Staying alive: three takes on today's senior living; Based on interviews with Judah Ronch, PhD, Erickson Retirement Communities; John M. Parrish, PhD, MBA, the Erickson Foundation; and Jamison Gosselin, Sunrise Senior Living

Our buildings are designed to encourage activities. Typically, about 65% of our buildings are devoted to common space and our resident rooms tend to be smaller than average to encourage residents to get out and about. As it happens, most of them are interested in doing this anyway. But it is important to have an environment that supports and encourages this.

For more information, please e-mail Mr. Gosselin at jamison.gosselin@sunriseseniorliving.com.

To send your comments to the editors, e-mail 2peck0806@nursinghomesmagazine.com

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When I was working in the Wellness department, I had the opportunity to get to know Bill (not his real name). Bill was a veteran with bilateral hip replacements, bilateral frozen shoulders, and hypertension, When he first joined the fitness center, he would ride his electric scooter in and we would help him transfer onto a NuStep. His legs were so deconditioned that we would have to position them on the floor and then onto the machine. But the NuStep was ideal for Bill because it used both upper and lower body movements for a non-weight-bearing cardiovascular workout. (Imagine a stair-stepper with adjustable resistance, a seat, and arm handles). We gradually increased Bill's duration and resistance on the NuStep and monitored his blood pressure.

Three years later, Bill still comes faithfully to the fitness center, only now instead of rolling in on his electric scooter, he walks from his apartment aided solely by a wheeled walker. He still needs help transferring onto the NuStep, and sometimes needs a few minutes to rest before he begins his NuStep workout, but the progress that he has made is phenomenal. Bill walks to dinner, not rides. I see him socializing in the lobby when I go back and visit--he is standing with his walker, not sitting in his power wheelchair. Occasionally, I would see Bill in his electric scooter traveling down the hallways, and he would sheepishly admit that sometimes he was running late and the chair proved to be a faster form of transportation than his legs. But the next day, he would be back in the fitness center with his walker.

It is residents like Bill that made me love my time on campus. I still visit and check on "my" exercising residents, and I am proud to say that many of them are still going strong!

--Amy C. Robertson, Resident Life Program Manager, Erickson Corporate Operations, Catonsville, Maryland

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Sarah (not her real name) grew up with an active lifestyle, earning a full golf scholarship at what would become Eastern Kentucky University and playing semipro baseball during the barnstorming years around World War II. With that active lifestyle, though, came orthopedic wear and tear, especially from activities such as sliding into bases. Also during those years, it was easy to drink too much.

In Sarah's later years, she made a lot of healthy choices--including moving into one of the Erickson Retirement Communities, Sarah developed an exercise routine in one of the community's two Fitness Centers, working out at least three times per week. She also proceeded to have those much-needed knee and hip replacements, progressing through rehab and returning to the softball diamond on occasion. For relaxation, Sarah enjoys walking her dog on a leash in the sunshine and volunteering in the Grandparent/Great-Grandparent Club, on the TV station, and in sharing principles for moderate drinking.