Lake Butler Community Page News Tidbits

By Anna Woods

On Tuesday, July 30, at 10:00 a.m., the Senior Social Club will celebrate its second anniversary with a special program and many surprises for the club’s seniors. If you or a senior loved one has never attended one of the programs, now is a great time to consider coming to this weekly event.

The Senior Social Club was established at Lake Butler Hospital in July 2017 and it has been a resounding success, bringing social interaction and pertinent information to local seniors. Lake Butler Hospital’s Hospital and Community Engagement Liaison Anna Woods was approached in early 2017 by hospital administrators to start a program that would serve to provide a gathering or meeting place of the seniors in the community. “After just losing my father a few months earlier, this idea immediately was something I became very passionate about because I saw what a toll it took on my mother when she lost the love of her life and the loneliness that followed,” Woods said. “It is easy to lose motivation to get out of the house and stay active after something like this happens. We also realized there really was not much available in our community where active, engaged seniors could gather and have a good time.”

Woods said that it took a couple of months of planning and building the outline of the program before the “doors” of the club opened in July 2017. It was decided to try for weekly, two hour programs, to be held from 10 a.m. until 12 p.m. From the beginning it was decided that this would be a free program, offered to all Union County seniors, 55 and over — although no one is at the door checking birth certificates or IDs. “We aren’t worried about the true age of anyone who attends the program because the goal is to bring people together to make new friendships and build a strong community,” Woods said.

From the start, Woods said she wanted to bring in presenters with topics that would be of interest to the particular age group represented in the club. The focus was on helping attendees to learn valuable information and techniques, but to also have fun doing it. “Our very first program, myself and the hospital dietitian put together a program on nutrition,” Woods said. “I helped with making individualized plates of healthy snacks and she presented the literature and answered questions along the way. I was so nervous that no one would show up so I called my mother the night before and told her to please show up because she might be my only guest that following day! Woods said she was overwhelmed when 20 seniors arrived for that first program. She said the response and the feedback was amazing and far beyond what had been hoped for. More seniors attended the next week and the program continues to host about 25-30 seniors on any given program day. Topics for the meetings of the club are varied and have made use of many of the hospital’s and community’s resources, most especially its people. Members of the Union County Sheriff’s Office have presented self-defense classes. Drug and vaccine programs by hospital and local pharmacists have offered valuable information, as have programs offered by the hospital’s physical therapists. Groups from Union County 4-H and Union County High School students have made presentations on a number of topics. Programs about financial topics, estate planning, crime prevention, computer use, art and painting and health issues like Alzheimer’s Disease have all provided food for thought and useful information for attending seniors.

Quite often, the day’s program will be split, with half presenting an educational program and the other half featuring a fun interactive craft or game. “What I originally thought of as a program became the biggest achievement of my life to date,” Woods said. “I have a whole new family here in Lake Butler that I love and cherish. I hope I am able to continue to build this program for years to come. I want to first and foremost thanks the Lake Butler hospital administration for being so supportive of this program, as well as many community leaders who have contributed their time and resources to make it successful.” Monthly event calendars are always available at the front desk of the hospital, or they may be accessed at the hospital website www. lakebutlerhospital.com, as well as in the Events on Lake Butler Hospital’s Facebook Page.