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Battle Creek Joins National Aging In Place Initiative
Burnham Brook has joined a national initiative sponsored by Partners for Livable Communities and the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging to work with cities and counties over an 18-month period to facilitate a community dialogue on "aging in place," and to assist community leaders in developing an action plan to ensure programs and services are in place so that communities are good places to grow old. The overall objective of the Aging in Place Initiative is to assist communities to improve their livability for older persons and in turn, increase livability for all people.
Each community will select its own banner issues to promote the concept of aging in place from the broad range of programs and services needed to assist older adults as they age in place including eight (8) issues related to community planning, housing, transportation, public safety, education/life long learning, workforce development, and retirement planning, among others.
The project will focus on key issues unique to the greater Battle Creek area as identified by area leadership and stakeholder constituencies including civic leaders, advocacy groups, the health care community, providers of service, and of course older adults and their families.
The intent of the project is to create a community blueprint to assure that older adults can remain in their own homes, neighborhoods, and live in "elder-friendly communities" of the future. The term "aging in place" is designed to challenge communities to envision future essential services for older adults as well as additional opportunities that will encourage them to remain active contributors in the community.
As our population ages and baby boomers begin to retire in huge numbers, communities need to plan now to assure that services are in place and that the vitality of communities is strengthened because older adults remain active, contributing members.
If older Americans cannot obtain sufficient resources or be given the option to participate, communities lose on many levels. Obstacles like inadequate transportation, housing and social services can cripple the elderly community. Additional aspects like recreational, social and cultural opportunities and urban design are also significant in establishing an elder-friendly environment.
With sizable amounts of free time and disposable money, a majority of older Americans act as economic generators, philanthropists and volunteers in a community. When older adults are able to get out of their homes and do these things, the area prospers. Older Americans who utilize community amenities positively impact local shops, restaurants, universities, libraries, and other community resources found in arts and recreation.
Battle Creek Boomer Survey
The Battle Creek Boomer Survey was created to test the local interests and concerns of area Baby Boomers in three age brackets in comparison to individuals in their early 60's, we designated as "Boomer Pioneers." The first Age Wave 54-59, the second 49-53, and the youngest of Boomers aged 41-47. The survey was constructed using SurveyMonkey, an inexpensive, online, utility that was easy to design and monitor with standard reporting formats and the ability to filter for specific factors. This allowed the project to identify any trends or interesting features that any of the four population segments noted in their answers. An online version of the survey instrument was available to the public in mid-August 2005 through a link provided by the Battle Creek Enquirer on their web site home page, also promoting for Aging in Place the Cruising the Age Wave weekend. Local organizations also assisted in encouraging their workforce to complete the survey by providing internal email to their staff with a link to the online survey site. The online survey was available through October 10th, 2005.
The survey was also available in a paper version distributed to Boomers and others (Boomer Pioneers) at the Cruising the Age Wave weekend, Sep 9th, 10th, & 11th, in addition to a printed version in the special edition tabloid published for the event by the Battle Creek Enquirer. A total of 384 persons completed the survey.
The project is funded, in-part, by a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
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| Aging in Place-Project Staff |
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Larry Hermen
Project Director
Linda Grap
Senior Health Partners
Teresa Durham
Kellogg Community College
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| Steering Committee Members |
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Velma Laws-Clay
Board Member, Battle Creek Downtown Development Authority
Wayne Boatwright
Chief Diversity Officer, Battle Creek Health System
Theresa Durham
Kellogg Community College
Kathleen Erickson
Director, Battle Creek Downtown Development Authority
Doug Grosso
Consultant, The Wellness Foundation
Brenda Hunt
CEO, Battle Creek Community Foundation
Julianne McCarty
The Kellogg Company
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Nancy Macfarlane
United Way of Greater Battle Creek
Gregory Moore
Chairperson Calhoun County Board of Commissioners
Mark Schauer
State Senator, (D),19th District, Battle Creek
Diane Thompson
Miller Foundation
Jan Tolf
Senior Diagnostic Center
Elaine VanDoren
Board Chairperson, Burnham Brook
Wayne Wiley
City Manager, City of Battle Creek
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Baby Boomers and Battle Creek
Boomers are not seniors...
If nothing else is retained from this report we hope that this new mantra will be. The Aging in Place project is the first opportunity for the Battle Creek community to improve its awareness and understanding of the decisions that current and future retiring Boomers will make as they age. It is designed to insert new realities into current community and organizational thinking and planning; realities that communities across the nation will all experience. Some will be good and their communities will become winners as retiring Boomers reinvest and reinvigorate them. Other communities may suffer as the exodus of wealthy or middle class Boomers leave behind a larger than normal segment of those that are poor and require a vast amount of public services.
Our focus in this project and report is on the opportunities for Battle Creek to become the Boomer destination of the future, creating a livable hometown community chosen by those that can afford to live anywhere. We have embraced the name Boomer for this project and just as others throughout the country have come to appreciate that people in this age bracket don't mind calling themselves, Boomers. Like it or not, this report is all about them; and how they may handle the next stage of their lives, causing communities and society to shift many things to reflect their preferences.
As Baby Boomers age and prepare for retirement years they will, in very large numbers, make choices for where they will live in the next stage of their life. Battle Creek could become their retirement destination if many of the Top 10 recommendations in this report lead to changes that Boomers want in their home town Battle Creek. Large new Boomer communities are now being developed throughout the country and even locally, where culture, quality healthcare, active lifestyle options, and new housing choices are built in. Many of those features and assets already exist in Battle Creek, some don't. But the main point of this report is to alert community leaders of the need to envision a future Battle Creek that responds to the interests of the Baby Boomers, who may choose to stay.
Top Ten Boomer Interests
- Battle Creek will compete with other communities who promise that Baby Boomers can remain active & independent in their own homes & neighborhoods as they age. Boomers will avoid "Geriasic Park" living choices in favor of intergenerational living. They want to make the necessary design changes in their homes to accommodate the effects of aging. The growth in new Boomer housing options maybe the key reason for this population to remain in the area.
- Working past retirement for Baby Boomers is likely, based on a wide variety of personal reasons, including the need for continued income due to the economy, the need to feel useful and contributing, and the desire to be entrepreneurial, pursuing their passionate interests and newly developed skills.
- Many retiring Baby Boomers have a wealth of knowledge and experience and want to own their own small businesses, but they will require significant help to become successful.
- Baby Boomers can be expected to pursue advanced education targeted to personal growth and specialized training they will need to gain skill sets and certifications needed to pursue new careers and entrepreneurial ventures.
- Boomers want choices in their cultural, arts and entertainment options, and have never been passive participants. Their preferred choices, as always, will lean towards experiential and those requiring active and meaningful engagement.
- Baby Boomers have a strong interest in making meaningful contributions to the community through volunteering.
- Baby Boomers will stress out local healthcare providers creating an increased and urgent demand for all types of care. Many Boomers will not have adequate health insurance or savings accounts to "shop for care" and will rely on local providers, increasing the demand for charity care. State and local healthcare funding may be inadequate to care for large numbers of aging Boomers with chronic healthcare conditions.
- Baby Boomers will actively seek out preventative solutions to staying healthy, and press for answers to healthcare problems as they age, creating a huge potential market for businesses savvy enough to capitalize on this expanding market.
- "Longevity will be For Sale." As life expectancy dramatically increases due to evolving genome-based study, scientific break throughs, wonder drug solutions, non-invasive medical techniques, and mind-body research, Boomers will become a huge market for smart businesses.
- A large number of Boomers are determined to remain physically active as they age and have come to understand the link between wellness and lifestyle choices. Boomers looking for new adventures, physical activity, and improvement in their health/wellness will search out communities that provide these choices. Although spectators and couch potatoes will remain, businesses that are able to meet the needs of active Boomers will profit.
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Boomer Weekend: Cruising the Age Wave
With key stakeholders now invested in Aging in Place, each community will be ready to delve into an action plan. The community action plan should produce some form of public outreach in order to mobilize the public on the issue of an elderly-friendly community. The emphasis of this step is to peak public interest and to develop community buy-in to the process, not to create an elaborate program.
Therefore, projects should focus on a very specific issue and an outcome that is achievable during the project time frame. Examples of such outcomes would be: conducting a community forum on housing modification to enable older residents to Age in Place, sponsoring a Senior Transportation Forum to assess the mobility needs of an aging population and the resources available to assist them; holding a forum with local educational institutions to discuss Lifelong Learning opportunities. This is a chance for each community to reveal their knowledge on the issue and willingness to embrace this initiative. It is also a chance to see how the Stakeholders Committee undertakes a civic action plan. Through Stakeholders meetings in January and February it was decided that a number of community events would be held from May-Sept to address issues that were identified by the group: housing, living younger longer, arts, entertainment, education and continuing to work.
Input from a Battle Creek Unlimited representative suggested combining all of the events into a week, thus the project developed the concept of an Aging in Place "Boomer Weekend", called Cruising the Age Wave, Where will all the Boomers Go? Scheduled for Sept. 9, 10, 11 in downtown Battle Creek. Three working committees were created to design the events corresponding to the three target issues that would address Boomer concerns and preferences during the event; Refiring-not Retiring, Planning Your Space for Living, and Living Younger Longer.
The Battle Creek Boomer survey was designed to gather significant input at this event from Baby Boomers to inform the next phase of the project. Approximately 400 persons completed the survey. The Battle Creek Enquirer reported on the event and its implications for the community on a number of occasions leading up to and following it.
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Keeping Baby Boomers in Battle Creek
The Enquirer |
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| Battle Creek is the only city in Michigan among the nine cities participating in the national project, Hermen said. The project is sponsored by Partners for Livable Communities and the National Association for Area Agencies on Aging. The W.K. Kellogg Foundation gave a grant to fund the project. Senior Health Partners also helped with funding. "From what we're expecting, the blueprints are often times wake-up calls to local leadership, citizens energizing the community to action," Hermen said. "The blueprint will be very specific and very much action-oriented, which will require implementation." It likely will take many years to implement many, if not all of, the recommendations from the blueprint, he said. |
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Aging in Place: Battle Creek
The three top issues that address Boomer concerns and preferences are: |
| • Planning Your Space for Living |
| • Refiring NOT Retiring |
| • Living Younger Longer |
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Top 10 Boomer Issues and 26 Recommended Action Plans |
| 1. Active & Independent In Our Own Homes |
6. Interested In Meaningful Volunteer Work |
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• Address high cost for remaining in own homes
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• Focus on Boomer interests in meaningful volunteering
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• Encourage more housing choices for Boomers
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• Expand the variety of volunteer jobs for Boomers
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• Create incentives for in-home modifications
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| 2. Working Past Retirement |
7. Urgent Boomer Need & Demand For Healthcare |
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• Find a Home for Boomer Workforce Initiatives
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• Solve access to care issues
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• Develop a Web-Based Portal for Boomers
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• Recruit gerontology professionals
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• Create an HR Directors Workgroup
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| 3. Start & Own Small Boomer Businesses |
8. Staying Well By Holistic Health Choices
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• Create a Boomer Enterprise Zone
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• Repackage traditional healthcare services
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• Create a Market Strategy & Plan
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• Integrate holistic & alternative care
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• Develop Enterprise Zone Partners
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| 4. Pursuing Further Education & Skills Sets |
9. Longevity For Sale |
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• Increase educational choices
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• Develop mind-body-spirit wellness options
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• Make access to further education easier
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• Recruit wellness businesses for local and regional markets
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• Personalize the curriculum for Boomer students
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| 5. More Choices In Cultural, Arts, & Entertainment |
10. Remaining Physically Active |
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• Market Boomer interests in their music
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• Battle Creek becomes an AdventureSports destination
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• Conduct further research for sports attendance
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• Create a "Winter Sports Package" for intergenerational family fun
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• Focus on repackaging the Arts for Boomer participation
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• Add pampering services for Boomers in fitness centers
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