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.
Three reasons to give your marketing a makeover by Colin Milner
How often have journalists and researchers called Boomers "a lightening rod for change" over the past 70 years? These professionals constantly use this label because it’s true. Boomers have disrupted society all their lives, and their later years are sure to be the same. For marketers and business owners within the active-aging industry, the challenge is--and will remain--how to keep up with the juggernaut of change. How do we ensure our products, services, environments and marketing stay relevant to and support both Boomers and their parents, as their expectations of later life and attitudes toward this life stage shift? We need to ask ourselves constantly what factors are driving these changes and how they will impact what we do.
moreMarketing
BLOOM: Optimizing resident wellness at Sunnyside
Sunnyside Communities has a long history of providing services and living environments that care for the whole person. In 2014, Wellness Director Annie Shaffer and her colleagues at the organization's Sunnyside Retirement Community in Harrisonburg, Virginia, launched the BLOOM (Bringing Life Optimizing Opportunities Mainstream) Initiative. They developed the initiative “not just to support and build on our mission, but also to create a person-centered approach that empowered residents to reflect on their personal wellness, understand it, and recognize how it could be nurtured in a way that is most meaningful to them.”
moreInnovator awards
Communication: The key to building support for culture change by Kelly A. Stranburg, MEd, CEP, CSCS
In my last Journal on Active Aging article, I discussed how we divided into work groups and conquered nearly 200 ideas to thoroughly develop a strategy for creating change at Sharon Towers in Charlotte, North Carolina. Communication is the challenge I’ll address in this article. Let me first stress how imperative it is to communicate the why behind change and impending strategy when starting out on a culture-change journey.
moreCulture Change
The Great Technology Divide: Bridging the gap by June C. Hussey
The birth of 76 million Baby Boomers between 1946 and 1964 created the largest generation gap of all time in the United States. If you want evidence the gap still exists, just take a peek into the depths of the Great Technology Divide. On the near side stands an army of consumers, mostly Boomers and younger, all a-twitter over their electronic gadgets. On the far side is the generation that technology left behind. Jack Herklotz, information technology director for Watermark Retirement Communities, remembers when he decided to help bridge the divide.
moreProgram profiles
'Changing the Way We Age': ICAA members and supporters share their stories
Since October 1, 2001, members and allies have joined the International Council on Active Aging on a mission to change the way we age. These supporters of active aging--organizations, professionals, older adults--are making a profound difference in how people think about and experience aging. Over the coming year, the Journal on Active Aging will showcase stories and photos submitted by members and supporters to mark the 15th anniversary of ICAA’s launch. It’s an occasion to say thank you. To recognize achievements, celebrate experiences and share memorable moments from, and with, the community dedicated to aging well.
moreICAA initiatives
ICAA Champion: Introducing On Top of the World Communities
Set amid the rolling hills and thoroughbred horse farms of Ocala in Marion County, Florida, On Top of the World Communities is home to approximately 9,000 adults ages 55 and older. The 13,000-acre community, part of the Circle Square cattle ranch, caters to the active adult with more than 410,000 sq. ft. of indoor and outdoor amenity space. Fitness Director Cammy Dennis and her team “are tasked with bringing this space to life.” Dennis believes that “aging actively is about embracing a lifestyle that allows someone to look and move forward.”
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