Tons of stuff going on!

First and foremost, I want to thank everyone who came out to see me speak with a good friend of mine at the Assisted Living Federation of America conference and expo last week in Orlando.  I was incredibly nervous, but I calmed once I saw a few familiar faces out there.  A quick thanks to my friend Traci for inviting me along to speak at such an awesome event!

Also, thank you to everyone who tuned in for our most recent Welcome Home LIVE web-broadcast!  It was great to see so many people engaged in great discussion.

I just wanted to take a quick minute and update all

Fighting Ageism in America

ALFA Short Film Competition winner - "Mind the Gap"

We recently returned from the Assisted Living Federation of America conference and there was a common theme we would like to share.

In today’s society, there seems to be a lot of “ageism” out there.  Ageism is defined as discrimination against people on the grounds of age; specifically, discrimination against the elderly.  This year, ALFA held a film competition that could help fight ageism in America.  If you click here, you can watch the short film that won the competition.

Then just yesterday, I came across this awesome story on MSNBC.com of a gentleman, who dreamed at a younger age, of crossing the Atlantic ocean in a raft.  At 85 years old, he set out with three of his friends to build the raft and set sail on the 2,800 mile journey.

Aging Parents: 5 warning signs of health problems

Recently, I had a chance meeting with one of our families outside of the work environment and we got to talking about a variety of things.  One of the points of conversation that was most interesting is the process that families go through when looking for a senior living community for their parent(s).  More times than people realize, decisions to make a move in to an assisted living community are based out of necessity.  We all talk a lot about services and amentities or features of our properties that seperate us from everyone else, but that isn’t what’s really important, and something they probably won’t remember when they get home to make their decision.

As providers, we have to remember that when someone reaches out to our communities, that we take in to consideration all of the emotions that this family member is going through.  Many times, as family members, we go out to visit our parents over the weekend and realize that something isn’t quite right and begin our search/fact finding mission.  This is very difficult time for families.  Imagine for a moment that you are out for a normal visit to your parents and realize that my parents are getting older.  Sometimes it can feel as though it happened overnight.  In those instances, families that are coming to visit us are in an emotional state.  It’s incredibly important to realize the stress they are going through.  They have called your community, or walked in the door to have us help them solutions and answers.

Video Games May Improve Seniors Health

The Incredi-bowls from Twin Town Villa

A new study on motion gaming, video games that involve frequent movement such as playing games on Wii and Kinect gaming systems, finds that elderly individuals can benefit physically and emotionally from these fun activities. Video games that allow seniors to participate in previously enjoyed activities such as tennis, bowling, and golf are particularly helpful in improving health.

According to a study by the Gerontological Society, virtually engaging in previously enjoyed activities increases life satisfaction, decreases reported loneliness, improves mood, and increases physical activity. Seniors also reported feeling “more apart of things” and more connected to the younger generation.