The Smart Seniors program grant from Bader Philanthropies to the La Crosse County Health Department ended this summer, but the city’s Parks and Recreation Department and Bethany St. Joseph Corp. picked up the ball to keep the initiative rolling.
The program, also known as Brain Fitness, will begin a 10-week series from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Wednesdays on Sept. 12 at the Black River Beach Neighborhood Center at 1433 Rose St. in La Crosse, said Smart Seniors coordinator Amy Brezinka, former coordinator of the Caregiver Coach Program she developed at the Aging and Disability Resource Center in La Crosse.
The classes, intended for people 50 and older, are the result of a collaborative effort among Bethany St. Joseph, Spring Brook Assisted Living, Gundersen Health System, Mayo Clinic Health System-Franciscan Healthcare, Move It or Lose It and community volunteers.
People are also reading…
Having a fit brain requires more than just physical activities, said Brezinka, who said the classes will include many social aspects of life, including topics such as stress reductions, mental exercise, remembering names and faces and the importance of sleep, among others.
Each week’s class will feature a workshop about lifestyle choices and activities to improve and maintain brain health, she said.
Participants will receive personal notebooks, at a cost of $10, with exercises intended to increase brain fitness.
To register for the 10-week session, call the Black River Beach Neighborhood Center at 608-789-8640 during business hours, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fridays.
A continuing offering through the program is titled Caring Connections — Support for Family Caregivers, which meets from 11 a.m. to noon on the second Monday of each month in the Cottonwood Room at the Black River Beach center.
Caring Connections is an answer to caregivers who say they would like support from people who understand their situations because they’ve been there, too, said Brezinka, who facilitates the group.
“Caring Connections offers just that -- a safe place for caregivers, family and friends to meet, share and develop a mutual support system,” she said. “This monthly support group is for anyone who is helping someone to live well — whether it’s a long-term condition or a short-term, acute condition,” Brezinka said
Other programs include:
- Club Connectivity — This program is designed specifically to meet the needs and interests of people who are living with early-onset dementia/mild cognitive impairment. Meeting from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. the second and fourth Friday of each month at the Black River Beach center, the club aims to provide a warm, welcoming atmosphere and offer fun ways to stay socially connected and active in the community. Members will help determine topics and group activities they would like to pursue. Care partners and family members also may be invited to participate occasionally. Brezinka will facilitate the club, which suggests a $2 donation on a pay-as-you-go basis.
- Coping Skills: Keeping it Simple! — These sessions, which will meet from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the first and third Fridays of the month at the South Side center, will include casual discussions of a variety ways to cope with change and life transitions common as people age. They will follow an open group format, so people can drop by whenever they can, with a suggested donation of $2. Brezinka and William Eddy will facilitate.
- Music Café’s six-week fall series will explore the benefits of brain-music connections, ranging from boosted memory to stress relief. Local musicians will provide entertainment, while sharing their experience and appreciation of music. Brezinka will facilitate the sessions, which are free, with donations accepted. They will take place from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Wednesdays from Sept. 26 through Oct. 31 at the South Side Neighborhood Center at 1300 S. Sixth St. in La Crosse.
