A Memory Care Memory
Last Thursday I began my Independence Day celebration with Ecumen colleagues and customers at a celebration of the grand opening of Ecumen's new memory care community in Apple Valley. It wasn't the wonderful food or that big red scissors above held by Apple Valley Mayor Mary Hamann-Roland, Ecumen's Janis Rivers and Chamber of Commerce prez Edward Kearney that will stick with me.
Rather, the memory that will stick is of two women carrying their purses, holding hands, smiling and walking inside from the Centennial House garden and essentially "working" the room. After I was greeted by the women and they moved on to greet someone else, one of my colleagues at Centennial House told me that every day these two ladies walk together, visit with each other and others, and tell everyone they are going to catch the bus to Brainerd, which is a getaway destination for many Minnesotans. As they day comes to a close, they always tell the Centennial House employee that they "missed the bus" and are "wondering if they could spend the night here at this nice place." I laughed as she told me this story. And as I grabbed another cookie, I looked across the room, there were the travel buddies smiling, too.
Medicaid Planners And The Great American Rip-Off
Someone recently told me they know a lawyer who can help with Medicaid planning. Basically this "professional" helps people hide assets so they qualify for Medicaid and get their care paid for by government.
Such "professionals" are ripping off America and are a slap in the face to the thousands of real professionals who provide stellar care and services across the United States in an underfunded system and to the people who save and plan for their own care and services.
Absent a full-coverage national insurance plan, all of us who are not in poverty (real poverty, not the artificially-induced kind) need to share in responsibility for our own care or supportive services. That's one reason why long-term care financing reform must be part of comprehensive health care reform.
Earlier today, this showed up in my inbox. It's from a "professional." It's entitled "How to Let Medicaid Pay for Your Own Long-Term Care." It's certainly not what America will celebrate this Saturday, July 4th.
Centenarians and 20-somethings: What age gap? (Part 2)
When Evercare released findings from its fourth annual 100@100 survey in June, they shook things up a bit by comparing beliefs of 20-somethings with centenarians as we examined in Part 1 of this topic. Turns out these two cohorts surprisingly have a lot in common.
Think technology and pop culture belong only to the young? Not quite. Centenarians report using the latest technology to stay connected with friends and family much like the 20-something millennials. Twenty-one percent of centenarians go online, with 12% using the Internet to share photos, 10% using email weekly, 5% watching TV, and 4% downloading music. Additionally, 3% even use Twitter! More than half the centenarians were familiar with Nintendo Wii Fit.
If given a choice from a list of famous celebrities to have as a dinner guest, Bill Cosby was a top choice among both the centenarians (63%) and the millennials (72%). Centenarians reported being familiar with Madonna (78%) and NBA all-star LeBron James (34%).
Evercare notes the survey indicates taking a holistic approach to staying connected beyond nutrition and exercise emerges as a key to longevity. “(Centenarians) are using new technologies, staying abreast of news and current events, and engaging in social networking – all of which help to prevent chronic illnesses and contribute to greater longevity,” states Dr. Mark Leenay, senior medical director and vice president of clinical affairs at Evercare by UnitedHealthcare.
The survey, conducted by GfK Roper in April 2009, interviewed 105 active and healthy American centenarians (age 99+ at the time of the interview) and carried out an online survey of 1,036 U.S. residents ages 20-22 who expected to graduate a four-year college or university in 2009. Be sure to check out Evercare's videos from the survey. –Helen Rickman
Centenarians and 20-somethings: What age gap? (Part 1)
Think a 22 year old has nothing in common with a 100 year old? Think again.
Last week, Evercare of UnitedHealth released findings from its fourth annual 100@100 survey. New to the survey this year was the unique comparison of the beliefs of centenarians and college seniors. Surprisingly, the two groups were in agreement on a number of things. Concerning the economy, both overwhelmingly agree that they, and not U.S. policymakers and business leaders, are responsible for their own economic future. The majority of the centenarians (89%) and college students (93%) believe home ownership remains an essential part of the American dream. Both groups feel talking with friends and family as the best way to relieve stress. Volunteering in the community is another shared value, with a third of centenarians and half of college seniors actively involved in volunteerism. Check out this YouTube video on centenarians & college seniors volunteering.
The survey, conducted by GfK Roper in April 2009, interviewed 105 active and healthy American centenarians (age 99+ at the time of the interview) and carried out an online survey of 1,036 U.S. residents ages 20-22 who expected to graduate a four-year college or university in 2009.
Part 2 will look at the survey's surprising findings regarding technology use & pop culture among these two age cohorts. -Helen Rickman
Jim Klobuchar: Moving Into a Smaller World
A few weeks ago I attended a reunion of our basic training company formed at Fort Riley, Kansas in the early months of the Korean War. This was in November of 1950, and the roll call of the neophyte soldiers who piled out of their barracks into the company street at 6 o,clock each morning was close to 160.
The count at our reunion in the central Minnesota town of Willmar was 22, almost all now 80 or 81. Most of the others were gone, as many as 30 of them lost in battle in Korea. Some of us spoke for a few minutes, telling very briefly of our lives since that first day in the company street in Kansas when a bulky master sergeant welcomed us with the comforting news that “this is the Army, you men. From now on, your minds move on one track. From now on you can give your soul to God because your butt is mine.”
He didn’t say butt. Nobody argued, for sure. Nearly 60 years later we remembered that terse introduction to this new, one-sided reality. They barked, and we jumped, the sergeant said. “You’re soldiers now.” That we were. We shared with each other what came after Kansas; Korea for some, Europe for others, death in an infantry attack for some, a full life for others. We offered a digest of our lives, but this was no poll of what we had accomplished in the years that came after, or how we identified ourselves and our journeys. Success stories were basically avoided. This was reminiscence, awkward at first because not many of us recognized each other although we certainly remembered the names and some of the faces. And after the stories, slowly at first and then with clear and unapologetic emotion, came the thanksgivings.
Our lives had been good: marriage, children, work, reasonable comfort and fulfillment..Some farmed, others worked and lived in the big city or in the rural towns. Nobody talked about the by-pass surgery and the pharmaceutical potions as common common as Social Security to practically all of us. Since almost all of us had been conscripted out of Minnesota , it went unspoken that most of the credit for our gathering belonged to the part of the world where almost all of us still live, and to its conviction that life-saving medicine and care should be available to all.
And so for three or four hours, we were a community. I regretted leaving. It was impossible to ignore the reality of age but a gift to spend at least three or four hours out of what we now see as a precious time and a kind of watershed in our lives.
It was also a gift to recognize once more that in the deepening of our time,, most of the other rewards and urgencies of our later years dwindle beside the rewards of nurturing the relationships in our lives—the ultimate gift of re-discovery.
Bacardi Rum Embraces Go-Go Boots and 1860s, But Forget About Baby Boomers and Seniors
If you get a second watch this new Bacardi ad. Then read marketer Brent Green's analysis at Boomer. Brent is a boomer. Brent is insightful. Brent has a blog. Marketers who ignore that consumers are aging do so at their own risk.
Elder Innovators - A Benefit of the Age Wave
Do you know elder innovators?
There are a lot of them. Increasingly I'm seeing "work related" news stories of people working, innovating, growing and contributing in their senior years. For example, here are three older people featured just yesterday in the Twin Cities newspapers Minneapolis Star Tribune and Saint Paul Pioneer Press - doing big time stuff:
- John Morrissey, 79, just invented the GameDoctor Video Game Timer What a timely tool for parents who want to moderate gaming by their children. You can read his story here.
- Warren MacKenzie, 85, legendary potter makes pots 7 days a week. He calls himself a "mud person." Read his story and watch video of him here.
- Bob Albertson, 72, has built a fully electric Ford Ranger pickup truck. Yes, a fully electric pickup truck. Too bad Detroit didn't know about him earlier. This was a Sunday "newspaper only" feature that will hit the web later this week at www.startribune.com.
So many people point to the "drag" of the age wave. Elder innovation is a whole different side of the coin that's only increasing and we're better off because of it.
To Solve Long-Term Care Financing, You have to Ask the Right Question: Here's How You Can Help
You can read Stacy Becker's article here (scroll to page 5). There's also a great article on Page 1 by LaRhae Knatterud, who has one of the coolest titles in America: Director of Aging Transformation at Minnesota's Department of Human Services.
Stacy, who is the Citizens League's director on this project advises local and regional governments, non-profits, foundations, and private companies on issues of economic development, community building, and innovation. She was the budget director for the City and County of San Francisco. She also served in the administrations of Saint Paul mayors Jim Scheibel and Norm Coleman.
Stacy was the first non-engineer to hold the title of Saint Paul Public Works Director. She streamlined the department, improved its credit rating, improved citizen participation, and resolved long-standing controversies around key infrastructure projects. Becker also served as the director of research and development for the Saint Paul Police Department and as budget director for the City of Saint Paul. She has degrees from Macalester College, Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and the London School of Economics, where she was a Bush Leadership Fellow.
How the Public Can Participate
The League is now bringing the project to the public. Stacy will be leading several citizen workshops. Learn more about them and how to sign up here.
A Simple Skill With A Lot Of Potential
Technology and aging, a subject I'm passionate about, is all over the e-waves. Yet, as hard as it may be to believe, there are many older adults who not only don't have access to a computer, they don't know how to use one or how it might be of a benefit to them.
For the past 2 years, I've been working with a group of older adults as a volunteer tutor in an ESL (English as a Second Language) program in downtown Minneapolis. These English language learners are refugees from Somalia and are a part of the Twin Cities' thriving Somali community, about 30,000 strong. The students attend the SALT (Somali Adult Literacy Training) school free of charge, where they learn practical English to help with daily tasks such as making doctor appointments and understanding bus schedules. Unique challenges to their literacy learning, in addition to being victims of war, is the fact that prior to 1972, there was no written form of the Somali language. As a result, the Somali elders of today are missing basic literacy logic and struggle with Western concepts of learning. As a result, their literacy learning progression is considerably slower than that of most immigrant groups.
This past year, I conducted a 4 1/2 month study as part of my gerontology grad school work. Using SALT's computer lab, 23 Somalis (average age 60) learned how to type using Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing software. None of the students had used a computer keyboard before. By the end of the study, most of the students were able to achieve 85% typing accuracy. Using standardize literacy exams, we found a positve trend of improved reading and writing among those of the lowest literacy level. Most importantly, many students were excited to have their own email accounts, using them to communicate with far-away friends and family, and to use the Internet to seek out news from their homeland.
It was exciting to be a part of introducing a simple technology - learning how to type - to a grateful and deserving group of elders. Endeavors like these are important because having competency of language can knock down community barriers and help our newest neighbors become confident, independent citizens.
Can We Keep America's Elderly Out of Hospitals?
Evelyn Kubat-Beers, a customer at Ecumen CountrySide in Owatonna, Minn., began experiencing chest pains in her apartment. Unable to stand, she couldn't reach a phone to call for help. However, QuietCare sensors alerted us to her predicament. Our colleagues in Owatonna got to her just before she collapsed. An ambulance rushed her to the hospital. Shortly thereafter, she was back in her own home. The technology helped alert us early. Without it, there’s a 
very good chance that Evelyn would not be alive today or would be in a hospital for an extended, very expensive stay.
This is one example of how senior services is increasingly playing a role in preventive health and keeping people out of hospitals. We're just nicking the surface of what we think can occur in improving quality of life and lowering expenses bymore smartly integrating health care and senior services.
For example, many senior services providers provide rehab services. Hospitals send the patient to us. We work with them on rehabilitation and the vast majority go home, not back to the hospital. So why couldn't senior care providers expand that to other areas of chronic care, diabetes, heart disease, etc.? It would continue to change the role of the nursing home and make it a vital part of integrative care, rather than increasing the extremely expensive, painstaking game of catch that occurs when a person bounces back and forth between a nursing home and a hospital emergency room.
Howard Gleckman, who blogs at Caring for Our Parents, addresses this topic further and shares several examples working to keep seniors out of hospitals.