Ecumen Poll: Do You Think the Age Wave Could Be an Age of Peace?

Dear Changing Aging readers, we have a quick poll for you. Before you answer, below is information that provides more context: Sex Day in UlyanovskIn 2007, Sergei Morozov, the governor of the Ulyanovsk region of Central Russia offered prizes to couples who agreed to take advantage of a 'family contact day' and wound up producing babies nine months later, on June 12, Russia’s national day.…

Happy Holidays From Ecumen

Holiday wishes to you from Ecumen.There are a number of holiday traditions at Ecumen communities. Today, we’d like to share with you one of them. Glen Glancy is the leader of dining services at Lakeview Commons, an Ecumen community in Maplewood, Minn. Each year Glen creates a beautiful Gingerbread house for the Christmas season. It’s a big hit for all who live and visit Lakeview…

Twin Cities Aging Policy Summit: Vision for the Future

For our Twin Cities-area readers, you’re invited to register for the Aging Policy Summit: Vision for the Future:When: Tuesday, January 13, 2009 from 8 a.m. to noon.Where: Wilder Center Auditorium, 451 Lexington Parkway, Saint Paul, MN 55104What: A look beyond the financial challenges of the 2009 legislative session. Exploring how Minnesota can affirmatively respond to the coming…

How is State Budget Money Being Spent? Look at Long-Term Care Says Pioneer Press

The editorial folks over at the St. Paul Pioneer Press wanted to see where the rising dollars of government health care are being spent in Minnesota, so they went and talked with folks at the Departments of Human Services and Management & Budget. (Governor Tim Pawlenty cited a 21 percent increase in state spending on health care as a major driver in Minnesota’s $5.28 billion budget…

Minneapolis Star Tribune: A Growing Price Tag for Long-Term Care

Following is an excerpt from a Minneapolis Star Tribune editorial yesterday on long-term care financing …While poor children, their parents or pregnant women make up the majority of Medicaid enrollees, two-thirds of the Medicaid budget is spent on the elderly and disabled. One-third of the program’s total spending goes toward long-term care, which is why reform here could yield…