Innovation in Senior Living - What If?
“What if?”
It's a key part of Michelle Holleran's article for LeadingAge entitled "Innovation in Senior Living," which has insights for transformation in the world of aging services and beyond. It also includes this excerpt from a recent innovation summit in Colorado, which Ecumen CEO Kathryn Roberts attended and describes . . .
How to Encourage Innovation
Creating a culture of innovation requires deep commitment and constant work. Kathryn Roberts of Ecumen has been working on it for nearly a decade, and says the organization still has a way to go. Her latest tool for spawning more innovation was learned at the Innovators Summit she attended this fall—getting the right people in the room to create intersections of ideas.
“The summit used a focused business design template and brought people who see aging from different perspectives into the same room to collaborate,” she explains. As a result, seven new business models were hatched at the summit, a few of which hold great promise for going forward. “Some will actually turn into innovations, others will not,” she notes in a practical tone. Roberts and her team conceptualized a model called Vital-cocity, offering cities and rural communities a package of tools, processes and services to create livable communities that are socially and economically vibrant. The concept capitalizes on the idea that many baby boomers are unprepared for retirement, and leaders in aging services need to create new aging-in-place options for this new generation of retirees. The model follows the basic concept of what the Chinese are creating in their quest to build 50 age friendly cities from scratch, but instead retrofits current cities to better accommodate and attract boomers as they age.
Roberts believes the process of inviting innovation into an organization is an important one. In addition to adopting the format of the Innovators Summit, launching the Ecumen Idea Box, and creating a new way to measure innovation, she has dedicated space in the home office campus in Shoreview, Minn., so employees can create new ideas in a place that welcomes staff to “think the unthinkable.”
Playground fun for everyone
At a Manchester, United Kingdom park, seniors can use low impact exercise equipment built just for them. In Japan, with birthrates falling and the numbers of older citizens increasing, underused playgrounds are being renovated for seniors. The social aspect proved to be the primary draw at a Nürnburg, Germany senior park where lawn bowling and a giant chess set are as popular as the trampoline.
An outdoor setting designated just for older adults appeals to many and has multiple benefits beyond the physical. "Many older people aren't exercising enough," Madeline Elsdon said, explaining that physical activity with others their own age can help seniors struggling with loneliness and depression. Madeline is spokeswoman for the Knightsbridge Association, the group responsible for the Hyde Park Senior Playground in Westminster, England.
Although the U.S. has long had outdoor trails, where users can move from station to station, public playgrounds just for seniors in park settings are few and far between. Enter Michael Cohen, founder of Must Have Play, who hopes to change that. With an extensive background is building children's playgrounds, Cohen's vision is to marry the well-documented health benefits of fitness for the elderly with social engagement. Creating safe, attractive and peaceful gardens, with shelters, conversational nooks, and wide walking paths along with activity equipment designed for face-to-face usage, exercise then becomes a social activity that promotes wellness and confidence, and preventing isolation. Best of all, play translates to pure joy. And joy is ageless. ~Helen Rickman
Jim Klobuchar - Innocent Anthem Under Siege
Ecumen guest blogger Jim Klobuchar dissects the singing of the Star Spangled Banner as America readies for Super Bowl Sunday and Madonna taking the stage in Indianapolis. Enjoy
Millions of Americans were innocently preparing to watch the New England-Baltimore football playoff game a few weeks ago when the noted rock singer, Steven Tyler, confronted the national anthem with an original act of sadism from which it may never recover.
This is a prediction that is not made lightly. Since the arrival of the modern age of anthem soloists, the venerable old hymn to the land of the free has been subjected to assaults that (a) not only defy the ancient rules of Guido’s scale that have defined music for centuries but also (b) the Geneva Convention’s rules against inhumane punishment
I don’t know why they do it. In our household my wife and I race to see who will grab the remote before the soloist, in a doomed attempt to reach the culminating high note, dissolves into actual excruciation.
Democracy was never intended to be this painful.
I have seen hog callers offer more sympathy to their audience.
It actually goes deeper than that. A lot of times they forget the words. In Cincinnati at a baseball game one year I heard the soulful soprano remembering “the star bangled batter.”
It used to be so simple and harmless. The public address announcer asked the fans join in singing while the band played the national anthem. Mostly we put our hands over our left chests (actually we should sort of center it there if we’re looking for the heart) so we stood and sang or, if military, saluted. Mostly we knew the words. If the audience tried to join in singing with Steven Tyler in New England the other day the crowd would have been finished by the time Tyler spotted the dawn’s early light.
But what I find more worrisome today is the actual health of the soloists. The occasion calls for a certain amount of passion. Commitment. Often it also calls for a lot of hair. Tyler had more hair than Clay Matthews of the Green Packers. I have no idea how it looked on the super-sized Blue Ray loaded screens, but on mine it was enough to reach from our book case to the fireplace.
I was worried because Tyler looked to be in actual anguish. Clutching his microphone, he tossed his head backwards. His voice rambled over at least three octaves and was working hard on the fourth when he got around to the “banner yet wave…”
The suspense in front our TV was intense. My wife wasn’t sure he had the firepower left to reach the home of the brave. More crafty in these matters, I was sure Tyler would make it. He was now in what was dangerously approaching actual convulsion, in the throes of passion. His eyes closed. His hair thrashed in the New England wind. He clutched the microphone. When he got to the land of the free, he reclutched.
With his passion now almost beyond restraint, his hair leaping to new heights with the favorable wind, Tyler finished this ultimate suspense, only slightly off key.
After which they put on the commercial in which the guy wrecks a couple of cars, two city blocks and half of the landscape to remind us there is mayhem out there and we better be insured by the right people.
After which my wife left the TV screen shaking her head and asking, “does all of this really make sense to you?”
I told her it did make a little more sense when a paunchy Kate Smith sang God Bless America followed by the commercial for Rye Krisp.
Change comes hard, friends. Don’t ignore the virtues of Rye Krisp.
About Jim Klobuchar:
In 45 years of daily journalism, Jim Klobuchar’s coverage 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 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. He wrote a popular column for the Minneapolis Star Tribune for 30 years and has authored 23 books. Retiring as a columnist in 1996, he contributes to Ecumen’s “Changing Aging” blog, MinnPost.com and the Christian Science Monitor. He also leads trips around the world and an annual bike trip across Northern Minnesota. He’s climbed the Matterhorn in the Alps 8 times and has ridden his bike around Lake Superior. He’s also the proud father of two daughters, including Minnesota's senior U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar.
Hill-Murray High School Honors Ecumen Lakeview Commons Resident Honor Hacker
Ecumen Lakeview Commons resident Honor Hacker (pictured above during an interview on Capitol Hill discussing new technology) remembers the day she slumped over the desk in her classroom of Hill-Murray, a Benedictine prep school in Saint Paul, closed her eyes and died . . . . it was part of Honor's "Living with Death" course, which looked at life's greatest mystery. It was a class, and Honor a person, who has had a tremendous impact on many. The most recent edition of Hill-Murray Today Magazine, has a great article on Honor and her commitment to lifelong learning. You can read it here, just scroll to page 10 and 11.
Beacon Hill Village Model Expanding
Thanks to Michelle DeBace of Ecumen for the heads up on a National Public Radio story on the Beacon Hill Model on National Public Radio’s Marketplace, which is being adopted in Washington, D.C., and hopefully you’ll see it in full force here in the Twin Cities soon … a couple of groups are working on it.You can listen to the NPR piece here. To see the Beacon Hill web site, go here.
Awakenings Featured on Canadian TV News
Ecumen is empowering residents and their families to enjoy the highest possible quality of life through our Awakenings initiative. "400 kilometers south of the Canadian border there is a sea change underway," says 16:9 reporter Carolyn Jarvis in a recent Awakenings feature on "16:9" television news . The 16:9 feature describes the dramatic difference between calming and controlling dementia residents through antipsychotic chemicals versus the Awakenings model of behavioral support and personal attention to individual needs.
Ecumen Bethany Community Receives Major Gift: $340,000
In an honoring testament to Ecumen Bethany Community's culture of caring, former residents Leonard and Irene Kalina included Bethany in their estate plans -- to the tune of $340,000! The Kalinas lived together at Ecumen Bethany Home since 2006, until Irene’s death in 2009, followed by Leonard’s passing in January 2011. Read more about the Kalinas and their gift in the Alexandria Echo Press.
Senior Housing - A Part of Aging With No Regrets for Many
In an earlier blog post, we highlighted a new book - 30 Lessons for Living: Tried and True Advice from the Wisest Americans, authored by Karl Pillemer, the head of Cornell University's Legacy Project, I found this item below interesting from N.Y. Times health columnist Jane Brody in her look at the book.
ON AGING: “Embrace it. Don’t fight it. Growing older is both an attitude and a process,” an 80-year-old man said. The experts’ advice to the young: “Don’t waste your time worrying about getting old.”
Most found that old age vastly exceeded their expectations. Even those with serious chronic illnesses enjoyed a sense of calm and contentment. A 92-year-old who can no longer do many of the things she once enjoyed said: “I think I’m happier now than I’ve ever been in my life. Things that were important to me are no longer important, or not as important.”
Another said, “Each decade, each age, has opportunities that weren’t actually there in the previous time.”
Maintain social contacts. Avoid becoming isolated. When an invitation is issued, say yes. Take steps to stay engaged, and take advantage of opportunities to learn new things. Although many were initially reluctant, those who moved to a senior living community found more freedom to enjoy activities and relationships than they had before.
You can read Brody's full column here. And for insights from Ecumen customers and staff on aging go to 50 Tips for Aging Gracefully from Ecumen.
Ecumen Salutes Medal of Honor Recipient Mike Colalillo
Mike Colalillo, pictured above, received the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military honor for bravery, from President Harry Truman on Dec. 18, 1945. On Friday, Minnesota's last surviving Medal of Honor recipient Mike Colalillo passed away at Bayshore Health Center, which Ecumen operates in Duluth.
Hero. It was a word that accompanied Mike Colallo's name continuously. He didn't quite see it that way, though. He told a reporter after the war:
"I never wanted to kill anybody, and I never had any particular yen to be a hero. Heroes are a dime a dozen in my book."
The Army private was a rifleman in the 100th Infantry Division and stationed near Untergriesheim, Germany, on April 7, 1945, according to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.
According to the Medal of Honor citation:
Colalillo and others in his company were pinned down during a battle. He stood up amid heavy artillery, mortar and machine-gun fire, shouted to his comrades to follow and ran forward as he fired his weapon.
"Inspired by his example, his comrades advanced in the face of savage enemy fire," the citation read.
When shrapnel disabled his weapon, Colalillo "climbed to the deck of a friendly tank, manned an exposed machine gun on the turret of the vehicle and, while bullets rattled about him, fired at an enemy emplacement with such devastating accuracy that he killed or wounded at least 10 hostile soldiers and destroyed their machine gun."
A salute to Mike Colalillo. May he rest in peace.
Jim Klobuchar - A Senior Shopper Collides with the Digital Age
It seemed harmless enough, this pre-Christmas proposition I made to my wife. “Give me clues,” I said. “I want to choose a present for you that will make sense and which you heartily deserve. I need enough options to give me cover so I can create some suspense for you when we unwrap our toys.” My wife adopted a stance of sweet coyness, which I could have predicted. At all costs, she said, I shouldn’t be throwing money away and it was the gesture, the love after all, that counted most. “But how sweet of you,” she said. “Any good book would do, or maybe a lighter weight shovel for me on days when you’re waiting for the snowplows.” My wife plays this game better than I do. I guessed that what she really needed was an upgrade in her electronic gadgetry. Compared with my own ploddings in the digital age, my wife practically swims in gygabytes. And I happen to know that as part of some organizational work she’s doing to uplift women in the poor countries, she could probably use one of the latest in iPads. I know this because now and then I’d find copies of trade magazines lying on the kitchen table practically falling into my chair and open to a page advertising a certain iPad 2, Wi-Fi 16GB. It’s a cinch you know somebody who understands this 21st Century alphabet better than I do. But I headed for the appropriate outlet in one of the city’s shopping centers. There were going to be crowds. I have to tell you that I always feel alien walking into one of these sanctuaries of digital America. Mainly it’s the language barrier. I can’t talk digital talk. So I worked out a strategy. I was not going to be intimidated. Because shopping time was getting short and the crowds were multiplying. I was going to walk right in, show the sales person a picture of the magical iPad2, pull out my credit card, bag the iPad and walk out of there a freed man. I got to the shop a few minutes before the sales opening. Cleverly I lined up at the entrance to beat the crowds. It was open and teeming with red-shirted sales people. It turned out they were not yet open for sales and were taking applications for temporary employees to handle the holiday crush. “Are you applying?” one of the red shirts asked. “No,” I said, “I’m just a customer. I can wait.” I congratulated myself on this deft jab of irony, and explained. “I’m looking for an iPad. I have all of the specifications here, provided by my wife. I know the model she wants and with time getting short I almost have to pick it up today.” “Great choice,” she said. “But you can’t get it here today. We don’t have any in stock. You can probably find one at our shop ten miles from here. I’m sure they’ll be happy to take care of you.” The first pangs of panic stirred in my throat. It was now becoming a Process. In these conditions I always like to go on the attack with Plan B. I would call the company’s customer services and place an order to pick up at the other shop. I walked down the corridor to a nearby women’s shop and searched my pockets for my cell phone. Strike one. I’d left my cell phone at home. I asked a woman in the perfume department if they had a Minneapolis area telephone book. She rummaged around and smiled apologetically. “Try handbags,” she said. They didn’t have a phone book in handbags or lingerie, either. So I drove home without a whole lot of enthusiasm for making a call from there because I hate battling robots in customer services. I end up arguing with them because I always feel I’m going to be subjected to some kind of endless electronic filibuster. But I called. A voice answered and I dug in my heels. Do you remember one of the all-time films of decades ago, called “2001: A Space Odyssey”? It was the forerunner to all of the space epics to follow. It began with the immense chords of Richard Strauss’ “Also Sprach Zarathustra.” and featured the comforting but faintly lunar voice of H.A.L., or Hal, who was a kind of invisible host in space. I introduced myself and explained why I was calling. I need to tell you this robot was different. “I am an automated system,” he said. “I can handle complete sentences. So tell me how I can help you today.” That’s what he said. I gave him my name and described my problem. I needed a particular iPad and this was going to be my last gasp in the shopping mall wilderness. I told the robot: “I understand the iPad I need is sitting there, at the company’s outlet in the last mall available. I had been told the product would be available for certain, today, at his company’s outlet in a shopping mall in a southern suburb.” I waited, sweating, because that was more than one sentence. At the very least it was a compound sentence. Hal offered no argument. Smoothly he absorbed all of my dangling participles. He asked one question about color –definitely black, I said. I told Hal that if it wasn’t black I might be facing divorce court. I can’t tell you if Hal has a sense of humor. He was calm and reassuring. I could almost hear Strauss’ opening music. “It will be available at the store, just as you requested,” he said. “Have a good day.” I drove to the mall, sweating. And there it was. If Hal had a business card, I’d send it to you. About Jim Klobuchar: In 45 years of daily journalism, Jim Klobuchar’s coverage 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 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. He wrote a popular column for the Minneapolis Star Tribune for 30 years and has authored 23 books. Retiring as a columnist in 1996, he contributes to Ecumen’s “Changing Aging” blog, MinnPost.com and the Christian Science Monitor. He also leads trips around the world and an annual bike trip across Northern Minnesota. He’s climbed the Matterhorn in the Alps 8 times and has ridden his bike around Lake Superior. He’s also the proud father of two daughters, including Minnesota's senior U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar.