New Horizons Early 09

8/14/2019 New Horizons Early 09

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LLAGE CARE OF NEW YORK

RLY 2009


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Engaged AgingNewHorizonsEDITOR-IN-CHIEF

LOUIS J. GANIM

MANAGING EDITOR

BRETT C VERMILYEA

PUBLISHED BY

VILLAGE CARE OF NEW YORK

154 CHRISTOPHER STREET

NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10014

CHAIRMAN

DAVID H. SIDWELL

PRESIDENT & CEO

ARTHUR Y. WEBB

WWW.VCNY.ORG

(212) 337-5600

BY ARTHUR Y. WEBB, PRESIDENT AND CEO

Researchers at the University of Iowa recently

studied civic engagement as a retirement role for

older adults.In their definition of civic engagement, they included both volunteering and con-

tinued working for at least one day a week. They found that seniors have these pursuits

because they want to contribute to their communities and they want to stay socially

active. Even if they continue to work in a certain capacity, its often not just for the

money.

You can read more about the civic engagement research in this issue of New

Horizons, and you will also find some bundled articles dealing with the continued pres-

ence of older adults in the work force. Youll hear from seniors, who talk about works

whys and wherefores as they age, and from experts who look at the needs of seniors

wanting to stay active spiritually, psychologically and from a financial perspective.

Having productive aging opportunities is becoming more and more important

because we have large numbers of Baby Boomers just now starting to enter the tradi

tional retirement ages. These are people in perhaps the most educated and fit older

generation this country has ever produced. And its likely they are going to want to stay

engaged.

In Village Cares SeniorChoices programs, we see examples all the time of the ben

efits of engaged, productive and purposeful aging. It can be someone like Bob Kelly

whos featured in this issue and whose wigs youve certainly seen either on television

or Broadway, still working at 85. Or it can be someone less heralded like some of the

volunteers who lend a hand at Village Nursing Home.

If we can keep older adults in the work force in some fashion, for example, it cant

help but be good for the economy, and the workplace. Production would be enhancedand we would continue to have the benefit of their experience as well as their institu-

tional knowledge.

By making sure we have ample opportunities, too, for seniors to volunteer and con-

tribute their time and services, we can supplement paid workers. Meanwhile, retirees

themselves will benefit from continued civic engagement and contributing to their

communities.

It is a classic win/win situation.


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E A R L Y 2 0 0 9 | V O L U M E 3 , N U M B E R 2

D E P A R T M E N T S

F E A T U R E S

In the ews 2Ask Medicare W bsite H lps Caregivers; T ps on H w to

Exercise S fely; Healthiness in Old Age Requires PlanningWhen W rds G t Old: Ageist L nguage; V llage Care hon-ored by SAGE; A C Celebrates Anniversary

Senior Perspective 7Elderspeak

O inion 30Civic Engagement; Community R sponse to Dementia

The ast Word 2Whence Coney I land

8 The Makeover of ob KellyBY JESS ESPINOSA

A BRO DWAY LEGEND AND 46TH & TEN RE IDENT

12 Whos Afraid of Edward Albee?BY JESS ESPINOSA

46TH & TEN ACTING GROUP PERFORMS FOR A VERY SPECIAL GUEST

16Retirement Redefined

BY LUCAS MANN

AS BABY BOOMERS ENTER THEIR GOLDEN YEARS

SOCIETY RETHINKS THE CONCEPT OF RETIREMENT

20 heyre Still At BY BRETT C VERMILYEAWHY FOLKS OVER 50 ARE THE FASTEST-GROWING SEGMENT

OF THE WORK FORCE

28 Opting Out And ack InBY BRETT C VERMILYEA

USING A SECOND CAREER TO M KE A DIFFERENCE


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2 NEW HORIZONS | Ear l y 2009

In the News

The Centers for Medicare andMedicaid Services (CMS) hasunveiled a new online initiative

aimed at educating caregivers of seniors

and people with disabilities.The new website Ask Medicare was developed by CMS with the helpof several partner organizations. AskMedicare features insights from caregiv-ing professionals as well as representa-tives of the health care industry. The con-sumer-friendly Internet resource providesMedicare beneficiaries and their caregiv-ers with a wealth of tools and materialsdesigned to help them make informedhealth care decisions. Partners with CMSin developing the website included AARP,

the Alzheimers Association, the NationalAcademy of Elder Law Attorneys andthe National Association of ProfessionalGeriatric Care Managers.

The website can be found at www.medicare.gov/caregivers.

This truly is a one-stop site that willhelp lighten the burden on caregivers,said Linda Aufderhaar, a licensed clinicalsocial worker who is the past-presidentof the geriatric care managers group.

It was inspiring to see so many orga-nizations come together, all united bya mission to help protect our nationsmost vulnerable citizens. This website

will help put caregivers in touch with theexperts and organizations that can helpthem address a myriad of challenges andconcerns.

Many Baby Boomers today are a sand-wich generation, wedged between thecost of caring for their children and theiraging parents. There are nearly 45 mil-lion Americans or one in five adults who provide unpaid care to a loved one.This care is valued at a staggering $306billion each year. That nearly doubles theamount spent on home care and nursing

home services combined ($158 billion).CMS representatives hope AskMedicare helps many of these peoplerecognize their own role in the caregiverindustry.

Many caregivers dont even think ofthemselves as a caregiver in the tradi-tional sense. All they know is that a friendor family member needs their help,said CMS Acting Administrator KerryWeems. In addition to raising awareness

of Medicare benefits, we hope this siteactually helps many of these caregiversself-identify. Their work is exhaustingbut essential and often goes unrecog-

nized.Designed by and for caregivers, AskMedicare seeks to shed light on thenational insurance program by streamlining resources and bringing together several organizations that specialize in issuesimpacting the senior population and people with disabilities. The website whichlinks to a number of caregiver directoriesand advocacy organizations will featurea bi-monthly electronic newsletter filledwith stories about caregivers and howthey responded to industry challenges.

Medicare leaders also hope the sitewill clear up many misconceptions overwhat the federal health care programdoes and does not cover. According to a2003 Kaiser Family Foundation/HarvardSchool of Public Health poll, for example39 percent of individuals aged 18 andolder erroneously believe that Medicarecovers the cost of extended long-termcare, such as nursing home care andhome care.

Ask Medicare Website Helps Caregivers


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Newswise As Baby Boomers andolder adults try to keep active and exer-cise, its important that they keep inmind that their bodies are not as youngas they used to be and not overdo it.

In 2007, more than 149,000 peo-ple between the ages of 45 and 64were treated in emergency rooms,clinics and doctors offices for injuriesrelated to exercise and exercise equip-ment, according to the U.S. ConsumerProducts Safety Commission.

When you are 50, you may injureyour body more easily than when youwere 20, says James Keeney, MD, anorthopaedic surgeon and member ofthe American Academy of OrthopaedicSurgeons (AAOS) Leadership Fellows

Program. Joints, tissues and musclesmay not be as flexible as they used tobe. So as you get older, you need to takeextra steps to protect yourself from inju-ries when you exercise.

The AAOS offers the following tipsto help boomers prevent exercise-relat-ed injuries:

* Check with your doctor beforebeginning any exercise program. A phy-sician will make sure your heart is ingood condition and can make recom-mendations based on your current fit-

ness level. This is especially importantif youve had a previous injury.

* Always warm up and stretch beforeexercising. Cold muscles are more like-ly to get injured, so warm up with somelight exercise for at least three to fiveminutes.

* Avoid being a weekend warrior.Moderate exercise every day is healthierand less likely to result in injury thanheavy activity only on weekends.

* Dont be afraid to take lessons. Aninstructor can help ensure youre usingthe proper form, which can preventoveruse injuries such as tendonitis andstress fractures.

* Develop a balanced fitness pro-gram. Incorporate cardio, strengthtraining and flexibility training to get atotal body workout and prevent overuseinjuries. Also, make sure to introducenew exercises gradually, so you donttake on too much at once.

* Take calcium and Vitamin D sup-plements daily.

* Listen to your body. As you age,you may not be able to do some of theactivities that you did years ago. Pay

attention to your bodys needs and abili-ties, and modify your workout accord-ingly.

* Remember to rest. Schedule regu-lar days off from exercise and rest when

tired.Baby boomers who exercise regularly

are less likely to experience depressionweight gain, diabetes, high blood pressure and sleep disturbances, so its

important to incorporate physical activity into your routine at any age.For more information about baby

boomer exercise safety, you may visihttp://www.orthoinfo.org.

Tips on How to Exercise Safely

Thriving in Old Age RequiresPlanning, Commitment

If you plan to thrive when you are65, you need to invest in your healthdecades earlier.

A new study in a recent issue ofThe Journal of Gerontology finds thatfewer than 10 percent of people aged65-85 maintain exceptional emotionaland physical health throughout theirgolden years. These so-called thriversshare specific behavioral and lifestylecharacteristics that may hold the key tohealthy aging, according to the studysauthors.

Important predictors of thrivingwere the absence of chronic illness,

income over $30,000, having neversmoked, and drinking alcohol in mod-eration, said lead author Mark Kaplanof Portland State University. We alsofound that people who had a positiveoutlook and lower stress levels weremore likely to thrive in old age.

Many of these factors can be modi-fied when you are young or middle-aged, said co-author David Feenyof the Kaiser Permanente Center forHealth Research. While these find-ings may seem like common sense,

now we have evidence about whichfactors contribute to exceptional healthduring retirement years.

This is the first research to evalu-ate which factors help older peoplemaintain exceptional health over a longperiod of time. Most previous inves-tigations have focused on factors thatcontribute to poor health, and theyhave made those determinations based

on one-time surveys.This study included 2,432 Canadian

residents, aged 65-85, who filled outan extensive health survey every otheryear from 1994-2004. One measureasked people to rate their abilities ineight categories vision, hearing,speech, ambulation, dexterity, emo-tion, cognition and pain. Thrivers werethose who rated themselves as havingno or only mild disability in all eightcategories on at least five of the sixsurveys.

If respondents reported moderateor severe disability on any of the six

surveys, they were classified as non-thrivers. Just over half of the respon-dents started out as thrivers, but by theend of the ten years, only 8 percent ofthe respondents were considered thriv-ers. By the end of the study period, justunder half (47 percent) of the respon-dents were classified as non-thrivers.The rest (36 percent) had either died orwere institutionalized (9 percent).

Even though the study was con-ducted in Canada, the findings are cer-tainly applicable to the United States

and other industrialized nations, saidco-author Dr. Bentson McFarland of theOregon Health & Science University.Our population here in the UnitedStates is similar demographically toCanadas, and both health care systemsrely on the same underlying technolo-gies.

The study was funded by a grantfrom the National Institute on Aging.


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Newswise The wrong language denigrating older workers, even if onlysubtly can have an outsized negative impact on employee productivity andcorporate profits, says Dr. Bob McCann, an associate professor of manage-ment communication at the University of Southern Californias MarshallSchool of Business.

Demographic trends point to a more age-diverse work force,where worker shortages are imminent. According to McCann,older workers will play an increasingly important role in fill-ing these shortages, and both management and workers willneed to prepare themselves for this increasingly age diver-sified workplace.

One often overlooked way to prepare for these newtrends is by recognizing that the language we useat work can have severe repercussions for olderworkers. Our research in the USA and acrossAsia has clearly shown links between ageist lan-guage and reported health outcomes as broadas reduced life satisfaction, lowered self-esteem

and even depression, said McCann.Given that people derive so much of their

identity from work, the workplace is a particu-larly fertile and problematic area for ageist com-munication. Older workers often view theirjobs as a tremendous source of pride and hopeto continue working well past their early sixties.McCann feels that how we communicate withthese older workers may go a long way towardcreating a satisfying job experience.

It is quite plausible that retirement deci-sions may be hastened and work satisfactionaffected by intergenerational talk at work, said

McCann, who worked on studies that showageist language has played a major role in age-discrimination lawsuits.

For American corporations, age discriminationcan lead to significant expenses. In 2006, the U.S.Equal Employment Opportunity Commission receivednearly 17,000 charges of age discrimination, resolvingmore than 14,000 and recovering $51.5 million in monetarybenefits. Costs from lawsuit settlements and judgments canrun into the millions, most notably with the $250 million paidby the California Public Employees Retirement System under asettlement agreement a few years ago.

For the plaintiff, the defendants ageist comments typically are per-ceived as clear evidence of the companys discriminatory intent towardolder workers. Defendants, by contrast, generally view these same ageistcomments as stray remarks.

Age-related comments such as the old woman, that old goat, too longon the job, old and tired, a sleepy kind of guy with no pizzazz, he had bagsunder his eyes, and he is an old fart are just some of the hundreds of ageist com-ments McCann unearthed in his analysis of age-discrimination lawsuits.

Such language has become so common in age-discrimination cases that some groupsof ageist comments even have their own names. Young blood remarks are perhaps thebest illustration, including such examples as: We need young blood around here, Letsmake room for some MBAs, or Lets bring in the young guns.

When Words Get Old: Ageist Language

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5

Village Adult Day Health Center recently celebrated

its 10th anniversary with a stroll down memorylane.

Program participants, staff members and guestsattended an anniversary lunch that featured a slide showof photos from past years.

Village Adult Day was one of two such facilitiesopened by Village Care in the late 1990s.

Part of the SeniorChoices array of programs and carefor older adults, the centers are free-standing, state-of-the-art facilities, providing comfort, safety and indepen-

dence through a full range of nursing, nutritional, case

management and rehabilitative services along with socialactivities. We are proud to say that many of our clientshere today were charter clients ten years ago, HerbFillmore, executive vice president for SeniorChoices atVillage Care, said.

Mr. Fillmore told attendees about plans for future pro-grams that will be part of Village Cares SeniorChoices.Village Care has always been at the forefront of care forolder adults. We continue to develop new programs thatare built around you and your familys individual needs.

SAGE Services and Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Elders has honored Village Care of New York with the 2008 Community Service Award.

The award was presented by Michael Adams, SAGEs executive director, at theorganizations 30th anniversary celebration held at theMetropolitan Pavilion in Chelsea. Arthur Y. Webb, VillageCares president and chief executive officer, accepted the

award on behalf of Village Care.SAGEs Community Service Award is presented to anindividual or an organization that, through professionaland volunteer service, advances the cause of the LGBTolder community. The award also recognizes those indi-viduals who provide specific services and assistanceto LGBT seniors, thereby helping them toachieve and maintain quality of life.

The anniversary dinner culminatedSAGEs Fourth Annual Conferenceon LGBT Aging. Village Care is aSAGE sponsor and was a conferenceleader.

This years conference, entitledIts About Time: LGBT Aging in aChanging World dealt with a varietyof issue that the older LGBT com-munity faces each day.

Village Care provided informa-tion on care options for the LGBTcommunity as well as presented aseries of sessions on its most recentfindings. Jan Zimmerman, director ofVillage Cares day treatment programspresented Long-term Care Services forLBGT Older Adults.

At Village Care, we train all of ourprogram staff members to meet theneeds of the LGBT community, Zimmerman said. The training, which is providedby the SAGE administration, include health needs, environmental issues and sensitivitytraining. All of our senior care programs are LGBT friendly.

The conference was held for three days at the New York Marriott at the BrooklynBridge in October.

Village Adult Day Center Celebrates Anniversary

Village Care honored by SAGE

Village Cares President and CEO Arthur Y. Webb accepts 2008Community Service Award from SAGE Executive Director Michael Adams.

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KARL C. LAUB, West VillageAs a semi-retired man in my seventies, I work

with many young people who call me oldman or papi chulo. They do speak to mein a condescending way, and quite frankly Itake advantage of it and have some fun. Imean if someone feels comfortable waitingon me hand and foot because I am older,

and all I have to do is accept themspeaking to me in a different

manner, why not? Honestly, Ifeel most younger people thatspeak this way do not meanany harm, they just feel thatfor some reason that we havebecome incompetent. A quickmessage to my co-workers:Please dont stop bringing medelicious meals and doing mychores, because I cant possiblycook for myself.

HERBERT PECKHAM, West VillageMany times when I go to the local grocerystore or any other local merchant, theclerks, who tend to be much younger inage, act as if I am annoying or in the way.They will try to rush methrough my decisionprocess on what to

purchase. I ignoreit. There is enoughaggravation in thisworld, and I dontneed to contribute tothat. I believe thisbehavior is direct-ly related to atti-tudes of mostNew Yorkers,who just donthave any timefor anyone else

but themselves.

Have you ever been a victim of elderspeak,where people talk condescendinglyor childishly to you

because of your age?

THERESA PIZZO, ChelseaI have been a victim of it, and it is a sign

of no respect for the older populationMy normal course of action is to

ignore the person and makethem realize that they are

not worth my time. Ihave accomplished a

lot in my life and Ifeel I deserve the

same respecthat I got 20

years ago

NANCY FONG,Greenwich VillageI dont usually get that treatmentbecause I dont look my age. I will saythat I do see it all around me, and itmakes me feel sad. It is disturbingto see people that have lived throughso much and people who areresponsible for making thisworld successful as it is to betreated as if they dont mat-ter. I honestly dont recalldisrespecting my elderswhen I was younger, andI really hope that I dontever become a victimof elderspeak.

CONNIE PRESTIA, Greenwich VillageThe crowd that I usually associate with does notpartake in this act of elderspeaking. I can say tha

it sounds rather disrespectful, and I do know that if

I was a victim of it, I would not hesitate to let theperson know that they are doing it, and let them

know that they are disrespecting me as a person. All that I can say for those younger folkswho might be guilty of this, is that they willbe older one day too, and they will get whatscoming to them.

S E N I O R P E R S P E C T I V E


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That is the simple explanation that 85-yearold Bob Kelly, a resident of The Village a46th & Ten, has for his lack of formal edu

cation. Growing up in the Flatbush section ofBrooklyn in the 1920s, he hated going to schooland he played hooky a lot, and for this he got agood licking from his parents.

To become the recognized legendary Broadwaywig maker that he is now against whom otherwig makers are measured was not even a dot in

the far off future in hisyoung imagination.

Kellys father, a native Brooklynite, was atrolley car motorman, and his mother was ahairdresser.

As a result of Kellys aversion for school, hequit after the seventh grade and worked in aneighborhood grocery store in the mid-1930sthen signed up with the National Guard. Aftertraining in Brooklyn, he was sent to Burlington

The Makeoverof Bob Kelly I was stupid, thats why!

By Jess Espinosa


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9

Vermont, and then to the jungles of New Guinea.When you are as young as I was, it was kind offun, he recalled.

When he came home, he worked for about ayear doing odd jobs, such as driving trucks and

working for Standard Oil, filling small cans of oiland earning a dollar an hour. He soon got tiredof that, and, on a whim, he enrolled in a beautyschool. I dont know why I went to a beautyschool, he said. Then he started fooling aroundwith wigs. His first job was with the owner of astring of beauty parlors on 57th Street.

Kellys big break came when he worked for aman named Ira Sands who made wigs for theMetropolitan Opera. I learned everything, gotmy whole education practically from him, hesaid. He had the opportunity to work for famoussingers like Robert Merrill, Jan Pearce, Ris

Stevens and Richard Tucker.He had found his niche in life.In 1958, after ten years as Sandss

apprentice, Kelly quit and opened hisown business. Thus was born BobKelly Wig Creations, and then BobKelly Cosmetics ten years later. Hisfirst Broadway work was for a showcalled Good Soup with MildredNatwick. That was in 1960. Fromthen on, it was one Broadway showafter another. Some include AFunny Thing Happened on the

Way to the Forum, High Spirits,The Rothschilds, King RichardIII, Chicago, 42nd Street andBeauty and the Beast, as well as theoriginal productions of South Pacificand Carousel.

These days, his small shop on West 46thStreet is a beehive of activity as his staff of 15prepares wigs for shows like Legally Blonde,Shrek, Little Mermaid, The Lion King andMary Poppins, with shelves full of wood blocksidentified by the characters or the actors name.

Saturday Night Live, one of the most popular

and long-running television shows, has been BobKelly Wig Creations client since its first episodeon October 11, 1975, creating and designing thewigs worn by each cast member in each skit,spanning a total of more than 600 episodes.The likes of Gilda Radner, Dan Ackroyd, ChevyChase and John Belushi from the original castto Fred Armisen, Will Forte, Bill Hader, DarrellHammond and Amy Poehler from the currentseason have been bewigged by Bob Kelly and

his crew. In a recent episode, Poehler and guestperformer Tina Fey did a widely watched openingskit in which they impersonated Hillary Clintonand Sarah Palin, respectively. Their wigs were byBob Kelly. SNL, relying on late-breaking news

for laughs, demands much from its productionand creative crews, of which Bob Kellys is part.It is not unusual for changes to be made minutesbefore the show airs live at 11:30 p.m., necessitat-ing late-night work for the wig makers and hair-stylistsand its owner, until recently.

In early 2008, Kelly was in the shop when hegot ill, fell and passed out. At that time, he wasliving with his daughter Tracy in her 4th floorwalkup apartment, and on Friday and Saturdaynights, when the shop is busy preparing for theSNL show, he would sleep on a couch in thebackroom. His condition after the fall, on top

of his triple bypass operation in 1989 andpacemaker operation in January 2008,

required a radical change in his livingand working conditions. Upon his

doctors advice, Kelly has at longlast drastically cut down his workschedule. To add to that, walkingup his daughters 4th floor apart-ment was no longer advisable.

His doctors advised his mov-ing to a place where he wouldhave some assistance. An onlinesearch led Kellys other daughter,

Barbara, to The Village at 46th& Ten. After visiting, Kelly and

his two daughters unanimouslyexpressed approval of the place, and

in April, Kelly became a resident. I likethe people, I have my meals with them in

the dining room, and I find many intelligentpeople there, he said.

Kelly continues to run the wig shop that hasbecome a mainstay of Broadway and SNL, withthe able assistance of Bill Urban, the shop man-ager who has been working with him for 52 years,and Margaret Mettles, director of finance, who

has been around for eight years.The women who make the wigs, who were

inexperienced when they came on board, cannow do the whole intricate process of producinga hairpiece from making a pattern, drawinga hairline, ventilating, sewing, preparing a lacefront with minimal supervision.

However, the process itself has gone throughvery little change. Although some wigs found onthe market today are made in China by machine,

The oldestand mostreputable

wig makerin NewYork.


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using synthetic or yak hair, this isnt the case for the well-espected B b Kelly W g Creations. A traditional wig

maker, Kelly continues to make wigs by hand and use100-percent human hair, imported from developing

ountries where women sell their hair to make aliving. Certain styles of wigs are re-used and re-

ashioned. A wig can cost as much as $2,300.H ving coiffed and brushed and set

wigs on the heads of hundreds of famous

people, meeting some of them on a per-sonal level seems unavoidable. Threeof Kellys most memorable celebritieswere Gypsy R se Lee, Ethel Mermanand Mary Martin, whom he consid-ered his friends. hen H l H lbrookplayed Mark T ain on Broadway, hishairpiece and facial hair were B bKelly creations. Alan K ng, for whomK lly made a wig when the comedianappeared on the Ed Sullivan how,was memorable for another reason he gave a $10 tip, somethingunthinkable from an actor. heseabove-the-title names, Kelly said,did not make me feel any different,I always felt I belonged.

B b Kelly has had a full life. Hehas been widowed once (and isonce-divorced). O two sons andtwo daughters, his daughter T acyhas followed his footsteps into thewig business and daughter B rbarahas been a makeup artist for mov-ies and TV Kelly has gained an

impeccable reputation in the art ofwig-making, so much so that hiscompany is considered the leadingtheatrical hair and makeup company

and he has been referred to as the old-est and most reputable wig maker in

N w Y rk.Kellys doctor has made him swear

off his trademark big cigars, which all hisBroadway clients recognize. Those who

work with him say hell still occasionallysneak a puff or two.

H has hobnobbed with some famous

eople and has started the careers of ayoung generation of wigmakers. One ofhem, Maurice N uhaus, said in an inter-

view, I you want to become one of thebest, you have to learn from the best. heBob Kelly Wig Creations catalog lists thenames of his clients, a virtual Whos Whoof theater, movie, music and television stars,spanning many generations.

For a boy who once thought of himselfas being not so smart, he certainly has gonea long way.

10 NEW H


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Were here for you.


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MM

edea had a sore throat, andshe was worried. When shefaces her Greek chorus in two

weeks, she does not want them to outshout her or to out-sing her. That wouldbe a big fat Greek tragedy. She abstainedfrom talking, drank a lot of liquid, tooksome medications with Greek-soundingnames, and had plenty of rest. By sheerwill power, Medea, or Peggy Keating in

real life, recovered, because, well, theshow must go on. And it did.

When the imaginary curtain rose inthe dining room of The Village at 46th &Ten, Keating and the other members oThe Village Players were ready to showtheir audience the fruits of three monthsof intense rehearsal and preparationaccompanied by passion, dedication andhard work. Theyve come a long way fromthe groups early start three years ago.

BY JESS ESPINOSA

of Edward Albee?Whos Afraid


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13

A few years ago, Keating had justmoved to 46th & Ten, Village Care ofNew Yorks senior living residence, andwas facing an uncertain change in herlife. Having had the notion of an actingcareer in her younger days, she thoughtjoining a drama group would revive herspirit, but there was no such group. Sheconfided this to her new friend, RuthSilverman, who challenged her: Why

not start one? With the help of anotherresident, Ruth Selman, who had sometheater background, and with the help ofClaudia Teller, the residences recreationand activities director, they invited otherresidents, and they came. Some whohad done some acting wanted to sharetheir experience; others who had secretlyimagined themselves performing saw anopportunity to see if they really had it inthem, and still others thought it would be

a fun thing to do on lazy afternoons.At first, the two Ruths and Keating took

turns directing, but, as they describedit, the results were chaotic. WhenSelmans friend, theater director EvalynBaron, dropped by to give some actingtips, the group liked her so much thatshe was hired to be their acting coach.Members of the group started gettingtogether to read plays, thus awakening,

and satisfying, their inner DeNiros andStreeps. The Village Players was born.

They are very remarkable when youremember that they are dealing withhearing loss, vision issues and move-ment problems, said Teller.

After coaching the group for a year,Baron announced that she was leaving tobecome a theater director in a prestigiousVirginia theater, and she brought MichaelSwift and Janice Goldberg to the atten-

tion of Teller as potential substitutesWith Swift and Goldbergs theater experience and complementary strengths, thefit was perfect.

Swift and Goldberg put the seniorsthrough a rigid but fun regimen of exercises, starting with breathing exercises towarm up and get the class focused andrelaxed. The other exercises seemed outright silly, such as the swoosh in which

actors make a swooshing sound as theypretend to pass at random an imaginaryball to the person next to them or the oneacross the room. Other activities werequite revelatory, including an oral historyexercise where each person is asked totalk about such thought- and emotioninducing topics as first love, first jobwedding, children and other aspects andadventures of their lifetimes.

All these exercises were meant to get

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their bodies moving, blood flowing, and concentration

working and to have everyone get used to standing infront of an audience and for us to get to know the stu-dents, according to Swift. Memory is a muscle thatneeds exercising. Each session ended with readings ofplays written by known and unknown dramatists to testthe members acting chops.

Finally, they were ready, and the group proceededto the next crucial step selecting the plays to beperformed. The criteria were: there would be parts foreverybody, everybody could be actively involved andthey would have a good time performing. Finally, thechoices were narrowed down to the ones the actorsliked the most, where they laughed the most or con-

nected to the most.Five one-act plays were selected by Mary Louise

Wilson, Carol Hall, Earl Reimer, Wendy Wassersteinand one of Swifts own. The resident cast would con-sist of Harry Davis, Warren Halliday, Sophia Husar,Peggy Keating, Lucille Rosenblum, Ruth Selman, RuthSilverman and Marilyn Wohltman.

Whether intentionally or not, four of the five one-act plays chosen have a real-life quality to them as theydepict real-life situations common to men and womenof a certain age, much like the men and women of acertain age who were going to enact them.

Lost is about two friends going for a drive who,because of memory loss, confusion and lack of coordi-nation, forgot the key, the water bottle, the shoes. TheFairest Sex depicts a couple that has lost interest ineach other and yet still shares a passion for only onething sex. Vacation relates a plane trip taken bya still-active, still-in-love retired couple who witnessedwith glee the games that the cheating man and womanacross the aisle from them were playing with theirrespective spouses. Golden Arches is about a womanwith a put-down remark ready for all occasions forher gentle, patient husband until a chance encounterwith an old friend brought about a change. The fifth

choice, Medea, is a modern-day spoof of the Greektragedy with references to such un-Greek icons asthe TV shows Home Improvement and DesigningWomen, which gave the cast a chance to overact, besilly and have fun.

There was a feeling of excited anticipation as theaudience, consisting of residents and staff of 46th &Ten and friends of the cast and directors, awaited thestart of the performance.

Seconds before the first play began, a slim, older,distinguished-looking man with very dark glasses came

and quietly took his seat. He observed the performance

raptly, applauded at the end of each play politely, butwatched the proceedings unsmilingly, even while therest of the audience was laughing at the funny lines.

An astute resident recognized him to be EdwardAlbee, the famous playwright of award-win-ning Broadway dramas, who was MichaelSwifts guest. Albees enigmatic critiqueof The Village Players: They played likeBeckett.

Swift said, It was cool that he washere.

So, this groups motto could very wellbe, Whos Afraid of Edward Albee?

Definitely not these talented, young-at-heart troupers, who, when told of thepresence of this important personage, justshrugged it off.

Basking on the success of the performance,The Village Players have more and biggerplans, including having the memberswrite their own scenes and mono-logues, and reading Tony-award-winning full-length and classicplays. My ultimate objectiveis to continue engaging thestudents and to put up poi-gnant, relevant theater,said Swift.

Added Goldberg, Wewill keep looking forworks, bring in originalplays and have more ofan originally tailoredclass that directly comesfrom our creation. Wewill continue to read inclass to keep their skillsup.

Teller commented, Myhope for the future of ourdrama group is that theycontinue to have great funand learn more about workingtogether as actors. Hopefully, moreand more of the residents would join.I do not have a long-term goal in mindbecause I believe that creative endeavorshave a life of their own and should be allowed togrow naturally, not forced.


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15

The 46-TenDrama ClubBy Shep H. Greenberg

My Building has a Drama Club.It meets every seventh day.And once a year they open upAnd put on a little Play.

The Directors are real, not amateurs.They are active in the Arts.And they told their colleagues to come and seeOur Players play their parts.

So, at this afternoons performance

Some strangers came to watch.One looked a bit distinguishedRaised the audience appearance a notch.

By a Cast member, he was greeted.Who introduced herself and said.Pray, tell, Sir, may I ask your name?And was told My friends, they call me Ed.

He seemed to enjoy the Drama Club efforts.He stayed right to the end.Applauded at the proper points.Then homeward did he wend.

The Drama Group was very goodBut they might have been dismayedTo have known beforehand that Edward AlbeeHad come to see them, did, and stayed.

As it is, they met their goals.For the lines of which they read.They did their best, pleased their Directors,The Audience, and a man named Ed.

2008. Reproduced with permission from the authorGreenberg is a resident at The Village at 46th & Ten

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18/36


Retirement Redefined

As the largest generation in American history enters

its golden years, Baby Boomers finds themselves

rethinking the whole concept of retirement.

By Lucas Mann Theyre living longer.

Theyre more active.

Theyre engaged.

Theyre not their parents.


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17

FThese Baby Boomers, all 79 million

of them born between 1946 and 1964,are skidding closer and closer to that agewhen they are expected to ride into thesunset. The oldest of the Boomers turned62 this year and became eligible to collectpartial Social Security benefits.

Groups like AARP and the NationalCouncil on Aging, as well as local orga-nizations and government, are trying tofigure out what the future will look like asthe largest generation in history retires.Thats a question especially importantin an economy with dwindling finan-cial security and more foreclosed housesaccumulating each day.

But a better question to ask might bewhat does it mean to be retired?

Right now, were looking for a chang-

ing definition of the word retirement,said Lucy de Haan, a spokesperson forthe New York office of AARP. De Haansays that 2011 will be the year that thefirst Baby Boomers turn 65 and begin col-lecting full Social Security. Our studiestell us that they wont be retiring in at allthe way weve come to think of it.

There are a whole batch of issues thatare raised by this new type of senior in some cases one that cannot afford toretire, in other cases one that has accu-mulated wealth but still wishes to stayconnected to the workplace, and in somecases both.

As Madison Avenue sells the conceptof the Baby Boom generation with all thismoney, if we look at the actual demo-graphics its quite different, said Susan

Stamler, the director of policy and advocacy at United Neighborhood Houses oNew York (UNH). Stamler deals withthe reality of aging for many people whoare not financially secure as they age and

need both housing and social services, asegment of the population that will spikealong with millions of Boomers marching toward the so-called golden years.

Many of [the Boomers] will be pooror living with a limited income, Stamlersaid. And there will be those that wilwant to stay involved in the workplacewhether its paid or not. It is very hardto paint older adults. We have so muchdelineation of people in their youthbefore 20, and then after they turn 60But theres 40 years in there and wedont really delineate it. So we need toremember that this isnt a monolithiccommunity.

The oft-overlooked population of theaging Baby Boomer demographic arethose that will need to depend on publichousing and on city senior centers thathave already suffered funding cuts nationally in the past six years. Cuts to such

Forty years after Woodstock, the youth of the Baby Boom

generation that once belted out I hope I die before I get

old are currently facing retirement square in the eye.


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centers have particularly affected seniorsin New York City. City CouncilmemberMaria del Carmen Arroyo, from District17 in the Bronx, chairs the City CouncilCommittee on Aging, and she has beenfrank about the inadequacies in the citysfacilities for seniors that will be exposedwhen many of the largest age group inhistory begin to need them.

Our senior centers have not beenrevamped since the early 1970s, Arroyosaid. Baby Boomers, in particular, will beexpecting a different level of service. Imconcerned that we wont be able to meetthose demands. I mean, these people arelooking for more than bingo and a hotmeal.

Arroyo pointed to the completely dif-ferent world that Boomers have workedin one with rising levels of responsibil-ity for aging employees, as well as com-puter and Internet literacy. [Boomers]

are involved in the workplace at ahigher level of technology, Arroyosaid.

The New York City Depart-ment for the Aging recentlyreleased a concept paper con-cerning the modernization ofservices. Chris Miller, a spokes-person for DFTA, described thequestions that his organization hasbegun to ask in their concept paperand are continuing to investigate.

Were looking at our three core servic-

es, Miller said. There is our individualcase management, our food distributionservice and our senior centers. How dowe prepare all of them for the seniors oftomorrow? To help do that we are part-nering with ReServe.

ReServe is an organization that con-nects experienced older adults with sti-pend-paying jobs that challenge themto use their lifetime skills for the publicgood. ReServe brings a passion not onlyfor the need to assist senior citizens, butfor the importance of listening to andrespecting an aging point of view in theworkplace. The organization brings a phi-losophy of social engagement, placingolder adults into vital, paying positions atnon-profit and public agencies. By tap-ping into ReServes philosophy and thenetwork of groups that they have beenworking with since their inception in2005, DFTA is taking steps toward rede-fining the potential of New York Citys

older adults. (Read more about ReServeon Page 28.)

We are allowing our new seniors togive back to the city, Miller continued.It is not traditional volunteering or work.We allow for a flexible schedule ourseniors arent working 40 hours a week.

The nuances of where social engage-ment fits in the spectrum of full time

employment and volunteer service arebeing worked out by other organizationswithin New York and throughout thenation.

A lot of Boomers are looking for newways to take their knowledge and giveback, said AARPs de Haan. Consultingis one option, maybe starting a business.A lot of people might want to move into

a type of work that theyve never had theoption to try. Now the kids are out of thehouse, they will redefine what weve typi-cally termed retirement.

Programs similar to AARPs aresprouting up in other organizationsthroughout New York City. UNH, whichcontrols 35 agencies and 400 sites dedi-cated to improve housing and social ser-vices throughout the city, is focusing alot of its attention on the changing tidesof aging.

Its thinking about utilizing olderadults in a new way, said Monica Serrano,senior project manager and colleague ofStamlers at UNH. Funded by AtlanticPhilanthropies, UNH is part of the NewYork City portion of a pilot programgeared toward finding new ways for thisnewest aging generation to connect totheir environment in innovative ways.

Last year was an assessment phase

how are people connecting, are therebarriers, that sort of thing, Serrano saidAnother aspect is continuing education, specifically training opportunitiesfor older adults to move into new fieldsFinally, there is the advocacy phase. Howdo we change policy in the right way forthese new older adults?

To be sure, many of the Boomers that

will move into new fields or will continueto earn money by consulting as they agewill not have the option to retire with thesame ease and security as their parentsmay have had. But part of rethinkingretirement is changing the traditionalthought process that would define suchresponsibilities as less than ideal. Infact, many researchers are pointing tocontinued workplace interaction as not amere product of a rising life expectancythat needs to be supported, but a causeof it, as well.

Dr. John Beard is the senior episte-mologist at the New York Academy

of Medicine and focuses most of hisresearch on creating a successfulife model for productive aging. Hethinks that any city that can producethe most responsibility, stimulusand overall interaction for its seniors

is keeping them healthy and alive.We should think about how to help

people live a productive life as they age,Beard emphasized. Increasingly, peoplewant to work, want to be productive, wan

to be tuned in.Beard is part of a new initiative run by

the Academy, together with the MayorsOffice and the New York City Councilcalled Age-Friendly NYC. Beard and hiscolleagues are dedicated to updating NewYork City to make it an overall environment that fosters engaged, longer-livingseniors.

We are doing studies, now, whereweve followed people over a couple ofyears and found that mental and physicalhealth, like a persons weight, are affectedin the environment around them, Beardexplained. If you live in an affluenneighborhood, no matter how much youyourself earn, youre better off. As youare if youre near a bus stop and canmove around anything where an olderperson is encouraged to be out and abouand engaged.

Working, or even passionate volunteerism, fits into the model that Beard is

These people arelooking for more thanbingo and a hot meal.


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19

describing of a city in which people donot have to feel disconnected nor isolatedas they grow older. This potential foractivity does not only do the mind good,but can also transform the traditionalview of a physical timeline of aging.

Evidence is growing that if you remainsignificantly active there doesnt need tobe much decline at all in physical health

and body functions, Beard said. If wedesign our city right and encourage ourseniors to stay active, health should holdup until the very last years of life.

Baby Boomers have shown, for themost part, to be the generation most suit-ed to this model of continued activity andconnection. As Councilmember Arroyoemphasized, this is a new generation ofpeople that has been engaged in differentways than its predecessors.

We have seen that Boomers havedifferent characteristics from previ-

ous generations, said Tom Endres,vice president for civic engage-ment at the National Council onAging (NCOA), in WashingtonD.C. They always want to beinvolved; they are very conscious.One example is that people aremuch more conscious about theirtime being used well. [Boomers]will not continue to volunteer atactivities if they feel like their time orexpertise isnt being used well, if theirtasks dont have meaning. They want to

be really brought into the organizationthat they work with later in life. Thiswill inevitably have a big impact on theworkplace.

NCOA is working to ease companiesinto the new workplace that Endres seesas inevitable as the Baby Boomers turn65 and older. The most important idea,according to Endres, is that companiesrealize that they are making necessarychanges to maximize what could be ahuge, mature and heavily experiencedpool of employees.

We manage a work force programdesigned to support low-maintenanceaging people moving into unsubsidizedjobs, Endres said. Weve just received agrant to remove some income restrictions.Were looking at training for positionslike nursing and pharmacy assistants.There is a major shift in attitude and pol-icy going on regarding aging. Obviously,resources have still been focused on pro-

viding services to the elderly in need, butnow there is a new dimension. At thesame time as we care for people, we alsohave an aging asset potential that we havenever had before.

Endres says that, through NCOAswork force program, companies through-out the nation are realizing the benefit ofturning the rapidly growing aging com-

munity from an assumed collection ofretirees to a vital part of the workplace.There are, Endres pointed out, nearly10,000 people a day turning 65. With somany of them healthy and passionate tostay involved, why shouldnt corporationspay for their expertise? The manage-ment of NCOA encompasses 22 model

programs around the country that con-nect willing companies with elder adults.NCOA is studying the progress in theirmodel programs what are the rolesthat seniors are taking within the compa-nies? What part of the traditional officeculture and expectations must change forthem?

We are also looking at whether ornot the organization leaders are respond-ing to tapping into this huge resource,Endres continued. Or are they still stuckin an old paradigm? Are they inclined tothink, These are volunteers, you cantdepend on them. Thats why we say,civic engagement. Its a redefinition ofwhat to expect. At the end of our research,we will provide the companies a returnon their investment, and we will compilehard, convincing data from our program.Anecdotal stories arent enough.

In a struggling economy with shrink-

ing security, economists see minimal possibility for any conventional retirement.

Many people have not saved enough,said Professor Sharon DeVaney, fromher office at Purdue University, whereher she focuses her research on trendsin retirement planning. And most arenot well-enough informed about SociaSecurity. For instance, if you withdraw

from your Social Security at 62, the earliest possible age, your benefits go downIf somebody continues to work until 70and then collect, they get the maximumbenefits. With this generation stayinghealthier for longer, why would you wantto quit at 55 or 60?

But then there are the revolutionaryways in which the masses of aging BabyBoomers can counteract the very sociaand economic strains that many fear theirnumbers will bring. One issue where

this necessity of balance is exempli

fied is the potential for a spike inAlzheimers cases.

Jed Levine, executive vice president of the New York chapterof the Alzheimers Associationsaid, There are roughly 5.2 million people with Alzheimers in

America right now and we estimatethat there could be 11-16 million by

2050. We are trying to mobilize BabyBoomers help them help us. This is

a group that has historically been activ-ists. They are also the first generation

to see some of their parents stricken byAlzheimers. We think we can mobilizethat energy.

Like Councilmember Arroyo andeconomist DeVaney, Levine is quick toacknowledge the strain that the aging ofBaby Boomers will place on his area ofocus, saying, This is something thatcould overwhelm health care, MedicareMedicaid the cost of care is veryprohibitive. But he sees the activismof the generation as something thatcan perhaps defend its own from thedisastrous Alzheimers effects that wesee now.

Most experts agree that there will bemany people who, whether they cannotretire or do not want to, will continueto be a large force in corporations, non-profits and social movements. BabyBoomers are expected to change the wayall that come after them will see the wordretire.

We have seenthat Boomershave different

characteristics fromprevious generations.They always want tobe involved, they are

very conscious.


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By Brett C Vermilyea

Reporter Albert Amateau in The Villager office.


23/36

21

Albert Amateau has been a community report-er for decades. Hes covered just about every-thing a newspaperman could: sports, celeb-

rities, meetings, sex, murder, community develop-ment and, even the news story of lifetime: the

horrific morning in September, 2001. As a reporterfor Lower Manhattans The Villager, Amateau hadfront-line access on 9-11 as the newspapers officeswere otherwise in a no-travel zone, about ten blocksfrom the wreckage.

That terrible day! he remembers. I got to workjust after the second plane hit and watched bothtowers go down from the roof of our building. It wasdeadline day for The Villager of course we didntmake it until two days later its all a blur to menow. I still get anxious on mild autumn days whenthe sky is perfectly clear.

Amateau, 76, is still out pounding the pave-

ment.I still do it because I like to do it, he says in the

airy Lower Manhattan offices of Community Media,publisher of The Villager. And my colleagues valuemy input. I dont work as hard as I used to I dontthink they mind but I work hard enough. And itsstill fun. Its like any newspaper job its frustrat-ing, its irritating, its horrible but its still fun.

Amateau is part of the fastest-growing populationin the American work force: folks over 55. Between2005 and 2007, the over-55 population of workersgrew by 9.7 percent, according to a 2007 study bythe AARP Public Policy Institute. By comparison,

the under-55 worker population grew by only 1.7percent.With people continuing to work deeper into life,

Village Care of New Yorks Human Resources VicePresident Dorette Norris looks at it this way: Really,there are two main reasons why people continue towork: either because they want to or because theyhave to. And then there are sub-reasons of whypeople want to work and why people need to work.

She says the people who just need the money fallinto the need to work category, while those choos-ing to work are trying to stay busy, trying to stay con-nected, trying to keep meaning in their lives.

Robert Conant, 72, who is a frequent drop-invisitor at Village Cares Senior Inforamtion Center inChelsea, has continued to work for a variety of rea-sons, he says, but income tops the list. I absolutelyneed the money, he said. No question. The littlebit of money I get from my Social Security and thelittle bit of money I get out of working, you know,keeps me going.

Theyre Still At It

Why folks over 50 are thefastest-growing segment

of the work force


24/36

22 N EW H OR IZ N S | E a rl y 2 00 9

Model Dina Paisner has graced magazine covers and been part of many ad campaigns.


25/36

23

Four years ago, Conant inherited a home in Mainewhen his mother passed away. He uses the place inthe summer, and he told some friends there who ownn auction house that if they need any extra help toall him. Now he sorts through estates three days a

week during the summer and prepares items for salefor the auction house. He says the small income fromthe part-time work is just enough to keep him in the

lifestyle hes become accustomed to.Financially it offers me the opportunity to do some

f the extra things I like to do. I consider myself livingvery nice lifestyle on a very limited financial scale.

As you get older, your wants and needs become lessnyway. Y u dont need an awful lot of anything nice,

Conant said.Conant said he didnt spend much time planning

for retirement. And Im not sorry, he said, Im justnot that kind of guy. Ive been single my whole life.Ive always lived alone. I spent all my money having agood time, doing what I wanted to do when I wantedto do it, not really worrying about things. And Im stillnot worried.

Conant is far from alone in his need to work.According to a recent Ernst & Y ung study, nearlythree out of five middle-class retirees are likely to run

ut of money if they try to maintain the lifestyles theymaintained while they were working full time.

Financially, were simply not prepared for a longerlifetime, Carleen MacKay, author of Return of theBoomers: A Leaders Guide and one of a very few expertsin recruiting, developing and retaining the maturework force, said. W ll outlive our money. And thatsfully half the B omers, she said, if they try to con-

tinue the spending habits theyve had all their lives.Earning the extra money to support his lifestyleis another important reason reporter Amateau stillworks. Y s, he loves the job, but the income factorsinto it.

I want to work, he said But I could use themone . I dont really need it. I could get along if I livedin a retirement mode, but with the money I can spendwhat I want. It makes me very comfortable financially.My wife makes a good living, slightly better than I do,but my salary gives us an awfully easy cushion.

Besides, he said, giving yet another reason for stillworking, what would he do in retirement mode?

Amateau loves to read and watch movies andnjoys his leisure time, but he cant imagine making

his leisure pursuits central to his life, saying he hasinterests, but nothing that would make me get up inthe morning.

Im afraid, he says. Im afraid to retire. I dontknow what Id do. My wife says, O , you could justgo to the gym I go to the gym a lot you could goto the gym a half a day and then go to the senior centernd have lunch and bring some home for supper nd this and that. It sounds like fun. For a month.

V llage Cares Norris thinks this fear is commonamong those older people who decide to still work.

They want to remain busy, she said. Actuallyits socialization for them: to get up every morning, tocome to work. hey have an opportunity to socialize awork, to socialize after work.

MacK y agrees. ork has many benefits. Oneis, obviously, it helps you financially. It gives you the

capacity to have a life and spend on something otherthan nondiscretionary items. But it also brings otherrewards: social rewards; a sense of belonging to something; a sense of having to get up, get showered, gedressed and get out.

Conant said the interaction with people at the auc-tion is important because a solitary existence just isntan option for him. If I dont have people around meI miss it terribly. Im not one to sit home and not geout and communicate with the world.

WORKPLACE OBSTACLES

While the population of those over 55 is growingolder workers find themselves dealing with a lot ofmyths: T ey cant learn new things; they are stuck intheir ways; they cant work a whole day; theyll work ashort time and retire.

Gene Burnard, publisher of workforce50.com, takesissue with all of these myths

Even if the myth that older workers are going tobe working two or three years and then leave was truethats not different than the average throughout thework force, Burnard said, adding quickly that its afalse belief. The average worker stays at a job only

three-and-a-half years, while the average older workerstays for five-and-a-half years, Burnard said, whichshould add value and be an asset because it saves thecompany money in recruiting, hiring and retrainingcosts.

He sees a deeper problem: W re a society thatsfascinated with youth. All of our advertising tells usyounger is better. It creates a passive age discrimination.

Recruiters need to see the advantages of having abalanced work force age-wise, he said.

B unards website provides services to older workers looking for employment services like older

worker-centric job listings, search tips, blog, linkseducation resources.

Oftentimes the problem lies with the work recruiters, Burnard said, even while companies and executives are becoming more open to hiring older adultsA recruiter is typically a 25- to 30-year-old femaleTheres nothing wrong with that, but a 25- or 30-yearold female, if I were in interviewing for a job, wouldhave a difficult time talking to me, unless she has beenwell trained. There has been a lot of fallout of goodolder job seekers not getting past the interview, or per


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haps not getting an interview at all, becausethe recruiter feels uncomfortable talking toolder workers, Burnard contended.

MacKay said that companies can changetheir attitudes with better training of theirleaders. By looking at who can do whatbest, companies might see that the olderwork force the very experienced whohave specific skills are really good at

projects. You dont have to hire them all atonce; hire them as needed, which is a greatway to keep costs down.

She agreed with Burnard that attitudesare evolving. But I dont think its chang-ing fast enough. Where its changing are inthe high-need organizations that are alreadysuffering from retirement, for example:health care, aerospace, rocket science. Allthe things that take years and years of train-ing are feeling the effects of a retiring workforce, she said

According to the 2007 study Preparing

for an Aging Workforce: A Focus on NewYork Businesses by AARP New York, 60percent of the states businesses report theyexpect to face skilled worker shortages innext five years, while only 25 percent havetaken steps to address the possible short-ages of Boomer retirement.

Losing experienced workers can leave acompany weaker and vulnerable to compe-tition because the retirees take importantinstitutional knowledge and specific skillswith them. When a person retires, 87 per-cent of businesses say its a loss because

that knowledge and those skills have to bebuilt back into another employee, whichtakes time and money. A full 95 percent ofNew York companies say retaining institu-tional knowledge is vital.

We want to try to retain as much of thatintelligence as we possibly can because youpay for that going in, Village Cares Norrissaid, adding that she sees other values inretaining older workers.

They have a completely different workethic, completely different. The personwhos 60, 65 is much more committed.That individual will come to work in therain, in the snow, not feeling well. They area lot more committed.

Retaining valuable older workers requiressome adjustments, she said, such as under-standing there may need to be some flex-ibility in work schedules. For instance, ifwe have a registered nurse whos 60 yearsold whos working on the night shift and isready for retirement because she doesntwant to work nights anymore, we need to be

able to entertain a request for a day shift.Besides being open to easing into retire-

ment, Village Care has taken a numberof steps to retain the older workers theyhave. You want to keep lots of optionsopen, Norris says. You have to be open torequests to change a shift, to change a job.Someone might say to her, You know, Imay be getting a little too old to do nursing,

but I can do other things. I can do qual-ity assurance. I can do risk management.Whats available for me? We have to keepour eyes open, keep our options open,Norris said.

Cornell University, which also is tryingto hang on to its older workers, has beenrecognized by AARP, which named it thebest employer in the country for workersover 50.

We were facing a loss of workers toretirement, said Mary Opperman, vicepresident for human resources. This was

especially troublesome for the universitybecause of the specialized nature of thework and where that work takes place.

We are in a fairly rural area, she saysof the campus in Ithaca, New York. We relyvery heavily on long service. This is an areaof the country with a fairly stable popula-tion and our work is very complicated. Itsvery demanding work. So when we find theright people, we like to keep them, and wedlike them to make their careers at Cornell.To entice people to stay, Cornell offersa number of benefits older workers find

attractive: generous health care coverage andwellness benefits, including long-term careinsurance; free or discounted classes eachweek targeting health and fitness issues fac-ing older adults; free continuing educationclasses; accommodation of employees withspecial needs; alternative work arrange-ments such as flextime, compressed workschedules, job sharing, telecommuting, anda formal phased-retirement program.

We know that as our work force ages,flexibility is a big need, Opperman said.When someone has committed their careerhere, after a long period of time they mightwant to focus their priorities more broadly maybe they want to do community work,maybe their family has moved around thecountry. Theyre looking for more flexibilityto meet other priorities in their lives besidesjust work.

She emphasizes, however, that whilethe AARP poll of its workers was a greatconfirmation of Cornells efforts, retainingolder workers is not the sole goal of those

Cornell professor Henry Tye is part of the odemographic that makes up 43 percen

universitys work force. AARP named Corbest employer in country for workers o


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25

efforts.We focus our programs holistically,

she says. That does include the needs ofall of our workers. And right now a largepercentage of those workers are older. Infact, employees over 50 make up 43 percenof Cornells work force.

Publisher Burnard says some companiesare starting to hire older workers because

these companies realize that older workerspossess something intangible, somethingyounger ones dont. He calls it relatability.

Some companies are looking specifically for older workers because a lot of thepopulation is getting older, he says. Lookat retail and the customer interface at aplace like Toys R Us. A customer at ToysR Us is not a young person with childrenIts the grandparents who are the primarycustomer of Toys R Us, and having somecollege student on break working at Toys R

Us and trying to sell to a grandparent justdoesnt get the job done as well as havingsomeone the grandparents age.

CHALLENGES IN WORKING LONGER

For the older worker, there often comesa time when he or she needs to have somecontrol over the time spent at a job.

Robert Conant, for example, plannedthe auction house work to be just a littleside gig, but soon he found himself working five days a week, 14-hour days, and

even going up in the winter. Workingtoo much. I didnt want to work quite thamuch, he said.

He was expected to jump in when anestate came in. It was stressful on meand it really wasnt viable for me to try todo that, he said. So he had to cut back. Iwas disappointing for me to have to say Icant do that. Im 72. I get tired. Its supposed to be my time to smell the roses.

Reporter Amateau similarly has alsoslowed down.

Still a full-time worker, hes adjustedhis pace at the office as best he canOccasionally I still come in on the weekend, but not much, he said.

Another frequenter of the SeniorInformation Center, Dina Paisner, saysshes also taking it a bit easier now.

Working for decades as a professionalactor and model, Paisner has kept a busyschedule appearing in various magazinesand periodicals including the cover of NewYork Magazine, the front page of the Sunday


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Art Section of The New York Times, in Joyce Tennesons pho-tography book of women over 65, WISE WOMEN, and in aspecial Ellis Island project.

And even though she still routinely auditions for actingroles and can be seen at Judson Memorial Church in earlyMarch in The Red Thread, a dance piece created by LoriBelilove of the Isadora Duncan Foundation, Paisner said shesnot eternally hunting for acting roles like she used to becausethe constant grind is just too much work and her priorities

have changed a bit.My pace is much slower. I used to have more energy.Theres no question about it. But when Im called, then I sud-

denly have the energy. When I have a job and I have to be some-where at six in the morning, Im up at four. But otherwise, Isleep late, she said.

Conant agrees that the work helps to keep a person active,and he, too, has noticed his priorities have changed. In fact, tohim, the very nature of work has changed.

I was developing a career in those days, he said of hisyounger, ambitious self. I was in competition with a lot ofpeople. I was managing a big photography studio. Im just aworker now. Im not in competition with anybody. I dont haveaspirations and goals or this and that. Im just a worker, mak-ing a dollar and enjoying life. Its a lot less stressful.

Many say, however, that older workers are going to have toretain their competitive nature if they want to keep working.The marketplace is changing and older workers are going tohave to keep up.

If youre not prepared for todays market in some way thatmatters to an employer, you wont be hired in any capacity,MacKay said. The first step is to look inside and see what youhave, do a little bit of gap analysis of what you dont have, andlook at what the market needs, and the marketplace needs are

very clear.Job seekers need to know what recent changes have

occurred in the careers they are seeking. Have there been anyrecent technological innovations? Is there a new skill needed?Is there a new philosophy?

You have to look at the business setting and see what theneeds are and be sure you go get them, MacKay said. Thegood news is, the community schools, the colleges, the fouryear institutions are there to help you get there fast.

Burnard agreed. Most older job seekers are long on experience, he said. And he advises them not to talk so much abouwork history. Instead, he said, talk about what value you can

bring to the company, not just experience. Experience isjust one thing.

MacKay says curiosity is more important than experience, and it is one of the most valuable assets a personyoung or old, can bring to a company.

When I work with recruiters to help them understand the benefits of hiring the older work force, I telthem one of the most important questions they canask older workers is What have you learned in the lastyear or two? And sit back and listen to what they say

If theyve been learning and paying attention, theyll begood employees, she said.

Significant hurdles face older job seekers.For anyone of any age, job seeking gets pretty

depressing, Burnard said. And for an older workethat recognizes that theres age discrimination, it can bedoubly depressing. But the only way to succeed is to bepositive. The biggest turnoff for an employer is to talk tosomeone who isnt positive.

MacKay takes a tougher stance. Thats life, she saidThe hurdle becomes the individuals to deal with, notthe companys initially. You have to know whats usefuto an employer; you have to know how to present your-

self; and you have to know, you must absolutely knowwhat you have to offer.

The onus isnt exclusively on the older job seekerCompanies have to think about what it is that is going to maketheir company successful, which they already do, but they donnecessarily add into the equation the value an older worker canbring, Burnard said.

He counsels businesses that there is a valuable pool oftalent out there. Dont just sit back and see what happens butaggressively take a look at [the older workforce]. They might besurprised. Im not saying an employer should hire just oldeworkers, but it should be intergenerational. An employer hasan obligation to hire the best person, whether theyre 20 or 90If they dont actively consider the older work force, they may bemissing out on finding that best person.

Paisner, who as a model and actor has to forever be auditioning for work, probably has the right attitude.

They just want someone who knows what theyre doing,she said of the people who hire her. Its not a question ofthem respecting you if youre older. The only time that doesany good is to get a seat on the subway. Ive never been treatedbadly. Never. And it has nothing to do with age. They just wantsomebody who does a good job, and I love working so I do agood job.

Village Cares Dorette Norris says employers have to be openand flexible if they want to retain older workers.


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Were here for you.


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Scott Kariya retired early.

He had spent 25 years recruiting programmers, systems analysts and network engineers

into the IT field, and in 2006, at age 50, he optedout.

But retirement wasnt exactly what he expected.During 2007 I putzed around, worked on my

investments, whatever, he said. I did volunteerwork as well I still do volunteer work at the RedCross. But I guess midway through 2007 or so started getting kind of bored. Then at the end of2007, I saw an article about ReServe.

One of many organizations launched in the lastfew years to tap into the growing number of retirees looking to give back to the community, ReServematches older adults looking to offer their skills withnonprofits needing experienced help at low wages.

Six months ago he came onboard and now usesthe recruiting skills he developed in the private sector to aid and strengthen the nonprofit work forceHe hopes to grow ReServess partnership list from400 to 800 and has a large, talented pool of workersto operate with.

This idea of older folks using their talents gainedin a lifetime of work to give back is growing pastbeing mearly a trend and becoming a full-blownmovement, especially among the millions of BabyBoomers who are starting to reach retirement age.

The desire to give back through work is wide anddeep right now, said Phyllis Segal, vice president of

Civic Ventures, an advocay group calling for olderworkers to make a difference through employment.

A joint study conducted by Civic Ventures and the MetLife Foundationfound that fully half of all workers between the ages of 50 and 70 were interested in taking up, either now or in retirement, work that improves the qualityof life in their communities.

Civic Ventures founder Marc Freedman coined the term encore careers todescribe this movement, and Segal said its driven, in part, by longer lifespans if people are living longer, it should be expected that they will be workinglonger, too.

The idea that when you reach the age of 62 or 65, you retire from produc

GIVING BACK

Opting OutAnd Back In

By Brett C Vermilyea

ReServes Scott Kariya


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29

tive work was a social invention, she said. And while it may have been aninvention that fit the needs of our nation and the needs of individuals in the50s, the 60s, the 70s, we are living in a different world. If you retire fromwork at the age of 62, the idea of playing golf for 10, 20, 30 years is not thatappealing to a lot of people.

And this longer-living generation is the same one that grew up withPresident John F. Kennedys call of Ask not what your country can do for you,but what you can do for your country. Theyve been taught that civic serviceis important.

About 8.4 million older workers have entered encore careers and whileapproximately two-thirds say that they wanted to stay active, productive andchallenged, a third say that they want to improve the quality of life in their com-munities or in society. They are people that want to have an impact that helpsstrengthen our community and our world, Segal said.

An impressive 84 percent of people in encore careers say that they get atremendous amount or quite a bit of satisfaction from the work they do,according to the Civic Ventures/MetLife study.

But its not just idealism that keeps these folks working longer; theres apractical side, too.The economics of living for decades without any source of income is not

sustainable for individuals or for society, Segal said.ReServe tries to alleviate some of these economic pressures by requiring its

nonprofits to pay a $10-an-hour stipend to workers it hires through ReServe.And while ReServe emphasizes that its the giving back aspect of these positionsthat is the most rewarding, Kariya said the organization is currently re-examingits workerss financial needs and trying to address those needs because theoriginal philosophy behind the stipend was meant to give more meaning to thework. It wasnt meant to be an important source of income.

We wanted to include this in because we feel that, although volunteerismis a wonderful thing and a lot of our people do volunteer work, and I do as

well that when theres some monetary value attached to the relationship,oftentimes it gives that relationship more commitment and more significanceon both sides, Kariya said.

Ive done many volunteer works, he said. Volunteering is a great thing.We all believe in volunteering. But sometimes organizations might not treatvolunteers as importantly as they could. But in the ReServist positions, theorganizations give us a job discription, they interview people for it, they wantpeople with certain background and skills, and they hire them specifically forthat position. So its really a part-time job.

But the difference is that in these jobs, people feel like the skills they devel-oped in their careers are making a difference in their communities.

RESOURCES

ReServe

(212) 792-6205reserveinc.org

Civic Ventures

(415) 430-0141

civicventures.org

Experience Corps

(212) 614-5499experiencecorps.org

Encore

(415) 430-0141encore.org

Using a Second Career to Make a Difference


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S T A N D P O I N T

Civic Engagement

Civic engagement is now beingseen as a formal retirement role

for older adults, with a beneficialimpact on society. Many national orga-nizations devote significant resources tostudying the phenomenon.

New research on the subject definescivic engagement as volunteerism andeven paid work that is done for at leastone day a week and which has a directimpact on the local community.

The attention that civic engagement isgetting stems from a belief that retiredolder adults are an untapped resource,and increasing the civic engagement of

retired Americans will correspond withincreasing social capital, according toBrian Kaskie, who collaborated with ateam of University of Iowa researchers onthe study. Kaskie authored an article pub-lished recently in The Gerontologist.

Not only that, Kaskie says, but itsimportant to look at civic engagementfrom its potential effect on individualhealth.

Several researchers have linkedengagement with health, successful agingand have suggested that aging personswho continue to work, find a secondcareer, volunteer, or become involved inlocal affairs maintain better physical andmental health as they grow older, hewrote in the journal article.

In a survey Kaskie conducted in 2004,he found that retired older adults con-sidered themselves engaged if they werevolunteering as well as working. Nearlyall saw volunteer service as a form of civicengagement. Seventy percent of thosewho considered themselves retired, but

were continuing to work in some capacity,said they did so because they wanted tokeep active, be engaged with other peopleand make a contribution to their localcommunity.

Kaskie said that his research has ledhim and his colleagues to believe thatcivic engagement should be defined as arole that involves voluntary or paid partici-pation in an activity that occurs within anorganization that has a direct impact on

their local community.A precise meaning of civic engagement

is important to policymakers and programadministrators and allows researchers tostudy its impacts effectively and consis-tently, according to Kaskie.

The study found that engaged retireesdiffer significantly from those who volun-teer less or who work in non-civic roles, ordo neither. Non-engaged retirees wereless likely to have finished high school,less likely to exercise and didnt thinktheir communities offered sufficient workand volunteer opportunities.

Kaskie said that there is a need for

persuasive campaigns and opportunitiesto compel older adults to become engagedregardless of level of education, healthstatus, socioeconomic status and othercharacteristics.

Its likely that the civic engagementphenomenon will expand for several rea-sons, including the prospect of reducedfinancial support from government foreducation, health and social services pro-grams, which are already being depletedby an aging work force, particularly ineducation.

There is also a growing number of per-sons who are retiring from their primarycareers but who may not be prepared toretire completely. Other retirees recog-nize that they will be spending more yearsin retirement and may wish to partake ina civic engagement role as a way to main-tain their health and to contribute to thesocial capital of their community.

In addition, retirees may have increasedlevels of civic engagement because thereare a greater number of people with

higher levels of education, good-to-excel-lent health and other characteristics thatenable them to engage in activities.

Kaskie said its important to differen-tiate more committed retirees who areengaged in a civic purpose from theircounterparts who only occasionally takea volunteer role. Neither should wethink that civic engagement roles cannotinclude retirees who have returned towork in particular jobs or organizations.

As the population continues to ageand the demand for voluntary and paid

labor increases, discussions about thecivic engagement of retired Americanswill be come more common and moreimportant, he said.

HOW OLD IS OLD?

A while back, pollster ZogbyInternational, conducted a survey todetermine what age Americans believe isold, and asked participants how old theywished they were.

A third of those surveyed said that anage between 71 and 80 is old, and abou

19 percent said between 61 and 70, while18 percent said between 81 and 90. Abou30 percent of those under 30 placed thecutoff point for being old at 61, but mostothers chose the age of 71.

Blacks and Hispanics are less likelythan whites to choose a younger age asold, while Republicans are slightly morelikely to choose a younger age as oldthan are Democrats and independents.

Southerners are most likely to say tha61-70 is old, while those living out wesare most likely to see old as being 71-80Easterners, on the other hand, were morelikely than those in other regions to saythat 41-50 is old.

As to how old they wish to be, one inthree in the survey said they wished theywere somewhere between 21 and 30, 17percent wished to be between 31 and 4011 percent wished to be between 41 and50, and 13 percent wanted to be under 21The rest werent sure.

Current age made a difference heretoo. Those 18-29 were the most satisfied

with their current age, or close to it. Twoin five 30-49 year olds wanted to be 21-30Interestingly, among 50-to-64 year oldsin the survey, they were closely dividedbetween wishing to be 21-30 and wishingto be 51-60; among those 65 and older, thedivision was between those wanting to be21-30 and those wanting to be 61-80.

No matter what age group they were ina goodly number of folks seemed satisfiedwith being their current age.



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V I E W P O I N T

Community Response to DementiaBY HERBERT H. FILLMORE

There is an emerging crises

in America, a crisis that existsbecause the health care system is

biased against certain disease conditions.If you get cancer or diabetes or any other

disease that the acute care or primary caresystem is designed to treat, well, no prob-lem, come right in.

But if you get a dementia, for whichthere is no pill, no surgery, and requires adifferent kind of care, sorry, you are toughout of luck.

The incidence and prevalence ofAlzheimers and other dementias isincreasing. The impact of this on indi-viduals, their families and communities isimmense. Looking at the policy and pro-vider landscape, I see a few responses thatrecognize this reality, but very little in theway of a comprehensive response.

There is not enough going on. I can-not emphasize too strongly that we mustrespond and respond now time is of theessence.

What are the tools in our tool bags?Home care, nursing homes, social capi-

tal? Lets take the last one. Most care deliv-ered to seniors in this country, includingcare for persons with dementia, is pro-vided by informal caregivers, usually familymembers and oftentimes their friends andneighbors.

In the communities Village Care serves,social capital is not an abundant commod-ity. Many seniors live alone, many in walk-ups. There is a limit to what we can asktheir neighbors to do.

New nursing home beds, not the mostdesired, or even the best solution, are not

being built. In fact, quite the opposite:Nursing home beds are being taken offline. Furthermore, the traditional skillednursing facility beds that do exist are notoptimally designed for a population withdementia. It could be argued, for that mat-ter, that they shouldnt even be used forpersons with dementia because they arentappropriate care settings. Not to mentionthat Medicare and Medicaid have designedtheir reimbursement systems almost to

guarantee that the person with dementiawill not be cared for in those settings.

We need new thinking about clustered

living solutions that maximize efficien-cies of staffing and quality of life, boththrough physical design specifically for thispopulation and reimbursement and regula-tions that promote quality specialized care.The mechanism for this may be enhancedMedicaid Assisted Living Programs, arelook at the old health-related facility con-cept, or some new version of apartmentliving combined with day care.

We need to be exploring new answersnow because we are likely to be faced withan exploding dementia population and I,for one, dont want to look the other wayas we use marginal nursing home beds asthe solution a

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