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Thursday, July 14, 2011, 10 am Pacific, 11 am Mountain, Noon Central, 1 pm EST, 6 pm Zurich, 7 pm Istanbul
Aging and Growth: A Wellness Perspective
Dr's Orders- You need to exercise. Doctors are now giving physician orders for clients to exercise.
Betsy Best-Martini, 2011
Wellness is the totality of body, mind and spirit-everything that you think, feel and believe has some impact on your state of health. When you focus on physical wellness first, it sets a successful framework for the rest of the components. Wellness is about the totality of the components, but physical wellness helps support all the other areas. Learn about six wellness components and the role they play in your life and work.
Bio
Elizabeth (Betsy) Best Martini is a Certified Recreational Therapist specializing in the field of gerontology, and long term care. She has a Master of Science Degree in Recreation Therapy / Administration. She also has a State of California RCFE Administrator Certificate as a licensed administrator for assisted living settings.
Betsy has a consulting firm, Recreation Consultation & Best Solutions, that provides recreational therapy consultation to retirement communities, skilled nursing settings, sub-acute settings, state hospitals, cities and counties and residential / assisted care facilities in Northern California. She is a frequent and well- respected presenter at national and state conferences for activity professionals and recreational therapists. She is an academy faculty member of the American Therapeutic Recreation Association (ATRA)and a national trainer for the "ATRA Dementia Protocol Guidelines" along with being a contributing author to this comprehensive and evidence based training manual.
She also provides day- long trainings in "Exercise for Frail Elders and Adults with Special Needs." Betsy served as ATRA Co-Coordinator for the Geriatric Treatment Network for the past two years. Betsy teaches at College of Marin and Santa Rosa Junior College in Northern California training individuals as activity coordinators working with elderly clients. She has trained over 600 activity professionals in Northern California.
She has three publications used nationally and internationally as training manuals for Activity Professionals and Recreational Therapists: Long Term Care 5th Edition, Quality Assurance for Activity Programs, and Exercise for Frail Elders. Betsy is a certified fitness instructor through the Senior Fitness Association and the YMCA. She is a contributing editor for a column called "Let's Get Moving" in the national newsletter Creative Forecasting for activity professionals and recreational therapists.
She has been recognized for her work with the 2006 ATRA (American Therapeutic Recreation Association) Member of the Year Award, 1998 Distinguished Merit Award from NCCAC (Northern California Council of Activity Coordinators), and also the Pete Croughan Award for her 25- year volunteer efforts with a non-profit organization called LITA, Love Is The Answer. This organization provides friendly visitors to residents living in nursing homes and assisted living settings.
Exercise: 10 Reasons to Love Physical Activity
Add to the following list of reasons you can love physical activity:
- Improves Function- muscles get stronger, joints have greater integrity and flexibiity (use it or lose it)
- Improves mood and increases a feeling of mastery and accom plishment (take photos so everyone can see how they are improving)
- Improves balance and mobility = greater independence
- Improves posture which enhances spinal integrity, pulmonary function and makes you look taller. Your spine is made up of water and this is what gives us cushions between discs
- Improves and helps regulate blood glucose levels (World Health Organization)
- Reduces stress and anxiety. By doing so we are able to focus more on intellectual pursuits and recreational pursuits
- Improves sleep which in turn improves every aspect of our lives
- "Age is only important if you are cheese". What is important is how strong and flexible you are.
- It is a concrete and challenging experience. You challenge yourself and see and feel the benefits
- It's FUN!! When you exercise with others, you get more motivated and help each other. Physical Activity is at the core of the Wellness Model
******Add more to your list
Betsy Best-Martini MS CTRS
Certified Recreational Therapist #16983
Before we begin, here are a few instructions for listeners:
- If you have a question, press 5* on your phone.
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Introduction
This is Dr. Sally Gelardin, with Careerwell Tele-Interviews. The older I get, and the more involved I am in caregiving for elders, the more I am interested in the field of aging and also in keeping myself healthy. Last fall I learned about an Activity Coordinator certificate program, which was offered by Betsy-Best Martini in my community at the local community college. I enjoyed the program so much that I decided to take a second certificate program training with Betsy earlier this year in Exercise for Adults with Special Needs. It's been so meaningful and satisfying to apply the skills I have as a career counselor, educator, and practitioner to the aging field. I have invited Betsy to be interviewed today because I thought others with backgrounds similar to mine might also be interested in how they could apply their skills in the field of aging. I have also invited Betsy to lead gently exercises at the Poetics of Aging Conference, scheduled November 16 - 19, in San Francisco, where Careerwell experts Norm Amundson and Mark Guterman will also present.
Elizabeth (Betsy) Best Martini is a Certified Recreational Therapist specializing in the field of gerontology, and long term care. She has a Master of Science Degree in Recreation Therapy / Administration. She also has a State of California RCFE Administrator Certificate as a licensed administrator for assisted living settings. She wrote three books used nationally and internationally as training manuals for Activity Professionals and Recreational Therapists. She has earned numerous awards and has trained over 600 activity professionals in Northern California. Welcome Betsy Best-Martini!
Interview Questions
- How would you define wellness? (SLIDES 3 - 6)
- Could you briefly describe what one can do to demonstrate wellness? (SLIDES 9 - 15).
- What we know about wellness and how we apply it to our own lives are two different things. The last dimension of wellness, physical wellness, is probably the one area where many helping professionals, including career practitioners, counselors, and activity coordinators apply minimally to their own lives. Why is physical wellness particularly important? (SLIDE 7 - 8)
- How did you get into the field of aging and wellness, especially physical wellness?
- You specialize in gerontology, long term care, and recreational therapy. How do you combine these specializations as a private practitioner?
- You seem to have a very busy schedule and very demanding work. You are also working with many clients who are experiencing major health challenges and end-of-life issues. How do you keep your self upbeat and continually on the go?
- How did you develop specialties in these areas? Could you summarize your career growth?
- You have written three training manuals for Activity Professionals and Recreational Therapists. Could you describe these three manuals and explain why you wrote them? How can we find out more about these publications? (SLIDE 16)
- Most of the listeners to this interview are career practitioners - counselors, coaches, career development facilitators, and educators. Why should they know about the field of aging?
- Why should listeners know about the roles of Activity Professionals and Recreational Therapists (personally and professionally)?
- When did these professions originate? Why were they needed? How have they developed?
- How do you see these occupations developing in the future?
- What are related occupations (i.e., exercise teachers, physical therapists, administrators of care facilities)?
- Could you summarize why we should know about the value of wellness in general, particularly physical health, and what we can do to get back to basics (SLIDE 16)?
- At this point in your life, what are your career plans for the future?
Upcoming Interviews
7/21/11 Terry Wynne, Employee Abuse in the Workplace
7/28/11 Terry Weber & Sumyyah Bilal, Preview of Special Webinar: "65 Million Need Not Apply"
Thank you Betsy, thank you listeners. This is Dr. Sally Gelardin with Careerwell Tele-Interviews.