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Physical Health: The Power of Action
March 3, 12-1pm EST
Rita H. Losee, ScD, RN
When she was thirty – a few weeks back – Rita read Helen Keller’s words: “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” Those eight words changed her life.
A happily married Massachusetts mom, she instantly committed to living a life of adventure. Among her subsequent adventures, she has
- Climbed 19,367 foot Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa.
- Completed the Hawaii Ironman in 12 hours, 45 minutes and 27 seconds.
- Solo hiked the 2,167 mile Appalachian Trail.
- Written and published many articles and books.
- Earned a doctorate from Boston University.
- Been an adoring Gramsie to 4 grandkids.
- Fully recovered from debilitating illness that turned her into a “couch slouch” – for years!
Now fully recovered and living the life of a Soaring Senior, she delights in helping others thrive, physically, intellectually, emotionally, spiritually, and financially.
Recently, she published Soaring Seniors: Stories, Steps and Strategies for Living Full-Out after Fifty, Sixty, Seventy… Her intention for the book is to change the cultural conversation in the US about being a senior, currently seen as being about 4 Ds, diminishment, deterioration, disease and death. She maintains that seniority can, and should, be a time for living full-out.
Publications + Blogs
Soaring Senior: Pandemic won’t stop 78-year-old Bath woman from 272-mile hike - read the story in Portland Press Herald.
www.soaringseniors.com
www.LifeWave.com/DrRita
www.Facebook.com/RitaLosee
www.Facebook.com/SoaringSeniors
www.facebook.com/HealthProfessionalsforFarmacology/
Soaring Seniors: Stories, Steps and Strategies for Living Full-Out After Fifty, Sixty, Seventy
https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/78-year-old-mainer-is-hiking-400-miles-to-raise-money-for-food-bank/97-7d08b266-9ed1-4b4d-bc3d-aba6ce1948b6
Physical Fitness does not need to be an unreachable goal. People with varying levels of fitness can improve their overall health and wellness through goal setting, motivational triggers, and by having a lifestyle mindset.
Spiritual Health: The Power of Spiritual Aging
March 10, 12-1pm EST
Dr. Joanna Seibert
Dr. Joanna Seibert is an emeritus professor of radiology and pediatrics at Arkansas Children's Hospital and the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences and has been an ordained deacon in the Episcopal Diocese of Arkansas for twenty years. She is presently assigned to St. Mark's Little Rock.
Dr. Seibert is the author of numerous books on spiritual healing. She and her husband, Dr. Robert Seibert, were formerly Arkansas' representatives to the National Cathedral in Washington. Dr. Joanna Seibert has been named one of the top 100 women in Arkansas by Arkansas Business for several years, as well as being on the list of outstanding doctors in the country for many years. Recently Dr. Seibert was named to the Arkansas Women's Hall of Fame.
Dr. Seibert and her husband have three grown children and six grandchildren and have lived in Little Rock, AR for forty years.
Publications + Blogs
Blog, profile, sermons, books
Facebook
Church on Facebook where I serve as ordained deacon Episcopal Church
Church where I serve as minister
Emeritus professor of radiology and pediatrics (Univ of Arkansas)
Emeritus professor of radiology and pediatrics (Arkansas Children's Hospitals)
Past President of the Society for Pediatric Radiology
Spirituality is a personal practice that considers individual beliefs to help guide one’s understanding of and connection to the greater community. Explore strategies for living in the present, finding your supple heart, and understanding ways to honor and forgive those you have loved.
Story Health: The Power of Who We Are
March 17, 12-1pm EST
Diane Atwood
Diane Atwood has been sharing stories about health and wellness for more than 30 years, first as a reporter on WCSH6 and then as the marketing and public relations manager for Northern Light Mercy Hospital. She remains committed to health reporting that makes a difference and does so through her award-winning Catching Health blog and podcast. She also contributes to Bangor Daily News, as well as Turner Publishing’s community newspapers and quarterly publication Maine Boomers. Before COVID struck, she was traveling throughout Maine interviewing people 60 and above about their lives and perspectives on aging. Inspired by their enthusiasm about sharing their stories, and realizing that many people were interested in documenting their lives with an audio record for their families, she has launched a new business called Catching Your Memories.
Publications + Blogs
https://dianeatwood.com/
Catching Health with Diane Atwood (Blog and Podcast)
Bangor Daily News
Facebook
LinkedIn
Instagram
MaineBiz Article
The Retirement Success in Maine podcast
Racing, Concussions and the Road to Recovery USM event
Story-telling has been used for thousands of years, as a way to pass down knowledge and history. Every person has a story that is worth telling. Explore ways to tell your story by learning about basic story elements and considering a variety of story prompts to get you started.
Social Health: The Power of Connections
March 24, 12-1pm EST
Patricia Oh, LMSW, PhD
Patricia Oh, PhD, LMSW, works with communities to develop local environments that make it easier for older people to be fully engaged in community life and enjoy the best possible health and well-being. Based on her work with communities, she contributed a book chapter, Designing Age-Friendly Environments as a Strategy for Enhancing Social Connectedness, to the recently published Social Isolation of Older Adults: Strategies to Bolster Health and Well-Being and is the lead author on the AARP Roadmap to Livability Series and Rural Livability Report. She works with the UMaine Center on Aging as a Program Manager and with AARP Maine/Livable as an age-friendly consultant.
Poor quality relationships and limited interactions with others not only affect our feelings and sense of worth, they cause physiological damage to our bodies in the form of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, depression, and ultimately, early death. Explore ways to maintain solid connections with others, especially during these times through a Social Connection Plan.
Cognitive Health: The Power of Lifelong Learning
March 31, 12-1pm EST
Nicci Kobritz
Nurse practitioner and geriatric specialist, Nicci Kobritz has more than three decades of experience in developing and managing health care services. Nicci has received awards and recognition for her home care services and her volunteer work. She writes periodically for Home Health Care Management & Practice, Aspen Publishers.
In Maine, Nicci founded the Expanded Child Health Service, a rural pediatric clinic selected by the Academy of Pediatrics as a national model; she then developed a state model for hospital-based child neglect programs and served in Maine Gov. John R. McKernan’s cabinet for health care.
Ms. Kobritz, in partnership with the Roskamp Institute, developed Sci-brain in order to integrate the latest scientific research on strengthening memory with advanced client care. Sci-Brain has now expanded its capabilities through Center for Brain Health, a new company operated by Julio Cantero, MD.
Publications + Blogs
www.youthfulaginghomecare.com
www.thecbh.com
Lifelong learning is very important to improving cognition. Cognitive function includes the ability to think, reason and judge. It also depends on the health and fitness of the brain. Explore how to adapt important lifestyle interventions known to improve brain fitness while optimizing the benefits of lifelong learning.
Emotional Health: The Power of Resilience
April 7, 12-1pm EST
Suellen Nadeau, PMHCNS, BC,CWP, CMHIMP, RYT
Suellen is the chair of the Integrative Health and Wellness Sciences at Saint Joseph’s College’s ( SJC) Institute for Integrative Aging. In her SJC role as interdisciplinary faculty for the last 9 years, she has developed and taught 16 different Holistic Health courses at the undergraduate and graduate level. Suellen is committed to offering her clients and students the most effective, evidence-based tools to achieve their highest level of wellness. In following that pursuit, she has become an Advanced Practice Nurse, an Expressive Arts Mental Health Therapist, a Certified Wellness Practitioner, a Certified Mental Health Integrative Medicine Provider, a Registered Yoga Teacher, and a Koru Mindfulness Teacher. She sees herself as a bridge between Western and Eastern Medicine, utilizing the best of both paradigms to practice the art and science of Integrative/ Lifestyle Medicine that heals bodies, minds and spirits. She was a 2016 recipient of SJC’s Inspire People and Change the World award. She credits Mindfulness Based Practices for significant healing in her own life.
Stress can have a significant impact on one's physical, mental, and spiritual health. Explore practical strategies to negate the feelings associated with stress through mindfulness skills and strength-based practices.
