Instructors Judy Lovejoy, back row left, and Kate Cleveland, front row left, stand with some recent graduates of the ‘A Matter of Balance’ class. The 8-session class is an evidence-based, free program offered by the Los Alamos Retired and Senior Organization (LARSO). Courtesy/LARSO
LARSO News:
Fourteen months ago, the White Rock and Betty Ehart Senior Activity Centers re-launched their “A Matter of Balance” program. Five 8-session classes have taken place during that time, educating older adults about fall prevention while also allowing them to enhance their skills and increase their activity.
The educators for this course are Certified Master Trainers, having completed the A Matter of Balance Training Program through MaineHealth. Their ages and backgrounds are intentionally varied to reflect the broad timespan in one’s life when we might notice balance changes. The coaches include Kate Cleveland, Judy Lovejoy and Bernadette Lauritzen.
In addition to reducing the fear of falling, topics covered include home safety, assertiveness, easy-to-incorporate changes, identifying physical risk factors, misconceptions for falls, and moving from self-defeating to self-motivating thoughts. The evidenced-based class is limited to 12 people to ensure the instructors and participants can work together to learn about the many components of fall prevention. Students are strongly encouraged to attend all sessions.
The next local program will take place starting in mid-August at the Betty Ehart Senior Activity Center. Classes will be held 9:30-11:30 a.m. Mondays and Thursdays for four weeks. Registration opens on at 8:30 a.m. Monday, July 29. To reserve a spot in the upcoming series, call 505.662.8920.
To participate, seniors must be 60 or older and members of the Los Alamos Retired and Senior Organization. It is free to join the class at the local White Rock and Los Alamos Senior Activity Centers. The centers offer many services and activities at no charge to the older adult community.
Cleveland is a Wellness Coach and local business owner of Kiss Your Food Coaching Services. Cleveland observes how the A Matter of Balance program aligns with her work in wellness coaching.
“My favorite part of the curriculum is the lesson on switching our mindsets,” Cleveland said. “Many people have never learned the concept that our thoughts affect our actions, so there is a lot of fun ‘Aha!’ moments generated by the lesson on how to reframe and redirect our thoughts.”
Lovejoy is a retired nurse, formerly working as a certified adult and gerontological nurse practitioner. She has enjoyed hearing the personal connection participants make with the topic of fall prevention.
“Students in both classes were interested in the topic and were willing to share their personal ‘fall history’, Lovejoy said. “They were willing to look back and make creative suggestions about how their falls might have been prevented or decreased in severity.”
Lauritzen is the previous director of the Senior Centers and has a background in prevention. She runs her own non-profit, Champions of Youth Ambitions and offers free suicide prevention classes for adults that addresses the issue of suicide prevention for all ages.
Local providers that have joined the program as guest educators are Glenn Banks from Christus St. Vincent Sports Therapy and Kevin Schoenberger, Director of Rehabilitation at the Los Alamos Medical Center. The guest instructors provide insight and education that is invaluable to students in their fall prevention journey.
Find the “A Matter of Balance” program listed on the National Coalition of Aging website at www.ncoa.org.
