New Long-Term Care Financing Recommendations Unveiled in Minnesota
For the last year and a half Ecumen has joined with a diverse group of ideologies and viewpoints at the non-partisan Citizens League to examine the issue of long-term care financing and develop recommendations for how Minnesota can be a leader nationally in transforming long-term care financing so more people can live empowered lives in their senior years without going into poverty and we can preserve a strong safety net for those who cannot escape a life of poverty.
The report entitled Moving Beyond Medicaid: Long-Term Care for the Elderly as a Life Quality and Fiscal Imperative was released at long-term care financing forum last week at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute.
It's gained some great media coverage and discussion. Here is a link to the report and some of the media clips.
Aging, Lovebirds, and The List
Betty & Boyd
-- by Jim Klobuchar
The temptation is to insist that Betty and Boyd were thrown together by fate or, if you move in loftier atmospheres, by faith.
Without discrediting either source as an enabler of marital joy in later life, I’ll ask you to accept the facts as they are. The truth needs no apologies.
Let me introduce you to the awesome powers of Boyd’s List.
Don’t ask me for Boyd’s last name. There’s an outside possibility that he has access to a shrewd lawyer. Neither of the partners, however, objects to the open publication of his 14-point magna charta to guide aging lovebirds in search of a suitable mate after the loss of an original and fondly-remembered spouse.
What I can tell you about Betty and Boyd is this: Both were in their 80s when they met seriously and are still there. They both lost their mates after long and fruitful marriages. For a time they separately considered resigning themselves to the limited thrills of Thursday night bridge games and senior tours of the Russian Art Museum, not to discount Betty’s flurries of action directing a bell ringing society. They had actually met each other over the course of some of these recreations, and it was at about this time that Boyd recalibrated his list of “Required Qualities or Characteristics of New Wife,” after losing his first. The list led him unerringly to the woman who became his second and equally-admired wife, who unfortunately died not long afterward.
After a respectful mourning, he reviewed the now fully-accredited Boyd’s List.
As a public service, he has allowed me to share it with people of interest, including those who might appreciate some informal strategies. The potential partner, according to the list:
1. Must have had a very happy marriage to deceased spouse..
2. Must be mentally and physically active.
3. Must have good physical health.
4. Should have positive, upbeat personality and outlook.
5. Must have good sense of humor.
6. Should have compatible religious and philosophic outlook. Must accept diversity.
7. Must be compassionate and committed to charitable giving, both personal and financial.
8. Totally honest and open.
9. Financial: Not in need of financial help. “Things” not important. Generous in support of charities and non-charitable good causes.
10. Within 7 years of my age.
11. Preferably good relations with own children and likelihood of good relations with my children.
12. Good “people” person.
13. Comfortable with physical affection, preferably in any form.
14. Preferable to have common friends.
My first reaction to this manifesto was to suggest sending a blind copy to all unspecified age classifications, including all Medicare brackets and interested Baby Boomers. Doctor Phil was an imposter. Boyd’s list has legs!
You should know that Boyd and Betty, married now for five years, were last seen scheming to lead a square dance on a Semester at Sea world cruise beginning Jan. 12, ending April 24 and including Nassau, the mouth of the Amazon, Cape Town, Singapore, Hong Kong and Yokohama.
The timetable is ideal, avoiding a cross-country bike ride Betty had been planning for the spring.
With some prodding, I can get you an addendum to Boyd’s list
Ecumen Nominated for Best of the Web Award in Senior Living - You can Vote
We invite you to take two seconds and cast a vote for Ecumen's web site:
We're honored . . . Ecumen.org and Ecumen's Changing Aging blog have been nominated for The 2011 SeniorHomes.com Best of the Web award. The national contest highlights the best senior living and caregiving websites, blogs, and resources on the web for consumers and senior living professionals. The top nominee sites by popular vote will proceed to the round of finalists and will be rated by our expert panel. Final rankings will be decided the expert panel ratings.
To vote, go here, and click "Like" Voting ends Dec. 15th . . . THANKS!
Reducing Antipsychotic Medications in Nursing Homes - Ecumen Awakenings Initiative
In six months, Ecumen colleagues at Sunrise nursing home, working with physicians, residents, and family members in Two Harbors, Minnesota eliminated the use of psychotropic drugs and decreased use of antidpressants by half. Eva Lanigan (above, left), an Ecumen clinical director who led this work, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune in a article yesterday:
"The chaos level is down, but the noise is up -- the noise of people laughing, talking, much more engaged with life. It's amazing."
Now based on the work of Eva and her team, Ecumen is bringing this drug-reducing strategy to Ecumen's 15 other nursing homes. Helping make the work possible is a multi-million dollar grant from the State of Minnesota. The initiative is called "Awakenings," because people are literally awakening.
This is important work (see stats below) and hard work. But we know it will make lives better and provide insights for our entire profession. It is changing aging.
Did You Know?
- In 2005, Medicaid spent $5.4 billion on atypical antipsychotic medicines, which is more than it spent on any other class of drugs, including antibiotics, AIDS drugs or medicines to treat high blood pressure.
- According to a study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, more than half are prescribed inappropriately to control dementia-related behaviors even though there is no mental illness diagnosis.
- According to a study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, more than half are prescribed inappropriately to control dementia-related behaviors even though there is no mental illness diagnosis.
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Visit our YouTube channel to learn more about this initiative and others at Ecumen.
You're Invited as Minnesota Unveils New Ways to Pay for Long-Term Care - December 14
“In only a few generations, ‘old age’ has gone from limited survival after retirement to ‘middle age’ with almost twenty years of life ahead at retirement. But we’ve not prepared as individuals or as a state on how we’ll pay for the huge costs that accompany old age. With the first baby boomers retiring in 2010, the time has come.”
- Stacy Becker, Citizens League Long-Term Care Collaborative
For the last year and half the non-partisan Citizens League's Long-Term Care Collaborative has been working on developing new strategies for Minnesotans to pay for long-term care. The Citizens League Long-Term Care Collaborative is comprised of multiple sectors and diverse ideologies, including senior services, health care, non-profit, business, government, social services and philanthropy.
The group's recommendations will be introduced by the Citizens League's Stacy Becker at a free long-term care financing solutions conference at the University of Minnesota Humphrey Institute on December 14 from 8 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. at the Humphrey Institute's Cowles Auditorium. The discussion will also include insights on the CLASS Act from Washington, D.C. Partners in presenting the conference are: Aging Services of Minnesota, the University of Minnesota's Center for the Study of Politics and Governance, American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, and AARP.
Registration: Registration is limited due to auditorium size. To register: Contact Kellie Carlson of Aging Services of Minnesota at kcarlson@agingservicesmn.org. See you on the 14th. Here is the event brochure.
How is Senior Living Going to Change?
Technology . . . "Granny Pods" . . . community involvement . . . Home Services . . . all are subject of a front-page article in today's Minneapolis Star Tribune on the future of senior housing.
How do you think senior living is going to change?
A Bumper Sticker Shaped By Experience
A gem from Ecumen colleague Kurt Hansen who knew American hero Don Singlestad well . . . . Don, whose story is profiled here, had an awesome bumper sticker. It read:
"Life is Tough, Wear a Helmet"
Read Don's story and you can see he clearly knew the truth in that quote.
Honor: War Hero and Ecumen Customer Don Singlestad Led a Life of Service in Park Rapids and Far Beyond
Ecumen Changing Aging readers will recall the remarkable story of Don Singlestad, a resident of Ecumen-managed Heritage Community in Park Rapids, who was honored last year for his WW II heroics by the Italian government. Don died just prior to Thanksgiving.
Jeremy Olson of the Minneapolis Star Tribune wrote a beauitful obituary on Thanksgiving Day that highlights several of the key moments from Don's life, a life that had a tremendous impact on many on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Following is Jerermy's article. Thank you, Don!
The blessed life of Don Singlestad ended last
week when the decorated World War II
veteran and Minnesota National Guardsman
died at age 93.
A man who rarely discussed the war until he
wrote a 2009 memoir, "The Fighting Fool,"
Singlestad was one of the U.S. military's most
decorated noncommissioned officers and
one of three Americans in the war to earn the
Italian Military Medal of Valor Gold Cross.
Singlestad expected to die on the battlefields
of North Africa or Italy, said his nephew,
Bruce M. Johnson. "There was no fear and
when things got very difficult, he just went
into instinct. And instinct worked. He lived
through it. He didn't think he would."
Singlestad earned the Distinguished Service
Cross for heroism during a 1944 battle in
Italy. The citation said he used grenades and,
when out of ammo, his rifle butt to break
through an enemy blockade and bring
intelligence to his commanders.
A Lutheran, he later was blessed by Pope Pius
XII for working behind enemy lines before
the liberation of Rome to direct air and
artillery bombardments away from the
Vatican and other sites.
Singlestad was part of the National Guard's
Red Bull 34th Infantry Division, which
suffered heavy losses in a pivotal battle to
drive Germans from mountain strongholds in
northern Italy. Last year, at 92, he traveled to
Vernio, Italy, to commemorate a highway in
the division's honor.
"Don beamed with pride as he unveiled a
marker in front of townspeople and Italian
World War II partisans dedicating a mountain
pass as 'Via 34th Divisione di fanteria Red
Bull,' " said Maj. Gen. Rick Nash, adjutant
general of the state National Guard.
After the war, Singlestad was a traveling
salesman for a clothing company and opened
a diner in Litchfield, Minn., with his wife,
Florence. They later owned a girls' clothing
store in Bloomington and sold real estate in
Arizona. The couple retired in Fort Collins, Colo.
Singlestad moved to Park Rapids, Minn.,
to be near his daughter after his wife's death
He struggled with memories of the war and
men he killed. His daughter, Debra Sharkey,
said it showed in his wanderlust.
"That's why he was on the road as a
salesman," she said. "He had to be out, he
had to be about. He had to be active."
Singlestad lived with zeal and a twinkle in his
eye, relatives said. He once rigged a bathtub
on a motorized raft so he could putter
around the lake, singing in the tub. "When he
was around ... people laughed," Johnson said.
Singlestad was active in retirement, planning
a veterans' memorial in Park Rapids, serving
Thanksgiving meals to the needy. Just this
month, he drove elderly voters to the polls.
Thank You from Beyond the Playing Field
Many of us will watch football or some other sport this Thanksgiving weekend. So often, memories and media moments freeze time, making sports stars and in a sense, we who cheer them, seem ageless. But, of course, none of us strike the same pose forever. This year has been a crisp reminder of that:
A few weeks ago Hall of Fame baseball manager Sparky Anderson died of complications from dementia. That followed New York Yankees owner's George Steinbrenner's death after media reported he'd been living with Alzheimer's. Today media are debating the wisdom or lack thereof of Penn State University's football coach Joe Paterno, 84, coming back for his 46th season leading the Nittany Lions. And earlier this year the family of former University of North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith's family sent a letter to his former players and other friends. This copy comes from a posting on the University of North Carolina student paper website:
Our dad is almost eighty years old, so it’s expected that he might show signs of aging. After spending an entire lifetime without a visit to the hospital except to see players and friends, he had to undergo two procedures in the past three years: a knee replacement surgery and a repair of an abdominal aortic aneurysm. But what other people may have noticed – and what has been speculated about recently in the media – is that our dad may not remember quite like he used to. It’s a stark contrast, because he is widely known for remembering a name, a place, a game, a story – it’s what made other people feel like they were special, because our dad remembered everything.
Coach Smith wanted to keep his professional and personal life separate. But as we all know, the personal and professional life can sometimes overlap, and we understand that many fans, former players, and friends are concerned about his well-being. In trying to balance our dad’s wishes and the genuine concern so many people have for Coach Smith, we want to update you about his health, but ask that you respect his privacy. Our dad has a progressive neurocognitive disorder which affects his memory. So now, he may not immediately recall the name of every former player from his many years in coaching, but that does not diminish what those players meant to him or how much he cares about them. He still remembers the words of a hymn or a jazz standard, but may not feel up to going to a concert. He still plays golf, though usually only for nine holes instead of eighteen. He still attends some sporting events –you might see him in the stands at his grandson’s baseball game. He has difficulty traveling long distances to see the Heels on the road, but he insists on watching all Carolina basketball games on television and cheers as hard as he can for Coach Williams and the team.
Although some of the ways he experiences daily life have changed, he still cherishes his many relationships with Carolina basketball, his family and his friends.
Throughout his career, he has always preferred the spotlight be on the Carolina basketball program and the University, rather than himself. We hope that you will understand and respect his wishes. Thank you for your consideration and well wishes for our dad.
The Smith family letter hits home for many people. This Thanksgiving, thank you to everyone who is caring for and empowering our fellow human beings. Thank you for seeing that one's contributions and value go far, far beyond those "ageless" photos in the scrapbook. Your selfless support defines honor.
Charlie Brown, On-Demand and Senior Housing and Services
The other night I screwed up life for my 4-year old son, Charlie, by forgetting to tune into a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving on TV. And I forgot to DVR it . . .double trouble. But, because it's 2010 and not 1974, I was able to pull it up on online where Comcast's Fancast online on-demand product saved me.
Makes me think about senior housing and services. And how it will continue to evolve in an on-demand world to meet people's wants and needs via technology and other innovation. Five years ago, we didn't have GE QuietCare or HealthSense in any of our housing communities. One year ago we didn't have EcumenConnects, a residential social networking community. The products didn't exist. Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving is every bit as good today as it was in 1974, but the viewing experience is a whole different ballgame. No doubt in today's on-demand world that the channels are going to continue changing rapidly in senior services.