Parkland Hospital - Our Heritage

seniors speak

Seniors speak, Parkland listens

In a small room at Parkland’s Southeast Dallas Health Center, Physical Therapist Yoomi Choi teaches several patients how to manage and care for their aging bodies. Each of them has varying degrees of arthritis.

Wincing slightly, Mary Laura Lee slowly kicks her leg back and forth. Riddled by painful rheumatoid arthritis for years, she still manages to crack a smile. “It’s a good pain. Lets me know I’m working my muscles,” says the long-time Parkland patient.

It’s a particularly proud moment for Lee, as she helped make the class happen. She is a part of a select group of senior citizens called Senior Speak.

Senior Speak is an advisory board comprised of about 10 Parkland patients ages 60 to 80. Their insight and feedback help create better programs, classes and educational information for Parkland’s geriatric community. Perhaps most importantly, it gives them a chance to be active participants in their own health care treatment.

“Makes me happy,” Lee smiles. “My voice was heard.”
Although advisory boards have been used for years at Parkland, Senior Speak is relatively new, explains Chiffon Okuda, geriatric case manager in Parkland’s Geriatric Clinic. Okuda and fellow case manager, Heather Staples, developed the advisory board after seeing the success of the advisory boards in helping managers of Parkland’s health centers receive the patients’ and community’s perspectives.

“The advisory boards began with the inception of our community-oriented primary care clinics,” explains Marcene Royster, director of community services. “The group is made up of patients and community partners who are the eyes and ears of our community. They give us feedback and ideas on programs and help disseminate correct information throughout the community about Parkland.”

With this concept in mind, Okuda and Staples created a broad by approaching geriatric patients and asking health care providers to suggest participants.

“Initially we developed the advisory board to meet quarterly and help with educational information for their age group. We asked them to look over flyers and other educational materials to see if it appealed to them. Maybe the font was too small or the colors were distracting. We weren’t sure if what we were putting out was even working,” says Okuda.

The feedback from Senior Speak soon led to larger discussions on topics plaguing the geriatric population like mental health issues, depression and arthritis. Members expressed the need for more education and yearned for information.

“We put their suggestions into action and created a series of free classes, which was a direct result of their input. They told us they wanted this so we made it happen,” she explains.

While the six-week arthritis class Lee is taking is a pilot program, she and those involved look forward to more educational opportunities in the future and is confidant in the results she expects to receive.

“I committed to these classes because I needed something to help me learn how to deal with the conditions I have,” she says. “I also advertise at my church because I think when they see me walking around with the conditions I did have, and how I am dealing with them, they will be encouraged to sign up. These classes are awesome.”