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.
Creating strategy out of ideas by Kelly A. Stranburg, MEd, CEP, CSCS
At Sharon Towers, our nonprofit life-plan community in Charlotte, North Carolina., we are beginning to create our strategy for changing our culture. We have a task force of more than 60 individuals working on the initiative. We have created a vision statement. And we have brainstormed so many ideas of what we would like to see happen next that my office looks like one giant post-it note. Now is the time to take all these wonderful ideas and analyze, discuss and plot them. It’s a lot to discuss and figure out when the task force generated almost 200 ideas. How can a group of some 60-plus individuals tackle so many different ideas while still keeping a sense of urgency, commitment and passion? We divide and conquer.
moreCulture Change
Active Aging Week 2016: Resources aid last-minute planning
Across North America and beyond, organizations dedicated to older-adult wellness are getting ready to celebrate aging and living well with a bevy of opportunities for Active Aging Week. In 2016, the health-promotion event takes place September 25 through October 1. Pressure mounts in host organizations to finalize schedules and arrangements as the week approaches. There’s still time, however, for organizers who want to make late additions to their schedules, as well as those who decide to host the week at the last minute. Free resources and tools are available to help.
moreICAA initiatives
ICAA Champion: introducing Caroline Deinema
“It’s been a life of opportunities, blessings, adventures and good health,” observes Caroline Deinema, a resident of Touchmark at All Saints in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and role model for leading a full life. Deinema encourages her friends and other Touchmark residents to stay active and social as well, for a healthy, enriching life.
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Unravel the mysteries of intellectual property by Patricia Ryan, MS
The budget is tight, and time is running out. You scheduled a series of educational programs and need material for teaching and handouts for the participants. You open the Internet browser to start searching for information, and reach for the notebook of handouts from seminars you’ve attended. These give you instant access to materials you need, and they are free, right? Maybe, maybe not. As a responsible business person, you will find it’s in your best interests to respect the intellectual property (IP) of others. So how do you responsibly and respectfully navigate IP?
moreCareer development
Communities for people: How Willow Valley Communities meets the 'I'm not ready' challenge by Colin Milner
At Willow Valley Communities (WVC) in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the average resident age is 75.6 years—years younger than the industry average. WVC encompasses two life-plan campuses, featuring a range of townhomes, single-family and duplex villas, apartments and skilled nursing suites. Its newest neighborhood, Providence Park, has an average entry age of 69.8 years. On a recent trip to WVC, I sat down with CEO John G. Swanson to learn more about the organization’s latest development—an intergenerational clubhouse—and how it and other elements of WVC’s properties and programming contribute to a lower resident age.
moreBusiness profiles
Shawn Achor: Happiness is key to health, wellness and success by Marilynn Larkin, MA
Before getting into the field of positive psychology, Shawn Achor studied Christian and Buddhist ethics while working towards a master’s degree at Harvard Divinity School, and there he discovered “how our beliefs change our actions in the world,” he recently told the Journal on Active Aging. In this interview, Achor explains how by becoming more positive in the present, “your intelligence rises, your creativity rises, and your energy levels rise, enabling you to perform better in virtually everything you do.” He also delves into the importance of social connection, the impact of mindset on aging, and the need for older-adult wellness programs to be more positive.
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