LeadingAge LIVING UP TO ITS NEW NAME.

LeadingAge LIVING UP TO ITS NEW NAME. Members of the national aging services organization LeadingAge continue to demonstrate the power of community as they support one another in the wake in Hurricane Irene. Donations of staff, resources and other aid between organizations in at least 10 states along the East Coast helped coordinate responses to evacuations, resident transfers, community status hotlines and other challenges.

LeadingAge continues to document the numerous stories of social accountability amongst its community of nonprofit members; and serve as a national resource clearinghouse. (http://www.leadingage.org/hurricane.aspx)

The immediacy and selflessness of members' responses is a testament to the inspiration and leadership of LeadingAge (which recently rebranded itself from the less inspiring name, American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging.)

THE “LONGEVITY DIVIDEND.”

THE “LONGEVITY DIVIDEND.” You’ll be hearing more about this benefit of aging in the coming years. According to Dr. Robert N. Butler, the science of aging has the potential to produce social, health and economic benefits for individuals and society.

Besides the obvious individual benefits of living longer in better health, consider that people will remain in the workforce longer, personal income will increase, and age-related entitlement programs will face less pressure.

The extraordinary accomplishment of extending life expectancy offers more rewards than burdens if we embrace and “exploit” this inevitability.

Learn more, read Longevity Rules: How to Age Well Into the Future. Order online at www.amazon.com.

“DAWN OF A NEW DAY.”

“DAWN OF A NEW DAY.” Eskaton’s new Memory Care program advocates a comparatively unique principle and practice in its care of older adults with dementia and Alzheimer’s. Focus on today and tomorrow, on making new memories. Even if they are fleeting. Residents are encouraged to be forward thinking – to appreciate the present and anticipate the future.

And all the wonderful past memories, their intrinsic value is embraced as well. They generate smiles and respect and empathy and, perhaps most importantly, are used by caregivers to help residents navigate their fogginess and frustrations. Live each new day to its fullest, with dignity and self-worth … carpe diem.

How appropriate that translated from Greek, the name “Eskaton” means “dawn of a new day.”

Learn more at www.eskaton.org.

"AGING" IS AN ACTIVE VERB

“AGING” IS AN ACTIVE VERB, positive and all-inclusive process, and not a label to be placed old and frail adults. With aging, perception can literally become reality.

According to a Yale University research study, individuals who maintain a positive outlook about growing older live on average 7.5 years longer than those who do not – a bigger increase than associated with exercising or not smoking. At Eskaton, we say the “Everyone is aging. Some of us just have more experience.”          

Learn more at www.eskaton.org or www.aging.org.

IS “SOCIAL MEDIA” FOR TOOLS?

IS “SOCIAL MEDIA” FOR TOOLS? The term “social media,” which at its most relevant is simply shorthand for a new toolbox of digital forums and formats, is becoming an annoying cliché. For two reasons: 1) An army of self-described experts and consultants are hawking their services as if the application itself was more important than the content (like being so proud of your beautiful invitation for a party that no one attends); and 2) It is a pedestrian, generic term. In the nineties catchphrase was “social marketing,” which was really just a trendy name for public-interest campaigns or traditional public relations. “Social media” is not more than the sum of its parts, rather it a bunch of unique parts or tools that work for users with varying degrees of efficiency. Quality public relations, advertising and marketing produce results. Use of “social media” is for tools …

DÉJÀ VU, AMNESIA, OR BOTH?

DÉJÀ VU, AMNESIA, OR BOTH? Which would you choose: to experience the greatest moment of your life and then have the memory completely disappear; or have an extraordinary moment, one that you actually never experienced, implanted in your memory? Memory can be an extraordinarily complex process … and can collapse like a house of cards in the mind of Alzheimer’s sufferers. It could be described as déjà vu and amnesia happening at the same time. Refresh your memory.

image by Andrea Levy, reprinted from Cleveland Plain Dealer

FRIENDS FOR LIFE.

FRIENDS FOR LIFE. It takes just minutes for the visiting first-graders from Twin Rivers USD to become comfortable with their new “buddies” who live in Eskaton’s assisted living lodges and care centers.

Eskaton’s Kids Connection is the centerpiece of the organization’s initiative to promote intergenerational living, learning and mutual respect. Each school year hundreds of local elementary schoolchildren partner up with their new friends – some 15 times their age – to read stories, celebrate holidays, work on art projects, Skype and simply enjoy one another’s company.

The accompanying pictures are worth a thousand words, but to experience the genuine caring first-hand is priceless.

Learn more about Eskaton's Kids Connection.