The Future of Aging and Longevity - Flipbook - Page 32
The Next Decade:
Building a Society for Longer, Be琀琀er Lives
Myechia MinterJordan, MD
CEO, AARP
Ellie Hollander
President and CEO, Meals on
Wheels America
erhaps the most important
achievement in aging and longevity
isn’t any single scien琀椀昀椀c breakthrough,
policy victory, or technological innova琀椀on. It’s
that we’ve fundamentally changed what success
looks like.
Ten years ago, much of the conversa琀椀on
centered on extending lifespan and improving
healthspan. Those advances remain essen琀椀al. But
over the past decade, we’ve come to understand
something even more important: Longer lives are
shaped by far more than medicine alone. They
are shaped by the systems people move through
every day.
Whether someone can a昀昀ord their medica琀椀ons.
Whether they can remain 昀椀nancially secure over
longer lives. Whether they have access to nutri琀椀ous
food, reliable transporta琀椀on, and housing that
meets their changing needs. Whether they stay
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connected to family, neighbors, and community or
experience isola琀椀on. Whether caregivers receive
support or shoulder the burden alone.
In other words, we’ve learned that the
experience of aging is determined as much by the
world around us as the care we receive.
Meals on Wheels America has helped broaden
our understanding of what it takes to age well.
Through decades of experience and a growing
body of research developed with support from
AARP, the organiza琀椀on has demonstrated that
healthy aging depends on more than tradi琀椀onal
medical care. It requires proven interven琀椀ons such
as nutri琀椀on, social connec琀椀on, safety checks, and
community support that help older adults remain
healthy, independent, and in their own homes.
Through a na琀椀onwide network of approximately
5,000 local providers, Meals on Wheels serves
more than 2.6 million older adults each year.
MIL K EN I N S T I T U T E | T H E FU T U RE O F AGI N G A N D LO N GEV I TY
