Look more closely at the 65+ age range. Not a trivial group — 39 million last year, a mere 13% of the US population today, but surging forward with bulging baby boomer segment additions. Of the current 39 million, 5.8 million are 85+, representing the fastest-growing age cohort in the US. What do the 85+ have in common with the 65-75-year-olds? Aside from being lumped by NPD and media into one bucket, that is. Survival, for one thing — if you live to be 65 in the United States, the odds are good that you’ll make it to at least 83.5 — for those who reach age 85, women will live another 6.8 years, men between 5 and 7 more years. Oops. The spread between 65 and 90+ is looming a bit large — a 90-year-old may very well have children who are 65 to 70.  Surely, these two ends of an age spectrum need different products, but more to the point, so many in the range of 65-and-beyond will need to care for and help those with long life expectancies, not to simply survive, but to live as well as possible (seeHuffington Post and Silver Planet for some inspiration about living those extra years).

Reading about the crisis in Japan, let’s not abandon the real elderly. Left behind in retirement facilities, nursing homes, perhaps making up a disproportionate percentage of those who are counted among lives lost, one has to wonder. Consider those in the US — in senior housing, retirement communities, and condominium complexes throughout places like Arizona and Florida, where the adult children may be unlikely to reside; where hurricanes, tornados, flooding, sudden cold, or failing air conditioning are crisis conditions for the elderly. Does everyone who knows someone living alone and away from their family also know what the escape or support plan is to help them in the event of a disaster? What are the top ways to monitor and stay connected to them?

Hearing, monitoring, seeing, connecting. These are key tasks that matter as life span lengthens and maybe even marketers get wise to sub-segmentation of the oldest age ranges — the upper end of the 65+. So usable telephones (land and cell) top the list, usable for those with arthritis and Parkinson’s, able to persist on battery, with multiple and easily charged mobile batteries. Captioned telephones for the hearing-impaired — many of whom do not wear hearing aids until long past the point of enjoying phone conversations. Then add magnification and Internet-enabled cameras — I was pleased to see that the latest Humana/Care Innovations pilot of Intel’s Health Guide includes a camera — hopefully the pilot in Tampa will include a sizable number of the real elderly. But then add computers and Internet service for the real elderly so that they can see and be seen on webcams — what’s it mean when a Google search of ‘Help seniors access Internet’ returns three Australian web addresses in the first seven results? Or check out SeniorNet (targeting the 50+? Huh?) when there is no listed Florida Learning Center and only 2 in Arizona? When (Pew Research) reports that only 30% of those age 75 and older go online and only 20% have home broadband (eliminating the usefulness of Skype and clear images of family members). When AARP lumps the real elderly into the 50+ Digital Divide and, unfortunately, appears these days to set survey (and enrollment) sights set on the 45+?

If you think the Internet doesn’t matter for the real elderly, think again. I am also reminded of one of the big disasters in the US — 9/11 — and how cell phones and land-lines services that day became useless as networks clogged under the weight of worry. But as I recall, AOL Instant Messenger was up and accessible by dispersed family members throughout a very long day. And I think about Facebook messages from Americans in Japan alerting their families when they became unreachable by phone. And I wonder how many of the real elderly were reachable through an Internet connection during either crisis?

The Maestro, as I respectfully call him, is an internationally known conductor who in his retirement decided to look around for a second act. His second act? Conductorcise! He looks every bit the part of a Maestro. Wavy white locks crown his head and bright, colorful sneakers cover his constantly tapping toes (he’ll proudly tell you his sneakers are from Zappos).

The next thing you’ll notice if you spend 10 minutes in the company of David is his unflagging energy. Now in his seventies, he puts most 20-year olds to shame. He lives in the moment. I have never seen someone LOVE people the way David does … young and old respond to that love by lighting up!

Here’s a video of the Maestro at work, training trainers:

David’s entire life has been about seizing the moment. He is passionate about everything … his wife, his children, his grandchildren, family, friends, travel, wine, music, aging, children, science, and connections … LIFE!

I am convinced that our health and well-being is directly connected to our passion for life. In the book, The Blue Zones, a defined job or role seems to be one of the common characteristics of seniors living healthy, happy lives beyond the age of 100.

Not The Retiring Type: Serving Others

As I stated above, a defined job or role (ie. social engagement) seems to be a key ingredient to healthy aging. Our modern industrial society tends to devalue “unproductive” people. What’s one of the first questions people ask you at a party? “So, who do you work for? What do you do?”

People like the Maestro and Bruce Findley don’t accept the common perception that our senior years are a time to shut down. Instead, they view these years as a time of discovery and growth. Bruce, a resident of Shell Point Retirement Community, created Super Noggin to help his fellow seniors develop healthy brain fitness lifestyle habits.

The common thread with both of these gentlemen? A desire to serve others and an unwillingness to be put out to pasture.

What’s your passion?

Our new report, “Generation Alzheimer’s: The Defining Disease of the Baby Boomers,” sheds light on a crisis that is no longer emerging – but here.

Many baby boomers will spend their retirement years either with Alzheimer’s or caring for someone who has it.

An estimated 10 million baby boomers will develop Alzheimer’s.

Starting this year, more than 10,000 baby boomers a day will turn 65. As these baby boomers age, one of out of eight of them will develop Alzheimer’s – a devastating, costly, heartbreaking disease. Increasingly for these baby boomers, it will no longer be their grandparents and parents who have Alzheimer’s – it will be them.

“Alzheimer’s is a tragic epidemic that has no survivors. Not a single one,” said Harry Johns, president and CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association. “It is as much a thief as a killer. Alzheimer’s will darken the long-awaited retirement years of the one out of eight baby boomers who will develop it. Those who will care for these loved ones will witness, day by day, the progressive and relentless realities of this fatal disease. But we can still change that if we act now.”

According to the new Alzheimer’s Association report, “Generation Alzheimer’s,” it is expected that 10 million baby boomers will either die with or from Alzheimer’s, the only cause of death among the top 10 in America without a way to prevent, cure or even slow its progression. But, while Alzheimer’s kills, it does so only after taking everything away, slowly stripping an individual’s autonomy and independence. Even beyond the cruel impact Alzheimer’s has on the individuals with the disease, Generation Alzheimer’s also details the negative cascading effects the disease places on millions of caregivers. Caregivers and families go through the agony of losing a loved one twice: first to the ravaging effects of the disease and then, ultimately, to actual death.

“Most people survive an average of four to six years after a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, but many can live as long as 20 years with the disease. As the disease progresses, the person with dementia requires more and more assistance with everyday tasks like bathing, dressing, eating and household activities,” said Beth Kallmyer, senior director of Constituent Relations for the Alzheimer’s Association. “This long duration often places increasingly intensive care demands on the nearly 15 million family members and friends who provide unpaid care, and it negatively affects their health, employment, income and financial security.”

In addition to the human toll, over the next 40 years Alzheimer’s will cost the nation $20 trillion, enough to pay off the national debt and still send a $20,000 check to every man, woman and child in America.

And while every 69 seconds someone in America develops Alzheimer’s disease today, by 2050 someone will develop the disease every 33 seconds – unless the federal government commits to changing the Alzheimer’s trajectory.

“Alzheimer’s – with its broad ranging impact on individuals, families, Medicare and Medicaid – has the power to bring the country to its financial knees,” said Robert J. Egge, vice president of Public Policy of the Alzheimer’s Association. “But when the federal government has been focused, committed and willing to put the necessary resources to work to confront a disease that poses a real public health threat to the nation – there has been great success. In order to see the day where Alzheimer’s is no longer a death sentence, we need to see that type of commitment with Alzheimer’s.” The full text of the Alzheimer’s Association’s “Generation Alzheimer’s” report can be viewed at www.alz.org/boomers.

Editor’s Note: For those looking to help their retirement community, senior center, or fitness center members diminish the effects of Alzheimer’s/dementia, I highly recommend Super Noggin, an extraordinary brain fitness lifestyle program based on the famous Nun Study and The Anti-Alzheimer’s Prescription. Full disclosure: Super Noggin is a client of TR Mann Consulting.

(photo http://www.classicmoviegab.com)

“A mother can take care of 5 children yet 5 children can’t take care of one mother.”

-unknown

I came across the film Make Way For Tomorrow (1937) by Leo McCarey. The movie is about an elderly couple, Barkley (Victor Moore) and Lucy (Beulah Bondi) Cooper, who are forced to separate when they lose their house to foreclosure; and none of their five children is willing to take both parents in.

Barkley is not able to find work due to his advanced years and with foreclosure eminent the elderly couple summons the adult children to break the news. A temporary solution is for the parents to split up and live with different family members; which proves to be untenable for all parties.

As Barkley continues to search for work so he and his wife can live independently, the scenario predictably deteriorates into a human tragedy:

When Lucy continues to speak optimistically of the day that he will find work, her teenage granddaughter bluntly advises her to “face facts”; that it will never happen because of his age. Lucy’s sad reply is to say that “facing facts” is easy for a carefree 17-year old girl, but that at Lucy’s age, the only fun left is “Pretending that there ain’t any facts to face…so would you mind if I just kind of went on pretending?”

-Wikipedia

Although the film ran over 70 years ago the topic is more relevant than ever as the aging population and the economic down-turn spell CRISIS for many seniors and their families.

Elderly Foreclosure

The global economic depression has hit boomers hard—as over 684,000 homeowners age 50 and over were delinquent, in foreclosure, or lost their homes last year. This is especially troublesome for the older adults who are on fixed income and limited time horizons for recovery. Not to mention the coming tough times for federal assistance programs for seniors; as pressure on aging services to poor and frail ramps up.

3 Stories: The Faces of Foreclosure

For a growing number of Americans the “Golden Years” are a fanciful dream that died with a personal loss or economic fates; never to be realized despite years of working and planning. Here are three stories to put a human face on the hardship faced by older adults:

Patricia 5 years in her home

Cole 28 years in his home

Andree 20 years in her home

These stories are heart-breaking, increasingly common place, and in need of solutions.

Saying Goodbye to Aging in Place?

We can discuss aging-in-place remodeling and elegant universal design options, but unless individuals like these have a “place” to age in–it does little good as they are evicted from homes where their dreams once resided.

In a review of Make Way For Tomorrow, Jamie S. Rich finds the film more hopeful because it shows us two people who can make the best of the worst times, who are resolute, and who never let go of what matters, even if they have to say goodbye to it.

Which many will have to do…

Watch the Film Make Way For Tomorrow

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_MrZojHUdQ (10 parts)

See

One Away: Seniors in Trouble

911-Foreclosure Update

Foreclosure Threatens Elder-Care Homes

More Families Move in Together During the Housing Crisis

How to Cope with Elderly parents moving in

Equal Justice Works: Elderly Hard Hit by the Mortgage Crisis

How to Live With Needful Aging Parents

Lessons Learned By Moving an Elderly Parent Into A Boomer’s Home

How to Prepare When Elderly Parents Move In With Adult Children

Help

NRMLA: ReverseMortgage.org

HUD Reverse Mortgage Frequently Asked Questions

Reverse Mortgage as a Foreclosure Intervention Tool

Legal Aide for the Elderly

The Elder-Care Team

Support Our Seniors

Sadly, there are 5.3 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s and every 70 seconds another American is captured by this deadly disease. By mid-century someone will develop Alzheimer’s every 33 seconds. By 2050 there will be nearly a million new cases per year. In short, we are in the grip of a horrific epidemic.

After my Mom was diagnosed and passed away with Alzheimer’s, I became acutely aware of my increased odds of also getting the disease (in fact, recent research suggest that Alzheimer’s has a maternal link). Fortunately, at this time I also met Bruce Findley, the founder of the not-for-profit behind Super Noggin, a brain fitness lifestyle program. Bruce introduced me to two sources of information that shined a bright ray of hope on my fears … and sparked my desire to get involved with Super Noggin.

The first source of information he introduced me to was the Nun Study, a decades-long longitudinal study of 678 religious order nuns who agreed to be studied while living AND after their deaths (biopsy remains the surest way to identify Alzheimer’s). The second was The Anti-Alzheimer’s Prescription, a book by Dr. Vincent Fortanasce, a renowned practicing neurologist. Both of these incredible resources suggest that while we can’t prevent Alzheimer’s/dementia, we can reduce the effects of these diseases by up to 70 percent!

While we can’t change our genetics, we can positively change our lifestyle. That’s what Super Noggin is all about.

Click on the image to view this TV news segment on Super Noggin, a brain fitness lifestyle program.

All of which leads me back to my original paragraph. The not-for-profit that I mentioned earlier, LEAF Ltd., is dedicated to serving boomers and seniors by utilizing the latest research on brain health in a unique and fun brain fitness lifestyle program. They would like to offer you complimentary materials to answer the question “Why should I exercise my brain?” This 45-minute class includes all the components you’ll need to lead a class including the script, PowerPoint, handouts for activities, and resources. Just click here, and you’ll be granted instant and FREE access to the course’s materials. I guarantee your residents or members will find the content both enjoyable and enlightening.

Averting dementia goal of program built around brain games

By Tracie Dungan Monday, February 21, 2011

Photo by William Moore Sherri Napier, director of the Fayetteville Senior Activity and Wellness Center, handed out papers filled with brain games during Tuesday’s Super Noggin program.

FAYETTEVILLE — The class of 32, mostly silver-haired students, listened as the instructor explained terms like “neuroplasticity” and proceeded to tackle one brain-teaser after another.

“Your handout is upside down,” Sherri Napier said after handing out papers that, at first glance, appeared to have funny-looking type.

“I do not want you to turn it right-side up. Read it, starting from the bottom right hand corner and proceed to the left.”

On another handout, Napier directed the students: “Find the C in the sea of O’s.”

(There also was a sea of 9s overwhelming 6s and a haystack of M’s masking a few N’s.)

“Many of us look for ways not to challenge our minds,” said Napier, director of the Fayetteville Senior Activity and Wellness Center. “We are more comfortable with what we have already learned.”

Photo by William Moore Charlotte Tipton, 74, of Greenland participates in the Super Noggin program Tuesday at the Senior Activity Center in Fayetteville. Super Noggin is a program that helps improve brain fitness.

The brain games are just a few of a wide variety of mental exercises, memory-training techniques, puzzles and physical activities that are part of the “Super Noggin” class, a year-long program that began in January for the nine-county Area Agency on Aging of Northwest Arkansas, which is based in Harrison.

The program follows in the footsteps of a number of scientific studies in the past decade suggesting that Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias might be delayed or prevented through brain workouts, physical activity, social interaction, proper nutrition or restful sleep.

The most common form of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, afflicts 5.3 million Americans – about 200,000 of them younger than age 65, according to a 2010 report from the Alzheimer’s Association.

The degenerative disease of the brain destroys memory and thinking abilities, and there is no cure.

The Fayetteville senior center is among the first groups to begin the program in the agency’s nine-county area, said Angie Dunlap, adding she believes the agency, which covers Baxter, Benton, Boone, Carroll, Madison, Marion, Newton, Searcy and Washington counties, is the first in the state to adopt it.

The Super Noggin curriculum was developed by the 501(c)3 nonprofit Leaf Ltd. of Oostburg, Wis., and involves training for its instructors.

It and programs such as Conductorcise are among a national trend toward more so called brain aerobics classes,as well as dance and healthy living classes for adults – particularly the elderly.

Super Noggin markets itself as suitable for adults of any age – a nod to the reality of early onset Alzheimer’s and other cognitive impairment that can strike the relatively young.

“It is not designed for those already diagnosed with cognitive decline,” the program says on its website, supernoggin.org, which has sections such as: “How can Super Noggin decrease my risk of Alzheimer’s?”

Not so fast, say scientific researchers who’ve studied the studies.

While brain fitness and similar courses likely can’t hurt, they’ve concluded, the hard science is not yet there to conclusively prove these activities will stop or slow Alzheimer’s or other dementias.

“Do we have the studies there to say they do? The answer is no,” said Laurie Ryan, program director for Alzheimer’s disease clinical trials at the National Institute on Aging, part of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md.

The studies that have indicated links between mental work and preventing dementias have been what are known as observational studies of people, she said.

That is not the same as a randomized clinical trial involving one set of people given a particular activity, treatment or medication and a second, “control” group that is given a placebo activity, treatment or medication. A number of such small- and large-scale clinical trials seeking the dementia answers are in the works, but the results are at least two years away.

“That’s the gold standard,” Ryan said Friday of clinical trials.

In August 2010, a “jury” of 15 impartial medical scientists placed on a panel by NIH arrived at the same conclusion after evaluating the studies, according to The New York Times.

But no one seems to be faulting the programs like Super Noggin for trying.

“There’s certainly no data that keeping mentally active hurts,” Ryan said. “And the epidemiological data suggests that keeping mentally active, keeping physically active and socially active are good for overall health. There’s also some suggestion that what’s good for the heart is good for the brain.”

Such activities also could ward off depression, she said: “Depression itself has been shown to be a risk factor for dementia. I think the jury’s still out on exactly why that is.”

The Area Agency on Aging’s Dunlap said her group decided to use some of its “health and wellness” funding on a brain health program. It researched some programs and settled on Super Noggin, spending about $5,000 on training expenses to get started. All together, it has received $30,899 for health promotion for fiscal year 2010-11 as part of the Older Americans Act of 1965.

The Super Noggin classes will take place mostly at local “senior centers,” she said, but also at places like the Schmieding Center for Senior Health and Education in Springdale.

In January, senior centers in Elkins, Fayetteville and Marion, Newton and Searcy counties started the program, with others in the remaining nine counties scheduled to rotate starting their programs between now and the rest of the year.

In the past, Dunlap’s agency had participated in another program involving “brain aerobics” puzzles and trivia questions it offered to its affiliates for their newsletters, she said.

“One of the best brain activities is ballroom dancing,” Dunlap said, adding that thinking about the dance steps combines with getting the body moving.

Super Noggin has physical aspects as well.

“Not only does your brain need that cognitive thinking to get those neurons firing – but it requires physical components.”

Napier told her Tuesday class that the ability of the brain to change and adapt is known as neuroplasticity.

To accomplish this, she assigned homework.

For the right-handed, it was writing one’s name 20 times with the left hand, and vice versa: “It takes practice – just like it took practice to learn to write in the first place,” she said.

The same goes for eating with a non-preferred hand, combing one’s hair, listening to music you normally don’t try and the order in which you tackle the aisles of the grocery store. Just generally, doing mundane tasks in a different way and shaking up the routine.

“Brush your teeth with a different hand,” Napier said.

Charlotte Tipton, 74, of Greenland said she learned about Super Noggin while participating in activities such as Wii bowling at the Fayetteville senior center.

“The Greenland Senior Center doesn’t have enough action for me,” joked Tipton, a native of Berlin, Germany, who has lived in Northwest Arkansas since 1958.

Tipton, who still speaks with a pronounced German accent, decided to give it a try. She planted herself on the front row of Tuesday’s class, leaned forward in her seat and participated actively in the discussions.

“I just said, hey, anyone can need help with their brains – including me,” she said with a laugh during a break in the lessons.

Tipton sometimes has trouble remembering names.

“Especially when you meet a lot of people all at once – oh my gosh,” she said.

Sometimes, even her friends’ names can escape her momentarily. “Maybe after this class, I will remember better.”

Phil and Dianne Zimmerman of Fayetteville said they were inspired to take the class after watching a public television documentary on brain fitness.

“We both have mothers who have signs of dementia,” Dianne Zimmerman said after class, adding that she learned from Napier the effect this could have: “Thirty percent is heredity.”

“We’re aiming for the 70,” chimed in Phil Zimmerman.

“Plus, it can’t hurt,” his wife added.

I can’t die. It would ruin my image.
- Jack Lalanne

A man’s health can be judged by which he takes two at a time – pills or stairs.
~Joan Welsh

I read an article online from SmartMoney titled; Hanging On at Home. The piece begins with the jugular question: Where will people live as they grow old?

The author goes on to describe a summary of the social forces that have shaped the living conditions of seniors prior to WWII, up to the present. He then provides five suggestions for “cutting through the clutter” of aging-in-place information on the web.

Not to cloudy the waters further, but I’d like to add a sixth suggestion…

Jack Was Right

Many of the targeted audience for the SM article grew up watching black and white images of a sincere, high-energy-buffed-guy in a tight-fitting jump suit, giving motivational chats, leading invigorating workouts, encouraging deep breathing and healthy living; all accompanied by lively organ music.

The sets were simple (a steel office chair and a poster board) but the concepts were not—and they still ring true today.

Jack Lalane was right; he knew that many people’s lives were just suicide on the installment plan. Jack recognized our changing disease states which have gone from acute (i.e., pneumonia which was once called “the old man’s friend”), to chronic (i.e., diabetes which isn’t cured only managed over long periods); and many were due simply to neglect.

Functional Aging

Aging in place requires more than just making a few simple changes such as replacing doorknobs with pull handles or installing ramps and no-step thresholds. These strategies are important, but functional aging is a key element in extending independence.

Lalanne described “functional aging” in his The Hands of Time episode. The goal was to die “young,” as late in life as possible…which is really the difference between extending life vs. extending health; they are not the same thing.

Much attention has been paid lately to the biomarkers of aging and how they can be affected by lifestyle. One key biomarker (measurable physiological factor related to aging) is aerobic capacity.

Aerobic capacity (age and weight specific) is how exercise physiologist measure uptake and utilization of oxygen by the body; the term used is VO2max. This is an essential factor for aging in place, because if you have a VO2max of less than 10ml/kg/min you can’t live independently at home because of the inability to do activities of daily living (ADLs).

The Bad News

As we age, under normal conditions (meaning no underlying diseases like lung cancer) our VO2max after age 30 decreases by 1% each year. So a 70 year old has a 40% decrease in VO2max.

The Good News

Exercise can decrease that 1% yearly decline in VO2max after age 30, by half. So a 70 year old may only experience a 20% decrease in VO2max.

The Sixth Suggestion

So, while you’re doing that elder-friendly home evaluation, embracing the concept of universal design, emphasizing fall prevention, comparison shopping-remodelers, and staying aware of public trends…PLEASE don’t over look taking care of yourself physically (and mentally).

As Jack might say; you know students, your body needs to be available to you…

See:

Time to Remodel that “House”
(photo soloflex.com)

Residents of The Heritage of Green Hills participate in a Super Noggin class.

Non-Profit Dedicated To The Cognitive Health of Boomers and Seniors Is Worth Talking About

It’s a beautiful thing when your work and your passion collide. Remarkably, I’ve had this good fortune several times throughout my career.

A couple of years ago, I was speaking at the International Council on Active Aging’s Conference (ICAA) when I was greeted by one of the most spectacular humans I have ever met. The ICAA conference seems to bring out extraordinary, caring people (a couple of years prior, I also met Maestro David Dworkin, the founder of Conductorcise). On this day, I met Bruce Findley.

Bruce’s story was fascinating. He was a VERY successful business man; a resident of Shell Point Retirement Community; and the founder of LEAF Ltd., a private foundation and 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting intellectual wellness for boomers and seniors. Bruce has gifted millions of dollars of his personal wealth to LEAF with his only goal of improving the lives of others.

He asked if TR Mann Consulting could help his team market an innovative brain wellness lifestyle program, which we later named Super Noggin. For me, it was an easy answer as my Mom had battled with Alzheimer’s before passing away.

So, what’s so innovative about Super Noggin?

If you’ve been paying attention to the brain fitness arena, there is a plethora of cognitive fitness computer programs. And many of them are very good. However, as a resident of a retirement community, one of the things Mr. Findley and his staff noticed was that boomers and seniors prefer to learn in a social setting. So his team set to work on creating something they’d enjoy — something they could envision maintaining. Just like fitness is a lifestyle change, creating healthy brain habits is a LIFESTYLE change.

So the team set to work. Based on the world-famous Nun Study and other current neuroscience research findings, Super Noggin is a comprehensive program offering a multi-pronged approach to LEARN and PRACTICE brain-healthy habits and to TRACK progress. The components of the program promote cognitive challenges, physical exercise, good nutrition, social interaction, stress reduction, and personal reflection.  And, as fitting to where we first met, Super Noggin is compatible with the wellness model of the ICAA.

One thing that makes Super Noggin different is that it is led by Certified Super Noggin Instructors through a network of participating locations such as wellness centers, gyms, YMCAs, retirement communities, JCCs, senior centers, community centers, and other facilities.

In Fayetteville, Arkansas, energetic 68-year-old Billie Jean Harvey is a perfect example of the type of person taking advantage of Super Noggin. She is healthy, active and engaged — and she’s looking to stay that way.

She was recently interviewed by NWA Online about her interest in the program.

“Sometimes, I just get lost in time,” the Fayetteville resident said. “I get tied up with what I’m doing and completely forget my schedule.”

Harvey said she and her husband worry about losing their memory because both of their mothers were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. She said she works to keep her mind sharp by doing puzzles and volunteering, but is concerned that her husband, 69-year-old Charles “Winston” Harvey, is stuck in a routine.

Harvey said she and her husband learned about Super Noggin while volunteering at the Fayetteville Senior Center. She said she was relieved when her husband agreed to participate in the program.

“I want to do whatever it takes to keep my brain sharp,” she said.

Chris Romick, a retirement community Sales Director in Reading, Pennsylvania agrees that the proactive approach is in line with his residents needs, “At The Heritage of Green Hills, which is a full-service retirement community for people 55 and up, our residents believe in prevention through a healthy lifestyle… rather than reactive health care. Our residents want to STAY healthy! This is why Super Noggin was such a perfect fit for our community. I can tell you this much, people have told us that one of the attractions for moving to The Heritage was the availability of Super Noggin.”

Expanding the program

Now that program is already serving hundreds of boomers and seniors, I’m actively looking to partner Super Noggin up with some progressive companies. I’m getting ready to knock on the doors of some major companies such as big pharma and long-term care companies.

Why? Because it makes sense for them. Let’s take long-term care providers as an example.

Why would Super Noggin make a useful marketing tool for long-term care providers?

Super Noggin provides a NO RISK opportunity to:

1. Lower marketing costs
2. Endear current prospects and potential clients
3. Lower your actual coverage expenses
4. Generate positive press

Super Noggin is modeled after the widely successful SilverSneakers program. The preventive health principals at work in the SilverSneakers program are similar to what we’d expect for Super Noggin. While SilverSneakers is focused on the physical body, Super Noggin is a cognitive lead fitness program.

The SilverSneakers Fitness Program has been a vital component of several major health plans’ acquisitions and retention strategies. These companies include AARP Medicare Supplement, SecureHorizons (AARP Medicare Complete), Humana, Health Spring, several Blue Cross Blue Shield plans, Kaiser Permanete, Bravo Health, and Highmark, just to name a few.

Voluntary disenrollment results in lost premiums as well as acquisition costs to replace members; programs like SilverSneakers and Super Noggin can help. In studies of health plan retention among SilverSneakers clients, voluntary disenrollment rates among program participants were substantially lower than among those not enrolled in the program. Depending on the size of the health plan’s membership, this difference can mean the retention of a significant number of members.

Responses from 8,400 SilverSneakers enrollees who completed the 2008 annual member survey support these findings. Based upon their experience with SilverSneakers:

•          61% said the likelihood of their remaining with their current health plan had improved or greatly improved.

•         71% said the likelihood of their recommending their health plan to friends or family had improved or greatly improved.

•         83% rated their health plan an 8, 9, or 10 on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the best.

•         58% said they were likely to choose another health plan offering SilverSneakers if it were no longer available through their current plan.

63 percent of SilverSneakers members said the benefit was an important consideration in deciding to join their health plan.

Lowering Coverage Costs

Insurance and health care companies are always seeking new ways to reduce direct and indirect health care costs. For companies that offer long-term care insurance, brain fitness is a key component to fighting rising health care costs. Some insurance companies like Penn Treaty American reported a reduction in claims after offering brain fitness exercises to their long-term-care insurance customers. Providing your members with important brain fitness knowledge enables them to live healthier, more independent lives.

The tools Super Noggin utilizes have been clinically proven to enhance cognitive abilities, reduce insurance claims, and improve lives:

• 5-year predicted reduction of medical expenditures by 3-4% (Wolinsky, 2009)
• Improves performance on activities of daily living (Edwards, 2002)
• Reduces risk of onset of depressive symptoms  by 38% (Wolinsky, 2009)
• On average an improvement of memory scores equivalent to approximately 10 years. (Smith, 2009)

(Source:  The business case for wellness programs in retirement communities and seniors housing, a white paper from the International Council on Active Aging).

A proactive cognitive health program can give policyholders the tools they need to actively address their concerns of developing dementia. Such a program may also reduce the frequency and length of future cognitive claims.

In recently published studies, participants practicing brain fitness showed statistically and clinically significant gains on standard cognitive batteries, while participants in control groups showed minimal or no gains. The gains are equivalent to 10 or more years of improved cognitive function (such as ability to remember and faster processing speed) among populations over age 60.

The Super Noggin could revolutionize the long-term care insurance industry … give a major PR boast to pharmaceutical companies … lift the profile of commerce giants like Wal-Mart … or alter the future of a country that faces a dementia crisis. The possibilities are endless!

Call To Action

So, who’s ready? Any and all contact suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I am driven by the generosity and vision of my good friend, Mr. Findley, and his goal of improving the aging process. His charitable group has created something definitely worth sharing!

Tom Mann, 410-292-4333

• Remote home monitoring got buzz and investment. Venture capitalists stepped up for remote monitoring: Healthsense received venture funding, as did WellAWARE. Numerous news outlets pointed a consumer flashlight onto GrandCare Systems and this still fairly narrow market, now blurred further this year with remote health monitoring (aka telehealth, wireless health) — now in some cases reimbursed due to vital sign monitoring during post-hospital rehab stays.

PREDICTION: 2011 will further blur the distinction between remote health monitoring and passive activity monitoring. Given the fertile health technology marketplace of grants for trial projects among non-profit organizations, my take is that vendors would do well to add device enablement (like blood pressure and weight scale), seek FDA approval and throw in the towel on preserving a standalone category.

• The PERS market got a Philips auto alert boost. In January, Philips launched Lifeline with Auto Alert for automatic fall-detecting PERS devices, likely at the expense of its own Lifeline device sales. By creating market awareness (yuk, that home page is still bleak, bleak, bleak!) about passive fall detection and notification, Philips offered help for competitors Wellcore, Halo Monitoring and others with fall detection capability. Meanwhile, mobile PERS with GPS location identification continued its move (pun intended) forward and outside the home — striving to appeal to a younger and more out-and-about population.

PREDICTION: In 2008, PERS market growth was predicted to be flat — Parks Associates asserted a $600 million flat line, supplanted by a corresponding growth in passive remote monitoring. Not so, it turns out. Today PERS is approximately a $1 billion market — and while there are a number of new remote monitoring entrants, passive remote monitoring is still below the adoption radar. What’s next? I am waiting (and may have to wait well past 2011) for elder-focused applications and trained carrier call centers that leverage the built-in accelerometers, GPS trackability, and (ha, ha!) ease of use of cell and smart phones. In the meantime, PERS sales will grow, not as fast, but steadily as the population ages into frailty — remembering that 85+ is the fastest growing segment, that PERS contracts typically last only for two years.

• Games got gestures — someday seniors will benefit. With the launch of Microsoft’s Kinect interface, teens got a chance to jump higher while playing group Xbox games, including the ability to play group games simultaneously from separate locations.  But speaking instructions and using hand gestures is an important user interface change that can transform the accessibility of apps — check out this MIT Kinect browser navigation accomplishment posted just minutes (it seemed) after Kinect sold out at Target.

PREDICTION: Hand gestures, recognizable features, and spoken commands — app vendors, go forth and create! At least 5 vendors focused on the older adult market will offer a Kinect-enabled application by end of 2011. Throw in specific health and chronic disease management — many times five. Design-for-all apps, lots and lots.

• The iPad marginalized the need for an annoying PC operating system computer. In January, the iPad announcement looked pretty impressive… and the screen looked very pretty.  Well, doubt no more about boomers — these things are everywhere, boomers seem to love them and they (or their many, many imitators) are migrating into the homes and lives of older people — someone besides Apple will tell us how many.  These types of devices will, over time, make us forget that we used to need simplification software to overlay on top of complex and consumer-hostile devices.

PREDICTION: In our near-term lifetime, older adults depending on your children or Best Buy to upgrade Windows patches may become a distant memory. The same Microsoft that brought this brilliant Kinect interface into the market will hobble out its own tablet next week at CES. Maybe it will be foisted on enterprises through IT mandate, but among an older population for home use, forget it. Even though folks may have told AARP they won’t buy one, they just didn’t know what they were saying — AARP surveyed too early (June) about a product that had just began shipping (late March).  Newer products from other vendors will also make the concept of an operating system upgrade either quaint or invisible.

• eReaders eliminated the need for reading glasses. Meanwhile, as you can plainly see in airports, planes, trains, and TV commercials, the eReader (Nook, Shmook, etc.) is taking a big chunk out of physical books. As my husband has noted with his free Kindle reader for Blackberry, if you like to read, eReaders mean never having to search for your reading glasses.

PREDICTION: We are in a silly ‘i-this’ and ‘e-that’ phase right now — vendors may fight to the death to keep it that way, maybe even giving eReader devices away with a purchase of 10 or more books? But in the end, it’s pointless — eReader software will be on all tablets, game controllers, portable and phone-like devices.

• Caregiving software — is this really a standalone market? Along with initiatives to help caregivers, caregiving applications sprouted in 2010, but is this a category? With software as a service, these apps really seem to be functionality that is part of a larger caregiver portal, possibly white-labeled by a service or healthcare insurer/provider (like Kaiser Permanente) or offered by a home care agency as part of a solution that includes devices — including home health monitoring and/or web cameras.

PREDICTION: For those caregiving applications that are part of the professional caregiver services toolkit, 2011 will be the year in which the largest home care agencies (family/companion and health) expand their tech reach. They will include standard caregiving functionality that updates and includes family participation. They will consider Skype (or its equivalent) to be a core competence of Geriatric Care Managers — as with SeniorBridge. They will replace the requisite post-visit telephone call tag with the kind of simultaneously-viewable update that families can create with a portal like CaringBridge.

• Dementia undermines aging in place. All remote, health, and gadgety tech notwithstanding, let’s consider Alzheimer’s and the CDC’s statement that “nearly half of those age 85 and older may have the disease.” (Feel free to spend some time online trying to nail down that definition, the percentage, and/or its source, but I digress…) Wander prevention technology presumes a willing and available responder to receive those close-by alerts or forming a relationship with the local police to find the missing. It presumes someone is wearing a tag, device, necklace or bracelet. But we’re better at locating prisoners and dogs than we are at preventing people from wandering to the point of danger.

PREDICTION: During 2011, more vendors will emerge with unobtrusive tracking devices linked to smart notification software that incorporates a hierarchy of responders and a multiplicity of ways to reach them. Hey, maybe we’ll even see that GPS shoe (as of today predicted by Foot.com to ship in early February 2011). If there’s no associated service, though, the shoe will be absolutely useless.

• Vendors of age-related products and services still struggle to address the market properly. The pathway to sales is littered with the simultaneous obstacles of poor economic climate, limited funding, few solutions-versus-products, long sales cycles in many cases, complex decision-making relationships (adult child? senior? professional caregiver? who?) and new management learning curves. To tackle some of these obstacles and promote sharing of lessons learned, last year’s Silvers Summit spawned an AgeTek Alliance of vendors and supportive organizations, which will this year will hold training and networking sessions at CES.

PREDICTION: 2011 will (hopefully) see more coherent and reusable channel cultivation, more multi-vendor product bundling, growth in training of service providers and resellers, and greater awareness of appropriate tech among referrers like doctors, GCMs, and senior housing organizations. In 2009, I speculated about certification of service providers in technology for aging in place — in 2010, NAHB’s CAPS — Certified Aging in Place Specialist) program wisely split into two parts — Marketing and Communication Strategies for Aging and Accessibility (CAPS I) and Design/Build Solutions for Aging and Accessibility (CAPS II) — the latter includes an assessment of needs which will, hopefully, include tech communication requirements. In 2011, there will also be forward movement that exposes minimum product requirements — like usability, ease of installation, and ease of operation — through ever-greater exposure of actual user experiences. Although it makes sense to consolidate objectives and outcomes among age-related consortia and groups, that is highly unlikely in the near term. Finally, for those of you considering entrance into this market, please follow these Ten Tips.

• Bad prescription — hospitals and the elderly. Maybe you missed it a few days ago — more than 1 in 5 of those admitted to hospitals (2008) were over the age of 75. And those aged 85+ were 2.5 times as likely to need nursing care upon discharge as those age 65-74. Interestingly, Microsoft’s HealthVault Community Connect, “a portal solution that helps connect healthcare institutions to their referring communities and patients,” according to Microsoft’s Luisa Monge, is just beginning to be deployed as part of hospital admission — where discharge planning must begin if it is ever to function properly.

HOPE: To get to the hospital, someone has to call 911 (or drive in the car). My dream is that whoever does the calling or driving has the ability to produce a list of current medications on a sheet of paper that has all identifying information, including the name of the doctor, next of kin and contact info. This is so low-tech — if the very old can’t stay out of hospitals, can they at least arrive armed with their own data?

• Design for all or design for aging? Finally, let’s tackle the thorny issue of whether there is such a thing as ‘tech for seniors’ or should all tech incorporate certain core principles — in effect, ‘design-for-all?’  How about devices with good lighting, adjustable font, audible display options, color adjustments? And as Dr. Joseph Coughlin noted, shouldn’t tech be more FUN to use, not just utilitarian?

HOPE: In 2011, let’s hope that marketing senior-related products doesn’t have to be fear-focused to effectively reach the consumer.  Let’s hope that it becomes less and less important to design tech exclusively for the use of older adults. Let’s hope that everything we use is wonderfully easy to figure out, that the buttons on our new TV remotes are bigger, that configuring web-enabled television can be done in fewer than 5 perilous steps (this requirement was comfirmed by Best Buy), that the user manual is only a nice-to-have that comes with our phones, readers, tablets, and games. Let’s hope that if we want the full-featured, heavy-duty sophisticated options — or we want tech to be friendlier in the event that our dexterity, vision, or hearing declines ever so slightly — that even though you can’t always get (exactly) what you want, you can usually get what you need.

Editor’s Note: If you haven’t visited Laurie Orlov’s blog, Aging In Place Technology Watch, you should. When it comes to understanding technology as it relates to aging, there is NO better source of information.

I (Tom Mann of Love and Company) recently presented “Improving Marketing and Sales for your Retirement Community, CCRC, Assisted Living, or Skilled Nursing Care Facility” at the LifeSpans educational seminar. Here’s the PowerPoint I presented with transcriptions!

On the horizon is a DVD player so he can watch M*A*S*H reruns and other programs and movies he so enjoys.  And he’s on the waiting list for “Honor Flight” next year, a program that transports World War II veterans to see their memorial in Washington, D.C.

WORKSHOPS FOCUS ON BRAIN FITNESS

By Kate Ward
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
FAYETTEVILLE — If she’s not looking for her car keys, 68-year-old Billie Jean Harvey said she’s probably trying to remember where she put her seam ripper.

“Sometimes, I just get lost in time,” the Fayetteville resident said. “I get tied up with what I’m doing and completely forget my schedule.”

Harvey is among a group of area residents who hope to improve their memories and stave off dementia and Alzheimer’s disease through a series of brain fitness workshops known as Super Noggin. The yearlong program, hosted by the Fayetteville Senior Activity and Wellness Center, began last week and is open to anyone at no cost.

“These workshops are based on studies that have found the brain, when challenged in certain ways, grows new brain cells no matter how old you are,” said Sherri Napier, director of the center. “It was always thought that as you age you lose brain mass and can’t recover. The studies found that only 30 percent of Alzheimer’s and dementia cases were due to heredity and 70 percent could be prevented though lifestyle changes.”

Napier conducts the same workshop twice each week to reach as many participants as possible. After the eight workshops are complete, the program will continue with monthly meetings that will feature various nutritional, fitness and medical speakers.

Angie Dunlap, a community programs support specialist for the Area Agency on Aging of Northwest Arkansas, said Super Noggin is recommended for anyone over the age of 30, but is suitable for people of all ages. The agency operates the senior center.

The program was created by LEAF Ltd., a nonprofit organization “dedicated to serving the brain fitness needs of boomers and beyond.”

In addition to cognitive exercises, Super Noggin emphasizes physical activity and nutrition. Participants receive workbooks to chart their progress throughout the program.

“As we age, it’s just as important to exercise our minds as it is our bodies,” Dunlap said. “It’s what keeps us sharp.”

Napier, who became a certified Super Noggin instructor through the Area Agency on Aging, said a study analyzing car accident patients and stroke victims revealed that certain cognitive exercises promote the growth of new brain cells. Those same exercises, which are included in the Super Noggin program, have been tailored to improve the memory of normal, aging adults. The program is not designed for those already diagnosed with a cognitive decline.

“People get into the habit of doing the same thing each day, so we teach them to do things outside the norm,” she said. “For instance, we tell them to try brushing their teeth with their left hand instead of their right. We might also encourage them to try taking a different route to the grocery store and begin their shopping in a different section.”

Tom Mann, a Super Noggin business development consultant, said the program was developed by LEAF Ltd. founder Bruce Findley and is based on the Nun Study, a 40-year study of Alzheimer’s and aging.

“There was a group of nuns who were kind enough to donate their brains to science for a biopsy upon their death,” he said. “What surprised researchers was that their brains showed signs of Alzheimer’s, but they didn’t exhibit any of the symptoms when they were living. It was kind of an ‘aha’ moment.”

Mann said researchers wanted to know what the nuns did differently to prevent the symptoms of Alzheimer’s from appearing. Scientists later learned that the sisters ate healthy food, got plenty of sleep, engaged in physical and mental activity and had the genetic predisposition for Alzheimer’s.

“Bruce Findley is a resident of a retirement community in Florida and he wanted to give something back to seniors,” Mann said. “He found that cognitive fitness programs are more useful in a social setting than in a computer setting. He designed Super Noggin so that it could be practiced as a group.”

Harvey said she and her husband worry about losing their memory because both of their mothers were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. She said she works to keep her mind sharp by doing puzzles and volunteering, but is concerned that her husband, 69-year-old Charles “Winston” Harvey, is stuck in a routine.

“He’s very repetitive in everything he does and I sometimes see him doing things my mother used to do,” she said. “That scares me because he’s too young for that. He’s had four back surgeries in three years and he doesn’t feel well, but that’s no reason to shut down.”

Harvey said she and her husband learned about Super Noggin while volunteering at the Fayetteville Senior Center. She said she was relieved when her husband agreed to participate in the program.

“I want to do whatever it takes to keep my brain sharp, but my husband gets defensive when I tell him what to do,” she said. “I think he’ll listen if he hears it from someone else. We’re both excited.”

Many people look forward to the New Year for a new start on old habits.

~Author Unknown

(eds note:  This article is NOT intended for the highly motivated population of people who find exercise, “doing health”……….enjoyable.   You all just go about your day doing the things that give some happiness, and life satisfaction.  I need to talk to your friends, family, coworkers, who haven’t found the secrets to a healthy lifestyle like you have.)

Okay.  Now we can start.   It’s that time of year again.  In a few weeks, maybe a month we’ll be thinking about doing this New Year’s resolutions thing.   I won’t ask for everybody’s age, but how many years have we been doing this now?

This year let’s take a little bit different approach.   Enclosed is a list of suggested strategies to look at for possible long term changes in your health plans for 11’.    These strategies are based on the research of health psychologists who study what prompts people to make successful changes.

1.  If you make a resolution to start exercising again, lose weight; quit smoking, whatever it is, state the goal to a strong SUPPORT NETWORK.   Family, friends, co-workers that will support and encourage you, as you make this change.    You may have pitfalls as you find your health or fitness style.  You’ll need a good support system around you to encourage and motivate you.

2.  You don’t have to start on Jan 1, unless you’re training for an athletic event.   Or in a fun type weight loss contest.   Don’t put a strict time table on when you’re going to start.  Start planning and preparing but don’t take action until you’re really ready to go.

3. Keep the new or updated health and fitness plan simple. Take babies steps.  One day at a time.   People that are “intrinsically” motivated; meaning their motivation to do a health and fitness plan that THEY have personally figured out will stay with it longer. A lot of times this means starting small, simple, and then building from there.

4. “Social Liberation”. The knowing that you have a choice when to start sooner or later with a new health plan without external pressure is important.   “Motivation” researchers tell us that people who successfully change a health behavior are more apt to change sooner when not pressured by external messages.       Start fresh with exercise or eating better when you’re ready.   There are great experts, with lot of good information, fitness plans for you, when the time is right.

5.  There is NO FAILURE. It’s okay to try a different fitness plan, or daily eating style.   As I’ve stated for years highly motivated people enjoy their diet composition, or exercise routine.   But it may have taken them years to create it.    There is no one way to be healthy.  There is no one perfect exercise plan.     The perfect plan is the one you enjoy doing today.

Consider your 11’ New Year’s resolution to take a different approach to getting healthier.  Consider changing the same script you’ve done every year with limited success.  Give yourself permission to have fun, enjoy the experience, and the stated goals will take care of themselves.

A fitness staff person can help you with this type of approach; sign up for a consult when YOU’RE READY to start.

Happy New Year

Mike

Mike Waters is Director of Health Promotion at Timberhill Athletic Club in Corvallis, Oregon.   He helps members of all ages (specializes on boomers and seniors) with motivation strategies to get engaged with a healthy lifestyle.  He can be reached at 541- 207 – 4368   or timberhill.mike@comcast.net

Photo dailynews.com

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Boomers and seniors flock, and maybe they stay – who knows? So we know that baby boomers and seniors represent the fastest-growing (not largest) age group flocking to Facebook, because this is an oft-quoted statistic that is surprisingly tough to nail down. Here’s a 2009 stat on women age 55+ as the fastest growing demographic, for example. According to Nielsen, seniors age 65+ pick Facebook as one of their top Internet destinations. And according to eMarketer.com in December, 2009, 46% of online boomers age 44-62 and 36% of those 63-75 had a social networking site profile. Note the word ‘online’. So far, I have not seen a report on frequency of update or access — hope eMarketer.com checks that out this year.

Now comes the AARP Loneliness Study. AARP is pushing down the survey age and definition of ‘older’ people, from 50 down to 45. Pretty soon no one will be younger than all of these so-called older people. Published last month, a survey of 3012 adults age 45 and above revealed that 35% are lonely (using UCLA’s index of attributes of loneliness.) Surprisingly, and supported by the Gallup study about overall happiness, those in the younger age range of 45-49 were lonelier (43%) than those age 70-plus (25%). According to the study, those married, wealthier, healthier, who volunteer more and have been in their homes more than one year are less likely to be lonely. Maybe the older folks are onto something — 62% of the 65+ population isn’t online. As for the use of social media (aka Facebook), lonely respondents were more likely to agree with the statement “I have fewer deep connections now that I keep in touch with people using the Internet.” Interestingly, AARP’s website did not report that 57% of both categories of responders, that is those self-identified as either lonely and not lonely, said that they never participate on social networking sites. Note the word ‘never’.

Facebook manages the Rolodex of acquaintances. There’s something ironic about Facebook terminology — ‘friends’ who you ‘poke’, versus the more civil LinkedIn use of the phrase ‘trusted connections.’ In the October 4th New Yorker article, Malcolm Gladwell draws a distinction between actual activism and what he describes as ‘weak activism’, observing that “Facebook activism succeeds not by motivating people to make a real sacrifice but by motivating them to do the things that people do when they are not motivated enough to make a real sacrifice.” And his comment that “Facebook is a tool for efficiently managing your acquaintances, for keeping up with the people you would not otherwise be able to stay in touch with” resonates with me, especially after watching this movie. Young people are resilient: maybe they know that their hundreds of Facebook friends aren’t the same as actual friends who would join you at a meeting or in a volunteer effort, help you move your belongings to a new location, or even eat a meal with you on a Sunday night. Older people are less resilient and perhaps after registering their profile, they secretly wonder to themselves — what’s the point of this, life is short, let’s go out for lunch.

Editor’s Note: Carolina’s calling. If you have anything to do with active aging or retirement communities, you don’t want to miss the  National Active Retirement Association Conference in Columbia, South Carolina – Wednesday, October 20 through Friday, October 22  at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center. I hope to see you there!

PS    If you are going, be sure to drop me a line at Tom(at)TRMann.com.

The economic news this year has generally focused on the standstill in production and consumer spending. Despite this environment, the active-aging industry is slowly but steadily growing, according to new research from International Council on Active Aging®  (ICAA), the  association that provides services and business intelligence for professionals working with people 50 years and older.

“As we travel around the country visiting retirement community and fitness center clients, we are definitely seeing an up-tick in programs focused on wellness,” says Tom Mann of TR Mann Consulting. “Boomers and seniors are taking a much more proactive approach to wellness than they did just five years ago. Having a robust wellness program is now a key to marketing your retirement community or fitness center,” adds Mann.

Active aging means living live as fully as possible, with opportunities for health, productivity and safety. The active-aging industry was created when ICAA brought together diverse business sectors—from real estate to seniors services and fitness—by recognizing their mutual purpose of providing services to older adults. The industry’s emphasis on quality of life among older adults has resulted in an abundance of Wii tournaments and strength training classes, expeditions to China, volunteer tutors in inner city schools, age-friendly modifications to treadmills and universal design features in new housing.

The ICAA 2010 Active-Aging Industry Development Survey collected information from 640 respondents to an online survey who work primarily in retirement communities, seniors centers, wellness centers, health clubs and additional locations that provide services for older adults. These providers of services to older adults reported a surge of optimism and service growth.

Over three-quarters (77%) of respondents plan to add more activities, classes or programs over the next two years. This is a 51% increase from the responses to the identical questions that appeared on an earlier ICAA survey, conducted one year ago, when half (51%) of respondents stated they were adding in the next 12 months (ICAA Economy Survey, July 2009, 489 respondents).

The growth in program offerings is complemented by jobs creation: 27% plan to hire more wellness staff over the next two years.

Capital projects are being planned by 41% of respondents, including building new wellness centers and expanding or renovating current wellness and fitness facilities. Retirement communities are refurbishing or building new residences.

“While the larger economy may be suffering from a cold, the active-aging industry is in good health,” explained Colin Milner, CEO of International Council on Active Aging. “From the business perspective, the market of older adults is large and growing, and overall older adults have a net worth that enables them to make choices to maintain their health and keep their days interesting.  The results of this survey show that businesses are positioning themselves to meet those needs, by building and upgrading facilities and expanding their programs.”

The ICAA 2010 Active-Aging Industry Development Survey is available for $149. The survey is  free of charge to ICAA Organizational members, and at a discounted rate to ICAA Individual members. Members of the media may contact Colin Milner at colinmilner@icaa.cc for copies of the survey.

About the survey

The ICAA 2010 Active-Aging Industry Development Survey was an online survey available from July 17 through August 14, 2010.  Respondents included continuing care retirement communities (24%), active adult and independent living retirement communities (24%), independent living with assisted living and assisted living communities (13%), seniors centers (13%), health club or medically-based wellness/fitness centers (10%) and other locations. Among the 640 respondents; 65% have a formal wellness program for older adults and 29% offered wellness activities, but not a formal program.

About the International Council on Active Aging (ICAA)

ICAA, a professional association that leads, connects and defines the active-aging industry, supports professionals who develop wellness facilities, programs and services for adults over 50. The association is focused on active aging—an approach to aging that helps older adults live life as fully as possible within all dimensions of wellness—and provides its members with education, information, resources and tools.

As an active-aging educator and advocate, ICAA has advised numerous organizations and governmental bodies, including the US Administration on Aging, the National Institute on Aging (one of the US National Institutes of Health), the US Department of Health and Human Services, Canada ’s Special Senate Committee on Aging, and the British Columbia ministries of Health, and Healthy Living and Sport.

Editors Note:

The ICAA’s Founder, Colin Milner, will be speaking at the National Active Retirement Association Conference – Wednesday, October 20 – Friday, October 22 – Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center * Columbia, South Carolina. Also, worth noting is the International Council on Active Aging Conference – Thursday, December 2 – Saturday, December 4 – San Diego Convention Center * San Diego, California. I (Tom Mann of TR Mann Consulting) will also be attending both of these events.

Also, speaking of active aging, here’s two of the ICAA’s preferred providers worth checking out: Super Noggin (brain fitness) and Conductorcise (music and exercise).

Here’s a video introduction to Super Noggin:

photo toddnoordyk.com)

It’s a world of laughter
- A world of tears
It’s a world of hopes
- And a world of fears
There’s so much that we share
- That it’s time we’re aware
It’s a small world after all …
-Written by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman

BMI (body mass index): A ratio of weight to height (weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) BMI = kg/m2

The other day I was working with a gastroenterologist (GI doctor) who was sporting a smart looking Mickey Mouse watch. She had acquired it on a recent family vacation to Disneyland. This sparked some conversation about the land of enchantment and some of the rides they experienced. Of course I had to ask about the Small World ride.

The line: It’s a small world after all (sorry now that it’s stuck in a circular loop in your head), has been the subject of many jokes and comments throughout the years; but what followed was a new twist to me. Seems the ride had been out of commission for repairs and the reason…

Well, there is some controversy surrounding the reason the ride was shut down in 2008. The ride has been around some 45 years and the original flume and fleet of boats made their maiden voyage during the 1964-65 New York World’s fair. The sturdy little pastel boats have been doing yeoman’s work ever since. No doubt that kind of run would even cause Cal Ripken to pit stop for some refurbishments.

According to MiceAge the Imagineers of the 1960’s designed the ride to accommodate the average man (175lb) and woman (135lb) of the era; not the adult of today who can often weigh more than 200lbs. The boats ride lower in the water and tend to “bottom out,” causing the whole contraption to stop in its tracks. The solution (prior to redesign) was to limit passengers or escort embarrassed patrons off the ride.

Several stories including one in the New York Times call on readers to draw their own conclusions. The subject is somewhat taboo and Disney denies any connection between redesign and weight of the riders.

Whether the connection is valid or not the fact remains Americans are getting heavier on average. According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health, approximately two-thirds of adults age 20 or older are overweight or obese with BMIs greater than 25, and nearly one-third have BMIs greater than 30. Less than one-third are at a healthy weight with a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9.

In my own experience as a nurse I’ve witnessed hospitals having to equip ceilings with steel I-beams to support mechanical lift systems to get obese patients in/out of bed. A recent staff development in many care settings are the “Lift teams.” These are designated staff whose sole job is working the lifts and turning patients—in order to save nurses from back injuries.

Kaiser Permanente purchased a fleet of love-seat sized wheel chairs years ago to accommodate the increased girth of its members. I once took one of these devices to a presentation at Nike World Head Quarters…they couldn’t believe their eyes as I rolled it in the room.

At issue are not just the obvious effects of BMI on health and longevity but control of one’s own experience and for this discussion that means aging in place.

It’s About Control (but not what you might think)

In an article from Newsweek (Feb/23/2009): Stress Could Save Your Life, author Mary Carmichael writes about the connection between control and stress. Carmichael notes a classic study where scientists put two rats in a cage, each locked to a running wheel. The first rat could exercise whenever he liked. The second was yoked to the first and forced to run when his cage-mate did.

The exercise that usually decreases stress and encourages neuron growth in the brain did just the opposite in the second rat—the reason…control. Psychologists know that one of the biggest factors in how we process stressful events is how much control we have over our lives. A body rendered un-available due to high BMI can place limits on personal control (mobility and independence). Much of the appeal of aging in place is about choice—to make the issue relevant is to frame it as matter of control.

Research has shown that by avoiding a further increase from 28 kg/m² to 32 kg/m², a typical person in early middle age would gain about 2 years of life expectancy. Two years of extra life down the road might not sound all that compelling to some, but the issue is really more one of extending health—not extending life.

Inactivity doesn’t necessarily shorten the life-span…it most definitely shortens the health-span. –Dr. Rosenburg, Tufts University

Extending the health-span can equate to maintaining mobility and independence; ultimately leading to a higher degree of control (& decreased stress) over one’s life experience. And that’s what aging in place is all about.

See:

Calculate: Your BMI
Research on life expectancy
Middle aged women and stroke
It’s a small world video

Heritage of Green Hills Serves As Prototype For Super Noggin

Over the next 18 years the baby boomer tidal wave will reach the shores of retirement.  Add to that the fact that people over 85 are now the fastest-growing segment of the population, and the result is that by 2050, the number of Americans 85 years and older will quadruple.

Total healthcare costs are more than three times higher for people with Alzheimer’s Disease and other dementias than for other people age 65 and older, according to the 2010 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures, published by the Alzheimer’s Association.

According the Facts and Figures report, in 2006:

• Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes plus Alzheimer’s or another dementia had 64 percent more hospital stays than those with diabetes and no Alzheimer’s, and their average per person Medicare costs were $20,655 compared to $12,979 for beneficiaries with diabetes but no Alzheimer’s or dementia.

• Medicare beneficiaries with coronary heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia had 42 percent more hospital stays than those with coronary heart disease and no Alzheimer’s or dementia, and their average per person Medicare costs were $20,780 compared to $14,640 for beneficiaries with coronary heart disease but no Alzheimer’s or dementia.

• With family members providing care at home for about 70 percent of people with Alzheimer’s disease, the ripple effects of the disease can be felt throughout the entire family. According to Facts and Figures, in 2008, nearly 10 million Alzheimer caregivers in the U.S. provided 8.5 billion hours of unpaid care valued at $94 billion. In addition to the unpaid care families contribute, the report also reveals that Alzheimer’s creates high out-of-pocket health and long-term care expenses for families.

• Out-of-pocket costs that are not covered by Medicare, Medicaid or other sources of insurance are 28 percent higher for Medicare beneficiaries with Alzheimer’s than those without. Individuals with Alzheimer’s and other dementia living in nursing homes or assisted living facilities incurred the highest out-of-pocket costs – an average of $16,689 a year.
 
Growing prevalence of Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia 

• There are 5.3 million Americans living with the disease and every 70 seconds someone in America develops Alzheimer’s Disease. By mid-century someone will develop Alzheimer’s every 33 seconds. By 2050 there will be nearly a million new cases per year.

• Alzheimer’s is the sixth leading cause of death in the country, surpassing diabetes; it is the fifth leading cause of death among individuals 65 and older.
From 2000 to 2006, while deaths from other major diseases dropped -

> heart disease (-11.5 percent),
> breast cancer (-.6 percent),
> prostate cancer (-14.3 percent) and
> stroke (-18.1 percent) -
deaths from Alzheimer’s disease rose 47.1 percent.
 
Two innovative organizations fight back 

The Heritage of Green Hills, a stunning full-service retirement community for retirees 55 and up, has made a name for itself by pushing preventive health care, rather than reactive health care. “Our residents are some of the most active, independent people you will ever meet. We aim to keep it that way! ” says The Heritage’s Executive Director, Chris Romick. “Currently, we are a country that reacts to health care problems rather than practicing preventive health care. As part of our Well By Design program we’ve teamed up with the not-for-profit LEAF Ltd. Foundation. LEAF has developed an innovative new program called Super Noggin.”

The Heritage of Green Hills.

Super Noggin is a brain fitness program for those who want to stay mentally sharp throughout life.  It is designed to maintain and even improve brain fitness, but following the program also contributes to good physical health – a bonus! It’s the first cognitive fitness program to integrate live classes, advice on computer programs, and behavioral changes (namely sleep and diet) to promote healthier brain fitness.
 
The components of the program promote cognitive challenges, physical exercise, good nutrition, social interaction, stress reduction, and personal reflection.  Super Noggin is compatible with the wellness model of the ICAA (International Council on Active Aging).
 
“We’re honored to be the first retirement community in the country offering Super Noggin,” exclaims Chris, “we know it will make a huge difference in the quality of the lives of our residents. Our Well By Design staff members are among the first in the nation to be Certified … and now they can lead groups in maximizing their brain fitness throughout the year. That’s exciting! ”

Super Noggin Class An Overwhelming Success

On July 1st  the Super Noggin team led a packed room of more than 70 Heritage residents, ages 55 to 88, in a Super Noggin class titled, “Ten Steps To Brain Fitness.” But Super Noggin is more than just classes; it’s about making lifestyle changes that can dramatically improve life.
 
Super Noggin is a comprehensive brain fitness program offering a multi-pronged approach to LEARN and PRACTICE brain-healthy habits and to TRACK progress.
Super Noggin includes:
 
• educational and motivational workshops
• brain exercises to stimulate cognitive functions
• a year-long schedule of individual and group activities to keep your brain fit individual tracking of progress toward a healthier lifestyle

Registered Nurse and resident of The Heritage, Bonnie Ebling likes what she sees in Super Noggin, “We keep active physically. We need to keep active mentally too! When you go to a Super Noggin session, it reinforces things you already knew but you also tend to have a lot of ‘Ah ha’ moments.”  Executive Director Chris Romick agrees, “At The Heritage, our residents believe in prevention through a healthy lifestyle… rather than reactive health care. Our residents want to STAY healthy! Which is why Super Noggin was such a perfect fit for our community. I can tell you this much, people have told us that one of the attractions for moving to The Heritage was the availability of Super Noggin.” 
  

Full Disclosure: Both The Heritage of Green Hills and Super Noggin are clients of TR Mann Consulting.

Line up to learn your longevity likelihood.  Aren’t you just loving the opportunity we will soon have to download that free genetic marker test kit, the one that with 77% accuracy will tell whether we will live past 100? Boston University scientists have ‘no plans to profit’ from the results, but they will make the kit available later this summer. (Warning: analysis of the results will be costly.) I am so struck by how the law of unintended consequences could play out, especially in areas of insurance — as with a home test kit for Alzheimer’s, people might be more likely to purchase long-term care insurance. With a longevity test on the market, how long will the term need to be in term insurance? Taking it a step further, should insurance companies offer free kits as a marketing device? Should your doctor know that you’ve taken such a test? Should a health insurer know? What happens to rates, deductibles and lifetime caps? What kind of housing and support systems would we want if we knew we could live to 100 or more (or if we knew we would suffer from Alzheimer’s)? What would our families do with that information?

Which brings me to home care — what we want. So let’s just imagine that many more of us are going to make it to 100, that we fear nursing homes and obsessively want to stay in our own dangerous-but-familiar houses. Of course, we will want to be there all alone in our later years, visited only by home health or companion aides from the growing home care industry (hopefully they won’t visit us too often, though, and draw attention from the SEC). Hopefully the aides are background-vetted, well-paid, well-trained, dedicated and conversational, and are the low-turnover folks. Hopefully they will take us out to events and social activities, make sure that we are well-monitored and Skype-connected to our far-flung relatives, if not in the home then by driving us to places like this just-opening and Skype-enabled Clearwater Aging Well Center.  Hmm. Do you believe this?

We have the time to craft a better experience. Let’s face it, the lonely boomer at home at 100 is unlikely: our mis-managed bodies may not permit it — even if the above scenario was realistic. That doesn’t mean we aren’t going to live far beyond ye olde expectations. If we knew how long we might live, we also need to imagine and advocate for lower-cost, longevity-friendly housing for those ‘middle’ decades of the 70′s and 80′s, but that will house us when we’re 95 and low on money. We need a rethink of nursing homes, blending them into services for seniors in a community — so that they move past the current shrinking anathema status. That might mean more consolidation, along with blending of skilled services first into communities, and then those services into group housing that will match our budgets and interest profiles. 

Care we want — can we get it? Where we’ll be living, the aides are kind to us: they form friendships and support each other and are well-supported by management. They enable us to find friends and continue to do activities we like — with others, not alone. Where we’ll be living, monitoring our well-being will be welcome and standard; enabling our tech-connectedness will be understood and supported by management and staff. When we move in, we won’t need to take our tech gadgetry with us — they’ll be part of the residence, with Kindles and Nooks in the library, wireless in our home, and appropriate use of video. Maybe useful and friendly robots (not just Paro-fluffy-friendly) will free up the repetitive and low-skilled labor, doing so at a low cost, freeing up staff to focus on higher-skilled tasks. This has happened in every single other industry in the past 50 years — why not this one?

We are in a crisis of mistaken expectation — thus tech opportunity.  In today’s economically challenged world, we suffer from a lack of product and service marketer realism (see Tom Mann’s Mature Market blog about senior housing developers) all along the continuum of care to the consumer. Everyone wants things the way they were (as in the above senior housing example) or they don’t know what they want but are shocked at what they actually get, whether it is with the doctor, the hospital, or the home care agency. Those who are creating and selling tech-enabled products and services have an opportunity to sell into the gap — whether it is in cost-reduction, family expectation management, or enabling standardized back office consolidations for service providers — who want to enable a better longevity experience at a lower cost.

Colin Milner, Founder and CEO of International Council on Active Aging

Medicine And Technology Advancing At Record Pace, ‘Middle Age’ Extended

Colin is the founder and CEO of the International Council on Active Aging (ICAA). He and his organization are dedicated to changing the way people age by working with professionals in the retirement communities, assisted living, and wellness fields. ‘Wellness’ refers to the expanded focus of health professionals on promoting life and vitality, and not just on avoiding disease. Colin believes the wellness trend will expand in the years ahead.

New Insights About The Body … And Mind

“With so many people in the industrialized world having issues with physical energy levels and depression, science and fitness will begin to look for holistic ways to boast your energy levels,” Colin says. “We’ll begin to look at exercise, diet, and sleep on a personalized level with measured results. The difference from today’s approach is that we will soon look at each of these variables (exercise, diet, and sleep) not as individual variables but as highly intertwined variables that affect each other.” This change in focus will encompass not just the body, but the brain as well.

“One in eight baby boomers is expected to have Alzheimer’s by 2050 and one in five adults over 50 has memory issues,” Colin says. “Just ten hours of the right brain fitness exercises can have a significant and long lasting impact on health care costs and outcomes, according to a report in the ACTIVE study funded by the NIH and published in BMC Health Services Research. “The National Institute on Aging recommends keeping the brain active because mental exercise lowers the risk for developing Alzheimer ’s disease by 47%. The body of evidence linking mental activity to the delay or even prevention of dementia continues to grow. All of which means that preventive measures or brain fitness present a huge opportunity.

“Yes, there are some companies already focused on brain fitness, but we have to do better,” Colin points out, noting that it will take more than scientific studies to induce people to modify their habits. “We have to make brain fitness fun, if it’s going to become part of a true lifestyle change,” he says. “If it’s not fun, people will quit after a short spell, just like they do with a restrictive diet plan. Right now, most of the programs are too rudimentary, too scientific, and too boring! The ICAA’s three preferred providers — LEAF Ltd., Conductorcise, and Cognifit — are doing some very innovative things and I expect to see other companies join them in this very competitive field.”

‘Participation’ vs. ‘Engagement’

Companies which provide services to seniors will need to look beyond traditional approaches to aging, Colin notes. “There is a difference between participation and engagement,” he explains, pointing out that ‘engagement’ will become more important in the years ahead. “The example I always use is my school career. While I was a participant, I was not engaged and my grades suffered. Similarly, it’s not enough for seniors to be enrolled in a health plan’s fitness plan or be just living at a retirement community. People are looking to be fully engaged because they understand that engagement is a key component to being healthy.

“Technology has already changed how we are aging and we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg,” Colin continues. “I think one of the most exciting possibilities rests in 3D Holographic projection. Just like we used to see in the old Star Trek adventures, soon your fitness instructor will be projected into your home to work out with you. The technology is not that far off. Don’t believe me, just check out what Musion Systems Ltd. is doing!”

Effect On Companies

Colin believes that companies which don’t adjust to the new expectations of people entering their retirement years are likely to struggle. “Today’s mature market has very different expectations for how they expect to age,” he says. “The dinosaurs of the last generation — like outdated senior centers and retirement communities — are a complete turnoff. In fact, just string the phase ‘senior center’ in front of most boomers and you’ll see a clear reaction. For example, retirement communities and golf destinations are being replaced by urban, multi-generational settings with proximity to restaurants, shops, gyms and theaters. Simply put, outdated products with obsolete names and terminology must change … or face extinction.”

So how does Colin and his wife, Julie, try to age well? “First, we try to create new experiences. Because I’m on the road so much, I rack up frequent flier miles which we try to put to good use. My wife, kids and I each get to choose one place to travel to for a new adventure, which is important for the brain,” says Colin. “I also try to exercise, with some form of cardio exercise five times a week, while at the same time trying to reduce stress in my life.” Colin continues, “I’m a lucky man. I love my job, I love my wife, and I’m doing something that really contributes to society. What more could I ask for!”

Sun's Streamway3

Mature Market Experts: More news and stats you can use on boomers, seniors and the mature market – Bike Market Adapts for Boomers. As baby boomers age they are searching for ways to stay healthy with excercise, save gas money and go green. Many are looking to purchase a new bike, but one that accommodates the needs of aging bodies. This new category has acquired the labels of “Lifestyle” or “Comfort.” I particularly like the stable Rayos Electric Tricycle for the mature market. To read about all the wonderful new adaptions available click here. 

Mature Market Experts: More news and stats you can use on boomers, seniors and the mature market – Is Loneliness Contagious? In December’s issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, researcher John T. Cacioppo, a University of Chicago psychologist, states that “Loneliness can be transmitted. Loneliness is not just the property of an individual. It can be transmitted across people — even people you don’t have direct contact with.” As people become lonely they tend to further isolate themselves, which of course, only exacerbates the problem. Loneliness has been linked to many medical conditions, such as depression, sleep problems and poor physical health.  As baby boomers leave their work lives behind, they may find themselves needing to create new social circles for themselves in order to avoid falling prey to this devastating emotional state. To read the AARP bulletin and about this study click here.

As many of you know, I’m a huge advocate of retirement communities for this very reason. Technology can solve many problems that come with aging in place but it can’t replace the warmth of a hug or the contagiousness of a person smiling over a cup of tea.

If you can, sit down at the piano.  For several years, I played the piano in my mother’s nursing home, where ladies with Alzheimer’s — who never spoke or who only swore — would suddenly break out in song. My favorites and theirs? Gershwin’s “Someone to Watch Over Me”, Blue Moon, or George M. Cohan’s “Over There.” Eventually I assembled their favorites and mine into a book that could provide one hour of great music — people would dance, my mother would sing along, and all would be clapping wildly at the end during “It’s A Grand Old Flag.”

Or send in your iPod. If you can’t play the piano or don’t have one nearby, here’s another option. I was delighted to read that the actual effect on the brain that I observed is now documented by scientists — and actually improves mood, cognitive function and taps long-dormant memories.  And the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function, http://www.imnf.org, founded at Beth Abraham Health Services in the Bronx, NY, will program a customized iPod based on an individual’s musical tastes.  (Personally, I think they’re missing a few songs.) They are also looking for donated iPods to use for those who can’t afford.

Musically inclined — here’s another career change for you.  Apparently music therapy isn’t more widely used with Alzheimer’s patients because of a lack of manpower. There are only about 5,000 certified music therapists and fewer than 20% work with geriatric patients. The IMNF launched the ‘send in’ program to help bring music therapy into patients’ homes. So for you career-changers who are musically inclined, go for it.

Editor’s Note (Tom Mann) – Laurie’s blog is on the money. I’ve seen the power of music invigorate healthy, independent retirement community residents … ignite movement to assisted living residents … and restore spirit to skilled nursing care patients. If you want to see a great program in action, take a look at this short video on Conductorcise that NBC’s Today Show ran.

Full Disclosure: Conductorcise is a client of TR Mann Consulting. That being said, their program is amazing.

Not only is a busted appendix painful, but it can also prove deadly. Every year 300 to 400 people die according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The doctor who performed the surgery, in an effort to comfort me, assured me that the appendix was worthless. Still . . . since the experience, I have often wondered what the purpose of this organ was.

Think about it logically. This God person seems pretty smart. After all the human body is an amazingly sophisticated machine. Why would he/she just throw in an extra part? Well, turns out some scientists think they have figured out the appendix’s job . . . to produce and protect good germs for your stomach. A career hypochondriac, I am now left to spend my remaining years worrying about who will fight the bad guys in my tummy.

They’ll never get my tonsils!

We tend to joke that as boomers and seniors age, all they talk about is their ailments. To me, it makes perfect sense. After all, your health IS your wealth! If your retirement community is not capitalizing on this natural “obsession” by marketing or advertising a “preventive” health care approach you are missing a major opportunity.  Many of the boomers and seniors are just now beginning to discover their own mortality. This STAGE event, usually triggered by tragedy or illness causes a deeper reflection of their lives. A good example is my appendix … the what “ifs” of life become more meaningful.

As I’ve preached before, stage NOT age is what drives people’s behavior. This is why; despite tons of money being thrown at it, Eons has not been overwhelmingly successful … while WebMD continues to be a raging success.

Mature Market Experts: more news and stats you can use on boomers, seniors and the mature market – Here comes “Nana Technology.” Andrew Carle, assistant professor at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA, uses the term, nana technology (as opposed to nanotechnology), to describe the technology being developed to assist baby boomers as they age. We’ve all heard of life line pendants, that can send an alert when an elderly or disabled person needs assistance. Carle and Russell Bodoff of the Center for Aging Services Technologies (CAST) relate how future technology will offer many other forms of help to seniors. Several companies are creating intelligent phones that could help those with memory loss by showing a picture of the caller, their relationship to them, and notes on their last conversation. Smart walking aids will be able to avoid obstacles, come when summoned and perhaps even detect irregularities in gait (that may predict a fall), along with a locator beeper so the device can be found if misplaced. In as soon as two to three years, robotic “nurses” may be available to help lift a patient. Shoes that aid balance, trackers for Alzheimer’s patients, smart pill dispensers and medicine cabinets are all in development. To read more in an  click here.

It will be interesting to see how these products are marketed.