(From left) June Melloni Kelly, president-elect; Jeff Pan; Elizabeth Bouchard, board member; Wilbert Wilkinson, past president; Teresa Rutledge board member; Connie Sawtell president; Eileen Curtis, past president and David Hunt
Speaker June Melloni Kelly, Ph.D., president-elect of the Rotary Club of Great Falls, service project chair, and Opioid Abuse Prevention lead preps for her remarks.By Mercia Hobson
The Great Falls Grange Foundation hosted the Inaugural Health and Wellness Fair on Saturday, Sept. 16. The event, which Julie Maher, executive director of the Grange Foundation, and Karen McPhail, chair of the Health and Wellness Fair and member of the Great Falls Grange Foundation Board, organized, featured speakers from seven different organizations and businesses. Additionally, the fair featured 22 vendors and an on-site lab, according to June Kelly of the Great Falls Rotary Club.
Silver sponsors Great Falls Assisted Living — A Memory Care Community, and Great Falls Physical Therapy joined gold sponsors Dr. Ranjana Chawla, Ayurveda and Alternative Medicine, and Brightview of Great Falls in supporting the five-hour event.
Highlights:
Peggy Breda, Founder/Owner of A Family Tie- Topic: Navigating Senior Living with Ease: Communication is key. Share your expectations for your loved one’s care. All assisted living communities are not the same. Use a local advisor to help you navigate all the options that meet your particular loved ones’ needs.
Gabriela Bravo, The Residence at Colvin Run- Assisted living can be a scary set of words, but its goals align with yours: independence, autonomy, and companionship. Being at home to age in place can only be the goal for as long as it is safe and realistic. The Residence at Colvin Run is a luxurious, boutique community that puts residents first.
June Melloni Kelly, Ph.D., Rotary Club of Great Falls and Opioid Abuse Prevention lead- “There is a growing problem with drug misuse and abuse throughout the country that also affects our local communities. In 2022, more than 90 percent of fatal overdoses in Fairfax County involved fentanyl. Every person can help prevent a potential first-time drug abuser. Properly dispose of unused drugs in the medicine cabinets of your home; consider using a medicine lock box for necessary medicines; and talk to your children about the dangers of overdosing. By age 11, children are starting to self-medicate.”
Joan Bliss and Katie Camorgursky, paramedic of Great Falls Fire and Rescue- Fairfax County Fire and Rescue, reminds all residents that hands-only CPR can save lives. About 90 percent of people who experience cardiac arrest at home, work, or in public die because they don’t receive immediate CPR from someone on the scene. Seventy percent of cardiac arrests occur in the home, so knowing how to give CPR in an emergency means you are prepared to save the lives of the people you love. Studies have shown that hands-only CPR is just as effective on an adult cardiac arrest victim as conventional CPR with breaths when given in the first few minutes, especially if an automated external defibrillator (AED) is used.
Jane Rutledge Hampson, OTR/L, pediatric occupational therapist, owner of Common Senses, LLC- We each have unique patterns of interacting with our sensory environment. Our comfort level with distractions and change, or recognition of detail and patterns, and our skills at organizing time and space are all based on our sensory processing. Knowing your unique sensory profile can help you identify your strengths and challenges and make engaging in life more satisfying. As a parent, knowing your child’s sensory profile can improve your ability to nurture, encourage, and build confidence and resilience in your child.
Other speakers included Abigail Lawler, M.D., Inova Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders Center, Living Well with Parkinson's, and Delores Athey-Clearfield, Director of Strategic Partnerships and Continuum of Care, Capital City Nurses, What Medicare Really Covers, Resources, and More