Aging and How to Change the World

If you love topics of seizing what’s next, innovation and entre/intrepreneurship, check out Guy Kawasaki’s blog How to Change the World. Guy spoke a few years ago at Mary Furlong’s Baby Boomer conference. Both were great.Guy (a California hockey nut; he needs to come to the real State of Hockey- The Land of 100,000 Rinks and 10,000 Lakes) isn’t in the changing aging business, but many of his blog’s insights can be adapted to it. Innovation knows no boundaries.

by origineight

Senior Housing Trends and Aging and Technology

We’ve added new white papers in our successful aging resource library. This is an evolving online resource by Ecumen for senior housing and aging services professionals and others interested in aging and creating more livable communities. The new papers look at trends in senior housing development and how technology is changing aging. You’ll also find our Age Wave Study of baby boomers and senior housing development tips.We invite you to share links to other such resources in the comments section below.

by origineight

Aging Services and Moments That Take Your Breath Away

Posted by Katie Lundmark, administrator of Ecumen-managed Sunnyside Care Center in Lake Park, Minn.

I recently came across these words by comedian George Carlin. I’ve shortened them a bit … I think there are some very good insights for all people in here, but especially those of us who are in aging services. As I reflect this holiday season, we who work in aging services are very fortunate to work in a profession that has many moments each week that take your breath away. The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways , but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness. We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.We’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life. We’ve added years to life not life to years (My Note: We’re changing that at Ecumen). We’ve been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We’ve conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We’ve learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less. These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete...Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn’t cost a cent.Remember, to say, 'I love you' to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

by origineight

New Alzheimer’s Senior Housing Tool Launched

Posted by Susan Ferguson, Director of Marketing, Ecumen

The Alzheimer’s Association has created a great new online tool. Called the Alzheimer’s Association Senior Housing Finder, consumers can search for senior housing communities that specialize in Alzheimers and dementia care. It is the first such tool available nationwide and features more than 65,000 providers.

The needs for these services are going to continue to grow as a person develops Alzheimers every 72 seconds. In fact, getting Alzheimer’s is one of baby boomers biggest concerns according to our Age Wave Study. It behooves senior housing organizations to complete a profile for this database and make their services known to people who are searching for them. Thank you to the Alzheimer’s Association for making this resource available.

by origineight

Aging is a Business and Economic Issue

Aging is often viewed as an issue for government, social service organizations and groups such as AARP. But aging is also very much a business and economic issue.Ecumen CEO Kathryn Roberts wrote about that in today’s Minneapolis Star Tribune:Star Tribune Business Forum: Age Wave is a Business and Economic Competitiveness Issue

Like other CEOs, I’m concerned about stemming 'brain drain' amid a mass retirement and experience exodus in Minnesota.But a more immediate economic and competitiveness issue is how to deliver and pay for senior care to assist our current employees who are dealing with their aging parents. Absent innovation, the human and financial costs of a much larger, longer-living senior society will weaken other investments designed to enhance Minnesota’s competitiveness and make this state livable for a lifetime.
If my 86-year-old mother-in-law suffered a significant medical event that required care, I would have the luxury of being able to call upon any number of experts within Ecumen for guidance on what to do next, so she could live as fully and independently as possible.Unfortunately, most people don’t have guides for the long-term care maze that now has record numbers of folks lining up outside it. Nearly 45 million Americans care for an older or disabled family member. In fact, they give an average of 21 hours each week. And they’re mostly women working outside the home, many of whom also care for children.I’ve found that the people drawn to exhaustive juggling between their paid job and pro bono caregiving often are superstars -- highly productive, talented, team players who are usually the most expensive to replace. That stretching takes a toll. Caregivers burning life at both ends have increased risk for depression, heart disease, arthritis, diabetes and cancer, and have a significantly higher mortality rate than non-caregivers. The juggling costs businesses more than $33 billion annually, according to MetLife’s 'Caregiving Cost Study: Productivity Losses to U.S. Businesses,' and that figure is growing.Health care is a top business issue. Yet, largely absent from business' discussion of health care reform is one of government’s largest, fastest-growing cost-drivers: long-term care of people with chronic illness or disability.Just over $158 billion is paid for long-term care nationally, with Medicaid paying almost half. Most of the dollars go to nursing-home care. Long-term care consumes about a half billion dollars of Minnesota’s budget and could cost $20 billion by 2050 if we don’t change how we pay for and deliver it.That cost looms much larger when I think about other competitive necessities such as building a 21st-century workforce and transportation system. And I also see a big wildcard in this cost mix: the currently incurable Alzheimer’s disease. Every 72 seconds, someone develops Alzheimer’s. Most of us are familiar with some of the 200,000 people who provide unpaid Alzheimer’s or dementia care in Minnesota. What most of us don’t know, however, is that the estimated market value of that care is about $1.5 billion.Is there any wonder the Department of Human Services (DHS) compares the age wave to Hurricane Katrina? Longevity no longer can be the sole domain of government, churches, social services, nursing homes or AARP. Every employee is aging.The late Elmer Andersen, former Minnesota governor and CEO of H.B. Fuller Co., innovated when he brought child care to the workplace. We could do the same for senior care and create places where one’s children and parents get care, capturing the value of young and old making connections.The workplace has done a very good job of helping people take more personal control over their wellness and retirement savings. It also could be the place to help people plan for their own long-term care possibilities as well as connect to care options for their loved ones.Keeping people out of nursing homes saves money. Most adult children want to keep their loved ones from entering a nursing home for as long as possible. We must make options available to our workforce to help it manage.Minnesota has a program called Consumer Directed Community Supports (www.dhs.state.mn.us/cdcs/) where Medicaid-eligible seniors can use a voucher to pay family or other caregivers rather than more expensive institutional care. Polling shows Minnesotans love the option; however, few know it exists.If publicizing this option to support independence and caregivers is too costly for the state, let’s figure out a better way. Ecumen soon will sponsor a Citizens League workgroup to look at the issue and develop options. We hope others, including the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and Minnesota Business Partnership, will join this effort to help shape solutions.The other day I received a call from a friend, a partner in a leading law firm. She just learned her father needs care. 'Where do I begin?' she asked. We all must help Minnesota ride the age wave, instead of waiting to drown beneath it.

by origineight

Aging Services: It Has to Be the No Spin Zone

Can’t we just spin' our way out of this?That might be the question on the minds of some of the nursing home operators that were named today as 'the nation’s poorest performing nursing homes' by The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).The answer is NO, and it’s an especially LOUD NO when you’re caring for fellow human beings.Some people like to talk about getting 'spin doctors' to help them in a crisis. Spin is simply another word for deception. And the 'doctors' who practice it shouldn’t be allowed to operate.We live in a world run by imperfect human beings. Crises, mistakes and bad news hit the best of organizations; And what the best of organizations have in common when such a situation hits is: They don’t SPIN. Rather they take some seemingly simple steps in what can be very difficult, embarrasing situations:1. They go right to work to identify and fix the problem.2. They learn from mistakes so that they’re not repeated.3. They communicate openly and honestly.4. They become a better organization and build even stronger trust with the people who rely on them.Some crisis situations are complex; how we respond to them shouldn’t be.Posted by Eric Schubert, Director of Communications

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Coach Broyles' Playbook for Alzheimer’s Caregivers

Southeastern Conference football legend, Frank Broyles of the Arkansas Razorbacks (and current Arkansas athletic director) has created a new playbook, and it has nothing to do with football. It’s called 'Coach Broyle’s Playbook for Alzheimer’s Caregivers.' The guidance in the 92-page book is based on experience. Broyles and his family were caregivers for his late wife Barbara who had Alzheimer’s. He takes a person-centered approach to his book, not a medical-centered one, stressing doing things with a loved one with Alzheimer’s or dementia, not for them.You can obtain a free copy at the Alzheimer’s Association site here or download its contents here.

by origineight

A New Look at Aging on the Guthrie Stage

Photo by Mike Habermann It’s interesting how increasingly we’re seeing more positive lights shined on aging and doing it well … gracefully … successfully … vitally or -- insert your adverb here.In Minneapolis this week, British actor Charles Keating, is starring at The Guthrie Theater in a one-person show called 'I and I: The Sense of Self.' His work, which features insights from Yeats to Einstein, takes a new look at aging, doing it well and the wisdom that comes with growing old.You can hear a short interview with Keating on Minnesota Public Radio here. He has a cool anecdote about how he came up with the I and I name while on a trip to Jamaica. A Jamaican friend told him 'what you do to me, you also do to yourself … you see man, we are both human beings, I and I.'

by origineight