Anne Ryall Sylvester
More care for more patients
When I washed ashore on Martha’s Vineyard a couple of decades back, I considered myself lucky to find a doctor. But actually seeing that...
Crochet with a Cop
Part peace officer, part social worker, Oak Bluffs Police Officer Savannah Barnes is deeply rooted in the community she serves.
Early in life, Barnes wanted...
Start 2023 on a strong note
The top New Year’s resolution is exercise, with 52 percent choosing to hit the gym more often. Gyms fill up in January, but the...
This little pipe
Come Thanksgiving, Gregory West Drake thinks about “the pipe,” a hefty little metal object said to have crossed the Atlantic aboard the Mayflower, been...
Yoga for Elders
Yoga provides the physical benefits of deep stretches, strengthening, and balance — all things which often become compromised as we age. That’s according to...
Mind matters
Editor’s note: The 55-Plus section of The MV Times lists dozens of activities and opportunities for readers each month. In this issue, we start...
Keeping your balance
Falls among adults 65 and older caused more than 34,000 deaths in 2019, making it the leading cause of death for that group, according...
Stretch the season
Gardens are at their end-of-season best, the Farmers Market full of beautiful produce and CSAs delivering an abundance of summer goodness. What to do...
Let it grow
The community garden on the Woodside campus of Island Elderly Housing (IEH) in Oak Bluffs produces food, flowers, exercise opportunities, and emotional wellbeing for...
Gardens among friends
Collaboration makes the Family2Family’s huge holiday food giveaways run smoothly, according to organizer Betty Burton. Three times a year, this Vineyard Committee on Hunger...
Up and running
This Saturday, April 30, YMCAs all over the country will celebrate the 30th anniversary of Healthy Kids Day, the Y’s national initiative to improve...
Taking care
Seemingly everywhere across the Island, the Vineyard’s two community health nurses fulfill a wide mandate. In private homes checking on the welfare of newborns...
Could it work for you?
Chronic pain and other ills of advancing age have a new treatment option available on the Vineyard: medical marijuana. It's been available off-Island both...
Flowers among friends
“Gardening is a multicomponent physical activity that includes aerobic, muscle-strengthening, and balance training elements, and counts toward weekly exercise recommendations.” That’s according to the...
Medicare now covers acupuncture
Good news for the over-65 crowd: Medicare now covers an effective, nonpharmaceutical, nonsurgical treatment for chronic pain: acupuncture.
Acupuncture is administered by inserting tiny needles...
Shaping up
Leila McCarter was not alone. Joyous reunions amid social distancing and constant cleaning marked the first phase of reopening of the YMCA of Martha’s...
Growing in the garden
Call it soil therapy. Call them Wednesday workdays. For more than three decades volunteers have gathered weekly on Wednesdays for Chore Day at the...
The multitalented Judy Kranz
Wednesday is Judy Kranz day at the YMCA — a day when the professional dancer turned Pilates guru closes her Oak Bluffs Pilates studio...
Cooking up a collaborative dish at Alex’s Place
“Laughter is brightest in the place where food is.” –Irish proverb
At a time when the microwave is arguably the most used kitchen appliance, Island...
Rehab in a healing garden
When the new Martha’s Vineyard Hospital was in the planning stages a decade ago, there was a movement rippling across Europe and the United...