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As a service to local charities, we like to give our readers a heads-up on any special event that may be coming up that would be of interest. The “Tickets Fore Charity!” is one of those events. A worthy organization, Airlift Research Foundation, will be participating.

Would you like to see some of the PGA’s upcoming stars compete for their spot on the PGA tour? Are you looking for an opportunity to entertain friends or clients and would like to help a good cause at the same time?

From August 30 -September 5, 2010, the Mylan Classic presented by CONSOL Energy will partner with the PGA Tour to bring the Nationwide Tour to Washington County, a neighbor to Pittsburgh. The Mylan Classic is providing non-profit organizations with the opportunity to sell tournament tickets and receive 100% of the proceeds through their “Tickets Fore Charity” program, and the Airlift Research Foundation will be participating.

Additionally, funds from a $25,000 bonus pool provided by ANSYS, Inc. will be distributed based on each charity’s percentage of total ticket revenue. Tickets range from $25-$50 and may be purchased in packs of ten ($200-$400) as well. To participate in this great event and support the Airlift Research Foundation by purchasing tickets, please visit www.airliftrf.org. The Mylan Classic will be played at Southpointe Golf Club in Canonsburg, PA. For more information on the Classic, please visit www.MylanClassic.com.

About the Airlift Research Foundation: The Airlift Research Foundation exists to breathe hope into the lives of those who have suffered life changing orthopaedic trauma, on the battlefield and at home. We rarely think of trauma as a growing epidemic. Yet the fact is that trauma is —by far— the most common cause of impairment and death in young people all over the world. And the greatest targets of trauma are the legs we stand on and the arms with which we embrace. Partnering with The Aircast Foundation, an internationally recognized leader in translating donor dollars to real scientific progress, the Airlift Research Foundation is looking for members of the public to support critically-needed innovative research that returns injured troops and civilians to maximal function — empowering those who have lost limbs or limb function, so we can say “yes” you can be all you once were, and more. By investing public funds into the careers of the world’s best and brightest clinician scientists, the Airlift Research Foundation sets a course for the future. Just as the history-making invention of sterile surgical technique came out of the Civil War, our current military conflicts will drive quantum advances in orthopaedic trauma medicine, benefiting countless people in war and peacetime alike.

Please keep us posted on any other worthwhile events and fundraisers!

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The National Aging In Place Council (NAIPC), a national senior support network, recently identified the Safeway Step as one of its Top Ten Product Ideas for Practical Advice when aging in place. The NAIPC lists products that can make a person’s home more comfortable and their life simpler and safer. Safety Step has also been recognized by Today’s Caregiver magazine with the 2010 Caregiver Friendly Award.

The Safeway Step is a product and installation method designed to provide an economical renovation option for individuals and facilities interested in easier access into the bathtub area. It can be used to retrofit an existing bathtub into a walk in shower.

The Caregiver Friendly Awards are designed to celebrate products, services, books and media created with the needs of caregivers in mind.  According to Gary Barg, Today’s Caregiver magazine’s Editor-In-Chief, “This award is designed to help family caregivers recognize and reward those organizations who will care for them in as committed a manner as they care for their own loved ones.”

Through a press release statement, Chris Stafford, President of Safeway Safety Step, said, “We are very excited to have our product recognized with two such prestigious honors. We strive to provide products that aid seniors aiming to age in place.  Our walk in shower and walk in bath modifications are great alternatives to complete tear outs and other costly renovations.”

Safeway offers multiple bath accessibility products to provide easier accessibility to existing bathtub for a fraction of the cost compared to tearing-out the existing bathtub, including the Safeway Tub Door and the Safeway Step.

The Safeway Tub Door is a product and installation method designed to add a water-tight sealable door to an existing bathtub. Installation of the Safeway Tub Door includes cutting and removing a section of the existing tub and custom fitting the resulting opening with the Safeway Tub Door. The Safeway Tub Door is an important addition to Safeway’s industry leading line of bath accessibility products and builds upon the versatility provided by the Company’s initial core product, the Safeway Step.  The Safeway Step retrofits the existing bathtub into a permanent walk-in shower and has been installed in thousands of units.

Benefits of Safeway’s bathtub modifications include:

•      Makes existing bathtub more accessible;
•      Provides bathtub retrofit options with or without a door;
•      Installed in just two to three hours;
•      Reduces the possibility of falls;
•      Assists with rehabilitation and ability to stay at home longer; and,
•      Saves thousands compared to tearing out and removing the existing bathtub to install more costly renovation options, such as a walk-in shower or bath.

Have you used the Safeway Step? If so, we’d love to hear your thoughts!

Are you following us on Twitter? — Home Evolutions will give you real-time updates when our latest blogs are posted, as well as timely information on Aging-in-Place news from around the country.

A recent article by Paula Span for The New York Times discusses the many benefits of minimal physical activity for seniors and gives them another reason to keep moving.

Span focuses on a new Journal of Gerontology study that proclaims more good news about the role of exercise in preserving cognitive skills. “It made me so happy that I decided to call the lead researcher, epidemiologist, Dr. Catarina Rosano of the University of Pittsburgh, to learn more.”

“We already knew that exercise makes you sharper and makes your mood better,” Rosano explained. “But it wasn’t clear how much or how often you have to exercise, or how soon in life. Do you have to begin by 60? Can you wait until you’re 70? Do you have to exercise every day, or every other day, until you die?”

Rosano’s subjects were all over 70 and had led sedentary lives until they were recruited for the study. One group became more physically active, with a goal of walking 150 minutes each week, and a comparison group met for health discussions, but didn’t do the walking. According to Span, the programs continued for a year, and Rosano’s team followed up nearly two years later with 20 seniors who continued walking at least one to three times a week.

But we are not talking about sprints and extreme calisthenics here. Rosano emphasized, “They didn’t hit the gym like crazy—they were walking.”

The participants then took a test that involved remembering numbers and symbols on a computer screen. “This is similar to functions of the brain we use every single day,” noted Rosano. The exercisers continued to do significantly better on the test—with greater speed and fewer errors than the control group. In addition, the imaging scans demonstrated that more parts of the brain were activated, and to a greater extent, in the group that had kept walking.

Span explained that even though this is a pilot study (which the researchers plan to replicate with a much larger sample—perhaps then answering more of those questions about how often and how much), this report adds to evidence that a low-cost, moderate approach to exercise yields cognitive dividends. Rosano concludes, “Some level of physical activity, even started later in life, can really impact the brain. Taking a walk with someone you like and having a chat—that’s always great.”

Exercise and activity are important aspects to aging-in-place—and they can help you to remain living healthy, safely, and independently at home.

Are you following us on Twitter? — Home Evolutions will give you real-time updates when our latest blogs are posted, as well as timely information on Aging-in-Place news from around the country.

As a company dedicated to providing remodeling options for seniors and people with disabilities that allow them to remain living independently, Home Evolutions is happy to share stories in this blog that also highlight these groups’ independence.

A recent article by Sonya Chun, for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, discusses the production of a new movie entitled, “Pie Head: A Kinda’ True Story,” that is currently being shot in Pittsburgh, Pa. The movie will feature actors with disabilities.

According to Chun, the movie is being made by Pie Head Productions and stars Hollis McLachlan, who also wrote, produced, and directed it. “McLachlan hopes to pave the way for disabled actors in her film. Through the family comedy, she wanted to offer opportunities in the film industry for people with disabilities and special needs.”

McLachlan believes that “Disabled actors are not encouraged to look outside of the box or audition as, let’s say, a secretary.” The director wants to show that people with disabilities can and do work in many different, regular roles. She continues, “In real life, disabled people have those jobs so why can’t a secretary be in a wheel chair for a movie?”

The diverse cast will also include actors without disabilities as well as actors of various ethnicities. McLachlan explains, “We have a great group of people—we should appreciate our differences because that’s what makes life interesting.”

Chun notes that the film is based on McLachlan’s personal experiences about moving to Los Angeles in pursuit of an acting career and working as a special education teacher in an inner-city public school after graduating from Washington and Jefferson College.

McLachlan and her mother, Louann Petrucci, came up with the idea while taking a walk two years ago while she was recounting her traumatic experiences as a teacher to her mom. “It was a heavy subject matter, but to lighten the mood, I told the stories in a comedic way so I could laugh instead of cry,” McLachlan said. “The next day, we both called each other and thought that it would make a great movie.” She and her mother wrote the script together and are working as producers on the film.

McLachlan originally intended the film to have one disabled actor play her autistic brother, Gregory Louis, but after meeting several actors with disabilities during the auditions, she decided to rewrite the script to include them, too. “Acting isn’t about having the physical requirements or a pretty face, but who can deliver the best performance. I’m not favoring disabled people—I’m trying to be a true, equal opportunity employer.”

Although the story centers on McLachlan’s experience as a teacher, she hopes many can relate to the film’s overall message. “Our economy is not in the best shape and lots of people are losing jobs and starting over. So, this story has developed far beyond my experience as a teacher,” she said. “‘Pie Head’ is not just a story about a girl who moved to L.A., but it is about how you pick yourself up when things are looking bleak and how you can help yourself attain your goals.”

McLachlan doesn’t expect this low-budget film to make it to theaters, but hopes that viewers will enjoy the family comedy fun. “I’m not anticipating anything grandiose, but I wanted to give actors with disabilities and actors in the Pittsburgh area more opportunities and an encouraging, reinforcing experience.”

Are you following us on Twitter? — Home Evolutions will give you real-time updates when our latest blogs are posted, as well as timely information on Aging-in-Place news from around the country.