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The Future of Senior Living: The Eskaton Home

At the end of the day, caring will re-center in the home, where compassion and personalization reside.- Mike Magee, M.D.

90% of Minnesota baby boomers want to live at home, even if they or their spouse of a debilitating illness or disease.- Ecumen Age Wave Study, 2007

This is cool. And it’s the senior housing and services profession that is leading the way.

It’s a national demonstration home for advances in housing for seniors or multiple generations. The single-story model house is a creation of our colleagues at Eskaton, a senior housing and services non-profit company in California. The home opened last month.
'Three hundred-some people have toured this house,' said Sheri Peifer, vice president with Carmichael-based Eskaton Senior Residences and Services. It’s a daily pilgrimage of architects, home builders, technology insiders and elder-care professionals. Visitors came this week from Florida, Georgia and Oregon. The 1,850-square-foot house is a joint venture with Roseville builder Lakemont Homes.Most people associate 40-year-old Eskaton with assisted living. But its demonstration house is a pitch to the design and building industry for what’s possible now in standard senior housing. The new in-home technology on display helps seniors with what they want most: to stay in their own house as long as possible.So think fitness centers for the brain instead of biceps. (A special computer designed with help from the UCLA Center on Aging offers memory exercises to ward off dementia). Or picture in-home blood pressure checks on a wireless device that sends results to nurses. Webcams offer personal medical consultations without an office visit. (Intel’s new touchscreen Health Guide device asks: 'How are you feeling today?' If not so good, it suggests what to do before it turns into trouble).The remote monitoring, however, is most interesting to children of aging parents. A 'Grand Care' digital system 'allows seniors to live at home and offers family members peace of mind they’re doing fine,' said Kathy Hatten, an Eskaton guide who takes people on tours through the house.Sensors that look like computer mice and detect motion can be placed throughout the home. If motion falls to an unusually low level €“ suggesting a fall or medical problem €“ alerts are sent to children or others who may be down the street or across the country.This two-bedroom, two-bath house, however, is not just about technology. It also contains small touches you never think about when you’re younger. The air filter is near the floor instead of in the ceiling. Doors are 36 inches wide to accommodate wheelchairs. There are no steps to trip on. Shelves are low and electrical sockets are high.Welcome to the future of senior living.

Want to Learn About Other Senior Living Technologies?: Visit Our Technology Page


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Successful Aging Profile: Ecumen customer Art Tysk, Selling With Purpose

Last weekend was the Prep Bowl in Minnesota - our state high school football tournament. Amid the youthful achievements on the Metrodome field, 93-year-old Art Tysk was giving lessons on growing old well by doing what he loves to do.Tysk, 93, is a familiar face at Minnesota state tournaments and the Minnesota State Fair where he’s sold popcorn and candy since 1956. He’s been selling game programs since the 1920s. He started in sales as a kid, hawking the Pioneer Press and Dispatch newspapers. It’s the Pioneer Press' Brian Murphy, who featured Art on the front page of the sports page during Saturday’s Prep Bowl festivities. When he started selling, thepapers cost a half-cent wholesale, and he sold them for 2 cents a piece.Art is an Ecumen customer in the Twin Cities. All four of his kids have worked in the family vending business that Art started. His company became the 'official' game program supplier of the Minnesota State High School League in the early 1970s.His daughter Frid recalled attending an Alice Cooper concert at the Saint Paul Civic Center in the early 1970s and waiting impatiently to greet the origional Goth rocker as he talked shop with her father.'My girlfriends and I were teenagers, and we’re hoping to get a picture with Alice Cooper. He’s in full makeup, sitting there talking business with dad, about how to put on a show.'Frid used the word purpose in describing her dad’s love for sales, crowds and persuading others to buy his products. She says 'it is part of him …' Valuable insight as we all grow older … love what you do … do the things that give you purpose and joy … and even if you can’t do them as fast as you once did, or you have to sit down instead of standing … you can still tap that purpose and joy.


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Changing Aging Welcomes Jim Klobuchar as Monthly Contributor

We’re very pleased to announce that legendary newspaper columnist and author Jim Klobuchar has joined Ecumen’s Changing Aging blog as a monthly contributor. His first monthly post will appear next week. Jim is someone who, like our readers, is changing aging. We welcome Jim to the discussion and his insightful views on living. Following is background information on Jim:

An Eye and Ear on the World
In 45 years of daily journalism, Jim Klobuchar’s commentary and reportage ranged from presidential campaigns to a trash collector’s ball. He has written from the floor of a tent in the middle of Alaska, from helicopters, from the summit ridge of the Eiger in the Alps and from the edge of a sand trap. He was invited to lunch by royalty and to a fist fight by the late Minnesota Viking football coach, Norm Van Brocklin. As an energetic builder of communities, has found a way to teach football clinics for women and to lead 500-mile bike rides. In the 1970s he organized a non-denominational church service in a hockey arena for Minnesota pro football fans who felt spiritually deprived before the noon kickoff at the adjacent Metropolitan Stadium next door. A few years later he organized the unthinkable--a weekend canoe trip for 90 teenagers in northern Minnesota. According to all accounts, all survived, including the leader.The longtime observers of these encounters€”sometimes amused and sometimes startled--were the readers of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, for whom he wrote a popular column for 30 years, and readers of the 22 books he has authored. He retired as a columnist in 1996. His columns represented the wide changes in mood and the field of action in which he’s lived and has written. As a columnist, he dealt with the humbug and the fixations of politics, with adventure and death, with the follies of life, and with the doleful end of a skier who lost her pants halfway down the run. He sifted through the wackiness of life and the small revenges we extract from life. He didn’t ignore the nobility in the lives of people both famous and obscure, those who have dealt bravely with pain and tragedy and in doing so have deepened our own lives. He has been called a minstrel, which means as a journalist-adventurer he was and is a teller of stories and a witness to his world. His journalism today includes periodic commentary and reports in the Christian Science Monitor, including his coverage of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. For his reportage and writing, the Monitor in 2003 nominated him for the Pulitzer Prize in journalism.Jim Klobuchar is a native of Ely, Minn., and a graduate of the University of Minnesota. After army service in the early 1950s, he worked for eight years with the Associated Press before joining the Minneapolis newspapers. Apart from his career in print journalism, he has hosted several TV and radio series in the Twin Cities . He is president of Jim Klobuchar’s Adventures, a travel club, and as a mountaineer has climbed the Matterhorn in the Alps eight times and also made ascents in the Andes, Himalayas and the American West. He annually leads a popular bicycle tour through the Minnesota countryside and in the 1970s cycled alone the 1,100 miles around Lake Superior. With his daughter Amy Klobuchar, who is now a U.S. Senator from Minnesota, he has biked through the land of his roots in Slovenia and from Minneapolis to the Teton Mountains in Wyoming. A veteran of cross-country skiing and winter camping in Yellowstone, he has ranged in winter from the Alaska mountains to the island of Spitzbergen near the North Pole. He is a licensed pilot and has flown in balloons and parachuted.His readers came along vicariously, in his columns and books. His latest book, published in 2005 by Nodin Press of Minneapolis, is “Walking Briskly Toward the Sunset,” a compilation of some of his writings since his retirement from the Star Tribune. Other recent books, are “Sixty Minutes With God,” in which he imagines a free-wheeling conversation with God and explores the dilemmas of his faith; and “The Miracles of Barefoot Capitalism,” co-written with Susan Wilkes, his wife. The book tells the story of the phenomenon of microcredit around the world, a movement that has empowered millions of ambitious poor women by giving them access to small loans. Also published recently were “The Cross Under the Acacia Tree,” the story of the remarkable 48-year-mission in Africa of the Rev. David Simonson,; and “Pursued by Grace,” which tells of Jim Klobuchar’s recovery from alcoholism and his spiritual reawakening. His other books include “Over Minnesota,” a personalized view of Minnesota’s history, its place and its people. He has also written “Where the Wind Blows Bittersweet, ” a collection of his western mountain experiences and “When We Reach for the Sun,” a testament to the spiritual values he’s found in the outdoors, with photographs by Bishop Herbert Chilstrom of the Lutheran Church. He is also the author of several books on pro football, including “Tarkenton” and “True Hearts and Purple Heads,” a rollicking biography of the Vikings” early years. In 1984 the National Society of Newspaper Columnists named him the outstanding general columnist in America for newspapers over 100,000 circulation. In 1986 he was one of the finalists in NASA’s journalist-in-space project, a venture that ultimately was cancelled because of accident involving the space shuttle Challenger. He lives in Minneapolis and in 2001 married Susan Cornell Wilkes, who manages family foundations.Welcome, Jim!


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College Hoops Comeback at 73

Imagine making your college basketball playing comeback at age 73, after 53 years away from the hardwood. Ken Mink is doing it. Check out this video shared by Ecumen colleague John Boughton:[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvkmqbgUU_E[/youtube]


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Ecumen Expanding Senior Housing and Services

There are a lot of people busy within Ecumen in shaping new senior housing options and services. We want to share with you some new development and service news from around Ecumen:

Detroit Lakes, Minnesota

Ecumen’s Emmanuel Community in Detroit Lakes has opened The Cottage & Day Spa. It provides expanded options to families in Detroit Lakes who are caregivers and need day services for their loved one.'We wanted to get away from the adult day care name,' said Steve Przybilla, 'Our day services go beyond care. They are very engaging and nurturing, and tie directly to our wellness value.'The Cottage and Day Spa includes the WellSystem Aqua Massage System, which other Ecumen communities also are using. A person can get a private relaxing whole body massage without removing clothing.The Emmanuel Community expansion also includes 16 memory care residences, 3 respite care suites and a large conference room and kitchen expansion.'This allows us to build upon our value of service, and serve customers in Detroit Lakes in new and expanded ways,' says Steve.The $6.9 million expansion was supported by a $250,000 grant from the Minnesota Department of Human Services. According to a state study informal caregivers provide more than 90% of care at home and each 2% reduction in those caregivers costs the state nearly $10 million annually.

Apple Valley, Minnesota

Construction has begun on 20 memory care residences at The Centennial House in Apple Valley. The $3.7 million expansion will be completed next spring. It will be connected to the existing area of The Centennial House community, which includes 60 assisted living apartments.'Ecumen and its professionals at The Centennial House have been great assets to Apple Valley, and I am very pleased that they are expanding and bringing these important services to the residents of our community,' says Apple Valley Mayor Mary Hamann-Roland.

Sandpoint, Idaho

Ecumen is developing Luther Park at Sandpoint, which will be owned by First Lutheran Church of Sandpoint.(If you’ve never been to Sandpoint, let me share a secret: it’s stunningly gorgeous - see area photos here and here.)Luther Park is slated to open next month. It will offer independent living apartments, assisted living apartments and memory care apartments. The focus is to provide services as people need them, so that they can 'age in place' and stay in the home they love even if they need more intensive care. The housing will be physically connected to First Lutheran Church of Sandpoint. Pastor David Olson and his congregation are enhancing their already vibrant community by expanding their community and creating new service options for Sandpoint-area seniors.Here are a couple of photos from construction. This fireplace is going to be absolutely awesome. What a great place to nestle on a snowy day amid the mountains surrounding Sandpoint.One of the things that we’ve done at several of new communities is integrate artwork or other 'very local' features into the architecture. Check out the stair railing over to the right. That symbol in the stair railing is a branding iron from a local rancher. We’ve used local branding irons in a number of the stairwells.

Bemidji, Minnesota

Last Thursday was a groundbreaking ceremony for what could become the first 'green' senior housing community in Minnesota and one of a few in the country. Ecumen is developing the community for North Country Health Services, one of the Upper Midwest’s leading healthcare providers.North Country’s mission is to assure a lifetime continuum of quality healthcare services. North Country’s new community will underscore that mission, providing independent living, assisted living and memory care. It also will be physically connected to their new care center, providing easy access in this wellness community.The new community will be submitted for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the United States Green Building Council. Among the green features will be underground parking that will lessen impervious space and reduce water use, and lighting features that prevent light and energy waste. Many of the construction materials also will be harvested locally.


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Tom Daschle and Long-Term Care Financing and Services in America

Reports are that former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle from South Dakota is President-elect Barack Obama’s choice to head the Health and Human Services department. Daschle would take that position at one of the most critical times in the U.S. history of aging services where there is so much opportunity for change.So is there anything from Sen. Daschle’s past that gives us insights into how he might approach long-term care financing and services?' Check out these opening comments he made at a Capitol Hill press conference in 1999. A decade later could an administration that pledges change and innovation, turn to innovation in long-term care financing?'You wouldn’t appoint Tom Daschle to be secretary of Health and Human Services if you weren’t serious about making healthcare reform a priority,' said Drew E. Altman, president of the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation in an interview with the L.A. Times.

Sen. Daschle’s opening statements at a 1999 press conference:

Bette Davis once said that it takes courage to grow old. And I believe that anyone who has had the experience of watching their parents struggle with the challenges of age and the extraordinary physical and mental pressures that older people feel, understand what it is to be courageous as one grows old.
We believe that you have to be courageous in Congress as well, in dealing with the problems of our elderly and recognizing the importance of a population that will continue to be larger and larger as a percentage of our country and its demographics. That is why we’ve been concerned over the last several months about the inaction we’ve seen in the Congress on an array of issues that we believe are critical to addressing the needs of this nation when it comes to the elderly.
And the list continues to grow as we look at failures on the part of the majority in addressing the needs of the elderly this year and the needs of the elderly as the baby boomers grow older: They failed to enact the Medicare prescription drug benefit. They failed to establish a national family caregivers support program to help families with long term needs. They failed to establish long-term care tax credits. They failed to strengthen the retired health coverage. They failed to combat crimes against seniors. And they have failed now to authorize the Older Americans Act.

There is an array of failures there that I think point to the need for greater bipartisanship, greater efforts to reach to common ground and to build a consensus in addressing the problems of the elderly.


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New Connections in the Age Wave

Innovators are making new connections in the age wave … Thanks to Ecumen colleague Robin Dunbar for sharing this video story:


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I Like Being Old

Thank you to Ecumen colleague Anna Cole-Kost at Ecumen’s Parmly LifePointes community who contributed this reflection on the gift of growing old. It was sent to her from a friend who has discovered new things in old age:

Old Age, I decided, is a gift.I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have always wanted to be. Oh, not my body! I sometimes despair over my body, the wrinkles, the baggy eyes, and the sagging butt. And often I am taken aback by the old person that lives in my mirror, but I don’t agonize over those things for long.I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, or my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I’ve aged, I’ve become more kind to myself, and less critical of myself, I’ve become my own friend.I don’t chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn’t need, but looks so avante garde on my patio. I am entitled to a treat, to be messy, to be extravagant.I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4AM and sleep until noon?I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60 & 70’s, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love ... I will.I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set; they too, will get old.I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And I eventually remember the important things, I think!Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when somebody’s beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don’t question myself anymore. I’ve even earned the right to be wrong.So, to answer your question, I like being old. It has set me free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day. (If I feel like it)


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Rep. Paul Thissen, Who Sees Innovation in The Future of Aging, to Run for Minnesota Governor

Minnesota State Representative Paul Thissen, a Democrat who chairs the House and Human Services Committee, filed papers yesterday to run for Governor of Minnesota in 2010. What’s particularly intriguing about Thissen is his interest in the age wave (check out his web site here) and innovation and his desire to help shape new solutions.The newsletter Politics in Minnesota recently interviewed Thissen as part of a larger story on aging services public policy (The newsletter gave a shout out to Changing Aging, which was nice).Following is an excerpt from the interview:

… There’s also positive energy on Age Wave policy in the Minnesota Legislature. We asked Rep. Thissen if he has any specific legislative goals related to this issue.His enthusiastic answers indicated the importance in which care for the aging is placed in this influential committee. Despite the materializing crisis, Thissen is markedly optimistic about the projects lined up. 'It’s really a exciting time,' he said. In the upcoming session, he expects to be 'fighting the budget,' but was confident that important measures could still be passed.Thissen characterized the long-term care debate in Minnesota currently as a partisan issue, often boiling down to yea-or-nay nursing home funding votes. What he wants to see is the transfer of the issue to a more holistic, long-term issue of health and society. First, saving for retirement is a huge issue; Thissen would like to see a 529-style tax-advantaged retirement savings plan in Minnesota, as has been established in Nebraska. (He and Rep. Laura Brod, a Republican, wrote a bi-partisan op-ed on this very subject recently in the MInneapolis Star Tribune.) Encouraging Minnesotans to set aside funds for disabilities and health care is understood to be a major goal.Other goals in the Legislature include continuing the legacy of the Community Consortium Bill, to extend the flexibility of local communities in allocating and distributing health care money. Thissen sees individual freedom with care dollars as an important component of allowing Minnesota seniors to age with dignity and independence.Thissen thinks that the economic realities of the Age Wave can be the catalyst for change, politically. But he stressed that it’s critical to change public perception, to encourage everybody to see themselves and their parents or grandparents in such a way as to personalize the issue. He mentioned the idea of convening a summit, with citizen dialogue and bipartisan legislative support, to address issues in aging. When Minnesotans have an investment in seeing themselves and their loved ones cared for, Thissen said, 'that’s how we start to make change.' …


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A Veterans Day Prayer From Ecumen


I’d like to share a Veterans Day prayer from Rev. Alice Olson, who leads Ecumen’s spiritual services at Ecumen’s Bayshore and Lakeshore communities in Duluth, Minnesota. Thank you to everyone who has served our country, is serving and who has shared their family members in service to America. God Bless.

Almighty God, CreatorWe commend to your gracious care and keeping all the men and women of our armed forces at home and abroad. Defend them day by day with your heavenly grace, strengthen them in their trials and temptations; give them courage to face the perils which beset them; and grant them a sense of your abiding presence wherever they may be.We ask that you be present with us this day as we honor and remember those in this community who have served or are serving especially those who work for Ecumen and their families.May your love and strength be with them, within them and around them.Amen.