Ken Dychtwald is probably the biggest Kahuna in gerontology. He is credited with coining the term Age Wave, also the name of his firm and 1989 classic book. He lead a keynote panel entitled The Aging of America: Triumph or Tragedy? at the recent National Council on Aging (NCOA)/ American Society on Aging (ASA) conference in Chicago. The speakers were great 1. Aging luminary Robert Butler , 2. AARP’s Thomas C Nelson, 3. Mae Carpenter
Dychtwald summarized his remarks with three main points.
1. Medical care needs to be reformed. Dignity, Quality, Cost. Well trodden ground at this year’s conference. Kathleen Sebelius also graced the conference with her thoughtful remarks on this topic. (And today WE know the bill passed. Here is my hope that it will be the start of great and thorough change.)
2. The financial situation for individuals and the country needs to serious attention. The financial crisis has changed the landscape of plans and dreams for too many Americans without recourse. This does not make sense yet we and they need to be able to make sense to what we can plan and what we can do.
3. Aging today is missing purpose. He framed this clearly when he said, “The have the gift of longevity but no greater intention watching too much TV.” Dychtwald said the aging of America will be a triumph if we make it interesting and important.
I can’t agree more. The country and each of us needs to pay attention, make demands and realize that if we do nothing we will have a mess. If we do something like every generation of Americans, no one knows just how much we can do.
Louis Tenenbaum, one of the nation's leading authorities on aging in place, is the founder of HomesRenewed, a coalition of business, consumers and nonprofits, driving policy and investment to increase the number of age-friendly homes.
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Some if not most of all our elders lose purpose when they reach the age of retirement. Somehow this also causes depression among the older population. senior care should be our priority