Jeremy Bloom Creates Wishes of a Lifetime for Seniors
When big-time athletes create a charitable foundation, it's often focused on kids. Not Jeremy Bloom's. The three-time freestyle skiing champion, two-time U.S. Olympian, University of Colorado football star and Philadelphia Eagles draft pick created Wishes of a Lifetime, a nonprofit dedicated to fulfilling the dreams of low-income seniors.
"I just believe that too often in our society, seniors are an afterthought," says Bloom in a recent Sports Illustrated article by former Minneapolis journalist Selena Roberts. "Our focus is to effect change in the way we look at aging."
Good stuff. Read Roberts' article here and visit Wishes of a Lifetime here.
The LEED Christmas Tree in Bemidji Senior Housing Community
It's called the LEED Christmas tree . . .
This unique Christmas tree is in celebration of completing the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) submission process for the new WoodsEdge community in Bemidji, Minnesota, that Ecumen developed for North Country Health Services. The tree is made out of a variety of reused items, such as ice skates, silverware, toaster oven, tricycle, jars and a tobaggan.
Ecumen Talks Future of Nursing Homes in Citizens League Minnesota Journal
Ecumen senior vice president of operations Mick Finn wrote an article in the recent non-partisan Citizens League Minnesota Journal that talks about how senior services are changing and the emerging role of the nursing home in chronic care management:
Chronic conditions, the most common health issue for the elderly, need to be
managed, but most can be managed outside the institutional setting. If the
disease becomes unmanageable, temporary hospital or nursing home services
may be necessary until the person can again manage (perhaps with support)
at home, whether that means a private home or a congregate setting.
The role of nursing homes in long-term care is becoming more specialized,
reserved to treat the very serious medical conditions associated with aging.
At the same time we are creating more and more opportunities to age on
our own terms, in settings and styles appropriate to our specific circumstances.
These two improvements are directly related, and the pace of their
implementation in Minnesota is rapidly accelerating.- Article Excerpt, Citizens League, Minnesota Journal
Read the full article here (you'll need Adobe Acrobat) on page 13. There are also two other articles related to senior services - the first-person experience of the caregiver, and an update on the non-partisan Citizens League's long-term care financing work in Minnesota.
Ecumen Senior Housing Design Extends to Santa Claus
One of the things Ecumen is known for is developing and operating senior housing, and we've put those skills to work for Santa Claus. Ecumen's Glen Glancy, who leads dining services at Ecumen's Maplewood, Minn., community, created another gingerbread masterpiece this holiday season. it includes 160 hours of volunteer time from Glen and contributions from "sub-contractors" Mark Hibbison (electrical), Joyce Aakre (paint) and Kim Sinclair (specialty characters). The work above with architect Glen Glancy aside it is called Santa's "Candy Cove". Among its features:
- Working lighthouse on a fondant rock outcropping
- Illuminated lighthouse Keeper's bungalow
- "Water" powered sawmill
- Santa's tugboat w/working spotlight
- Campsite with a candy lake
- Overall display area 15 square feet
- Approximate weight 85 pounds
- Maximum height 36 inches
- 40 pounds royal Icing
- 1 case of marshmallows
- 10 pounds butter
- 30 types candy
- Assorted cereals and cookies
Cokie Roberts and Steve Roberts Say America Needs the CLASS Plan
Cokie and Steve Roberts are big-time journalists and authors. And they both have mothers in their 90s. Last week, Cokie and Steve co-authored a nationally syndicated op-ed on the need for the CLASS Act. You can read more about Cokie and Steve here. If you get a second, send them a thank you at stevecokie@gmail.com.
Moments with Baxter and End of Life Care
Post by Laurel Baxter, M.A., R.N., Ecumen Quality Improvement Nurse
When I saw the You Tube video “Moments with Baxter” the therapy dog, I immediately thought of Ecumen. I thought about the beautiful bedside services I've attended at Ecumen communities. I thought of the chaplains and social services staff that help us through the dying process. I thought of our team members who arrange for pet therapy and other meaningful moments. I thought of every team member at Ecumen who shows caring each day through their touch, their smiles, and their meaningful work. It is not always easy work. We often grieve for the residents’ losses and our own losses. May this story about Baxter bring a moment of Peace and Love to my colleagues, our customers and other readers of Changing Aging.
The Checkout Line - The First Online Advice Column for the Terminally Ill, Their Friends and Relatives
We all die and have to get better as a country in preparing for that inevitable part of life. That reality has spawned a new online advice column - "The Checkout Line" - by longtime journalist and hospice volunteer Judy Bachrach. Here's more about her and the impetus for this first-of-its-kind online advice column:
I am a longtime journalist, who has worked – in chronological order – for the Baltimore Sun, the Washington Post Style section, the Washington Star where I was a political columnist, and Vanity Fair, where I am currently a contributing editor.
When one of my closest friends was dying of cancer, I began work at a hospice, where I was a volunteer. There I did just about anything and everything to help the patients: I read to them, helped fix their small meals, wrote letters on their behalf. I spoke to their families, their lovers, the nurses and sometimes their religious advisors, a few of whom were not welcomed by those they wished to visit. Above all I listened: not only to what the patients said to me but to what they often didn’t say.
There’s a lot that the dying cannot articulate, and not simply because some are depressed or others too weak to talk. There are moments when they simply see no more use for talk. But after a while, anyone who spends time with the patient can sense whom that person wishes to see, whose visits might best be cut short, who should be avoided, what topics should be discussed. All these elements can be learned and shared.
Until I worked with the dying, I had always been afraid of death. Initially, I thought that perhaps by dealing with those who faced a more imminent mortality, my fears might be eased. As it turned out, they were. But that was by no means the most important result. That experience changed my life. I would like to do the same for others.
Medical Students, Seminarians Move to Senior Housing to Live and Learn
Photo by Jessica Janoski, Saint Paul Pioneer Press
The world is made of collaborative opportunities. Seizing on that the University of Minnesota School of Medicine, Luther Seminary in Saint Paul and the Minneapolis-based senior housing provider Augustana have created a new partnership.
The partnership allows medical school students and seminary students to pay discounted rent at Augustana Apartments in exchange for their volunteer time with senior residents. It also gives seniors the chance to share their years of wisdom and avoid feeling cut off from the rest of the world.
"We've been segregated," said June Englund, an 83-year-old resident of Augustana, in a recent Saint Paul Pioneer Press article. "I missed seeing young people - and anybody under 83 is young."
Dr. Ed Ratner, a geriatrician and professor at the University of Minnesota, who leads the initiative at the U said he hopes the program will attract much-needed doctors to the geriatric field and potentially lower health care costs. He also believes the presence of younger people could energize seniors and encourage them to live more healthfully.
"Having younger people around will bring back a better feeling of life for the future, and if we can keep people in their apartment versus going to a nursing home, we can lower health care costs through this."
You have to love this thinking and approach. Congratulations to Dr. Ratner, Luther Seminary and our colleagues at Augustana Homes.
Ladders, Holiday Lights and Aging in Place
Aging in Place's Patrick Roden has a good reminder here about how the combo of ladders and holiday lights can screw up one's desire to age in place. Hat tip to Mature Market Experts' Tom Mann for the photo above.
Can Old People Just Be People?
What does age have to do with it? Dig this column by Sy Rosen, playwright who has written for Frasier, The Bob Newhart Show, The Wonder Years and other TV shows:
Lately I've noticed a lot of news stories that seem to focus on someone's age, and I'm not sure I like it: A 90-year-old woman votes, a couple with a combined age of 181 get married, two men in their 80s get in a fistfight on a tennis court, a 92-year-old goes to the World Series and a 101-year-old man buys a new Camaro (I wonder if he got the extended warranty). I guess what's annoying me is that the only thing that seems to make these stories newsworthy is the person's age. What's next -- a 91-year-old man eats a Big Mac? Why is age a characteristic that's singled out? We don't see stories like "Man with beard bowls 250."
Are they saying that age is an obstacle we have to overcome, and therefore it's newsworthy if we're able to do anything? But being old is not an obstacle. I can do anything I was able to do when I was younger (except maybe find my car in the parking lot).Maybe they're categorizing some of these stories as inspirational. But an old guy going to the World Series isn't an inspiration; it's just baseball. Of course, there are some inspirational stories about older people. Stories like "88-year-old woman fights off mugger with her walker." In these dangerous times, that story certainly inspired me. No, not to stand up to a mugger but to hire that feisty lady as a bodyguard.
Read Rosen's full column here. It originated in the L.A. Times.