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Looking Beyond the Earthquake to Empower Elders in Nepal

By Geralyn Magan

Many still associate Nepal with the heartbreaking images of death and destruction that dominated television news programs after a devastating earthquake hit the Asian nation in April 2015.

Despite its long struggle to recover from that natural disaster, Nepal still has plenty to teach the rest of the world about how to empower older people.

Taryn Patterson, policy research associate at the LeadingAge Center for Applied Research (CFAR) and IAHSA team member, traveled to Nepal in mid-February with Ibasho, a not-for-profit organization that uses respect for local culture and social values to frame housing design and care for elders around the world.

While in Nepal, Patterson will be helping Dr. Emi Kiyota, Ibasho’s founder and IAHSA Board Member, and Dr. Yasuhiro Tanaka, a researcher at Tokyo University, to develop plans for an intergenerational gathering place that Ibasho plans to establish in or near Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal.

Building on Previous Experience

Elders in NepalIbasho has established similar gathering places — called Ibasho Cafés — in Japan and the Philippines, and is considering expanding the café model to the U.S. in the near future.

The cafés embody the Japanese word “Ibasho,” which means “a place where you can feel like yourself.”

“Basically, these cafés present an alternative to the traditional senior center model we have in the United States,” says Patterson. “They are completely run by seniors and they are intergenerational. People living in the surrounding community participate in planning the café and really dictate what the café will be.”

In Japan, for example, residents of the small fishing village of Ofunato wanted their Ibasho Café to help older people pass on their cultural heritage to the younger generation. This mission was particularly important after the village was severely damaged by the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan’s eastern coast in 2011.

“Everything was wiped out, so they needed a gathering place,” Kiyota told IAHSA in 2013. “We weren’t interested in disaster relief or in building a temporary structure. We wanted to create a normal place where people could actually come and learn from older people.”

In the Philippines, community members decided that their Ibasho Café would plant a community garden where older people could work side-by-side with children from an adjacent elementary school.

Building Partnerships in Kathmandu

The project in Nepal is being developed in partnership with Bihani Social Venture, a community-based aging services provider focusing on active aging, social engagement, health and well-being, and lifelong learning.

Patterson, Kiyota, and Tanaka will spend their week in Nepal searching for an appropriate site for Kathmandu’s Ibasha Café, meeting with additional prospective partners, and talking with local researchers about the important role that older people can play as change agents to help communities recover from events like natural disasters, economic downturns, and epidemics.

“We are going there to get a network of people interested in the model and the initiative,” says Patterson. “These partners will probably have a role in bringing activities and workshops to the Ibasho site, but they won’t be the ones implementing the café activities. You don’t really go into this process with your own vision of what a café is going to be because the community really dictates that.”

Each Ibasho Café evolves based on the capacity of older people and how they may want to serve the community, says Patterson.

“The unifying features are that the cafés are always intergenerational and they are really focused on empowering elders so they can continue to have an impact in their community,” she says. “I learned from the elders in the Philippines that it is important to take action with the capacities you have, and not to worry about perfection.”

Learning from Other Organizations

Patterson will also be taking the opportunity to learn more about Nepalese providers of aging services during her week in Asia.

She’ll be visiting a number of organizations offering adult day programs, home and community-based services, and housing plus services programs. She’ll also be dropping in on a weeklong training program for caregivers that one organization is sponsoring as a way to strengthen its long-term care workforce.

Patterson hopes to return to the U.S. with many lessons about international models of workforce recruitment and training, housing plus services, and home and community based services. She’s hoping those lessons will help inform CFAR’s ongoing work in these areas.

“This trip came about because of my role as an Ibasho board member,” says Patterson. “But it is clearly aligned with the missions of LeadingAge and the International Association of Homes and Services for the Ageing, and I’m grateful to be able to do this.”

The Role of the Primary Care Physician in Managing Dementia

Across the globe, the role of the primary care physician in managing Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has become central, and with increasing incidence of dementia and AD comes additional challenges. Extant research has examined knowledge primary care practitioners (PCPs) have about AD (Pucci et al., 2004; Turner et al., 2004). Some results have revealed adequate to good knowledge. However, general knowledge and practice recommendations do not exist. Initiatives have been undertaken with the aim of changing the attitude of PCPs and numerous guidelines have been developed for Europe, North America and Australia.

The role of the primary care physician is often shaped by the healthcare system in which they conduct their practice, however the aim of this paper is to define the role of the primary care practitioner in AD management, and propose a model for a work plan regardless of the system in with the PCP is operating.

Read full report here.

Meet IAHSA’s New Board Members

IAHSA welcomes four new board members in 2016.

Richard Semanda is Executive Director of the Geriatric Respite Care Foundation in Uganda, a community-based organization focused on delivering geriatric and palliative care for older people. Richard has been active in a number of other organziations that advocate for and provide support to older Ugandans.

Vincenzo Paolino is President of queerAltern in Zurich. A physchiatric nurse by training, Vincenzo has been a champion of culture change in nursing homes in Switzerland for a n umber of years.

Cheryl Wilson is Chief Executive Officer of St Paul Senior Homes and Services in San Diego California. St Paul’s is a multi-service organization serving hundreds of older people every day through a range of residential and community based services, including skilled nursing and adult day services.

Stuart C. Kaplan is the CEO of Selfhelp Community Services in New York City. Selfhelp reaches over 7,000 older New Yorkers a day, with a focus on serving low income elders in the city. As part if its mission, Selfhelp serves as the “last surviving relative” to its historic constituency – victims of Nazi persecution. Selfhelp has been a pioneer in establishing the virtual senior center to connect people and families. Their model has been replicated in many locations.

Learn more about IAHSA’s leadership here.

IAHSA Members Partner To Launch Sustainable Goat Rearing Programme for Women Elders in Cameroon

Community Development Volunteers for Technical Assistance (CDVTA) and Jack York of It’s Never Too Late partnered to launch the “Jack York Elderly Women’s Sustainable Goat Rearing Project” a sustainable livestock programme to assist elderly women and their families in the north west region of Cameroon.  Jack York met Francis Njuakom Nchii, Executive Director of CDVTA, during the 2015 IAHSA-ACSA Conference in Perth Australia.

York has donated a total of 8 goat and 2 sheep to be distributed to 6 elderly groups in the Ketchu, Djichami, Aboh, Juambum and Mbessa communities. The households are led by elderly women currently supporting themselves and their families through farming subsistence. The income generated from the donated livestock will be used to support the families and help with medical, school and other households bills.

In Ketchu, Mama Tabitha, a 60 year old widow caring for her 3 children and 7 grandchildren, poses in gratitude with her grandchildren and their new goat.

The field visits were made on the 16th and 17th of December 2015 by a CDVTA team of 7 (3 women and 4 men) from the head office and led by Nchii. The goats and sheep were donated to 6 elderly groups with 70% group membership made up of women. In gratitude for the generous donation, the elder beneficiaries and members from their households and communities sang songs and danced.

CDVTA Photo 2
Twangopti elderly group photograph with their goat and sheep.

CDVTA plans to follow the households over the next few years, reporting progress and the overall economic impact on its elder communities. To learn more about the project and other CDVTA initiatives, visit here. Or visit our Global Connections Programme page to learn about other partnership/exchange programmes and opportunities that can be initiated through our network.

Marcus Riley Elected IAHSA Board Chair

2015 Photo_MarcusRileyMarcus Riley, CEO of the Hibernian Society, which owns and operates BallyCara, has assumed the role of Chair of the Board of Directors of the International Association of Homes and Services for the Ageing (IAHSA), effective 1 January, 2016. Riley has served as an IAHSA board member for 2 years.

“In my new position, I hope to grow IAHSA’s global network on ageing and foster innovative ideas to improve provider practices worldwide,” said Riley. “I am very proud of the collective work the board does to support the leadership and members of IAHSA and look forward to our next year together.”

In addition to Riley’s leadership role at BallyCara, he is the Deputy Chairman of Leading Age Services Australia (LASA) and President of LASA-Queensland as well as a Director of Australian Marist Solidarity Ltd. He continues to hold advisory positions in the broader health field with key consumer, financial and service groups. Riley has worked hard to promote innovative practices and approaches.

“Marcus brings passion and guidance to IAHSA’s programs, as well as a deep sense of commitment to our field,” commented IAHSA Executive Director Katie Smith Sloan. “He has served many leadership roles in our field and has a breadth of perspective and experience that will serve IAHSA well in 2016 and beyond.”

IAHSA Board Chair, Margie Van Zyl, Offers a Reflection

2015 Photo_MargieVanZylby Margie Van Zyl

And so another year is drawing to a close – time to pause, and reflect. In order to embrace the new we must release the old. Just as a trapeze artist cannot swing from one bar to the next without letting go, an important part of our reflection should be to review that past year and release it, learn from it and then look forward to the new season. As you mull over the past year, here are some questions to ask yourself that might be helpful.

What did I learn?

What would I have done differently?

What did I complete or release?

What still feels incomplete to me?

What did I do right?

What were my biggest challenges or roadblocks?

How am I different this year than last year?

What do I need to do more of?

What must I stop doing?

So when we look back, we remember, we learn. So….how was your year? And where do you want to go in the next one?

In my personal reflection the word “gratitude” is foremost in my mind. Our world has been broken this past year in a turbulent economic and volatile political climate. The world has been enveloped with sadness with thousands upon thousands of people being displaced, mass murders, and terror attacks. And yet through all that, my life has remained secure and blessed.

We–each one of us on this call–indeed have much to be grateful for. However, there is much to do. The Hebrew saying tikkun olam says that the world has been broken into pieces. Yes, we’ve seen that this year…and it’s everyone’s job to play their part in putting the pieces back together again, and to help repair the world and make [it] a better place.

My gratitude extends to each one of you for the role you have played in IAHSA, and it is my hope that IAHSA will continue to be a light in the dark world as we reach out to service providers and, through our support to them, help in some small way and play an active role in repairing our world in the small corners where we can. This is our calling, to improve the lives of older people.

Season’s Greetings from Katie Smith Sloan!

Dear Colleagues,

As we approach the end of the year, I want to offer warm greetings to the Global Ageing Network for a happy holiday season. I am grateful  to each of you for the work you do every day to make the world a better place to grow old.

It is a noble and high calling to be entrusted with the shelter, care and support needs of our elders. We’re counted on for our integrity, the quality we deliver and for always doing what is in the best interests of those we house and serve. Families expect nothing less, governments in some cases pay us for this and older people deserve it.

On a global level, we haven’t yet imagined – much less invented – the policies, systems and models that will address the seismic demographic shift called “global ageing”, but we know all too well that demography is destiny–so we must. In doing so, we need to be mindful of the deep poverty many face and basic human rights that are violated daily in some places – the right to live with dignity, safety and security. We must advocate for systems and supports to meet needs and address injustice.

As we sharpen our imaginations, we need to listen carefully to the voices of older people – really listen. Creating a better future for the world’s elders is an imperative; the opportunity to be part of the creation is a gift – a gift and a purpose that we, as part of the global ageing network, share.

I look forward to our continued work together in the new year.

Katie Smith Sloan

Western Home Communities Receives International Dementia Award for “Design Innovation of the Year”

Western Home Communities in Cedar Falls, Iowa recently received international recognition for an innovative design collaboration with Orfield Laboraties and AHTS Architects. The group received the “Dementia Design Innovation of the Year Award” which was presented during the International Dementia Conference in Birmingham, U.K. in November. The award recognizes communal or private settings used by people with dementia that demonstrate good design.

The CottagesOrfield Laboratories of Minneapolis is an architectural and product lab that has made the first attempt to develop perceptual and cognitive standards to be used in the design of optimal living environments for older adults with dementia. Western Home Communities worked in collaboration with the lab to help develop those standards. AHTS Architects applied the standards in the design and development of The Cottages, two small house nursing homes for 32 residents with dementia. The Cottages at Western Home Communities opened its doors in June 2015 and is the first of its kind.

“[The ultimate goal of the project is to ensure that] residents can retain the perceptual values to thrive and live with as much functionality in the environment as possible,” commented Kris Hansen, President & CEO of Western Home Communities.

The group will continue to test, refine and develop additional standards as needed based on the outcomes of this project. They will also explore possible applications and additional technologies to ensure the standards are met.

To learn more about this exciting member project or the Dementia Design Innovation Award, click here.

Why One American CEO Traveled to Perth

Some providers of ageing services might think that 10,000 miles is a bit far to travel for a conference. But American provider Barb Rode didn’t think twice about attending the 2015 ASCA/IAHSA Joint International Conference in Perth, Australia, last September.

Rode is president and chief executive officer of St. Therese, an ageing services organization based in Minnesota’s Twin Cities metropolitan area. In that role, she’s responsible for the day-to-day operation of a multi-site organization serving about 2,000 older adults each year.

So how does a busy executive find the time to travel to the other side of the world?

After working 43 years in the ageing field, Rode decided in 2015 that it was time to fulfill her long-time dream to attend an international conference. And fortunately, she says, the board of her organization agreed to let her go.

“I thought this would be a great opportunity for me to get some new ideas and connect with people overseas,” says Rode about her trip. “And what better place than Australia? I knew I would never get there otherwise, and if I had things in common with the other participants, that would be amazing.”

An Amazing Experience

“Amazing” is a word that Rode uses frequently when describing her trip to Perth.

She particularly enjoyed the site visits that conference participants took to the Juniper Simulation Centre, Rise Network, the Air Force Memorial Estates, Coolibah Total Caring, and Capecare.

In addition to collecting business cards from her fellow site visitors, Rode says she brought home “a ton” of materials about the organizations she visited.

She’s used the business cards to keep in touch with her new global network. And she’s preparing to present the highlights of her site visit day to her board and her staff executive committee. For example:

  • The Juniper Simulation Centre, which is designed to train nursing assistants and home health aides in a homelike setting, was an “ah-ha” moment for Rode. She’d love to find a way to establish a similar training site in Minnesota.

  • The site visit to Rise Network’s award-winning Aboriginal Social Centre gave Rode many ideas about how her own organization could reach out to its community.

  • Rode was especially impressed by the Air Force Memorial Estates, which features an onsite Aviation Heritage Museum that is operated by hundreds of older volunteers, many of whom live on the estate. “It was just really interesting to see how the museum offers seniors meaningful work,” she says.

Sharing Common Challenges

Rode says she also returned to the United States with the strong belief that American providers are not alone as they face challenges associated with recruiting and retaining staff, caring for people with dementia, and marketing their communities.

“Everybody is having the same problems,” she says about her fellow conference participants. “It was like there wasn’t an ocean between us.”

Appreciation for her newly established global network will keep Rode going back to international conferences, in addition to attending national conferences in the U.S.

“The national conferences are well worth attending because you get an important level of knowledge about what your American colleagues are doing,” she says. “But I see now that international conferences open your networks to the whole world. So how exciting is that? You can’t get that anywhere else.”

Learn more about IAHSA’s International Conferences and other educational opportunies here.

Call for Entries: TechSAge International Design Competition (Deadline 15 Jan. 2016)

Jan. 15, 2016 is the deadline to enter the Technologies to Support Successful Aging with Disability (TechSAge) Design Competition, the first international design competition of its kind. The 2-phase competition is designed to recognize innovative technology solutions that meet the needs of the aging population.

The competition’s first-place winner will receive $1,500. Second- and third-place winners will receive $1,000 and $500 respectively.

The TechSAge Design Competition is organized by the TechSAge Research Engineering Rehabilitation Center at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research is sponsoring the competition.

About the Competition

Technology developers can enter the TechSAge Design Competition individually or as a team. Designs can be submitted under 1 of the following categories:

  • Health at Home, which includes technology solutions for the home environment that promote health and healthy activities.

  • Social Connectedness, including technology solutions that encourage communication, connectedness with people, and social activities.

  • Active Lifestyle, including technology solutions that promote physical and cognitive activities.

  • Community Mobility, including technology solutions that facilitate access to activities and/or locations.

Technology solutions may be products and/or systems including, but not limited to:

  • Ambient technologies.

  • Wearable devices.

  • Mobile applications.

  • Assistive robots.

2 Phases, 3 Winners

TechSAge 2016 is a 2-phase competition. Twelve finalists — 3 in each category —  will be selected on March 1, 2016 at the end of Phase I. During Phase II, these finalists will receive monetary support for design development. Three winners will be announced on May 15, 2016.

For More Information

To learn more about the TechSAge Design Competition 2016, visit www.techsagecompetition.com.