Getting older and stronger

Barbara Diamond

Art Linkletter once wrote, “Getting Old Is Not for Sissies.”

Boy, he got that right. Bones thin, eyesight dims, cholesterol

clogs arteries, heartbeats falter, names are forgotten, pounds cling

like they never did in one’s youth and with a longer life expectancy,

Americans have more years to cope with the effects of aging. It

doesn’t have to be awful as it sounds.

To help make those “golden years” more enjoyable and healthy,

South Coast Medical Center created the Seniors 55-plus Benefits Club

in September 2002 with programs to prevent or ameliorate some of

distressing symptoms that come with seniority. The club now has more

than 1,600 members.

“I joined right away,” said Lillian Kaufman, 84, a resident of

Vista Aliso, the senior housing complex on Wesley Drive. “I figured

it would be to my advantage.”

Veteran TV newsman Jess Marlow was the guest speaker at the club’s

kick-off Senior Town Hall lecture.

“I had heard him before, but this was one of his best talks,” said

Nancy Jenness, club member and long-time hospital volunteer.

She and her husband, Larry, were the first two club members.

“We joined because we love the hospital and because the club

offers good, informative programs in the range of things seniors need

to know about: health issues, family issues, all kinds of things of

interest to us, and now, we have the time to investigate them,”

Jenness said. “Plus, there are plans for social events geared toward

seniors.”

“I think it is wonderful that South Coast hospital is taking care

of our senior population this way.”

Club membership is free and includes a Catalyst Scripts’

prescription discount card, good at 42,000 participating pharmacies,

including mail order. The card offers preferred pricing only, but

there may not be savings on every prescription. It is not an

insurance program.

“The discount is for people who don’t have prescriptions covered

in their medical insurance,” said Kate Tschudin, club program

manager.

Kaufman hasn’t used her card yet, but she plans to.

“Prescriptions are very expensive, you know,” she said.

Card holders get 10% to 50% off on prescriptions. Pharmacies

absorb the discount. Participating pharmacies include Sunset Pharmacy

on Glenneyre Street and most of the big chains, such as Vons Pharmacy

and Pavilions, hospital officials said.

Club members also are entitled to quarterly health screenings free

or at discounted rates. Screenings include a cholesterol profile,

overall fitness, osteoporosis, hearing, skin cancer and whole-body

computerized tomography -- multiple X-ray images better known as CT

scans.

Among the discounted activities is the tai chi class taught Monday

nights by Grace Bradley Boyd. Boyd, 89, is the widow of movie cowboy

star William “Hopalong” Cassidy Boyd. If he were to come back today,

he wouldn’t have a problem identifying his wife. She is an icon for

seniors.

“Gracie doesn’t look any different than she did 20 years ago,”

said Lauri Mendenhall, who first met Boyd while working as publicist

for Laguna Art Museum.

The diminutive Boyd is more flexible than most of the much younger

practitioners of the two-hour class she teaches.

“I really think tai chi has helped,” Boyd said Monday during a

break in the class.

Boyd has been a disciple of tai chi for 30 years and she moves

serenely through the forms like smoothly flowing water, all the while

coaching class members verbally. Sometimes she interrupts her own

progression to work with a specific student.

“You have to get the beginners started right or they never get

it,” Boyd said.

The club also offers a fitness class at a discount and a free

walking program.

Tschudin started the South Coast Beachcombers Walking Club and the

fitness class about six years ago. Consistently, 22 to 25 members

participate in the twice-a-week walks, Tuesdays and Thursdays. The

walks are guided and monitored by physical therapy department staff.

Fifteen to 20 participants regularly show up for the fitness class,

held from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays.

“We’re very excited about the tours,” Tschudin said. “They will be

very affordable.”

Freebies for club members include transportation to and from the

hospital for medical appointments, senior health lectures, Medicare

insurance counseling, flu shots and membership in support groups, a

credit union and social activities.

“Auxiliary functions such as the Holiday Fashion Show, the Holiday

Fair -- at which donated and handmade items are sold -- and our book

fairs have been blended into the club,” Tschudin said. “Most of our

auxiliary are members of the club.”

Lillian Kaufman has been a member of the auxiliary for 15 years.

She works in the hospital gift shop.

“Coming here for eight hours every Tuesday keeps me young,” she

said. “And the best part is you never get up in the morning and have

to worry about what you are going to wear.”

The hospital supplies auxiliary volunteers with identifying blue

jackets.

Kaufman said she never expected to live as long as she has, a

statement also made by Boyd.

“Seniors are a special population that have special needs,” said

Tschudin, who is just six months away from being eligible for the

55-plus Benefits Club. “I enjoy the opportunity to interact with them

and provide health information and activities to help them achieve a

healthier lifestyle.

“We really want seniors to think of South Coast Medical Center

when they are healthy.”

* BARBARA DIAMOND is a reporter for the Laguna Beach Coastline

Pilot. She may be reached at 494-4321.