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Active aging industry news from around the world
Outreach program offers free health assessments for elders
Medical professionals from Washington University and Barnes-Jewish College of Nursing are helping older adults in underserved areas of St. Louis, Missouri, identify and address wide-ranging health problems. The Barnes-Jewish Hospital Foundation is funding this program, called the Collaborative Assessments to Revitalize the Elderly in our Community (CARE in our Community), for the next three years.
Data obtained from an initial outreach program in 2005 found that impaired physical function caused by obesity, depressed mood and osteoporosis are major contributors to frailty and reduced quality of life. The new CARE in our Community program will visit community centers and senior living facilities to perform evaluations and interventions that focus on these areas of concern.
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Study to explore physical and cognitive fitness
Lakeview Village, a nonprofit, faith-based retirement community in Lenexa, Kansas, will conduct a study to compare approaches linking physical and cognitive fitness. “While the link between physical and cognitive fitness in people over 50 is a ‘hot topic’ in our field, many of the studies are correlational, or compare only one training program with a control group,” observes Jan Montague, Lakeview’s vice president of community life. “This prospective, randomized study will compare two recognized approaches, fitness training and cognitive training, and one innovative multimodal approach, in terms of potential benefits for cognitive function and quality of life of elder citizens.” To carry out the initial five-month study, Montague will team with Arthur Kramer, PhD, of the Beckerman Institute at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, and Evelyn Shatil, PhD, of brain fitness software company CogniFit. Others involved in the study include NuStep, Inc.; PCE Health and Fitness; CIO, Inc.; and New Horizons Computer Learning Centers.
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Institute releases new health information series
The US National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) recently released new health information to raise awareness about diabetes, digestive diseases, and kidney and urologic diseases among people not yet diagnosed with these illnesses. The NIDDK, part of the US National Institutes of Health, developed the Awareness and Prevention Series for community health fairs, workplace health forums, family reunions and other similar events.
The publications are each two-page fact sheets—one side in English and the other in Spanish—on a wide range of health topics. These include bladder control, prediabetes, preventing diabetes complications, and many others. Each fact sheet gives readers a snapshot of an illness, highlighting risk factors, symptoms, prevention tips, and where to go for more information. The series is available free online at www.niddk.nih.gov.
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New website boosts eye disease awareness
EyeCare America, the public service program of the Foundation of the American Academy of Opthamology, recently created a website to assist older adults and other online users in learning more about eye problems. The site, www.eyecareamerica.org, contains clinical information about age-related macular degeneration and other eye diseases reviewed by certified ophthalmologists, with links to treatments and an interactive tour of the eye’s anatomy, as well as free brochures.
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Erickson residents try something new
Some residents from Renaissance Gardens, the healthcare facility at Erickson Retirement Communities’ Henry Ford Village in Dearborn, Michigan, had a sneak preview of the 2007 “America’s Thanksgiving Parade” in nearby Detroit. This group visited the Parade Company’s warehouse during last-minute preparations, thanks to some string-pulling by Doris DeDeckere, who lives at the Village. The client list of this public relations professional once included a past president of the Parade Company, and DeDeckere worked with him to coordinate the visit. This trip is one example of the activities offered to the men and women who live at the full-service retirement community. Another is a new initiative that integrates cooking into daily exercise.
A spin-off of the community’s Circle of Life exercise program, the therapeutic cooking class at Renaissance Gardens “started because Matt Wallace, our wellness coordinator, has a love for cooking, a love for his exercise programs and a love for our residents,” says Connie Coleman, program manager. “The Circle of Life program plans an outing such as a picnic or trip to the apple orchard, which Matt combines with an exercise outing.” Examples of exercises include “things like marching through the orchard, lifting legs to get on a hay wagon, reaching to pick that perfect apple, or even jaw exercises to eat the apple.” The cooking spin-off? Coleman comes up with “a cooking project appropriate for the season,” she says, and Wallace “designs exercise to coordinate with the cooking effort.” The cooking and Circle of Life programs make exercise more fun and interesting, while at the same time working the upper body, fine motor skills, and eye-hand coordination. “The total benefits of the program are critical to the quality of life of our residents,” Coleman concludes.
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Aging expert accomplishes a personal milestone
Walter M. Bortz II, MD, one of America’s most distinguished experts on aging, completed his 35th annual marathon in December 2007, at age 77. The clinical associate professor of medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine, California, was the oldest finisher in the Las Vegas Marathon, running the race in 6 hours, 57 minutes. Acknowledging that he’s “getting older and slower,” Bortz says he feels deep satisfaction in his running accomplishments. Further, he’s committed to the yearly marathon, he adds. In his professional life, Bortz focuses primarily on the importance of physical activity in the aging process. The avid runner clearly practices what he preaches.
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Big Apple arts initiative targets elders
In early February 2008, New York City launched SM(ART)S: Seniors Meet the Arts, a $1-million dollar municipal initiative to bring cultural organizations and seniors centers together to enhance older-adult participation in the city’s creative life. Fifty-seven cultural organizations will partner with more than 150 seniors centers in neighborhoods across five boroughs to provide hands-on programs—examples include creative writing, jewelry design, intergenerational theater, circus arts, and blues cabaret.
The SM(ART)S initiative is offered through a collaboration between the City of New York’s Department for the Aging (DFTA), Department of Cultural Affairs and City Council. At the recent launch, DFTA Commissioner Edwin Méndez-Santiago, a social worker, said that his department “is committed to developing opportunities for older New Yorkers to enjoy creative exploration as part of vital and healthy aging.” Not only does SM(ART)S promote older-adult participation in the arts, Méndez-Santiago continued, but it also “helps senior[s] centers throughout the city strengthen their programming and transform themselves into activity hubs where seniors can connect to a rich array of wellness programs.”
Enhanced seniors center programming is a key component of DFTA’s ongoing modernization efforts. With one-fifth of New York City’s population projected to be over age 60 by 2030, DFTA is “reenvisioning” the future of aging services, including services provided at more than 320 seniors centers citywide. Seniors centers, or Healthy Aging Centers, will become hubs that promote social, physical and mental wellness, according to DFTA. The diverse programming at these centers will include, among others, disease prevention programs, exercise classes, civic engagement activities and creative opportunities.
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Facility holds information fair for older adults
At press time, Square One Older Adult Centre, located in the Canadian city of Mississauga, Ontario, is set to host a free Seniors Information and Active Living Fair. Operated by and for the city’s age 50-plus adults, the nonprofit center billed the event as an opportunity for visitors “to meet, talk with and find out about a variety of support and assistance services available to seniors.” Scheduled speakers include representatives from the Canada Hearing Centre, Older Persons’ Mental Health and Addictions Network, and Klein Naturopathic Care. The Mississauga Central Lions Club, Ontario Seniors’ Secretariat, and the Older Adult Centres’ Association of Ontario are event sponsors.
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WSU to build aquatic exercise research lab
Thanks to a $1-million grant from the National Swimming Pool Foundation in Colorado, researchers at the Washington State University (WSU) Pullman campus plan to create the National Aquatics and Sports Medicine Institute. This institute will be “the world’s premiere center for aquatic health research,” according to Director Bruce Becker, MD, a research professor in WSU’s College of Education. Currently, there is “no other lab with this mission and focus,” he believes. And “the Foundation’s grant gives us tremendous movement forward.” The physician intends “to build on our initial research and fill the knowledge gaps of how water benefits our hearts, lungs and endocrine systems.”
Creation of the National Aquatics and Sports Medicine Institute will build upon WSU’s reputation for world-class research, comments Judy Mitchell, dean of the College of Education. “This research is driven by the need to know more about the effects of aquatic exercise,” adds Mitchell, “not only on general health and well-being, but on specific medical conditions such as asthma, hypertension, osteoporosis and obesity.”
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Lancaster Pollard hires healthcare finance specialist
Dan Biron has joined Lancaster Pollard Mortgage Company as senior vice president and director of health care programs. Lancaster Pollard Mortgage Company is part of Columbus, Ohio-based Lancaster Pollard, and provides capital financing solutions to hospitals, long-term care facilities and affordable housing providers. Biron will open Lancaster Pollard’s first office in the northeast—in New York—its sixth nationwide, the company says. He will oversee the firm’s platform of services, including HUD/FHA mortgage programs, US Department of Agriculture programs, and Lancaster Pollard’s proprietary EquityTap program; he also will facilitate loan origination and develop new financing options. Biron was previously a director in the Real Estate, Finance and Securitization Group of Credit Suisse, an international financial services company. In addition, he spent 16 years in various finance capacities with national nursing home operators, including Life Care Centers of America.
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