Senior Service News

Here is this months "Senior Services News" from Robert W. Littke, President and C.E.O. of Senior Services, Inc.

Our Spring 2008 Newsletter

As we approach mid-life it's common to ask "What have I done with my life?" and "What have I yet to do?"  It also can be a time when we worry that perhaps “Some of the real substance of life has passed us by.”

Regret is universal in every culture and section of our society. For each choice we make there are limitless numbers of options we did not attempt. "What if" questions can plague each of us if we allow them to.   All of our wondering can then lead to worrying.  "Worry" someone once said "is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but it doesn’t get you anywhere".

Mid life examination can be healthy, or it can be counter productive.  Have you done it?  Asked yourself "What if I married someone else, what if I had children, what if I had taken a different job or made a different choice?"

Henry David Thoreau said that we should “Make the most of our regrets”.  He went on to encourage us to "review our regrets" and by doing so we can "live afresh.” and begin again.

Dwelling on past mistakes or worrying about missed opportunities consumes your ability to enjoy the present as well as the future.  As my old high school coach would have reminded me "shake it off, that games is in the past and you can't play it again, let's prepare for the next match!"

One of the best ways to shake off the regrets of the past, it to put them behind you and begin a new and exciting future.  If you always wished you had a college degree, go back to school.  If you regret not spending enough time with family or friends, now is the perfect time to do that or, to spend time with new friends or others who need you.

If you are looking for meaningful ways to re-connect and plan for your new future, Senior Service can offer you wonder opportunities to socialize with new friends, attend classes, volunteer to help others and reach out to new people. 

Who knows, by coming to one of our centers, dances, activities, classes or events, you may even meet the one you've been looking for all your life!

Our December 2007 Newsletter

According to a recent article published by the Associated Press, Americans are living longer than ever before.  According to the most recent 2005 government figures, average life expectancy if up to 77.9 years, the longest in U.S. history. 

Even with this encouraging news, Americans are still not keeping up with many other countries.  The article goes on to note that 36 other counties have life expectancies higher than those in the United States.  Recent proposals offered by candidates on both sides have recognized these changing demographics that will impact our country and affect such things as health care, housing, transportation and other areas that are related to an aging society. 

Looking back, in 1900 average life expectancy in America was only 45 and by 1955 that number had jumped to 69.  Looking ahead, some estimate that "average" life expectancy in America could easily reach as high as 102-120 sometime in the next 50 years. 

Notably contributing to these increases is a drop in deaths from heart disease and stroke, which are two of the nations leading causes of death according to the National Center for Health statistics. 

Previous Issues

Newsletter Article, August 8, 2007

It was announced in October of 2006 that due to mounting public and political pressure, the Department of Homeland Security will soon stop confiscating the prescription drugs Americans order from Canadian pharmacies.

The Department of Homeland Security had earlier mailed notices to the recipients saying that their purchases were in violation of drug importation laws. Shipments such as these are illegal, but authorities did little to stop the practice until the seizures intensified last November.

The policy created a nationwide public outcry and Florida Sen. Bill Nelson, demanded a congressional investigation of the confiscations, and the media featured stories of older Americans who suddenly were left without critical medications.  Now, the practice of seizing these drugs will be stopped, according to an e-mail that Homeland Security sent recently to congressional staff.

The drug industry strongly opposes the importation of prescription drugs from Canada, arguing that it undermines the government's ability to assure a safe and secure supply of drugs.

Recently, Congress approved a measure that would permit individuals visiting Canada to bring home up to a 90-day supply of prescription medicines for their own use.

As older adults continue to live longer on fixed incomes, the issue of affordability and access to prescription medications will continue to grow.  If you or a loved one are facing challenges in paying for medications, staff at Senior Services can often help you access information on programs that provide needed medications at reduced cost, or even at no-cost.  Feel free to call our offices at (269) 382-0515 and ask to speak to one of our staff for more information.

Our March 2007 Newsletter

"Beginning on January 1, 2006, every 8 seconds, another North American baby boomer will be turning 60. That's about 11,000 each day and 4.5 million each year. So what will it mean for society?

At this year's Annual Meeting at Senior Services I touched on the changing face of retirement. I noted that only in our lifetime did retirement come into existence. For almost all of history, people worked until they died. It was only during the Great Depression when, desperate to make room in the workforce for young workers, we institutionalized retirement programs as we know them today. It's amazing to think that in 1935 when Social Security was first established that the average life expectance in America was only 63. Most people never lived long enough to benefit from it.

We must begin to realize that people don't suddenly lose the talent and experience gained over a lifetime at age 65.

I often refer to the four phases of retirement that we in America have seen. The first phase was prior to 1935 when there was no retirement. The second was after the establishment of the Social Security system in 1935. The third phase evolved sometime after 1935 and was notably marked around 1960 with the first major "retirement communities" established in areas such as Sun City, Arizona.

Today the fourth phase is readily appearing as a result of the realization that retirement is too long to consider "disconnecting" from society and work, but instead "re-connecting" in a different way.

We must accommodate some 78 million aging baby boomers as the picture changes. Many current retirees are discovering that retirement is not what they had envisioned. With increased longevity, fewer and fewer older adults feel they can afford to retire. As adulthood is being transformed retirement is being radically transformed.

Such findings led author Ken Dychtwald to write an article titled “It’s Time to Retire Retirement,” Dychtwald says, people will continue to work during this phase, but with a new balance of life, work and volunteering. It’s a phase, he says, that will be driven by aspiration—the desire to have more engagement and financial security.

We should all strive to stay active, engaged and committed to doing all we can to prepare our community and our nation for the biggest population explosion we have ever seen…the explosion some refer to as the coming "Age-Wave".

If you're looking for ways to stay active, Senior Services can offer you countless volunteer opportunities both in our organization, and with dozens of other agencies in our community. Call us any weekday and you'll see that we are experts in many areas, including re-engagement!

Senior Services produces a quarterly newsletter with information about our agency and its many programs and services.  It's also a great source of information about trends in services to older adults and the latest information about what's happening elsewhere.

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