“The senior living field has long been ripe for disruption. While the pandemic is causing incredible stress and suffering, it can also be a launch pad for change – to move beyond ‘what was’ to an exciting new future. Join Jill Vitale-Aussem as she talks with Bob Kramer, President and Founder of Nexus Insights, strategic advisor to NIC, and one of senior living’s most influential thought leaders, about what the future holds.”
– The Eden Alternative, EdenAlt.org
Bill Thomas, MD, founder of The Eden Alternative (EdenAlt.org), was one of the earliest voices whose pioneering approach to aging impacted me. The Eden Alternative had just been founded in 1994 and we began our intergenerational experience at the ranch in 1998.
Having arrived with equipment and supplies to set up a second home office, I knew very little about Alzheimer’s – little more than the average person on the street. But the way in which I quickly came to regard it was quite different than the status quo at that time.
Somewhat undaunted, I knew that Mother was “still our mother.” A medical diagnosis had not changed that. This mindset challenged the prevailing stigma.
She was on the mend and recovering from having taken an Alzheimer’s medication which caused nausea over an extended period. When the medication was stopped, her appetite had quickly returned. She was eating well and gaining weight again. Help would be needed in preparing good food and relying on a nutritional approach for continued restoration and healing. Read more about our story here.
That was the setting and time period in which a paragraph in an article quoting Dr. Bill Thomas seemed to leap off the page and resonate with me at this early stage of our intergenerational experience. He is now included in a group of 12 Dementia Influencers in our e-magazine.
Words matter deeply – and I felt an immediate kindredship with The Eden Alternative.
This Disruptive Moment – The Business of Caring for Older Adults
Fast forward to the 2020 pandemic: In recent days during the pandemic, the Eden Alternative 
offered a dynamic program on its Facebook page – important due to our global existential crisis. The pandemic stops us in our tracks. It asks, “Do I have your attention now?”
TOPIC: Rethinking Aging and Aging Services
PRESENTER: Bob Kramer, President and Founder, Nexus Insights, a visionary and an influential thought leader.
FACILITATOR: Jill Vitale-Aussem, President and CEO, The Eden Alternative.
AUDIENCE: Content would be of interest especially for older adults, their families, and those in the business of caring for older adults. It is a learning opportunity about the potential for senior living transformation.
KEY NOTES: Bob Kramer began his presentation stating: “If you don’t understand the disruption going on, you will be disrupted right out of business.”
His work, he noted, is based on “transparency and good data leading to trust and credibility” – the key to his business approach over the years. The audience will be struck by his transparency and his passion for this topic.
WHAT – Transforming long-term care from top to bottom
- “This is a transformative moment! We’re in the center of this, and we have an audience we’ve never had!” he stated to his audience.
- “COVID-19 will transform long-term care from top to bottom. Technology is essential for moving forward, in addition to new models of aging starting from the notion of NORC’S (naturally occurring retirement communities – a model for aging in place) with on-demand services delivered to the consumer at home.”
WHO – Retirement versus Refirement
- “One view of older adults is that their ‘constructive engagement is over.’” However, he stated, “We need them more than ever.”
- “Two models for viewing the years following retirement include these: 1) The life span can seem like a cruel thing to those in the dependency model, also referred to as the ‘declinist’ model. It sets in at the time of retirement and continues to death. 2) The second model includes engagement, excitement, experience, and on-going learning. ‘Retirement versus Refirement.’”
HOW – “How are you prepared for the next pandemic?”
- “Will the Boomers be willing and wanting to give back? Some have a mindset of ‘Don’t ask me to give anything back. If you all would just die off, we wouldn’t have to make these trade-off’s.’ And others wake up with a sense of purpose, a sense of engagement, and a feeling, ‘I need to get up and get going. People depend upon me.’ Society needs Boomers to speak out now more than ever.”
- “Aging services are being forced to change overnight. The issue is ‘aging in the right place.’ While searching for a place for Mom and Dad, families will start asking the facility, ‘How are you prepared for the next pandemic?’”
- “Continuous digital communication has become so important in order to maintain transparency, credibility, and trust – with both the consumer and (her) family.”
WHY – What’s it all about?
- “Older adults are an important part of our human community and have an enormous role in social cohesion!”
Replays of the presentation can be found here on Facebook or on YouTube.
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MORE PROGRAMS at EdenAlt.org: Free Online Education Focused on COVID-19 Outbreak – Find here.
Check out the website. Find your community here: EdenAlt.org
Author: Susan Troyer
