✨ Ageism in Managed Senior Communities

Hello OiFan,

We have a similar program here, "residents university," that does essentially the same thing. I do have a question for you.

Here, many of our classes seem to be attended by residents who don't seem interested in putting any work into studying, reading, participating, etc. Many, not all by any means, appear to be filling the day. Many do not return for second sessions, much less third. Few to none are interested in follow-up work/study groups to learn a topic more in depth. I'm sure there are other throw-backs like me out there.

What have you noticed?

Phil, you sound like a realist to me.

It is a fact that, at any age, one must evaluate each person on a one-by-one-basis. This has always been true throughout our lives. The rub occurs when we "reach a certain age," ageist language intended, our culture has developed in a manner that devalues expertise. The onward slog to raise public awareness about the loss to the community is great, and makes the work worthwhile.

One way we can me most impactful on the issue of ageism, is to educate the young children in our family about ageism. If enough of us do that, we can make a difference for the future.

At Wind Crest, an Erickson managed community in Denver, we have a very popular program called "Learners". This is entirely resident-run. Anyone with a particular area of knowledge or expertise can submit a proposal to the Learners committee to teach a 4-8 week course open to any resident who has paid the $10/trimester fee. There are usually dozens of course offerings from Renaissance music to how to use your iPad to birding to "getting your affairs in order for your next of kin." These many courses are so popular and generally excellent in quality and delivery that there is a lottery to get into a course, often with a wait list. With 2,000 residents here, there are many with extraordinary expertise & knowledge (geologists, lawyers, historians, astronomers, retired professors of you-name-it) who generously share their time and energy to prepare presentations with slides, background reading and resources.

I think about this topic all the time. There are retired experts in so many fields in my commmunity - medicine, law, education, etc. - whose talents are literally being wasted. Sadly, no one (to my knowledge) has figured a way to intergrate this expertise into the operations of our facilities. To be fair, I suppose management would incur all sorts of problems if they tried to get too much advise on operatioonal issues from we residents. Having said that, I think it behooves us to explore this area and I am willing to participate in such an endeavor.

BTW: I am a big believer in age and term limits for public officeholders! Does that mean I am really a "HIdden Aegist"?

Ageism is woven into the fabric of the American Experience. Each of us learns these attitudes from earliest childhood and are so ordinary that we cannot see them ourselves. Of course, the retirement industry is set up along those lines. How could it be different. Ageist cultures create ageist industries, that's the way the world works.

Our General Forum has a comment asking: Can residents use their knowledge and expertise in their CCRC (this one was about Dining Services). Can our retired professionals of all kinds use their deep knowledge in service to their communities? We have highly trained experts of all stripes whose knowledge lays fallow.

What level of engagement with management exists where a resident can contribute advanced skills effectively?

Who can share some information on this topic?

This video makes ageist attitudes easy to see in that they chose to focus on physical attributes, and they did a great job of it. It's easy to see physical strength and competence and much more difficult to demonstrate mental acuity. That said, this is a great start.

Here's a good illustration . . .

Richmond Shreve

NaCCRA Board Member

Forum Moderator

Ageism exists everywhere. The next generation wants better.

Ageism is a demeaning bias or negative stereotype applied to a person or group because they are perceived as "old." You wouldn't expect to find it in communities of elders, yet frequently it is rampant. Both residents themselves, and our community staff and caregivers participate in hidden ageism. Read Article