ChangingAging.org

Beyond Ageism

2009-11-10T15:51:23Z

I was in Chicago yesterday. Bonnie Mahon and I gave a talk about the Seniors’ Emergency Center at Holy Cross Hospital. It’s a project that I did with Dean Judah Ronch from the Erickson School and a great team of professionals from Holy Cross.

Anyway it has been open for a year now and the results have been fantastic. Better care. Better outcomes. More satisfied patients and families. Nice.

While I was talking about this I realized, I think for the first time, that the core of the innovation actually involved stripping the bark off our culture’s core of ageism.

Deep down, the project involves helping skilled professionals deliver patient-centered care to people who just happen to be old.

Transcending ageism is never easy, and it is an ongoing battle, but it yields the widest most accesible path to improved quality.

We are going to need many more Seniors Emergency Centers in the years to come.

The Passing of Gene Cohen

2009-11-09T13:30:44Z

Gene Cohen possessed a rare and lustrous mind. I leanred much from him and always took time to hear him lecture whenever I could. I will miss him.

Last Friday evening, the field of aging lost one of its most esteemed heroes. The National Center for Creative Aging has been most blessed to have been associated with Gene and his landmark work in the field of creativity and aging. We look forward to building upon his legacy together with you.
Please circulate to your associates and related organizations so that we may reach those who would want to attend his services tomorrow.

Gene Cohen

Gene D. Cohen, M.D., Ph.D. is the first Director of the Center on Aging, Health & Humanities (established 1994)at George Washington University (GW), where he also holds the positions of Professor of Health Care Sciences and Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Within the GW Center, he has just launched a new public education program on aging targeting the young; the program is called SEA Change—an acronym for Societal Education about Aging for Change. He also cofounded the Creativity Discovery Corps whose mission is to identify and preserve the creative accomplishments and rich histories of under-recognized talented older adults. In addition, he is the founding Director of a think tank on aging-the Washington, DC Center On Aging (established 1994).He is also Past-President (1996-1997) of the Gerontological Society of America. During 1991-1993, he served as Acting Director of the National Institute on Aging (NIA) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Before coming to NIA, Dr. Cohen served as the first Chief of the Center on Aging of the National Institute of Mental Health-the first federal center on mental health and aging established in any country. In addition, he also coordinated the Department of Health and Human Services’ planning and programs on Alzheimer’s disease, through the efforts of the Department’s Council and Panel on Alzheimer’s Disease. During his tenure with the federal government, he received the Public Health Service (PHS) Distinguished Service Medal (the highest honor of the PHS).Dr. Cohen is a graduate of Harvard College (with Honors) and the Georgetown University School of Medicine and has a doctorate in Gerontology from The Union Institute. He is also the author of more than 150 publications in the field of aging, including several edited text books and his individually authored book The Brain In Human Aging. He completed a major new book on creativity and aging written for the general public, published in 2000 by Harper Collins/Avon Books (The Creative Age: Awakening Human Potential in the Second Half of Life); the paperback version and Japanese translation were released in 2001. His new book, The Mature Mind: The Positive Power of the Aging Brain, was released by Basic Books in January 2006.

Other past positions have included those of Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Georgetown, Chairman of the Clinical Medicine Section of the Gerontological Society of America, and Chairman of the Council on Aging of the American Psychiatric Association. He was the first Editor-in-Chief of The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, and he was also the first Editor-In-Chief of International Psychogeriatrics (the official journal of the International Psychogeriatric Association). He was elected to the Board of Directors of The American Geriatrics Society and served as Chairman of the Committee on Aging of the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry. He was the primary investigator of a 25-year longitudinal study of ill older adults, with problems ranging from depression to dementia, living independently in the community, as well as having conducted extensive longitudinal research on both healthy older adults and those residing in nursing homes. He is presently conducting research on creativity and aging, retirement, assisted living and other residential settings for older adults, as well as on innovative intergenerational interventions for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), including the first game for AD, supported by the NIH. He has received numerous honors and awards, including the Kent Award from The Gerontological Society of America and First Place in the Blair Sadler International Healing Arts Competition from the Society for the Arts in Health Care, and has been recognized in Best Doctors In America, Who’s Who In America, and Who’s Who In The World.

More Here

AARP Puts the Chips on the Table

2009-11-05T19:05:21Z

Announces support for the House bill

Hercules at Harvard

2009-11-05T18:28:05Z

Hercules the Protector

I am off to Boston where I am giving a talk on beauty and aging. Should be fun. Harvard has a nice collection of mythic-themed art including some nice pieces featuring Hercules. He is an interesting character because he was born as a demi-god. Zeus ultimately gave him full status as one of the gods of Olympus.

My favorite Hercules story revolves around an episode that occurred when he was a Greek god.

HERCULES AND THE WAGONER

A Farmer was driving his wagon along a miry country road after a heavy rain. The horses could hardly drag the load through the deep mud, and at last came to a standstill when one of the wheels sank to the hub in a rut.

The farmer climbed down from his seat and stood beside the wagon looking at it but without making the least effort to get it out of the rut. All he did was to curse his bad luck and call loudly on Hercules to come to his aid. Then, it is said, Hercules really did appear, saying:

“Put your shoulder to the wheel, man, and urge on your horses. Do you think you can move the wagon by simply looking at it and whining about it? Hercules will not help unless you make some effort to help yourself.”

And when the farmer put his shoulder to the wheel and urged on the horses, the wagon moved very readily, and soon the Farmer was riding along in great content and with a good lesson learned.

Self help is the best help.

Heaven helps those who help themselves.

Smell the Fear

2009-11-01T21:40:49Z

Big Pharma Front Group 60 Plus Scaring Seniors With $2M Ad Buy

In a new television ad out this week, the group “60 Plus” asserts that seniors would lose access to doctors, treatments, and life-saving drugs if the Democratic health care plan is adopted. The group, with ties to the national GOP and almost fully funded by the pharmaceutical industry, is pumping $2 million dollars into airing the ad in eight states, including Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Louisiana, Maine, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

The ad includes the standard scare tactics about proposed cuts to Medicare “to pay for a plan that could lead to a government takeover of health care.” An older man pleads at the end of the ad, “Don’t make us pay for health care reform by cutting Medicare. We’ve sacrificed enough.” The ad targets individual Senators in those eight states, Democrats and Republicans who are potential swing votes on health care. This is an extension of ads from 60 Plus that started back in August. They’ve also sent out mailers to seniors featuring similar dire warnings.

Lies, More Lies and Damned Lies…

And look who’s paying the bill.

According to Sourcewatch, Jim Martin, the President of 60 Plus, has a long affiliation with the Republican Party and “claims to have given then-’Texas Gov. George W. Bush his first political job … way back in 1967.’ ” The PR contact on the press release touting their latest ad is Carl Forti, the former communications director for the National Republican Congressional Committee, national political director for Mitt Romney’s 2008 Presidential campaign, and the executive VP at FreedomWatch, which has been active in the tea party movement and the anti-health care town hall meetings back in August. Forti now runs the Black Rock Group, which he founded.

Power-Up Friday

2009-10-30T12:26:43Z

The problem of misuse of psychotropic drugs in nursing homes is hitting a bit harder in the media this week. Here’s a two-part series from the Chicago Tribune. Part 1: and Part 2:

Psychotropic drugs for people with dementia are the “Emperor’s New Clothes” of geriatric medicine. With increasing consumer and media pressure, maybe people will start taking things seriously.

Of course, this isn’t merely a problem of cruel, uncaring people. There are many systemic problems that lead to the overmedication of people with dementia in long-term care. The problem extends beyond nursing home walls as well. In a survey of people admitted to St. John’s Home over a year’s time, I compared each person’s admission “mini-mental status test” with the medications they were taking at home before the event that led to their hospitalization and/or nursing home placement. In those with more severe dementia (a score of 10/30 or less), 50% were taking antipsychotic drugs at home.

In future weeks, I’ll post more excerpts from my upcoming book on the real solution to this growing problem.

Improvisational Aging

2009-10-28T13:56:30Z

I had the pleasure of seeing Dutch jazz drummer Han Bennink perform in an avant-garde jazz trio in Baltimore last week. The 67-year-old jazz phenom is legendary for pioneering the free improvisation school of jazz. The set was amazing:

We Will Be Watching

2009-10-27T15:57:43Z

The Senate health care bill hammered out by Majority Leader Harry Reid comes out today. Susie Madrak at CrooksandLiars.com points out a glaring omission in the bill:

There’s still one big elephant in the reform room: There are no restrictions on increases based on age. Unless something changes drastically in the final version of the bill (and if you don’t call your congress critter, it definitely won’t), this is a giant shell game in which health insurers will get their profits from one new underwriting emphasis rather than another.

We will be watching.

Full story from the Wall Street Journal.

Announcing the 2010 New Culture of Aging Services Webcast

2009-11-10T20:33:58Z

Did you ever wish that Dr. Thomas could be a regular part of your team? Now he can be in your building twice a month twelve months running.

There is an immediate and pressing need for education around the issue of culture transformation in aging services. There is also extraordinary pressure on training and travel budgets.

You can see in my events calendar to the right I travel frequently, speaking to numerous agencies, organizations, facilities and other groups to challenge how they think about aging and caring for elders. After nearly every presentation I am deluged with questions about how to take the first steps changing the culture of care for our elders, especially during times of economic uncertainty.

To support this growing demand for culture change, I’m announcing a 12-month online video education series beginning in January 2010 designed for aging services facilities:

The 2010 New Culture of Aging Services Webcast Series

This online video series will provide an abundance of low-cost, high quality education and information for those caring for elders. Featuring easy-to-use webcasting technologies, the series will help aging services facilities build the foundation for transformative culture change. Participants will interact with me via streaming video without travelling or special equipment. There will be opportunities to ask questions, live-chat with me, poll participants on major issues and I hope some participants will even join me on video to share their stories and challenges.

In bimonthly sessions spanning 24 hours of livestreaming video, I will share sensible, proven methods and tactics to help facilities around the country create new cultures of care for their organizations. The streaming video webcasts will be viewable here at www.changingaging.org with no special equipment or downloads. All you’ll need is a broadband internet connection and web browser.

Learn more in the video below, or visit www.ChangingAging.org/culturechange/ to register your organization today.

Introducing the New Culture of Aging Services Webcast from Kavan Peterson on Vimeo.

Sixteen Tons

2009-10-20T15:08:27Z

Love the dog barking in the background.

Also, these two guys are feeling it…

More about the guitar player here and here