Changing Aging

Last week was a busy, interesting time on Capitol Hill in the area of “Changing Aging in America.” 

Three different hearings (one including Ecumen)  . . . all highlighting the need for holistic aging public policy in America - no planning in silos - so that the United States rides the age wave and people have the independence, quality of life and safety that they desire and deserve.

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor testified before the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging urging Congress to take a more active role in the research and treatment of Americans with Alzheimer’s Disease  Justice O’Connor’s husband John has it, and another person is getting it every 72 seconds.  Her testimony is here.

Kathy Bakkenist, Ecumen COO and senior vice president of strategy and operations, testified on technology to support family caregiving in a U.S. House briefing led by Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) and the National Alliance for Caregiving.  You can read Kathy’s testimony here.

And the House Committee on Energy and Commerce held a hearing about rogue nursing homes (which should be eliminated from existence).  You can read more about it here.

“After going from crisis to crisis, Joan is finally in a place where they have the time and training to really help,” said her husband, Terry, 76, a retired math teacher and businessman from Shoreview.  “How many places can you get kicked out of?  Let’s see, for us it was four in one year.” . . . .

Today the Minneapolis Star Tribune told a wonderful story of Ecumen’s Summit House at Prairie Lodge, a new option in Brooklyn Center, Minn., for people and families dealing with the extreme behaviors that at times accompany Alzheimer’s.   Thank you to the Wagener family for choosing Ecumen’s new housing option and being so candid about telling this powerful story.  We salute you!

“Drugs may be a good answer, but it should never be the first answer,” said Janelle Meyers, Ecumen’s director of Prairie Lodge.  “A resident isn’t trying to be nasty or disruptive.  It’s the disease talking.  If someone is screaming, they’re trying to communicate something.  We need to figure out what that is.”

Above are just a few of the innovators (several of whom are pictured at last week’s Ecumen Leadership Conference) who sought a new way to help people and family members dealing with the most extreme behaviors of Alzheimer’s.  They are part of an incredible team of people throughout this organization who are delivering a beautiful vision for “Changing Aging”:

We envision a world in which aging is viewed and understood in
radically different ways.

Every 72 seconds another person gets Alzheimer’s.  No surprise that baby boomers list it as one of their biggest concerns about growing older.

You might have seen the recent headlines about a potential Alzheimer’s cure reported in the United Kingdom.  Here’s a quick summary: An 81-year-old man was injected with arthritis drug (Etanercept) and within 10-minutes, his memory came back to the utter amazement of his family.

It was fabulous news, and if you heard it, you might have wondered, why didn’t it get more headlines in the coming days? You wouldn’t be alone.  The devil is in the details. 

Trisha Torrey, who blogs at Every Patient’s Advocate, provides some great context on this story and goes behind the headlines as does this article by the British Broadcasting System. 

Have you seen the movie The Savages?

It’s an irreverent look at family, love and mortality through the experiences of two baby boomer children trying to find nursing home care for their estranged father who has dementia.

Many of America’s 78 million aging baby boomers should see it.  Check that: anyone who is aging (all of us) should see it.  The challenges the kids face in this movie are very real:

- How to find the right care setting for their father . . . their options are limited as his assets are gone.  His kids need to find a nursing home that will take Medicaid.

- How to juggle jobs and regular life while trying to be there for one’s parent.

- How to move a parent out of their home half way across the country and bring them closer to the child’s home.

As I watched the movie, I thought about a couple things that would potentially make life easier for all involved:

- A concierge service that the son and daughter could hire to help them figure out their choices for their father.

- A small household setting  where caregiving professionals specialized in dementia care rather than a huge institutional nursing home where the father had to share a room with a stranger.

- Electronic medical records that could be easily transferred from the father’s previous home in Arizona to a physician and to caregivers in New York.

I’m sure there are many other things that could make The Savages and life off-screen better.  It’s 2008.  It’s time to invent them.

Look for these 10 senior housing development trends from 2007 to pick up even more steam in 2008 as the age wave gains force:

1.  Congregational Senior Housing:  People want to live in nurturning, vibrant communities.  Churches want to extend their ministries, strengthen their congregations and build community.  Congregational senior housing, such as the visionary ELCA project in Sandpoint, Idaho is a win-win.

2.  College Campus Senior Housing:  Lifelong learning is a key part of successful aging.  Look for more colleges to create intergenerational communities and see the benefits of senior learners and neighbors.

3.  Increased Technology:  Technology is allowing members of the sandwich generation to be greater participants in their parents’ lives and care.  At the same time, it is giving people more control over their health and independence.  Look for increased growth in interactive technology in 2008.

4.  Memory Care:  Every 72 seconds someone develops Alzheimer’s Disease.  New memory care households focus solely on the challenges of Alzheimer’s and dementia, while eliminating the institutional style of the past.

5.  Green Construction:  Enviro-friendly and sustainable development is increasing in senior housing and will continue to grow in 2008.

6.  Catered Living:  Combines independent living and al la carte assisted living services.  This housing type allows a person to stay in their home even when they need or want more assistance.

7.  Smart, Innovative Design:  Look for innovative designers, such as Michael Graves to increasingly bring their skills to aging and using smart, creative design to improve people’s lives. 

8.  Livable Communities:  More cities are getting hip to integrating senior housing close to other community resources such as transportation, shopping and libraries, rather than sticking them in the fringes next to nothing.

9.  Successful Aging Centers:  Look for wellness centers connected to senior housing that help people of all ages and abilities nurture their physical, intellectual, social, emotional, spiritual and vocational health.  These increasingly serve as larger community resources for successful aging.

10:  Virtual Retirement Communities:  In this model, all the amenities of a senior housing community are brought to an exisiting neighborhood, such as the model Beacon Hill Village.  New bricks and mortar might include a very small health center that provides more intensive care when needed.

We invite you to download Ecumen White Papers on a range of subjects related to changing aging, including senior technology and senior housing development tips in our online library

 Posted by Susan Ferguson, Director of Marketing, Ecumen

The Alzheimer’s Association has created a great new online tool.  Called the Alzheimer’s Association Senior Housing Finder, consumers can search for senior housing communities that specialize in Alzheimers and dementia care.  It is the first such tool available nationwide and features more than 65,000 providers. 

The needs for these services are going to continue to grow as a person develops Alzheimers every 72 seconds.  In fact, getting Alzheimer’s is one of baby boomers biggest concerns according to our Age Wave Study.  It behooves senior housing organizations to complete a profile for this database and make their services known to people who are searching for them.  Thank you to the Alzheimer’s Association for making this resource available.