Can a Mall Become Senior Housing or a Regional Senior Service Center?
Architect Ward Issacson, AIA, a member of Ecumen's senior housing development team, writes about repurposing existing buildings into senior housing. Interestingly, Ecumen recently helped turn a school in Detroit Lakes, Minn., into senior housing that's a great asset to the community and helped preserve a treasured building with great community memories.
The Collegeville Cane Club
Last year students of Ecumen's employee leadership development program called Velocity spent time learning from people in other settings, including 3M, Mayo Clinic and St. John's Abbey and University in Collegeville, Minn. Curriculum during each of these visits centered around part of our brand promise: Innovate. Empower. Honor. An article in Saint John's Abbey's Banner Magazine recently caught my eye. It's a neat perspective on aging and a longtime global tool of empowerment called "the cane."
The Collegeville Cane Club
By Dan Durken, OSB, a member of the St. John's Abbey in Collegeville, Minn.
Any photograph of the Collegeville Cane Club should include all the monks who have celebrated their 50th anniversary of monastic profession. On that occasion a cane is blessed and given to each jubilarian with this prayer: “Bless + them and bless the canes they carry. Sustain their hope in the saving love of your Son . . . and help us all to support one another as brothers of your Son, Jesus Christ.”
The monks you see here daily carry their canes to give them the support they need. The curly maple cane I received on July 11, 2000, was not put to use until Abbot John suggested several months ago that I use a cane after I had taken a few falls that gave me classic bruises. Since then my trusty cane has not been a stigma of frailty and old age but a sturdy friend whose support I appreciate.
The blessing of the cane calls upon all of us “to support one another.” No matter how young or how old we are, the support of others is absolutely essential. Only the hermit monk chooses to be “self-reliant, without the support of another” (Rule of Benedict, 1.5). I pity more than envy him.
As I prepare and present my last edited issue of Abbey Banner, I am filled with gratitude for all the people who have supported me page by page, picture by picture of these first thirty issues. Cane in hand, I now move on to whatever the future brings. If the past is preview to the future I am looking forward to more “good ol’ days.” Thank you and God bless you.
Jim Klobuchar Shares How Jack LaLanne Helped Him Change His Life
You can lay reasonable odds that Jack LaLanne, at the age of 96, charged through the pearly gates a few days ago doing 25 push-ups and prodding St. Peter to spend more quality time on the treadmill.
In Jack LaLanne’s unsinkable commitment to rehabilitate America, there was no such thing as a hopeless slob beyond his powers to salvage. To demonstrate, he would clench a nylon rope in his teeth and tow a school bus up the hill, with or without passengers. He would then modestly acknowledge the applause of onlookers and complain that he had done it faster when he was 60 years old.
Not many years ago I telephoned Jack LaLanne to thank him. “For what?” he said. He was amiable. He was also in a hurry, probably to run ten miles around the golf course. But he listened and didn’t seem to be all that startled by my testimony.
I don’t have much doubt that old fitness warhorse was almost singly responsible for the last 30 or 40 years of my life.
In the late 1960s a promotional newsletter from Jack LaLanne arrived at my desk in the morning mail at the Minneapolis Star Tribune, for which I wrote a daily column. Beneath the letterhead was a photo of a beaming Jack LaLanne doing one-handed pull ups and inviting the reader to join him on an exciting plunge into a new realm of physical fitness. Add self-esteem, he said. Add new attitudes of self-confidence, and rediscovery of the essential you.
I weighed 205 pounds at the time. This was 50 pounds more than my high school playing weight, most of it compiled in the previous five years when I traveled with a professional football team, ate and drank excessively and badly and confined my physical exertion to walking
to the popcorn stand in movie theaters.
After reading LaLanne’s publicity release, I tossed it into the waste basket. I can’t say I thought it was rubbish. The guy made a reasonable case, but this just wasn’t the time in my life for a revival of the silken me. I turned back to my typewriter, caught sight of my reflected jowls in the window—and went back to the waste basket.
I re-read LaLanne’s offer to rearrange my body and my life. Start, he said, with a simple call to your doctor.
I picked up the phone. “What do you want to do?” the doctor asked. I said I wanted to take off 55 pounds.”How much time do you want?” Four months, I said. “What are you going to do?” I said I was going to give up all fattening foods, between meal snacks and start running. I said I was also disgusted to be smoking and I was giving that up forever. The doctor whistled. “That’s a lot sacrifice. It might, well, shock your body.” I said when I indulged I did it full time and if I was going to rehabilitate it had to be the same. I apologized for not having discovered the joys of moderation. Which, praise the saints, came a little later.
So I joined the YMCA, ran four miles every other day. I ate salads for lunch and dinner. For breakfast I had unbuttered toast. In addition I joined a fitness class at the Y. We did exercises and ran around while a little old lady at the piano played popular tunes like “I’ll be Glad When You’re Dead You Rascal You.” I felt so good about the declining weight that I would burn up calories jumping up and down the scale. When we went to a play at the Guthrie I would carry a little plastic bag containing carrots and raddish bits and munch them between acts. After three months the doctor, a little overweight himself, was calling me for advice. I lost so much weight so quickly some of the office wags were referring to me in the past tense.
It cost me $3,000 to buy new clothes but it was glorious. I started climbing mountains, bicycling a hundred miles, rediscovered wild nature and, every now and then, check up on Jack La Lanne to see what bus he was towing this year.
I kept that press release for years, kept the pledge of 40 years ago, and still do. And when I’d hear of some new motivational whiz on the circuit who tops them all, I’d tell myself:
“Except one.”
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.
Social Networking Beyond Facebook in Senior Housing and Services: Ecumen Connects
Ecumen CIO Larry Jorgensen discusses using social media to build community and provide value in senior housing on services . . . .
Social networking is growing among seniors. According to a recent report by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project growth of social networking among those 65+ has grown about 26% over the last several years. Yet seniors' total use is much smaller when you compare it with other generations in the chart above from Pew.
Why is this and what can we provide that our customers will find valuable and useful?
I recently informally polled a number of people why they think this trend might be occurring including members of my own family (my parents as well as my wife’s mother for example still won’t use Facebook). I received expected responses such as:
“Younger people have adopted this new technology much quicker because they generally just like the latest and newest gadgets and software”
“The younger population segment is now saturated and now older generations are catching up.”
“Seniors are waiting to see the value in the new technology before investing time in it.”
“It’s too scary because it compromises security and privacy. People are out to prey on seniors.”
We have to provide value!
I think it largely comes down to value and, of course, having access to a computer. It’s our job in senior housing and services to provide that value that is worth our customers’ investment of time. So how do we do it? Here’s one approach we're using:
Ecumen Connects – Building Community.
At Ecumen, we are rolling out in our housing communities what we call Ecumen Connects. It is a community portal for use by our prospective residents, current residents, their family members and their friends. Ecumen Connects provides a wide range of capabilities including staying connected with friends, family, and staff; personalized calendars for keeping informed about special events and activities; books and newspapers online, virtual visits to museums, shopping, brain fitness, games, etc. It even provides the ability for a person to manage their health information.
Through technology provided by our technology partner Sitelligence, we’re building and strengthening community within our existing community. It also helps future customers get a sense of what type of community we’re offering. They can also use this social networking tool to talk to current customers about their experience living at an Ecumen community. It’s by no means a replacement for Facebook, but it does different things and is specific to each of our housing communities. It also empowers people who have a fear of social networking and a fear of a breach in security. We’re operating from one platform with an encrypted connection from our secure network and it allows us to personalize tools, such as event calendars or newsletters for each site.
We must honor our customers and meet their changing needs. Our customers needs and interests will continue changing and we will need to adapt and change with them. I believe that Ecumen Connects will provide the value that our residents and customers need and expect today, and we will continue to explore new opportunities to use technology to enrich the lives of the people we serve. We’re now working on taking Ecumen Connects into our at-home services, so we can empower people in their own home and connect them to a larger community. We see significant opportunity to connect the various people in a person’s life – family, friends, care professionals, case managers and others - to further empower our customers to live fully where they most want to.
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Thanks for your interest.
31 Quick Answers for Launching Innovation in the Longevity Revolution
As we enter the new decade, innovation in senior services will be paramount. Scott Anthony at Harvard Business Review provides a new post "31 Innovation Questions (and Answers) to Kick Off the New Year." Good fodder for innovators in senior services.
Giving Alzheimer's Patients Their Way, Even Chocolate
We have to find a cure for Alzheimer's. But as that effort continues, there is a great deal of innovation that's occurring in how senior housing and services organizations are providing Alzheimer's care. If you haven't seen it, check out this article from yesterday's New York Times entitled "Giving Alzheimer's Patients Their Way, Even Chocolate." It ties nicely with Ecumen's Lifestyle Covenant, Awakenings Initiative to reduce the use of psychotropic drugs among Alzheimer's patients, and our behavioral Alzheimer's care.
Elder Technology: 5 Tips for Tech Companies Seeking to Meaningfully Connect With Seniors
L: Ecumen customer enjoying Wii by Nintendo
Yesterday we shared an example of how technology this week benefitted one of our home care customers. At Ecumen we get approached from a variety of companies wanting to “sell” the next big thing or technology that really isn’t very useful but the company feels just “because someone is older” they’ll want or use this technology.
We love working with technology companies in piloting new products. It’s those pilots that led to our widespread use of sensor technology and other new approaches. But we want technologies that truly make life better for our customers, not just a “cool” thing.
Ecumen Chief Information Officer Larry Jorgensen oversees our technology ventures and partnerships. Here Larry shares 5 tips for companies that are looking to effectively partner with senior services provider to serve the senior market with technology:
5 Tips for Technology Companies Seeking to Work With Seniors
1) Understand Senior Diversity: Just as with any age group, there is a great deal of diversity within the senior sector. Understand that our senior population is made up of a wide range of skills and interests as it relates to technology. A one-size-fits-all approach isn’t likely going to work. Show how your technology meets multiple people’s needs.
2) Define the Value: Whatever the technology is, it must demonstrate value. Does it make life easier, safer or more enjoyable and in a cost effective manner. If the technology can't show value, just as with any age cohort, seniors will not use it.
3) Respect the Customer: There can be an increasing need as individuals age for assistive technology or devices such as larger font sizes that are easier to read, larger keys that are easier to handle, etc. But I’ve seen too many companies who equate aging with a lack of sophistication or ability to learn. That’s a big mistake. Honor and respect the customer with a product that honors and respect them.
4) Be There to Help: Provide readily-available technical support for your product, especially if you’re going to serve customers who live in senior housing. In an assisted living community, for example, customers are used to getting answers to their problems right away. They also want those answers right away when they’re purchasing technology. Word travels fast in a senior community when things don’t work right. And Facebook and other social media tools make it travel even faster.
5) Show How You’ll Adapt: Technology changes fast. Actually it changes faster than that. If you’re going to approach the senior market with technology, show us how you’re going to change to stay ahead of it and keep your product relevant.We’ve seen technology make lives better for seniors.
By better understanding seniors’ needs and wants as people, technology companies will not only make a great device, but they’ll get people to actually want to use it.
The Healing Interconnecting Worlds of Acute Care and Sub-Acute Care
Things just work better through collaboration. Health care is one of those things. Kaiser Foundation columnist Howard Gleckman who blogs at Caring for Our Parents recently posted on several examples from around the country of integrated care between acute care (hospital) and sub-acute care (rehabiliation centers/nursing homes). Ecumen colleague Paul Libbon shares this story of the healing intersection between the two settings of care. It recounts the journey of Ecumen trustee and customer Rev. Hank Noordzy, and his wife Nancy (both picture above), who also is an Ecumen customer at our Lakeshore community in Duluth. A big part of changing aging in America will continue to be the increased integration between care settings . . . .
Hank Noordzy and his wife, Nancy, moved to Ecumen's Lakeshore community on Lake Superior on June 1, 2010 after 34 years in their Duluth home. Nancy’s severe Scoliosis had so dramatically affected her mobility that she was no longer able to step off a curb or navigate steps. She lost three inches in height, and when she sat down, her rib cage rested on her hips.
Nancy’s pain became unbearable, causing her constant discomfort to the point that she could only sleep in a reclining chair for the past 1-1/2 years. She turned to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Mayo specialist told her the only option for her condition was a radical new surgery technique which involved two surgeries: the first was to remove the discs and insert plastic spacers, and two days later a second surgery to insert rods and screws and fuse the vertebra from L-9 to the base of the spine (10 vertebra).
On September 14 and 16, 2010, Nancy had the surgeries and on September 23rd returned to Lakeshore, this time to Lakeshore's short-stay rehabilitation center to heal. On September 27th the keen eye of Jennifer Hernandez, a nurse at Lakeshore's rehab center, noticed an infection in the stitches. Jennifer spoke directly to the surgeon at the Mayo Clinic and, after explaining what was happening, Nancy returned to Mayo. Following three more surgeries to clean out the infection (containing 6 different bacteria), Nancy returned to The Fountains on October 8th.
The next step on the journey was to start an extensive therapy program. The therapy plans for the next week were soon scrapped as Nancy quickly exceeded her goals. The therapists were amazed at Nancy’s progress.
“It had only been a very short time, about three weeks since surgery number 5, and already Nancy’s quality of life had dramatically improved,” said Hank.
Nancy has actually gained three inches in height, and her pain has dramatically decreased. Nancy is living life much more on her terms.
How was this accomplished?
Nancy's positive determination and faith combined with a collaborative effort that included doctors, nurses, nursing assistants, dieticians, physical and occupational therapists, social workers, housekeeping and others.
Congratulations to all.
Technology and Home Care Changing Aging
A quick story today from Sue Diekmann, R.N., who leads our Ecumen at Home services in the Twin Cities:
Last night at 11:30 p.m. one of our customers, an 86-year-old woman who lives alone in her Saint Paul home, fell down in the bathroom. She tried to get up, but couldn't. She was, however, able to press the alert button on her unobtrusive medical alert wrist band, which dialed a person she had designated as an emergency contact. But that person didn't answer. So the wireless service called another person she had designated. But that person didn't answer. So the med alert service contacted paramedics. They were at her home by 11:45. They assisted her and prevented a trip to the hospital emergency room. Soon therafter our Ecumen at Home service received an update report from the wireless call service, so we could follow up with our customer on her well-being.
It's a great example of how this simple use of technology is connecting the customer, friends and home care professionals to empower a person to live with peace of mind in her own home. It's changing aging.