We just held two neighborhood meetings to discuss innovative ideas in senior housing that came out of the UWM School of Architecture and Urban Planning’s Senior Housing Ideas Competition earlier this year. You can see the competition designs and download the report here.
6th and Walnut
The first meeting on August 30 looked at ideas for the site of the former Plymouth Manor nursing home in Bronzeville. While most of the sites selected for the competition were “wouldn’t it be nice if” sites, this one is well along the way to actual development. Prince Hall Masonic Foundation, along with ELL Development, LLC, is building the Prince Hall Campus there. Plans aren’t set, but the entire continuum from independent living to skilled nursing is in the works.
Competition architectural firm Plunkett Raysich is developing the plans, which probably won’t look much like the ones you see at the UWM website.
Lots of movers and shakers attended the meeting at the United Way. The development group is working on funding, including the possibility of bonds; completing studies; issuing an RFP for service and management; and developing an advisory board to help in the process. If you’d like to be involved, contact Georgia Cameron, gcameron@pobox.com.
At the end of the presentation, Stephanie Stein, director of the Milwaukee County Department on Aging, challenged everyone to find ways around barriers to create a better model, one that doesn’t have separate areas and ideas for different levels of care.
People don’t want to move from place to place to place, and they shouldn’t have to. Seniors in independent living will hide problems because they want to stay where they are, not be moved, she pointed out.
Bringing services to the people and community whenever possible rather than sending people to the services is the bottom line for all the sites, not just this one.
Sherman Park
The evening meeting for the Sherman Park neighborhood was a different ballgame. That site, the location of the no-longer-used Jackie Robinson Middle School, is for sale. But nobody’s been talking about new ways to develop it, and no buyers seem to be looking at the site.
A smaller group, mainly neighborhood residents, attended. They looked and listened with open minds, and maybe the “hmmmm” of new possibilities opening. The idea of a large scale senior living center hadn’t been raised before.
However, the attending neighbors said that as they thought about it, there was indeed a need for congregate senior living places in their neighborhood of single-family homes. They also wanted to pay attention to this site as a focus for strengthening the neighborhood. And the plans, they said, showed places they might like to live themselves.
Another bottom line: build the place you'd want to grow old in yourself!
Stay tuned to hear about future meetings. And please share your thoughts with us.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
The great diaspora: moving seniors
How—and where—seniors will live is a lively discussion topic for communities with aging populations. And that would be almost all of them.
“Housing for elderly sparks protest” was a front page headline in the August 27 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, as one Mequon neighborhood digs in to oppose an 8-person assisted living group home among their half-million dollar homes.
Just a day earlier, however, the same paper proclaimed: “Condos find niche in Grafton: new projects helping attract seniors to walkable downtown.” The article profiles a Mequon couple who wanted to avoid the traffic congestion in their neighborhood, so they moved into Grafton’s “rural-urban downtown, where you can walk to get some coffee or walk to the river or walk to a restaurant. You don’t always need your car anymore.”
What’s going on here?
On one hand, we see smart developers going after the affluent “young” senior population. On the other hand, we see communities objecting to assisted living "homes" in suburban neighborhoods.
It looks like the idea of moving seniors “out” of where they now live is strong, whether it’s to chic and pricey housing in revitalized downtown areas or to larger community-based residential facilities in more commercial parts of town.
Move them, but don’t put ‘em in my back yard is the message in Mequon. “I think it’s a great thing. I just don’t think they should be in the middle of a neighborhood with 30 kids around,” a woman said.
You’d think we were talking about sex offenders.
Of course the story’s more complicated than that. It seems that the Mequon CBRF owner neglected to talk to the neighbors about her plans, and that’s always a huge mistake. The first principle of creating a great community place is “the community is the expert,” the place where you start the planning.
Still, it seems there's a huge disconnect between what people in the aging field and those in the rest of the community are thinking. Staying in your home or at least your community and non-institutional group living is the direction we're headed. But the trends don't seem to have filtered into the way the community at large sees aging.
For many seniors, the best place to live is home, or a place like home. And some of those places should be in the neighborhoods in which people raised their families.
No better place to explore the “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” rule.
“Housing for elderly sparks protest” was a front page headline in the August 27 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, as one Mequon neighborhood digs in to oppose an 8-person assisted living group home among their half-million dollar homes.
Just a day earlier, however, the same paper proclaimed: “Condos find niche in Grafton: new projects helping attract seniors to walkable downtown.” The article profiles a Mequon couple who wanted to avoid the traffic congestion in their neighborhood, so they moved into Grafton’s “rural-urban downtown, where you can walk to get some coffee or walk to the river or walk to a restaurant. You don’t always need your car anymore.”
What’s going on here?
On one hand, we see smart developers going after the affluent “young” senior population. On the other hand, we see communities objecting to assisted living "homes" in suburban neighborhoods.
It looks like the idea of moving seniors “out” of where they now live is strong, whether it’s to chic and pricey housing in revitalized downtown areas or to larger community-based residential facilities in more commercial parts of town.
Move them, but don’t put ‘em in my back yard is the message in Mequon. “I think it’s a great thing. I just don’t think they should be in the middle of a neighborhood with 30 kids around,” a woman said.
You’d think we were talking about sex offenders.
Of course the story’s more complicated than that. It seems that the Mequon CBRF owner neglected to talk to the neighbors about her plans, and that’s always a huge mistake. The first principle of creating a great community place is “the community is the expert,” the place where you start the planning.
Still, it seems there's a huge disconnect between what people in the aging field and those in the rest of the community are thinking. Staying in your home or at least your community and non-institutional group living is the direction we're headed. But the trends don't seem to have filtered into the way the community at large sees aging.
For many seniors, the best place to live is home, or a place like home. And some of those places should be in the neighborhoods in which people raised their families.
No better place to explore the “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” rule.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Employers rediscovering the value of experience
Is age 74 the new 47 for job hunters? According to an article in the August 23 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, it may well be.
According to manager Greg Gardetto, 43, who hired 74-year-old Ron Mulvaney to sell mattresses for Verlo Mattress Factory, “I hardly look at this as charity work to bring someone in who’s older. . .He already knows how to interact with people.”
To those of us who are over 40—the age at which some begin to tag us as “older workers”—that seems to state the obvious.
But obvious or not, scarcity of good employees and increased need or desire of “mature” people to contribute their gifts in the workplace seem bound for what could be a happy collision.
Interfaith Older Adult Programs is an important player in helping older workers find jobs. Writer Joel Dresang says that employment services director Pat Delmenhorst is noticing that employers seem more willing to consider mature workers.
After all, who would prefer immature workers?
According to manager Greg Gardetto, 43, who hired 74-year-old Ron Mulvaney to sell mattresses for Verlo Mattress Factory, “I hardly look at this as charity work to bring someone in who’s older. . .He already knows how to interact with people.”
To those of us who are over 40—the age at which some begin to tag us as “older workers”—that seems to state the obvious.
But obvious or not, scarcity of good employees and increased need or desire of “mature” people to contribute their gifts in the workplace seem bound for what could be a happy collision.
Interfaith Older Adult Programs is an important player in helping older workers find jobs. Writer Joel Dresang says that employment services director Pat Delmenhorst is noticing that employers seem more willing to consider mature workers.
After all, who would prefer immature workers?
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
The secret to a long life. . .
. . . is not just how you live but where you live. Walk fast and live in a big city. Or so says Clive Thompson in New York Magazine.
Oh, Wisconsinites still live longer than New York city residents by about six-tenths of a year (79.2 vs 78.6). But they’re moving up faster: we only gained about 2 months from 2002-4 to 2003-5 to their 5 months.
Read the article: it’s fascinating. But here’s a brief synopsis of why New Yorkers (and Chicagoans and Bostonians) are living longer.
• They walk a lot, and they walk fast. Research says the fast walking is key. (They also do a lot of climbing: the city is “built like one big jungle gym for pedestrians,” someone said.) The built environment makes it hard to drive and forces people to be active.
• They weigh less—10 pounds less. That’s partly because they walk a lot. “The more you drive, the more you weigh,” said professor Lawrence Frank.
• Because it’s crowded and people are out walking a lot, they bump into each other and have extensive social networks. Which means, I guess, they walk a lot with each other.
• The city is aesthetically pleasing and charming. Which makes people want to get out and. . . walk a lot.
• New York cleaned up its environmental and criminal acts, making it possible to . . . walk a lot.
• Proximity matters. People visit parks more because they are closer, and they. . . walk around them a lot.
• The city is rich and prospering. Gentrification leads to better housing, better food, better hospitals, better health care. The rich always live longer. And ambitious, driven cities attract ambitious, driven people, who. . .
walk a lot.
Oh, Wisconsinites still live longer than New York city residents by about six-tenths of a year (79.2 vs 78.6). But they’re moving up faster: we only gained about 2 months from 2002-4 to 2003-5 to their 5 months.
Read the article: it’s fascinating. But here’s a brief synopsis of why New Yorkers (and Chicagoans and Bostonians) are living longer.
• They walk a lot, and they walk fast. Research says the fast walking is key. (They also do a lot of climbing: the city is “built like one big jungle gym for pedestrians,” someone said.) The built environment makes it hard to drive and forces people to be active.
• They weigh less—10 pounds less. That’s partly because they walk a lot. “The more you drive, the more you weigh,” said professor Lawrence Frank.
• Because it’s crowded and people are out walking a lot, they bump into each other and have extensive social networks. Which means, I guess, they walk a lot with each other.
• The city is aesthetically pleasing and charming. Which makes people want to get out and. . . walk a lot.
• New York cleaned up its environmental and criminal acts, making it possible to . . . walk a lot.
• Proximity matters. People visit parks more because they are closer, and they. . . walk around them a lot.
• The city is rich and prospering. Gentrification leads to better housing, better food, better hospitals, better health care. The rich always live longer. And ambitious, driven cities attract ambitious, driven people, who. . .
walk a lot.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Steal this idea!
According to Changing Aging, the Ecumen blog, “Parmly LifePointes, an Ecumen community in Chisago City, Minnesota, is embarking on a very cool new journey built upon successful aging.” Ecumen, affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, is one of the nation's largest nonprofit providers of housing-and-services to seniors.
Once you get past that pesky extra “e” in LifePointes, you’ll probably agree that the Vitalize! Wellness Centre (don’t get me going about the ! or the other oddly placed “e”) is indeed a very cool venture.
It’s an up-to-the-minute gym with “TechnoGym weights and TechnoGym aerobic fitness equipment that digitally measure one’s personal progress, a warm-water lap pool, a warm water pool with a treadmill, herbal teas and great food, exercise rooms, massage, plus classrooms for lifelong learning that helps people explore, personalize and enhance dimensions of successful aging."
There’s also a feng shui garden.
One of the coolest things about it is that it’s multigenerational and open to community members. According to the blog, “Vitalize! will be the place where a 25-year-old certified nursing assistant (what a great asset this will be for Parmly employees) and an 85-year-old who might have a chronic condition and lives in assisted living or the nursing home, go to take greater control of their life and how they travel through it.”
Cool indeed!
Once you get past that pesky extra “e” in LifePointes, you’ll probably agree that the Vitalize! Wellness Centre (don’t get me going about the ! or the other oddly placed “e”) is indeed a very cool venture.
It’s an up-to-the-minute gym with “TechnoGym weights and TechnoGym aerobic fitness equipment that digitally measure one’s personal progress, a warm-water lap pool, a warm water pool with a treadmill, herbal teas and great food, exercise rooms, massage, plus classrooms for lifelong learning that helps people explore, personalize and enhance dimensions of successful aging."
There’s also a feng shui garden.
One of the coolest things about it is that it’s multigenerational and open to community members. According to the blog, “Vitalize! will be the place where a 25-year-old certified nursing assistant (what a great asset this will be for Parmly employees) and an 85-year-old who might have a chronic condition and lives in assisted living or the nursing home, go to take greater control of their life and how they travel through it.”
Cool indeed!
Friday, August 17, 2007
Keeping good things going
The Milwaukee Aging Consortium is no longer a direct advocacy organization, but some things have clear benefits for seniors, and it’s worth getting behind them. Make it Work Milwaukee! (MIWM) Coalition offers some alerts for immediate action. On the state level, Family Care expansion funding is threatened. On the Milwaukee County level, transit costs threaten to soar as access is reduced.
Family Care
One hundred and thirty people showed up for our meeting on Family Care Thursday, August 16. Also present were representatives from iCare and Community Care Inc., two other care management organizations serving both older adults and people with disabilities. We hope this was only the first meeting of senior and disability service providers we'll host.
Family Care is an innovative Wisconsin program that helps low income seniors and people with disabilities continue living in the community. It has a track record in nine counties, and expanding the program has bipartisan approval and was supported by the Governor, the Joint Finance Committee, and the state senate in the current budget cycle. Yet the Assembly eliminated Family Care expansion from the budget.
Family care is cost effective, keeps people out of nursing homes, and gives consumers choices about services, among other qualities.
Negotiations are going on right now, so it’s important for Family Care supporters to let elected officials and the media know why this is important.
More information in this Action Alert.
Transportation
Transit is a persistent problem for seniors. And it doesn’t look like it’s going to get better with the current county budget. Rising fares, fewer routes, and reductions in Transit Plus services hurt seniors and others who must rely on public transportation the most.
Like the state budget, the county budget is currently being hashed out. If transit is important to you and your clients, see MIWM budget highlights , including phone numbers of key people to call.
If you’d like more information on either issue or to become involved with the MIWM! Coalition, contact Barbara Beckert, Milwaukee Jewish Council, 414-390-5718, or Tom Hlavacek, Alzheimer’s Association, 414-479-8800.
Family Care
One hundred and thirty people showed up for our meeting on Family Care Thursday, August 16. Also present were representatives from iCare and Community Care Inc., two other care management organizations serving both older adults and people with disabilities. We hope this was only the first meeting of senior and disability service providers we'll host.
Family Care is an innovative Wisconsin program that helps low income seniors and people with disabilities continue living in the community. It has a track record in nine counties, and expanding the program has bipartisan approval and was supported by the Governor, the Joint Finance Committee, and the state senate in the current budget cycle. Yet the Assembly eliminated Family Care expansion from the budget.
Family care is cost effective, keeps people out of nursing homes, and gives consumers choices about services, among other qualities.
Negotiations are going on right now, so it’s important for Family Care supporters to let elected officials and the media know why this is important.
More information in this Action Alert.
Transportation
Transit is a persistent problem for seniors. And it doesn’t look like it’s going to get better with the current county budget. Rising fares, fewer routes, and reductions in Transit Plus services hurt seniors and others who must rely on public transportation the most.
Like the state budget, the county budget is currently being hashed out. If transit is important to you and your clients, see MIWM budget highlights , including phone numbers of key people to call.
If you’d like more information on either issue or to become involved with the MIWM! Coalition, contact Barbara Beckert, Milwaukee Jewish Council, 414-390-5718, or Tom Hlavacek, Alzheimer’s Association, 414-479-8800.
Monday, August 6, 2007
Milwaukee, best city for boomers—because of you!
Atlanta; Portland (Oregon); Chandler, AZ; Boston; Milwaukee. . .to people who don’t live here, there’s one surprise in AARP’s list of best cities for Boomers to live—and retire-- published this week.
Milwaukee’s “vibe” is listed as “urban renewal at its best.” Director of the Department of City Development Rocky Marcoux said the city is making sure it stays appealing. “We think sustainability has a lot to do with accessibility. It’s what will make it possible for future generations to age in place. People shouldn’t have to leave their home because it’s badly designed.”
If that all sounds like a page from the Expanding Housing Options Summit we held in January, there’s a reason.
Members of the Milwaukee Aging Consortium have a lot to do with the quality of life for seniors cited in the article. The five free “fitness centers” mentioned are really Milwaukee’s acclaimed Senior Centers,managed by Interfaith Older Adult Programs and funded by the Milwaukee County Department on Aging (Clinton Rose; Kelly; and in the parks, McGovern, Washington, and Wilson).
And as an example of what can be done for lower income seniors, the article cites Lapham Park—a partnership venture that includes Community Care, Inc. and SET Ministry, along with the Department and our friends at the Housing Authority City of Milwaukee and others.
But there’s much work left to be done in neighborhoods that aren’t part of the waterfront boom. There’s much work to be done for housing-and-services for those who are frail or the “older old,” people in their 80s and beyond. And we’re going to be an important part of that.
On Thursday, August 30, the Consortium and the UWM School of Architecture and Urban Planning, along with Connecting Caring Communities, will host two neighborhood meetings presenting exciting ideas from the school’s senior housing ideas competition last winter. The plans we’ll showcase focus on creating senior housing and communities that keep older adults vital in those neighborhoods. While the ideas developed for the sites in the competition may not be the plans that will eventually be developed there, they present a great starting point for thinking and future planning.
The Walnut Street neighborhood meeting will be held 11:30-2:00, United Way, 225 W. Vine Street. The Sherman Park meeting will be held 6:30 – 8 pm, Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare-St. Joseph’s Hospital, Klieger Auditorium (M1010 in the Marquette Building) 5000 W. Chambers Street. While meetings are geared to neighborhood members, if you serve people in the area or have a special interest, call 414-289-0890 to register.
Stay tuned for more about the Consortium’s housing interest groups and carrying on the work of designing Milwaukee for aging in community.
Milwaukee’s “vibe” is listed as “urban renewal at its best.” Director of the Department of City Development Rocky Marcoux said the city is making sure it stays appealing. “We think sustainability has a lot to do with accessibility. It’s what will make it possible for future generations to age in place. People shouldn’t have to leave their home because it’s badly designed.”
If that all sounds like a page from the Expanding Housing Options Summit we held in January, there’s a reason.
Members of the Milwaukee Aging Consortium have a lot to do with the quality of life for seniors cited in the article. The five free “fitness centers” mentioned are really Milwaukee’s acclaimed Senior Centers,managed by Interfaith Older Adult Programs and funded by the Milwaukee County Department on Aging (Clinton Rose; Kelly; and in the parks, McGovern, Washington, and Wilson).
And as an example of what can be done for lower income seniors, the article cites Lapham Park—a partnership venture that includes Community Care, Inc. and SET Ministry, along with the Department and our friends at the Housing Authority City of Milwaukee and others.
But there’s much work left to be done in neighborhoods that aren’t part of the waterfront boom. There’s much work to be done for housing-and-services for those who are frail or the “older old,” people in their 80s and beyond. And we’re going to be an important part of that.
On Thursday, August 30, the Consortium and the UWM School of Architecture and Urban Planning, along with Connecting Caring Communities, will host two neighborhood meetings presenting exciting ideas from the school’s senior housing ideas competition last winter. The plans we’ll showcase focus on creating senior housing and communities that keep older adults vital in those neighborhoods. While the ideas developed for the sites in the competition may not be the plans that will eventually be developed there, they present a great starting point for thinking and future planning.
The Walnut Street neighborhood meeting will be held 11:30-2:00, United Way, 225 W. Vine Street. The Sherman Park meeting will be held 6:30 – 8 pm, Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare-St. Joseph’s Hospital, Klieger Auditorium (M1010 in the Marquette Building) 5000 W. Chambers Street. While meetings are geared to neighborhood members, if you serve people in the area or have a special interest, call 414-289-0890 to register.
Stay tuned for more about the Consortium’s housing interest groups and carrying on the work of designing Milwaukee for aging in community.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
"Don't call me 'elder'!"
Baby boomers are “the pig in the python” that moves through time in America, changing the shape of everything they pass through. And many are trying to predict how they—we—will change the end of life.
Ecumen, Minnesota’s largest non-profit senior housing company and affiliated with the Evengelical Lutheran Church in America, studied a cohort of Minnesota boomers to find out what they thought. Age Wave findings make interesting reading. Among other things, I now know that “80 is the new 60.” Which must mean that 60 is the new 40: what a relief!
What’s in a name?
“Senior” and “older adult” are okay; “elder” and “third-ager” aren’t.
Call them “people,” not “residents.”
They want to live in “homes,” not “units.”
“Community” is the term of choice for where they live: forget “facility” and “campus.”
“Community with services” is good, but not “assisted living.”
“Life care community” is the term of choice, not “nursing home.”
And they don’t like the term “long-term care;” it had negative connotations for nearly half of those studied.
Care options—and how to pay for them
They may not like the term “long-term care” but they know they are going to need it.
89% support using Medicaid dollars to pay family members to provide care for a senior in the home, a model being tried in Vermont (and Wisconsin's Family Care).
86% would pay a payroll tax of up to $12/month to provide funding for a year of guaranteed long-term care.
80% support a lifecare annuity: a single payment that would yield an ongoing income stream to pay for long-term care costs.
Most important characteristics
Between 90-100% of boomers say these will matter as they age:
1. Independence
2. Nearby friends and family
3. Privacy
4. Easy access to health care
5. Safety
6. Easy access to shopping
7. Spiritual opportunities
8. Easy access to transportation
The next most frequently named list (64-81%)
9. Meaningful volunteer opportunites
10. Welcomed community involvement
11. Easy access to fitness opportunities
12. Multi-generational community
Ecumen, Minnesota’s largest non-profit senior housing company and affiliated with the Evengelical Lutheran Church in America, studied a cohort of Minnesota boomers to find out what they thought. Age Wave findings make interesting reading. Among other things, I now know that “80 is the new 60.” Which must mean that 60 is the new 40: what a relief!
What’s in a name?
“Senior” and “older adult” are okay; “elder” and “third-ager” aren’t.
Call them “people,” not “residents.”
They want to live in “homes,” not “units.”
“Community” is the term of choice for where they live: forget “facility” and “campus.”
“Community with services” is good, but not “assisted living.”
“Life care community” is the term of choice, not “nursing home.”
And they don’t like the term “long-term care;” it had negative connotations for nearly half of those studied.
Care options—and how to pay for them
They may not like the term “long-term care” but they know they are going to need it.
89% support using Medicaid dollars to pay family members to provide care for a senior in the home, a model being tried in Vermont (and Wisconsin's Family Care).
86% would pay a payroll tax of up to $12/month to provide funding for a year of guaranteed long-term care.
80% support a lifecare annuity: a single payment that would yield an ongoing income stream to pay for long-term care costs.
Most important characteristics
Between 90-100% of boomers say these will matter as they age:
1. Independence
2. Nearby friends and family
3. Privacy
4. Easy access to health care
5. Safety
6. Easy access to shopping
7. Spiritual opportunities
8. Easy access to transportation
The next most frequently named list (64-81%)
9. Meaningful volunteer opportunites
10. Welcomed community involvement
11. Easy access to fitness opportunities
12. Multi-generational community
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