HJNO Mar/Apr 2023

48 MAR / APR 2023 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS COLUMN  SENIOR HEALTH SWIMMING has found a home in senior fitness. Some older adults seek the calm, relaxing, meditative aspect of being in the water while others revel in the challenge of tackling a total body resistance workout. Whatever the attraction, researchers agree that the benefits of swimming for seniors abound. Increased flexibility and muscle tone, improved cardiovascular health, and stress reduction are among the many health rewards enjoyed by senior paddlers. Beth Poe, a 72-year-old Lambeth House resident, reaps these advantages andmore, and recently, she has taken her aquatic passion to the next level. One could easily refer to her as the “Unstoppable” Beth Poe because every day for 1,000 days, without fail, Beth arrived at the Helen “Pudney” Pointer Natatorium at Lambeth House and swam. She completed the milestone on Jan. 15, her story one of dedication and inspiration and a true testimony to the re- markable benefits of swimming. Beth, born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, surprisingly didn’t learn to swim until attending Mount Holyoke College where swimming the width of pool was a requirement of the school. She recalls The Benefits of Swimming for Seniors & THE UNSTOPPABLE Beth Poe