The latest blog posts and information.

Diabetes is one of the most widely prevalent but consistently under-estimated diseases in America. You might associate it with eating too much sugar or the old Wilford Brimley commercials. But as the American Diabetes Association notes, more than 30 million Americans (9 percent of the population) had diabetes in 2015.

‘Celebrating Older Human Rights Champions’: International Day of Older PersonsToday marks a special occasion around the world. More than 25 years ago, the United Nations designated Oct. 1 as the International Day of Older Persons—a day to celebrate the contributions of the elderly to our society and to promote the “full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by older persons.”This declaration has its roots in the United Nations’ Unive...

In the recent film The Founder, Michael Keaton plays businessman Ray Kroc, who took the McDonald’s “speedy system” for producing fast food, franchised the operation and turned a local one-store operation into an international empire. The film opens with Kroc, middle aged in the mid-1950s, driving around to America’s diners and trying to sell a milkshake maker out of the back of his car.At that time, he’d built a comfortable life for himself, but a life on the road f...

September is National Self-Improvement month, giving us the opportunity to participate in a Twitter trend (#SelfImprovementMonth) and, more importantly, take some time to reevaluate our goals, create a plan for bettering ourselves, and take concrete steps toward achievement.Self-improvement is a concept as American as apple pie, going back to Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography, where the famous scientist, entrepreneur and Founding Father laid out his 13 virtues and his methodical blueprint for be...

Retirement may seem a long way off, but at the rate time moves, it’s going to get here before you know it. At Brandermill Woods, we try to promote a new kind of retirement—one in which you are able to enjoy the benefits after a lifetime of labor, do the things you’ve always dreamed of, and connect with new friends. This lifestyle doesn’t happen by accident, and it doesn’t just apply to seniors in our independent living community.

August is Water Quality Month, a national celebration of our most important resource. On a macro scale – think urbanization, sanitation and sustainability – civilizations need water to survive, and in fact civilizations historically have sprung up near water sources: the Nile in ancient Egypt, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Mesopotamia, the Ganges in India.Here in Central Virginia, the James River flows just a few miles from Brandermill Woods as it heads into Richmond and on toward the easte...