Learn How to Secure and Dispose of Prescription Medications

Prescription medications have become an important part of our lives. They help us manage pain or treat a health condition. But what do we do with them once they have expired or are no longer needed? How do we make sure they are safe and secure while we are using them?

You can dispose of them in prescription-drug drop boxes, now available throughout Windham County. The drop boxes allow for the safe, anonymous disposal of expired or unwanted prescription medications that could otherwise be misused or end up in our environment.

The non-medical use of prescription drugs such as Oxycodone continues to raise public safety concerns. Unfortunately, we have to be aware of how our medications are stored and disposed of in order keep them out of the hands of those who may misuse them. Seventy percent of users of non-medical prescription pain relievers obtain their drugs for free from a friend or relative. Most of the time, these medications are taken without our knowledge or permission. Teens frequently say they were able to get prescription medications from their parent or grandparent’s medicine cabinet.

What can you do to safely secure your medications?

• Keep your medications locked or hidden.
• Keep count of your medications.
• Talk to your family about the dangers of abusing prescription medications.
• Make sure your children or grandchildren know they are not to be used or shared.
• Properly dispose of all prescription medications once expired or no longer needed.

How does prescription medication disposal work?

• Collect all expired or unused prescription pills or patches and place in disposable bag.
• Drop off medications at the most convenient box near you.
• The process is completely anonymous. 

Items that cannot be taken:

• Medical equipment or accessories (needles, syringes, Epi-Pens, inhalers, etc.)
• Any liquid materials
• Bloody, infectious or business waste

Locations near you:

• Bellows Falls Police Department: 170 Rockingham St., Bellows Falls (open 24/7)
• Windham County Sheriff’s Department: 11 Jail St., Newfane (open 7am-10pm daily)
• Brattleboro Police Department: 230 Main St., Brattleboro (open 24/7)

For more information about prescription drug disposal efforts and other initiatives to prevent the misuse and abuse of prescription drugs, contact the Greater Falls Prevention Coalition at www.gfpcandtheline.org or 802.463.9927.

Chad Simmons is media coordinator for the Greater Falls Prevention Coalition, whose mission is to connect the community of Windham Northeast by inspiring and empowering people through education and collaboration to promote wellness and prevent the abuse of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.  

“Old age ain’t no place for sissies,”  Bette Davis said. Well, sissies or not, we’re all headed for that place. And the better we know the geography, the easier it will be to navigate.

“Aged in Vermont” is a monthly article on aging issues, organized by Westminster Cares. We’re asking local professionals and residents with an interest in these issues to write them.

The articles are not just reading material for the “aged.” Young, old and middle-aged readers  ­– anyone with an elderly parent, relative or friend, or who just wants to learn about these important issues that affect us all ­– is invited to take a look. Remember: “It’s not how old you are; it’s how you are old.”

We address such topics as losing a pet, sleeping problems, supplements, advanced directives and creativity. We explore questions such as should I move to town? and decision making: whose life is this anyway?

Ideas for future columns? Would you like to write one? We’d like to hear from you. Email Ronnie Friedman at wecares@sover.net.

How to Live Better and Smarter: Exercise Your Brain

Walking, stretching, jumping jacks – we all know that getting the circulation moving in your body makes you feel better and maybe live longer. But it’s just as important to get the blood moving through your brain, says Vickie Wilk, a psychiatric nurse practitioner.

Improving vascularity in the brain can help stall cognitive decline and dementia, and help keep your mind sharp long into old age.

Vickie will speak about "Helping Prevent and Living with Cognitive Decline" on Tuesday, May 28, 2013 at 5:30 p.m. at the Westminster Institute. It’s the second in Westminster Cares’ Speaking of Aging series.

She will explain exercises that can keep your mind nimble, and how and why they work. She’ll discuss recent research into prevention of dementia, and the difference between depression and dementia and how important it is to recognize that difference. She’ll also have tips on how to interact with a family member or significant other who has cognitive decline. Bring your questions about any of these aging issues.

Exercise can help slow the potential onset of dementia, research shows. “I don’t expect people to get out there and run a marathon,” Vickie said. “But 20 minutes, three times a week can improve vascularity, even if it means getting on the stationary bike and getting your heart to pound a little. All of it helps.”

Mental exercise, good for neurological and physiological growth of the brain, is just as important. So give your brain something new and different to do, Vickie suggests. Learn a new language. Play a number puzzle, like sudoku – especially if you’re used to doing crosswords or other word puzzles—and vice versa.

Another area that interests Vickie is the difference between depression and dementia. Depression is often mistaken for dementia, particularly in the elderly, she said. The usual barometers she uses to measure for depression are things like lack of focus and concentration, loss of appetite and poor sleep habits. “But in an older person, those tend to be there anyway. So I’m more apt to look at their mood, their feeling state and level of anxiety.

It’s crucial to diagnose depression early to help prevent dementia,” she said.

Vickie became a nurse because of her godmother, Anna Booniarz, known as “Hanti,” Polish for “Anna.” Hanti was a nurse, who developed Alzheimer’s disease in her seventies. “I used to take her out to lunch, and I began to see signs of decline,” Vickie said. “So I had first-hand experience. And it really stimulated my curiosity.”

One of Vickie’s first jobs was on a research unit, studying the neuropsychological underpinnings of depression. Immersion in the professional world of biological psychiatry and her aunt’s decline both led to her current interest “Geriatric psychiatry is the last challenge in my professional life, and I really want to stimulate myself.”

Vickie is a married mother of two daughters and two grandchildren, and is in a small private group practice, Otter Creek Associates /Matrix Health System, in Brattleboro. She has worked in psychiatry since the days of state hospitals. She received both her BS and MS degrees from Boston College School of Nursing, and has worked at McLean hospital in Belmont, Mass., along with other hospitals in Massachusetts, and has taught psychopharmacology.

Vickie is also the founding mother of an Indochinese psychiatry clinic in the Boston area, started in the early 1980s, when many Cambodian refugees from the Khmer Rouge regime settled in Boston.

    

To thank the community for 25 years of support, Westminster Cares is presenting a series of speakers to explore key issues in aging. Speaking of Aging is sponsored by the Fanny Holt Ames & Edna Louise Holt Fund, Bank of America, N.A.,Trustee.

Two more Speaker Series events are schedule: Dennis McCullough, M.D., on Tuesday, August 6, and Willem Lang, author and VPR commentator, on Tuesday, September 17. Find more at www.westminstercares.org.

“Aged in Vermont” is a monthly article on aging issues, organized by Westminster Cares. Ideas for future columns? Would you like to write one? We’d like to hear from you. Email Ronnie Friedman at wecares@sover.net.

A Pet Can Make Your Life Better - Part 2

In January, Aged in Vermont looked at how pets can help seniors with the aging process. This month, we discuss how companion animals may help them deal with some of the physical and sensory changes that come with aging. 

Vision: With proper correction of visual deficits, seniors can watch fish swim in an aquarium, or watch wild animals in the yard or birds flying. Important sensory stimulants like these keep an older person connected to the environment.

Hearing: Hearing loss is the third most frequently reported chronic condition of people over 65. A companion animal can alert its owner to both guests and intruders.  And in taking a pet for a walk, a senior often starts conversations with others.

Touch: Sensitivity to touch, which helps us perceive and express feelings, is reduced with aging.  At a time when there is a greater need for tactile stimulation but there are fewer opportunities to touch or be touched, pets can fill that need.  “The cold wet nose of a faithful canine friend, the velvet feel of a cat’s sleek coat, the softness of a bunny’s ears, the gentle peck of a budgie can be the stimulus that connects the older person to reality.” 

Smell and Taste: Changes in olfactory and gustatory systems are less noticeable but play an important role in the health and well-being of older persons. The diminished sense of smell may indirectly affect appetite and be accompanied by a gradual loss of taste buds so that a senior can’t enjoy the flavor of foods as much.

Good nutrition is critical to the overall health of older persons. Food intake is also influenced by the social environment so, for an older person living alone, having to prepare food for a pet may encourage them to prepare food for themselves. Often, pets can substitute for other social contact during meals.

Also, if a senior is less able to smell smoke from fire or toxic odors, pets can often alert their owners to those dangerous changes in the environment.

Cardiovascular System: Companion animals can make an important difference in promoting quality of life for seniors with cardiovascular disease.  Watching or petting a pet can help them relax and lower blood pressure.  Walking a pet or playing catch may be just the stimulus an older person needs to engage in activity.  Having to walk or care for pets becomes a reason to get up in the morning.

Musculoskeletal System: Changes in the musculoskeletal system directly affect how well older persons can move about in their environment. Disuse impairs many functions. Companion animals can play a very important role here: Brisk walking, easily done with a dog, is the simplest form of weight-bearing exercise.  Throwing a toy or holding an object for a cat to paw provides an opportunity to exercise arm and shoulder joints.

A pet can help an older person, not only with better physical health, but with dealing with loss, improved social attitudes, mental health, and happiness. All good reasons to own a pet!

Excerpted from “The Role Animals Play in Enhancing Quality of Life for the Elderly.”

A Pet Can Make Your Life Better - Part 1

With the aging of our population, there has been increased attention placed on health promotion for persons of all ages, especially those 60 and older.  This article underscores the value of pet ownership in promoting health and enhancing quality of life for seniors.

Aging is a dynamic interactive process influenced by a person’s internal and external environment.  The external environment can include a living situation, activity levels, nutrition, and social factors. Having a companion animal impacts ones external environment and has been shown to have a positive effect on quality of life for many seniors. Although there is still much to be learned about the effects of the human-animal companion bond, studies have shown that pet ownership can increase social interaction, improve mental health, and decrease depression.

Companion animals can play an important role in compensating for losses and age-related change in older persons. Sensory changes are among the first age-related changes noted by seniors and can have a profound effect on quality of life because these changes affect how one receives and responds to stimuli.

• Vision: Proper correction of visual deficits will enable the older person to watch fish swim in an aquarium, watch wild animals in the yard or birds flying about outdoors.  Any one of these visually stimulating activities keeps the older person “connected” to his or her environment and serves as an important means of sensory stimulation.
• Hearing: Hearing loss is the 3^rd most frequently reported chronic condition of persons over 65. A companion animal can serve as an alert system while outdoors but also draw attention to guests and intruders.  In addition, the companion animal can reinforce the older person’s attempts to communicate verbally especially when taking the animal outdoors.
• Touch: Touch sensitivity is known to be reduced with aging. While the skin serves many physiologic functions it is also involved in sensory perception and expression of feelings. Aging typically decreases the older person’s opportunities to touch or be touched at a time when the need for tactile stimulation increases with age. Most pets provide an opportunity to fulfill the need to touch and be touched.  “The cold wet nose of a faithful canine friend, the velvet feel of a cat’s sleek coat, the softness of a bunny’s ears, the gentle peck of a budgie can be the stimulus that connects the older person to reality.”
• Smell and Taste: Changes in olfactory and gustatory systems are less noticeable but play an important role in the health and well-being of older persons. There is a diminished sense of smell which may indirectly affect appetite; this may be accompanied by a gradual loss of taste buds resulting in a decreased ability to enjoy the flavor of foods. Food intake is also influenced by the social environment and the importance of good nutrition to the overall health of older persons is critical. For an older person living alone, having to prepare food for a pet may serve as stimulus to prepare food for one’s self. Often, the presence of pets during meals can be a substitute for other social contact.  The reduced sense of smell may put seniors at risk for injury related to undetected smoke from fire and as well as toxic odors.  Pets often alert their owners to undesired or dangerous changes I the environment.
• Cardiovascular System: Cardiovascular disease is common among persons over 65. Risk factors can be separated into two categories non-modifiable and modifiable. It is in the area of modifiable risk factors that companion animals can make an important difference in promoting quality of life for seniors.  Observing and/or petting a companion animal has been associated with a reduction in blood pressure and an increase in relaxation.  Walking a pet or playing catch may be just the stimulus that is needed for the older person to engage in activity.  Having to walk and/or care for pets gives the older person a reason the get up in the morning.
• Musculoskeletal System: Changes that occur in this system have a direct effect on the manner and ability of older persons to move about in their environment. Although disease processes do affect a large number of seniors, many of the observed impairments in functioning are related to disuse. It is in the area of musculoskeletal fitness that companion animals take on particular importance. Brisk walking is the simplest form of weight-bearing exercise and can easily be done with a dog.  Throwing a toy or holding an object for a cat to paw at provides an opportunity to exercise arm and shoulder joints.
• Importance of Pets to Seniors: One of the most common issues for seniors is loss.  Advancing age brings with it increased losses in many areas including physical losses such as mobility, vision, and hearing; psychological losses such as memory and problem-solving abilities; and social losses such as support, institutionalization and death of loved ones.  How one deals with loss may be the single greatest factor affecting the quality of remaining years.  The presence of a companion animal to whom one is attached may be a moderator in helping seniors deal with losses.

Studies have shown the therapeutic value of pet ownership through improved social attitudes, mental health, and happiness. For those living independently in the community, pet ownership has been shown to enhance lives.  For persons entering a residential living situation, pet ownership may lessen the impact of loss of personal freedom. 

Excerpted from, “The Role Animals Play in Enhancing Quality of Life for the Elderly”.

Meet Trudy Byington, Your Community Nurse

It was a name tag worn by a friend that got Trudy Byington, Westminster’s community nurse, into nursing. Trudy had been working in a factory for thirteen years, and she and her husband had a three-year-old son and a set of twins on the way, when she saw the name tag that read “G.N.” She was curious.
It turned out that the friend had earned her licensed practical nurse degree, then attended New Hampshire Technical College for a year to become a registered nurse.

“I said ‘I can’t do four years, but I can do two years,’” said Trudy. So she took two years of evening classes while still working, then, as she says, “we took the plunge and said we’ll suffer through.” She quit her job in 1989 and went to school full-time at New Hampshire Technical College. “My mother [Henriette Swarts, a Westminster resident since 2009] was my biggest support, along with my husband [Rob],” Trudy said.

After graduating in 1991, and getting her R.N. license, Trudy worked at Cheshire Medical Center in Keene and then the Visiting Nurses Association, where she stayed for more than seventeen years. “I got a lot of experience, and met a lot of people in the community,” she said.

When Ronnie Friedman, Westminster Cares’ executive director, was looking for a community nurse in 2010, Trudy was ready to turn to more direct dealing with patients, and took the job. She also works part-time in some of the Windham Northeast Supervisory Union schools.

Trudy was born Trudy Swarts in the Netherlands, and then immigrated to Canada with her family when she was a year old. They moved to the U.S. when Trudy was four, and two years later to Bellows Falls.

As the community nurse, Trudy is referred by Westminster Cares to elderly and adults with disabilities who may not be eligible for home-based services from other agencies and organizations. Her care is free. She does nonemergency care, such as foot care and wound care, helps with medication, blood pressure checks and lots of assessment.

Many of her calls are to people who are unsure what they need. Are they ill enough to call a doctor? What should they do? Their health is starting to fail; what are their options?

“It’s a lot of education,” Trudy said. “Often it’s reinstruction of things people have already learned, like how to administer insulin. Often they just need somebody to talk to and to tell them what resources are out there. And it’s often connecting people back with their families. A lot of it is reassurance – is what I have normal or not?”

“I still like home care best, especially dealing with the elderly, ” she says.
If you think you or a loved one could use Trudy’s services, call Westminster Cares at 722-3607.