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Seniors have many options to play it cool
Mahoning Valley’s older population has many cool spots to beat the heat as the temperature climbs.
Austintown residents Mary Pavlak, 81, and Ida Tamburino, 87, played bingo Wednesday morning in the air-conditioned Austintown Senior Center at 100 Westchester Drive.
“We come here because we like to socialize,” said Pavlak. “And there’s so much to do here.”
Activities at the center include cornhole games, billiards, exercise equipment, video games and computers with Internet access. Today’s schedule also includes yoga at 9:30 a.m., a computer class at 10:30 a.m. and bingo at Windsor House at Omni Manor at 12 p.m. Lunch is available on a first-come, first-served basis at 11:30 a.m.
Bill Adams, Austintown Senior Center director, said Mahoning County residents 60 years and older are welcome at the center Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Libraries, a friend’s or family member’s house, churches, movie theaters and shopping malls were places Adams suggested senior citizens also could visit to get out of the heat.
As an outdoor thermometer hit 94 degrees, Don Denmeade, 80, enjoyed a cup of hot coffee at Southern Park Mall in Boardman.
The heat outside, he said, reminded him of being in the South Pacific during the Korean War.
“There was no air conditioning on the ship,” said Denmeade.
He said he comes to the mall every day during the week and spends two or three hours socializing.
“I think older people are unaware of how to prepare for the heat,” said Denmeade. “You have to slow down when it’s hot.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people age 65 and older are more prone to heat stress because they don’t adjust as well as younger adults to sudden changes in temperature, can have chronic health conditions that change the body’s normal way of responding to heat and often take medicine that impairs the body’s ability to regulate its temperature and inhibits sweating.
Warning signs of heat-related illnesses include heavy sweating, paleness, muscle cramps, tiredness, weakness, dizziness, headache and nausea or fainting, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
To prevent heat-related illnesses, the health department suggests drinking plenty of fluids, avoiding alcohol, caffeine and activities at the hottest part of the day, getting to a shady area and cooling down in a tub, shower or with a garden hose.
The Senior Help Hotline is directing senior citizens to community cooling centers at The Salvation Army, Howland S.C.O.P.E Center and the Newton Falls Community Center, said Todd Marian, chief operating officer for the Senior Help Hotline. The Howland Township Administration Building also is a designated cooling center.
“If you have a grandmother or someone older that you are worried about and can’t check on, you can call [211] and arrange for us to call them,” said Marian. He said the hotline makes approximately 30 medical reminder calls a day.