Changing Aging

Changing Aging recently sat down with Dr. Andrew E. Scharlach, of the University of California at Berkeley, where he holds the Eugene and Rose Kleiner Chair in Aging. He also serves as Director of the Center for the Advanced Study of Aging Services, which conducts research designed to inform development of innovative and effective services for older adults.  It recently sponsored an international web-based conference on “Creating Aging-Friendly Communities” and  technical support through an ongoing “Community of Practice” is available here.

Dr. Scharlach, who also serves as a gubernatorial appointee on the California Commission on Aging, has published extensively on the needs of older adults and their families, particularly with regard to long-term care services, work and family responsibilities, bereavement, and gerontological social work education.

In addition to more than 40 articles, he is the author of Elder Care and the Work Force: Blueprint for Action (with B. Lowe and E. Schneider; Lexington Books, Controversial Issues in Aging (with L. Kaye; Allyn & Bacon), and Families and Work: New Directions in the Twenty-First Century (with K. Fredriksen-Goldsen; Oxford University Press).

 What are the biggest changes that you think we’ll see in U.S. community planning as it relates to preparing for vital aging communities?

 We’re going to and already are seeing older consumers more involved in the planning process in communities. Aging friendly initiatives and products will become the norm.  You’re going to see much more universal design in housing development.  You’re also going to see products that look good, have good design and that are functional.  Michael Graves, the renowned designer, is creating good and functional design of shower heads, tea pots and other products used in everyday life.  That will become more widespread in architecture and other community infrastructure.

How do you see senior housing changing for the age wave?

I see several different areas for change.  I think you’re going to see more housing that’s built for a lifetime, e.g., universal design.  That’s going to lead to communities that are more intergenerational.  I think senior housing providers also will move more outside of their traditional bricks and mortar, where they help create virtual senior communities by delivering services to people in their home.  Technology is going to play a much greater role.  We’re already starting to see that with sensor monitoring in people’s homes.  That technology is going to have to increase because we’re going have many fewer caregivers. I also think there will be more peer support and less reliance on family care.  Communities that are known as “good places to grow old” are where people will want to live.

What are examples of U.S. communities you’ve seen that “get it” when it comes creating aging-friendly communities?

There are a number of communities that are seeing aging as an asset and working to be livable for a lifetime in different ways. Atlanta has a large initiative called Aging Atlanta, which is part of their regional planning and is focused on making Atlanta a place people want to stay.  The University of Indiana has a Center for Aging and Community under the direction of Dr. Philip Stafford that has been doing a lot of work in this area to help communities become lifespan communities.  Fremont, California, is another one that is doing community-wide work to help people live and stay in Fremont to the end of life.

 

By 2050, the U.S. will have more than a half million centenarians.  Assuming a shortage in professional caregivers, how do you see family care changing for this unprecedented demographic shift?

Technology is going to have to play a critical role.  Robotics are going to take on some roles that were traditionally done by humans.  You’re also going to have nurses checking in with patients by video or by computer via sensors.  We’re going to have to think very locally.  Neighbors are going to have to look out for neighbors.  Community design also is essential for this.  Buildings have to be easy to live in and easy to navigate for people who have disabilities.  You can start to see how the unprecedented age wave in the U.S. will impact just about every area of our society.  Communities can’t plan in silos.  There are a lot of interconnections and intergenerational ties to this.

 What do you want old age to look like for you?

I want to be socially connected.  I’d like minimal physical impediments, and I want to be able to maintain meaningful activities and relationships without undue pressure to maintain the functional levels of earlier years. There’s this image in America that to age well, you have to be jumping out of airplanes or running marathons. Not true. Healthy, successful aging is about enjoying life – not speed or intensity.

 

The Sunday New York Times featured Ecumen customer Helen Trost in an interesting article on technology enhancing independence, seniors being able to stay in their own home and involving family members across long distances. You can read more about technology Ecumen is using to enhance customers’ independence here.

Family Caregiving and Technology - an essential collaboration when you look at demographic realities and people’s desires to live as independently and empowered as possible.

Next Wednesday, May 14th, in Washington, D.C., there’s going to be a great Congressional briefing led by the National Alliance for Caregiving.  It will be held from 8 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. in the Rayburn Office Building, Room B-339. 

Entitled “Technology to Support Family Caregiving,” speakers will include Ecumen’s Chief Operations Officer and Senior Vice President of Strategy and Operations Kathy Bakkenist, as well as:

- Gail Hunt, President and CEO, National Alliance for Caregiving.

- Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI)

- Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV)

- Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA)

- Carol Smith, RN, PhD, University of Kansas Medical Center

- Sara J. Czaja, Professor, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine

- Adam Darkins, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

- Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-ND)

- Pramod Gaur, Ph.D., President Healthanywhere

- David L. Whitlinger, Continua and Intel Corporation

- Thomas Carey, Vice President Sales & Government Business WebMD Health Services

- Charles Hillman, PE, CEO, GrandCare Systems

- Kevin Sypniewski, CEO, AGIS Network

- Hal Chapel, CEO, Lotsa Helping Hands

What is so crystal clear is that technology is an essential part to riding the age wave in America and helping people live independently.  

Robert Powell of CBS Marketwatch.Com outlines some of this technology in his article entitled “Not Your Father’s Emergency Response System.” 

You can see technology at work at Ecumen here and download Ecumen whitepapers on technology here.  To see more technology, visit the Center for Aging Services Technologies, which has a great web site.

The SmartSilvers Alliance is an thought-provoking Silicon Valley group that sees technology as key to active, successful aging.  They’ve compiled a 10 Things to Know About The Silvers Market llist below.   While many Baby Boomers aren’t representative of these stats, these are interesting figures around the large wave of Americans who have seniority next.  To read more about technology in aging services, we invite you to visit our whitepaper library.

1. An American turns 50 every 8 seconds — that’s over 10,000 people every day (AARP).  That makes it the fastest growing population segment.  
2. 78 million Americans who were 50 or older as of 2001 controlled 67% of the country’s wealth, or $28 trillion (U.S. Census and Federal Reserve). Adults 50+ account for an estimated $2 trillion in total expenditures for 2005.
3. The 50+ have $2.4 trillion in annual income, which accounts for 42% of all after-tax income (U.S. Consumer Expenditure Survey)
4. One-third of the 195.3 million Internet users in the U.S., 50+ silvers represent the Web’s largest constituency  (Jupiter Research) — that means  2/3 of Americans age 50-64 use the Internet (SeniorNet).
5. Email is the most popular online activity among 50+ users, followed by web browsing, research, and shopping  (ThirdAge and JWT Boom).
6. 72 percent of baby boomers have broadband Internet in their homes (ThirdAge and JWT Boom); they watch more TV than any other group.
7. Adults 50+ spend an average of $7 billion online annually (SeniorNet). Silvers Account for 40% of total consumer demand
8. The Internet is the most important source of information for baby boomers when they make a major marketing purchase, such as automobiles or appliances (Zoomerang).
9. 82 percent of adults aged 50+ who use the Internet research health and wellness information online (Pew Internet and American Life Project).
10. Contrary to popular belief – Silvers are not fanatically loyal to brands in fact 96 percent of baby boomers participate in word-of-mouth or viral marketing by passing a product or service information on to friends (ThirdAge and JWT Boom).

The Silvers  purchase:  41 percent of all new cars,  buy 25 percent of all toys (spend over $29 Billion annually on gifts for grandchildren),  go on 80 percent of all luxury travel trips , buy 60 percent of all healthcare products,  74 percent of all prescription drugs, and 51 percent of all over-the-counter drugs.  Plus they visit malls more often than any other age group and dine out 4-5 times per week.   (various sources)

Andrew Carle, founding director of the Program in Assisted Living/Senior Housing Administration at George Mason University, will hold an online keynote webcast next Wed., March 26th at 10 a.m. central as part of the McKnight’s Online Expo.  Registration is free.  You can reserve your spot here.  You can read more about technology in senior housing and aging services by visiting our white paper library here.

The Nitendo Wii video game was originanlly designed for young consumers, but we’re finding that a number of our customers are also enjoying it.  Several Ecumen communities use the Wii for bowling (which seems to be the most popular Wii sport)m tennis, baseball and boxing.  It also is being incorporated into Ecumen physical therapy sessions.

The photo above taken by Brian Basham of the Detroit Lakes Tribune is from Ecumen’s Emmanuel Community in Detroit Lakes, Minn. Rossman Elementary School’s 4th and 5th graders have twice monthly Wii sessions with their friends at Emmanuel Community.

 Emmanuel Community customer Suzy Rogstad is a former college field hockey player.  Now she’s trying tennis via the Wii and says “it’s fun.”  It’s interesting . . . just five years ago, there weren’t any Wiis.  Now seniors are using a variety of technologies in their daily lives.  And it’s only going to continue increasing.

Will baby boomers always be known as boomers, or will they take on the moniker “seniors” when they become 80, 90, 120 . . . . ?   Hmmmmmm  . . . . In our Age Wave Study, most boomers said they were fine with the term senior, but we didn’t ask them if they’d be called boomers or seniors . . . that would have been interesting . . . what do you want to be called when you’re in your 90s or 100s? 

 - Mary Furlong, the entrepreneur who started the SeniorNet program, will be holding her informative  “What’s Next?” Boomer Business Summit in Washington, D.C.   Several people have attended these in the past from Ecumen and have found it interesting. 

As a preview, here is a Q&A conference organizers did with Wall Street Journal technology columnist, Walt Mossberg:

 Q. What are the trends and products in personal technology that will assist the senior population with loss of vision, arthritic hands, etc?

A. I think that speech recognition and text speech recognition are becoming more common and are more in demand. The industry is slowly beginning to respond to this need; however, it is not widespread. Cell phone companies have produced phones with larger buttons that are in greater demand today. For example, Verizon Wireless has a new phone aimed at seniors. The primary focus is on simplicity and clarity, and this is not just for seniors, this is what everyone wants. A cell phone trend that is aimed not just for seniors is the development of bigger and clearer phone screens.

Q. Based on questions you receive from readers, what are the unmet needs that technology manufacturers need to pay attention to in order to address these needs?

A. The primary unmet need within the technology industry is simplicity and readability across the board, for all age groups. All people care about is that their technology works. Manufacturers claim they are addressing this unmet need but they often have mixed agendas and priorities. They often add the latest feature before it is ready.

Q. How important is design in creating products for the baby boomer population?

A. Design is important for every population, from the college student to the retiree. Design in every sense of the word is crucial. Hardcore techies may not appreciate how things look, but themainstream population of all ages appreciates beautiful design. They want products to be both functional and attractive and fit into their lifestyle, home, car, office, etc. In the last 5-6 years, there has been a resurgence by Apple in the music and phone arenas on designing beautiful products. They know how to package together fantastic design with power.

Q. What, in your view, are the most critical issues shaping technology as they relates to the boomer market?

A. Baby boomers have the most money. They buy a lot of technology, web subscriptions, etc, so they are big spenders. As long as the technology products and services they want to buy have the right features and are at the right price, they will continue to buy these products and services.

Q. What do you think will shape the national conversation about boomers this year?

A. The major national agenda item will be about the generational transfer. A large cohort of the population will be reaching retirement age, which will have a tremendous impact in many facets of life in this country and around the world. There will be competition for resources and jobs, and elder care and healthcare issues will play a larger role in the future.

Aging and technology were the subjects of remarks by Ecumen customer Honor Hacker (pictured above viewing a QuietCare sensor in her home) and Ecumen’s COO and senior vice president of strategy and operations Kathy Bakkenist as they spoke before members of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging last week about Senate File 908. 

You can read Kathy’s and Honor’s testimony here.

This bill creates a nonpartisan congressionally mandated Consortium to evaluate the potential of technologies to help the U.S. meet the needs of our aging population. When passed, the consortium will become the first public-private partnership around technology and aging that goes beyond medical records to explore the potential of new technology to assist older adults and their caregivers in such areas as promoting independence, facilitating early disease detection, promoting greater support to caregivers and minimizing medication error.

The consortium will include 17 members appointed by the President, Senate majority leader and Senate minority leader, the Speaker of the House and the Minority leader of the House. Members will be selected from aging services providers, technology companies, universities, physician and healthcare providers, insurance and pharmaceutical companies.

It is anticipate that the bill will be introduced in the House of Representatives shortly.

Technology is going to play an increasing role in aging and the transformation of America for the Age Wave.

Christine Capecchi, a reporter with MinnPost.com, spent time with Honor Hacker, an Ecumen customer, yesterday (at left) at the Ecumen community of Lakeview Commons.  Here is Christina’s interesting story.

Honor and Kathy Bakkenist, Ecumen’s COO and senior vice president of strategy and operations, will be testifying tomorrow before members and staff of the Senate Special Committee on Aging on the subject of aging and technology.