This article originally appeared in C-Ville Weekly’s 2022 Best of C-Ville magazine.
JABA wins national Aging Innovations and Achievement Award
At the USAging annual conference in Austin, Texas last month, Ginger Dillard, JABA’s director of advocacy services, accepted an Aging Innovations and Achievement Award for our At Home with JABA Program, which won under the Social Engagement category. USAging is the national organization representing and supporting Area Agencies on Aging across the country. At Home with JABA is a virtual activity program we started in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and has become a permanent addition to our list of programs. As the award citation stated:
"Programs can be accessed via telephone or internet and are designed to include relevant education and activities catered to a wide range of backgrounds, identities, religions and cultural practices. At Home with JABA participants, including CSC members, home-delivered meals clients and other older adults in the community, are connected to meals and receive referrals to JABA departments, community partners such as Social Services and the Food Bank, and local health practitioners. As a result, overall community health is positively impacted."
Gen Now: Looking back, and moving forward
C-Ville Weekly - When we get older we tend to think of our childhoods as distant memories that have long since faded in relevance to our current lives. We might laugh and share an anecdote or two with friends, reminisce about a place we visited as a child, but for the most part those memories are tucked away like old photos in a box in the attic. What’s more, when childhood memories do surface, and we feel the pangs of nostalgia, we tend to push it away, or to label ourselves cheesy or sappy.
Research, however, suggests you ought to go get that box and dust it off because digging deeper into childhood memories can help with a challenge you’re dealing with, simply make you feel better, and help your children in their own lives. You’re also doing it more often than you think.
A study at the School of Psychology at the University of Surrey in England found that people experience bouts of nostalgia at least once a week and that even children as young as 8-years old do this. Teens and young adults in their 20s do it most often as they begin to make the important decisions of their adult lives, and older people do it to gain perspective.
Basically, the study found that connecting old memories with your current situation allows you to make sense of your life, and makes you feel less lonely by reminding you of your connection to others and your community. And that doing this can reduce stress and improve your mood. The researchers also found that looking back in profound ways can create positive feelings about the future.
Indulging in nostalgia can also help those around you. Researchers found that people who “nostalgize” give to charity more, and that sharing stories with friends, family members, and romantic partners is a strong way to show caring and support.
In fact, a growing body of research has shown that sharing our personal stories with children and grandchildren, especially in heartfelt and detailed ways, teaches them to tell stories in more detailed ways (plus, kids love hearing stories about when you were a kid). Later in life these narrative skills can lead to stronger empathy for others, higher self-esteem, and the ability to better understand complex ideas.
But what about bad or traumatic childhood memories? Or just unpleasant ones you don’t want to think about? While severe childhood trauma that hasn’t been dealt with might be cause for seeking professional help, revisiting the stories of our childhood on our own can also be a way to heal ourselves.
Since the 1980s, UVA psychologist Tim Wilson has been studying how “editing” the stories we tell ourselves about our lives can improve our emotional health. In a well-known study, Wilson worked with freshmen students who were struggling in school, and found that most of them believed they had “always been bad at school.” What Wilson did was edit that story, and asked them to consider the fact that “everyone fails at first.” The students read stories from other students who at first failed but later succeeded. Wilson found that those students who edited the story in their heads were more likely to stay in school, succeed, and not drop out, compared to a control group who did not get the story-telling prompt.
Wilson has also found that this “story-editing” technique can help people with very painful memories, even veterans suffering from PTSD. Basically, we can get stuck thinking about a certain memory in a certain way, and by simply “editing” or changing the story a bit, we can go back and heal ourselves.
And the good memories? Personal achievements you are proud of? An act of kindness that helped someone? A memory of someone helping you?
Well, the University of Surrey researchers say use them to your advantage, summon them to make yourself feel good, to give yourself some encouragement, and to give yourself an energy boost to face future challenges.
So, go on, dust off that old box of photos and get to work.
David McNair handles communications, media relations, and social media efforts for JABA.
This article originally appeared in C-Ville Weekly’s July 2022 Gen Now special section.
JABA CEO elected president of state-wide aging services association
JABA CEO Marta Keane was unanimously elected president of the Virginia Association of Area Agencies on Aging (V4A), which represents 24 agencies across the Commonwealth of Virginia. Her two-year term will begin in October.
"I am confident that Marta will lead V4A as effectively as she has and will continue to lead JABA, and she will guide V4A to new levels of greatness," said JABA Board Chair Dick Gibson. "I've observed first-hand the qualities that played an important part in her election by her V4A peers to lead them, particularly her proven leadership skills and her ability to gain the confidence of others and inspire them to excel at what they do."
As CEO, Keane's leadership skills enabled JABA to navigate the uncharted waters and challenges presented by Covid and make sure the seniors served by JABA continued to be cared for and respected. JABA has received many awards and accolades for its programs and innovations under her leadership, which are known to her V4A peers. Keane was also instrumental in forming, organizing and leading the Charlottesville Area Alliance, a collaboration of all organizations devoted to improving the lives of seniors in the Charlottesville area, which is respected and relied on by local governments for its innovations and compassion for seniors.
"I am honored to be chosen by my peers to represent our agencies as we continue to advocate for more funding and innovative programs to provide necessary services for seniors," said Keane. "As we know, seniors are a steadily increasing percent of the population in Virginia. With this comes challenges to meet their increasing and changing needs, and opportunities to identify and maximize the strengths that seniors bring to our communities. During the next 2 years, I hope to continue our efforts with demographic services to better identify areas that have unmet needs, work with networks to identify new ways to meet the needs, and identify new funding sources to allow us to grow and sustain critical services."
"Marta has a remarkable ability to make friends with everyone she meets and has already gained the confidence of her V4A peers," said Gibson. "The JABA board is very proud of Marta and her leadership of JABA and is delighted to share her with V4A during her term of office."
JABA Celebrates Pride Month
June is LGBTQ+ Pride Month nationally. This month was chosen because in June 1969 there was an “uprising” at the Stonewall Inn in NY, that sparked a liberation movement. These initials represent Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and allies as well as other ways of identifying sexual identity.
A quote from Sharon Salzburg seems appropriate: “we don’t need one another to fear; we do need one another to change.” Together we can acknowledge and embrace the fight for inclusion and acceptance and equal access to services, as Governor Northam reminded us last year.
We care about those in greatest need. SAGE and the National Resource Center on LGBT Aging have presented some statistics that drive home why this is an area of need:
Nationally, there are 3 Million people identifying at LGBT over the age of 50, and it is projected that there will be 7 Million by 2030.
2x more likely to be single or live alone.
4x less likely to have children to provide support.
34% worry that they will need to hide their identify to access senior housing.
53% feel isolated from others.
As caregivers, 21% of older LGBT people have provided care to friends, compared to only 6% of non-LGBT older adults.
LGBT people become caregivers at a higher rate and make up 9% of all caregivers in the US.
Overall they are more likely to face poverty, homelessness and have poor physical and mental health.
These statistics highlight the issues that we address with all seniors. Isolation, living alone, fewer with family to provide encouragement or support. And overlay that with the added fear of being honest about one’s identity, and having experienced victimization in their lifetime (2/3 have had this experience at least 3x already in their life). We have services and support that will help another area of diversity to achieve equity to age in a community of their choice. We strive for Inclusive Excellence for our staff and our seniors.
yours,
Marta Keane, JABA CEO
JABA Awarded $65,000 Grant from Sentara Healthcare
Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital employees choose JABA
Charlottesville, Virginia, June 2, 2022 — One of the questions on Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital's annual Employee Satisfaction Survey asked employees to identify a local organization they value that exemplifies Sentra Healthcare’s mission and values.
"JABA got one of the highest vote totals in the survey," says Johnsa Morris, Vice President of Patient Care & Chief Nurse Executive at Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital. "I think it's because the population that JABA serves aligns with one of the main populations that Sentara serves - the elderly and disabled. Our employees frequently use JABA as a resource. So it did not surprise me that JABA would receive such a high number of votes."
As Morris points out, the $65,000 grant to JABA is unrestricted, which will allow JABA to freely direct those funds to areas where it's needed most. Sentara Healthcare gave more than 50 million dollars to the community in 2021, says Morris, and she believes it's important that grants like this given to trusted local organizations are unrestricted.
"Who knows best how to fulfill their mission than the folks receiving the gift," says Morris.
Marta Keane, JABA CEO, expressed gratitude to Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital staff, as well as to the Sentara Cares Program.
“In this time of increasing needs, new unrestricted grants are most welcome," says Keane. "Senior isolation and its negative impact on physical, emotional, and cognitive health have been exacerbated during COVID. Both of our organizations have worked together to try to mitigate the impact.”
Indeed, the partnership between the two organizations has been strong for decades, and Keane recounted several of the tangible ways that JABA and Sentara have worked together.
"JABA supports patients upon discharge with our programming to assist with the social determinants that would prevent re-hospitalization," says Keane. "This is key for the patient and for the hospital. Sentara has worked with JABA on increasing awareness of Advance Directives, and in supporting the Charlottesville Area Alliance, which is working to create a more age-friendly community.”
"Considering our employees are our most valuable asset, and they consider JABA a valuable asset in the community," says Morris, "I think that says a lot about who JABA is and who Sentara is. And that our partnership aligns with a mission and values we both share."
About JABA
The Jefferson Area Board for Aging (JABA) has been serving individuals and caregivers along the journey of aging since 1975. We are the gateway for information and support for seniors, adults with disabilities, and their families throughout central Virginia. In 1986, JABA created JABA, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit, to raise funds from private sources to enhance our programs and better serve the growing number of seniors in our area. Our mission is to promote, establish and preserve sustainable communities for healthy aging that benefit individuals and families of all ages.
About Sentara
Sentara Healthcare celebrates more than 130 years in pursuit of its mission – “we improve health every day.” Sentara is an integrated, not-for-profit health care delivery system with more than 29,000 employees (including 1,375 physicians and advanced practice providers), 12 hospitals in Virginia and Northeastern North Carolina and the Sentara Health Plans division which serves over 900,000 members. Sentara is recognized nationally for clinical quality and safety, and is strategically focused on innovation and creating an extraordinary health care experience for our patients and members. Sentara was named to IBM Watson Health’s “Top 15 Health Systems” in 2021 and 2018, recognized as a “Best Employer for Women” by Forbes in 2020, and ranked as one of Forbes “America’s Best Employers” in 2018.