Community Update (11/15/25)

Wellness

Diagnosis of Dementia- Now What?

Free webinar, Thursday, November 20 at 7:00 pm

Join Lindsey Vajpeyi, Director of Early-Stage Programs at Insight Memory Care Center in northern Virginia. Getting a diagnosis of dementia can be quite a shock – or, for some people, a sense of relief. And, if you’re a loved one of someone who has dementia, understanding how to plan ahead while also adjusting to the “new normal” is so important. In this presentation you will:

• Understand the difference between normal aging and dementia
• Learn the most common types of dementia
• Discover practical next steps to take after a diagnosis

Please Register to get the Zoom link for the webinar.

Medicare Open Enrollment October 15 – December 7

Medicare’s Annual Open Enrollment Period (OEP) is the one time each year when Medicare beneficiaries can make changes to the Medicare plan enrollment. The OEP is available between October 15-December 7, with plan changes taking effect January 1.

• Point 1: Plans may change their costs, the drugs they cover, or withdraw out of Medicare entirely each calendar year. When a plan stops covering a drug, it shifts the financial cost to the client, leaving the client responsible for the full cost of the drug, if they remain enrolled in the same plan.
• Point 2: During OEP, using the Medicare Plan Finder, beneficiaries can assess and make changes to their health insurance coverage, to include adding, dropping, or changing their Medicare Advantage or Part D Prescription Drug Plan. They can also assess Medigap policies.
• Point 3: The Virginia Insurance Counseling and Assistance Program (VICAP) can provide you with FREE, unbiased, confidential and personal assistance. You can speak to a trained counselor who will walk you through the steps to maximize your benefits Get in touch with VICAP 1 of 3 ways:
  • By calling 703-228-1725
  • By sending an email to MedicareHelp@arlingtonva.us
  • By visiting https://www.arlingtonva.us/Government/Departments/DHS/Aging-Disability/Programs/VICAP

Having Hope

By Joan Smith

These days I find it impossible to read newspapers or journals without coming across a piece about Hope. Perhaps this is because the uncertainty of our times may tend to shake and challenge our sense of hope. So, I looked at hope from a few different angles in an attempt to comprehend better our times.

Recently a person I so admired died; Jane Goodall left this earth after a lifetime of animal and human activism. In 2021 she wrote a book called The Book of Hope which I eagerly purchased at publication. Turns out, I love this book much more than I thought I would. To me it is a comfort book; I did not learn many new things, but I learned how to approach old things in a different, hopeful way.

After spending many decades in African forests studying chimpanzee behavior, Goodall developed her concept of hope: hope is what enables us to keep going in the face of adversity. It is what we desire to happen, but we need to work hard to make it so. It includes the factors of action and agency, important in generating hope, which differentiate it from wishful thinking, and from optimism.

In her book Ms. Goodall focuses on her four reasons for her having hope: “the amazing human intellect, the resilience of nature, the power of young people, and the indomitable human spirit.”  And she is convinced that hope can be cultivated!

Other research has generally proven the positive effects of hopefulness on our physical and mental health. The Brookings Institute published research on Hope and the Life Course (10/14/25), showing the results from a longitudinal study of 25,000 adults over a 14 year period. Those researchers saw hope as the most important positive emotion relevant to long-term outcomes, distinguished by its strong grounding in individual agency, that is, the determination to make things better. Like others, they remind us that hope does have a genetic component and is shaped by environmental factors such as familial and community support. They, too, emphasize that hope can be developed throughout the life course. They suggest that better understanding of the determinants of hope and its drivers can ultimately inform the ability of both individuals and of public policy to improve people’s lives.

Spoiler alert: I confess I did my doctoral dissertation on Hope and the Accuracy of Self-concept in older women. My definition of hope was: a multidimensional dynamic life force characterized by a confident yet uncertain expectation of achieving good, which, to the hoping person, is realistically possible and personally significant (Dufault & Martoccio, 1985). Whew! Despite all the wordiness, we see this coincides with other contemporary understandings of hope; doable but needing action and agency, no promises made.

Last, I note in the Sept-Oct 2025 issue of a publication by the Erickson Senior Living group of retirement communities, that in 2021 with 100 residents, they have piloted a program called “Embrace Well-Being and Flourish”. This program utilized a specialized curriculum designed to equip senior residents with practical tools for enhancing their resilience and managing stress. The tools included taking action, to learn new skills, participate with others to gain mastery of aspects of their lives. This apparently led the participants to enhanced hopefulness as well.

They note “seniors don’t get to be seniors without having learned the value of positivity and resilience…. but it’s always nice to get a refresher on the importance of resilience”

I second that!