I recently read a disheartening article about the prevalence of ageism in the healthcare system in this country. Age discrimination and bias is a longstanding issue — one that has had a light shined upon it during the pandemic. Poor treatment of seniors in nursing homes and crisis care standards that withheld healthcare resources from [...]
“Age is just a number.” “You’re only as old as you feel.” “Age is a state of mind.” Such clichés may seem trite, but there’s more and more evidence that these sentiments about aging may be quite accurate. A man-made time warp Ellen Langer is a renowned Harvard social psychologist who has been researching the [...]
Although different people thrive in different environments, it’s hard to deny the research showing the health benefits often experienced by seniors who opt to move to a continuing care retirement community (CCRC, also called a life plan community). For example, the 2018 Age Well Study found that, when compared to a demographically similar control group [...]
What do you think when you hear the term “independent living”? This phrase seems to have different connotations for different people, creating confusion. Even within the senior living industry, it gets applied to a pretty wide range of living and care situations. Let’s take a closer look at the meaning of “independent living” and how [...]
Our nation has experienced an agonizing nine months as millions of people have been infected with COVID-19 and hundreds of thousands have died. So, it was an emotional moment this past week as we watched the first Americans receive the highly anticipated COVID-19 vaccine. As I wrote recently, it is also welcome news that healthcare [...]
Finally: Some good news on the COVID-19 front! The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, which shows a 95 percent efficacy rate, as well as the Moderna vaccine with its 94 percent efficacy, are both being fast-tracked by the FDA for emergency use. There is optimism that they will receive approval in the U.S. any day now, and initial [...]
It has been a trying year for nearly everyone. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought anxiety, loneliness, and sorrow, yet we’ve also seen countless examples of people lifting each other up and embracing (figuratively) what truly matters most in life. With this in mind, and as we celebrate Thanksgiving, I asked residents of several continuing care [...]
In a recent blog post, I shared the results of an interesting study out of Washington State University that found that where you live can influence your lifespan. It looked at people’s gender, race, and education level, as well as locales’ walkability, socioeconomics, and working-age population and tied it to the number of centenarians in [...]
Is it possible that where you live could determine how healthy you are and how long you live? There’s mounting evidence that the answer to this question may be yes. I’ve written before about so-called “Blue Zones” — areas around the world that have a higher-than-average number of centenarians (people reaching age 100+). A [...]
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted nearly every aspect of life with many people becoming sick, losing loved ones, losing jobs, and/or struggling with childcare. Throughout all of this, I have been mindful of how the pandemic is affecting people mentally, especially seniors who are in the highest-risk category for the virus. And I’ve also wondered [...]
