2019 MAIA Review: Day Two

Highlights from MAIA on Friday, August 9, 2019.

I have a few notes that I haven't shared from the Twelfth Annual Mid-American Institute on Aging and Wellness (MAIA) held on the campus of University of Southern Indiana.

Attendees include members of the tristate region's healthcare organizations (including USI students, faculty, and staff member), family care partners (formerly called "caregivers"), and individuals of all ages from IN, KY, IL and beyond seeking to improve the quality of their life by learning more about wellness across the lifespan.

Many healthcare professionals attending earn CME credits (continuing medical education), but a good portion of those present are not healthcare professionals; they are community members who are pro-active about their physical, financial, social, and emotional health.

These are details about the second day of this event, which took place on Friday, August 9, 2019. Find details about the first day, Thursday August 8th, by following this link.

Ron Weatherford in USI's Carter Hall

As people made there way to Carter Hall, they had the opportunity to practice a few minutes of Tai Chi as directed by Ron Weatherford.

Published in 2014 and 2017.

The morning keynote address was delivered by journalist and author Greg O'Brien.

He gave an engaging speech about living with Younger-Onset Dementia. previously called Early Onset Dementia (EOD).

His work as a journalist gives him the ability to articulate a lot of emotions and concepts about living with this disease. His family heritage and personality gives him the ability to do so with a lot of wit and wisdom; he comes from a long line of animated storytellers.

For those seeking to learn more about O'Brien, he has a well-regarded book, On Pluto, which has been republished in 2017 in an expanded edition.


I was fortunate enough to get a signed copy of his book.

Ron Weatherford

After the morning keynote, I had to choose among several concurrent sessions.

At 10 am, I had six choices on topics ranging from brain health, reverse mortgages, the uses of CBD oils and more.

I chose to learn more about the mind-body connection by attending a Chi Gung class led by Ron Weatherford. I tend to overthink, so it was great spending an hour breathing slowly and moving with intention.  Ron has a calm voice, and he gives good advice about living in the present moment.

We did seated poses and standing poses. Towards the end we did eye exercises. Here is a photo of Ron with the chart we used to direct the motion of our eyes.

Some speakers gave two talks on the day the attended. Sometimes the talks were directed to fellow experts. Sometimes they were directed to the lay person.

Charo Boyd, SSA Indianapolis, public affairs specialist 

I was glad that Charo Boyd drove down from Indianapolis, the state capital, to talk about Social Security benefits.  She is the SSA's public affairs specialist. She provided a lot of good information.

Jennifer Schuetter-Bromm sharing mind-body techniques.

After lunch, I attended the session "Mind-Body Skills" led by licensed clinical social worker Jennifer Schuetter-Bromm, LCSW, ACSW. She explained the benefits of mindfulness but more importantly, she led the participants through a series of exercises, aimed at helping to reduce stress in the mind and tension in the body.

This session provided a great opportunity to experience some calm after being immersed for two days with a lot of invigorating people and ideas.

Dr. Tim Brimmer expressing joy through music. 

The closing plenary speaker was Dr. Tim Brimmer, DA from Butler University.

He talked about the benefits music has for improving cognition and mood.

He had nearly 200 people participating by talking, singing, and laughing.

And I'm betting that I wasn't the only one who cried. It was a poignant demonstration of the power of music.

At the end of the day, I talked with a few of the exhibitors before they packed up. They had a wealth of information about wellness to add to this two-day event.  For more information about the exhibitors and sponsors for the 12th Annual MAIA, follow this link post for details.

I'm on the committee of "Blue Shirts" who help behind the scenes, and we are working to select keynotes and plenary speakers for next year. I have attended in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019. The high quality of the prior years has me looking forward to the 2020 program. I hope you can join us. Or at least, tell a friend.

Evansville, Indiana is located on the Ohio River right in the middle of St. Louis to our west, Indianapolis to the north, Louisville to the east, and Memphis to our south.

Related:

2019 MAIA: Day One

2019 MAIA Sponsors and Exhibitors

2019 MAIA Preview

2018 MAIA Concurrent Sessions