Wood County Committee on Aging, Safe Communities of Wood County, and AARP will present their annual Senior Safety Expo on Friday, June 23, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., at the Peace Lutheran Church, 1021 W. Wooster St., and at the Bowling Green Fire Station off West Wooster Street.
Participants are invited to the following:
- Educational Seminars: Lunch and Learn Topic “Neuroplasticity and Its Relation to Driving,” presented by Linda Chapman, Mercy Health. Advance registration for this session is required. “Changes in Health Care,” Dr. Steven Bills; “Scams Against the Elderly,” Matt Robinson, Bowling Green Police Department; “Services to the Community,” Bowling Green Fire Department; and “Mindfulness,” Wood County Park District.
- CarFit: an educational program sponsored by AAA, AARP and AOTA that offers older adults the opportunity to check how well their personal vehicles fit them.
- Booths: Wood County Parks, Wood County Jobs and Family Services, R U Ok program, City of Bowling Green Housing, PT Link, Wood Haven Health Care, Bowling Green Fire Department, BGSU Paws Team, Dr. Bills, Devoted Health, Wood County Hospital, Heritage Health Care Campus, Ohio Home Health Care & more will have booths providing information and services to guests. There will be adaptive vehicle equipment, local resources, transportation, refreshments, raffle prizes and more.
Lunch will be provided to the first 25 participants who pre-register with the Wood County Committee on Aging at 419-353-5661 or email programs@wccoa.net for the Lunch and Learn program.
There is a growing need to help older drivers sharpen their skills as well as recognize their changing abilities and adapt their driving practices appropriately. Insurers have partnered with state and local governments, and groups such as AARP and the AAA Foundation for Highway Safety to create programs designed to address these needs.
According to the Governors Highway Safety Administration, impairments in three key areas—vision, cognition and motor function—are responsible for higher crash rates for older drivers. Vision declines with age; cognition, which includes memory and attention, can be impacted by medical problems such as dementia and medication side effects; and motor function suffers as flexibility declines due to diseases such as arthritis.
For information call the Wood County Committee on Aging at 419-353-5661, or 800-367-4935 or by emailing programs@wccoa.net.
For more information from the Insurance Information Institute, visit http://www.iii.org/issue-update/older-drivers.
