lou Thieblemont

Lou Thieblemont worked for 37 years as a commercial airline pilot. Since retirement, Lou has served as mayor and is now actively volunteering in his hometown of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. He has served as vice president of the Astronomical Society of Harrisburg and as a member of the board of directors of the Museum of Scientific Discovery in Harrisburg. When not in PA, Lou can be found giving his informative talks on cruise ships around the world.

A fun, fast moving discussion on how we measure time and how our present calendar has been developed over the ages. Learn how the Earth’s orbit makes timekeeping very difficult and discover why George Washington’s birthday may not be on the day we think it is.

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Gerrymandering 101

Category: Season 7

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Justin Villere

Justin Villere is the Managing Director of Draw the Lines PA, a project by the Committee of Seventy. Justin has managed projects with Seventy since 2016, including Draw the Lines since its launch. His background in civic engagement started as a two-time AmeriCorps alumnus. He has a Master’s in Public Administration from Cornell University and a B.A. from the University of Colorado.

Are you dismayed by dysfunction in Washington and Harrisburg, unable to pass legislation that even the vast majority of people support? One of the primary causes is gerrymandering, which is the common practice of drawing election maps in a way that distorts district lines to favor one political party or set of candidates. Hear from Draw the Lines PA, which is a nonpartisan, nonprofit project that aims to engage Pennsylvania’s voters in understanding how gerrymandering undermines our democracy.

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Safety Sense During the Pandemic and Beyond

Category: Season 7

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Juliet Altenburg RN, MSN

Juliet is the Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Trauma Systems Foundation (PTSF). PTSF oversees hospitals that are trauma centers in Pennsylvania. She regularly works with hospital staffers confronting the stress of caring for patients while trying to protect themselves and their families from COVID-19.

As a nurse, Juliet will share the latest status of the COVID-19 pandemic locally and nationally and offer important considerations groups should keep in mind as they plan to resume in-person activities together.

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Current Color: A Year on the River

Category: Season 7

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Diana Thomas

Pennsylvania artist Diana Thomas studied fashion illustration at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. She has been self-employed for 35 years as a graphic artist, illustrator, needle craft designer, and designer for craft books and magazines. She is also a greeting card illustrator and drawing instructor for children and adults.

Diana presents the artistic life lessons learned while tackling a personal commitment to paint a scene from the Susquehanna River every week for an entire year. Diana credits this unusual work with being instrumental in helping her navigate troubled waters, including the tragic deaths of her daughter and her daughter’s mate to heroin addiction during that year.

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Advance Care Planning

Category: Season 7

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Dr. Vipul Bhatia

Vipul Bhatia is the Medical Director for Continuing Care Services at WellSpan Health. Dr. Bhatia provides system leadership for organizational efforts in the areas of population health through advancement of clinically integrated network strategy; skilled nursing preferred partnership efforts; and palliative care and hospice strategy. He is the clinical lead for WellSpan’s Horizon Planning®, and also serves as Medical Director for WellSpan’s Connected Care at Home program.

Advance Care Planning is not just about old age. At any age, a medical crisis could leave you too ill to make your own health care decisions. Even if you are not sick now, developing an advanced care plan and making health care plans for the future are important steps toward making sure you get the medical care you would want, even when doctors and family members are making the decisions for you. It is important to have a conversation, regardless of age, about your wishes with your loved ones and your primary care provider. Knowing your preferences might take some of the burden off family and friends.

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Service Dogs: Helping to Change Lives

Category: Season 7

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Deb Tack, Susquehanna Service Dogs, Executive Director

Deb ensures that SSD’s mission to increase the independence of those in our community and surrounding area by training and placing highly skilled service dogs is met with the highest of standards. With SSD’s staff of 12 and over 325 volunteers by her side, she loves being a part of helping dogs change lives.

Kelsey Parsons, Susquehanna Service Dogs, Service Dog Training Director

Among many other responsibilities, Kelsey oversees SSD’s advanced training program – training advanced tasks, assisting in matching dogs with partners on our waiting list, and ensuring SSD’s service dogs meet the standards set by Assistance Dogs International. Kelsey graduated from the Karen Pryor Academy (KPA) and is a KPA Certified Training Partner. Kelsey is also an SSD volunteer puppy raiser.

Assistance dogs give people the confidence to live more independently and do things they didn’t think were possible. Susquehanna Service Dogs raises, trains, and places service dogs and hearing dogs, as well as facility dogs to assist children and adults with disability to become more independent. Learn about what goes into training dogs to assist their partners to live full, rich, meaningful lives.

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Eisenhower National Historic Site VIRTUAL TOUR

Category: Season 7

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Daniel J. Vermilya, National Park Service Ranger

Daniel Vermilya is a park ranger at the Eisenhower National Historic Site, in Gettysburg, PA. He joined the National Park Service in 2010, and has previously worked at Antietam National Battlefield, Monocacy National Battlefield, and Gettysburg National Military Park.

The Eisenhower National Historic Site in Gettysburg, PA, preserves the only home that Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower ever owned. Purchased in 1950, the Eisenhowers used their Gettysburg home throughout their time in the White House, with their peaceful farm serving as a getaway from Washington, D.C., as well as an idyllic spot to bring world leaders to forge better connections between the U.S. and the rest of the world. Join Ranger Dan Vermilya for this program exploring the Eisenhower National Historic Site and its significance in the lives of Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower. This program will include both historic and modern photographs taking visitors through the grounds and buildings of the Eisenhower National Historic Site.