Merrily’s Items of Interest

Will we be ready for the aging boomers?

Strategy Planning for the Future of Healthcare at Home

So humbled and excited to be included as one of 25 industry participants in the first NAHC 2.0 Planning Session in New Orleans tomorrow and Wednesday. Lots of work has been done to date by a planning company, THRUUE, Inc., and current participants in the NAHC operation.

For many years I have been educating on healthcare at home and how we are going to meet the needs of our aging society as the boomers age. Home care is just one answer, but, it has so much more potential than has been realized.

Tomorrow and the next day it will be with thoughtful planning that we agree upon the strategy to get home care front and center when care choices are being made. Not only is home care the least costly alternative, in many cases, when it is appropriate the comfort of home actually becomes restorative or recuperative.

This meeting is the first phase of the process. In April 100 industry participants get together and work on the final plan. It is an awesome task, and we, as a nation, should be grateful to the new leadership at NAHC for undertaking this process and for looking well into the future to make certain that there are choices for care when we all may need it.

 

Working together makes it easier.

Establishing Unity is Key to Success in the Healthcare at Home Industry

What a privilege it is to be AT the table where strategy is created and implemented. And, what hope I now have for the future of healthcare at home after spending a day in DC with the leaders who have taken up the mantle to steer the healthcare at home industry. Providers, vendors, payors, lobbyists, and associations, all together in one room, listening to each other and working together to solve the problems that an aging society with expanding care needs is creating now and is expected to create in the future.

The thing that struck me most was the listening. Polite listening. Both political parties were well represented. All kinds of home care models were represented. There was and is, unity in purpose: healthcare at home and how to make it better, to work with the regulators and legislators to understand it, and to communicate the benefits and values to the public, to the healthcare delivery systems partners, and to anyone who has a care need and wonders what to do.

As the boomers age, and as the lifespan lengthens, we are coming into an era that is unprecedented. The world has this issue, not just the United States. How do we care for those who need care when there are such scarcities: money, people, and systems.

Thank you to Axxess for sponsoring my participation in the Partnership for Medicaid Home-Based Care. Thanks to the leadership of this group, David Totaro from Bayada, Darby Anderson from Addus, Tim Rogers from the Council of State Home Care Associations, Sherl Brand from CareCentrix and Gale Bohling from ResCare.

We have lots of issues as an industry, but together we can solve them and provide a safety net for those who need care and want to go home with care.

Downsizing is Hard

The Journey from Supersized to Downsized

I recently took my staff on a virtual tour to let them experience firsthand the turmoil and chaos of my current undertaking: packing up two lifetimes of memorabilia, collectibles, and necessities from one home and moving it all 400 miles to my new residence. It’s not a pretty sight; in fact, it’s downright overwhelming. Every conceivable space is covered with boxes stacked upon boxes. I was literally unable to unpack my suitcase from my last speaking engagement because there’s simply nowhere to put everything.

While I’m certainly not what one would consider a hoarder or even a packrat, I’ve found myself just as caught up as the next person in my accumulation of things that, at one time, I simply couldn’t live without. Yet now I find myself tempted to rent a Dumpster and allow myself the joy of tossing each of these boxes into its depths. Imagine how freeing that would be! We allow ourselves to be so encumbered by “stuff” to the point that it’s not healthy – and as the saying goes, we can’t take it with us.

It’s worth noting that I’ve had plenty of experience in clearing out homes of family members after their passing, and I certainly don’t want to put my family through such an ordeal. So what is it that prevents us from living a more minimalist lifestyle? Is it even possible in our first-world mindset to shift our focus from storing up to scaling back? What if we spent our time outdoors or engaging in meaningful activities instead of pursuing things to own?

If I shift my gaze from the monumental task ahead of me, I can spot one cleared section of flooring in the room that’s designated to become my grandchildren’s playroom, adjacent to my office; and it serves as the perfect inspiration to realign my priorities.

So, those of you who are putting off downsizing and planning for the inevitable need to shift gears into something else in your life, I am here to tell you that it is freeing and wonderful.

Measure and do more of what works

Build Upon What Works

Choosing what rules to live by is a crucial part of one’s destiny. When values seem to be shifting, I hark back to a trip to South America where I was introduced to the Incan culture and was taken by the powerful but simple rules of that civilization.

Incan rules: Don’t lie. Don’t steal. Don’t be lazy.
Incan values: Knowledge. Love. Hard work.

If you think about it, these values and rules sort of encompass all other lists by all religions and cultures. And, not only did the Incans have their values and rules down to a science, their architecture and engineering feats are still revered.

Amazingly, the structures built by the Incans are still standing. Some were toppled by the invading Spanish conquistadors, and while modern churches were built on those foundations, they too have been felled several times with earth movement – leaving those same strong Incan foundations still standing, upon which the modern can be rebuilt.

The Incans’ architectural ingenuity extends to unexpectedly forward-thinking developments: sewers and city-wide water supplies are just a few of the incredible advances engineered by the Incans.

In these troubled times, the world would be a better place if we adopted the Incan values and the Incan rules. If we adopted Incan engineering and architectural rules, then earth movement would be just another event, and cities would not have to be rebuilt following quakes.

What is the message in this reverie? If it works, why break it? Just build on the strengths and adapt to new ideas. It really is not necessary to tear anything down to start over. Sometimes new things can come from using old foundations, or old structures, and building upon them.

Heading Full Steam Ahead or Coasting?

What Is Your Lifetime Achievement Goal?

Just thinking about “Lifetime Achievement” is a weighty subject. Recently my staff at corecubed nominated me for an award for Lifetime Achievement in Business. I was honored and humbled by their support and kind words of nomination, but it got me to thinking about achieving goals in a lifetime.

When you are younger, goals are related to making/saving money, raising children properly, accomplishing levels at work and advancing. When you are closer to the end of life spectrum, however, goals take on a new meaning. Watching progress of offspring and grandchildren. Traveling to places that are new, different, or exciting. Paying closer attention to the clouds, the smells of the forest, the vibrant colors in the flowers that are so appealing to the bees and the hummingbirds. Working on how to stay in better shape so that the inevitable pains and aches that accompany an aging body are not overwhelming.

When someone decides to continue working and not retire, as I and my husband have done, it colors the definition of later life goals and how to achieve them. Yet, business goals shift as others take on management and direction, as technology and youth present new possibilities. The achievement begins to lie in stepping back a bit and watching others blossom, adding wisdom as appropriate and taking pride in knowing that something you’ve worked hard to build can continue on – and perhaps even improve – with less of your own involvement.

So, have you achieved your lifetime goals? If not, what are the ones that you have still to accomplish?

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