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.
ICAA Champion: introducing Barbara Wilkerson
With "a smile for everyone," Barbara Wilkerson is "a vibrant part" of the community at Atria Mableton, a property located in Austell, Georgia, on the outskirts of Atlanta. The Atria Senior Living community is one of five owned and operated in the Peach State by the Louisville, Kentucky-based provider. To promote a fulfilling life for residents, the community offers Atria’s Engage Life program. Wilkerson is a role model for engaged living.
moreICAA initiatives
Strategic approaches to choosing health and wellness information by Patricia Ryan, MS
The aging population is suddenly a very popular topic, generating an amazing amount of information. Lifestyle, healthcare, housing, pensions, retirement, risks--the topics are so diverse and there is so much in each one that it boggles the mind. Then, there is the information you and your organization collect. If you feel buried by information overload, you are not alone. You can stay current and skip through information overload by keeping the word need at the top of your professional vocabulary, and by using the journalist’s watchwords: who, what, where, when and why.
moreCareer development
Leading with lifestyle for marketing and sales success by Kimberly Hulett, BA, and Erin Read, BA
"The Boomers are coming! The Boomers are coming!" For a decade, this has been a common theme of conference presentations, media headlines and board meetings. Many of those offering housing and services to actively aging adults have felt stumped by this "new" consumer--the 50- or 60-something Baby Boomer. The reality is that with the rising age of entry for residents in continuing care retirement communities and other senior living settings, the "new" consumer is just as likely to be a 70-something member of the Silent Generation. There is one marketing technique that works with active adults of both cohorts. Lifestyle.
moreManagement
Dr. Linda Fried illuminates aging research by Marilynn Larkin, MA
"We’ve added 30 years to human life expectancy [over the past century], in part through intentional human investment, including through science," says geriatrician and epidemiologist Linda P. Fried, MD, MPH, dean of the Mailman School of Public Health at New York’s Columbia University. "We’ve also demonstrated that many of our expectations about those 30 years, such as ‘They’ll be a disaster,’ don’t have to be true." ... Fried states, "The purpose of research and science is to have a formal process to pose the big questions that could lead to a better future--questions that matter, but to which we don’t know the answers."
moreGerontology
Wellness Works: promoting healthy lifestyles for Freedom Senior Management employees
Freedom Senior Management has a history that spans decades. For over 30 years, "the executive leadership have been active in the senior living industry as owners, marketers, developers and operators of independent living, assisted living, memory care and skilled nursing facilities," reveals Chief Operating Officer Gail Chase. The Sarasota, Florida-based organization currently has ... "a total employee population of over 500." Freedom embraces employee wellness as essential to resident wellness, states Jennifer Walker, director of human resources and organization development.
"We recognize that in order to promote wellness among residents in our communities, we must embrace the value of looking after ourselves and our families."
Innovator awards
Brainstorming for culture change by Kelly A. Stranburg, MEd, CEP, CSCS
At Sharon Towers in Charlotte, North Carolina, we have decided to shift our culture to position our community for continued success. ... We believe that, within Sharon Towers, the time has come to create a significant cultural change that positively impacts well-being for residents, older adults throughout the Charlotte market, and team members. The task force designed to spearhead this initiative has met many times to brainstorm possible answers to questions and what direction we should take even to start.
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