ERICKSON SCHOOL PROFESSOR DR. BILL THOMAS’
innovative Green House concept to replace institutionalized nursing home care has recently been featured in The Guardian newspaper, on Talk of the Nation on NPR and The Marc Steiner Show on WEAA 88.9 FM. Below, TalkingHeadsTV has a behind-the-scenes look as Thomas discusses the Green House project with Marc Steiner.
Archive for the 'Aging & Seniors’ Issues' Category
10
Apr
09
A Green House for Elders
22
Aug
08
McCain Ageist Jokes Alarming
Erickson School Professor of Practice Dr. Bill Thomas
Great story from Tanika White in the Sun on age-bashing McCain. As I recently told the BBC, to paint McCain with a brush that says ‘I can look at his age and know everything I need to know about him’ is just as wrong as looking at Obama and saying ‘I can look at his skin color and know everything I need to know about him.’
21
Aug
08
Brain Fitness Craze
Erickson School Professor of Practice Judah Ronch
Washington Post reporter Beth Baker takes a critical eye at the bonanza of high-tech brain games being marketed to stave off mental decline. I gave her a healthy dose of skepticism:
“Everybody’s looking for a computer game,” Ronch said. “Is there any evidence that they’re any better [at staving off dementia than exercise or social engagement]? No. But because of the commercial potential, people are beating that horse and hoping it comes in.”
Judah Ronch
Professor of The Erickson School at UMBC
Phone: 443-543-5647
Email: ronch@umbc.edu
http://erickson.umbc.edu/people/details.aspx?id=64
Judah Ronch is an expert in the fields of geriatric mental health and reform in the long-term care
industry. Ronch has extensive experience treating Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia and has written and co-authored numerous books, including Culture Change in Long-term Care, Mental Wellness and Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease: A Practical Guide for Those Who Help Others.
Dwayne Arola
Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Phone: 410-455-3310
Email: darola@umbc.edu
http://www.umbc.edu/engineering/me/arola.htm
Arola uses engineering testing and design techniques originally meant for aerospace parts to study
biomedical materials. As more Baby Boomers are keeping their teeth into their senior years, Arola
develops new dentistry materials and methods to prevent and repair cracked teeth in elder patients.
He has also designed hip replacement parts that bond better to human bone.
Bill Thomas
Professor of The Erickson School at UMBC
Phone: 410-455-1896
Email: wthomas@umbc.edu
http://erickson.umbc.edu/people/details.aspx?id=66
Thomas is an international authority on geriatric medicine and eldercare. Calling himself a “nursing home abolitionist,” Thomas is the founder of the Green House, a radically new approach to long term care that is being replicated in all 50 states with support from a $10 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. In the 1990s, Thomas founded the Eden Alternative, an innovative approach that brings plants, animals and children into nursing homes to improve the well-being of residents. His book What Are Old People For? How Elders Will Save the World was named 2005 Book of the Year by the American Medical Writers Association.
John Schumacher
Assistant Professor of Sociology
Phone: 410-455-3184
Email: jschuma@umbc.edu
Schumacher is an authority on several aspects of aging, including assisted living facilities and
relationships between physicians and elder patients.
Robert Rubinstein
Professor of Sociology
Phone: 410-455-2059
Email: rrubinst@umbc.edu
Rubinstein has studied the history of aging and depression among the elderly.
