Judith Metcalf interviewed in ‘Maine Seniors’ magazine
Judith A. Metcalf, ANP-BC, M.S., MGSF, director of the University of New England’s Maine Geriatric Education Center (MGEC) housed in the School of Community and Population Health, was recently interviewed by Paulette Oboyski for the March 2016 edition of Maine Seniors Magazine. Her interview appeared in a story on Molly Neptune Parker for the magazine's "Prime Mover" series.
Parker is a gifted Passamaquoddy basket maker who for the 5 years of the UNE-MGEC grant-funded program participated in the "Living Art - Living Well" Seminar Series. Molly was a guest artist, as one of Maine's master traditional artists who have taught as part of the Maine Arts Commission’s Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program.
In each of the 5 years of this UNE-MGEC program, Molly and her grandchildren traveled to different parts of the state, speaking to many health professionals and older adults on the important link between art and healthy, fulfilling aging. She shared her life story, the legacy she will pass on to her children and grandchildren, and many examples from her own experience to aid health professionals with being attentive and aware of how important it is to inquire about patients' passions. The aim was to help health professionals understand and become more mindful of the importance of this artful part of patients' life stories and the many actual and potential ways it intersects with and influences health.
