News of the Week
Observations About Some Things That Caught My Eye
This Is Careers in Aging Week!
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Spread the word by sharing this video with your professional network and on social media. Do you know anyone who works with high school or undergraduate students? This video may inspire them to consider a career in aging.
Real Faces of Aging Podcast - interviews with a range of professionals in the field of aging.
The Mentor’s Voice Podcast - The Mentor's Voice provides students and young professionals an opportunity to candidly learn from leaders in the field of aging.
An array of career opportunities are available for early career professionals and folks who have made mid-career changes looking for the next step.
Life plan community wins injunction against concert venue in noise complaint case
McKnight’s - An Arizona life plan community has won its noise complaint case against a local concert venue that existed before the retirement community opened, potentially sounding the death knell for the local business.
Observation - I want to be the first one to complain the minute this community decides to have an outdoor event with music. Come on people. The music venue was there before you were and as aging rockers you can put up with some noise now and then. (Said from a musician’s perspective of course!)
Nursing Homes Are in Crisis. We Can’t Look Away Any Longer
NYTimes (Subscribers) - Most people don’t think about nursing homes, and most people don’t go to nursing homes until it’s their moment in time where suddenly their parent is there. And it’s a for-profit industry that has not had enough oversight and regulation, and it has not had any level of transparency. For the nursing home industry to continue as it is now — being able to profit in such a significant way without providing quality care — is outrageous. I don’t think we can look away any longer.
Study finds healthy lifestyle adds to longevity, but not for Alzheimer’s patients
McKnight’s - A healthy lifestyle can go a long way to adding years to your life, but it might not help those with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Those are the findings of a new study by Klodian Dhana, M.D., assistant professor of internal medicine at Rush Institute of Healthy Aging in Chicago.
The study found that people at age 65 who had four out of five healthy lifestyle factors, which included diet, exercise, not smoking, and low alcohol consumption, lived longer than those who had none of the factors. Women added 3.1 years to their lives and men added 5.7 years. However, the researchers found those healthy lifestyles had little influence on Alzheimer’s patients.
Observation - A couple things noted were that the healthy lifestyle could keep the dementia in its present state and also noted was the fact that healthy lifestyles help people to live longer and inevitably that longer life may be impacted by dementia.
The surprising reason why you should drink more water as you age
Atlanta Journal Constitution - A study published in the Journal of Physiology found older adults should drink more water in order to regulate their body temperature.
As you exercise, your body’s temperature regulation adjusts how much you sweat to prevent further water loss and dehydration. However, the study found that as you age, the ability to regulate your body’s temperature decreases, making older adults more susceptible to dehydration.
Survey finds Americans want to age in place, but few are prepared for it
Mcknight’s - A new poll finds home is where most older Americans want to live, but few are taking the necessary steps to make sure they can age there safely and comfortably.
The latest University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging found 88% of older adults between the ages of 50 and 80 surveyed wanted to remain in their homes for as long as possible. However, only 15% said they had given a lot of consideration to the home modifications necessary to allow them to age in place. Less than 40% had given some consideration.
Observation - No surprise here right? We have very much kept aging in place in mind as we renovated major spaces in our house the last few years. Biggest issue - no downstairs bedroom but we do have a place for an elevator if needed down the line. Aging in place experts can help.
Ownership changes go public in fresh CMS move
McKnight’s - The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services early Wednesday announced it had added data highlighting nursing home ownership changes to its website in an effort to increase transparency.
The move, which marks the first time the agency has compiled and shared information on mergers, acquisitions, consolidations and changes in ownership, supports a broader White House initiative aimed at providing insights into private-equity and other ownership types.
Observation - Ownership awareness is important. There have been several studies showing poorer quality at for-profit communities.
How Loneliness Is Damaging Our Health
NYT - Another stellar article from my friend John Leland of the Times.
Even before the pandemic, the United States surgeon general, Vivek Murthy, said the country was experiencing an “epidemic of loneliness,” driven by the accelerated pace of life and the spread of technology into all of our social interactions. The result is a public health crisis on the scale of the opioid epidemic or obesity.
Even if life returns to the way it was before the pandemic, it is unclear how far the loneliness of the last two years will lift, or what scars it might leave behind. One early indicator is life on the college campus. We are hearing so much loneliness and isolation tied to disappointment. College is not what kids expected it to be. So social isolation was reduced, but a form of loneliness has lingered, in the gap between the social life people want and what they have.
Campaign to Aid Ukraine
Several organizations have joined forces with CARE to raise funds to help older adults in Ukraine with their food, shelter and supply needs.
Contributions to the “Senior Living Cares” campaign will be accepted through May 18 through a link available at www.argentum.org/ukraine (the direct link is care.org/seniorlivingcares).
Admissions discrimination ‘really, really widespread’ at nursing homes: expert
McKnight’s - “We actually need lawmakers and regulators to do more to help codify and build on those rights,” said Ashvin Gandhi, health economist and assistant professor at UCLA said during a webinar hosted by the Long Term Care Community Coalition, where he presented his latest findings on admissions discrimination in nursing homes.
Using California nursing home resident data from 2004 to 2007, Gandhi analyzed patterns by using this test: Do the same facilities admit different patients depending on how full they are?
“The short answer is yes. Yes they do,” he emphasized.
He compared the characteristics of residents who are admitted to facilities on their least full days versus those who are admitted when facilities have more open beds available.
He said that on average, as facilities become more full and it becomes more costly to admit less-profitable patients, “suddenly you see them admitting fewer long-stay residents, avoiding Medicaid patients and residents who have visual impairments.”
Why Those Moments of Care for Liza Minnelli and Joni Mitchell Felt Different
Awards shows are a natural setting for honoring aging legends. It’s reassuring when they don’t try to hide the frailty that aging can bring. Great article in the Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/20/magazine/liza-minnelli-joni-mitchell-lady-gaga-bonnie-raitt.html
