Next Generation of Older Americans Seek Encore Careers
At least 6 percent of Americans between the ages of 44 and 70, or 5.3 million people, are working in second careers with non-profits, governments, schools, or other organizations that benefit society, according to a new survey.And half of the people in that age group who aren’t already involved in so-called “encore careers” say they would like to find such employment -- a great opportunity for professions in aging.The survey was commissioned by Civic Ventures, a charity in San Francisco that seeks to engage older Americans in civic activities, and paid for by the MetLife Foundation, in New York. It was based on telephone interviews with more than 1,000 people.
Green Senior Housing Community for North Country Health Services in Minnesota to Be Developed by Ecumen
New senior housing development could become one of country’s few LEED-Certified CommunitiesSHOREVIEW, MN, June 17, 2008 -- https://ecumen.org €“ Aging services provider Ecumen, one of the country’s largest non-profit senior housing companies, is developing a green senior housing for North Country Health services in Bemidji, Minn. It is seeking to be one of the country’s few LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) senior housing developments.The $20 million senior housing development, to be owned by North Country Health Services and developed by Ecumen, is being built using environmentally friendly or “green” features and methods. For example, underground parking will lessen impervious surface space and reduce water use, lighting features will prevent light and energy waste, and many construction materials will be harvested locally.North Country Health Services and Ecumen plan to submit the project for third-party LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the United States Green Building Council.“Three words stood out as we began to shape this project €“ mission, vibrancy and sustainability,” said Jim Hanko, president and CEO of North Country Health Services. “The new housing will complement our mission of assuring a lifetime continuum of quality healthcare services, it will be a vibrant community that allows people to live in Bemidji for a lifetime, and it will help sustain natural resources that we all share.”“This project fully embraces a philosophy that aging is all about living,” said Sandy Bensen, North Country Health Services’ (NCHS) vice president of senior and community living services. “This will be a community that promotes healthy, successful aging and that honors and celebrates a person’s life to its very end.”Slated for a late-summer groundbreaking, the senior housing development will include independent living apartments, assisted living apartments, and memory care apartments. The link to the NCHS mission is most evident with the “aging in place” concept where older adults can move in not needing any services and as they age, assisted living services are brought to them when they need them and on an ala carte basis. All living spaces will link to Neilson Place, the North Country Health Services skilled nursing care center that opened in 2004. The project is anticipated to open in the fall of 2009.When completed, the Anne Street site will have more than 148,000 square feet of livable space in two buildings. Eighty catered living apartment homes, which feature independent living and assisted living, will have underground parking. The one-story memory care building will have 27 studio apartments.Other features will include a library and media center, grand fireplace lounge, commercial kitchen and dining room, two guest motel-like suites, a hair salon and barber shop, community room, fitness room, and outdoor patios and walking paths.“We’re extremely proud to be working with North Country Health Services and helping make this shared vision become a reality,” said Steve Ordahl, senior vice president of business development for Ecumen.About North Country Health ServicesNorth Country Health Services (www.nchs.com) is a community-owned, not-for-profit health system comprised of North Country Regional Hospital, Neilson Place, Baker Park, Bemidji Medical Equipment, and the North Country Health Services Foundation.About EcumenEcumen (ecumen.org) is based in Shoreview, Minn., and is one of the largest non-profit senior housing, services and development companies in the United States. The name Ecumen comes from the word ecumenical, which in turn is derived from the Greek word for home: “Oikos.” Ecumen’s mission is to create “home” for older adults wherever they choose to live. Ecumen is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and has 4,000 team members. Ecumen writes about news and ideas that are shaping the future of aging services at its Changing Aging blog: https://ecumen.org/changing-aging/
Coming of Age in Philadelphia
This is a cool mission statement:
To transform a source (the knowledge, talent and skill of the region’s 50+ population) into a force for enriching our community by helping individuals find meaning and the means to contribute to the greater good.
It’s the mission of Coming of Age, a Philadephia collaboration of four partners: Temple University’s Center for Intergenerational Learning, WHYY Wider Horizons, the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania, and AARP Pennsylvania. Coming of Age has three objectives: 1. Helping people age 50+ plan for the future;2. Promoting 50+ volunteering, learning, and community leadership;3. Working with nonprofits to recruit, train, and retain 50+ volunteers. Coming of Age is a great model for other communities who want to seize opportunities of an unprecedented age wave. It’s fresh, invigorating, inspiring, fun … It’s also drawing dollars … Atlantic Philanthropies recently gave it $1.8 million to expand in other parts of the U.S.. … .Do you know of any other communities that are doing this?
Tim Russert’s Tribute to His Father
Thank you to the late Tim Russert for giving us this story. A tribute to a Father, this Father’s Day weekend.
Fewer Than 1% of China’s Oldest Citizens Live in a Nursing Home
An interesting new study on China’s 'oldest old' has been released by Duke University researcher Dr. Matthew Dupre and is available in the American Journal of Public Health. (note: you have to have a paid subscription to access it) He did the research while at the University of North Carolina and is now at Duke University Medical Center. Highlights of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Study, which included a sample size of more than 13,000 people include:- Fewer than 1 percent of of Chinese 80 and older are living in nursing homes.- Most are free of chronic disease and not disabled or cognitively impaired.- For urban men and women, living in larger households was associated with longevity, suggesting that residing with one’s children, or grandchildren, might extend lifespan.- Most study participants said they 'looked at the bright side.'- Rural women - likely the most disadvantaged group in China - showed the greatest longevity benefit from being optimistic. Most people in the survey have a positive outlook.- Most also eat veggies, and a lot of them are poor, have little education and drink and smoke, challenging some of the advice we get in regard to living a long time.
How Many 70-Year-Old-Football Players Do You Know?
Thanks to Changing Aging reader Jon Riewer for sharing this item from up Fargo way…Pictured here is Bob Bonawitz, a linebacker for the Fargo-Moorhead Liberty, a semi-pro football team. Bob, 70-years old, got the itch to play again after getting bored with retirement. He had last played football in the 1950s as a member of the Moorhead High School Spuds.You can see more photos of Bob taken by Fargo Forum photographer Dave Walls here.
How many 70-year-old football players do you know?
Thanks to Changing Aging reader Jon Riewer for bringing this item to our attention from up Fargo way … Bob Bonawitz is a 70-year-old linebacker for the semi-pro Fargo-Moorhead Liberty. Bob got bored with retirement and found a new-old outlet. He had played football for the Moorhead High School Spuds in the 1950s before returning to the game this year. Read the whole story in the Fargo Forum here.
Fewer Than 1 Percent of Oldest Old in China Live in Nursing Homes
A new study hit the American Journal of Public Health, providing insights on China’s oldest-old (80 to 105). The research of more than 13,000 people was done by Dr. Matthew Dupre of Duke University Medical Center while he was at the University of North Carolina. According to the study:- Today nearly 20 percent of the world’s population 80 and older lives in China, and by 2050, Chinese are expected to account for more than 25 percent of the world’s oldest old.- Most of the individuals studied were not disabled or cognitively impaired.- Most were free of chronic disease.- Most said they 'looked at the bright side.'- Rural women - likely the most disadvantaged group in China - showed the greatest longevity benefit from being optimistic.- For urban men and women, living in larger households was associated with longevity, suggesting that residing with one’s children, or grandchildren, might extend lifespan.- While most of China’s oldest citizens eat veggies and have a positive outlook, many are also living in poverty, have little education, and even smoke and drink.- Fewer than 1 percent of Chinese 80 and older are living in nursing homes or other institutions; most are cared for in their communities and by family members.
Financing Long Term Care in America: There’s Common Ground in Aging
Just when you think there aren’t issues that Red and Blue America can agree on, there comes this little thing called aging that we’re all doing and want to do well. On Wednesday a packed auditorium at the University of Minnesota Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs participated in a discussion about financing long-term care in America. And what one saw was a great issue opportunity for Red and Blue America to forge common ground. As several panelists, including a Republican state legislator, said: Aging isn’t a Republican or Democratic issue.The forum was sponsored by the Minnesota Health and Housing Alliance, the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging and AARP. Twin Cities Public Television is creating a one-hour special on it and we’ll post that when it comes out later this year. In upcoming posts we’ll look at finance plans introduced at the Forum, but first, following are several highlights/themes from the discussions moderated by Minnesota state commissioner of labor and industry Steve Sviggum and Larry Jacobs, director, at the University of Minnesota’s Center for the Study of Politics and Governance. I know a number of Changing Aging readers were there, so please share what you found interesting or heard differently . . . thanks.- Environments are Disabled: Jan Malcolm, CEO of Courage Center, put a different paradigm on disability. Too often people live in environments that don’t allow for people with physical challenges. So why do we always focus on the person’s physical disability? Why aren’t we focusing on maximizing the physical environment in our communites to allow people young and old to live easily where they want to? - Money Has to Follow the Person: With government reimbursement money encumbered and siloed in so many areas of health care, people are mice in a never-ending maze, captive to running to the cheese (fragmented, inflexible funding sources). Let the money follow the person, so they can make the choices in their care and service options. - A Healthy Health Care System in America Must Include Aging Services: If we’re going to truly have a well-coordinated cradle-to-grave health care system that focuses on wellness, aging services must be an essential piece of the solution wheel. We have to connect the dots.- New Language: What do you think of when you think of long-term care? Many people think 'nursing homes.' Guess where people don’t want to live? Long-term care, er, aging services encompasses so much more than a nursing home, including: assisted living, rehab services, wellness centers, transportation, home care, memory care, technology … .- Home-Centered System: Home has to be an integral part of public policy innovation. Because that’s where people most want to be. Nursing homes will still have an integral role, but they will look very different. - This is a [Fill in the Blank] Issue: Long-term care isn’t just a long-term care issue. It’s a health care issue, business issue, education issue, economic security issue and community development issue. If we don’t ride the age wave, it’s going to damage other sectors of our communities.- Marry Technology and Results: We spend billions in America on technology in hospitals, attempting to help people live longer. What about adding life to years? Technology in aging services, such as sensors in people’s homes that spot small health problems before they grow into big ones, is the preventive-type of technology we should be focusing on in a results-based, wellness-focused health care system.- Fiscal Responsiblity Doesn’t End with the Mortgage: To save safety nets for those truly in need, more of us simply have to plan ahead and pay our way for aging services. The alternative is not sustainable for America.