Upcoming Issues

Summer: Isolation

Social isolation is a growing and highly destructive condition for the aging population. As a condition, social isolation is associated with depression, immune disorders, heart disease, strokes and cancer. Researchers now say that it has an effect comparable to smoking 15 or more cigarettes a day. And while isolation occurs at all ages, its prevalence for people as they age may be widely underreported because isolation is often perceived to be part of the aging process.

The causes for the increased incidence of isolation are manifold: the loss of social support systems caused by the decline of community groups, churches/synagogues, and broad friendship groups all contribute. The premium placed in society - or in a generation like the Boomer Generation - on independence may also contribute to isolation's growth as a social phenomenon. So, too, the increasing dependence on digital instead of actual relationships may be contributing to social isolation even as we imagine ourselves more connected. One step toward confronting the rise of isolation is encouraging nurses, doctors and social workers to ask about it.

LPN-Q is interested in articles on isolation - its nature, its consequences, its remedies. In addition to practical and professional methods of addressing it, LPN-Q is seeking art, poetry, fiction, essays or video that expresses or deals with isolation.

Article deadline: May 15

Publication: Mid-June

Sexuality is a life force. And as professionals and in our own lives, issues of sexuality, including sex, are often present. Though our sexuality evolves and changes over the lifecycle, it remains a vital part of who we are throughout our lives.

For this issue, we are seeking articles that explore the many aspects of sexuality - which encompasses us as humans, including our emotional, physical, psychosocial, cultural, political and spiritual nature.

As has been noted elsewhere, the words "sex" (what happens below the waste and between the legs) and "sexuality" are often - and unfortunately - used interchangeably. Sexuality, however, is the total expression of who we are as human beings. Much of how we interact with the world, including our compassion, creativity, social interactions, and vitality, are expressions of our sexuality. It exists independent of whether or not we have a partner or are sexually active or are in our most advanced years. But our culture - even in our professional milieu - avoids confronting frank discussion of sexuality.

Articles for this issue might address: sexuality and aging, intimacy, relationships, health, spirituality, self-esteem, sexual identity, creativity, institutional responses, our culture, etc.

LPN-Q looks forward to a robust response from its members to this issue.

For more information or to serve as an issue editor, please contact

Bruce Frankel.

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Notable Resources

Active Aging Information and Assistance Handbook

By Cullen T. Hayashida , PhD, National LPN Member and Eldercare Programs Advisor for St. Francis Healthcare System of Hawaii

While most county offices on aging have created Senior Information and Assistance Handbooks, they have generally focused on the needs of the frail and disabled older adults. What one finds in them are listings of nursing homes, assisted living facilities, assisted transportation, adult day centers and the like. The focus has been on sick care services which are all necessary and useful to many.

However, those who are entering into their retirement years or who still are active, do not find those handbooks of much use yet. During this transition into retirement, the active older adult is seeking information and assistance to address how best to use the rest of their lives.

It is for that reason that, St. Francis Healthcare System of Hawaii will making available its Hana Hou Active Aging Handbook for an active, healthy and purposeful life by July 2017.

"Hana Hou" is the Hawaiian word for encore. There will be at least 15 categories of services and support in education, employment, finance, housing assistance, life skills, intergenerational opportunities, consumer protection, recreation, volunteer opportunities, wellness fairs and even senior discounts!

We are hoping this will be part of the infrastructural improvements to marshal the services of our fastest growing natural resource. In many ways, it is parallel to the work that Hans Kr Gudmundssson of Iceland has been working on. For more information, contact Cullen Hayashida at [email protected]. Kay Bransford (Chesapeake) had her blog, " Dealing with Dementia" named a Best Blog for 2017 by Healthline, a consumer health information website with 65 million monthly visitors.

The review shared that her blog "chronicles the journey of a dementia caregiver. The author gives advice on how to navigate the early stages of the disease, when to stop driving, and how to get financial support. Come here for actionable advice on how to deal with real issues the dementia community faces."

Healthline carefully selected blogs that actively work to educate, inspire, and empower their readers with frequent updates and high quality information.This was the second year in a row Kay's blog received the "Best Blog" honor by Healthline.

Earlier in April, Medical News Today cited "Dealing with Dementia" one of the five best blogs that focuses on Alzheimer's disease for its work to showcase the most recent research, provide a day-in-the-life account of living with the disease, and share perspectives from caregivers.

New England

Quarterly Meeting Recap

By Trish Perry, New England Board

"Close your eyes for a moment and imagine walking around your living space," architect and aging-in-place expert Deborah Pierce instructed at the start of her presentation, "Home Choices for Aging," at the March 31 New England chapter meeting.

"Wander through the rooms," she continued. "See them. Feel them. Find a spot that feels most like home. Notice what it is that creates that feeling."

Each of us has a relationship to things and spaces that are essential to us, she suggested and reinforced throughout her presentation. And if we explore our housing choices, their styles and qualities emerge-comfort, accessibility, safety, manageability, affordability, proximity to nature, culture, people, social and health services-along with their significance.

The more we know about what matters to us, the better we can assess the increasing number of choices available in the market, said the author of The Accessible Home: Designing for All Ages and Abilities.

	Deb Pierce discussed home choices at New England's Chapter Meeting

Deborah's work weaves together two professional threads: designing renovations of historic public buildings and public access upgrades for libraries and courthouses and her interest in residential housing. She now combines the two by designing and remodeling homes to meet the needs of older adults and those of all ages with differing abilities.

Gone are the days when home choices for aging were limited to grab bars and assistive devices. Options now include everything from lower sinks and rollout kitchen cabinets, to pitching shower floors (so water runs to drains at the back of the shower allowing for no-barrier entrances) to using high-contrast wall colors and fixtures for those with limited eyesight, or using flashing lights instead of buzzers for those with limited hearing.

In addition to a quickly-evolving product market, design choices for aging now requires knowing about "visitability" ordinances that require new single-family housing designed so that it can be lived in or visited by people whatever their abilities. (A house is "visitable" when it meets three requirements: has at-least one no-step entrance; doors and hallways wide enough to allow navigation with a wheelchair or walker; a bathroom on the first floor that's big enough to get into a wheelchair and close the door.)

Deborah also introduced us to a range of stylish designs and accessory apartments, and discussed co-housing, Loft living, 55+ communities, independent living facilities, assisted living, continuous care retirement communities, and nursing homes. Innovative possibilities are beginning to pop up all over the country. But making decisions about housing for aging take time, allowing for exploration of self and the wide range of possibilities.