The Age Wave: Mickey and Minnie Mouse Want to Ride it
Who’s that riding the Age Wave? Mickey and Minnie Mouse at Disney’s Magic Kingdom in Japan. According to Telegraph.UK.Com, Disney Japan has announced new pricing structures focused on wooing older customers with their grandchildren.Japan has the largest proportion of seniors in the world, with close to 20 per cent of the nation’s 127 million residents over 65, a figure that is going to continue to grow.This May a guest from Disney, which is recognized globally for its customer service and hospitality, is going to be keynoting our annual Ecumen Leadership Conference, a gathering of 500 Ecumen leaders. We’re going to be carrying over the discussion on 'It' that we’ve been having here at Changing Aging.
What Do You Want in Aging Services: Normal or Original?
78 million people are on the verge of becoming seniors in the U.S… …Which definition should define aging services?NORMAL: 1. of or conforming to the accepted model, pattern or standard 2. not abnormalORIGINAL: 1. having to do with an origin, source or beginning. 2. never having existed before. 3. created or invented independent of already existing ideas or works.
Is an Aging Society A Problem? One Futurist’s View
Soon a lot more communities are going to have more seniors than children. Is an aging society a problem? It very well could be. Or it could mean some mind blowing, incredible innovation.Stephen Aguilar-Millan is a futurist in the U.K. His blog post The Olderpreneurs looks at how future seniors will create a 'Grey Economy,' creating businesses with each other and doing business with each other. When I look at how boomers view their work future in the Ecumen Age Wave Study, I see Stephen’s futurist view makes a lot of sense today.
Aging Services in Minnesota: Want to Help Shape its Future?
For Our Twin Cities-area Readers:Want to give 1 hour and 15 minutes in a Pilot Project for the Next Generation of Aging Services?The Citizens League is seeking volunteers to help it test a segment of an exciting initiative it is working on in the arena of aging services. If you are interested in participating in the session on the evening of Feb. 28th below at St. Paul College, please contact the Citizens League at (651) 293-0575. They’d like to hear from you so that they can schedule you in either the 5 p.m. group or 6 p.m. group.Here’s Some BackgroundThe Citizens League, a leading Minnesota non-partisan civic engagement and public policy organization, is going to be developing a citizens workshop later this year called 'Imagining a New Generation of Aging Services.' (Ecumen is sponsoring the workshop). At the workshop, participants will discuss what they want in senior services and help identify new products and services to improve senior care services in Minnesota. The results will frame a follow-up body of work led by the Citizens League to determine what specifically needs to happen from a public policy perspective to turn these products and services into reality.Your Help on February 28thTo make the workshop as successful as possible, the Citizens League is testing a portion of it on February 28th at the Citizens League Policy Open House (described in the link below) at Saint Paul College. They are seeking participants for an hour and 15 minutes at either 5 p.m. or 6 p.m. A facilitator will be asking participants to write down their vision for growing older and then discuss as a group what are the 'products' that would make these visions for aging possible. There will be other things going on that evening during the Policy Open House besides this discussion, you can learn more about those below.http://citizensleague.org/events/past/2008/02/policy_open_hou.php
Age Wave Innovation: 12 People Who Are Changing Aging in the United States
While there are many more than 12 people who are Changing Aging' across the United States, here are 12 that Kelly Greene of the Wall Street Journal focused upon on Friday. At Ecumen, we’ve had the pleasure to work with two of them: Eric Dishman, who heads up innovation in Intel Corporation’s Digital Health Group, and Dr. William Thomas, the Dr. Spock of Aging and who also authors a 'Changing Aging' blog. When you look at the areas they identify, you see key areas for innovation and 'Changing Aging' in America:- Technology- Housing- Financial Planning- Work- Volunteerism- Transportation- Community Planning and Design- Wellness and Health Care- Lifelong Education- Public Policy
Google Gets It. Kudos This Valentines Day!
A Salute to Google. Check out their graphic this Valentine’s Day. Aging is all about living.
What’s a New Name for Adult Day Care?
When I think of day care, I think of the place that I drop my child off in the morning. There has to be other, better names for this growing service. Any ideas? Posted by Eric Schubert
What Do We Spend More on in the U.S. - Aging or Defense?
What do you think we spend more on in the United States? Defense or Aging?Today the federal government spends more on seniors than on any other group or program. According to the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and research by USA Today, last year, states paid $27 billion of the $979 billion in senior benefits, primarily for Medicaid payments to nursing homes (Guess where boomers don’t want to live? Guess what the average cost of a nursing home nationally is: $75,000)Look at last year’s federal break down on senior benefits (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid) and defense in the U.S.:Senior benefits: $952.3 billion (doesn’t include the $27 billion paid by states) (This is almost 35% of the federal budget.)Defense: $552.5 billion (Just over 20% of the federal budget)
Aging and Technology Talk on Voice of America
Voice of America, which airs to 115 million people worldwide, did a very nice story on Ecumen’s visit to Capitol Hill a couple of weeks ago, where Kathy Bakkenist, COO and senior vice president of strategy and operations; and Ecumen customer Honor Hacker testified on aging and technology before members and staff of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging. You can read the story or listen to the radio broadcast below.Listen to the VOA Story 
Goodbye to Yesterday’s Senior Center, Hello to Today’s Successful Aging Center at Parmly LifePointes
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Xz2g6C1e8E[/youtube]The temperature might not get above zero today here in the Land of 10,000 very frozen lakes. But that isn’t going to deter a bunch of people from their 50s into their 90s from heading to Vitalize! Wellness Centre at the Ecumen community of Parmly LifePointes, which is built on the shores of one of those frozen lakes in Chisago City, Minn.Vitalize! visitors are partaking in a whole different kind of 'senior center.'
Aquatic Center: Warm water lap pool and a separate therapy pool (like the pro teams use) with underwater treadmill. Both use a natural salt sanitizer for ease on the skin.TechnoGym: SmartKey technology creates a personalized, virtual trainer for a person to track their fitness plan and progress. Includes treadmills, cardio waves, syncro-elliptical trainers, and strength training equipment.Wellness and Exercise Classes: A trainer sets up personalized training plans and members can access a plethora of classes, including yoga, aerobics, water fitness, water walking, and nutrition.'Hungry Mind' Classes: Classes from politics to spirituality from tai chi to great authors help feed the minds of lifelong learners.Massage: Members can get hands-on massage or visit an automated warm-water massage tableRuben’s Cafe: Named after LifePointes’ Senior Olympian and swimmer Ruben Berg, Ruben’s Cafe is a place to gather with friends for a sandwich or salad. Serenity Garden: Great place to relax and enjoy the tranquility (but you probably want to do it on a summer day rather than today).