Ben Belton, Director of Global Partner Engagement at AARP International points out: “Greater longevity is one of the most significant achievements of modern times. However, this progress must not stop with simply extending years of life. The question becomes one of how we can add well-being and value to those years.”
A recent article sponsored by the AARP Public Policy Institute focused on the phenomenon of global aging and in particular, the work of the Aging Readiness and Competitiveness (ARC) Initiative. ARC’s purpose is to highlight innovations from around the world that help people enjoy longer, healthier and more financially secure lives.
ARC produced a report about progress in 22 countries, large and small, seen as most interesting in how they approached the challenges and opportunities of population aging. Two areas became a repeating prime focus of significant change and progress: healthcare and social infrastructure.
Innovations that made healthcare more affordable, accessible and focused on well-being received high marks. Social infrastructure was described as the social foundation of a community that supports independence and aging in place. This would include things like accessibility, social engagement and existence of community-based services and supports.
A set of common themes became clear in the most successful approaches to change. Efforts were person-oriented, developed with direct input from people who would benefit from the change. Efforts were also developed from the bottom-up. Top leaders might set direction, but frontline workers and users would steer priorities and results.
Successful innovations were also holistic and integrative, meaning goals were lofty with many interdependent factors involved in solutions. Successful countries saw a “transformational trend” that cast aside outmoded ideas that associate longevity with decline and non-contribution and replaced them with a vision of opportunity and possibility. It was timely reading on my part.
Earlier this week, a public “convening” took place, virtually and at the Mendel Center, to talk about health and healthcare titled The Road to Transformation – a Community of Care. The central themes underscored personal individuality, and recognition that we and our community thrive on interdependence. We need each other.
Sponsored by Area Agency on Aging, Spectrum Health Lakeland and Caring Circle, the idea of a Transformation Strategy was created in pursuit of community wide understanding and involvement in person-centered support – a “Community of Care” for older adults and their caregivers.
Throughout life, our interdependence with friends, family, colleagues, neighborhoods, community and so on, is key to personal resilience and ability to thrive. It only makes sense that we take that value of interdependence into health care.
The medical world has discovered that what happens in the home directly affects health outcomes. When people don’t have the services and supports they need to thrive in the home, health suffers, no matter the medical intervention.
Area Agency on Aging, Spectrum Health Lakeland and Caring Circle have discovered they are stronger working together. They are inspired by their work together and the positive stories and health impact they’ve been able to achieve by being person-centered, finding out what matters most to the person, identifying barriers to success and focusing on eliminating the barriers.
Sharing their story of success at the recent convening broadened the conversation. The broad base of attendees was inspired. The speakers were inspired.
Working together, bringing medical and community-based worlds together, tackling some of the most complex care issues there are while recognizing person-centeredness and interdependence as core principles of success, that’s exciting.