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Active aging industry news from around the world

Rise Above Tour celebrates successful ride
After nearly four months and 4,200 miles, the second annual Rise Above US Bicycle Tour ended successfully on September 27, 2008, in Washington, DC. The yearly bicycling endeavor brings awareness to spinal cord injury research and rehabilitation, and spreads a message of hope by “Promoting the Power of Possibility.” En route from San Francisco to Washington this summer, 29-year-old Rise Above founder Aaron Baker and his mother/teammate Laquita Conway, supported by the Rise Above team, stopped at senior living communities, physical therapy centers, university hospitals, spinal cord injury specialists, and the like. The pair undertook athletic activities, participated in fundraising events and gave presentations, sharing Baker’s inspiring story.

An accident in a motorcross competition left Baker a quadriplegic in 1999. Initially given a “one in one million chance” of regaining function below the neck, the aspiring professional athlete from California focused on recovery, assisted by his family and clinical exercise physiologist Taylor-Kevin Isaacs. Baker has slowly regained his physical strength and function through years of therapeutic exercise, and can now walk with a cane. Another example of his continued progress: Baker completed last year’s Rise Above Tour on a tandem bike; this year, he cycled his own “trike” (a custom three-wheel bicycle) across America.

One key aim of the Rise Above Tour, which was sponsored this year by equipment manufacturer NuStep Inc., is to raise funds for the Center of Rehabilitative Exercise Inc. (C.O.R.E.). Baker founded the nonprofit organization to open state-of-the-art rehabilitative facilities nationwide to help people of all ages with special needs improve their quality of life. According to the Tour website, these centers will feature specialized equipment and provide low-cost integrated programs (evaluations, treatment plans and education) to improve function, independence and self-efficacy.
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The Osborn rejoices in a century of service
The Osborn senior living community in Rye, New York, welcomed its centennial in 2008 with events held throughout the year. Kicking off the events in March was a tea celebrating centenarians, plus an opportunity to learn about The Osborn’s history and meet the senior managers who wrote Images of America: The Osborn. This book was published to coincide with the milestone anniversary. An opening day commemoration in April included a tree planting and the burial of a time capsule. And in June, an old-fashioned country fair for all ages featured a white elephant sale, pony rides, a food court, and activities and games. Closing out The Osborn’s centennial year, a gala fundraising event in early December raised funds to renovate the community’s rehabilitation center.
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Magazine names ‘best places to retire’
US News & World Report magazine has published its second annual “Best Places to Retire” feature (September 22, 2008) and related website (www.usnews.com/bestretirement). The special report provides an in-depth look at the healthiest communities for retirees in the United States, selected using criteria that factored in cost of living, climate, crime rate, access to healthcare, educational opportunities, and cultural and recreational amenities in a given area.

The following 10 best cities (listed alphabetically) provide ample opportunities for active retirees to focus on their physical and mental health, according to the magazine:

  • Bella Vista, Arkansas
  • Boulder, Colorado
  • Eden Prairie, Minnesota
  • Green Valley, Arizona
  • Issaquah, Washington
  • Longmeadow, Massachusetts
  • Portland, Maine
  • Punta Gorda, Florida
  • Reston, Virginia
  • Walnut Creek, California

Bella Vista, Boulder, and Eden Prairie were also among a select list of cities noted for offering an environment well suited for active retirees focused on exercise, strong social support, and maintaining healthy lifestyle habits.

In addition to profiles of the selected cities, the website provides a search tool with retirement information on more than 2,000 US cities; themed “microlists” (e.g., “greenest,” “outdoorsiest”); and retirement videos and photo galleries.
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Erickson opens first off-site medical facility
Erickson Health Medical Center at Howard County, Maryland, recently opened its doors. The center, which serves adults 65 and older covered by Medicare, is Erickson’s first off-site facility and expands the company’s healthcare services for retirees residing outside its retirement communities. Rebecca Elon, MD, the American Geriatrics Society’s Clinician of the Year in 2007, directs the center, which could eventually employ five to 10 doctors, according to Erickson. If the practice is successful, Erickson could open more centers in Maryland and nationwide.
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Hawaiian luau opens Osprey Village’s clubhouse
Osprey Village at Amelia Island Plantation, a Senior Living Communities master-planned, full-service retirement community in Florida, hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony and Hawaiian luau to celebrate the grand opening of its new clubhouse and villas. Following the ceremony, current residents, prospects and guests enjoyed a Hawaiian-inspired buffet lunch in the new dining room, while a Polynesian review provided entertainment. Interested individuals were given tours of Osprey Village’s new one- and two-bedroom condominium-style villas, which offer easy access to the dining room, activity rooms and surrounding walkways.
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Delaware wellness center marks 10th anniversary
Wesley Wellness Center at Manor House (WWC) celebrated a decade of providing aqua and land fitness programs to older adults in Sussex County, Delaware, earlier this year. On July 9, Delaware’s lieutenant governor, John C. Carney, Jr., gave a keynote presentation at the anniversary celebration. Carney, architect of the state’s Lieutenant Governor’s Challenge, a healthy lifestyle initiative, spoke about the importance of healthy aging and the role of WWC in providing older adults with resources to maintain their optimal fitness. The event capped a week of themed open houses and demonstrations of a variety of wellness topics, including strength and balance classes, nutrition and massage.

WWC is located on the campus of Methodist Manor House, a Peninsula United Methodist Homes continuing care retirement community in Seaford. The center offers pool and land fitness classes, water team sports, outpatient rehabilitation, massage therapy and yoga to Manor House residents and to members of the local community.
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‘Nana’ technologies featured at AARP Expo
The newest technologies for older adults, as well as “sci-fi” technologies for the future, were featured during AARP’s Life@50+ National Event and Expo in September. Consultant Andrew Carle, an expert on seniors housing who coined the term “nana” technology, discussed the role these technologies will play in meeting the needs of aging Boomers.

Technologies displayed or reviewed included:

  • radio frequency tagging devices that can locate lost keys or purses, or provide the location of a car in the parking lot
  • e-mailboxes that allow older adults to receive and send emails, photos and cards on the Web without using a computer
  • “Brain Trainers” that can delay or address age-related cognitive impairment
  • home health and wellness systems that can discreetly monitor for unusual activity, such as falls, and provide alerts to family or professional staff
  • lifestyle products, including mailbox alerts, age-friendly cell phones, and voice-activated assistive devices
  • future technologies such as a “smart shirt” that can administer CPR; a GPS “tracking” shoe for individuals with Alzheimer’s who may become lost; a “personal assistance” robot; and a “magic medicine cabinet” capable of communicating with users to prevent medication errors, monitor vital signs, and schedule an appointment with a physician

Carle, an assistant professor and director of the Program in Senior Housing Administration at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, also recently released his third annual list of the best high-tech gifts for older adults (available at http://eagle.gmu.edu/newsroom/724/). “New technologies are providing greater independence and autonomy for seniors,” says Carle, “and this is a trend that will continue as the general population ages.”
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Literacy a winner in first global Word Cup
The first annual global Word Cup, an innovative competition for all ages hosted by nonprofit organization eSpindle Learning, announced 60 winners on its home page (www.wordcupcafe.org) on International Literacy Day, September 8, 2008. The event quizzes both vocabulary and spelling skills in a time-restricted environment. Individuals from 73 countries participated, with the majority of contestants coming from the US, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The “Champion of Champions,” 69-year-old Jane Windham, won an electric car and other prizes.

Literacy is also a winner, according to Rosevita Warda, eSpindle Learning’s president: “We asked all participants to reflect on what literacy has brought to their lives and to give back.” Funds from the Word Cup and additional donations were shared among several nonprofit organizations. Free practice quizzes are posted regularly online at www.espindle.org/free_quiz.
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CCRC in Pacific Northwest garners LEED certification
Timber Ridge at Talus, a new Life Care Services community in Issaquah, Washington, has achieved LEED Silver Certification for adhering to nationally established green building standards. To celebrate this certification as well as the community’s official grand opening, Timber Ridge held a day of festivities in late August highlighted by a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

“Timber Ridge boasts of a number of external and internal green features,” comments Kent Larson, senior vice president and director of development at LCS. “Everything from the use of storm water management, water efficient landscaping and protecting open spaces, to monitoring systems for thermal comfort, low-volume plumbing fixtures and the use of natural light indoors were taken into consideration and incorporated into the overall design,” he explains.

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building rating system is a voluntary, third-party rating system administered by the US Green Building Council, a nonprofit organization of building industry professionals. Building projects can apply for certification and then earn credits for meeting green building criteria in five main categories. These include sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality.
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Canadian organization earns CARF accreditation
Shepherd’s Care Foundation, which provides older-adult care and services on eight campuses in the greater Edmonton, Alberta, area, is the first organization in Canada to be accredited for its aging services network by CARF International. The accreditation is for three years, the highest level available. “We chose CARF because its aging services network standards cover our housing, home care and assisted living services, as well as our long-term care stream,” explains Shepherd’s Care Foundation President John Pray. “We believe it is important to demonstrate accountability and excellence for the organization as a whole, not just in one area.”
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British Nutrition Foundation to host healthy aging conference
At press time, the British Nutrition Foundation will hold a conference on Healthy Ageing: The Role of Nutrition and Lifestyle in London on January 13. As part of the program, Professor John Mathers of the University of Newcastle will release a report outlining the latest thinking on the role of environmental factors such as diet and lifestyle on healthy aging. The report reflects the work of a task force, chaired by Professor Mathers, that was charged by the Foundation to examine the issue. The conference will also cover such topics as lifestyle strategies to maximize bone health, lifestyle measures to reduce physical frailty with aging, diet and arthritis, and protecting teeth and oral health in old age.
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HHS grants to help older Americans and veterans stay independent
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced $36 million in new grant programs to 28 states to help older Americans and veterans remain independent and to support people with Alzheimer’s disease to remain in their homes and communities. Just over $19 million of this funding involves a new collaboration with the US Department of Veterans Affairs.

“The HHS funding is specifically designed to reach people who are not eligible for Medicaid, but who are at high risk of nursing home placement and spend-down to Medicaid—which often occurs when private pay individuals enter a nursing home,” says Assistant Secretary for Aging Josefina G. Carbonell. “The program will also offer consumers more control over their long-term care, including the ability to determine the types of services they receive and the manner in which they receive them, including the option of hiring their own care workers.” For funding details, see www.hhs.gov/news/press/2008pres/09/20080929a.html.
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US grants target older-adult mental health
The US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) recently awarded 10 grants totaling more than $12 million over three years through the Older Adults Targeted Capacity Expansion Grant Program to help communities meet the special mental health needs of older adults. The grants enable community public health authorities to provide expanded prevention, screening and treatment services for older adults dealing with issues such as depression, anxiety and substance abuse. The grant awardees are:

  • Jewish Family Service, Los Angeles, California
  • Community Rehabilitation Center, Jacksonville, Florida
  • Coastal Behavioral Healthcare Inc., Sarasota, Florida
  • Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois
  • The Adult and Child Mental Health Center, Indianapolis, Indiana
  • Mental Health Association of South Central Kansas, Wichita, Kansas
  • Advocates, Inc., Framingham, Massachusetts
  • Oakland Family Services, Pontiac, Michigan
  • Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
  • United Community Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
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Archstone Foundation award targets elder abuse, falls
The American Society on Aging (ASA) has received a grant from The Archstone Foundation to fund two programs, one addressing elder abuse and another providing information about falls prevention. The $50,000 grant allows ASA to put together two programs on these topics at the annual conference ASA holds with the National Council on Aging in the spring. The Aging in America Conference takes place in Las Vegas, Nevada, March 15–19, 2009.
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Province launches action plan to support older adults|The government of British Columbia, Canada’s westernmost province, recently released its action plan to support older adults in living healthy, active and independent lives. “We must ensure we have a plan for the demographic shift that is coming, when one in four of us will be over the age of 65, and this framework will assist us in being prepared,” advises Healthy Living and Sport Minister Mary Polak.

The Seniors’ Healthy Living Framework was developed collaboratively by 13 ministries, and outlines four cornerstones that the government will focus on over the coming months and years:

  • creating age-friendly communities
  • mobilizing and supporting volunteerism
  • promoting healthy living
  • supporting older workers

The plan also announced a Seniors’ Healthy Living Secretariat to lead implementation of the framework across the provincial government and with other key partners including local government, the business community, and community organizations. The secretariat is responsible for developing information resources for older adults and engaging stakeholders, as well as monitoring and reporting on progress.

“Adapting to an aging population is a long-term enterprise, so this plan is not just about today’s seniors and their families, but is government’s road map to support tomorrow’s older British Columbians,” says Polak. “Early success in the four areas identified in this plan will provide the momentum we need for action in other key areas down the road.”
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