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OLTA Releases 2015 Report on Long-Term Care Challenges in Ontario

The Ontario Long Term Care Association released a new report on long-term care in Ontario today.  This is Long-Term Care 2015 provides an analysis of the growing needs of residents in long-term care homes, noting a dramatic increase in chronic illness and acuity since the publication of its previous report in 2010.

Based on the analysis, the increase can be attributed to multiple factors including regulatory changes in admission criteria made by the Ontario government in 2010.  Canadians entering long-term care homes are required to have high to very high physical and/or cognitive challenges in order to be admitted. Subsequently, residents are transitioning into homes later in life and with far more complex health issues, requiring a higher level of care and supports.

The report is intended to serve as a guide which outlines the current landscape of ageing in Ontario. It provides statistics on residents, funding, staffing and quality of care.  It also outlines key challenges and proposed solutions.

Download the full report here.

IAHSA Luncheon Honors Larry Minnix and Global Engagement During LeadingAge Annual Meeting in Boston

IAHSA hosted a luncheon for members and international conference attendees during the LeadingAge Annual Meeting in Boston Massachusetts in early November. The luncheon welcomed guests from places as far as Australia, China, Beirut and Kenya to name only a few.

The gathering was an opportunity for members of IAHSA’s U.S. chapter to connect and engage with international attendees as well as for IAHSA to recognize its members and to honor LeadingAge President & CEO and IAHSA President, Larry Minnix, for his contributions to IAHSA’s mission and growth.  Larry Minnix will be retiring from his position as President & CEO of LeadingAge at the end of the year.

Joyce Eid was presented with an IAHSA Certificate of Distinction in recognition of her work in the establishment of Moadieh Evangelical Center, an interfaith elder care community in Beirut. The award was presented by David Reimer of Palm Village in CA who worked closely with the project.  More projects of this kind (which require the involvement and support of international communities—connections which can be made through IAHSA) were encouraged throughout the programme.

IAHSA Board Member and Immediate Past Chair, Rob Hilton, extended IAHSA’s gratitude to Larry Minnix for his vision and support of IAHSA’s mission over the years, commenting that “no activity of LeadingAge better represents Larry’s vision for and commitment to the field of aging than our participation in IAHSA.” As IAHSA’s acting President, Larry Minnix’s support has been integral to the IAHSA’s growth as a key resource for the world’s leaders in aged care as well as the development of its programming.

In closing, IAHSA Board Member Rich Schutt, reflected on his organization’s experiences as an IAHSA member, highlighting 4 key benefits and advantages of membership.

  1. Education. “First, and foremost, it is a place to learn.”

  2. Service. “Second, IAHSA is a place where you can serve. “

  3. Expansion—the potential to expand services, resources and supports internationally.

  4. Ease of engagement. “If you have not experienced these benefits of IAHSA, all you have to do is join-in, and engage.“

GSA’s 4th Global Aging Forum Focuses on Connecting Community Partners

IAHSA recently the joined Gerontological Society of America to sponsor a forum on Global Aging: Connecting Community Partners. The forum took place on 18 November during GSA’s annual meeting Orlando, Florida and focused on international research and education efforts with particular attention on creating connections and partnerships.

Dr. Robyn Stone of LeadingAge’s Center for Applied Research (CFAR) remarked that IAHSA brings “boots on the ground” to the applied research community. IAHSA creates venues for research and serves as a means to connect parties interested in using research findings to improve practice. Through the IAHSA Applied Research Clearinghouse, IAHSA has established a platform for researchers to share their findings and for providers to learn. Taryn Patterson of IAHSA and LeadingAge and manager of the Clearinghouse, invited researchers to submit their work for publication.

Kathy McGilton, Senior Scientist at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute shared her research in the role of the registered nurse in long term care. McGilton’s findings confirm that the role is changing dramatically. Among the issues facing the RN is the burden of paper-work which prohibits RN’s from practicing their full scope of nursing competencies including person-centered care. Research that Kathy McGilton has underway in Spain is looking at factors that contribute to the effectiveness of the RN in long term care settings and understanding who is actually providing the care.

Professor Julienne Meyer of City University of London also described her work in the UK focused on quality in care homes. She suggested that the debate between “metrics and meaning” continues, particularly in the context of person-centered care. This debate prevents us from capturing the “naturally occurring innovation” that happens regularly in the care home setting.

Richard Browdie of the Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging remarked that in long term care we have the problem of “learning while doing” which, given how hard it is, makes it difficult for providers to flock to idea of using research to guide practice. We need to better connect the utility of what we learn through research to quality which, ultimately, links to the economics of providing services and supports. “The intellectual, policy and operational triad need each other on the journey to improve aged care around the world.”

This Forum is the beginning of a series of Forums that IAHSA and GSA will conduct together leading up to the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics (IAGG) conference in 2017.

IAHSA to Co-sponsor Gerontological Society of America’s 2015 Global Aging Forum

IAHSA and Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging will be co-sponsoring the Global Ageing Forum at the 65th annual meeting of the Gerontological Society of America.

The fourth GSA Global Aging Forum will be held on Wednesday, 18 November at the annual meeting of the Gerontological Society of America in Orlando, Florida. The forum will focus on international research and education efforts with particular attention on creating connections and partnerships.  Presenters from a variety of disciplines and from both developed and developing countries will engage attendees with work in progress around the world, including countries in Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe, and Africa.  As part of this forum, IAHSA will have a panel discussion entitled The IAHSA Global Ageing Research Clearinghouse: A Platform for Global Knowledge Exchange. The panel will introduce the audience to the International Association of Homes and Services for the Ageing, provide examples of trans-national research in which panelists are engaged, and discuss ways IAHSA can serve as a platform for global knowledge exchange via the development and expansion of the Global Ageing Research Clearinghouse. IAHSA panelists will include Drs. Robyn Stone and Taryn Patterson of the LeadingAge Center for Applied Research, Dr. Julienne Meyer of City University London, Richard Browdie of the Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging, and Dr. Kathy McGilton of the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute-University Health Network.

The Global Aging Forum will be valuable to those currently engaged in cross-national research and/or education as well as those wishing to network with potential collaborators. As a result of attending this session, participants will be able to: (1) gain knowledge of existing exemplars of international research related to global ageing, and (2) identify community partners and other researchers with interests similar to their own related to global aging to facilitate future opportunities for collaboration. See more at: https://www.geron.org/images/gsa/2015asm/globalagingagenda2015.pdf

Katie Smith Sloan Leads IAHSA and LeadingAge in 2016

On 16 October 2015, IAHSA’s Executive Director, Katie Smith Sloan, was named the new President and CEO of LeadingAge. Katie will replace Larry Minnix who is retiring from the post at the end of the year.

Katie will be carrying her leadership of IAHSA into her new role as CEO and President, with the hope of unifying LeadingAge’s work within the USA with the work of IAHSA’s global ageing community.

Katie commented on her new role, “I am deeply honored to be named as LeadingAge’s president and CEO. Expanding the world of possibilities for aging is important, vital, and invigorating work and in the years ahead, older people will dominate our nation’s census.

“I have devoted my career to the field of aging services, and I can think of no better vehicle than this organization for leading a national conversation about what it means to have an aging society, for tackling challenging policy issues, and for reversing prevailing biases against the aging. Doing so will require a vigorous program of engagement in public policy issues and with policy makers. I look forward to that, and to continuing our strong ties with IAHSA.”

IAHSA and LeadingAge History

IAHSA was founded by LeadingAge more than two decades ago with a distinct vision of creating a broader, international platform for the exchange of ideas, resources and solutions in addressing the most pressing issues faced by the world’s elders. Since then, IAHSA has been a close partner with LeadingAge as well as chapter members, IAHSA-China and EAHSA, in maintaining a continued dialogue and exchange of ideas among the world’s leading providers, businesses and researchers in aged care.

LeadingAge on Global Ageing

In 2015, LeadingAge established its position on global ageing and the need for increased engagement with the international community through its “Global Ageing Case Statement: Engagement with Ageing on a Global Scale”:

“…Countries, including the U.S., have each developed their own solutions to this challenge based on public policies and cultural norms. Across nations, there is a wide spectrum of approaches and considerable ingenuity and innovation. But there are also enormous gaps in understanding aging and in the systems and services necessary to address unmet needs.

“Over two decades ago, LeadingAge established IAHSA (International Association of Homes and Services for the Ageing) to embrace the broader, global community of ageing services organizations. IAHSA was established with the belief that we have much to learn and much to share and that only by working together will we create a better world in which to grow old. Solutions are viable across borders, knowledge is meant to be shared, collaboration is essential and learning together is fundamental.”

Katie Smith Sloan looks forward to blending LeadingAge’s mission with the work of IAHSA, and continued engagement and collaboration throughout the international community on urgent issues affecting the world’s elders.

Click here to read the full LeadingAge Press Release.

Cultural Perceptions Limit Care and Resources for Nigerian Elders

Nigerian elders are largely revered for their wisdom and are considered a blessing within families. As a result, it is culturally unacceptable to place parents or grandparents under what is referred to as “external care”. It follows, therefore, that there are few assisted living communities and only 13 nursing homes in all of Nigeria.

Nigeria has the largest number of people over age 60 south of the Sahara. Sadly, incidences of abuse and neglect are reported both for those elderly cared for by families and those in an “external care” situation. According to Ventures Africa, “the inability for both organizations and family members to care for these citizens is evident in the number of elderly who beg in virtually every part of the country.”

These realities underscore the importance of the United Nation’s newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) with explicit reference to the elderly. They also reinforce the need to focus attention on addressing human rights abuses targeting the elderly.

Blue Zones: Lessons About Health and Ageing

Dan Buettner’s Blue Zones should be instructive for all of us. They are as much about longevity as about health and well-being, no matter how long you live. His research–conducted on the ground in places where people are known to live to 100 or more–is despositive.

  • Exercise need not involve spandex and mirrors. Walk.

  • Food need not involve a state of the art kitchen with finely calibrated tools and appliances. But it must be dominated by vegetables, a minimal amount of protein and no dairy or sugar. Real sour dough bread adds another food group. And, a touch of red wine daily.

  • Community–the companyof others, social interaction–is the antidote to loneliness, which so often accompanies old age.

A simple formula.

Other recent research has shown that nature relieves stress–being out of doors frees the mind.

What would old age in the world be like if we followed Dan Buettner’s formula? We would describe ageing as a passing of years rather than a loss of ability; abilities rather than disabilities. A complete paradigm shift.

World Health Organization Releases World Report on Health and Ageing

LeadingAge and  IAHSA applaud the WHO for its comprehensive World Report on Health and Ageing. At a time of unprecedented demographic shifts, it is appropriate to take a hard look at what we know – and what we don’t know about ageing. WHO’s analysis correctly suggests that we need  to “move the debate about the most appropriate public health response to population ageing into new – and much broader – territory. The overarching message is optimistic: with the right policies and services in place, population ageing can be viewed as a rich new opportunity for both individuals and societies.”

The report goes on to say, “For most older people, the maintenance of functional ability has the highest importance. The greatest costs to society are not the expenditures made to foster this functional ability, but the benefits that might be missed if we fail to make the appropriate adaptations and investments. The recommended societal approach to population ageing, which includes the goal of building an age-friendly world, requires a transformation of health systems away from disease-based curative models and towards the provision of integrated care that is centred on the needs of older people.”

These objectives are in complete alignment with those of IAHSA and LeadingAge. The needs, desires and preferences of older persons are paramount in creating the infrastructure of services and supports needed to support them in their later years.

UN Ratifies Sustainable Development Goals to Include Healthy Ageing

On September 25, 2015, 193 nations joined together to formally ratify the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s or Global Goals). IAHSA applauds the UN for including age in the goals and targets and commends the pledge to “leave no one behind.” Among the goals are to “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.” As Archbishop Desmond Tutu said, “I want to tell the world that I count, that older people everywhere count…”

It is right and timely that ageing be included in these global goals. Our societies are ageing rapidly and we are ill-prepared for both the challenges and opportunities that it will bring. This significant step by the nations of the world confirms that age does matter. It is part of the human condition. It is a stage of life which, like all stages, has meaning and value. Creating a better future for the world’s elders is an imperative. IAHSA looks forward to working with its members and others to implement actions to ensure that these goals are met.

Congratulations to IAHSA’s 2015 Leadership Fellows!

IAHSA’s inaugural Global Leadership Retreat was launched in conjuction with the IAHSA-ACSA Global Ageing Conference in Perth Australia.

On 31 August 2015, 23 international leaders came together for 2 1/2 days to learn from one another and from experienced leaders in the field of ageing. The retreat was led by facilitators, Kay Kallandar and Jeremy Neely, and included facilitator teachings, conversations with visionary leaders, a site visit to a forward thinking and innovative community, as well as a variety of exercises, films and group discussions enriched by participants’ diverse perspectives. Partipants developed new skills, insights, ideas and confidence in providing leadership in times of change and innovation as well as an expanded global peer network to consult and connect with in the future.

2015 Leadership Fellow, Jackie Howard of Active Living in Australia, shared her retreat experience, “The Global Leadership Retreat gave me what I hoped for and so much more! In our busy lives we don’t take the time to stop and reflect, that is exactly what the retreat allowed me to do. It was a truly amazing 2 ½ days with outstanding facilitators and exceptional leaders openly and frankly sharing personal and heartfelt experiences and learnings. It allowed me the time to reflect on the importance of leading from ‘who you are and where you are’, and the significant power of words and attitude. I gained a few new tools and strategies in my tool box for my quest to be the best leader/person I can be. It was an uplifting experience and a privilege to share this with some of the most passionate leaders in aged care.”

Thank you to our wonderful facilitators and the 2015 Fellows for your part in making our inaugural leadership programme such a success! IAHSA looks forward to their continued leadership and contributions towards healthy ageing worldwide!

2015 Global Ageing Leadership Fellows

[one_third extra=”” anim=””]Gayle Alexander, Calvary Community Care
Judi Cohen, Care With Quality
Marie Crossland, Australian Unity
Kim Daly Nobbs, Willow Valley Communities
Graham Dangerfield, Baptcare
Justin Dover, Vietnam Veterans KPVC Hostel
Nigel Faull, Star Aged Living
Jackie Howard, AnglicareSA[/one_third]
[one_third extra=”” anim=””]Stewart James, HammondCare
Helen Jones, Australian Unity Retirement Living
Elizabeth Lockyear, Shire of Manjimup HACC
Carol Long, Hinterland Community Care Inc
Sue Lord, Forest Lake Lodge
Lucy O’Flaherty, Glenview Community Services
Erina Rewi, The Bays[/one_third]
Angie Robinson, integratedliving Australia Ltd
Femada Shamam, TAFTA
Justine Smetham, CPE Group
Sue Thomson, McLean Care Ltd
Peter Watson, Provider Assist
Charmaine Waugh, Australian Unity
Rose Wild, McLean Care Ltd
Helen Wood, UnitingCare