GBO NEWS: Columbia U Taps 34 Age Boom Reporting Fellows; USC Health Fellowship Deadline Now June 1; Indian Elders & Jollywood Dancing; PLUS COVID’s Unexpected Tech Advantage; Puerto Rico’s Caregivers; LGBTQ Housing Crisis; Legacy Film Fest Runs This Week; & MORE
GENERATIONS BEAT ONLINE NEWS
E-News of the Journalists Network on Generations – Our 28th Year.
May 24, 2021 — Volume 28, Number 5
EDITOR’S NOTE: GBONews, e-news of the Journalists Network on Generations (JNG), publishes alerts for journalists, producers and authors covering generational issues. If you have difficulty getting to the full issue of GBONews with the links provided below, simply go to www.gbonews.org to read the latest or past editions. Send your news of important stories or books (by you and others), fellowships, awards or pertinent kvetches to GBO News Editor Paul Kleyman. [pfkleyman@gmail.com]. To subscribe to GBONews.org at no charge, simply sending a request to Paul with your name, address, phone number and editorial affiliation or note that you freelance. For each issue, you’ll receive the table of contents in an e-mail, so just click through to the full issue at www.gbonews.org. GBONews does not provide its list to other entities.
In This Issue: Have a Memorable Holiday Week. Make 2020 a Fading Memory.
1. EYES ON THE PRIZE: ***USC Extends National Fellowship Deadline to June 1; ***Columbia U Taps 34 Age Boom Journalism Fellows.
2. GEN BEATLES NEWS: *** Bob Dylan’s Happy 80th Tribute; *** Luanne Rife Departs Roanoke (Va.) Times.
3. THE STORYBOARD: *** “Hey Naani-Ma, Put On Your Dancing Shoes. Dancing Is Good For Your Brain!” by Viji Sundaram, India Currents;
*** “During COVID, Georgetown Boosted Its ‘Silver City’ Appeal,” by Peggy [Orchowsky] Sands, The Georgetowner (Washington, D.C.);
*** “Elder Abuse: Another COVID-19 Evil,” by Jatika H. Patterson, The Crisis (NAACP magazine);
*** “Housing Crisis Takes Toll on Bay Area LGBTQ Seniors,” by John Ferrannini, Bay Area Reporter;
*** “Will the Nursing Home of the Future Be an Actual Home?” by Rachel Roubein, Politico;
*** “Cuidadores en Tiempos de Emergencia / Caregivers in Times of Emergency,” by Mayra Acevedo, WIPR-TV Puerto Rico Public Television;
* “Seniors Experience Mental Stress Due to the Closure of Chinese American Senior Centers,” by Melody Cao, SinoVision.Net.
*** WHAT’S MORE — Three 75-min Fellowship Webinar Recordings Available: * “Vaccine Challenges and Triumphs Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults”; * “Aging in Place: Has COVID-19 Changed the Equation?” * “Medicare Under the Biden Administration: What’s Next? What’s Possible? What Journalists Should Know”
4. GOOD SOURCES: *** “San Francisco’s Legacy Film Festival on Aging Is Reborn for 2021,” by David Lewis, San Francisco Chronicle overview — plus Media Pass Info for May 24-31 Virtual-Fest;
*** “The Impact of COVID-19 on Diverse Older Adults and Health Equity in the United States,” by UCLA’s Lourdes Guerrero and Steven P. Wallace, from Frontiers in Public Health,
*** “Investing in Caregivers: An Essential Resource for Our Nation,” Issue Brief from RRF Foundation for Aging;
*** The Gerontological Society of America’s peer reviewed articles on COVID-19;
*** “ICAA Call to Action: Reclaim Wellness for Older People” from International Council for Active Aging.
1. EYES ON THE PRIZE
*** USC’s Center for Health Journalism Extends Deadline for 2021 National Fellowship: The Center has reset the application deadline to June 1. We noted fellowship details in our last GBONews. [https://tinyurl.com/uwh34f4p ] Each Fellow will receive a reporting grant of from $2,000-$10,000 and five months of expert mentoring to report an ambitious investigative or explanatory project on health or social welfare issues by December 31, 2021. In July, 20 selected reporters will Zoom gather over five days “to learn more about the intersection of race and health, as well as how chronic stressors — poverty, housing and food insecurity, lack of opportunity and toxic stress — affect the health, welfare and well-being of vulnerable children, youth, families and communities,” according to their website. Different grant categories offer various stipend amounts, and their site explains these and elaborates on topic areas for project proposals. It is not only for health reporters, but for all journalists interested in social issues, such as in education, government, environment, criminal justice, social services or immigration specialists or general assignment reporters.
For more information, visit Center for Health Journalismor email program consultant Martha Shirk at Cahealth@usc.edu. They “strongly recommend” that potential applicants contact them to discuss your project idea before applying.
*** Columbia U’s 2021 Age Boom Academy selected 34 journalism Fellows, a record for the program – and catching up from the postponed 2020’s edition due to the Big Bug. The initial program of webinars, titled “Combating Loneliness in Aging,” ran from May 7-10. Along with a stellar cast of experts, sessions were moderated by topnotch journalists on aging and retirement, such as Rodney Brooks, of US News & World Report and National Geographic; author Kerry Hannon, also of MarketWatch, NY Times; Rich Eisenberg, managing editor, PBS Next Avenue; and author Chris Farrell, of Marketplace and others. A follow-up program is set for June 11.
The Age Boom Academy was the brainchild of the late Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Robert N Butler, MD, through his nonprofit International Longevity Center, along with journalist Mal Schechter. Except for 2020, the program for working journalists was held yearly, sometimes in multiple cities, since 2000. Columbia took it on, following Dr. Butler’s death in 2010, under the auspices of the university’s renamed Robert N. Butler Center on Aging in the Mailman School of Public Health, as well as Columbia Journalism School ‘s Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma.
The impressive group multicultural reporters for 2021 includes: Tara Bahrampour, Staff Writer, Washington Post; Edward C. Baig, Contributor, AARP the Magazine; Janeane Bernstein, EdD, writer and host, KUCI-FM (University of California, Irvine’s radio); Mario Campa, Columnist, Este País Magazine and others; Melody Cao, multi-mediajournalist, Contributor, SinoVision (American Chinese TV, New York City); Lois M. Collins, Reporter, Columnist, Deseret News (Salt Lake City, UT); Paige Cornwell, Reporter, The Seattle Times; Peter Cox. Minnesota Public Radio; Hannah Critchfield, Tampa Bay Times; Cailin Crowe, Editor for the business journalism website Smart Cities Dive; Diane Eastabrook, Staff Writer, McKnight’s Home Care Daily; Kate Ferguson, Editor-in-Chief, Real Health Magazine; Bruce Frankel, VP and Chief Content Officer; Redstring; Anita Fritz, Senior Reporter, The Greenfield Recorder, Greenfield, Mass.; Julie Halpert, freelance journalist, New York Times, CNBC and others; Ariel Hart, Health Care Reporter, Atlanta Journal-Constitution; Erica Hensley, independent health and data journalist (based in Jackson, Miss.); Sharon Jayson, Austin-based contributor, Washington Post, Kaiser Health News, NBC News, others.
This year’s fellows also include Kasley Killam, “Social Health” blogger, Psychology Today and Contributor, Scientific American and others; Rachel Layne, freelance, editor/writer, Boston Globe, CBS News, others; Nora Macaluso, freelancer on health, economics and technology based in New Jersey; Alessandra Malito, Retirement Reporter, MarketWatch; Lauren J. Mapp, Reporter, San Diego Union- Tribune; JoAnn Mar, Reporter/Announcer, KALW Public Radio, San Francisco, Producer, endofliferadio.org; Anne Marshall-Chalmers, Multi-media Contributor, Los Angeles Times, NPR, and more; Gregg W. Morris, writer, photojournalist for Ethnic Media Services, Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair (NJ) State University; Sophie Okolo, writer, scientist, founder Global Health Aging, Contributor: Forbes, Salon, PBS Next Avenue, others; Amy H. Peterson, Staff Writer, Estherville (Iowa) News; Angelica Recierdo is a healthcare writer, editor, “newsfeed of medicine” developer at Doximity.
Additional fellows are Kathy Ritchie, Reporter, Phoenix KJZZ public radio; Maria Sestito covers senior issues for The Desert Sun (Palm Springs, Calif.) as a Corps member of Report for America; Rochelle Sharpe, Pulitzer Prize-winning freelancer for the New York Times, Washington Post, Politico, based in Brookline, Mass; Misty Williams is a State News editor for AARP Bulletin, Washington, DC; Taylor Wizner, Reporter, Interlochen Public Radio, Michigan.
2. GEN BEATLES NEWS
*** A Happy 80th Musical Tribute to Bob Dylan is being podcasted this week on KALW public radio’s “Folk Music and Beyond,” with long-time DJ (and journalist on aging) JoAnn Mar with co-host Bob Campbell. The program’s homage to Dylan for reaching his big Eight-Oh! on May 24, included many of the troubadour’s songs as well as an unusual selection of covers ranging from Dylan’s early tribute to his mentor, Woody Guthrie to folk, rock and blues renditions that are well known or rare. San Francisco’s KALW makes the Saturday afternoon program available online until the following week. At the website under Music just click on “Hear the latest broadcast on KALW’s Local Music Player.”
*** Luanne Rife Departs Roanoke (Va.) Times. On April 29, the veteran health writer announced in a Facebook group post to colleagues, “I’m going to break all the rules and bury the lead. Bear with me. There is news to share after a little throat clearing.”
With that she recounted her first day at her first newspaper four decades ago when she covered a usually boring school board meeting only to end up with “Big News” (her words) for a small Alabama town – the firing of the high school football coach. But she quickly learned that a team member was her publisher’s son. With the publisher standing behind her as she pounded out the story on a video display terminal (remember VDTs) she quietly buried the evidently embarrassing lead.
On admitting that her first bylined story was “truly awful,” Rife would take that initial lesson in journalistic integrity forward with great distinction. After recounting that first day in a newsroom, she told fellow journalists in the Timesland Guild, “I have filed my last story as a newspaper staff writer. (The buried lead.)”
Rife explained that when the company, a Lee Enterprises property, “gave notice that it was axing nine journalists, including four young reporters, I volunteered to sub in for one of them. The kind of work that I love the most has become increasingly difficult to pursue as the staff continues to contract.” Rife added, “It’s time for a new adventure.” And, we hope it will also be one for a younger reporter still on the job.
Meanwhile, Rife emailed GBONews, “I’m enjoying a respite after a very difficult year.” She said she’s weighing several offers for freelance work “and am considering which would allow me to continue bringing valuable information to readers, including articles about aging.”
She added, “At this stage, I want to make use of the knowledge I’ve gained these past 40 years while tapping into that forgotten feeling I had in my 20s when anything seemed possible. I suppose one of the beauties of aging well is the luxury to do this.”
Not incidentally, in April Rife added to her many career honors when she was recognized by the Association of Health Care Journalists, followed by an award from the Virginia Press Association for her coverage of the pandemic and other health stories, including reporting supported by a 2020 Journalists in Aging Fellowship. Colleagues on the Generations Beat can now reach her at luanne.rife@gmail.com .
*** Bang! Slam! – and Watch Your Language! The following film notation appeared in the New York Times (Feb. 19, 2021): “I CARE A LOT Rated R for killing, cursing and elder abuse.”
3. THE STORYBOARD
Following are highlights from and links to articles produced by this year’s stories 2020-21 Journalists in Aging Fellows. The program is a collaboration between GBONews’s publisher, the Journalists Network on Aging, with the Gerontological Society of America (GSA). Now in its 11th year, it has included 185 reporters from both the mainstream and ethnic news media in the United States, plus some past fellows from Canada. Ethnic-media stories have appeared in Spanish, Chinese and other languages with English translations available, many also cross-posted on the DiverseEldersCoalition.org website. A complete roster of story headlines and links is posted on the GSA website. The generations beat rolls on with these recent stories, and more:
*** “Hey Naani-Ma, Put On Your Dancing Shoes. It’s Good For Your Brain!” by Viji Sundaram, India Currents (May 17, 2021): “In a packed hall on one Sunday evening at the India Community Center-Milpitas, here in the heart of Silicon Valley, South Asian folks of all ages sit in their traditional outfits and wildly cheer the naanis and naanas on the stage as they do an energetic ‘Jollywood’ dance number to the song, Dus Bahane. Naani-ma Pushpanjali Gangishetti, 74, in a bright sari, matching jewelry and barefooted, shakes her hips with gusto, one arm bent seductively behind her head, the other extended in the air in front of her, a broad smile on her face. . . . ‘Music and dance create new networks in the brain,’ explained India-born neurologist Dr. Joe Verghese, lead author of a continuing study on aging at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.”
Sundaram notes recent findings by the AARP’s Global Council on Brain Health that music impacts all regions of the brain and causes them to work together: “It releases dopamine, an important brain chemical that influences one’s mood and feelings of reward and motivation. That includes a 20 to 40 percent reduction or delay of dementia symptoms for those listening to music that’s important to them.” She notes research showing the benefits of music and dance, such as improving the gait and balance of people with Parkinson’s disease.
*** “During COVID, Georgetown Boosted Its ‘Silver City’ Appeal,” by Peggy [Orchowsky] Sands, The Georgetowner, Washington, D.C. (April 26, 202): “When the COVID-19 crisis was declared and D.C. shut down, seniors in Georgetown appeared to be in for the worst. . . . ‘Those first months we shut down all our activities and services except to buy and bring to housebound seniors food and medicine,’ [said] Georgetown Village Executive Director Lynn Golub-Rofrano. Yet, she said, “There is no denying that, partly due to the pandemic, seniors have increased their technology skills, becoming more accustomed to the internet and social media ( and like everyone else, Zoom).” Elders; enrollment has increased for online courses, book talks, and sought getting information about the virus and medical care online.
*** “Elder Abuse: Another COVID-19 Evil,” by Jatika H. Patterson, The Crisis (NAACP’s national magazine, April 2021): Patterson wrote, “In the summer of 2019, my 90-year-old grandmother was placed in an assisted living facility. My grandmother had been diagnosed with dementia and my mother, her sole caregiver, felt guilty about placing her mother in a nursing home. It was a difficult decision for our family, but we knew it was for the best. . . . In her new home, my grandmother’s communication and mental capacity have improved due to new friends and environment. But this isn’t the case for all nursing home residents, especially those who serve low-income communities.”
The story adds, “The 2019 Profile of Older Americans published in May 2020 by the Administration on Aging (AoA), found that the 85-and-older population of African Americans make up 18.9 percent of the poverty in the United States compared with 7.3 percent of non-Hispanic whites and 11.7 percent of Asians. . . . A 2015 study by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities titled, Deficiencies In Care At Nursing Homes And Racial/Ethnic Disparities Across Homes Fell, 2006–11, stressed: ‘Despite the increased use of nursing homes by minority residents, nursing home care remains highly segregated. Compared to whites, racial/ethnic minorities tend to be cared for in facilities with limited clinical and financial resources, low nurse staffing levels, and a relatively high number of care deficiency citations.’”
Patterson interviewed Lisa Nerenberg, executive director of the California Elder Justice Coalition, who said, ‘There’s poorer care in facilities that have less affluent residents and more residents of color generally and that’s translated to COVID.’” And Karyne Jones, president and CEO of the National Caucus and Center on Black Aging, based in Washington, D.C., observed, “The number of fraud cases has increased among the elderly since the pandemic, which left many people unemployed and cash strapped.” Although telephone scams have escalated, Jones said, the biggest culprit on elder abuse, however, is not strangers, but family members.’” Patterson’s story provides several important resources.
*** “Housing Crisis Takes Toll on Bay Area LGBTQ Seniors” by John Ferrannini, Bay Area Reporter (March 31, 2021): “For many LGBTQ seniors who’d originally resettled in the Golden State with a promise of freedom that they had been denied elsewhere, that crisis casts a dark cloud over what, for others, are the golden years.” One of those he interviewed was Lincoln Wong, a 77-year-old gay man, who had been working at the Fairmont [Hotel] in downtown San Jose until the pandemic hit. A member of the Vintage program for seniors at the Billy DeFrank LGBTQ+ Community Center, Wong’s life partner died and he feared being evicted and unable to find affordable housing because of his age and LGBTQ orientation.
*** “Will the Nursing Home of the Future be an Actual Home?” by Rachel Roubein, Politico (April 30, 2021): Subhead: “The Covid-19 pandemic is accelerating a movement aimed at completely rethinking how we age — and where.”
Roubein focuses on long-term care “visionary,” Bill Thomas, MD, a major advocate for more humane approaches and creator of the Eden Alternative and small residential Green Houses, programs Thomas aimed at “putting seniors, not doctors and medical personnel, at the center of the systems designed to care for them.”
Now, Roubein’s story continues, “Thomas’s new, post-pandemic vision is a system for aging in which seniors can live in small, geriatrician-designed houses meant for aging in place and receive the support they would need from a traditional nursing home, while creating a tight-knit group of neighbors. . . . ‘I’m saying, let’s go beyond, let’s move past the era of mass institutionalization,’ Thomas said. The vision for the new project he’s working on with Signature HealthCare — currently called Canopy — starts with a cluster of small ADA-accessible houses built close together, with communal greenspace and an intention that residents get to know their neighbors.”
The story adds, “President Joe Biden’s sweeping infrastructure plan includes a massive, $400 billion investment in covering in-home care under Medicaid — which Thomas called the ‘biggest rebalancing’ of payments ever for long-term care. And Biden’s massive coronavirus relief package passed in March provided the first federal funding boost to home and community-based services since Obamacare’s passage. But the increase is just for a year, and advocates are already working to push for ways to permanently redirect more money toward the benefit.”
Anne Montgomery, director of eldercare improvement at the nonprofit research and consulting group, Altarum, and a former senior staffer on the Senate’s aging committee, said waitlists for nursing home placements are still long in many states, and finding care inside the home can still be a frustrating process for many Americans. Roubein added, “The country’s system of paying for seniors’ care is a serious impediment. Long-term care has historically been viewed as, first and foremost, health care, coming out of state and federal budgets. But the country is at a pivotal moment, grappling with how to take a more holistic view of caring for older adults — to focus not just on their medical care, but also on their housing and their social lives.”
*** “Cuidadores en Tiempos de Emergencia / Caregivers in Times of Emergency,” by Mayra Acevedo, WIPR-TV Puerto Rico Public Television (April 2021): Half-hour television documentary in Spanish with English subtitles. Acevedos’ English translation begins, “Puerto Rico has experienced one emergency after another during the past three years. – Hurricanes, and earthquake, the pandemic and more. The scars are still visible. There is also underlying damage that escapes our sight, which is silent and scattered among thousands of homes throughout the island. One crisis after another has left thousands of older adults and the people who care for them without the resources they need and deserve.”
* “Seniors Experience Mental Stress Due to the Closure of Chinese American Senior Centers,” by Melody Cao, SinoVision.Net (April 9, 2021, Chinese with English subtitles): “‘The pandemic has lasted for so long. For the elderly and their families, there is a great mental stress.’ Lina Chen, the head of the Happy House Adult Daycare Center in Brooklyn, expressed her worrisome of their senior members. We had about 100 members at peak were here, there were about 100 members. Everyone is of Chinese descent from different countries. They speak different languages like Chinese, English, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Indonesian and so on,’ said Chen.”
The story continues, “Chen sighed, ‘In fact, we ourselves are counting the days, struggling to survive as well.’ She said that since the beginning of the pandemic, the funds provided by insurance companies to the center have been reduced by 70%, and some insurance companies are not even willing to let the center provide Chinese meals for the elderly. . . . Some companies have their own contracted food delivery agencies to deliver American food, but each culture has different eating habits. . . .’ Chen said the center received government subsidies for small businesses, but far from enough for running a big spacious place like Happy House Adult Daycare center.”
*** WHAT’S MORE — Fellowship Webinar Recordings Now Available to All: The Journalists in Aging Fellows Program is making it three terrific and quotable background Zooms for journalists in Aging Fellows available via YouTube on these topics. Each is 75 minutes:
* “Vaccine Challenges and Triumphs Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults,” (May 19, 2021): With experts Tom Cornwell, MD, Senior Medical Director, Village Medical at Home, and Executive Chairman, Home Centered Care Institute; Preeti Malani, MD, Chief Health Officer, Divisions of Infectious Diseases and Geriatric Medicine, University of Michigan; and Lauren Parker, PhD, Assistant Scientist, Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
* “Aging in Place: Has COVID-19 Changed the Equation?” (April 13): Featuring Jacqueline L. Angel, PhD, FGSA, Professor of Public Affairs and Sociology and Faculty Affiliate, Population Research Center and LBJ School Center for Health and Social Policy, University of Texas, Austin; Stephen M. Golant, PhD, FGSA, Professor Emeritus, Department of Geography, University of Florida and author, Aging in the Right Place; and Toni Miles, MD, PhD, MPH, FGSA, Professor of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, College of Public Health, University of Georgia.
* “Medicare under the Biden Administration: What’s next? What’s possible? What journalists should know” (February 3): Gretchen Jacobson — Vice President of the Medicare Program, The Commonwealth Fund; Brian Kaskie, PhD — Associate Professor, Health Policy and Management, University of Iowa College of Public Health; and Mark Miller — Journalist, author, podcaster, and nationally-recognized expert on trends in retirement and aging
The 2020-21 Journalists in Aging Fellows Program is made possible by the following foundations: The Silver Century Foundation, The Retirement Research Foundation; The Commonwealth Fund, The John A. Hartford Foundation and The Gannett Foundation.
4. GOOD SOURCES
*** “San Francisco’s Legacy Film Festival on Aging is Reborn for 2021,” by David Lewis, San Francisco Chronicle (May 21, 2021): GBONews reported on the 10th Legacy Film Festival in our last issue and the festival is running nationally online now through May 31. After years of ignoring this Bay Area gem, the Chronicle finally got it right with a swell overview with festival founder and director Sheila Malkind. Check out the festival schedule on its website. Gen Beat writersinterested in accreditation or screener links for advance festival coverage can email publicity@larsenassc.com.
*** The Impact of COVID-19 on Diverse Older Adults and Health Equity in the United States. Published by Frontiers in Public Health, coauthors Drs. Lourdes Guerrero, co-Director of the Coordinating Center and late Director Steven P. Wallace, provide new data and analysis to support the call for equity-focused solutions to the COVID-19 pandemic and overall health of the most vulnerable communities. This special issue is one of the latest works Dr. Wallace left before he died on March 30th.
Using multiple data sets, including the US Census American Community Survey and PULSE COVID data plus published reports to understand the social context of older adults, they found that multiple social determinants of health. Factors beyond individual health risks “may explain why older adults of color are the most at risk of negative COVID-19 outcomes and consequences, says the report. It states, “Current health policies do not adequately address disproportionate impact; some even worsen it. This manuscript provides new data and analysis to support the call for equity-focused solutions to this pandemic.”
*** “Investing in Caregivers: An Essential Resource for Our Nation” a new Issue Brief from the RRF Foundation for Aging offers an overview of the key concerns around support needed by many of the estimated 53 million Americans providing family caregiving. According to the paper, people provide caregiving worth nearly a half-trillion dollars, “an economic contribution significantly greater than all government outlays for institutional and community-based long-term services and support (LTSS) combined. This makes caregivers the nation’s largest healthcare workforce, an indispensable part of the health and social service delivery system for older adults and a vital resource for the nation.”
The online brief includes a short online video and written piece, which both outlines the issues and summarizes several RRF grantee programs around the United States. (RRF, formerly the Retirement Research Foundation, also supports our Journalists in Aging Fellows Program.) Read the issue brief and watch the video.
*** The Gerontological Society of America’s peer reviewed journals are continuing to publish scientific articles on COVID-19. The following were published between March 17 and April 19; all are free to access:
Older Adults’ Loneliness in Early COVID-19 Social Distancing: Implications of Rurality: Research report in The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences by Heather R. Fuller, PhD, and Andrea Huseth-Zosel, PhD.
Prognostic Implication of Baseline Sarcopenia for Length of Hospital Stay and Survival in Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019: Research article in The Journals of Gerontology, Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences by Ji-Won Kim, MD, Jun Sik Yoon, MD, Eun Jin Kim, MD, Hyo-Lim Hong, MD, Hyun Hee Kwon, MD, Chi Young Jung, MD, Kyung Chan Kim, MD, Yu Sub Sung, PhD, Sung-Hoon Park, MD, Seong-Kyu Kim, MD, and Jung-Yoon Choe, MD, PhD.
Culture Linked to Increasing Ageism During COVID-19: Evidence from a 10-Billion-Word Corpus across 20 countries: Research article in The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences by Reuben Ng, PhD, Ting Yu Joanne Chow, BA (Hons. First Class), and Wenshu Yang, MSc.
Job Transitions and Mental Health Outcomes among U.S. Adults Aged 55 and Older During the COVID-19 Outbreak: Research article in The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences by Leah R. Abrams, PhD MPH, Jessica M. Finlay, PhD, and Lindsay C. Kobayashi, PhD.
Social Isolation and Loneliness Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic: a Longitudinal Study of U.S. Adults over 50: Research report in The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences by Siyun Peng, PhD, and Adam R. Roth, PhD.
*** “ICAA Call to Action: Reclaim Wellness for Older People”: The International Council for Active Aging, a trade group for the senior fitness industry based in Vancouver, BC, Canada, has released an informative “Call to Action,” stating, “Organizations are using the massive disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to reinvent their services, programs and properties. Business leaders are keenly aware that operations can never return to the past, and older adults are experiencing a renewed sense of hope and discovery. A strong commitment to the thoughtful and comprehensive integration of a wellness philosophy is a proven method to meet the expectations of current and future clients, improve the perception of senior living and senior services, and counteract the dual pandemics of mental stress and physical deconditioning that surfaced during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
ICAA founder and CEO Colin Milner, a former reporter, has worked for years with the World Economic Forum and others to refocus the largely youth-focused fitness field toward the aging population. He stresses, “The value of wellness has not changed, only the methods for delivering it: in-person, online, high touch and touchless.” The “Call” aims to address the feelings of loss and fear so many seniors have experienced during the pandemic.
Among the report’s “Key” points, along with emphasizing attention to seniors’ emotional and mental health, overall functional ability, and the potential of older adults with programs that don’t merely reinforced ageist stereotypes, We found this message to the industry of particular interest:
“Reclaim business health. Counteract misunderstandings about the value proposition of senior living and senior services by showcasing how wellness guides a lifestyle of personal growth, effective health behaviors and safe, personalized care. Wellness culture and opportunities align with many organizational performance metrics by attracting and retaining customers/residents, generating referrals, reducing risks, delaying care needs and delivering the brand promise.”
That is, don’t just selling how to flex your pecks for that sexy silver fox look
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