Page 46 - August 2015 Life In Naples Magazine

AGING AND
GENERATIONAL COMPETENCES
by Allen Weiss, MD, MBA, FACP, FACR
LPresident and CEO, NCH Healthcare System
ife expectancy in the United States has increased
by 30 years over the past century. We now have
multigenerational families in homes, work places,
and other environments.
How we all relate to each other across these age under 18 for the first time in history.
differences can determine to a great extent how
well we live and how well our institutions thrive.
If we start by looking at generational tendencies and
the importance of generational competence, we can shape
these cross-generational interactions in families and in the
workplace.
We do need to be careful about stereotyping or
characterizing any one person based on age alone.There is so
much variability among people of the same chronological age.
And please understand age and generational demographics
are just a starting point to understand human interaction.
Some of the important intangibles to consider: Attitudes
about finances, historical or geographic influences, family
norms, and the fundamental personality of a person.
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Multigenerational Mental Health News reviewed an
article by Michael Friedman on two major demographic
trends unfolding in America the first half of this century.
First, minorities will grow from 29 percent to 47 percent
of the American population; and older adults, those 65 and
older, will increase from 13 percent to 20 percent. This older
age group will be similar in size to children and adolescents
One major prejudice against the older generation is
ageism.Just like overcoming racism and cultural stereotyping
are goals worth pursuing, getting past the prejudice against
the elderly is also worth accomplishing as we have so much
to gain from those with the most life experience.
The common prejudice in our culture is that someone
who is old is “over the hill,” or worse still, “done for,” as they
age. In fact, you are as old as you feel and most people over
65 still have decades of active and productive life remaining.
Yes, cognitive impairment becomes more common as we
age; by age 85, nearly half of adults will have significant
Life in Naples | August • September • October 2015