FGCU’s Shady Rest Institute on Positive Aging aims to transform opportunities for living well while living long
The Shady Rest Institute on Positive Aging is a regional hub to connect Florida Gulf Coast University with community organizations supporting the older adult community in Southwest Florida.
Faculty, staff and students from FGCU’s Marieb College of Health & Human Services and from across the university’s academic disciplines pursue this mission through education, service, research and advocacy.
“This is going to be transformative for Southwest Florida,” says Shawn Felton, dean of Marieb College. “The region has a vast need to enhance services for older adults. FGCU is committed to providing educational services and research for older adults. We are confident this institute will become the hub to connect seniors to all the services they need.”
What is positive aging?
Positive aging is about a positive view of aging as a healthy, normal part of life.
A Yale University study looked at the long-term health consequences of ageism on seniors. Researchers determined that age discrimination has the potential power to shorten seniors’ lives. Among the study group, seniors with more positive views about aging lived 7.5 years longer than people who perceived aging negatively.
Additional studies indicated that positive thinking could result in an 11-15% longer life span and can increase the likelihood of living to age 85 or beyond.
Investing in eldercare
A group long known for working with older adults made a significant investment in launching this institute. The Shady Rest Foundation, a name synonymous with eldercare in Lee County, pledged $5 million to Marieb College to aid in the institute’s creation and operation. The foundation previously gave $4.1 million for scholarships to Marieb College undergraduate and graduate students who plan to pursue healthcare careers involving older adults.
Thomas Felke, associate dean of Marieb College and the institute’s executive director, says while it won’t be a brick-and-mortar center at first, he expects its impact to be palpable.
“Something like this is needed here,” he says. “We don’t want it to be a place where people are coming to us. We want to be able to meet people where they are.”
The longtime FGCU social work professor has been active in community efforts to improve the lives of older residents and individuals experiencing food insecurity and homelessness. Through his many community connections and previous research, he knows this about older people: “Despite being the largest segment of the population, they feel like a forgotten segment and have a hard time finding and accessing services.”
An umbrella organization
The Shady Rest Institute will coordinate the many agencies offering help to older adults and aim to form a central clearinghouse through which people can locate and access services. It will also provide educational outreach for those working with older residents or who want to but need additional training; advocate for policies beneficial to this age group; and help develop an adequate workforce to provide services for the burgeoning 65+ population.
The last part is essential since it’s expected that this population segment will increase more than 50% in Lee and Collier counties and 37% in Charlotte County by 2040.
Investigating issues critical to older adults
Felke says the institute will also do what FGCU researchers do best: community-impact research. He envisions it as a multidisciplinary entity, much like The Water School at FGCU, where researchers from various disciplines come together to address problems. This makes sense, he says, in a state that leads the nation in the share of people over 65.
He foresees involving Marieb College experts, such as social workers, occupational and physical therapists and nurses, as well as bringing in the college’s Exercise is Medicine program. From the Lutgert College of Business, experts in wills, trusts and estate planning would be valuable. U.A. Whitaker College of Engineering experts could focus on home modifications and livable communities. From the College of Arts & Sciences, music therapy and art therapy could be included.
And that’s just the beginning. Felke sees many possibilities for the institute, which he is approaching with this mantra: “Aging is not a disease; it is an opportunity.”
Learn more
Explore FGCU’s Marieb College of Health & Human Services and the Shady Rest Institute on Positive Aging at fgcu.edu/marieb.