| Older Dominion Partnership |
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The Older Dominion Partnership (ODP) is a non-profit initiative by Virginia business, government, foundations, and non-profits to help Virginia prepare for the age wave -- the doubling of the Commonwealth's 65+ year old population from ~900,000 today to over ~1.8 million by 2030. The ODP serves as an inspiration, catalyst, and independent platform for networking, collaborating and planning.
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| Call for Ideas! |
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What kinds of articles or information would you like to see in this newsletter or on the ODP Web site? See what we are doing at
www.olderdominion.org
and make suggestions.
We gladly accept articles for publication in this e-newsletter. Please send them to administrator @olderdominion.org
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Member Profile
 Meet Jeffrey S. Cribbs, Sr., President & Chief Executive Officer of the Richmond Memorial Health Foundation and an ODP board member.
Quote: "Health care planning comes from an infrastructure that was built to serve today's seniors -- not the upcoming generation of seniors who have entirely different expectations of how they're going to live and how they're going to be treated. Are we building the wrong infrastructure?"
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Studies & Articles
Coming Up: Grandpa on Milk Cartons?First came the AMBER alerts, where law enforcement authorities notified local broadcasters about missing children. Now several states are piggybacking "silver alerts" onto their AMBER systems to get out the word about missing seniors suffering from dementia. Even Congress is getting into the act.
We could find no indication in the General Assembly legislative search database that any comparable initiative is being considered in Virginia. Maybe it's time. Read more.
Not Just for Aging Hippies
The tiny nation of Denmark has more than 250 co-housing facilities where seniors share communal housing and household chores in order to maintain their independence. The United States has only three, but one of them is in Abingdon, Virginia: The ElderSpirit Community at Trailview. This article in USA Today profiles a community in Boulder, Colorado.
Research shows that 88% of Virginia's Baby Boomers want to age at home. But a strong desire to live independently could clash with a projected decline in the number of caregivers. Co-housing could be one approach for seniors to collaborate in their own caregiving.
Grannies Packing Heat Remember the stereotype of the senior who knows everything that's going on in the neighborhood? Regarding seniors as potential partners in the fight against crime, police departments around the country are establishing "senior citizen police academies" that include ride-alongs with officers and even a spot of firearms training.
It's a creative way to get seniors, particularly in minority communities, civically engaged -- a major priority of the ODP. Read more.
But Can It Give Hugs?
China is one of the fastest-aging societies on the planet and, with its one-child policy, faces a severe shortage of caregivers for the elderly. The Harbin Institute of Technology is developing a solution: a robot that sings, plays chess, fetches food and medicine, and sounds an alarm if the gas is leaking. This China View report even says the robot has "twinkling eyes."
Maybe the Chinese aren't as touchy-feely as Americans -- remember, they don't have Oprah -- but we're guessing that it will be a while before robots satisfy the emotional needs of lonely seniors. And we'll venture a guess that it will be a really long time before they make good companions for Virginia seniors.
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Events
 How Virginia Is Preparing to Ride the Age Wave
Virginia Forum on Age Wave Planning
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. .
Livable Communities
Richmond
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
The Washington, D.C.-based Aging in Place initiative is hosting a workshop in Richmond to "jumpstart the conversation" on the goal of creating a more livable community for all ages. The ODP hopes you will join us for this important initiative, which is part of our 2030 Age Wave Planning for the Richmond Region. For more information click here.
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The Older Dominion Partnership e-newsletter is published twice monthly, made possible by the generous support of the Richmond Memorial Health Foundation.
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