Global Innovations in Senior Living and Care
Amy Schiffman, MD, MHS, HMD
CEO AgeTech DC, CMO HealPros, Co-host of Mastering Medicare Podcast
Forget everything you thought you knew about aging. The 2023 AARP Community Challenge grants are rewriting the script, turning senior living communities into hotbeds of innovation and holistic well-being. Imagine a world where a simple accessibility ramp in Elgin, Illinois, doubles as a bird-watching platform, or where vacant lots in Rushville transform into wheelchair-accessible community gardens. This isn't a glimpse into a distant utopian future; it's happening now, and it's setting the stage for a paradigm shift from mere survival to unabashed thriving for older adults.
While the U.S. is making strides, Canada is taking a quantum leap with its Age Well at Home initiative—a staggering $13.95 million investment aimed at nothing less than revolutionizing at-home aging. But the revolution isn't confined to the Great White North. In Nevada, over a thousand homecare workers are making history, rallying to form a union that aims to set new industry-wide standards for quality and dignity in senior care. This isn't just a labor movement; it's a clarion call for a nationwide reevaluation of how we treat those who care for our most vulnerable.
Manchester-by-the-Sea is doing more than just addressing the housing needs of its senior citizens; it's laying down a blueprint for how communities can be designed with the future in mind. The town's Planning Board is not merely tinkering at the edges of existing housing bylaws; they're blowing them wide open to introduce a smorgasbord of housing options that cater to the diverse needs of seniors. From expansive, amenity-rich communities to affordable, downsized living spaces, Manchester is crafting a vision where age-in-place isn't just a catchphrase but a community-wide ethos. This is more than urban planning; it's a manifesto for how we should approach aging in the 21st century.
领英推荐