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Watermark University offers fun, learning for seniors

Date: 2/21/2011

Feb. 21, 2011

By Chris Maza

Reminder Assistant Editor

EAST LONGMEADOW — School is in session for residents at East Village Place retirement com-munity.

Since 2008, East Village, an assisted living facility run by Watermark Retirement Communities, has been conducting its very own college, Watermark University, in an effort to give residents a chance to be active mentally, socially and physically.

"It's been totally, 100 percent successful," Annalee Munson, LPN and memory care coordinator, said. "We even have a few people from outside East Village come to participate."

Munson conducts one of the most popular classes at Watermark University — current events, in which "students" gain a greater understanding of what is going on in the world today. Last week, the class covered the violence in Egypt, Munson said as an example. When Reminder Publications visited the class, a discussion about gun control has just begun.

"A lot of it is the same kind of thing they would see while watching CNN, but this way, they understand it a little better, maybe," Munson said, adding that there have been times when questions have turned into debates in the class.

In addition to being more informed about the world around them, the course also exercises the students' cognitive functions.

"At the end of each class, we have quizzes," Munson said. "That's the most important part. It's one thing to just sit there and take it in, but it's more important to be able to think about it and fish the answers out of the brain again."

With programs such as the current events class and others, Watermark University can be a beneficial tool in battling Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

"There's obviously no cure for dementia and things like that, but this helps stave off some of its progression," Munson said.

"I tell the residents all the time, you have to use it or lose it," Dee Chlebus, East Village's community life director, said. "We try to incorporate fun with it. There's a learning process, but they're also having fun while doing it."

Watermark University runs in a semester format, one semester for each season — summer, spring, winter and fall. Complete with its own course catalog, it offers a vast array of options for residents — and those from beyond the East Village community — to take advantage of.

The spring semester catalog features 28 programs, ranging from art classes to creative writing and from cooking to social sciences, such as the current events class.

"One of the best things about this program is everyone, even the staff, gets involved," Chlebus said, explaining that a member of the cleaning staff volunteered to teach a crafts course, while a member of the maintenance staff has started a class called "Mission Impossible" filled with challenges in a format similar to the popular television game show, "Minute to Win It."

In addition to the mental and physical stimulation the residents experience by participating in Watermark University classes, the social interaction, which Chlebus believes to be a necessary aspect of living in an assisted living situation, is a big component.

"I tell the residents to at least give one new thing a try," she said. "At least, that way, you can say you gave it a shot."

Chlebus admitted that while most residents are eager to learn new things, at times it is difficult to get some involved in the program. But when one of those tough nuts to crack opens up, it can be very rewarding.

"I had a new resident who would never leave her room and when I went to visit her, she told me, 'I know who you are, but when you see me in the hallway, just walk on by. I like to stay in my room and do my own thing,'" Chlebus said. "Now she goes to the current events class and was also the lead in the play we just put on. It feels good when I know I've reached someone."



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