Articles
The Journal on Active Aging brings articles of value to professionals dedicated to older-adult quality of life. Content sweeps across the active-aging landscape to focus on education and practice. Find articles of interest by searching the article archives in three ways: Enter a keyword in the articles search bar; click on search by topic; or type a keyword or phrase in the general search bar at the top of the page.
'Virtual' senior center connects older adults to community and family by Marilynn Larkin, MA
In the United States, the number of people ages 65 and over will be growing faster than the total population in every state by 2030—and 26 states will have doubled their older-adult population, according to the US Census Bureau. At the same time, the number of homebound elders—now at least two million—will likely rise significantly, a scenario almost certain to occur in other countries, too, as the world population ages. The result could be large numbers of older adults who are socially isolated, depressed, and gradually losing their independence.
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Brand matters in an aging marketplaceby G. Richard Ambrosius, MA
With all the ink being devoted to Baby Boomers these days, one could easily conclude there is no need to look at anyone over 65, at least this year, when developing branding strategies. It would be a critical mistake, however, to ignore what we have learned about older consumers and branding in the last couple of decades. While the life experiences of Boomers have been uniquely different due to the size of this cohort, the values that will guide them in life’s second half are not all that different from those of their parents and grandparents.
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Kisco's 100 Ways to Wellness encourages residents to 'dare to make a change'
In North Carolina’s Piedmont Triad Region, three Kisco communities collaborated to promote “living well” in 2008 with the 100 Ways to Wellness challenge. The six-month program—developed by wellness directors Nicki Grudzinskas, Allison Pait and Leigh Grimes, of Heritage Woods, Abbotswood at Irving Park and Heritage Greens respectively—inspired participants to be more active, engaged and adventurous. Daring individuals to make a change, the program’s slogan reinforced the message that it’s never too late to explore and accomplish new things. Overall, the residents, family members and staff associates at the three Triad communities received the initiative so well that Kisco later rolled out the program at several other locations.
To learn more about 100 Ways to Wellness, the Journal on Active Aging® recently asked Grudzinskas, Pait and Grimes to tell us about their program, and how they developed and implemented it jointly in their communities.
JAA: Let’s first talk about wellness in Kisco communities. How do you define wellness?
LG: Our website defines wellness as “the combination of many factors that both strengthen and enhance the mind, body and spirit and involves the whole human experience encompassing the primary aspects of a healthy lifestyle: emotional, intellectual, physical, social, spiritual and vocational.” We believe that “our wellness programs … bring a new lifestyle perspective, an optimistic outlook, and a can-do attitude for both residents and associates.”
JAA: How would you describe the 100 Ways to Wellness initiative?
AP: Our 100 Ways to Wellness program was a list of 100 wellness tasks designed to inspire residents to step outside their comfort zones and engage in life in very meaningful ways. This wellness initiative was designed as an incentive program—something our three communities collaborate on annually. It was perhaps our most successful effort to date in terms of truly holistic wellness programming and addressing “The Art of Living Well.”
NG: The key programming element of 100 Ways was its focus on all six dimensions of wellness. We wanted this challenge to be much more holistic than a traditional physical activity incentive program. To that point, we hoped to reach a much greater audience.
JAA: How did you develop and implement the program in your three communities?
LG: The beginnings of 100 Ways to Wellness were a bit unorthodox. The idea sprang from the television show “My Name is Earl” and from the 2007 motion picture The Bucket List, which gave us the idea of creating a “wellness-specific bucket list.” We wanted a list of tasks that would challenge participants to do things that reflected our six-dimension philosophy of wellness, but also would, at times, push individuals out of their comfort zones. Our original list had more than 150 wellness tasks. Ultimately, we whittled it down to an even 100. A participant booklet was then designed that contained these tasks, and provided room for individuals to journal their thoughts and reflections as they completed each one.
Program implementation started with a kickoff party at a local park. The event, held the last Wednesday in May, took place in conjunction with National Senior Health and Fitness Day, and featured a wellness fair, a guest speaker, and a wonderful cookout lunch. Residents who came to the kickoff each received the booklet/journal, as well as a change purse screen-printed with the slogan “Dare to Make a Change.”
The 100 Ways to Wellness challenge continued for the remainder of the year. Each month we held a group program at one of our three communities to support residents in completing some of the wellness tasks. Transportation was provided so individuals from the other two communities could attend.
Innovator awards
Active Aging Week 2010: kicking off the planning stage
Older adults living life as fully as possible within the dimensions of wellness—that is the concept of aging promoted by Active Aging Week, the annual health promotion event spearheaded by the International Council on Active Aging® (ICAA).
Because wellness is a multidimensional model—one that encompasses physical, spiritual, vocational, intellectual, social, emotional and environmental wellness—a myriad of activities can enhance health and well-being. The key is to find the right activities for an individual. By offering everything from health fairs to lectures, brain games to concerts, dances to walks, and painting to canoeing, professionals in the ICAA community help older adults discover how to “be active your way”—the theme of Active Aging Week 2010.
ICAA initiatives
Touring the ICAA website by Krystyna Kasprzak, BA
With each New Year comes opportunities for fresh beginnings—and we respond by making resolutions to help us improve, progress and move forward. The International Council on Active Aging® had just these goals in mind when it relaunched the ICAA website on January 1, 2010.
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Vital communities: the promise of 'New Urbanism' in seniors housing by Richard L. Peck
Every so often I have this fantasy of living the urban highlife downtown. My well-appointed condo would have a view of Lake Erie and I’d be able to walk to world-class stores, stadiums, restaurants and theaters. As it happens, my hometown of Cleveland, Ohio—laughingly called “the most miserable city in America” by Forbes.com—just might be one of the most walkable cities in the nation. It is certainly one of the most compact. Within several city blocks lie Cleveland’s major league sports facilities, four-star restaurants, a Terminal Tower shopping center, science museum, Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame, and theater district. And a brand new trolley line now connects the downtown with the important uptown venues of Cleveland State University, the Cleveland Playhouse, Severance Hall (home of the Cleveland Orchestra), Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Clinic.
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