Changing Aging

July 4th , of course, celebrates our country’s independence.  Many of the people we and our colleagues serve around the country in assisted living and nursing homes are the ones who put their lives on the line to ensure that we have that independence.

Last week I sat in on testimony given by family members and others before Governor Pawlenty’s Veterans Home commission, which has been charged to come up with recommendations on how to fix what has been a debacle at the Minneapolis Veterans Home. (Ecumen leader Kathryn Roberts is a member of the commission.)

Ecumen CEO Kathryn Roberts has been named to the board of directors of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA).  AAHSA is a national trade association that represents nearly 6,000 non-profit senior housing and services organizations.

Kathryn will serve a three-year term on the board of directors.  AAHSA’s board of directors is responsible for the governance of the association, providing strategic direction, fiduciary oversight and policy development.

“I am extremely honored to be joining the AAHSA board of directors and I look forward to joining others from across the United States in the work of transformation and helping shape our country’s and profession’s future,” said Kathryn.

Several of us went to a great event last evening at the Minnesota History Center sponsored by AgeWell. 

They are doing a number of interesting things with their focus being on “the best retirement home is your own.”  They provide home care, but they really look at it as “life care management.” 

When they meet with a client they develop a “lifecare plan” in conjunction with the customer.  The plan gathers the customers’ insights and feedback in a number of areas, including:

Fun/passion
Social
Health
Cognitive
Spiritual
Financial
Environmental (home/surroundings)

Interesting series by ABC News and USA Today begins today.  It’s called “Role Reversal.”  Looks at children taking care of their older parents. 

This “sandwich generation” presents a great opportunity for senior housing and aging services organizations to serve a much younger clientele and more broadly share its expertise.

The first story today looks at how senior care is moving away from nursing homes.  Looking at our Age Wave Study, it’s clear that baby boomers want to continue this direction.  Another interesting story is about technology, which we are users of here.

  Media often get a bad name.  Dennis Douda (pictured at left)  at WCCO-TV is one of the good guys.   (For our readers outside of the Midwest, WCCO-TV is the Twin Cities CBS affiliate).

He recently did a story on technology being used at Ecumen.   He enjoyed the people he met at Lakeview Commons in Maplewood as part of the story.  He is producing a short film called Willie 1.17 that is going to be entered at Sundance and other film festivals.  Last week 15 people who live at Lakeview Commons got to participate in the filming of the movie’s closing scene.  That was pretty cool, but then according to Wendy Traffie, the leader at Lakeview Commons, there were a couple of other surprises.

Technology is such a tremendous opportunity for the senior housing and aging services professionals in helping people connect and learn from each other.  The applications are endless — and they don’t have to be expensive.  It’s a great area for our profession to be entrepreneurial.  Our Age Wave Study, shows that baby boomers (the next generation of seniors) are all about technology to stay connected.

 On that note, we want to send our congratulations to CaringBridge, which is celebrating its 10th Anniversary. Millions of people have stayed connected with loved ones experiencing injury and illness.

 Debbie Manthey, Director of Operations, Housing

What is it?

Who has it?

Why do they have it?

 How do you get it? 

THE “IT FACTOR”

We are on a mission to assure “it” is present in each Ecumen Community.

 “It” has been described in a variety of ways which all revolve around a feeling.   Warmth, engagement, energy, emotion, impression.  “It” is how you feel when you are at home or with friends and feel good. “It” has a story to tell.  “It” revolves around values and choice.  “It” is resident centered and resident driven.  “It” is about how you feel about living in your home where you are in charge of your life. 

This aging thing is a global thing.  Several Ecumen leaders are joining senior housing and aging services professionals from around the world in Malta at the International Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (IAHSA) Annual Conference.

 A few tidbits on global aging from IAHSA:

• For most of human history, until about a century ago, the elderly (people aged 65 and over) never amounted to more than 2 or 3 percent of the population. Today, in the developed world, they amount to 15 percent. By the year 2030, they will be around 25 percent. As recently as 1980, the median age of the oldest society on earth (Sweden) was 36.

Entrepreneur Berry Brunk and blogger (He blogs at Future of Senior Housing) shares a quote from a new study about aging in place and assisted living from the National Investment Center: “The [senior] housing industry (At Ecumen we call it a profession) needs to change its sales and marketing message to place more emphasis on these communities as places that enable residents to get more from life, rather than places to receive care. It is not being suggested that grandiose promises of entertainment and excitement be made, but rather the elements that provide a sense of community, friendship, belonging, enjoyment, fun, education and continuing life need to be stressed more.” The study isn’t available online, but Berry outlines several highlights from it that are interesting to people working to figure out and innovate in senior housing and services.  You can also read what boomers are thinking about aging here.

Technology is already playing a greater role in helping seniors live independently and giving people more control over their lives and enhancing senior housing. The clip above is a great story about technology in use at Ecumen’s Lakeview Commons senior community in Maplewood, Minnesota.

Watch this story on technology being used in senior housing. It is courtesy of WCCO-TV, the CBS affiliate in Minneapolis/St. Paul.