Top 5 Blog Posts — November 2
Did you miss last week's most-read Changing Aging blog posts? Ecumen's online visitors found these articles most interesting:
Ecumen Friends Get Discount For ‘Converge’ Event – A Celebration of Innovation and Social Impact
Ecumen, in support of our local innovation community, is an outreach partner for Converge: A Celebration of Innovation and Social Impact! We invite you to register to attend from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on November 17 at Aria in downtown Minneapolis. Ecumen Changing Aging readers can use the code ecumen to receive a $15 discount.
Aging and Moving — When You Don’t Want To
Former Star Tribune Reporter Joe Rigert and his wife reached the point where they had to leave their vintage home of 50 years and shed much of the “stuff” that documented their memories. This is a touching account of that experience.
Grand Village Nurse Awarded Scholarship from Minnesota Nursing Association
The Minnesota Directors of Nursing Administration Long Term Care (MN-DONA/LTC) has awarded a $500 scholarship to Linsey Stocco, RN, a nurse at Ecumen-managed Grand Village in Grand Rapids, Minn.
Katrinka (Katie) Smith Sloan Named LeadingAge President and CEO
Katrinka (Katie) Smith Sloan has been named the new president and CEO of LeadingAge, an association of not-for-profit organizations dedicated to making America a better place to grow old.
Sales Office Now Open for Zvago Glen Lake Co-op in Minnetonka
Zvago Glen Lake Cooperative, a new senior housing co-op planned for the north shore of Glen Lake in Minnetonka, has opened a sales office and showroom in walking distance from the site.
You can read these articles and more at ecumen.org.
Aging and Moving — When You Don’t Want To
Former Star Tribune Reporter Joe Rigert and his wife reached the point where they had to leave their vintage home of 50 years and shed much of the “stuff” that documented their memories. It was a wrenching experience.
Next Avenue Honors Larry Minnix on “2015 Influencers in Aging” List
Next Avenue has just released its first annual "Influencers in Aging" list, honoring 50 leaders who are changing the way we age and think about aging.
Ecumen Century Club: Happy 100th Birthday Joe Hickman
Ecumen honors Joe Hickman, are resident of Ecumen Detroit Lakes,who is 100.
Grand Village Nurse Awarded Scholarship from Minnesota Nursing Association
The Minnesota Directors of Nursing Administration Long Term Care (MN-DONA/LTC) has awarded a $500 scholarship to Linsey Stocco, RN, a nurse at Ecumen-managed Grand Village in Grand Rapids, Minn.
Top 5 Blog Posts —October 26
Did you miss last week's most-read Changing Aging blog posts? Ecumen's online visitors found these articles most interesting:
Katrinka (Katie) Smith Sloan Named LeadingAge President and CEO
Katrinka (Katie) Smith Sloan has been named the new president and CEO of LeadingAge, an association of not-for-profit organizations dedicated to making America a better place to grow old.
Ecumen Trustee Debbie Cervenka Forges New Paths Supporting a Mission That Is Personal
The future looked bright for Ecumen Trustee Debbie Cervenka and her husband Bob. They had just sold the highly successful company they built together and were making big plans for the next phase of their lives. What happened next totally shattered their dreams— but gave Debbie the resolve to turn their life-changing event into a mission to help others.
Les and Lil Johnson: Staying Together and Praying Together for 70 Years
Meet Les and Lil Johnson, residents of Ecumen Parmly LifePointes, who held hands on the school bus in the 1940s and are still holding hands after 70 years of marriage.
MinnPost/UCare Convening Expert Panel on Caring for Minnesota Seniors Without Breaking the Bank
MinnPost and UCare are teaming up to present an October 29 event titled “Preparing for the ‘Silver Tsunami’: How can we better care for Minnesota seniors without breaking the bank?
Rose Senior Living Breaks Ground on State-of-the-Art Senior Living Community On Providence-Providence Park Hospital Campus in Novi, Mich.
Rose Senior Living, a privately held Michigan real estate development and management company and strategic partner with Ecumen, officially broke ground October 14 on a new state-of-the-art senior living community on the Providence-Providence Park Hospital campus in Novi, Mich.
You can read these articles and more at ecumen.org.
Ecumen Century Club: Happy 102nd Birthday Frieda Westphal
Ecumen honors Frieda Westphal, a resident of Ecumen Pathstone Living, who is 102.
Ecumen Blogger Jim Klobuchar: Return to Venice, Return to Youth
Going back to Venice is like going back in time -- to a place where youth is restored.
MinnPost and UCare Convening Expert Panel Oct. 29 on Caring for Minnesota Seniors Without Breaking the Bank
MinnPost and UCare are teaming up to present an October 29 event titled “Preparing for the ‘Silver Tsunami’: How can we better care for Minnesota seniors without breaking the bank?”
The free breakfast panel discussion will take place 7:30-9 a.m. Thursday, October, 29, in Northrop’s Best Buy Theater on the University of Minnesota campus. Drinks and light breakfast items will be provided.
Registration is required, but admission to the event is free.
MinnPost Managing Editor Susan Albright will lead a discussion with experts from the state health care community, including:
- Mary Jo George — Associate State Director - Advocacy, AARP
- Dr. Thomas Klemond, MD — Palliative Medicine and Community Care Department Chair, Park Nicollet Health Services
- Gayle Kvenvold — President/CEO, LeadingAge Minnesota
- State Sen. Tony Lourey — Chair, Health and Human Services Finance Committee
- Dawn Simonson — Executive Director, Metropolitan Area Agency on Aging
Some of the questions for the discussion include:
- How can we have better health outcomes while spending the same or less than we do now?
- What innovations will change the face of elder care in Minnesota?
- What roles do individuals and the public sphere have in preparing for our future?
The conversation will be of interest to a broad set of stakeholders engaged in advancing health care in Minnesota: state and local governments, community partners, the health sector, service organizations, and anyone with a personal interest in eldercare issues.
To learn more, or to register, visit the MinnPost event page.
Sandpoint, Idaho: The Caring Spirit of Carl Verdal Lives on in His Garden
Eleven years after his death, the spirit of Carl Verdal still lives in Sandpoint, Idaho. People especially remember his selfless good works caring for others and the beautiful gardens he created at First Lutheran Church. 
At Luther Park at Sandpoint, a community managed by Ecumen, Carl has been memorialized with a garden that re-creates his legendary church garden, which is now paved over. “Carl’s Garden” commemorates the life of an unassuming man who quietly went around town, leaving beauty and good deeds in his wake.
The October issue of Sand Point Living Local magazine tells Carl’s heartwarming story.