Business Forum: State must find smarter ways to serve elders

On Sunday, the first baby boomers turned 60. A boomer will now turn 60 every seven seconds for the next two decades. As we march to 2020, when Minnesota will have more seniors than school children, we have an unprecedented opportunity to transform the marketplace and build lasting value.

Innovation that improves life quality has spawned triumphs such as Medtronic, the Mayo Clinic and MinnesotaCare. Yet when it comes to serving older adults, institutionalism has reigned. While downsizing has occurred, Minnesota remains among the nation's leaders in two-people-to-a-room nursing homes.

Aging is about living. The need for care will never disappear, but warehousing human beings must. Investing in and creating communities that people desire to call home, no matter their age or stage, is essential -- especially when we consider that our state's 85-plus population will expand by 90 percent by 2030.

That doesn't always mean more bricks and mortar. In many cases, it's creating entrepreneurial services that go to a Mankato townhouse or a Minneapolis loft to provide home alteration, independence-aiding technology and other conveniences.

In other instances, it means new, but very different, construction. The Village at Penn State, for example, is home to new "college seniors." Its housing options overlook Penn State University and range from single-level homes to assisted living to more intensive care. Residents access the university's classes, arts center, golf course and other amenities, including priority seating to watch 78-year-old coach Joe Paterno's football team. Pennsylvania shouldn't have all the fun in creating new housing and services that help people live fully.

Remember Mrs. Fletcher, star of the campy "I've fallen and can't get up" call-alert ads?

Whether we're entering life's third age or departing it, most of us don't identify with Mrs. Fletcher. Marketers who cling to stale stereotypes and ignore the aging-living connection do so at their own peril. Two-thirds of the people who have ever lived past age 65 are alive today, and that cohort is expanding.

Ours is a "knowledge economy." But many people who bring that knowledge to work each day are poised to retire. In fact, about 64 million boomers, more than 40 percent of the U.S. labor force, contemplate retirement by the decade's end.

An analysis by the Conference Board, a business research organization, found that companies, particularly in health care and technology, are concerned about "brain drain" caused by experienced workers exiting.

Therein lies opportunity. And some already are seizing it. Proctor & Gamble and Eli Lilly, for example, co-founded YourEncore, a company that taps retiree expertise. The state of Iowa, Principal Financial Group and AARP have launched the AARP Workforce Initiative, which helps match workers age 50-plus to jobs.

And St. Paul-based Securian Financial Group was recognized this year by AARP as one of America's top employers of workers over 50.

Planning beyond a mortgage

Some older Minnesotans will continue working for enjoyment, others out of necessity. Life is expensive, particularly when it unexpectedly turns toward Alzheimer's or other challenges. To live fully to the end, and not bankrupt future generations, we must act collectively and individually.

One's financial planning can't end with tuition or the mortgage. Long-term care insurance has a role in the solution mix. However, many people don't understand it or buy it. That understanding could be increased with a multi-pronged Minnesota public education campaign on lifestage planning. It could include a one-stop website where people could compare insurance options side-by-side. Better consumer understanding would lead to better products, and vice versa.

For many, insurance premiums are out of reach. I believe this generation can forge a universal health insurance plan. Until then, we mustn't abandon safety nets; we must fix their holes. That means simplifying the federal-state policy patchwork, using existing dollars most effectively, ensuring benefits to the truly vulnerable, and payments from those who can afford to pay their way.

Finally, the age wave opens doors for philanthropists and investors to innovate. One such example is QuietCare, a new technology provided by a Twin Cities company, Enhanced Care Solutions. With non-intrusive motion sensors located in a residence, QuietCare records one's daily movements and then sends data via computer to a caregiver or family member to help identify small problems before they grow.

Today we're a day older. What a tremendous opportunity that is.

Kathryn Roberts, a baby boomer, is CEO and president of Ecumen (www.ecumen.org). Based in Shoreview, Ecumen is Minnesota's largest provider of housing and services for older adults.