Christian Scientists and Nursing Homes: The Not So Big House Movement
Christian Scientists might soon bring one of the country’s smallest nursing homes to Minnesota and continue the 'Not So Big House' Movement in long-term care and aging services.
The city of New Brighton, Minn., has approved the nonprofit’s preliminary plan to build a small, six-bed care center next to the First Church of Christ, Scientist. It would be 10,000 square feet. The faith’s form of nursing care doesn’t include medications but covers personal and bedside care, cleaning and dressing wounds, and spiritual support. Approval of the final plan is expected within the next couple of months.
Raise Taxes to Pay for Senior Services? Ohio Does It … A Lot
In many ways aging and aging solutions are local. Ohio takes that to another level by passing property tax levies to help fund aging services and supplement shrinking state and federal government funds. It All Started With LoisIn the late 1970s a retiree named Lois Brown Dale was looking for financial support to build and operate a senior center in a small county in Southwest Ohio. She believed the public would support such an effort through local taxes but was informed that placing such a referendum on the ballot would require special legislation. Undeterred, she successfully lobbied the Ohio legislature to allow counties to earmark local funds for elder services. More than wenty-five years later, 59 of Ohio’s 88 counties have property tax levies raising nearly $95 million for services for older people.A 90% Passage Rate- These levies vary greatly from county to county in size and revenue generated, from a .10 mill levy raising $9,000 a year to a .85 mill levy collecting $21 million in the same time period.- The specific services most often funded by these levies include nutrition, transportation, in-home services (such as home-delivered meals and home health aides) and senior center administration.- More than 90 percent of Ohio’s senior service levies have been successful at the ballot box, with an average passage rate of 65 percent of the vote.
We Want Your Thoughts - The Aging Services Customer Experience
Can you spare a minute, and respond to this post (just click on comments below to respond)? We want your thoughts.You might have seen this in the news.
Angie’s List -- which has 600,000 members nationwide -- built its business by providing a forum for its customers to rate painters, roofers and other service providers. Now, the company allows members to log on to www.angieslist.com to share their real-life experiences with local doctors, from the cleanliness of waiting rooms to the physician’s bedside manner. It’s the latest sign that 'consumerism' is becoming a driving force in health care.
Aging services is all about people. It seems that creating an online forum for customers to share good reviews and bad reviews about assisted living, home care, etc., is an idea whose time has come - probably yesterday. Yes, you’d likely get some mean people who abuse it, but it seems that a moderator could screen those types of situations. You’d also likely get insights that need correction and attention. Also, when someone has something good to say, others would see it in that person’s very real words. That’s better than any type of advertising could be. It also could be a very helpful tool for people navigating the mouse-in-the-maze health care and aging services systems.
What do you think? What am I missing? Other ideas?
10 Questions with Dr. Brent Ridge of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia
Changing Aging recently had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Brent Ridge, who is Vice President for Health Living at Martha Stewart. Prior to joining Martha Stewart he was on the faculty at Mount Sinai Hospital and was a driving force in the development of the Martha Stewart Center for Living at Mount Sanai, which is a new center for the management of chronic health conditions and for the promotion of healthy aging.Dr. Ridge is available to answer your questions every week on 'Ask Dr. Brent' on Martha Stewart Living Radio. Dr. Ridge is a graduate of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. He completed his post-graduate training at Columbia University in internal medicine and a fellowship in Geriatrics at Mount Sinai. He also holds an MBA from New York University.1. Geriatrics isn’t a specialty that most physicians choose, so what drew you to this field?There were several reasons that I chose this field. First, I spent a lot time with my grandparents as a child, and I always had a wonderful rapport with older patients. Second, I love the natural narratives of medicine, and I’m always enthralled by the personal histories of my older patients. Lastly, it was a strategic decision on my part. Although I enjoyed the practice of medicine, my real passion was in business, and I knew that for the entirety of my career the aging of the baby boomers was going to drive virtually any business.2. You’ve said aging is 'living.' We believe that here at Ecumen, too. What does 'aging is living' mean to you?There are tremendous stereotypes surrounding aging that we really need to dispel. Aging should not be synonymous with loss of productivity or vitality. There are challenges that come along with getting older just as there are social and physical challenges at nearly every stage of life. I think that one of the reasons we have such negative images of aging in our society is that there has never been a critical mass of positive role models. Obviously, this is about to change in BIG way.3. Do we need a new name for geriatrics, or do we need geriatrics to be looking at life and aging differently?I think as an academic discipline, 'geriatrics' is an appropriate name. However, to the healthcare consumer, it is very distasteful. If we want more people to approach aging in a proactive way, we’ve got to be able to reach them and compel them. It’s just good marketing. This is one of the reasons that the new facility at Mount Sinai does not have the word 'aging' or 'geriatrics' in its name.4. I’ve read that you want to live to 100, how much of getting there is up to a person’s approach to lifestyle, rather than genetics?Genetics are somehow involved in virtually every aspect of health, whether we’ve identified the specific loci or not; however, my philosophy has always been that EVERY decision that you’ve made throughout your life (or that was made for you) contributes in some way to how well you age. It’s foolish to overlook the impact that diet, exercise, and not smoking has on longevity.5. Fast forward to 100; how do you want to be living?I hope that whatever I’m doing is exactly what I WANT to be doing. Can anyone ask for more than that?6. In the U.S. and globally, we’re facing an unprecedented age wave. But aging has often been shoved aside rather than embraced in public policy, media and business. How do you see that changing? Are we on to a new movement, rising around aging?I think there will be much more attention focused on the issues of older America, simply because there are going to be more older Americans€”more vocal ones at that€”demanding that their needs be met.7. We have a whole industry built on anti-aging, why should people look forward to growing old?Philosophically speaking, I look at every new day as a way to learn something new about myself. As a physician, I’m fascinated with the way the body works and what’s happening to it as it continues to change and 'evolve'. Even for the average person, having an understanding of the basics of anatomy and physiology can be very powerful in terms of forging an understanding of what types of lifestyle modifications can pay off in a big way.8. What does your role entail at Martha Stewart?I’m leading the development of a new core area of the company focused specifically on health and wellness. The focus is not as narrow as aging but on healthy living in general. Martha and I both realize that a lot of people read the magazines, watch the TV shows, listen to Sirius radio, and visit the website, and if we somehow influence just a small number of those millions of people who enjoy our product to learn something new about their health or to make healthier life choices, then we’ve done something good.9. What top tips do you have for enhancing longevity and living well?This is actually much simpler than people expect:
Ecumen Leader to Chair Veterans Health Care Advisory Council
While 'Changing Aging' doesn’t agree with Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty’s proposed budget chop to aging services absent an aging services and health care vision and strategy, we salute his decision to make a great group of appointees to the Veterans Health Care Advisory Council. Its chair person will be Ecumen CEO Kathryn Roberts (left). She’ll be joined by other noted leaders, including several who served on the recent Minneapolis Veterans Home Task Force.
Seniors and Technology: It is for Real, America
… Enough with the headlines that depict seniors like neanderthals who live in a cave.Here’s one today from the Hartford Courant: Seniors Unexpectedly Receptive to New Technology. HELLOOOOOOO … . yes, seniors do use technology, they work out, they work, they breathe, they have sex, they’re human beings. And pretty soon America’s going to have more people with seniority than we’ve ever had. Time for media, policymakers, businesses and every aspect of our society to get real to America’s new reality.If you want to read how technology is changing aging services, download our technology whitepapers or visit our technology section, where you can find other resources such as the Center for Aging Services Technologies. Keep it Real.
Governor Pawlenty’s Aging Services Cuts: A Short-Cut to a Dead End
A couple of years ago Governor Kempthorne of Idaho chaired the National Governors Association (NGA). Long-term care was the big-focus issue under his chairmanship. Today, Minnesota Governor Pawlenty (above) chairs the NGA. He’s also reported to be on the short list to be John McCain’s vice presidential candidate pick.Unlike Governor Kempthorne, Baby Boomer Governor Pawlenty’s focus is far away from aging and long-term care. In fact, in his most recent Minnesota state budget proposal he cuts more than $130 million from the aging services budget over the next 8 years. A big chunk of those cuts will come from nursing homes. Most people don’t want to live in a nursing home. But the fact is 30,000 Minnesotans and their families rely on their care right now. Many of those government-funded nursing homes in Minnesota operate with less than 10 days cash on hand. We’d like to see our state’s leader (and potentially a national leader) show vision and help transform Minnesota and our country for the silver tsunami. It might very well involve changing funding tools (the status quo is unsustainable), but simply slicing aging services without any kind of long-term strategy for an unprecedented aging population isn’t vision or leadership - it’s a short-cut to a dead end.
The State of Aging Technology
Seniors, which are so often stereotyped as technophobes,' 'get' technology, especially if it’s going to help them live independently. In fact, according to a AARP report released on Friday called Healthy@ Home http://assets.aarp.org/rgcenter/il/healthy_home.pdf most U.S. seniors desire telemedicine, telepharmacy and sensor technology, such as that which Ecumen customers use.Misconceptions of Adult ChildrenAccording to the report, 8 out of 10 caregivers (which are mostly adult children) say that their parents would push back on using such technology. We’ve seen just the opposite. Once the kids and parents talk with each other about the benefits of the technology, it becomes a no-brainer to use it. Center for Aging Services Technologies (CAST) ReportsCAST has introduced three new reports on the State of Technology in Aging Services. One report looks at technologies available to consumers now and what’s in development. The second looks at barriers for getting more technologies to market and suggestions for overcoming those barriers. And the third provides a summary of the two reports.Aging Services Technology Whitepaper by EcumenYou can download our whitepaper on aging services technology here. And learn more about technology in use at Ecumen.
Senior Housing, Aging Services and Successful Aging in the 21st Century
Senior Housing, Aging Services and Successful Aging' is the title of a new whitepaper that we’ve added for people to download here. A holistic view of aging and embracing that aging is about growing … even at the end of life … are essential to senior housing and aging services success in the 21st Century.
Aging is Growing
Aging is growing. For real. Check out this perspective from our friend Dr. Bill Thomas.[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oRsv8gNfsw&eurl=http://www.umbc.edu/blogs/changingaging/[/youtube]