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Much has been written in the US about the Green House movement, founded by Dr. Bill Thomas, creator of the Eden Alternative. The Green House model has been consistently featured in articles and as education sessions since its inception.
This recent article on Kiplinger.Com gives a good description of the model here in the US. If there are similar models of care in your country please share them with us.
Late in 2007 we wrote about the importance of care coordination for individuals moving from one level of health care to another. The OECD’s study highlighted four key areas for reform and gave an overview of practices in three countries – the US, Germany and England.
Now according to a recent report, the Australian Government has allocated AUS$300 million to provide transition services for elderly to help them regain heath and independence after discharge from a hospital. The program will provide a range of low intensity therapy services, including physiotherapy, dietetics and podiatry, as well as nursing support and personal care services.
This is a very important part of a comprehensive health care plan and is a good model for others to replicate.
The European Commission wants to see Europe developing as a hub for ICT for older people through the development of smart home technologies, electronic alarm systems and remote health facilities, for example.
It is hoped that smart devices, mobile technologies for monitoring vital signs and user-friendly interfaces for people with impaired vision or hearing will improve the quality of life of elderly people, their carers and families.
According to an article on VNUNET, the plan, proposed by the European Commission in June 2007, had already been approved by the European Parliament in March 2008 in a first reading. Twenty EU member states, as well as Israel, Norway and Switzerland would participate in this € 600 million joint research project called “Ambient Assisted Living” programme.
Between now and 2013, another € 400 million are allocated to research and innovation for the elderly people under the E.U.’s seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development. “There is no reason for older people in Europe to miss out on the benefits of new technologies. The solutions and services resulting from this program will help them to remain active in society as well as staying socially connected and independent for a longer time,” said Viviane Reding, E.U. Commissioner for the information society and media.
The Care Home Olympics took place on Thursday, 19 June 2009, in Sheffield, England. Competitors tested each other’s skills in sports such as bowling, skittles, mini golf, target throwing and dominoes. Teams were made up of residents from 20 care homes, with the event starting with a chair-based, mass warm up and ending with dancing.
A prime goal of the Olympics was emphasizing the importance of physical activity. And of course having a chance to meet people and socialize are great benefits too.
And the Lord Mayor presented metals and prizes to the winning homes.
Go Team!!
There have been numerous articles and studies about the tidal wave of retirees swamping retirement pension systems as the baby boomers leave the workforce. Not only have the prognosticators declared that there will be a financial drain both in terms of increase in health care expenditures as well as in tapping of government pension systems, there will also be a workforce crisis as jobs go empty.
Not so, says Kevin Coyne of the Coyne Partnership. In a recent article in Business Week, Kevin and his business partner Shawn Coyne say that the Silver Tsunami will be more of a trickle – certainly in the US. According to their calculation more older Americans will choose to work beyond age 65 and there will be fewer retirees and more workers.
This is certainly a much rosier picture than we’ve seen elsewhere. Thoughts? Is this true in your country???
Sunday is the 3rd Annual World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, launched three years ago by the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse.
The purpose is to raise awareness of the issue of elder abuse and to encourage the adoption of a comprehensive strategy to prevent elder abuse and ensure quality of long-term care for older people.
Studies show that 4% of older people living in private households and 30% of older people in institutions are victims of elder abuse. Elder abuse can take various forms: physical, psychological or emotional, sexual, financial or neglect. Inadequate care is more often related to the incapacity of overburdened and stressed carers to cope with the increasing demands posed on them, rather than a real intent to exploit or harm vulnerable older people.
An example of what is possible is demonstrated by IAHSA member The Hebrew Home at Riverdale in NY, USA. They created the Weinberg Center for Elder Abuse Prevention, Intervention and Research, the first comprehensive elder abuse center in the US. The Center provides a coordinated system of crisis intervention that includes an emergency residential shelter and community based services for victims of elder abuse; a broad spectrum of community education and training programs to increase professional knowledge; a national replication training program; and a research component to profile victims.
Share with us other examples of innovative approaches for dealing with this terrible problem. And mark Sunday 15 June as ELDER ABUSE AWARENESS DAY.
According to a new national survey of working adults in the US, one in four employees currently cares for an older or disabled adult.
The study, conducted by work-life benefits firm Workplace Options, noted that of the employees caring for an older adult, nearly half have missed work time.
The role of the employer was also reviewed and 61% of the respondents said that they would utilize a service that assisted with care giving if it was provided by the employer free of charge.
It would be interesting to see if the situation is similar elsewhere in the world. Please add a comment to let us know what you see in your country.
A recent article in the Telegraph UK featured a story about using a fake bus stop as a simple yet effective way to prevent dementia patients from wandering off.
Directors at the Benrath Senior Centre in Duesseldorf, Germany, tired of relying on local authorities to round up roving patients, joined forces with a local care association and the public transportation department to erect a faux bus stop outside their facility.
The idea is that seniors who wander will recognize the familiar green and yellow bus stop and wait there to be taken home. Care givers retrieve the patients from the stop by telling them the bus will be along shortly, and then they invite them in for a cup of coffee, says Richard Neureither, Benrath’s director.
This offbeat concept has proven so effective that several other nursing homes around Germany have set up their own bus stops to snare seniors.
I saw a similar set up when I visited some IAHSA member facilities in Australia a few years back. In addition to the fake bus stop, they also had an automobile in the yard that dementia patients could sit in to recreate the sense of everyday traveling. What a good idea! And it works.
The Australians have done it again – providing leadership in the creation of a user-friendly website to help carers develop cultural awareness and build appropriate strategies for building a respectful, caring relationship with client who are Greek and who have limited knowledge of English.
Greek Care provides practical advice and information on how to work with Greek elders — communication strategies, activities, religious information, information about beliefs and values that impact on service delivery — as well as background information about Greek history, geography and tradition. There are many hints on how to enhance the practitioner-client relationship. Often they are quite simple strategies that will nevertheless engage your client and elicit satisfaction on their part.
In the past we’ve blogged about the Australian Centre for Cultural Diversity in Ageing – another example of the importance given to this complex issue.
Thanks to Tim Dixon, Deputy Editor of Australian Ageing Agenda for telling us about Greek Care.
Recent research at the University of Helsinki, Finland, indicates that if a person’s spouse passes away, the surviving spouse is more likely to enter a long-term care facility than those with a living spouse.
The study to be published in July in the American Journal of Public Health analyzed how the death of a spouse affects the likelihood of needing institutionalized care. According to an article in Reuters, the research team followed nearly 141,000 adults in Finland, age 65 and older, living with a spouse. They were followed for five years, and results showed the risk of entering long-term care was higher in those who lost a spouse as compared to those still living with their spouse.
One conclusion of the study was that targeted bereavement counseling would help reduce the need for institutional care.
During IAHSA’s 2nd European Conference in Vienna last week, there was a lot of talk about culture change – not only during the education sessions but also as a major theme for the networking breakout groups.
A primary tenet of culture change is creating an environment that honors person-centered care – where seniors in aged care facilities enjoy much of the privacy and choice they would experience if they were still living in their own homes.
In order to get an idea of how far Culture Change has progressed in the USA, the Commonwealth Fund conducted a research project to study nursing homes to determine the penetration of the culture change movement. The results were mixed with much room for improvement. However the researchers found that the more a nursing home adopts culture change the greater the benefits, in terms of staff retention, higher occupancy rates, better competitive position and improved operational costs.
IAHSA members around the world are embracing the culture change movement. Share your experiences with others by adding comments here.
The OECD recently released a report on the health workforce and migration policies in New Zealand, with a special focus on the international recruitment of doctors and nurses.
While the report focuses on New Zealand, primarily because NZ has the highest proportion of migrant doctors among OECD countries, the information should be of interest to all countries that are depending on immigration to support health care services.
Increasing international competition for highly skilled workers raises important issues such as sustainability and ability to compete in a global market. Better coordination and stronger collaboration could contribute to more effective and pertinent policies.
IAHSA will continue to monitor this important topic for our member’s benefit.
Seven years ago, Dr. Robyn Stone co-authored a white paper entitled Who Will Care for Us? Addressing the Long-Term Care Workforce Crisis in America.
This excellent paper challenged policymakers to take action on ways in which the USA can prepare for the coming baby boomer generation and the demands that they will make on the health care system in general, and the long-term care system specifically.
Now seven years later, the Institute of Medicine’s recent report, Retooling for An Aging America: Building the Health Care Workforce, echoes and expands on the issue, calling for bold initiatives designed to meet the growing needs of an expanding elderly population. Dr. Stone testified on the study before the US Congress saying, “The growing demand for long-term care, resulting from aging baby boomers and a much smaller pool of traditional caregivers, means the future will be immeasurably worse without decisive action by both public and private sectors.”
No one except our ageing service provider members seemed to be listening in 2001. Perhaps others will in 2008.
The Institute for the Future of Aging Services recently published a new report based on analysis of the 2004 National Nursing Home Survey [USA]. The report shows that 1 in 4 nursing home residents aged 65 and older has diabetes. The report also examined the association between diabetes and ethnicity, activities of daily living, source of admission, payment sources, length of stay, pressure ulcers, emergency department visits and medication usage.
Not only does this brief demonstrate the extremely high prevalence of diabetes in U.S. nursing homes, but it raises important issues related to planning for the special needs of this large segment of the nursing home population.
And even though it is based on US data, the lessons learned can be applied in many countries around the world.
The Australians continue to take a leadership position in providing resources for helping address issues facing people providing services to multiple cultures.
This time it is Multicultural Mental Health Australia, who recently released a number of new mental health resources in over 20 languages. The topics covered include mental illness, anxiety, bipolar mood disorder, eating disorders and depression and many more.
This would be a good resource to share with your staff and families, especially if you have residents and staff from many different cultures and language bases.
As IAHSA’s Global Ageing Network grows, we are blessed with the opportunity to serve as a catalyst for creating new communities of folks who share a common goal.
One such ‘new’ group is the brainchild of Professor Julienne Meyer from City University in London. Julienne and IAHSA are teaming up to take her ‘local’ network global.
By way of background, a few years ago Julienne and her colleagues in England created a UK research forum called the National Care Homes Research and Development Forum, composed of researchers who shared an interest in improving the quality of life for all associated with care homes for older people. The result of this collaboration was the creation of an innovative program called My Home Life - a new initiative aimed at improving the quality of life of those who are living, dying, visiting and working in care homes for older people.
Can we do the same thing on an international level? Of course we can!!!
We are using IAHSA’s 8th International Conference in July 2009 in London as the launching event for the International Research & Development Network.
If you or anyone you know is doing evidenced-based research on issues related to care for the elderly, please read the attached flier. This describes the activities related to the Network that are planned for London in July 2009.
Meanwhile if you have any questions, please get in touch with me at iahsa@aahsa.org or with Julienne at mhl@city.ac.uk.
Majd Alwan, Director of CAST, is a well known and respected researcher in robotics and elder care technologies. He is also a believer in the importance of using IAHSA’s Global Ageing Network as a vehicle for sharing knowledge about potential technological solutions to the challenges of global ageing.
He and Dr. Jeremy Nobel of Harvard University have written a compelling three-part report that outlines the state of the field in the United States with respect to the development of technologies for the ageing service field.
The report, funded by the Blue Shield of California Foundation, offers a vision for long-term care that includes using integrated information technology systems to support and enhance the health, safety and social connectedness of older people living in their own homes.
They identify several barriers to achieving this vision, but are confident that a combination of new knowledge, linked to effective collaboration among a variety of stakeholders, can overcome these obstacles to widespread technology adoption.
This is an important paper and most of the observations are applicable across the globe. Please share it with your colleagues.
Have you ever thought about using a robot as a baby sitter? Or having one give you a bath?
According to a study by a Japanese think tank, The Machine Industry Memorial Foundation, robots will be able to fill the jobs of 3.5 million people by 2025 in graying Japan, helping to avert worker shortages as the country’s population shrinks.
Japan has long been regarded as one of the ‘oldest’ countries, facing a 16% slide in its workforce while the number of elderly grows.
Rather than each robot replacing one person, the foundation said that robots could make time for people to focus on more important things. Like bathing?
It would take me a while to get used to having a robot give me a bath. How about you?
Can you measure happiness - especially as a function of age?
The European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research in Vienna, Austria, has developed a paper that looks into the relationship of ageing and happiness.
It seems that ageing per se does not result in a decline in happiness. But happiness is closely affected by changing preferences (by the decreasing importance of work, the increasing importance of religion, and the declining disutility of being single), and partly by changing circumstances. While changing preferences seem to increase well-being, changing circumstances seem to decrease it. Old days thus are happy above all due to changing priorities in life.
It seems logical to me.
I read BBC online every day to see what’s going on around the world related to ageing. Today I’ll share three articles focusing on research on ageing and ‘drugs’ - I call it The Good, the Bad and the Tasty.
The Good News: Blood pressure drugs help elderly – Imperial College London researchers announce that blood pressure drugs cut the risk of strokes and heart problems in the over 80s.
The Bad News: Medication ‘worsens’ Alzheimer’s’ – a research report from Kings College London says that anti-psychotic drugs have no long-term benefit for patients with mild symptoms and may even cause a deterioration in behavior.
And The Tasty News: Daily Caffeine Protects the Brain – in the past there have been conflicting reports on the benefits or detriments of caffeine. Now research published by the University of North Dakota suggests that coffee may cut the risk of dementia by blocking the damage cholesterol can inflict on the body.
You never know what will effect your life. Personally I avoid taking any medications at all. But I do love a good cup of coffee. Thankfully I don’t have to worry about that, for now at least.
What do you get when you meld Starbucks, Bally’s Fitness Center and Elderhostel? A Senior Center that is meeting the needs of today’s elderly.
Studies in the US have shown that the senior center of the 21st century needs to include a wider variety of activities, including a full array of programs that promote healthy ageing, continuing education and programs that attract all ages.
According to a recent NYTimes article, the use of senior centers in the US has been declining, primarily because the old models carry a stigma associated with ageing. The new multi-faceted models attract a wider community involvement and can serve as ‘the place to go’ for everyone, not just seniors.
Meet you at the Café for coffee and dance class!!!
Last week I read an article from the Chicago Sun Times about the growing need for creation of accessible housing for the ageing baby boomers in the US - the Post-WW2 generation that will become the largest segment in US history to age at one time.
As they age and begin to hit geriatric roadblocks, some will need special housing.
Making new housing accessible is required by law – making new construction specifically designed to be lived in or visited by people who have trouble with steps or use wheelchairs or walkers.
But the term ‘visitable’ was new to me. And I think a good addition to the vocabulary. It means that the building is inclusive to everyone. It allows a person with a disability to become integrated into a community – to be able to ‘visit’. And these ‘visitable’ homes are designed to allow for greater adaptations as the owners’ needs change.
Workers in ageing services have a challenging and often stressful job. This can sometimes lead to injuries or illness that require them to take time off.
The Return to Work Knowledge Base was developed by ResWorks to inform practitioners and insurers about the best worldwide research on return to work issues.
Access is free and the website contains articles covering medical factors, consequences of being out of work, workplace management models, attitudinal factors and return to work approaches.
Thanks to ACSA, an IAHSA affiliate in Australia, for letting us know about this important resource.
IAHSA is very lucky that we are very well represented at the United Nations by our two Ambassadors, Bill Smith, CEO, and Katie Weiss, Chair of the Board, both at Aging in America in New York City. Their regular attendance at meetings of the NGO Committee on Ageing and other UN events is very important in keeping us up-to-date on these global activities that can impact our members.
A recent presenter was Professor Robin Blackburn, author of Banking on Death or Investing in Life and Professor of Sociology at the University of Essex in England. Banking on Death offers a panoramic view of the history and future of pension provision. A work of unique scope, it traces the origins and development of the pension idea, from the days of the French Revolution to the troubles of the modern welfare state.
Thanks Bill & Katie. We’ll keep reporting on your UN activities to our blog readers
Consumers and ageing service providers are expecting a lot from new technologies - helping folks stay independent longer, enabling workers to concentrate on care giving rather then record keeping and reducing the number of medication errors, for example.
And if anyone can make it happen it is Dr. Majd Alwan, CAST* Director and world-recognized researcher in ageing service technologies.
In a recent interview with Nursing Homes Magazine, Dr. Alwan outlined CAST’s new direction in taking a more proactive role in assisting providers to identify their needs and review relevant technologies. CAST is also encouraging pilot research studies with outcome measures to validate the usefulness of various technologies.
“Key factors to success are ease of use, attention to staff training and good availability of technical support”, noted Alwan.
Bookmark CAST’s website – you’ll want to visit it often.
*Center for Aging Services Technologies
IAHSA’s Second European Conference
Our Future: Quality Ageing Services
22-23 May 2008
Vienna, Austria
It won’t be long before we join our European colleagues in Vienna at IAHSA’s Second European Conference. A key feature of an IAHSA event is networking and relationship building, an essential ingredient for building successful programs. Another key feature is to learn from the experts – those individuals noted for their leadership and creativity in addressing the challenges facing all of us. Our two keynote speakers embody the leadership characteristics needed in the field.
Dr. Kai Leichsenring sets the stage with An Overview of the Ageing Services & Senior Housing Landscape. A Research Associate at the European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research, Dr. Leichsenring is a noted expert in comparative social research in the areas of welfare, health policy and political science, especially with respect to older persons and people with disabilities.
The conference will close with Dr. Naomi Chambers speaking on Transformational Leadership in Ageing Services. A Senior Fellow and Head of Health Policy and Management at the Manchester Business School, as well as the President of European Health Management Association, Dr. Chambers has over 20 years operational experience in health services management.
It’s not to late to join your colleagues in Vienna - Register Today!
IAHSA Past Chair, Espen Aspnes is a Senior Advisor with SINTEF, a leading research organization in technological development. He recently visited South Korea to learn more about how that rapidly growing economy is dealing with the challenges of an ageing society. According to the Korea National Statistical Office, it will take only 19 years for the number of people over 65 to double from 7% to 14%. Compare that to 47 years in the UK and 76 years in Norway.
Given these daunting statistics, the Koreans are investing in technology in a big way. One of Espen’s colleagues, Changan Choi, market adviser at Innovation Norway in Seoul, issued a report on the trends and opportunities in the sector - with a major focus on technology. It is good to see how countries are sharing advancements. A good example of creating community across borders. Thanks, Espen, for sending this to us.
Overview of trends and opportunities in the medical and health sector
The approaching onslaught of over 70 million aging baby boomers could overwhelm the U.S. health care system and engulf the nation’s tenuous economy, according to a new study, “Will the Boom Bust Health Care?,” by management consulting firm Tefen USA.
Medical News Today reported that the study predicted some severe consequences:
-Health care quality will suffer, with wide variation in treatments and big differences in death rates and surgical complications.
-Federal spending on Medicare and Medicaid will skyrocket, forcing politicians to raise taxes or severely curtail a wide range of other government programs.
-State budgets will suffer under the crush of soaring Medicaid costs, compromising support for education and other local initiatives.
-The nation as a whole will have fewer and fewer dollars to spend on education, environmental protection, scientific research and national security.
“Despite what many people think, the solution is not a single-payer system,” said Barry Calogero, president, Tefen USA, and author of the study. “While socialized medicine provides some advantages from an access standpoint, it does not address the underlying cost and quality issues that threaten the functional integrity of health care in the U.S. The real solution to America’s health care challenges requires three components: implementing tort reforms, mandating the use of best practices and driving systemic process improvement.” The Tefen study provides insights and details on each of these three solution elements.
Design for retirement communities and senior housing is an ever growing field, as providers are becoming more sensitive to consumer needs as well as adopting principles for sustainability.
The American Institute of Architects recently released their 2007 Design for Aging Awards.
It is worth noting that many of the projects on the AIA winners list were also part of IAHSA’s 1st International Design for Ageing Showcase and Symposia that debuted at the IAHSA conference in Malta in the summer of 2007.
We’ll be sponsoring another IAHSA International Design for Ageing Showcase in London in 2009 so stay tuned.
Everyone is interested in what’s happening in China, given the fact that theirs is one of the most rapidly growing ageing populations. And the challenges for caring for their 150 million older adults seem daunting. That’s more elderly in China than the entire population of Australia!!!
We’ve been following a newly formed group in China called Community Alliance, an independent local grassroots non-profit public interest organization. Their goal is to empower and support underprivileged and underserved communities in China; to ensure social justice and welfare for the elderly, especially elder women and those who are among the most disadvantaged in communities; and to protect the rights of the elderly as part of the struggle for legal rights and social progress in China.
Sign up for their email newsletter – it will help satisfy your curiosity!!
At Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Disney Sea they are making a special effort to bring in a new generation of park visitors - the elderly. As birthrates in the country continue to fall, businesses that cater to the young must now market to the young-at-heart. People over sixty will get a significantly reduced price on a yearlong pass. At this price, Japan’s elderly can enjoy Disney Magic more often. The park also hopes that the discount will encourage Japanese grandparents to bring along their grandchildren. “It’s a treat that we generally give to the grandchildren once a year, but they do look forward to it so much that I think we could definitely go more often,” said Yoko Tsuyuki, a 65-year-old grandmother of two. What a great way to encourage intergenerational activity and bring happiness to Disney fans of all ages!
As I posted earlier this week, every 7 seconds there is a new case of dementia somewhere in the world. In 2001, 24 million people were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease or other forms of dementia. Researchers expect this number to rise to 43 million by 2025 and to 81 million by 2050.
The medical community has long been challenged on how to make a definitive diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease. Currently doctors use a combination of brain scans, blood tests and patient interviews, but distinguishing the disease from other forms of dementia is difficult, and time consuming, and the accuracy of diagnosis is only about 85%. A truly definitive diagnosis is only possible after death.
Now, according to a recent BBC News report, researchers at University College London have published findings in the journal Brain showing that, using computer technology, they can identify brain damage caused by Alzheimer’s with an accuracy as high as 96%.
Alzheimer’s Disease symptoms only emerge after a considerable amount of damage has already occurred in the brain so it is important to make an accurate diagnosis early to improve the chances of effectively preventing further deterioration.
Having a powerful, non-invasive, fast and cheap technology to provide early diagnosis would be a much needed advancement in the treatment of this terrible disease. The researchers are doing further analysis to understand the full benefits and accuracy of the technique and to see if it can be used to assess the effectiveness of new drugs.
We have our fingers crossed that they are successful.
Every 7 seconds there is a new case of dementia somewhere in the world. In 2001, 24 million people were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease or other forms of dementia. Researchers expect this number to rise to 43 million by 2025 and to 81 million by 2050.
These figures were outlined in a recent article about global ageing in the AARP Journal by Marc Wortmann, Executive Director of Alzheimer’s Disease International [ADI], an the umbrella organisation of Alzheimer associations around the world.
ADI plays a very important role helping national Alzheimer associations become stronger, educating the public about the disease, and serving as an important resource to emerging economies for developing resources to address the needs of their populations.
Three communities in three different countries – places where people live longer than anywhere else on earth? Is that possible? Yes, according to a recent BBC news report.
The remote Japanese island of Okinawa has a population of one million and of those 900 are centenarians, four times higher than the average in Britain or America. The small Sardinian mountain town of Ovodda is the only region of the world where as many men as women live to be 100 years of age, bucking the global trend. And the city of Loma Linda, California, USA, has citizens who live between five and 10 years longer than fellow citizens.
What are the secrets? Diet perhaps? Genes? Religion? Whatever it is, each city is the focus of research programs to see if there are lessons to be learned.
Nintendo, the make of the Wii phenomenon, is taking their virtual world one step further. Earlier I told you about how retirement communities were using the Wii technology to get residents to be part of bowling leagues – increasing opportunity for exercise and social interaction.
According to a USA Today article, in May 2008 Nintendo will roll out the Wii-Fit Balance Board, a small platform where users can exercise, stretch and do yoga with on-screen avatars — all designed to help keep you fit and lose weight.
The Wii Fit product will also include access to the “Wii Fit Channel,” an interactive online channel that lets users check in daily to track fitness progress through weight and body mass index (BMI).
‘Change’ is constantly in the news these days – especially in the USA where all of the Presidential candidates are portraying themselves as ‘agents of change’.
I think that action speaks louder than words – as demonstrated in a recent Wall Street Journal article that eloquently describes 12 individuals who are true agents of change.
Two of these leaders, Eric Dishman and Dr. Bill Thomas, are well known to the IAHSA family, both having appeared at an IAHSA Global Conference in the past. Eric and his colleagues at Intel are developing technologies to help people stay home as they age and become frail. Bill is best known for his pioneering work in culture change and his Eden Alternative program. He also posts daily to his blog Changing Aging. Its very worth reading.
Others are also doing very important work in a wide variety of fields including financial planning, advocacy, retirement living, and urban planning, to name a few.
Let us know who the Ageing Change Agents are in your country.
On 12 February, I participated in – The Untapped Resource: Older Persons in the World of Work – a session organized by the United Nation’s NGO Committee on Ageing. This programme was held as “side event” in conjunction with the 46th Session of the U.N.’s Commission for Social Development (which concludes today in New York).On behalf of IAHSA, Dr. Robyn Stone, Executive Director of the Institute for the Future of Aging Services/IFAS (co-located with IAHSA in Washington, DC) gave the session’s keynote presentation.
Robyn’s presentation – The Geriatric LTC Workforce: Challenges & Opportunities for Older Persons – was extremely well received and a number of her points particularly resonated with me and my colleagues in attendance:
· We are currently experiencing a great crisis in the recruitment and retention of the geriatric workforce (especially in regards to the frontline caregivers) that will only get worse as population ageing has made long-term care one of the fastest growing sectors in our economy.
· While a significant percentage of the frontline workforce is already comprised of persons aged 50+, many older informal caregivers become “hooked” on this role and become professional caregivers once their responsibilities to their loved ones end.
· Many older persons want to continue working in order to keep active and engaged, while other older persons must stay in the workforce out of economic necessity.
Robyn offered the following strategies regarding older persons as part of the long-term care and employment solution:
§ Technologies to help retain quality older staff (e.g. reducing physical burden)§ Work redesign (e.g. job sharing options)§ Retired physicians, nurses, administrators as volunteer mentors/coaches for younger staff§ Retired geriatric professionals as educators in colleges, universities, trade schools§ Retired CNAs, home health and home care aides as trainers for new direct care workers and family caregivers§ Second careers for older persons§ Family caregivers as formal providersIAHSA will keep you posted on our continuing collaborations with Robyn and IFAS on long-term care workforce issues! For more on IFAS’s research visit http://www.futureofaging.org/.
I’ve known Colin Milner, CEO of the International Council on Active Aging for a number of years. He is one of the most enthusiastic promoters of active ageing and his organization has amazing resources for everyone interested in wellness.
Colin travels constantly. And during his travels he collects information, ideas and facts. As a result he recently identified 8 trends that he thinks will impact the elderly and organizations that serve them, either through direct care or by supplying them with needed products and services.
Here are his trends to watch out for:
- The Internet is becoming the new link to health, social networking and travel
- Retirement communities are reinventing themselves
- Maintaining intellectual skills and brain health is top of mind
- Technology is inspiring activity
- Retirement means Boomers will continue to work – but on their own terms
- Lifelong learning opportunities and interests keep growing
- Age-friendly fitness opportunities are essential
- Health plans will pay for prevention
As Colin says in his report, ‘The ability to function and engage in life is what is important, not chronological age’.
Every time I pick up a paper or go on the Internet, I see more articles about the workforce. Where to find workers, how to train workers, how to keep workers.
And there is no shortage of good advice on the issue. A recent article in Business Week Magazine outlines the 10 Best Corporate Practices for 2008 - showing that sometimes the difference between the best and worst company policies comes down to one thing: trust.
Even though the message has been geared toward industry type corporations, anyone working with people can benefit from the program’s basic messages.
For example:
Pooled Sick-time Banks.
These very smart corporate solutions allow one employer or several to create time banks into which employees can deposit one or more sick days per year, for the use of other employees in the same bank. That way, an employee who has run out of sick time can withdraw time that’s been deposited by other employees. The system is overseen by leaders from the participating organizations who manage the deposits and withdrawals. Pooled sick-time banks are a smart way to support teammates, and they help keep people from suffering financially during a time of crisis.
Your employees are your most valuable asset. Implementing some of these suggestions should help you keep them happy and your organization humming.
One of the consequences of the global ageing phenomenon is the impact on the workforce – not only workers to provide care for the elderly but workers for all aspects of society.
Now that the leading edge of the Boomers are in their 60s and are looking at retirement, companies are now realizing that they have to prepare for the major workforce changes that will soon be upon them.
To help address these challenges MetLife Mature Market Institute sponsored a study to look at ways in which cutting edge companies are doing to improve their utilization of older workers.
The report, entitled Searching for the Silver Bullet, addresses what employers are learning about how to:
- Retain high performing older workers longer
- Effectively transfer and retain their critical knowledge
- Create position transitions as more older workers retire
- Hire from an increasingly large pool of retirees
- Adjust strategies to effectively utilize a multi-generational workforce
I’m glad to see that someone is paying attention to this. Becoming older worker friendly is something all organizations should strive for.
The other day, I went to see my doctor for some tests. As I was sitting in the waiting room, I heard the nurse on the phone trying to help someone find a rehab hospital to go to after an operation. After placing a number of calls, the nurse finally found placement, only to be told that the patient’s insurance company wasn’t on the facility’s list of ‘preferred’ providers. Eventually they found a place for the patient to go but at a great waste of time and expense.
This is a scenario being played out every day here in the US, the story of a frustrating and inefficient system. The question is: How can we simplify the challenge of having to be transferred from one type of care to another and create patient-centered care that is more coherent both within and across care settings and over time?
And it is not just a problem in the US health care system, as discussed in a recent report by the OECD entitled Improved Health System Performance Through Better Care Coordination. This is a comprehensive paper focusing on the issue of care coordination and including an overview of the issue, identification of four key areas for reform, and an overview of practices in three countries – the US, Germany and England.
Major findings include:
- Interest in coordination of care issues is increasing
- Targeted programmes appear to improve quality but evidence on cost-efficiency is inconclusive
- Care coordination would be facilitated by better information transfer and wider use of ICT
- New ambulatory care models need consideration
- Care coordination may benefit from greater health-system integration
The OECD report didn’t mention NTOCC – the National Transitions of Care Coalition – probably because it is so new. NTOCC was formed in the US in 2006 with a mission of being an influential stakeholder in public awareness, education and health policy to focus on improvement of quality of transitional care. NTOCC is rapidly building a following among all sectors of health care and could be a good model for others. Is there anything like this happening in your area? If so, please share with us.