On Easter Sunday, the world said goodbye to its oldest living person.
Emma Morano of Italy died at age 117, the last person to be born in the 1800s (November 29, 1899).
Emma Morano
“She had an extraordinary life, and we will always remember her strength to move forward in life,” said the mayor of Emma’s hometown. Meanwhile, the medical community will always be intrigued by her dietary regime: two raw eggs a day and cookies.
Not many of us will live through three centuries, but the facts are clear: Americans are now living longer than ever before. In fact, one of the fastest growing segments is people over the age of 85 who will represent 20 percent of the population by the year 2040.
Further, we’re not just living longer—we’re living healthier.
“It used to be that when you turn 70, your occupation became managing your health. Now you can increasingly just live your life,” said the co-author of a Harvard study on the topic.
That’s good news, both for individuals and for our country’s investment in medical care.
For many Americans, it means living independently longer, or “aging in place.”
As more of us remain healthy as we age, we can remain in our homes and postpone the move to nursing home care.
While St. Ann’s Community is perhaps best known for its nursing home, we also support older adults who aren’t in need of that level of care:
- Assisted Living and Enhanced Assisted Living at St. Ann’s Community at Cherry Ridge, providing extra levels of care for those who need it.
- Rehab at the Wegman Transitional Care Center, offering therapy six days a week to get patients better and get them home.
- Adult Day Programs, providing supervision and socialization for older adults while their family caregivers work or attend to other needs. (The Home & Heart program in Webster even offers evening and weekend hours.)
We are proud to be the provider of choice for approximately 3,000 older adults along the continuum of care, helping them remain as independent and healthy as possible for as long as possible.
So while it may not be raw eggs and cookies giving you a longer life, as our aging population grows with the “strength to move forward in life,” St. Ann’s Community will be there.
– Michael E. McRae, President & CEO, St. Ann’s Community
Stan was one of the first people I started working with at St. Ann’s when I became the Director of Communtiy Relations. We spent many mornings in the BK Auditorium setting up for events we were holding there. At 7:30AM Stan had already been working many hours before arriving at St. Ann’s. He had a side business cleaning offices. He was truly one of the hardest working people I have ever known. He often spoke of his daughter while we were setting up. She was obviously the light of his life. A kind, soft spoken individual who impacted so many.
I remember Stan. He was always helping my mom when she was at the Heritage and then at St Ann’s. Great guy. Very nice tribute Mike. Thank you.