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).
Kathryn Roberts to Discuss Age Wave of Opportunity at Carlson School of Management
Kathryn Roberts, CEO and President of Ecumen, will be discussing 'The Age Wave of Opportunity' next Friday, Feb. 15 from 12 noon to 1:30pm at the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) Housing Forum, Carlson School of Management, Rm. L-110 (Honeywell Auditorium), University of MN - West Bank. RSVP to 612-625-2086 or curahf@umn.edu by Feb. 13A map is available at http://onestop.umn.edu/Maps/CarlSMgmt/.The CURA Housing Forum is a discussion of housing issues and research sponsored by the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) at the University of Minnesota. For more information, please contact Adrienne Hannert at 612-625-2086.
Strip Clubs and Financing Long-Term Care
When we talk at Ecumen about changing how America finances long-term care and aging services, this isn’t what we’re talking about … .From today’s St. Petersburg Times:Two Tampa Bay area lawmakers want to put a $1 tax on strip club admissions so they can give low-income nursing home residents more spending money. Rep. Rick Kriseman, D-St. Petersburg, said he got the idea after an elderly constituent complained that a $35 monthly stipend for Medicaid recipients was not enough to cover personal needs, such as haircuts, clothing and movie tickets. 'I’m sorry if I’ve taken a dollar that you would have otherwise stuck in someone’s garter,' said Kriseman, who is sponsoring the legislation with Sen. Ronda Storms, R-Brandon.
Citizens League’s Focus on Aging: It’s All About People, Not Experts
Yesterday we wrote about the fragmentation in public policy around aging. The Citizens League in Minnesota, which is one of the country’s top non-partisan citizen engagement and public policy organizations is taking a different approach to aging policy as part of their MAP 150 initiative, which is focused on big public policy issues in Minnesota’s Sesquicentennial Year.Here’s how they describe the approach, which will begin at the League’s Feb. 28th Policy Open House event:
Ecumen is sponsoring the first phase of this project. However, we have no clue what the outcome will be. And that’s the beauty of the Citizen League’s work - it’s transparent, independent, citizen-based work - You can’t buy an outcome. They’ve done incredible work on some of Minnesota’s biggest public policy issues, including a report about 12 years ago on the future of aging in Minnesota. It helped to bring focus to aging services policy and enhance opportunities for independence for more seniors. What also is interesting is how they bring people together to help shape solutions that you would think would never sit down with each other.To learn more about this project and participate in it, go here. Changing Aging readers from around the country can follow it on their web site and we’ll provide periodic updates.
Aging, the American Voter and the Inertia of Fragmentation
A few stats this Super Tuesday: … .About one in five votes in the 2004 presidential election was cast by someone 65 or older. By 2040, about 40 percent of voters will be 65 or older.Imagine if there were a successful aging platform' in America or in individual states, one that was about
For Long-Term Care Professionals Who Read Changing Aging
FYI for our readers in the long-term care profession … In March and April, Ecumen is providing two courses at several sites in Minnesota and Wisconsin. One focuses on a huge topic in the news lately: psychoactive medications and the other on optimizing reimbursement, which is always a big topic in long-term care. You can learn more about the upcoming courses and sign up here.
Aging and Technology Testimony on Capitol Hill
Aging and technology were the subjects of remarks by Ecumen customer Honor Hacker (pictured above viewing a QuietCare sensor in her home) and Ecumen’s COO and senior vice president of strategy and operations Kathy Bakkenist as they spoke before members of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging last week about Senate File 908. You can read Kathy’s and Honor’s testimony here.This bill creates a nonpartisan congressionally mandated Consortium to evaluate the potential of technologies to help the U.S. meet the needs of our aging population. When passed, the consortium will become the first public-private partnership around technology and aging that goes beyond medical records to explore the potential of new technology to assist older adults and their caregivers in such areas as promoting independence, facilitating early disease detection, promoting greater support to caregivers and minimizing medication error.The consortium will include 17 members appointed by the President, Senate majority leader and Senate minority leader, the Speaker of the House and the Minority leader of the House. Members will be selected from aging services providers, technology companies, universities, physician and healthcare providers, insurance and pharmaceutical companies.It is anticipate that the bill will be introduced in the House of Representatives shortly.
Aging in America: Would the U.S. Elect a Senior as President?
We’re going to have a first' in this country no matter who is elected President in November.But will age be a stumbling block for voters? It is for some, such as tough guy actor Chuck Norris (and Huckabee surrogate) who thinks John McCain is too old to be President, and said so in a number of recent media interviews.If McCain, 71, is elected, he will be the oldest President ever elected. He would be 72 at his inauguration and 80 years after two terms in office. Last year when we did our Age Wave Study, we asked baby boomers in Minnesota if a candidate for Governor were over age 70 would that be a negative factor in how they cast their vote. Here are the percentages:- 42% said it wouldn’t be a factor.-37% said it would be a negative factor.- 17% said it would be a positive factor.- And 4% didn’t know.One thing is for sure, no matter who you are going to vote for in November, they have one thing in common: They are aging.
Baby Boomers and DARTS
DARTS (Dakota Area Resources and Transportation for Seniors) has been a godsend for Dakota County (Minnesota) seniors in helping them stay independent. Now they’re looking at baby boomers … not just to serve them, but so that the larger community benefits from their skills and expertise as volunteers as we face the age wave.