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Hungry
By Orion Bell | 09/27/2022
This month, the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition in Health will focus the nation’s attention on the importance of a high quality diet and the impact of diet on hunger and health. Millions of Americans are afflicted with food insecurity and diet-related diseases—including heart disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes—which are some of the leading causes of death and disability in the...
Read MoreGenerations in Music
By Orion Bell | 08/29/2022
I came across a video from this year’s Newport Folk Festival of Joni Mitchell singing a duet with Brandi Carlile. It was the first time in more than a decade that Joni Mitchell had performed live. The video would have been remarkable just for that. Even more so, given that Mitchell experienced a devastating brain aneurysm in 2015, and had to relearn to walk and speak. At Newport, she sang...
Read MoreHome
By Orion Bell | 07/20/2022
“[In 1898], Mr. Rose had the occasion to aid an aged couple whom. . . had been friends of his many years before. . .. Reverses had come and they were left in their old age without any means of support.” Benjamin Rose shared the story above when asked about his intentions in establishing the Benjamin Rose Trust and the Institute that bears his name. A former colleague, whose business had...
Read MoreMy High School Reunion
By Orion Bell | 06/22/2022
A few weeks ago, I attended an all-class reunion of my high school in Louisville. Thomas Jefferson High School graduated its first class in 1966. Changes in population led to its closure as a high school the year after I graduated, although it continues as a middle school. In its short life as a high school, Thomas Jefferson, or “TJ” for short, won state championships in cross country,...
Read MoreGrandma Never Learned to Drive
By Orion Bell | 04/27/2022
My grandmother never learned to drive. For most of her life, this was never a problem. My grandfather drove her. She lived along the bus line. She could walk to the market or the department store. In a pinch, she could take a taxi. After Granddad passed away, Grandma was still able to find a ride when she needed one. Family lived nearby: my dad, my brother, an uncle and me. There were...
Read MoreMental Health
By Orion Bell | 03/29/2022
I measure every Grief I meet With narrow, probing, eyes – I wonder if It weighs like Mine – Or has an Easier size. -- Emily Dickinson Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you felt down, depressed, or hopeless? This is one of the questions used in the PHQ-2, an assessment tool that can help identify someone at risk for serious depression. Screening tools also help...
Read MoreIt snowed this winter.
By Orion Bell | 02/23/2022
It really snowed. It was the sort of winter that my friends from further south talked about a lot when I said I was moving here a few years ago. “Cleveland? Hope you like snow.” A call home to talk to my Mom isn’t complete until she asks, “Is there still snow on the ground at your house?” Yes, Mom. There is. For someone whose understanding of Cleveland in winter is mostly based on...
Read MoreIt's January, Again.
By Orion Bell | 01/18/2022
I saw a posting on Facebook about the start of the New Year. New year. But it doesn’t seem like it. Nothing about resolutions. Omicron, the latest version of COVID-19 has the new year seeming a lot like the old one. Or the one before that. Maybe you have seen the memes, too: there’s the one of Bill Murray and Groundhog Day, or the twin girls from Stanley Kubrick’s version of The Shining, only...
Read MoreHome for the Holidays...Again
By Orion Bell | 12/20/2021
I’ve been thinking about something my mom said. I grew up in Louisville, Kentucky. I wasn’t born there. And I haven’t lived there for years, but it is the place I think of as my hometown. Like a lot of people, my brothers and I moved away from home. School, career and other life events took us other places. I had moved to Topeka. During the holiday break we would make the trip...
Read MoreCaregiver and...
By Orion Bell | 11/22/2021
Ann is a successful attorney practicing elder law. Her interest in this specialty grew in part from her personal experience in dealing with her mother’s rapid decline due to early onset dementia. There were other siblings. But Ann was the youngest, and so her mother moved in with her. Several years later, an aunt began to show similar signs of Alzheimer’s. Family members suggested Ann could...
Read MoreThe Elder Index
By Orion Bell | 10/26/2021
Each year, the Social Security Administration updates its Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) for Social Security beneficiaries. Beginning in January 2021, participants received a 1.3 percent increase in their monthly benefit. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the overall inflation rate (the Consumer Price Index or CPI) was 1.4 percent. Earlier this month, the Social Security...
Read MoreAll Politics is Local
By Orion Bell | 09/29/2021
Tip O’Neill, the long-serving Massachusetts Congressman and Speaker of the House is often credited for originating the phrase, “All politics is local.” He may not have been the one who said it first, but he certainly used it, as far back as 1935 when he first ran for the Massachusetts legislature. All policy, all legislation, touches the lives of people where they live at some point. This...
Read MoreTelephone
By Orion Bell | 08/19/2021
Recently, I was sitting with my dad while he was waiting to be discharged following a short hospital stay. It was Friday afternoon, and while we were waiting for the nurse to go over his paperwork, the phone rang in his room. He answered the phone.After a few moments, he said, “I’m not able to help you at this time,” and hung up the phone. He looked over at me and shook his head.It was a...
Read MoreThree Wishes for Dementia Care
By Orion Bell | 07/23/2021
On Thursday, July 15, 2021, Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging President and CEO Orion Bell delivered a testimony at The Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) Task Force Public Forum. This testimony highlighted three important recommendations to the Task Force to address quality of life and care concerns for individuals living with dementia and their family and friend caregivers in...
Read MoreJuneteenth
By Orion Bell | 06/16/2021
“. . .on June 19th, 1865. . . the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation - which had become official January 1, 1863.”Growing up, I remember learning about two documents authored by Abraham...
Read MoreSwings
By Orion Bell | 05/17/2021
Last week, the swings were back up in the playground of the park near our house. I pass by them several times a day when we take our dog Ted for a walk. It was a mild afternoon and kids were out in the sun. They climbed on the play stations and slid down the slides, but most of the activity was at the swing set. Who can swing highest? Fastest? Who is brave enough to jump? One child turned...
Read MoreThe Real Story About Guardianship
By Orion Bell | 04/07/2021
There is a fascinating movie on Netflix these days. I Care A Lot tells the story of Marla Grayson, a professional guardian, played by Rosamund Pike, and the schemes she employs to deprive her clients of their money, property and access to family. The movie boasts a strong cast, including Peter Dinklage and Dianne Wiest. It is a film full of villains and their victims.So, what is...
Read MoreSocial Workers are Essential
By Orion Bell | 03/08/2021
This year’s Social Work Month theme, “Social Workers Are Essential,” embodies the heroic contributions of the Social Work profession to our nation, including the work Social Workers have done to heal our nation during these times of pandemic, racial unrest, economic uncertainty and political divisiveness. The concept of social work arose in the United States in the years following the...
Read MoreProgress is not Linear
By Orion Bell | 02/25/2021
Throughout the month of February, many organizations observe Black History Month. It is an opportunity to celebrate the contributions, sacrifices and successes of African Americans, and the roles they have played in the history of our country. Black History Month also serves as a reminder that the people and their accomplishments are often overlooked, or discounted, or forgotten. The...
Read MoreCommunity
By Orion Bell | 01/22/2021
One of the most used words in the aging network is “community”. We advocate for “home and community-based services” (HCBS) as alternatives to institutional care. We take part in awareness efforts, Dementia Friendly Communities or Communities for a Lifetime, that promote inclusion or accommodation in civic planning and daily life. Assisted living facilities and planned...
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