Aging Archives - Page 7 of 14

The Song Remains the Same

The He(art) of Elder (Eng)agement

In November we featured “Oldchella,” the humorously nicknamed, star-studded ensemble that rocked southern California for two consecutive weekends, featuring musical legends who defined an era: the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Neil Young, The Who. Besides their iconic status, the participants in Desert Trip had one other trait in common: each was at least 70 years old.

Yet the joke is on those who minimize the importance and impact that mature voices can have on those who sing — and on those who hear them sing.

Young@Heart Chorus requires members be in their 70s — 73, to be exact. One hopeful’s interest was piqued when he was a mere 72, so he was politely asked to reapply in a year. Now 80 and a six-year Young@Heart Chorus veteran, John Reinhart has soloed Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror,” and says he’s never been happier. “When I retired, I told my wife we’d better get a casket; I’ll be gone in six months. The Young@Heart Chorus came along at the right time for me.”

Getting Their Groove On

Making music, whether with one’s voice or another instrument, has repeatedly been demonstrated to be beneficial for mental health. In a recent controlled trial of 200 British adults over 60, those who participated in weekly singing groups for three months had improved mental health (decreased anxiety and depression) compared with those who didn’t sing. These health effects were sustained over a period of at least three months after the weekly singing ended.

By contrast, the benefits of playing a musical instrument did not tend to endure once the playing ceased — unless the participants had played over an extended period of their lives, which may explain why lifelong musicians such as the septuagenarian stars in Oldchella are still jamming with the same gusto as performers a third their age.

Singing the Dying Across the Threshold

Singing can also be highly beneficial for those who are preparing to transition out of this life. At the turn of the millennium, Kate Munger, who had sung to a dear friend as he lay dying a decade earlier, was inspired to create Threshold Choir to bring comfort to the dying. Hearing is the last sense to go, so even someone in a comatose state may receive benefit. Today, there are more than 150 Threshold Choirs throughout the US, Canada, Europe and Australia.

Each choir is composed of a small group of singers (primarily women, though the choirs are open to all) from the local community, who gather at a person’s bedside and sing in calm, a cappella voices for about twenty minutes. These committed volunteers rehearse weekly for the privilege of singing to the dying; most have been Threshold Choir members for many years, and are often well past midlife themselves.

Art for the Heart

Have you ever noticed that the word “heart” contains “art”? That may not be a coincidence, as a research-focused arts blog surveyed the literature and found “the most compelling evidence of the value of the arts revolves around improving the lives of older adults.” Confirming the data already discussed, the evidence for (eng)aging with the arts benefits elders in the following ways:

Singing improves mental health and subjective wellbeing (i.e., perceived quality of life)
Playing a musical instrument has myriad positive effects, including dementia risk reduction
Dance classes bolster cognition and motor skills, and lessen the likelihood of developing dementia
Visual arts practice generates increases in social engagement, psychological health and self-esteem.

To Be of Use

Finally, art serves the deeper purpose of keeping seniors (eng)aged. And what that looks like may be very different from the more conventional arts just described. Retired social worker Lynn Rayburn, 91, is “convinced her mind would have long ago floated ‘into outer space’ if not for the mental stimulation and social interaction” of Senior Center Without Walls, a Bay Area-based non-profit that aims to ameliorate elder loneliness and social isolation. For Rayburn, who lives alone and is confined to a wheelchair, the telephone classes, such as Sing-Along Broadway, are a lifeline. Rayburn “participates in classes daily, and facilitates five classes as a volunteer, including a session that encourages callers to talk about things they’re grateful for and another that allows them to participate in philosophical debates.” She refers to Senior Center Without Walls as her “art form” and avows, “I couldn’t handle life without being needed.”

As noted last week, January 31^st is National Inspire Your Heart with Art Day, a superb moment to encourage the elders in your HECM sphere to (eng)age with whatever form of the arts calls to them for expression, even (especially) if it’s something beyond what we typically think of or refer to as “art”. Creativity in all its forms is ageless, and like wine, can improve over time..

of Doorways, Time, and New Beginnings

January’s Gifts

Many people make New Year’s resolutions; few of us tend to stick with them throughout the year. But by tuning in to specific days and events each month, you can boost both your HECM business and senior spirit with intriguing, educational information. For instance:

January is named for Janus, the Roman god of beginnings and transitions, so it’s an excellent month for older adults to consider a reverse mortgage — and for LOs to create new ways of reaching appropriate candidates.

According to the National Day Calendar, January is National Mentoring Month, inaugurated by The Harvard School of Public Health and The National Mentoring Partnership in 2002. This might be an auspicious time to speak about new models of aging in intergenerational communities (watch for our upcoming post, This Treehouse Isn’t Just for Kids!) that are springing up around the U.S. and across the globe.

Here are four January highlights that can serve as talking points and action opportunities with your HECM clients and prospects:

1. January 6: National Technology Day. The chronologically gifted are more digitally adept than ever before, as we’ve noted often. Here are some recent posts about how tech is reinvigorating and reimagining what our later years can look like:

You might start a conversation about how technology is helping your elder population — or find out where there’s a need for tech mentoring. Perhaps you can arrange for interested seniors to get tech training at their local senior center, high school, or community college. Bonus: it will connect elders with others, who may also benefit from the interaction.

2. January 19: National Get to Know Your Customers Day (third Thursday of each quarter). A perfect reason to throw a New Year’s open house for clients, past and present, as well as prospects and associates. Ask your current clients to invite anyone whom they think might want to learn about a HECM, but keep the open house itself low-key: a friendly social with healthy snacks and beverages. Have brochures and business cards available, and collect the names and contact information of those to whom you’re introduced. Next week’s outreach will have more warm leads!

3. January 23: National Pie Day. While the calendar is replete with food-related holidays, both official and unofficial, National Pie Day is especially enjoyable because many businesses offer free or discounted pies on January 23^rd. If you didn’t hold an open house for Get to Know Your Customers Day, this is another delicious opportunity to connect. Encourage people to bring and share recipes as well as home-baked goodies.

4. January 31: Inspire Your Heart with Art Day. Creativity knows no age, and this day is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the artistic elders in your sphere of influence. A few prior posts that address art and well being:

Besides sharing their own artistic creations, some ways to encourage elders to enjoy the arts include:

Visiting an art gallery
Attending a ballet or concert
Playing an instrument (or mentoring someone else)
Seeing an inspirational film
Beginning work on their own masterpiece.

With resolutions timed to specific days, themes and activities, it will be easier to build momentum and flow with the changes 2017 is sure to bring.

Aging new year

Take this Chair & Rock It!

“Will you still need me? / Will you still feed me? / When I’m 64? The Beatles’ popular tune hit the charts half a century ago (amazing, isn’t it?) during a youth-focused era when the advanced age of 64 seemed ancient to those whose mantra was, “Don’t trust anyone over 30.”

Now Beatle Paul McCartney is a decade older than the song lyric, and just performed as part of an all-star line-up at Oldchella, a septuagenarian songfest that proved aging is a state of mind — especially if you’re among the Boomer generation, now 53-70 years old and 78 million strong.

Teachable Moments from Ageist Behavior

But ageism persists like shower mold, no matter how much effort we put into cleansing mass perception. And one 64-year-old is not going to take it anymore. Ashton Applewhite just published This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism, and says someone telling her she “looks good for her age,” is a teachable moment in which to evolve ageist stereotypes and language.

In this time of massive social upheaval, Applewhite’s book is a breath of “fresh old air” for seniors, who, says the author, might better be called “olders” — because that’s what they are, and there is no shame in naming the life stage accurately. While seniors themselves have come up with numerous creative reframes for positive aging, it’s heartening to watch an author and activist use deep research to debunk myth after myth about later life, explaining the roots of ageism and how it divides and debases. She’s calling for “age pride” in the same way the women’s movement once called for consciousness-raising.

But she doesn’t expect everyone to jump onboard and agitate for social justice, which is good news for your reverse mortgage clients and prospects who are more introspective. The important point is to consider the information, and enter the conversation. “Everyone is aging, so the number of people who are open to thinking about this is enormous, and that’s the base of a movement. They could be butchers, they could be astronauts, they could be young and they could be old. Ageism cuts both ways and affects everyone, which is fundamental.”

Regardless of our current age, we can each become an old person in training, says Applewhite. “It’s just a mental trick, a way of connecting empathetically and imaginatively to your future self.

“The earlier we make that leap, the sooner our lives are stripped of the reflexive dread that makes aging in America so much harder than it has to be. You glimpse the territory ahead with an open mind, and you’re off and running. I think that’s powerful.”

A Tasteful Way to Tackle Ageism

There are myriad creative ways to implement Applewhite’s advice, such as what this New York City restaurant is doing: hiring grandmas in lieu of chefs! The “bevy of babushkas” is the brainchild of restaurateur Jody Scaravella, whose grandmother cooks hail from thirty cultures around the world, including Argentina, Algeria, Syria, the Dominican Republic, Poland, Liberia, Nigeria — and, of course, Italy. A pair of seasoned grandmas prepares each night’s fare.

Does hiring these mature women — “olders”, per Applewhite — work? “Each time these ladies are in the kitchen cooking, you have hundreds of years of culture coming out of their fingertips,” Scaravella says. “‘I regularly get phone calls from Australia, from England, and from Italy to book reservations. I’m always flattered by that’. And at the end of the night, there are often standing ovations for the nonnas – and the token grandpa, Giuseppe Freya, who hails from Calabria and makes all the pasta.”

The real question is: are the grandmothers wearing jeans while they cook?

Aging seniors

Master Mind

How to Build Muscle & Look Younger Without a Workout

Everybody knows exercise is good for you. But how many seniors realize they can also improve their health and fitness by exercising their mental muscles as well as their physical ones? Your senior clients can imagine themselves exercising, and build physical muscle!

We can also laugh our way to health, as journalist Norman Cousins, author of Anatomy of An Illness, described in his breakthrough memoir of recovery from a life-threatening condition. Research shows laughter decreases stress hormones, builds “good” cholesterol, and lowers a senior’s risk of heart disease by reducing arterial inflammation. So perhaps both LOs and reverse mortgage clients and prospects ought to peruse those humorous email forwards that land in your Inbox before deleting them. New research on depression also demonstrates that social isolation leads to inflammation, so laughing with others (or imagining exercising with friends) is even better for your immune system than performing a solo mental workout.

One fantastic bonus: all this imagery boosts mental muscles as well as physical ones. A new study focused on preventing cognitive decline in older adults followed one hundred people aged 55 to 86 as they pursued a specific fitness regime, measuring the effects on their brains through tests and MRI scans. Six months in, the seniors showed not only improved cognitive function but growth in key brain centers as well.

Gym and Jeans

Of course, this study assumes actual rather than virtual exercise. But mental weight training, supplemented by visits to the local fitness club, is going to pay big dividends — a nice supplement to the opportunities a HECM can open up for healthy elders to enjoy their Third Age.

Flexing their mental and physical muscles will also enable seniors to look as good in their jeans as svelte 62-year-old Christie Brinkley. An amusing survey suggests we should ditch our denim by age 53. Fortunately for the apparel industry, 78 million Boomers — the youngest of whom is now at that threshold — seem unlikely to be “retiring” their jeans any time soon. This was a British study, however. England may hold its seniors to a more exacting fashion standard.

Mental Fitness Looks Fabulous

Regardless of how seniors are attired once retired, staying inspired will keep them refired. Yes, the rhyme is intentional: longevity is often the soul of wit. Brain workouts will keep seniors’ physical, mental, and emotional selves humming, and they’re surprisingly easy to do, as this list of ten simple brain exercises illustrates.

My dad, whom I’ve referenced often as an example of unwitting positive aging techniques, learned to use a computer at 89 after my Mom’s passing, and later taught himself to cook eggs for breakfast (he’s of the generation of men who couldn’t even boil water). Number four on the list of brain exercises is, “Take a cooking class.” He simply “enrolled” in the kitchen. When I asked how he learned to make an omelet, he responded, “Trial and error.”

So whether your senior clients are more comfortable in suits and dresses or jeans and flannel shirts, encourage them to build their mental muscles. A happy hippocampus is the way to stay healthy, sharp, and in good humor — as long as those cartoon forwards aren’t in questionable taste.

Aging health

Good Grief, Groceries, GPS

Tech Has Seniors Covered

Grief is difficult. Whether it’s yours, a friend’s, a business associate’s, or a client’s, few of us feel comfortable addressing grief head-on, and as a result we may either clam up or say something trite and stilted. Neither response is ideal for the one who is mourning.

Cyberspace to the rescue. The sympathy website eCondolence, which helps people do everything from compose obituaries to plan a funeral, craft a eulogy to choose an appropriate condolence gift, has recently expanded its offerings to include GriefDesk, a business-to-business resource that supports those who are supporting the mourners.

Solutions and Support for the Sorrowing

Designed with health care professionals and benefit providers in mind, GriefDesk might also be an excellent resource for reverse mortgage professionals to use and share with other senior support team members.

GriefDesk takes the educational information available on eCondolence.com and organizes it so that businesses can best support grieving families and employees. The GriefDesk solution provides companies the right to reproduce a vast library of educational content, customized web pages, e-newsletters and print designs to enhance bereavement outreach, as well as full-scale campaigns aimed at client engagement.

Though “engagement” may sound a trifle crass given the subject matter, talking about grief is vital for everyone involved. The site’s breadth of information helps those who work with and/or care about the mourner(s) to connect with them from a place of deeper understanding.

Below are some recent HECMWord posts on grief and grieving, accessible in one place to supplement the information on eCondolence and GriefDesk:

The Techno-current Accelerates in Every Realm

And it’s not just “semi-taboo” topics our cyber age makes more approachable. Apps are accelerating how we age in every imaginable way — except, fortunately, for actually advancing our years at warp speed. Consider:

Have you logged onto MySpace lately? How’s your Motorola cell phone working? These anachronistic questions point up an astonishing fact: a scant decade ago, MySpace was the premier (indeed, almost the ONLY) social network, Motorola did indeed have the top-selling cell phone, and “app” might have been an abbreviation, rather than what you installed and updated on your phone in order to work, play and connect.

Today’s seniors can see doctors via Skype, have their vitals monitored remotely, and get second opinions on serious medical issues rapidly, thanks to online medical records sharing.

“Home care” has taken on a whole new meaning, with discreet tech that ensures elders’ homes will alert family members or caregivers if there is a problem. Robot caregivers already exist, and we’re a hair’s breadth from self-driving cars.

The eight types of apps most useful to those 65+ (more than a fourth of whom owned smartphones by the end of 2014) include:

Ride-sharing: Lyft and Uber allow seniors to summon a car within minutes.
Meal delivery: UberEATS and GrubHub can deliver a senior’s favorite restaurant fare for a fee — especially helpful for those who no longer drive, or may not want to dine out solo.
Video chat: Skype and FaceTime make visiting with the far-flung grandkids so much easier!
Grocery delivery: Instacart and Shipt do the grocery shopping and bring a senior’s personal order right to their door.
Fitness monitors: Fitbit and MyFitnessPal monitor blood pressure and count exercise steps.
Butler on call: Hello Alfred handles the errands a senior cannot, or doesn’t want to do.
Medication management: Medisafe and CareZone ensure seniors take the right meds, and remind them about upcoming doctors’ appointments.
GPS: Google Maps and other GPS technology make navigating by car a breeze — and keep seniors from getting lost.

Whatever challenge or circumstance the seniors you serve may face, if you don’t already know of a tech solution, simply check online — or ask Siri. If there isn’t an app available right now, you can bet it’s on the near horizon.

Aging grief

Becoming Bionic

Long before “android” referred to a mobile operating system, it described an AI on the TV series, Star Trek: The Next Generation. In one episode, the android, Commander Data, created a child. The results were amusing, because, while the young android may have been an artificial life form, she possessed the learning curve of a human infant when it came to understanding behavior — or how to eat.

Viewers accepted the premise that one android could create another since Data’s “positronic” brain was no match for a puny human one. And this was taking place in the 24^th century.

While it’s true that Data evolved considerably during the show’s seven-year run, eventually even acquiring a sense of humor, at heart (or whatever mechanical substitute was embedded in its place), Data was still a highly developed AI.

But for humans, the moment has arrived: it’s now possible for people to become bionic — which is especially good news for seniors.

No Skeletons in the Closet

One company innovating for people who’ve had strokes or spinal cord injuries is Ekso Bionics, a global pioneer in the field of robotic exoskeletons. These products unlock human strength and potential, amplifying mobility and endurance. In 2016, Ekso Bionics received the first FDA clearance exoskeleton for use with stroke and spinal cord injury levels to C7.

reverse mortgage news — Ekso Bionics exoskeleton

Watch this incredible 3-minute video, in which an Ekso Bionics patient says, “I was walking before, but nothing like this.”

Of course, it always helps to go straight to the source, or in this case, to have the source come to you: a 92-year-old former Army occupational therapist who became an industrial designer by default. When Barbara Beskind couldn’t reach foods in the very back of her refrigerator, she installed a lazy Susan on the inside shelf. Because she has macular degeneration, Beskind also attached small tactile “bumps” to certain buttons on her phone to make it easier to answer and make calls.

Clearly, Beskind embodies the ingenuity to adapt to her evolving needs. And now, she’s helping gerontologists hack the trials of aging.

Then there is the new breed of medical device companies, which go a step beyond walkers and shower chairs. While a senior’s exoskeleton is being constructed (or if they only need mild assistance at this time), Vive Health offers everything from lumbar support cushions to safety alarms, arthritis compression gloves to balance discs, and much more.

Emotional resilience

And perhaps “bionic” applies to marriage longevity as well, especially in retirement. One couple recently celebrated their 77-year union. The pair of centenarians “have their own sense of humor, which we enjoy,” says their eldest son, himself a longtime senior at 76. One of the couple’s eighteen grandchildren offers this insight: “They care for each other from the bottom of their hearts. They live and breathe each other, so I think that has kept them going. They are very caring, loving and giving.”

We may have to wait a few more years for androids of Data’s caliber to become commonplace. But bionic seniors of every stripe are possible now. So if someone who looks part Borg contacts your office for a reverse mortgage, you’ll be prepared.

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Aging seniors technology

Reach Out & Touch Someone

As we approach Thanksgiving, the old telephone company slogan is apt, especially when it comes to elders, who may not make new friends as their old friends die or move away.

There’s a powerful quote attributed to Audrey Hepburn: “As you grow older, you will discover you have two hands: one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.”

Traditionally, Thanksgiving was a time to express gratitude for the prior year’s harvest. Perhaps our own sense of sufficiency, whether in terms of friends or finances, stems from how grateful we are the rest of the year for gifts already received: gratitude itself is a form of largesse. Being thankful shifts our focus from lack to abundance, and aligns (or realigns) us with our values.

Alone or All One: A Subtle Shift

Indigenous cultures inherently model this sense of sufficiency. Because they live close to Nature, they haven’t lost touch with their own nature. The philosophy “unto the seventh generation” holds that in all of our decisions, we should consider the impact seven generations in the future (approximately 140 years). It’s a concept often lost in a culture of immediacy. What it means is that in lieu of feasting until our bellies are bloated and then spending the following day shopping till we drop, there are other ways to show gratitude for a good harvest, metaphorically as well as literally.

How might reverse mortgage professionals help alleviate the epidemic of loneliness among seniors today, and fulfill Hepburn’s maxim? Here is one LO’s example:

“Last week I visited a male friend who is now 102 years old and undergoing rehab treatment in a restorative care facility. We have been friends for many years, and he is someone I greatly admire. He was in bed and weak, but clearheaded, retaining his sense of humor. I was there for a short while and brought him a bag of Hershey miniatures — his favorites.

“After I left, I thought to myself, ‘I sure feel good about this visit, and I know he did as well.’

“Another example is a family friend in failing health, whose activities are severely limited now. Her diet is restricted as well. I decided to make a batch of chicken salad for her and her caregiver — no salt added — and brought it to her. She was just thrilled. Again: the fact that someone was thinking about her and cared.

“My point is:

We need to value our friends with action.
People in recovery need some contact with the outside world to know they are not forgotten.
It makes us feel good inside, and we should set aside time from our own busy schedules to be supportive of others when they need it.

“We help others through our work, but sometimes we don’t do enough for our families and our friends.”

Enough Love to Spare and Share

Inspirational speaker and author Bob Perks’ signature story, “I Wish You Enough” also exemplifies the inestimable value of this essential connection to those we care about, particularly seniors.

Perks overheard a father and daughter saying goodbye at the airport. They hugged, and the dad said, “I love you. I wish you enough.” She, in turn said, “Daddy, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Daddy.”

After the daughter departed, the father, struggling to contain his tears, shared that this was a final farewell. Perks asked why.

“I am old and she lives much too far away. The reality is, the next trip back would be for my funeral,” he said.

Perks then questioned, “When you were saying goodbye I heard you say, ‘I wish you enough.’ May I ask what that means?

“He began to smile. ‘That’s a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone.’ He paused for a moment, and looking up as if trying to remember it in detail, he smiled even more. ‘When we said “I wish you enough,” we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them,’ he continued, and then turning toward me he shared the following as if he were reciting it from memory.

“I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.

I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I wish enough ‘Hello’s’ to get you through the final ‘Goodbye.'”

Giving and Receiving the Gift

This Thanksgiving, no matter where you are, no matter what your circumstances, decide to celebrate your life, and the lives of those you serve, whether in the capacity of HECM loan originator, as a friend, or both. Rejoice in the enough-ness that you are, simply by virtue of being alive. Give the gift of enough to those you love, and allow your gratitude to expand in every direction.

That’s the true Thanksgiving spirit, hands down.

Aging senior loneliness seniors

The Business of Aging

It’s Not a Job, It’s an Adventure!

Half a century ago, when today’s Boomers where anywhere from toddlers to teens, the World’s Fair theme was, “It’s A Small World After All.” Today, this adage still rings true, but for very different reasons, says The Business of Aging publisher Lori Bitter. The silver tsunami and globalization have unified and compressed the world, so that “the population is now shaped more like a rectangle than a youth-heavy pyramid. And now, more than ever before, the most influential ideas, technologies, products, and services for seniors have gone global. They flow worldwide, sometimes in a matter of hours.”

This is good news, whether someone is considering downsizing to a senior community with a HECM for Purchase, or finding a job when you’re old, as David Allen Rivera baldly titles a recent LinkedIn blog post. Rivera, not yet 60, is hardly “old” by today’s standards, yet he considers his age a potential strike against his marketability. To counterbalance this he dove into social media, integrating a number of key platforms (LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter…) and cross-pollinating appealing profiles. He polished his resume. He writes,

“I feel it’s never too late to thrive. I don’t want to get a job where I’m tolerated; I want to work where I’m celebrated and appreciated for what I can do.”

Make Hay While the Sun Shines

One of my great teachers is a beacon for Rivera and other Boomers who may feel they’re “aging out” of the workplace before they’re ready to retire: personal growth pioneer Louise Hay.

Hay launched Hay House, now a global media company, when she was nearing 60, and, in her own words, “never looked back”. She turned 90 last month, and continues to inspire people around the world. The birthday email she sent serves as a clarion call for seniors and reverse mortgage professionals alike, since LOs are often seniors themselves:

“I rejoice in each passing year of my life.”

“I’m going to be 90 this Saturday. I choose to see my life moving in different directions, all of them equally good. Some things are even better now than they were in my youth. My younger years were filled with fear; my todays are filled with confidence.

“My own life didn’t really begin to have meaning until I was in my mid-40s. At the age of 50, I began my writing career on a very small scale. The first year I made a profit of $42. At 55, I ventured into the world of computers. They scared me, but I took classes and overcame the fear. Today I have three computers and travel with my iPad and iPhone everywhere! At 60, I had my first garden. At this time, I enrolled in a children’s art class and began to paint. At 70 and 80, I was more creative and my life continues to get richer and fuller.

“I still write, I lecture, I teach through my actions. I am constantly reading and studying. I own a very successful publishing company and have two non-profits. I’m a dedicated organic gardener. I grow most of my own food. I love people and parties. I have many loving friends. I travel extensively. I also am still painting and taking classes. My life has really become a treasure chest of experiences.

“These can be the most rewarding years of your life. Know that your future is always bright, no matter what your age. See your later years becoming your treasure years.

“Instead of just getting old and giving up and dying, let’s learn to make a huge contribution to life. We have the time, we have the knowledge, and we have the wisdom to move out into the world with love and power.

“Step forward, use your voice, get out in the world, and LIVE!”

Septuagenarian Sing-along

Speaking of “using your voice”: a humorous greeting card shows two geriatric groups sitting on opposite ends of a sunroom, shouting at each other, “Stones!” “Beatles!” “Stones!” “Beatles!” Both sides would have celebrated in October, when the headline acts that defined a generation graced the same stage over the course of two long weekends.

Desert Trip was a concert extravaganza for the books. Dubbed, “Oldhchella” (a play on the name of an annual music festival that takes place in Coachella, California each spring), the line-up of legends included The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Neil Young and The Who — septuagenarians all — playing for an equally vintage audience. And lest anyone minimize the cultural influence of rock ‘n’ roll, coincident with these performances Dylan received the 2016 Nobel Prize for Literature (the first musician ever to win the prize for literature) — before which, notes the LA Times, he was “merely the Shakespeare of our time.”

As Renaissance mentor and Boomer Bruce Cryer makes clear, aging is a state of mind. Louise Hay demonstrates how we can start when we’re already past midlife and create an amazing future that just keeps glowing brighter.

May your reverse mortgage clients and prospects move forward with faith, not fear, to create the beautiful tomorrows a HECM helps them envision. Because, as Oldchella confirmed, when Boomers rock, it’s with a guitar, not a chair!

Aging

Discreet Tech for Dapper Elders

Part Two: New Boons to Aging in Place

“I had to replace all kinds of lights this week,” a father told his daughter when they spoke on the weekend. “It seems every bulb in this 50-year-old house blew at the same time, including the floodlights.”

She listened to his recital with growing concern and only one thought in mind: “Dad, were you climbing on a ladder to change these bulbs?” “Yes, but only a few steps. No big deal,” he replied. She explained that while he was in good shape for his age, elder bodies, like old light bulbs, can suddenly falter without warning — and ladders are dangerous at any age. He wouldn’t hear it, declaring he was fit as a fiddle and she was worrying needlessly.

Aging isn’t what it used to be

Granted, this is not your parents’ (or grandparents’) aging process. But as we noted in New Boons to Aging in Place / Part 1, more than half of those 80-plus fall every year — and they’re not climbing on ladders. What’s the solution? Discreet elder tech.

Here are four leading-edge solutions that reverse mortgage professionals may want to suggest, as appropriate, to prospects, clients, family members and other seniors in your sphere of influence.

PERS for the home

Consider EchoCare, which describes itself as “an elderly care home observer.” This non-intrusive PERS (personal emergency response system) issues automatic alerts for safety and emergency situations — and includes a disruptive fall detector with a very low rate of false alarm. The best feature for seniors who bristle at wearing a PERS pendant, watch or other device? It’s non-wearable.

Once installed in a standard-size senior apartment, EchoCare continuously monitors four essential body indicators (location, posture, motion, respiration) using a low-power radio frequency sensor that does not compromise the resident’s privacy. When the system determines an emergency situation has occurred, it sends an alert to the designated contact person. In addition to being a resource for falls, EchoCare also recognizes situations such as sleep stress (e.g., sleep apnea), prolonged time in the bathroom, hyperventilation, and no time in the kitchen (is the senior eating properly?).

Diagnosis before disease

Some seniors might not mind a PERS, wearable or home-based, but may object to going to the doctor if they feel fine. Iowa startup ITR Diagnostics is addressing non-invasive medicine by developing digital biomarker panels to help physicians and researchers identify and monitor patients with neurological diseases (such as Parkinson’s disease). During an annual checkup, doctors will be able to detect serious disease years before it develops.

Early detection and diagnosis, especially with neurologic conditions such as Parkinson’s, which are often not diagnosed until late in disease progression, will allow people to make changes sooner that can benefit their health and overall quality of life.

Data-driven support for families

What if an elder’s family members need support? MyndYou is a mobile platform that monitors cognitive, physiological and behavioral parameters to provide data-driven dementia care insights.

Its first feature is MyndYourDrive, designed to alert families of people with early stage cognitive deterioration about when someone needs to relinquish the car keys. As we’ve explored, giving up the independence of driving can be devastating for seniors. Yet with or without cognitive impairment, seniors are outliving their ability to drive safely by an average of 7 to 10 years, according to the AAA (American Automobile Association). Now families will have data to back up their concerns.

Like hearing aids for the eyes

Finally, NuEyes has developed smartglasses to help the visually impaired see again. While not safe to use on the road, NuEyes (built by two veterans using technologies originally designed for military use) works with someone’s existing prescription eyeglasses and functions similar to a tablet or smartphone, streaming images via a built-in digital camera. NuEyes look somewhat like VR (virtual reality) goggles — and to a person with low vision, may feel like that when they first put them on and experience the joy of seeing again.

It may not be possible to keep determined seniors from performing the household tasks or living the lifestyle they’ve managed successfully for seven, eight, or nine decades. But at least the support to monitor such activity is becoming available for families’ peace of mind.

Aging eldercare seniors

New Boons to Aging in Place

Part One: Modify the Nest, Select a Silver Housemate

It’s a situation many children face as their parent’s age: the older generation, accustomed to being the ones who know best, chafe at the suggestion they’re not as agile as they used to be. “Grab bars, handrails? What are you talking about? I’m in good shape!”

And this may be true — for now. But time is inexorable, and while making home modifications after an event is “better late than never,” it’s already too late if a senior has fallen and broken a hip. Despite an elder’s sense that they are still as spry as they once were, the reality is, over half of those 80 and older fall every year. That’s a scary statistic.

Tax credits for home modification

Fortunately, several states have begun offering tax credits to help older adults age in place with greater accessibility and safety. Virginia, Illinois, Rhode Island and Maryland lead the charge. Virginia’s Livable Homes Tax Credit, for example, is available to homeowners of all ages, and especially attractive to Baby Boomers, who are now between 52 and 70 years old, and in general more open to the idea of an aging-in-place retrofit than their parents might have been.

One couple in their mid-sixties who still work (one spouse full time, the other part-time) installed shower grab bars when they built their new home a few years ago. It just made sense, they said, even though they’re both in good health. The home’s French doors are wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair, should that ever become necessary, and, with one exception, the interior thresholds are low and easily navigable.

Home modification can also be a boon for the differently abled, for whom a HECM is one important piece of their aging alliance.

But having a home equipped to serve seniors throughout their later years is still just part of the puzzle. The missing piece is often companionship.

Beyond four-footed friends

Many seniors enjoy the love of a cat, dog, bird, or other animal friend in their later years, especially if they’ve lived with pets much of their lives. A purring fluff ball curled on someone’s lap, or a faithful canine that offers both protection and assistance, can be a blessing for a senior who has lost his or her life partner and has no close friends or relatives. Sometimes, though, animals are not enough.

While a reverse mortgage can help pay the bills, it won’t relieve the loneliness that is epidemic among older people, or provide friendship, no matter how understanding the loan originator.

Enter Silver Nest, a unique roommate-matching service for Boomers and empty nesters with space to spare. A seamless, end-to-end solution, Silver Nest handles all the details, from pre-qualifying potential housemates, to arranging the interviews, drafting leases and collecting the rent. It’s the next generation of home sharing, and a good complement to an aging in place retrofit. It’s also a smart way for someone looking for a housemate they can trust, or who loves elders (or both!) to find the right home sharing arrangement.

Aging in place is destined to become huge over the next few decades as the largest cohort in history greys the globe. Tax credits for home modification and intergenerational home sharing are two creative ways to help make this time of life more joyful and affordable for everyone involved.

Aging home improvement Home Safety