origineight

Please Call Your Congress People Today

---

by origineight

The Spirit of Aging: A Lenten Reflection by Ecumen Pastor Ron Gerl

Our culture and especially our media and advertisements give us the impression that growing older is something that we should be ashamed of. I find nothing in the scriptures that demeans elderhood. On the contrary, there is an attitude of respect, dignity, and an aura of wise leadership edified. During this Lenten season, I have been asked to be a participant in the Lent round robin with four area Lutheran congregations. Our theme has tried to capture the life and faith of Moses. My particular theme has been: 'Growing old gracefully: Moses passing the mantle of leadership.' My challenge that has been met with considerable exciting conversation has been to visualize the third stage of life as the dynamic time in which we powerfully serve God. My message has been to inspire third agers to live the resurrection life instead of a path that simply leads to accepting death. One of the themes of the wellness center at Ecumen’s Parmly LifePointes community is 'to live long and die short.' I believe that this always has been the message of Moses. Here is a quote from Deuteronomy 34:7 that describe Moses' fulfilling life, 'Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died; his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.' The verse goes on to explain that Joshua received the mantle of leadership by receiving the spirit of life that Moses had and then it says, 'none (have been) like (Moses) for all the signs and wonders which the Lord sent him to do...and for all the mighty power and all the great and terrible deeds which Moses wrought in the sight of Israel.' Moses lives by and in the grace of God! He served God more completely and more fully in his third age and why can’t we do the same? Why do we let society tell us retirement is the way to go? Why do we permit our culture to dictate life with less dignity as we age? We need to resurrect a new and right spirit within us that God encourages life. We ARE to live life to the fullest with God’s spirit guiding us. Thus doing, we can imitate Moses who himself did 'live long and die short.' My suggestions to do this includes:

• Not winding down but simply shifting gears as we age.
• Not letting others take over the reins but letting God direct our course.
• Not disengaging from community but rather taking on new positions of leadership.
• Not dimming our vision but becoming visionary for our church, community and the world.
• Not losing touch with the sensual world, but celebrating the physical and spiritual gifts given.
• Not caving in to limitations but utilizing our strengths no matter how long lived they are.
• Not rattling around in an empty nest but opening the doors of our minds, hearts, and homes to new ideas, new feelings and new people that God sends our way.

THIS IS LIVING THE RESURRECTED LIFE and keeps us one with God!!!

---

by origineight

You’re Invited to LPN Empowerment Seminars in April, Taught By Ecumen’s Mary Leber

For our readers in the long-term care profession:

Ecumen’s head of consulting, Mary Leber, will lead a very timely seminar: LPN Empowerment Part I. It will be held at three locations listed below. For readers outside of Minnesota, this is also a seminar that Mary can bring to your location.Increasingly, in the long-term care profession, LPNs are taking on expanded roles that were once the sole responsibility of RNs. Mary will focus this seminar on this changing world and empowering LPNs to thrive in it. Among the areas she’ll instruct in are leading a team, keys to empowerment, knowing professional roles and responsibilities, regulatory review and more. For more information and for registration details, please contact Stephanie Gibson at 651-766-4393 or email her at stephaniegibson@ecumen.org.

April 27, 2009 - Mankato, MN Pathstone Living718 Mound AveMankato, MN 56001

April 28, 2009 - Willmar, MNHoliday Inn2100 East Hwy 12Willmar, MN 56201

April 29, 2009 - North Branch, MNThe Villages at North Branch5379 383rd StNorth Branch, MN 55056

---

by origineight

Jim Klobuchar: Adventures in the Hospital

The nurse radiated good will. She smiled brilliantly and with compassion just as she jabbed my epidermis in a thoroughly unprotected place.Finished, she cocked her head pleasantly and looked into my eyes in a gesture that told me I was an utterly brave patient, without whimper. This of course was truth. It was also my re-introduction to the miracles of modern medicine after an all too brief sabbatical. I’ll admit that hospital stories over lunch rank somewhere below blizzard forecasts and bank bailouts in public popularity. Like a few million others, I have a bittersweet attachment to hospitals and the other agencies of mercy that accept my Medicare card. On one hand I treasure the skills of today’s surgeons, the breezy optimism of the family doctors and the end-to-end crusades to upgrade patient care hospital cooking .I was grateful for all this. I was touched to be granted a farewell kiss by my wife as I was being wheeled into a large room. En route I flashed back to hospital scenes of earlier times. They were sieges. I remembered my urologist in clipped professional tones advising the nurse of the penetrating power of various probes and spears he needed to remedy a peculiarly male condition. They had numbered all of the spears. I remembered shuddering when he called out '28,' the dreaded '28.'So now I was to undergo an angiogram where they inject dye into the arterial system and x-ray its passage, looking for potential blockage of the kind I experienced years ago. A pillow was placed expertly under my head. A nurse smiled confidently. Large white objects materialized above my head, part of the apparatus. It was going to be an ordeal. Other people appeared in the room. There was bustling about. Time ran on. Voices mingled. I wanted this to begin. I waited for the surgeon to arrive to join the crowd. More time. The surgeon had to be delayed.Right about then the surgeon’s masked face appeared. 'When will you start,' I asked, trying not to sound annoyed. 'When does the sedation begin?''We’re done,' he said. 'You’re clear. Congratulations.'He was five feet away all the time, and never had to use the dreaded '28.'Go here to read other Jim Klobuchar Changing Aging Posts.

---

by origineight

Senior Services Technology In the Stimulus Bill: Inside the Journey

'We had a compelling story to tell about the nation’s shifting demographics and the significant need to change how services are delivered to an aging population. It wasn’t a story of doom and gloom. It was a story of opportunity and solutions. Aging services technologies represent hope and a different way of thinking about how to support independence, choice and aging in place. To me, that was the power of our message.” - Ecumen’s Kathy Bakkenist, public policy chair of the Center for Aging Services TechnologiesRead insights from Kathy on the journey to get senior services technology in the Federal Stimulus Bill and what’s next related to this legislation by visiting AAHSA’s Future of Aging Blog.

---

by origineight

Senior CoHousing Conference - Boulder, Colorado

If you’re interested in creating senior cohousing, this experiential Colorado conference, April 20-24, at Silver Sage Village cohousing (photos from Silver Sage above) in Boulder is for you. Participants will be limited to 20. Cost is $1250. To sign up for the conference or learn more go here.The conference will be led by:Chuck Durrett: n architect, who pioneered the first cohousing communities in the United States. He authored the book, Senior Cohousing: A Contemporary Approach to Independent Living - The Handbook.Jim Leach: president of Wonderland Hill Development Company, the largest developer of cohousing in the U.S.Annie Russell: founding member of Wild Sage Cohousing and the community builder for Wonderland Hill Development Company. She lives in Senior Sage cohousing.Topics will include:- Aging in place, in community, successfully - What are the options?- The comparative economics of alternate senior living arrangements- Co-care and assistance in community- Sageing: What we have to offer the world- Finding land- Financing and marketing cohousing

---

by origineight

Ecumen’s Mary Leber and Helping Communities Meet Senior Services Needs

I came across this article the other day from the LeRoy, Minn., newspaper. It’s about a meeting that Mary Leber, Ecumen’s director of long-term care consulting services recently had with the city’s Economic Development Authority.At the meeting, she was outlining plans she helped their local senior housing community to develop to serve people with Alzheimer’s and dementia.In the article, she shares how this new service mix could help people stay in the LeRoy community without having to go to an institutional nursing home. Kudos to the city of LeRoy for looking at new ways to serve seniors and keep them living in a community they love. It’s something that should be part of every city’s strategic plan.

---

by origineight

Message on Long-Term Care in Health Reform Getting Traction

The message on needing to make long-term care financing reform part of health care reform is starting to get some traction on Capitol Hill. Thank you to all of you who made calls last week in front of the Senate Special Committee on Aging.Committee chair Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) opened the hearing by saying:

“Our message is a simple one: any serious health reform proposal must address long-term care. With America aging at an unprecedented rate, and with the high and rising costs of caring for a loved one, it is crucial that long-term care services are addressed.”To read testimony at the hearing, go here.

---

by origineight

Matt Birk and Embracing Change

What Are You Doing That Scares You a Bit?

Matt Birk isn’t a senior housing and services professional; his work is professional football. But check out his thoughts on changing teams after 11 seasons with his hometown Minnesota Vikings:

… My wife and I, my kids, we’re all from Minnesota… And it will always be home. ... We’re so comfortable here. I guess if we didn’t do something like this, and take a chance and start fresh (move to the Baltimore Ravens) … I felt I would have looked back on it and regretted it, not doing it … I think sometimes it’s good to leave the familiar comfort zone and do things that scare you a little bit.'

                     - Interview with with Minneapolis Strib sports columnist Sid Hartman

Good luck to Matt as he starts a new adventure in Baltimore and many Changing Aging readers who, like Matt, are doing things that scare them a bit. Life’s short, even if it’s long.

---

by origineight

Spirituality: Not One Size Fits All

Below is a post by Pastor Ron Gerl, who directs spiritual care at Ecumen’s Parmly LifePointes community. Pastor Ron recently celebrated his 35th year of ordination. He is a graduate of Luther Seminary, where he received his master’s degree in divinity:'Spirituality' is a frequently used phrase. But whose job is it to nurture our customers' spirituality? The easy answer is 'the chaplain or the 'spiritual care' team.' But when we look at what we’re striving to do across Ecumen, spirituality and spiritual care are integral to serving and empowering our customers. Spirituality is about all of us.In our Mission, Vision and Values, we define the value of spirituality as honoring our faith-based heritage by creating welcoming, inclusive communities that nurture and support the spiritual needs of the people we serve.What that says is that spirituality is not tactical. It’s not a policy, nor a procedure or a goal. And it’s definitely not one-size-fits-all. In a person-centric profession such as ours, it means we are listening with the ear of our heart and learning what brings meaning and purpose in each and every customer’s life and helping nurture and support that person’s search for higher meaning.One’s higher meaning is often sought in God or religion, but it can be expressed in other ways, too, such as family, nature, friendships, vocation, art or other relationships or interests. Just as a person can change over time, so can one’s spirituality.Spirituality emphasizes that people are not merely physical beings requiring mechanical, tactical care. Learning what gives a person a higher purpose and then helping nurture it, helps people continue to grow and also cope better with illness, trauma, and life transitions.Our approach to care must always be the 'human' approach, not a 'mechanical' approach. Honoring and empowering a person’s individuality, being and multiple dimensions by embracing and supporting one’s spirituality is essential to being a senior services provider that people 'want' rather than 'need.'

---

by origineight