Nov 19

Dalia Cohen

Share the Love: Good nutrition helps older adults continue to live at home

Springwell is pleased to introduce Dalia Cohen, our new Director of Nutrition and our participation once again this year in the Subaru Share the Love Event! Dalia joins Springwell with more than 7 years’ experience working with older adults on nutrition, and she is a member of the Massachusetts Commission on Malnutrition Prevention Among Older [...]

Oct 24

Jay, with his volunteer, Don

Managing Finances is Less Stressful with Assistance

Jay fell in love with snow when he moved to Massachusetts from Arizona in 1980. He spent his career as a chef and especially enjoys preparing Mexican food with bold flavors. As Jay got older and faced some chronic health challenges, he retired on a fixed income.  With a tight budget, he used his maximum [...]

Sep 28

Nancy with her care advisor, Nicole

National Good Neighbor Day: Nancy’s Story

As each of us hurry through our days, it is easy to miss the opportunity to get to know an aging neighbor. Undoubtedly each senior citizen that you see quietly living nearby has a wealth of stories about the adventure of their life. Your neighbors’ stories will likely amaze you, bring a smile to your [...]

Sep 09

National Good Neighbor Day: Springwell Stories

Are there people in your neighborhood who have lived nearby for years but you haven’t had the opportunity to get to know? Everyone has an interesting story about their journey through life. At Springwell, each year we have the opportunity to hear thousands of stories, and as National Good Neighbor Day (September 28th) approaches, we [...]

Sep 05

Little Things Add up to Big Things

As we go through life, challenges that we least expect can become daunting.  While we can access medical care through insurance policies, programs and clinics, it is often the subtle or chronic physical and mental challenges that make other types of help valuable to improve safety and quality of life.   When informal supports are not [...]

Jun 15

Partnership with Simmons University benefits multiple generations

Simmons University School of Nursing students, Christina and Sarah, volunteer weekly at the Brookline Senior Center. These second-year students are two of twenty-three participating in a “Nutrition and Health Promotion service- learning seminar” this semester. Service-learning combines community service with academic instruction. The students’ volunteer work at the Springwell-operated senior community dining program in Brookline [...]

May 15

Malnutrition in the Elderly

Springwell’s Nutrition Program is helping seniors better understand the risks of malnutrition and make them aware of solutions to this common problem. Malnutrition is dangerous because it leads to bone loss which can trigger falls and fractures. Diets low in calcium, a lack of adequate sun and a sedentary lifestyle contribute to bone loss. Bone [...]

May 07

Why are we concerned about older drivers?

Debra A. Kerrigan, MS, OTR/L, from the Drive Safe Program at Newton Wellesley Hospital, visited Springwell to discuss ways to help seniors and their families understand if it is time to curtail or stop driving. While many older adults are safe drivers, the majority of older adults will outlive their ability to drive safely by [...]

Apr 24

Caring for LGBT Elders

Lisa Krinsky, LICSW, Director of the LGBT Aging Project at The Fenway Institute recently led a training to help Springwell staff maximize their professional capacity as an ally to LGBT elder adults. Clips from Gen Silent, a documentary on how the fear of homophobia from health workers or services impacts LGBT elders’ lives, served as [...]

Apr 18

two happy Springwell volunteers

Volunteering leads to a surprising connection

Volunteering is well understood to have benefits to both the community and to the volunteer. Sometimes the benefits can be surprising. As the Springwell Volunteer Appreciation event last year an unexpected surprise came in the form of a reunion of two childhood friends. Sherry and Ed, long-time volunteers at different Springwell Community Dining sites, saw [...]