Category results for: Season 8


Is It Normal Aging or Signs of Dementia?

Category: Season 8

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Lynn James, MS, RDN, LDN, Senior Extension Educator with Penn State Extension

Lynn James provides educational programs for organizations and the community on improving nutrition, health, and
food safety. Her program focus is community nutrition research and program development in food and culture, family
chronic disease prevention, Type 2 Diabetes, and food safety.

Sara Murphy, Vice President for Programs and Services for the Greater PA Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association

Sara Murphy has a BS in nutrition/wellness, and experience in intergenerational programming and her certificate in
gerontology. Sara has worked in the long-term care industry with all levels of care from independent living residents to
memory care prior to her work with the Association.

Alzheimer’s and other dementias cause memory, thinking, and behavior problems that interfere with daily living. This program will help you to recognize common signs of Alzheimer’s and other dementias, learn about typical age-related changes. You’ll also receive tips on how to approach someone about memory concerns.

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Enhancing Senior Safety

Category: Season 8

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Trooper Jessica L. Tobin, Community Affairs Officer, Pennsylvania State Police

Trooper Tobin engages with community members and organizations to collaboratively identify and problem-solve local challenges to increase the safety of residents, visitors, and law enforcement. Community Affairs Officers strive to develop relationships within underserved communities across the commonwealth.

What are the best ways to protect yourself against theft and fraud? How can you identify scams that come to your home as innocent looking emails or friendly phone calls? Trooper Jessica Tobin, a Community Affairs Officer with the Pennsylvania State Police will help you learn to recognize common signs of scams and frauds and shares some good agencies to notify when this issue occurs.

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The Four Ms of Age Friendly Care

Category: Season 8

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Jenny Knecht-Fredo, Advanced Care Practitioner

Jenny earned a dual master’s degree in Family Nurse Practitioner Studies and Nursing Education from The Pennsylvania State University. Jenny has extensive experience in geriatrics, endocrinology, hospice, wellness health evaluations, and clinical instruction. Jenny is passionate about patient empowerment and clinical policy development to improve geriatric health outcomes.

A movement to create Age-Friendly Health Systems is underway in the United States. The goal is to create health systems that ensure every older adult receives the best care possible, is not harmed by care, and is satisfied with the care they receive. Using the 4Ms framework brings focus to What Matters, Medication, Mental Activity, and Mobility. When put into practice, this framework can help you manage your health in ways that are unique to you. 

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Reducing Your Risk of Osteoporosis

Category: Season 8

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Katherine French, MS, RD, LDN

Katherine is a Registered Dietitian and is an Extension Educator for Penn State Extension. Katherine
conducts educational presentations in the areas of Food, Families and Health on a variety of nutrition and
health topics.

Laurie Welch, MPH, MCHES

Laurie Welch is a certified public health educator and is an Extension Educator for Penn State Extension.
Laurie also conducts educational presentations in the areas of Food, Families and Health on a variety of
nutrition and health topics.

Osteoporosis is a disease that weakens bones and can result in painful fractures. Learn about the disease, risk factors, and ways to reduce your risk through a variety of lifestyle changes. This talk offers tips for preventing, managing, and improving bone health for those at risk or diagnosed with osteopenia or osteoporosis. 

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Evaluating Dietary Supplements for Seniors

Category: Season 8

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Lynn James, MS, RDN, LDN, Senior Extension Educator with Penn State Extension

Lynn James provides educational programs for organizations and the community on improving nutrition, health, and food safety. Her program focus is community nutrition research and program development in food and culture, family chronic disease prevention, Type 2 Diabetes, and food safety.

Did you know seniors can be at risk for spending their limited income on supplements they might not even need? Dietary supplements aren’t regulated like foods, and some can be unsafe and/or not do what they promise. We’ll help you determine whether a supplement has been found to be effective and safe and identify sources of credible information for dietary supplements.

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Don’t get “Bugged,” Keep Foods Safe

Category: Season 8

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Sharon McDonald, MEd, RD, LDN

Sharon currently serves as an Extension Educator and Food Safety Specialist based at University Park. She holds a bachelor’s degree in nutrition and a master’s degree in education from the Pennsylvania State University. She is a registered dietitian with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and a licensed dietitian in the state of Pennsylvania.

Stacy Reed, MS

Stacy is an educator at Penn State Extension Lancaster County. She has a bachelor’s degree in Food Science and Nutrition Science and a master’s degree in Food Science from The Pennsylvania State University. Her job focuses on providing health and wellness and food safety education and technical support, outreach, and programming.

Are you at risk for food poisoning? Do you want to learn the keys to preventing foodborne illness? Don’t get “Bugged” in the Kitchen addresses food safety in your home. We’ll look at keeping food safe from purchase to preparation and beyond and places where problems may occur. Even if you have been preparing food your whole life and never gotten sick, it only takes one small misstep for a problem to occur!

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Protecting Yourself from Tick Bites

Category: Season 8

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Dr. Erika Machtinger, Assistant Professor of Entomology Pennsylvania State University

Dr. Erika Machtinger holds a B.S. from the University of Delaware in Wildlife Conservation and Ecology, and a M.S. and PhD in Entomology from the University of Florida. Her research on ticks and tick-borne diseases started at the USDA in Maryland developing area-wide tools to control ticks. Currently, Dr. Machtinger is focused on improving tick control tools that homeowners can use and understanding more about the behavior of ticks to develop new control tools. Dr. Machtinger is also the team leader for the vector-borne disease team at Penn State Extension. The focus of the team is reducing the risk of tick and tick-borne disease exposure to people and animals throughout the Commonwealth.

The best offense is a good defense! In this presentation, participants will learn about avoidance, prevention, and reduction–and how each of these steps can help reduce the risk of tick bites and tick-borne disease. We can’t always be in control of our environment, but there are many things that we can do to help prevent tick bites!

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Getting and Staying Fit

Category: Season 8

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Katherine French, MS, RD, LDN

Katherine is a Registered Dietitian and is an Extension Educator for Penn State Extension. Katherine
conducts educational presentations in the areas of Food, Families and Health on a variety of nutrition and
health topics.

Laurie Welch, MPH, MCHES

Laurie Welch is a certified public health educator and is an Extension Educator for Penn State Extension.
Laurie also conducts educational presentations in the areas of Food, Families and Health on a variety of
nutrition and health topics.

Getting and Staying Fit provides participants with tips and tools to start or continue a physical activity program. Aerobic activity, strength training, and balance are discussed, and educators will illustrate these various types of activities.

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Active Shooter Preparedness

Category: Season 8

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Corporal Brent Miller, Pennsylvania State Police

Corporal Brent Miller serves in the Communications Office with the Pennsylvania State Police. His responsibilities include organizing, preparing, and speaking at department press conferences, and answering media questions as they relate to department initiatives, major statewide incidents or events garnering national media attention.

Active shooter threats present unique challenges for those involved. Mental preparation and having a plan are vital to help you manage the situation. In this presentation, the Pennsylvania State Police offer tips that help individuals prepare for an active shooter situation. The discussion focuses on different mental strategies and response tactics, active shooter statistics, trends, and real incidents, and the basics of “Run, Hide, Fight.”

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Recreational Therapy Makes Life Worth Living

Category: Season 8

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Dr. Betsy Kemeny

Dr. Betsy Kemeny, the Recreational Therapy Program Director, is an Associate Professor of Recreational Therapy at SRU with more than 30 years as an educator and practitioner. For more than 20 years, she worked as a recreational therapist in geriatrics. After completely her bachelor’s degree at Wake Forest University with honors in Sociology and a masters in Therapeutic Recreation at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she gained experience at all levels of the older adult continuum including adult day care, skilled nursing, hospice, assisted living and outpatient rehabilitation.

Recreational therapy, also known as therapeutic recreation, is a systematic process that utilizes recreation and other activity-based interventions to address the assessed needs of individuals with illnesses and/or disabling conditions. For anyone interested, recreational therapy can be a means to psychological and physical health, recovery, and well-being.

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