Over the last few years, a new generation of studies on aging has produced results that are turning the traditional thinking about this human phenomenon on its head.  In a recent large international survey, nearly 75% of U.S. respondents aged 70-79 said they often feel able to do the things they want to do, and that they are looking forward to the future.  This is the “new old age.”

98-year old Dorothy Helbig gets a dolphin kiss. Read more.

Dr. Laura Carstensen of Stanford’s Center on Longevity argues, given that Americans’ are living thirty years longer on average than they did one hundred years ago, new policies must be put forward: “When we accept the current state of affairs and plan policies around it, we ask, ‘How are old people failing?’ instead of ‘How is the culture failing to support and profit from long life?’” The The Freshwater Group has taken up the call to action made by this fundamental shift in traditional perceptions of aging.

Too often in the last half-century, retirement communities were planned and managed to limit the liabilities associated with the possible increased fragility of aging, with social programs based on a one-size-fits-all model.  Many of these communities recognize the value of some kind of wellness program, but the operating principle remains limitation. The Freshwater Group believes the core operating principle of a retirement community should be possibiity in every aspect, from planning and architecture to daily programming and lifestyle.

To read more about the initiatives at our communities, visit the links in this Vision section. The series of articles below cover our on-going discussions of some of the most prominent topics of aging today.

AGING IN THE NEWS

August 21, 2008
Slow Medicine - The term was coined by Dr. Dennis McCullough, a Dartmouth geriatrician and author of My Mother, Your Mother: Embracing Slow Medicine, the Compassionate Approach to Caring for Your Aging Loved One. In the book, which recounts his own experience with his mother's decline and eventual death, McCullough sets off the hustle and bustle of our current medical culture, particularly emergency medicine, against the singular benefits of making informed, un-rushed, ultimately wise, medical decisions through the inevitable process of aging and dying. Read the Article

July 24, 2008
That Bridge Game Might Be Better for You Than You Imagined - Some years ago my grandfather told a joke at our extended family’s Thanksgiving dinner table.  He was 102 at the time.  It was not a particularly good joke (so you won’t have to read it here) but it was a very quick-witted, subtle response to another joke, which an octogenarian had just finished telling (which was good but slightly off color, so you won’t get to read it here). Read the Article

July 17, 2008
Getting Older Means Getting . . . Happier - The recently published results of a long term, ongoing survey suggest that older people are happier than younger ones, a result running counter to the conventional wisdom that is most easily grasped in the phrase that "aging is not sissies."  Read the Article

July 15, 2008
Seniors Living Green - The term 'green' could also make us think of strong design, cleaner indoor and outdoor environments and enhanced health – matters that have enhanced benefits especially in retirement communities. Read the article

July 8, 2008
Living in Smart Homes - There’s little doubt that more technology is finding its way into our daily lives, and given that the number of older Americans is expected to double to 20% of the US population by 2030, the new technologies that are being developed specifically to serve this population are getting much attention. Read the article