Anxiously Aging

Feeling vulnerable comes with getting older, but it doesn’t have to define this time of life Dwayne Dobschuetz calls it “the game-changer” — the broken hip, stroke, or loss of a driver’s license that suddenly damages a senior’s independence. The Northwestern Medicine geriatrics nurse, 75 years old himself, says catastrophic events are often behind dramatic […]Read More

Virtual Reality Enables Empathetic Dementia Care

Catherine Samatas recently traveled from Deerfield to Israel with residents of the assisted living home where she works. But instead of packing suitcases and boarding a plane, Samatas and the residents settled into their seats and donned virtual reality (VR) headsets. As director of engagement and innovative programming for CJE Senior Life, an organization that […]Read More

From The Frontlines

What advice would you give to someone new to caregiving? “Make sure that you have empathy for the patient that you’re actually taking care of. I think about every single patient that I’m taking care of as my grandmother, my grandfather, my mom or my dad, my sister or my brother. I treat them with […]Read More

Insurance Inquiries

Why you need a health insurance agent and how to find one  When I lost my job in a company-wide layoff, I faced a multitude of concerns: How would I find a new job? How long would my savings last? And what would I do about health insurance? While the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has provided […]Read More

What Retirement?

Some older adults continue to work well past retirement age — whether they have to or not Kevin O’Neil, 67, worked as a journalist for more than 30 years. The McKinley Park resident later obtained his master’s degree in business administration and even became chief of staff for a Rogers Park alderman.  But when the alderman […]Read More

Dying to Leave the Earth Better

A look at green end-of-life options available in Illinois Nothing is certain except death and taxes, Benjamin Franklin wrote in 1789. In 2022, what also feels certain for many Americans is our collective demise, as forests burn, waters rise in some places and disappear in others, and soils deplete.    As people’s environmental awareness increases, […]Read More

Lifelong Learners

Redefining what it means to be a college senior Whether they’re changing careers, re-routing after detours, or envisioning a brighter future for their communities, the people in these pages — all over age 60 — don’t conform to traditional ideas about college or aging. Roughly 16 million undergraduates enrolled in schools nationwide in 2020. Of […]Read More

Lifelong Learners: Czenzi Jones

Czenzi Jones   Degree: Bachelor of Science in Human  Development and Learning School: University of Illinois at Chicago Graduation: June 2023 For Czenzi Jones, graduation has gone from distant goal to impending reality. The mother of eight, grandmother of 27, and great-grandmother of six initially went straight into college after high school. But she had […]Read More

Lifelong Learners: Bo Shi

Bo Shi   Degree: Master of Science in Clinical Investigation School: Northwestern University Graduated: September 2022 Bo Shi, PhD, is no stranger to academic institutions. While working at Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine as a research faculty member, Shi also enrolled as a student. He has spent the past five years slowly but surely working […]Read More

Lifelong Learners: Tamara Davis

Tamara Davis Degree: Bachelor of Arts in Applied Studies School: Loyola University Anticipated Graduation: December 2022 After seven layoffs in 20 years, Tamara Davis wanted to pivot. She had been working for commercial and residential architecture firms, but the industry was volatile. “You hear college is hard, but having regrets is harder,” she says. Davis started […]Read More