Maintaining Mobility Video Transcript
Buddy:
So Kyla, why do you think mobility is so important?
Kyla:
Well Buddy I think first it’s a matter of personal health.
Reduced mobility can put a senior at risk for physical or mental health.
I mean if you think about it, seniors just like everybody else, need to
be actively engaged in their community and with their family and mobility allows
the senior to do that, and it allows them to be actively engaged in their
community, so that they have the opportunity to give back to their community
that they love.
Buddy:
I can certainly understand that!
Because if there is no mobility or if very little mobility they lose their
independence, and if a person is not able to maintain some normalcy in life then
where is their quality of life? If
they’re not able to get the basic necessities that they need such as grocery
shopping, going to the market, pharmacy, places of worship, then they lose
mobility and they lose contact with the community and transportation is that
vital link.
Kyla:
Absolutely, I mean even things like getting your hair done.
I can still see why the quality of life is extremely important, but also
reduced mobility can put a senior at risk for injury, especially from falls.
And Buddy, did that you know that falls are the leading cause of injury
relating death among our seniors?
Buddy:
Actually, yes I did. If a person is
no longer able to be mobile they lose their strength and their balance and
they’re not able to get up and about.
Kyla:
Right, and if they’re just confined to the sofa then they lose some of that
strength and mobility. For general
health and injury prevention that strength and mobility is very important, but
to, mobility is not just the only thing that’s important, but safe mobility
and unfortunately for some of our seniors driving is just no longer a safe
mobility option.
Buddy:
You’re right Kyla! There’s so
many things that make seniors unsafe to drive. As our bodies change physically,
we get stiff; we’re not able to turn the steering wheel like we want to,
especially able to look behind us.
We’re not able to brake safely and we’re not able to maneuver the automobile
like we need to. And as we age,
certainly our eyes change. The glare
of the roadway system and the sunshine often distracts us, makes it harder for
us to see street name signs, traffic signs, and we’re not even sometimes able to
recognize familiar places. Our
hearing changes. We’re not able to
identify such things as horns or sirens or even know what’s going on in our own
car. So as we change and as we slow
down, our reaction time certainly slows down so that we can become unsafe
driver.
Kyla:
Wow, Buddy, that’s unfortunate! But I guess it is true and I suppose seniors
then need to weigh their transportation options. On the one hand, there’s the
risk of injury from lack of mobility, but then on the other hand there’s the
risk from unsafe mobility. I think really
that’s where multiple transportation options become so key!
Buddy:
True, but the mobility options must allow the senior to remain or feel like
they’re still independent; and the independence may come from being able to
drive their own vehicle, going and coming
as they please, and knowing where mobility options are that are readily
available. But those options must meet the five A’s of transportation:
they should be available; adaptive; accessible; affordable; and adequate.
Kyla:
I like that Buddy the five A’s - that’s important!
Can you say a little about the importance of a mobile senior’s spending
power?
Buddy:
Now we’re getting into economics.
There was a recent study done in Florida showing where seniors brings more to
the state than they actually receive.
In fact, the older population brings more benefits to the local community
socially and economically. By being
mobile and having mobile transportation they are able to volunteer, provide over
$135 billion dollars in spending power, donate to charities and pay school
taxes. Seniors really are an awesome
group of people! By being active,
mobile with some mode of transportation they’re able to live healthier more
productive lives and age in place in the community that most are born in or call
home. Transportation is a vital link
that supports this concept.
Kyla:
Absolutely, I couldn’t agree more.