PrimeTime Institute (PTI) provides a wide variety of educational programs for people age 50+ that foster wellness, encourage personal and intellectual growth, and that provide an environment for developing new interests, making new friends, and becoming involved as volunteers.
PTI is a program of ElderCare of Alachua County, a non-profit organization providing various services for seniors such as Meals-on-Wheels, Alz Place, etc. All PTI programs and activities are planned and presented entirely by volunteer members and speakers, with expenses supported by optional memberships and donations. Additional information about PTI, including program updates, is available at our website www.primetimeinstitute.org or by contacting Susan Williams at 352-214-6219.
We appreciate the speakers who provide free programs for our seniors; however, please understand that PTI does not endorse any company, product, or service.
We continue with HYBRID programs — the speaker in-person at the Senior Recreation Center, along with attendees willing to gather there, and a simultaneous online webinar option through Zoom. We have learned that many people are able to participate online who are unable to come to the Center for a variety of reasons. Watch for Sunday messages each week to learn of any changes in that week’s Thursday program.
To participate in the webinar version of a program, you can log in on your Internet-connected computer, tablet, or phone as the program gets underway. Advance registration is required for attending online. Please send your request to primetime.inst@gmail.com.
If you do register for the webinar version, you will receive a confirmation message and, at an appropriate time, a link to click on so you can join in. No camera or microphone is needed to see and hear the presentations online.
Our programs are also recorded for people who are not available on Thursdays. We share links to those recordings when the Senior Center staff has them available so people can watch at their convenience. Those links are shared in the program reminder messages we send each Sunday to those on PTI's email distribution list.
TIME: Unless otherwise noted, programs will be on Thursdays from 2:30 PM to 4:00 PM
May 2nd, Fall Prevention Our speaker will be Aubrey Bocalan, the new Public Education Officer/Media and Marketing Specialist for Gainesville Fire Rescue. She will explain some ways to help us avoid the need for GFR services.
May 9th @ 2:00, Field Trip to the Cade Museum of Creativity and Invention Join us at the Cade Museum, 811 South Main Street, Gainesville. A tour will be provided of the ‘Sweat Solution’ exhibit, which is all about Dr. Cade and the invention of Gatorade. The rest of the museum will be self-guided. Maps of the building are available at the front desk, with the layout of their spaces and exhibit topics. The mission of this museum is to transform communities by embracing “inventivityTM” and inspire visitors to tap into their own potential to invent and create. PLEASE NOTE: Tickets will be $12.50 per person, which is the discounted senior rate. (They accept cash, check, or credit/debit card.) Our tour will begin at 2:00 PM (a half-hour earlier than most PrimeTime meetings). Please plan to arrive by 1:45 for everyone to enter and pay beforehand. **We usually try to limit our field trips to no-cost or low-cost venues, but we hope you will find this worthwhile at the lowest rate available. More information on the Cade Museum can be found at cademuseum.org. Please sign-up by May 3rd with Marie Samec, samecmm@aol.com ("Cade Museum" in subject line), or 352-317-6729.
May 16th, Optimizing Heart Failure Care with Hemodynamic Monitoring Our speaker, Dr. Aman Shah, Clinical Asst. Professor in the Div. of Cardiovascular Medicine, UF College of Medicine, specializes in dealing with advanced heart failure. He'll explain how heart failure is diagnosed and how hemodynamic monitoring helps patients whose situations makes them good candidates for it.
May 23rd, myGNV – A Simple Way to Access Gainesville City Services Dee Kirshman, Neighbor Advocacy Coordinator, and LaShundra Hale, Community Relations Coordinator, will demonstrate how to access myGNV using your computer or a phone app. myGNV is an easy-to-use tool to report problems and request services from the City of Gainesville.
REMEMBER that you must register for any Zoom-based sessions (webinar or meeting) you want to participate in at primetime.inst@gmail.com
Recent Events
Strolling to the River Sink
Outing to O'Leno State Park
Located along the banks of the scenic Santa Fe River, a tributary of the Suwannee River, the park features sinkholes, hardwood hammocks, river swamps, and sandhills. As the river courses through the park, it disappears underground and reemerges over three miles away in the River Rise State Preserve. One of Florida's first state parks, O'Leno was first developed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s. The suspension bridge built by the CCC still spans the river. During our visit, park staff gave a fascinating presentation on the exploration of the underground portion of the Santa Fe.