local

America’s Age Wave is leading to new backyard cottages dubbed ‘Granny Pods’ and “homes within a home” via Lennar’s NextGen Housing, which is offered locally in Maple Grove.

What do you think of them?  Could you see them fitting your lifestyle?  Would you rather live in one of these options than in a nursing home or assisted living apartment complex?  

Both options are a “Back to the Future” approach to U.S. housing, where older and younger generations live together.  That was the norm here in the past, and remains the norm in a number of countries.

The Granny Pod

I can’t stand the name, but the phrase “granny pod” gets your attention. One company’s version is called a MedCottage.   It’s designed to provide an affordable, non nursing-home alternative to families at the end of life.  It’s temporary, modular housing that you can put in your backyard (assuming local zoning accepts it) ranging from 288 sq. feet to 605 sq. feet.  Other features include:

-          - Electricity and water connected directly to homeowner's utilities.

-          - A kitchen with a small refrigerator, microwave, and medication dispenser.

-          - Bedroom and additional accommodation for a caregiver's visit.

-          - The bathroom is easily accessible.

-         -  Includes cushioned floors and sensor and web-cam technology.

Lennar NEXTGEN Model

According to Pew Research Center, last year almost 17 percent of Americans lived in multigenerational households, including households with parents and adult children, as well as skipped generations with grandparents and grandchildren. That's up from 12 percent in 1980.

Recognizing this reality, Lennar created NEXTGEN homes.  Under one roof, Lennar provides living space that can be used as a separate, private space but also offers direct access from the main house, depending upon the family’s needs.  Each NEXTGEN suite includes a separate entrance, living room, kitchenette, one-car garage, laundry and private outdoor living space.   Both options above would require people to bring in outside caregiving services if the person has chronic care needs.

Our country spends trillions on disjointed, poorly coordinated care, especially for older Americans.  The unneccesary bouncebacks that occur between the emergency room and a person's home take much out of a human being and their loved ones.  And now those bouncebacks will cost hospitals large financial penalties due to the Affordable Care Act.  Could their be a better way?  Yes.

Imagine if physicians and consumers and caregivers could talk with each other and easily share information, instead of wasting time, putting people through unpleasant hospital stays, weakening them further and spending tons of money that could be used in a much better way for the health of Americans. 

This short video by LeadingAge Center for Aging Service Technologies depicts what such a future could look like.  Available technology;  coordination between health care providers, consumers and senior service organizations; and insurance that supports a more seamless communications and care netowrk, could improve many lives in Minnesota and beyond.

It’s happened now in at least two Twin Cities suburbs (Minnetonka and Woodbury), residents complaining about having or potentially having people with Alzheimer’s living by them.

Would you be OK having people with Alzheimer’s living in your neighborhood?  Why or why not?

Absent a cure, Alzheimer’s will continue impacting thousands of Minnesotans emotionally and financially.  It’s a disease that raises many questions that have to be solved in Minnesota:

Where do we house people with Alzheimer’s so they live with dignity – not in a warehouse?

How do we ensure they have adequate care, especially when they have no spouse or family? (Many people are living as singles these days or their family has moved elsewhere)

How do businesses deal with workers who are balancing work and caregiving?

How do Minnesotans pay for all of this?  (Right now unless you spend into poverty and qualify for a nursing home Medicaid stay, you pay for your Alzheimer’s care out of your own pocket, which can be hundreds of thousands of dollars or more.)
 

According to the Prepare Minnesota for 2020 Report:

- Between 2010 and 2050, the number of Minnesotans with Alzheimer’s disease will soar from 90,000 to 200,000.

- As Minnesota experiences an historic increase in its older population over the next 40 years, the number of people with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias is expected to double for people ages 75-84 and triple for those over age 85.


- The total cost of care for these individuals could reach an estimated $20 billion per year in Minnesota by 2050, most of that spent in the Medicaid budget for assisted living and nursing home care when families have exhausted their personal and financial resources.

Alzheimer's disease does not discriminate against who it affects, should we?  We can do better than simply kicking or keeping people with Alzheimer’s out of our neighborhoods.  With nearly 100,000 Minnesotans living with Alzheimer’s today, we have to.

Ecumen has opened this "honor site" and invites you to share a tribute to a Veteran today.  While there, you can read former Minneapolis Star Tribune columnist's tribute to a soldier and farm boy from Hanska entitled:  "The Day Corporal Denny Wellmann came Home." 

Thank you Corporal Wellmann and all of our veterans for your service!

What would it take to make 100+ the new life expectancy of Minnesotans?  With our state’s reputation for healthy living, could we become known as the global spot that helps you live the longest?  And not only the longest, but the longest with good years at the end.

Twin Citian Dan Buettner recently wrote a popular article for The New York Times Magazine entitled: “The Island Where People Forget to Die.”  It examined the lifestyle on Ikaria, the “enchanted Greek island of centenarians.”  Ikaria sounds like a beautiful place, especially during a Minnesota winter, but could Minnesota become the state where people forget to die?

According to Kaiser Family Foundation, we have the second longest life expectancy rate, just behind Hawaii.  I don’t know how many centenarians we have, but the U.S. has about 72,000 in total.

The following factors seem to be working together to contribute to Ikarian longevity:

-          Sufficient rest

-          Easily accessible, healthy, tasty food (the healthy food there is also the cheapest) Minimal processed foods

-          Exercise (lots of hills, lots of walkers in Ikaria)

-          Social place (feeling of belonging)

-          Low crime rates (because people watch out for others)

-          Religious Faith

Buettner emphasizes the ecosystem on Ikaria supports longevity.  Ikaria has a strong sense of community and community behaviors that influence individual behaviors.  Many places in Minnesota  have a strong sense of community – it’s why we don’t leave.  Could we parlay that into record longevity?  I’m struck by the results of the Albert Lea “Blue Zones” project that mobilized community members in making simple lifestyle changes, leading to the following results:

-          Life expectancy increased an average of 3.1 years

-          Participants lost a collective 12,000 pounds

-          An average 21% drop in absenteeism by key employers

-          City employees showed a 40% decrease in health care costs

Pieces are in place to make Minnesota a place where people forget to die. Could the Land of 10,000 Lakes also become the global Land of Longevity?