May 2006

Hoop Dreams on Hold

In the 1940s, Marian Johnson wondered why, as a girl, she couldn’t play basketball in school. Later, as a physical education teacher, she learned that in the early 1900s, interscholastic girls’ basketball was widespread throughout her home state of Minnesota and the nation. So why did it disappear?

Johnson answers this question in "Daughters of the Game," co-authored with Dorothy McIntyre. “Basketball was America ’s first widely played women’s team sport,” she says. “Within a few years of its invention in 1891, school and professional women’s teams thrived. The decline began after the National Amateur Athletic Federation Women’s Division was started in 1923 to study women and sports.”

The Women’s Division was sharply critical, reflecting the prejudice that women were too weak for intense exercise and that sports would deter them from marrying and starting families. The Women’s Division said women’s athletics should be confined to non-competitive, less stressful exercise. “Women’s basketball began to disappear,” says Johnson. “By 1942 it was gone, and didn’t return on a large scale until Title IX, mandating equality in school sports, passed in 1972.”

"Daughters" tells a national story, but focuses on Minnesota with team pictures and interviews with hundreds of players, many now in their 90s. “It’s history,” says Johnson, “but we also teach young women not to be complacent. There are still people who think women’s athletics is unimportant.”

Visit www.daughtersofthegame.com for more.

—Matt Simon

Painting the Simpler Life

Twenty years ago, high school physics teacher John Richards Jr. took up oil painting as a hobby. He soon fell under the spell of the Hudson River School, a group of 19th-century American landscape painters.

“I saw a painting by Frederic Church, and I knew that’s what I wanted to paint,” says Richards. Church and the other Hudson River School artists—like their literary contemporaries Emerson and Thoreau—treated nature almost worshipfully. Landscape paintings from this period were marked by painstaking detail, sensuous use of color, and majestic lighting.

“Their reverence for the simplicity of nature is very near to my heart,” says Richards. “I grew up in a small town, played in meadows with my dog, and walked in the woods. I long for that simpler time and I try to recapture it through my painting.”

Many of Richards’ paintings depict pastoral settings from northwestern Massachusetts, but he is equally fond of still-life subjects—including his father’s old baseball glove.

Since retiring from teaching in 2004, Richards has devoted himself almost full-time to art, and has met with great success since he began exhibiting in 2005. “It’s been very encouraging,” says Richards. “I’ve had several exhibits as well as individual pieces accepted into juried shows, and I sold around 20 paintings. Mind you, I’m still a local guy. I’m delighted when anyone appreciates my work. I hope they feel a bit of the simpler life.”

For a sampling of paintings by John Richards Jr., visit his Web site. —Matt Simon

May 2006

How to make life better in your state

What a difference a governor makes! Take mine: Janet Napolitano of Arizona. She’s smart, is there for the kids, and takes no guff from anybody. As governor, she’s in a position to do a lot of good.

Just a small sample: She

• • Started a voluntary full-day kindergarten.
• Stopped our legislature from letting corporations give their state tax dollars to private schools (through tax credits).
• Gives every Arizona first-grader a book of their very own—for some, the first book they’ve ever owned.

She also set up a system that provides big savings on prescription drugs for Medi-care-eligible residents. And in her first year, she erased a billion-dollar state deficit without cutting public education or other important services.

But it didn’t have to be that way. She only won by one percent of the total vote—fewer than 12,000 votes made the difference. I’m so glad that I and many other educators worked for her! The Arizona Education Association has nearly 30,000 members. You can bet we’ll be out working for her again this year.

Is your governor as good as mine? If not, maybe you can do something about it.

As the 2006 election campaigns gear up, I urge you to jump in, particularly in the races for governor. State government is the dominant influence on what happens in our schools and in many other crucial aspects of daily life, from retirement benefits to roads.

And of course, I’m not belittling the other important state and federal campaigns.

Politics is one area where retirees often work harder than younger people. We don’t have papers to grade, most of us anyway, so we have more time to make calls and knock on doors, and those with good, union-won pensions can afford to invest in the future with campaign donations.

Our state Associations will endorse candidates and take positions on ballot questions. Get involved in the choosing, and in the campaigns that follow.

See if you can do as well as we’ve done in Arizona.

— Barbara Matteson

May 2006

Sandy Wilson

Background
I’ve been a maintenance and support staff employee at Kenowa Hills High School in Michigan. I’ve been a county Association officer, an MEA board member, and an NEA RA delegate.

Why did you become a Pre-Retired member?
I follow state legislative issues, and I see it’s always the retired members leading the way when it comes to fighting for education. NEA-Retired provides a great deal of the lobbying support needed to help both current education employees and retirees. That’s very important in Michigan, where we have to deal with unfunded mandates and threats to our health care and retirement benefits. NEA-Retired is definitely the way to go—but not just yet; right now I still enjoy going to work.

Pearlie Matthews

Background
I taught elementary school in Okaloosa County, Florida for 35 years. I was treasurer, secretary, and chief negotiator for my local Association. I was also a state FEA board member and an NEA RA delegate.

How is retirement?
It’s great. I’ve been able to spend time reading, gardening, and traveling with my family. We went on a cruise at Christmas, and are planning a vacation to Massachusetts. I’ve also stayed active in education. I served on a school advisory board, and I’m in my local Retired Association. Right now, we’re trying to increase retirees’ insurance and benefits. This is especially important to me because I retired fairly young and still have a 10th-grader at home. So I’ll be relying on my benefits to help put my son through college. Retirees are in a variety of situations, but protecting our benefits is important to all of us.

Geraldine Butts

Background
I taught elementary school for 12 years, and was an elementary school principal for 22 years—all in Nashville, Tennessee. I was active in the Nashville Elementary School Principals’ Association and was an NEA RA delegate. In the Retired Association, I worked my way up from secretary to president, and I’m a former state Retired president.

How are you spending retirement?
Right now, my priority is dealing with the disastrous new Medicare drug benefit. It doesn’t provide enough, and the law is so confusing that many seniors aren’t signing up because they don’t know they’re eligible. Seniors are struggling like never before over this issue. Some can’t afford any drugs, and some are rotating their prescriptions by the month because they can only afford one of many medications they need. So I have to stay active. The issues are too great. But I have time for other interests as well. I’m just celebrating my 50th year in the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. We do a lot of service work together.

May 2006

Joint Management

Arthritis afflicts millions. Here’s how to cope.

The dinosaurs had it. Cave painters in ancient Africa had it. Today, nearly one in three Americans (including kids and people of every racial and ethnic group) have it.

More than a hundred diseases and condi-tions affecting the joints and surrounding areas are labeled “arthritis,” which causes more disabilities than any other disease in America.

Osteoarthritis—brought about by deterioration of a joint’s cartilage—is the most common form. In fact, X-rays indicate some osteoarthritis in nine out of ten 40-year-olds. Half of adults 75 and over report they’ve been diagnosed with some form of arthritis.

Although experts say most people can prevent or manage symptoms with basic behavior modifications, about half of the population believes that nothing can be done.

Paul Zastrow was one of those people. Zastrow started feeling aches and pains in his knees and shoulders in his 40s, but it took him several years before he talked to to his doctor. Zastrow’s shoulder eventually got bad enough that he had to have an operation, and he still has a hard time doing any work that involves raised arms.

Terrier therapy

Now 61 and retired from his career as a high school science teacher in Hood River, Oregon, Zastrow uses simple solutions like hot showers and daily aerobic exercise to curtail discomfort. Every morning, he takes his Boston terrier puppy out for a walk.

“Sometimes my knees don’t want to work so well,” says Zastrow. “And sometimes my hip hurts. But it’s important to keep moving, and not to take any more [over-the-counter] pain medications than necessary.”

The amount of damaged cartilage is not as important as the way a patient takes care of the condition, according to Vijay Vad, M.D., author of "Arthritis Rx." Vad, a physician for the PGA golf tour, says that although activity modifications may be necessary to protect joints, it’s crucial to maintain a healthy weight and to keep moving.

Conversely, being overweight, having weaker muscles, or decreased endurance can aggravate flare-ups. In short, “The healthier the individual, the less likely they are to have bad joints,” says W. Hayes Wilson, M.D., Chair of the Medical and Scientific Committee of the Arthritis Foundation.

Researchers are searching in earnest for better ways to prevent, diagnose, and ultimately cure arthritis. Just three decades ago, physicians regularly advised avoiding exercise. That created a vicious cycle of patients becoming stiffer and crippled with pain. Today, experts agree that especially for those with mild to moderate arthritis, lifestyle choices are critical.

Small adjustments can add up to major results: A recent study found that losing 15 pounds improves knee osteoarthritis symptoms nearly 50 percent.

Prescription pills or surgery are last resorts for severe cases. Wilson says there are new drugs that “have been unbelievable in terms of rheumatoid arthritis,” which is a less common and often more severe form of the disease.

Can we expect a vaccine or a cure for arthritis in our lifetime? “It’s like world peace,” says Wilson. “It’s hard to put a time frame on that.”

—Rebecca L. Weber

Short Takes

Keep on moving

The Arthritis Foundation has a series of water-, land-, and chair-based exercise programs. Aquatic workouts offer the advantage of an aerobic workout without stressing joints and muscles the way that squats or stairs can.

The new “Tai Chi from the Arthritis Foundation” program was developed by a tai chi master who himself had arthritis. It deals with movement, breathing, and flexibility—without the traditional deep knee bends.

“Today we’re fascinated with yoga and tai chi because they focus on the self, they’re relaxing, and they help with the mind-body connection and flexibility,” says Doreen M. Stiskal, a professor at Seton Hall’s medical school who has also been volunteering with arthritis patients since she was first asked to lead a water exercise class 23 years ago.

“Especially if somebody’s recently retired, they may say, ‘My knees hurt, so why should I move more?’ Here’s where gaining knowledge and being a good self-manager comes in,” says Stiskal. “Do not hesitate to find good resources and to ask questions. The leading research about making behavioral changes or having a successful exercise program shows that the key is self-efficacy.” In other words, an individual’s belief in his or her ability to overcome obstacles is the key to actually doing so.

May 2006

By Thomas Grillo

As her mother’s physical problems mounted and she started forgetting things more often, Ruth McKee realized that the moment she dreaded had arrived: She must put her mother in a nursing home. The level of care at her assisted-living residence was no longer enough.

“It was hard. I was in tears several times trying to decide if this was the right thing,” says McKee, a 59-year-old retired school librarian.

It’s a predicament faced sooner or later by many families, although in one way, McKee’s burden was heavier than most. “I’m an only child, so I had no siblings to do this with me,” she says. “But I’m blessed with a husband willing to help as if she were his own mother.”

McKee vowed not to put her 95-year-old mom in a warehouse-style nursing home with long hallways, medicinal smells, and lack of privacy. “I wanted my mother’s next home to be a place where the residents were happy, with lots of activities, delicious meals, and staff who knew and cared about them,” she says. “I was looking for a place where there’s a sense of, ‘My life isn’t over, I can do things.’”

But could she find a nursing home like that?

As it turned out, she did find a good home for her mother not far away.

And she discovered—and joined—a nation-wide movement aimed at nothing less than overturning the traditional nursing home model. In the past, nursing homes have generally been organized to deliver services efficiently, says McKee. The new thinking is that even elders with serious disabilities live better if their nursing facilities are run like real homes.

McKee got involved with the Colorado Culture Change Coalition, whose mission is to transform long-term care institutional settings from places where elders are told when to wake up, bathe, and eat to settings where they are in charge of these basic decisions and many more besides.

“It requires a paradigm shift on the part of the staff as to how they view themselves working with residents,” says McKee. “I think I got interested in this partly because, when I was a school librarian, I worked on making the library part of an integrated language arts program, which was a paradigm shift from when the teachers used to just drop their kids off with you for a period in the library.”

Dinnertime at the Nursing Home

One good way to see where a nursing home stands on the road to this culture change, says McKee, is to visit during meals. In the new kind of nursing home, she says, “There’s a restaurant atmosphere. There’s a lot of interaction and the staff seems to know the residents well. Some of the food is cooked to order right there. And for each meal, there’s a window of time when people can come—they’re not all lined up to eat at 6:45.”

One radical new model is known as the “Eden Alterna-tive,” developed by Dr. William Thomas in the early 1990s. Thomas conceived the idea after working in a nursing home in upstate New York.

“I saw that nursing homes concentrate all their efforts on making sure people get their pills and meals on time, but not on matters of the heart,” Thomas said. “The people living there were lonely, helpless, and bored, the three plagues of long-term care. So we brought life to the facility with pets, plants, kids, and planted gardens. The impact on elders was amazing. Frowns turned to smiles, and residents did better.”

Now Thomas has gone further in the Green House Project, with facilities that are tiny compared to traditional nursing homes. Green House nursing homes are self-contained dwellings for seven to 10 elders designed to look like a private home. Residents have their own bedroom and bathroom. The rooms open onto a central hearth with an adjacent kitchen and dining area where residents can share meals together around a common table.

The first Green Houses were built in Tupelo, Mississippi, in 2003. The 10 ranch-style homes were quickly filled and now there’s a waiting list with another 80 elders hoping to gain entry.

Unlike in traditional nursing facilities, visitors, while welcome, don't just walk in—they ring the doorbell, as they would at any other home. All the food is prepared from scratch and each house decides on its eating time.

There’s a clinical support team for all 10 homes that includes nurses, social workers, therapists, medical directors, nutritionists, and pharmacists. A nurse from the clinical team serves the residents of each home, and the other clinical professionals visit the houses regularly and as individual residents require. There are also two full-time staff members in each home during waking hours and one at night.

The people who work in a Green House and the people who live there collaborate to create a daily routine that meets individual needs, much as they did in their own homes. If they wish, the residents can cook meals, prepare snacks, and help with light housekeeping and laundry. There is no institutional routine in terms of medical care.

“There are only two groups that are still institutionalized in our country: prisoners and elders,” says Alan Brown, chief operating officer of the Mississippi Methodist Senior Services, the non-profit that runs the nation’s first Green House. “It’s time to do something different for the future of elder care.”

Mississippi Methodist Senior Services built the 10 wood-frame homes with 6,000 square feet of living space for $850,000 per home.

Best of all, says Brown, Green Houses are not just for the wealthy. In Tupelo, his agency charges $160 per day, roughly what traditional nursing homes charge. The facility meets Medicaid and Medicare licensing requirements for a skilled nursing home. About 85 percent of the residents are on Medicaid.

Brown says each resident can have a private room and bath because Green Houses save money by not building standard institutional departments such as dietary and nursing stations. The cost per square foot is the same as for a traditional nursing home, he said.

For McKee, a Green House is exactly the kind of place she would love for her mother—or for herself some day.

“This will make long-term care facilities a lot better places for elders because it values their lives,” she says. “The elders make decisions about what they want in their lives rather than being at the convenience of the staff.”

A Green House could be opening in a city near you. At least 20 communities in 18 states are planning them. Last fall, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation awarded a $10 million grant to help spur the widespread adoption of the Green House model for skilled nursing care. The goal is to establish at least one in every state over the next five years, so developers interested in adopting the model all across the country will have a Green House nearby to visit and study.

Why has it taken so long to develop a better way to care for our elders? Carmen Bowman of the Colorado Culture Change Coalition says the answer is that “nursing homes were modeled after hospitals, not thinking that people would end up living in these homes for the rest of their lives. They thought it would be temporary, but it’s not.

“No one wants to live in a nursing home, so we better change what we’re doing.”

The Green House project in Tupelo is the subject of a 30-month study conducted by a team from the University of Minnesota. The study is not finished, but so far, the results look very good:

• high satisfaction levels from residents, family and staff; fewer complaints at the state level;
• no unexplained weight loss and almost no nutritional supplement use;
• less decline in residents’ ability to do routine daily activities;
• staff turnover of less than 10 percent;
• no transfer-related back injuries in elders or staff;
• less prevalence of depression;
• less incontinence without a toileting plan;
• and less use of anti-psychotics without a relevant diagnosis.

“We are really asking long-standing institutions to change. That’s why we need your readers—educators—the movers and shakers—to hold nursing home administrators’ feet to the fire,” Green House founder William Thomas told This Active Life.

Just a little help

The Green House is for people who need the high level of assistance that nursing homes provide. Many other people have much milder disabilities, and change is afoot for them, too.

One new approach is called “elder co-housing,” in which older adults live interdependently within a close-knit group of neighbors. This approach also appeals to people who don’t need any special help at all, but like the sense of community.

Earlier this year, a dozen seniors in Davis, California, moved into their own dream retirement community at Glacier Circle Senior Community, the first elder co-housing neighborhood to open its doors in the United States. 

The idea is borrowed from the co-housing movement that has more than 80 intergenerational communities nationwide, with another 80 in the planning or construction stages. Sparked by Denmark's bofoellesskabers, or “living communities,” launched in the 1960s, co-housing is characterized by a diverse group of mixed-income families, couples, and singles who purchase land and design a cluster of private homes around shared living space.

Like a condominium community where each resident owns a private dwelling, co-housing features a “common house,” where meals are shared. Residents volunteer for child care and serve on teams to accomplish a variety of tasks. The cost tends to be at or slightly above the market rate for housing.

Elder co-housing communities have the same concepts and elements, except they’re only for those 55 and older. They have special design features in the homes and common facilities that make life easier and safer for their elderly residents, such as single-story houses, step-free entrances, wider doorways for wheel chair access, lever handles that are easier to grip, grab bars, low-glare lighting, and extra housing for caregivers to live in when the need arises.

Glacier Circle has eight new homes clustered together and specially built to the specifications of their owners. The homes range in size from 1,000 to 1,400 square feet. The commons house will have a large dining room, an exercise room, a large kitchen with a pantry, and a big television and music system. The development includes a one-bedroom apartment that can be leased to a health care provider, a nurse, or home health aide, depending upon the needs of the house. If no such care is needed, the apartment can be used as a guest room.

In Boston, there’s another model for elders who need extra help and don’t want to move to a retirement community to get it. Founded about five years ago, it’s a virtual retirement community called Beacon Hill Village, designed to make it possible for elders to stay in their own homes in safety and comfort.

By partnering with service providers, the non-profit Beacon Hill Village offers its members access to social and cultural activities, household and home maintenance services, as well as medical care and assisted living at home. There’s an annual fee of $780, and members also pay for an array of a la carte services such as a personal trainer for $60 an hour. Some services are included in the annual membership fee, with others provided at reduced rates.

Former Boston City Councilor John Sears, 75, was one of the first elders to join. “I live alone in a house with five rooms on five floors, and I get daily reminders of growing older such as arthritis,” says Sears. “I feel well supported and I believe this idea can be replicated in many neighborhoods, although it may need some public support.”

McKee believes the future will see more retirement alternatives like these, giving elderly who need help much more control over their lives than in the past. That’s because the new elderly are Baby Boomers.

“My mother graduated from high school in 1928 and remembers what it was like to go without during tough times,” McKee says. “The Depression generation accepted what was handed to them: It was better than nothing. But Baby Boomers demand more, and they—we—will figure out a way to get it.”

On the Web

Colorado Culture Change Coalition

The Eden Alternative

The Green House

Elder Co-Housing

Beacon Hill Village

May 2006

Is a McBusiness for You?

You’re retired. So—you’re not working? Not necessarily—more and more people who retire turn around and start working again. You may, for instance, be thinking about buying a franchise—somebody else’s brand name and product and procedures, which you can essentially rent to make money to supplement your retirement income and have a good time doing it.

Many people dream of being an entrepreneur. By purchasing a franchise, you often can sell goods and services that have instant name recognition and can obtain training and ongoing support to help you succeed. But be cautious. Like any investment, purchasing a franchise is a risk.

A franchise typically enables you, the investor or “franchisee,” to operate a business. You pay a franchise fee, which may be several thousand dollars, and in return you are given a format or system developed by the company (“franchisor”), the right to use the franchisor's name for a limited time, and help. For example, the franchisor may help you find a location; provide initial training and an operating manual; and advise you on management, marketing, or personnel. Some franchisors offer ongoing support such as monthly newsletters, a toll-free 800 telephone number for technical assistance, and periodic workshops or seminars.

While buying a franchise may reduce your investment risk by enabling you to associate with an established company, it can be costly. You also may be required to relinquish significant control over your business, while taking on contractual obligations with the franchisor.

Watch out for:

• The Cost. Beyond the initial franchise fees, there may be royalty and advertising fees.
• Controls. To ensure uniformity, franchisors typically control how franchisees conduct business. That may restrict your ability to exercise your own business judgment.
• Terminations and Renewal. You can lose the right to your franchise if you breach the franchise contract. Also, that contract is for a limited time. There is no guarantee that you will be able to renew it.

Before investing in a particular franchise system, carefully think about how much money you have to invest, your abilities, and your goals. Consider the demand for the products or services, the likely competition, the franchisor’s background, and the level of support you will receive.

Be sure to get a copy of the franchisor’s disclosure document (also known as a Franchise Offering Circular) before you commit to anything. Under the FTC’s Franchise Rule, you must receive the document at least 10 business days before you are asked to sign a contract or pay any money to the franchisor. You should read the entire disclosure document. Make sure you understand all of the provisions.

Talk to current and former franchisees about the time commitments required to have a successful business. Consult your lawyer about the potential risks of starting a business. You may also want advice from an accountant, banks and other financial institutions (on business costs), the Better Business Bureau (complaints about a specific franchise), and the state attorney general’s office (problems with the type of business you want to start).

Starting a business is, well, serious business.

—Doug Terwilliger, NEA Members Benefits

For More

The Small Business Administration

What do I need to do to start my own business?  Easy—visit the Small Business Administration Web site.  It touches all the main bases on this topic . You will find information on:

1. Startup Basics
2. Financing Basics
3. Marketing Basics
4. How to Find and Manage Employees Successfully
5. Tax Topics
6. Legal Aspects
7. International Trade Issues
8. Special Interest Groups
9. Educational Tools and  Guides