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Access to Nature DVDs – Spring Sale!

April 1, 2016 | by Naomi Sachs

If you have not seen the terrific award-winning DVD series “Access to Nature for Older Adults,” this is your chance. To coincide with the Environments for Aging conference, this DVD series is being offered during the month of April at a significant discount (50% off!) for TLN members. We’ll be sending out an email on Tuesday, 4/5 to our members with a keycode to buy the discounted DVDs.

To join the TLN, just sign up for our mailing list. It’s free and you’ll get occasional newsletters, as well as discounts like these. On the right-hand side of this blog page, see “Get TLN Blog posts emailed to you!” Enter your email and click “Subscribe.” That’s it! But do it soon, the email with the keycode goes out on Tuesday, April 5th.

About the Access to Nature for Older Adults DVDs
The series was developed by Susan Rodiek and colleagues at the Center for Health Systems & Design, Texas A&M University.

This fast-paced and lively set of three half-hour videos includes dramatic images, professional narration, and a rich variety of site photos, 3-D animations, diagrams, sketches, and interviews with senior residents and world-renowned experts on this multidisciplinary topic.

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Environments for Aging is just around the corner!

March 22, 2016 | by Naomi Sachs

Texas bluebonnets and Indian blanket flower. Photo by Naomi Sachs

The fantastic Environments for Aging conference is just around the corner…chronologically (April 9-12) and for me, geographically–it’s in Austin, TX! What a beautiful, fun, vibrant city for a conference. Not sure if the bluebonnets will still be blooming, but I’m sure other wildflowers will be. In fact, if you can take an extra day and go see the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center, you will thank me.

I’ll be presenting with Susan Rodiek and Eric Bardenhagen on Sun, Apr 10 from 2:00 – 3:00 PM on “Planning, Designing, and Evaluating Outdoor Spaces to Optimize Usage” – see description below. And here are some other sessions I’m looking forward to attending. Hope to see you there!

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Enter now! Landscape Architecture for Healthcare Communities awards

June 27, 2014 | by Naomi Sachs

The stream at Yale-New Haven’s Smilow Cancer Hospital. Design by Towers Golde. Photo by Naomi Sachs

2013 was a momentous year for landscape architecture in healthcare design: It was the first year that Healthcare Design and Environments for Aging held the Landscape Architecture for Healthcare Communities Awards.

The projects were chosen by two different panels of jurors – one for Acute Care (Healthcare Design) and one for Senior Living (Environments for Aging and Long-Term Living). Acute Care and Senior Living project award winners were featured in the December digital issues of Healthcare Design and EFA magazines. Acute Care award winners were also featured in the May/June 2014 print edition and will be honored in November at HEALTHCARE DESIGN14 in San Diego, CA. Senior Living project winners were honored at the Environments for Aging conference in May.

And here’s more good news: They’re doing it again! Submission are due for both categories on July 14, 2014 so get busy with your applications.

This is a terrific opportunity for landscape architects and healthcare facilities with successful therapeutic landscapes to showcase their work, and for everyone else to see the best examples of how it should be done. (more…)

Tomorrow! Center for Health Design Webinar Series

May 15, 2013 | by Naomi Sachs

ICONS and Innovators Webinar Series:

The Center for Health Design is offering three online learning opportunities this week through its ICONS and Innovators Master Webinar Series. The series offers an exclusive line up of the industry’s leading healthcare thought leaders, providing quality programming through the convenience of your desktop as well as fresh perspectives to inform work strategies.

The seminars offered tomorrow include:

A Culture of Inquiry Drives the 50-Year Odyssey of an Iconic Father-Daughter Team
James R. Diaz, FAIA, FACHA and Lari Diaz, AIA, LEED AP, EDAC
9:00 am PDT/ 12:00 pm EDT
Among the icons of healthcare planning and design, the odyssey of Jim and Lari Diaz of KMD Architects coincides with 50 years of “radical transformation.” Their careers have been nurtured by a culture of inquiry that fostered innovation and creative approaches to meet ever-evolving industry needs resulting from social changes, cultural revolutions and advances in medicine and technology. In this session, Jim and Lari look back over the past 50 years and describe the chemistry between them and their accomplishments.

The Effects Of Positive Distractions In Pediatric Environments
Anjali Joseph, Ph.D, EDAC
11:00 am PDT/ 2:00 pm EDT
Positive distractions have been found to reduce stress and improve healthcare outcomes. However, research on this topic is generally lacking in certain pediatric settings. This webinar will detail recent studies that examined the effects of positive distraction interventions on pediatric patients and their families but used different methods in different settings. The research findings from two studies will be shared and discussed.

2014 Guidelines for Residential Care Facilities
Jane Rohde, ACHA, AAHID, LEED AP
1:00 pm PDT/ 4:00 pm EDT
For the 2014 cycle of the Facilities Guidelines Institute’s health care design guidelines, a brand new volume is being developed for residential and senior living facilities; entitled the Guidelines for Residential Care Facilities: Design & Construction of Health, Care, and Support Facilities. This guideline includes nursing homes, hospice, assisted living, independent living, adult day care, and wellness/diagnostic facilities. The vetted approach to the guidelines is to provide design information, as well as parameters for Authorities Having Jurisdiction to evaluate and incorporate culture change and resident-centered approaches to the residential-based care.

When you register for one or more webinar(s), you will receive an email confirmation with a link to submit your payment. Upon completing this step, you will be sent an access code for the webinar. Tuition per webinar is $90 for individualsand $180 for organizations. To register, visit the Center for Health Design’s webinar page.

The next series of three will be on June 13, with more to follow after that.

Environments for Aging Conference 2013

December 22, 2012 | by Naomi Sachs

Annual Environments for Aging Conference meets in New Orleans

APRIL 6 – 9, 2013 | The Roosevelt Waldorf Astoria Hotel

The annual Environments for Aging Conference meets in New Orleans, April 6-9, 2013. The three-day event offers the latest strategies and ideas for creating attractive and functional living environments that meet the needs of our aging population. Register now in order to receive early bird discounts.

Professionals attending — architects, design professionals, government officials and aging experts – will come together to share common goals in the areas of building, architecture and design. The conference offers networking opportunities with peers and myriad workshops in the latest innovations and best practices in the design of long-term and residential care settings.

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International Council on Active Aging Conference 2012

November 9, 2012 | by Naomi Sachs

Japanese Maple. Photo by Henry Domke, http://www.henrydomke.com

Japanese Maple. Photo by Henry Domke, www.henrydomke.com

“Many journeys, many destinations”

The 10th Annual Conference of the International Council on Active Aging will take place November 29 through December 1 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Attendees will be able to choose from among several educational sessions on active aging, the aging process, and disease prevention.

The ICAA Conference is the active-aging venue for professional development and informal learning. Sectors represented at the conference include the retirement, assisted living, recreation, fitness, rehabilitation and wellness fields, as well as government and academia. Connect with colleagues across the active-aging spectrum and build your knowledge network.

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ASLA 2012 – Several events related to health and well-being

July 13, 2012 | by Naomi Sachs

Banner Good Samaritan Health Center. Photo by Brice Bradley

Time flies, and it seems to fly even faster in the summer. Fall is just around the corner, and seems to be a big conference season, so stay tuned for more blog posts on events. Many thanks to Filiz Satir who has been helping with these events postings.

Over the past few years, we have seen an increase in the number of education sessions, tours, and even keynote speakers (e.g., Dick Jackson AND Esther Sternberg in 2010) at ASLA conferences (and Healthcare Design, and Environments for Aging, etc.). I think it’s an encouraging indication of the growing interest in landscapes for human health and well-being, and also a credit to leaders and members of ASLA’s Healthcare and Therapeutic Design Professional Practice Network.

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“Healthy Environments Across Generations” this week!

June 5, 2012 | by Naomi Sachs

This week! Healthy Environments Across Generations conference

June 7 – 8, 2012
New York Academy of Medicine
New York City, NY

Addressing the environmental health aspects of how we live, eat, work, play, and socialize throughout life, and how we can transform our environments to promote health and prevent disease.

Please join us for a participatory conference that will bring together leaders and innovators from multiple sectors to:

Catalyze innovative approaches towards a systems-based approach to health across the lifespan;
Identify key intervention points and crosscutting environmental solutions to help reverse rising disease trajectories;
Develop intergenerational programmatic and policy recommendations/models that reflect an integrated approach to wellness; and
Create an ongoing network for collaboration to build healthier communities for all.

This conference is not an end unto itself, but a stepping stone for building a health-focused, multi-generational movement. We invite you to bring your energy and ideas to New York to help create our collective future.

Relevant to professionals and others working in or interested in the areas of health, food, nutrition, built environment, natural resources, environmental and economic justice, aging, or anyone interested in promoting health and preventing disease at all life stages.

Register now online at the New York Academy of Medicine website (www.healthandenvironment.org/news/conference/intergen2012).

May is Older Americans Month

May 7, 2012 | by Naomi Sachs

Senior hikers cross near a waterfall. Photo by Amriphoto

We’re never too old to play!

Children are not the only ones who reap health benefits from being in nature. Adults of all ages, including the eldest among us, have much to gain by routinely accessing the outdoors in gardens, parks, urban trails, and other green spaces.

For the past four decades, the federal Administration on Aging has promoted May as “Older Americans Month” as a way to encourage communities to sponsor activities and celebrations that keep elders, 62 and older, engaged, active and involved in their lives. “Never Too Old to Play” is this May’s theme.

As we age, access to hospitable, navigable and social environments becomes more important to maintaining overall health – fitness, flexibility, strength and social support. Numerous studies conclude that regular exercise helps elders to prevent falls and fractures; reduce their risk of strokes, heart disease, and some cancers; and lessen cognitive decline.

Read more about the health of older Americans by visiting the Administration on Aging’s Older Americans web page.

We’re not usually in the habit of referring people to business websites, but Must Have Play is a company that focuses on play and playground for elders, and they have some good information on the why’s and how’s: www.musthaveplay.com. And here’s a guest blog post by Must Have Play’s founder, Michael Cohen, on the Aging in Place website: “Have you heard? A playground for elders!“

Planting Seeds for Culture Change – Hort. Therapy for Elders

April 26, 2012 | by Naomi Sachs

Photo by Henry Domke, www.henrydomke.com

Two-Day Workshop Focuses on Horticultural Therapy for Elders

Planting Seeds for Culture Change is a workshop taking place in early May and late June in Grand Rapids, MI and Prescott, AZ, respectively (see below for dates).

The two-day training focuses on the use of horticultural therapy (HT) with elder populations from the “culture change” perspective. In the hands-on workshop, attendees will gain skills to incorporate HT into care plans and learn strategies to enable elders’ full participation and gardening success. Instructor Pamela Catlin, has more than 30 years of experience providing HT to elders. For more information regarding workshop content, registration deadlines and enrollment, visit www.htinstitute.org or call 303.388.0500.

Locations and dates for Planting Seeds for Culture Change:

Friday and Saturday, May 4-5, 2012, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Porter Hills Retirement Community
Grand Rapids, MI

Friday and Saturday, June 22-23, 2012, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Margaret T. Morris Center
Prescott, AZ

Fee: $290 (includes all materials and lunches)