Wellness Classes Seeks to Help Seniors Make “WISE” Health Choices

By Colleen Diskin

Class is in session at the 1425 Teaneck Road Community Room, and seven older adults are tuning in, workbooks open, as Rosemary Marchetto walks them through some of the common causes of medication misuse.

This is Session 4 of a six-week prevention and wellness workshop course being offered through a new partnership between Age-Friendly Teaneck, The Bright Side Family and The Center for Alcohol and Drug Resources, a Division of Children’s Aid and Family Services.

Marchetto is a prevention specialist who teaches the center’s Wellness Initiative for Senior Education (WISE) workshop series, an evidence-based curriculum that empowers older adults to celebrate healthy aging, make positive lifestyle choices, address high-risk behaviors, and prevent substance misuse.

Marchetto, back row on right, displaying some of the wellness goodie bags handed out to WISE program participants.

The courses cover a range of wellness topics related to aging – from how the body, our organs and the five senses are impacted as we grow older to the potential impact of cigarettes, alcohol, social isolation and other lifestyle risks, to practical tips and strategies for maintaining good emotional and physical health.

Each session offers a mini-lecture, a learning activity, plenty of group discussion and a healthy lunch. The current class at the 1425 Community Room has two more sessions left, ending on March 25.

Bright Side’s partnership with The Center will continue beyond that date, with planning underway to bring the program to participants of PALS, our portable assisted living program located in Westwood House in Westwood.

“The residents participating in this series have been very engaged and are clearly getting a lot out of the class,” said Janice Dorman, coordinator for Age-Friendly Teaneck. “This WISE program is so beneficial that it only makes sense to bring it to other older adults served by The Bright Side Family.”

Marchetto welcomed the opportunity to continue working with Bright Side, emphasizing the importance of her organization partnering with like-minded organizations committed to promoting wellness and effective health prevention strategies.

“When working with senior locations throughout Bergen County, a key piece of the commitment must come from the site director,” Marchetto said. “I can’t say it enough—if you don’t have a director that’s involved, then you don’t have a program.”

Executive Director Elizabeth Davis said the WISE Initiative partnership is a perfect example of the type of community education programming that Bright Side envisioned when opening the community room at 1425 Teaneck Road in 2024.

“Our mission is to support everyone’s ability to age in safety, comfort and dignity,” Davis said. “Enhancing knowledge and equipping people with practical suggestions and advice for navigating the aging process is a big part of achieving that mission.”