- HARTMANN

WHAT WE
CARE ABOUT.
the magazine of the hartmann group
2012
Aspects
of Aging
A VISIT TO MARGARETE MITSCHERLICH
P. 28
THE SULTAN AND HIS LEGACY
P. 42
THE CHARMING VILLAGE OF FORGETFULNESS
P. 60
WHAT WE CARE ABOUT. THE MAGAZINE OF THE HARTMANN GROUP
01
raluca grimm
nikolaus weisz
IN D UST R I AL C LE R K T R A IN E E
VEH ICL E F L EET EMPLOYEE
Raluca Grimm came to Germany when she
was 16, having had nine years of schooling in
Romania but with no knowledge of German.
Nevertheless, she managed to get through
the tenth grade at a German Gymnasium secondary school. She successfully completed
the regular program and passed her final exams, qualifying for university entrance – an
accomplishment of which she is justly proud.
Shortly afterwards, she became pregnant
and gave birth to a daughter. Nonetheless,
just one year later she began her training
as an industrial clerk at HARTMANN. Commitment to achievement, goal orientation
and perseverance are values that are important to Raluca Grimm, and she wants to
pass them on to her daughter. These include
learning Romanian, using the children’s
books she read as a girl.
Nikolaus Weisz, a trained auto mechanic, was given an old Märklin H0 model train set by
his father. He steadily added to it, spending many evenings working on this technological
masterpiece with his son. Nikolaus Weisz values accurate,
meticulous work and is delighted when something he made
with his own hands works perfectly. Today, his son is grown
up and the model train setup needs repair, but Nikolaus Weisz
continues to strive for perfection. He plans to get the train
back into operation and pass it on to his son as an example
of a fine specimen of workmanship and a fascinating piece
of engineering.
EDITORIAL
demographic change –
a challenge for hartmann too
Dear Reader,
“WHAT WE CARE ABOUT.” – the title of
For example, under “Body and Soul,” authors
the new HARTMANN GROUP magazine you
examine the way people change over a lifetime,
are holding in your hand is meant to be taken
and how the aging process can be influenced.
literally. With this publication series, we want to
Under “People and Society,” they report on the
address issues that affect us as a company and
changes in business, cityscapes, and intergen-
society as a whole.
erational interactions when the population gets
older. “Work and Life” looks at changing life
léger gérard akondé
This first issue is devoted to the demographic
plans and careers. Our authors accompanied a
shift. Why that? It’s a logical consequence of
senior athlete to a training run, visited a multi-
our company mission: we help people to man-
religion retirement home in Istanbul, and took
age health more easily and effectively, serving
a look at an unusual care facility in the Nether-
professional clients as well as private users of
lands.
our products. That makes the demographic
BRA ND MAN AGE R M A R K E T IN G INC ONTINE NC E M ANAG E M E NT
Léger Gérard Akondé comes from Benin,
West Africa. When he moved to Germany
in 2000, his parents gave him three carved
monkeys representing the saying “Hear no
evil, see no evil, speak no evil,” which manifest the wisdom of the Akondé family:
shift a core topic for us, as it will bring with it
Clearly, there are many facets to aging. We hope
tremendous changes in healthcare markets. As
we have chosen some that interest you. The de-
a sustainability-minded company, we want to
mographic shift is a reality, but we can make it a
play an active and positive role in those changes.
positive thing – that’s the encouraging message I
How can we, with our innovative products and
trust we communicate with this magazine.
services, help find the right answers to bring
patient well-being and economic aspects into
Enjoy the read!
balance? How do we address the fact that the
average age of our staff is also increasing? These
are questions that challenge us to work hard to
find solutions.
However, this magazine is not primarily about
HARTMANN, but instead looks at various
aspects of how demographic change is affecting
Hear good things only, see good things only,
speak good things only. It is customary for
families in Africa to have a life motto or a
guiding principle. Passing this on from generation to generation reinforces identification with the family and serves the younger
members as a compass for life’s choices.
society.
DR. RINALDO RIGUZZI
Chairman of the Management Board of
PAUL HARTMANN AG
WHAT WE
CARE ABOUT.
topics in this issue
BODY
SPIRIT
WORK
LIFE
THE DREAM OF ETERNAL LIFE
ONE ON ONE
JOBS WITH A FUTURE
How humanity strives to overcome
A youth lobbyist and a retired
The daily lives of health professionals,
its own mortality.
sociologist discuss the
and how they envisage their own
intergenerational contract.
old age.
P. 66
HEALTH-CONSCIOUS AND STAYING FIT
Facts and figures on the physical
A REFUGE ON THE BOSPORUS
STAYING ACTIVE
well-being of seniors.
A trip to Istanbul: visiting a home
From granny au-pairs to knitwear
for the elderly founded by a sultan.
designers: senior citizens are active
P. 22
P. 42
FROM CINDERELLA
TO PRINCESS
participants in voluntary work.
P. 68
THE TABOO LIVES ON
Incontinence affects many people.
A CHANGING PLANET
But it’s a problem few are willing
How demographic changes challenge
A MUSICAL DOUBLE ACT
to talk about.
healthcare systems.
Hans-Peter Geisel and his son Michael
P. 24
P. 48
talk about changes in working life.
P. 70
IT'S A LONG WAY
TO JYVÄSKYLÄ
P.
30
At 72, Jean-Louis Esnault still runs competitively. Find out what drives him and what world
championships mean to him.
THE CHARMING VILLAGE
OF FORGETFULNESS
P.
60
THE COUCH-DWELLING CAVE WOMAN
CONFIDENT AND COMPETENT
Margarete Mitscherlich discusses
Facts and figures on the social
MOTIVATED AND PRODUCTIVE
her dreams, expensive skin creams,
significance of the elderly.
Facts and figures on the lifestyles
and aging itself.
P. 50
P. 28
of the elderly.
P. 74
LIVING À LA CARTE
In Hogewey in the Netherlands, people with
dementia can enjoy life. What makes this
facility special, and why it appeals to caregivers
too.
GRAY MATTER UNDER REVIEW
Expert tests: how to recognize
dementia in its early stages.
P. 36
Lifestyle and housing choices
for the elderly. P. 58
WALK A MILE IN MY SHOES
What does it feel like to be old? A visit
to the inventors of the Age Explorer.
P. 76
A GOLDEN OLDIE ON THE ISLE OF
AMRUM
Columnist Helmut Ziegler paints
a poignant picture of his own
100th birthday.
P. 80
LIFE
WAYS
What values are important for elderly people around the world.
PUBLISHER
PAUL HARTMANN AG, Heidenheim,
Germany
DESIGN & REALIZATION
Rat für Ruhm und Ehre GmbH,
Düsseldorf
Strichpunkt Agentur für visuelle
Kommunikation GmbH, Stuttgart
P. 40
52
imprint
IDEA & CONCEPT
Matthias Mietka,
HARTMANN GROUP
P. 18
More than a popular place for retirement: how
Görlitz is meeting the demographic challenge.
P.
PEOPLE
SOCIETY
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Myrto-Christina Athanassiou
EDITOR
Margarete Krämer
AUTHORS
Myrto-Christina Athanassiou
Anja Dilk
Anette Frisch
Wolfgang Gründinger
Sepideh Honarbacht
Margarete Krämer
Brigitte Lohmanns
Martin Roos
Thomas Seibert
Anne Stolle
Romy Straßenburg
Prof. Dr. Oskar Weltz
Helmut Ziegler
PHOTOGRAPHY
Walter Breitinger (p. 29)
Kendrick Brinson (p. 10)
KD Busch (p. 1)
Corbis Images (title, pp. 4-8, 9-10,
12-16, 18, 20-21)
Getty Images (title, pp. 11-13)
Uzel Kerem (pp. 43-47)
Alexa Kirsch (p. 77)
Andreas Krueger (pp. 30-35)
Kuzma / Shutterstock (p. 68)
Stephan Liebl (U2, U3, pp. 71, 73)
Meyer Hentschel Management
Consulting (pp. 76. 78-79)
Photoroller / Shutterstock (p. 69)
Silke Schulze-Gattermann
(pp. 9, 52-57)
Verpleeghuis Hogewey (pp. 60-65)
ILLUSTRATIONS
Philip Hahn (pp. 40-41)
TRANSLATION
Textklinik GmbH, Düsseldorf
LITHOGRAPHY
Atelier am Schloßberg GmbH,
Stuttgart
PRINTER
Hermann Frey Druck + Medien
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WHAT WE CARE ABOUT. THE MAGAZINE OF THE HARTMANN GROUP
LIFE
WAYS
the elderly and their lives
Men and women of advanced age. How do they live, how
do they want to live? How do they interact with others?
“The elderly” are not a monolithic block. They are a
variety of individuals with a variety of lifestyles, social
contexts, and needs. However, there are common
elements that are important everywhere.
05
WHAT WE CARE ABOUT. THE MAGAZINE OF THE HARTMANN GROUP
EXPERIENCE
—
People with a lot of experience
have a large fund of knowledge
and wisdom to pass on, which can
help younger generations in their
own lives. Many seniors continue
to contribute to society by volunteering, for example by helping
children from disadvantaged families. Scandinavians are especially
active. In Denmark and Sweden,
20 percent of those over 50
volunteer, while in Central Europe
and France the figure lies at about
10 percent. Programs such as the
volunteer service Bundesfreiwilligendienst in Germany seek to
encourage more people of mature
age to help others, and there is
even discussion of a mandatory
social service year for retirees.
Moreover, doing good seems to
enhance the well-being of people.
According to an international
study, seniors who help others feel
much healthier than their passive
peers.
07
WHAT WE CARE ABOUT. THE MAGAZINE OF THE HARTMANN GROUP
09
AT HOME
—
To live at home as long as possible – that is what elderly people
want in all cultures around the
world. In countries like Italy or
France, two-thirds of people over
80 still live in their own homes
or apartments, even if they need
help with daily activities. In the
Mediterranean countries it is also
more common for multiple generations to live under one roof than in
Northern Europe. In Scandinavia
it has become the exception; there
especially those of a ripe old age
most often live in well-appointed
nursing homes. About half of all
senior citizens in Europe spend
their days with a partner, but the
higher the age, the higher the
percentage of single women due
to women’s longer life expectancy.
In Germany, nearly 80 percent of
women over 85 are widows.
WHAT WE CARE ABOUT. THE MAGAZINE OF THE HARTMANN GROUP
PASSION
—
Many seniors enjoy having time
for their own interests instead of
having to work. They do sports,
explore new hobbies, go to cultural events, or travel. More than
half of the elderly prefer to travel
in their own country. Retirees are
also increasingly discovering the
attractions of lifelong learning,
and about every third guest auditor at German universities is older
than 65. Many seniors also use the
freedom of the second half of their
life to passionately discuss issues
like the future of the euro or the
ideal retirement age. One-quarter
of all Europeans over 55 said
they frequently discuss local and
national politics – much more than
younger people.
11
WHAT WE CARE ABOUT. THE MAGAZINE OF THE HARTMANN GROUP
13
TOGETHERNESS
—
Everywhere in the world, elders
want to be part of the family lives
of their sons and daughters. Most
grandparents find it fulfilling to
rediscover the world through the
eyes of a young child. In Germany,
almost 80 percent of grandfathers
and grandmothers regularly take
care of their grandchildren. This
often works well because more
than a third of them live less than
one hour’s drive from their children’s families. In other cultures,
grandparents often play an even
more important role. The Russian
grandmother, the babushka, is
traditionally a powerful matriarch
with far-reaching authority regarding the upbringing of her grandchildren. In countries like China or
Japan, even adult children are still
expected to obey their parents.
WHAT WE CARE ABOUT. THE MAGAZINE OF THE HARTMANN GROUP
DIGNITY
—
Old people seek to live an independent life as long as possible,
and want to be treated with
respect. This particularly applies
to those who have to depend on
others in their daily lives. Most
people looking for a nursing home
for family members take this very
seriously. According to a German
study, more than 80 percent want
most of all to know whether the
nursing staff are friendly, and
whether the home is sensitive to
residents’ habits. Residents should
be able to make their own decisions about how much time they
spend on their own or with others,
what medications they take, and
when they shower. In many cultures age and dignity have always
gone together. In the Confucian
tradition, for example, people are
considered to be a truly cultural
being at an advanced age only,
and must then be respected for
their knowledge and wisdom.
15
SERENITY
—
Joie de vivre is not exclusive to a
specific age group. Studies show
that the elderly are often happier
than middle-aged adults, who
must struggle to balance work and
family life. Seniors can often deal
with the vicissitudes of life more
calmly, not losing their temper so
easily. After all, greater experience
of life helps when dealing with
one’s own faults or those of others. At their advanced age, many
elders understand more clearly
what really counts in life and what
values they hold dear. What is
surprising is that while women up
to the age of 70 are more content,
according to researchers, at higher
ages it’s the men. Older men often
look for a little adventure, like
marrying a younger woman – in
Germany, two-thirds of the over60s who remarry are male.
BODY
SPIRIT
the dream of eternal life
How humanity strives to overcome
its own mortality.
P. 18
health-conscious and staying fit
Facts and figures on the physical
well-being of seniors.
P. 22
the taboo lives on
Incontinence affects many people.
But it’s a problem few are willing
to talk about.
P. 24
the couch-dwelling cave woman Margarete Mitscherlich discusses
her dreams, expensive skin creams,
and aging itself.
P. 28
it's a long way to jyväskylä
A 72-year-old sportsman trains for
the world championships.
P. 30
gray matter under review
Expert tests: how to recognize
dementia in its early stages.
P. 36
BODY SPIRIT
WHAT WE CARE ABOUT. THE MAGAZINE OF THE HARTMANN GROUP
THE DREAM OF
ETERNAL LIFE
strategies in the fight against aging
To stay young forever – a yearning as old as humanity.
It is no accident that the Fountain of Youth is one of the
classic motifs of world literature. What researchers really
know about aging, and how they are trying to halt it.
— TEMPTING
This fresco in the Castle of Manta,
Piemonte, Italy, shows how court
artists in the 15th century
imagined bathing in the Fountain
of Youth. The picture is by an
anonymous artist known only as
the “Master of Manta.”
“Aging is a disease,” the British philosopher
Thomas Morus argued in the 16th century. His
contemporaries tried to cure it with powdered
rhinoceros horn or extracts of guinea pig testicles. Today, a lucrative industry tries to combat
aging with pills, injections, and other forms of
treatment. Never before have so many people
voluntarily undergone surgery to erase the signs
of time. There are companies that freeze people
in the hope that they can be revived intact in a
future when efficacious anti-death procedures
are available. “Transhumanists” seek to achieve
eternal life by growing organs from human stem
cells, so that they will have a stock of spare parts
if their heart, kidney, or spleen no longer work
properly. British biologist and computer scientist
Aubrey de Grey doesn’t dismiss such notions as
humbug. In his book “Ending Aging: The Rejuvenation Breakthroughs That Could Reverse
Human Aging in Our Lifetime” he describes the
body as a biological machine that needs regular
maintenance and can be kept in good working
order using gene technology or stem cell therapy.
“Unrealistic fantasies of immortality, artfully
disguised as science,” retorted 28 scientists
indignantly in a publication of the European
Society for Molecular Biology. Yet Greys’ ideas
are surpassed by advocates of “mind uploading,”
who envision copying the elements of the mind
relevant for consciousness to a drive as data, and
even transferring them to a robot. To serious
gerontology researchers, this is nothing more
than science fiction.
WHAT CAUSES DISEASE?
Gerontologists are pursuing two main avenues
of approach. One is to gain an understanding of
the mechanisms of aging in order to intervene
in these processes. They seek answers to questions like: Why does the body change over time?
What accelerates and what can slow down this
process? Why do the cell repair mechanisms
stop working with age? The other approach is to
determine how age-related diseases develop and
how they can be prevented or at least delayed.
Why, for example, do diseases such as arteriosclerosis, cancer, and Alzheimer’s plague us?
What roles do genes, environment, and lifestyle
play?
The Leibniz Institute for Age Research in
Jena was the first national research institution
in Germany to specialize in this field. It was
founded in 2005, and today it has 170 scientists
investigating the molecular biological basis of
aging. These researchers have found that mild
stress can promote health because it activates
the body’s protective mechanisms, acting as a
kind of training program for emergencies. One
hope is that a heart that has gained practice in
functioning with an artificially reduced blood
supply may provide benefits, such as being able
to survive a heart attack with less damage than
a heart that has never been subjected to any
particular stress.
ever, simple conclusions on the prolongation of
human life cannot be drawn from this research.
“Of the 25,000 genes of a human, probably several hundred genes contribute to a small extent
to aging and life expectancy,” says research
coordinator Dr. Wilfried Briest. “To manipulate
all of them is hardly possible.”
100-YEAR-OLDS WITH CERTAIN GENE VARIANTS
So there is no single “Methuselah gene.” “We
know that the lifespan of humans varies up to
25 to 30 percent depending on individual genetic
predisposition,” says professor Almut Nebel, a
molecular biologist with the Research Group
for Healthy Ageing at the University of Kiel.
Currently only two genes are known to have
an impact on human life expectancy. The Kiel
research group found evidence for the association between extremely long life and a variation
in the human FOXO3A gene that encodes a key
protein for controlling metabolism. Something
similar occurs with the apolipoprotein E gene
(APOE), which plays an important role in fat
metabolism. People who carry the epsilon-2
variant of this gene in their genetic makeup
have a significantly lower risk of Alzheimer’s or
heart disease than those with a “normal” genetic
makeup. Both genetic variants are frequently
found in 100-year-old people.
THE TENNIS COURT INSTEAD OF THE COUCH
However, studies of twins show that despite the
same set of genes, aging processes can be very
different. What genes are actually activated in
the course of a life depends on the experience
of the individual. “We are born with an open
genetic program,” says professor Florian Holsboer, director of the Max Planck Institute of
KILLIFISH AND NAKED MOLE RAT
Psychiatry in Munich, “which is then impacted
Another focus of research at Jena is animal
models. With their help, scientists are investigat- by our biography.” For example, trauma can
trigger the formation of molecules that attach
ing DNA repair mechanisms to identify why
themselves to genes and switch them on or off.
hormone production changes with age and
Other outside factors such as nutrition, alcohol,
which genes might be responsible for longer
tobacco, and illness can influence how genetic
life. To do this, they are experimenting with
predispositions play out. It makes a difference
the turquoise killifish, an African fish that dies
after three months due to a set internal program. whether you play tennis until your dying day or
are a couch potato.
The fish provides valuable information about
the role genes play in longevity. Another subject
of study is the naked mole rat, an East African
MINIMAL MORBIDITY MODEL
rodent that lives for 30 years and never gets sick. For the “Berlin Aging Study,” Elisabeth SteinThe aim is to help understand what molecular
hagen-Thiessen, professor of geriatric medicine
networks make for a long and healthy life. How- at the Charité hospital in Berlin, worked with
19
BODY SPIRIT
WHAT WE CARE ABOUT. THE MAGAZINE OF THE HARTMANN GROUP
an interdisciplinary team to survey over 500
people between 70 and 105 on healthy aging. A
new study has 2,200 respondents. Results thus
far show that the secret to longevity is simple.
“Avoid extremes,” says Steinhagen-Thiessen.
“Our genetic predisposition is our fortune – you
can multiply a small sum or waste a large one.”
Varied nutrition, regular exercise, mental activity, and social relationships have a positive impact. “It’s never too late to start living healthy,”
says Steinhagen-Thiessen. She sees the “minimal
morbidity model” as a central lever. It’s based
on individualized medicine, for prevention tuned
exactly to a person’s specific state of health.
What are my individual risks? What can I do
to prevent diseases from occurring in the first
place? Steinhagen-Thiessen: “There are so many
treasure chests still to be opened.”
RESEARCH IN THE FAST LANE
The risk formula envisioned by Max Planck
director Holsboer may one day be the key that
unlocks these treasure chests. The formula
is a mix of genetic testing and biomarkers,
a snapshot of the current state of health of a
Author
ANJA DILK
person. A biomarker profile can be assembled by
measuring indicators like cholesterol, glucose,
and stress hormone levels in the blood, and by
scanning current gene activity. Brain wave measurements and MRIs of changes in the brain’s
structure also provide important biomarkers. “A
risk formula derived from this data can provide
exact information on health and health risks,”
says Holsboer. In the future, researchers hope
that this information can show what steps a person must take now in order to prevent the onset
of diseases like depression or diabetes in ten
years’ time. Of course, the risk formula isn’t on
the market yet, but “research is in full swing,”
according to Holsboer.
Researchers agree on one thing. “You can
forget about all of today’s talked-up antiaging
drugs,” says professor Peter Herrlich, director of
the Leibniz Institute in Jena. If you want to live
long and prosper, follow the advice of Austrian
geriatric researcher professor Beatrix GrubeckLöbenstein: “Learn, exercise, love. That’ll keep
you young.”
— EXTENDING Married people have a higher life expectancy, researchers say. According to studies on healthy life expectancy, in particular men
benefit from tying the knot.
BLESSING OR CURSE?
immortality in literature and film
and rulers, plagues and conquests come and go.
Fosca’s former lust for life vanishes, and the futility of existence begins to drive him to despair.
REBORN, THANKS TO THE CELL ACTIVATOR
So how does the film industry handle the immortality myth? The most prominent example is
likely the “Highlander” films, in which a Scottish
sword fighter battles his lonely way through the
centuries. Following the motto “There can be
only one,” Christopher Lambert – who plays the
Highlander in the first film of the same name,
which was released in 1986 – puts the fear of God
into his enemies. As the reward for his heroic
acts, he is, ironically, allowed to live out his life as
a mortal.
The fate of the title character in the “Perry
Rhodan” series of pulp novels – which has been
the world’s most successful science fiction series
since 1961, boasting multiple film adaptations – is
— SCIENCE FICTION Fantasy heroes like Perry Rhodan always manage somewhat different, however. A “cell activator”
to cheat death again and again.
repeatedly prevents the protagonist from dying;
Rhodan continues to plunge headlong into new
In modern literature, the road to immortality is
adventures in every story as though he’s been
often a rocky one, and the price that characters
reborn.
pay for eternal life is extremely high.
Humorous interpretations of immortality, on
Immortality has long been an important theme
in the literary world, even as early as 1890, when the other hand, are rare even in films. One of the
few examples is “Hibernatus,” a 1969 film in
Irish author Oscar Wilde’s novel “The Picture of
which French comedian Louis de Funès plays an
Dorian Gray” was published. The eponymous
irascible grandfather who spent decades frozen in
hero sacrifices his soul for eternal youth and
the ice of the North Pole after being trapped there
beauty: his portrait ages in his stead, growing
during an expedition. To his family’s great surolder and more disfigured with each of his sins.
prise, researchers are able to defrost him and
Gray becomes increasingly corrupt and steeped
bring him back to life, unscathed. In order to
in debauchery, while the picture ensures that his
spare him the shock of awakening in an entirely
outward appearance remains flawless – until one
new era, his relatives refurnish the house to make
day he destroys his disfigured portrait and dies.
it look just like it did when their grandfather set
The image of immortality that we see in
off on his expedition as a young man in 1905.
Simone de Beauvoir’s “All Men Are Mortal,”
The moral of all these stories of immortality
which was published well over a half-century
is that the price the characters pay generally isn’t
later, is no more promising. The book tells the
worth it. At the very best – as was the case with
story of Italian prince Raimondo Fosca, who
Louis de Funès – eternal life leads to entanglelives in the fictional city of Carmona during the
ments that are nearly impossible to unravel.
13th century. An elixir made him immortal,
but eternal life has turned out to be a curse. He
watches his wives and children die, while wars
21
THE HARTMANN MEDICAL
COMPETENCE CENTER
Inspiration from research
—
The Medical Competence Center
has been operating in Heidenheim
since 2004 and maintains contacts
to opinion leaders in research
and teaching. From this it draws
inspiration for development
projects in the company’s core
medical business. It also performs
international clinical studies. One
important focus is protecting the
skin of elderly incontinent persons
– due to physiological changes,
older skin does not regenerate as
quickly as that of young people.
HARTMANN addresses this
problem with the Menalind care
series, formulated specifically for
the physiology of older skin. If
skin defects arise despite good
care, there is a wide selection of
products for wound treatment.
HARTMANN offers wound dressings designed to meet different
clinical requirements, which
can contribute to normalizing
the impaired healing processes
in chronic wounds. The Vivano
negative-pressure wound therapy
system developed by HARTMANN
uses controlled local negative
pressure to draw excess fluid out
of wounds, accelerating healing.
Based on the basic research done
at the Medical Competence Center,
HARTMANN has also developed a
wound dressing for use with the
system, which offers especially
high skin tolerance.
Author
ANJA DILK
BODY SPIRIT
WHAT WE CARE ABOUT. THE MAGAZINE OF THE HARTMANN GROUP
HEALTH-CONSCIOUS AND STAYING FIT
facts and figures on the physical well-being of seniors
I MPA I RED S EN SES
How our vision changes as we age
Besse Cooper was born on August 26, 1896, in Sullivan County,
Tennessee. At 115, she is currently the oldest person alive. People in
industrialized countries are reaching a ripe old age with increasing
frequency. The interesting fact is that hardly any of these centenarians
have lived a life of extremes: no chain smoking, no obesity – just
physically and mentally active people.
NAT UR A L A N T IAGIN G R E M E D IE S
Bizarre items used to fight the wear and tear of time
f ro m
35 o n
HEA LT HY SW EDI SH W OMEN
Northern European women remain healthy longer than their
counterparts in Southern and Eastern Europe (as of 2009)
Number of healthy years after 65th birthday
Number of years remaining in total
S W ED E N
14. 6
21. 2
D EN M A R K
12. 0
21. 2
GERMANY
6. 5
20.1
P O RT U G A L
5. 4
20. 5
S L OVA K I A
2. 8
18. 0
INCREASED NEED FOR LIGHT
f ro m
40 o n
DECREASED FLEXIBILITY OF
THE EYE MUSCLE, HIGHER
SENSITIVITY TO GLARE, POORER
ADJUSTMENT TO BRIGHT LIGHT,
DECREASED DEPTH PERCEPTION
snake venom
(INGREDIENT IN SKIN
CREAMS)
leeches
(SUCKING AND DETOXING)
goji berries
(ASIAN “WONDER BERRIES”
THAT SUPPOSEDLY CONVERT FAT
TO MUSCLE)
W HAT W E DI E OF
The most common causes of death in Germany in 2010
in %
CIR CULATOR Y D IS OR D E R S
30-44 yrs
36
7
5
0.9
31.6
25.5
21.8
11.0
9.2
f ro m
55 o n
0 –1 7
18– 30
31–40
41–50
51–60
≥ 6 0 YEARS O LD
— S OU R C E Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ästhetisch-Plastische Chirurgie 2010
D EMENT I A : A GE R IAT R IC D IS E ASE
The number of people suffering from dementia in Germany is
expected to double by 2060
in %
2 00 9
1.2
2030
1.8
2060
DELAYED ADJUSTMENT TO
DARKNESS, NARROWED FIELD
OF VISION, GREATER LENGTH OF
TIME TO PERCEIVE OBJECTS IN
FOCUS
2.5
f ro m
70 o n
1
2
8
4
9
3
7
6
5
Rather poor
14-29 yrs
54
50 o n
DECREASED VISUAL
ACUITY
12
41
f ro m
IT ’S T HE I N N E R VA LU E S T H AT C OUNT
Plastic surgery decreases in patients over the age
of 30 (as at 2010)
in %
11
10
HOW W E S E E O U R S E LV E S
How Germans assessed their own health
in 2011
in %
Very good 26
d r ac u l a t h e r a p y
(A PERSON’S OWN BLOOD
PLASMA IS INJECTED INTO
THEIR FACE)
“People who
don’t do a little
something for
their health
every day
will one day
be forced to
sacrifice a great
deal of time for
illness.”
sebastian kneipp –
German priest and hydrotherapist
— S O U R CE Eurostat 2011
CA NCE R
c ro c o d i l e o i l
(APPLIED TO THE SKIN)
23
4
3
D IG E ST IVE D IS OR D E R S
ACCID E NT S
55
7 2
45-59 yrs
59
27
3
R E S P IR ATOR Y
D IS OR D E R S
5
41
NUT R IT IONA L A ND
M E TA B OLIC D IS E A S E S
M E NTA L A ND B E HAVIOR A L
D IS OR D E R S
11
≥ 60 yrs
19
63
14
4
— S O U R CE Federal Statistical Office of Germany 2011
— S O UR C E DAK, Forsa survey “Angst vor Krankheiten” 2011
“The only way to
keep your health
is to eat what you
don’t want, drink
what you don’t like,
and do what you’d
rather not.”
R O LE M O D E L M E TH USE L AH
One out of ten people would choose to live forever, if it were
up to them. More than half think 90 years is enough.
in %
70 y rs
90
y rs
110
y rs
300
y rs
POORER COLOR
PERCEPTION
16
— S OU R C E BARMER GEK 2010
— S O U R CE Saup 1993
2
Mark Twain –
American author
56
08
02
10
— S O UR C E Reader's Digest, TNS Emnid, 2009
forever
BODY SPIRIT
WHAT WE CARE ABOUT. THE MAGAZINE OF THE HARTMANN GROUP
THE TABOO
LIVES ON
maintaining quality of life despite incontinence
Most people only discuss it in hushed whispers, behind
closed doors. Still, in Germany alone, it affects nearly
six million people, many of whom are only middle-aged.
A closer look at a disorder that is often kept private.
have different expectations in
terms of their quality of life
than they did in the past. Many
people are still extremely fit in
their old age, so it’s a serious
problem for them when they feel
like they can’t go to the movies
without worrying about having
an accident.”
He is convinced that the
number of unreported cases of
incontinence is extremely high.
According to reliable estimates,
in central Europe, 40 percent
of 40-year-old men and women
suffer from symptoms of an
overactive bladder. They are
plagued with everything from
a frequent desire to relieve
themselves to urge incontinence
– the sudden, overpowering need
to empty their bladders. With
increasing age, the percentage of
men suffering from these kinds
of problems rises even further.
Stress incontinence, on
the other hand, is somewhat
less common, and it affects
significantly greater numbers
of women than men. Sufferers
tend lose control over their bladders when they physically exert
themselves, sneeze, cough, or
lift heavy objects. Men generally
only suffer from this form of
incontinence if their prostate has
been completely removed. Com“MANY PEOPLE ARE EXTREMELY FIT
binations of these two forms of
IN THEIR OLD AGE”
incontinence are also common.
Incontinence is a taboo subject.
Being overweight, diabetes,
Bodily excretions? Yuck! You
cancer and disorders of the
just don’t talk about things like
nervous system – all of which
that – particularly when you no
longer have them under control. are diseases that occur more
and more frequently in a rapidly
Dr. Dietmar Betz and Dr. Jesco
aging population – increase the
Jungklaus, who have a joint
urology practice in Ratingen and risk of losing bladder control.
Düsseldorf, Germany, have seen
this happen all too often: illMEETING AT A HOSPITAL INSTEAD
nesses that affect an individual’s OF A RESTAURANT
ability to participate normally in For Rosi Gräble, it was cancer
society are considered particuthat suddenly transformed the
larly stigmatizing. “People today few occasional droplets into
Helene Differding is a cheerful
woman, a native of Cologne,
Germany, 49 years old. Slight
and spry, she mills about her
northern Cologne apartment,
chatting animatedly about her
son and daughter. But does she
talk about … “it”? With her
friends – or even her motherin-law? Differding swallows,
her eyes fixed on the ground.
“No. It’s just too embarrassing.”
At first, she tried to ignore the
problem – she neglected to do
her pelvic floor exercises and
told herself that this just is how
things are when women get
older. Rosi Gräble, a 61-year-old
from Villingen, Germany, was
also in her forties when her
problems began. For years, she
didn’t even tell her doctor, because “my mother had the same
problem, and I figured it wasn’t
worth making a lot of fuss
about it.” These two women
aren’t alone by any means:
many people who experience
bladder control problems suffer
in silence, secretly ashamed.
They stop wearing light-colored
pants, hide on the toilet for
hours at work, and pass on
strolls through town or museum
visits.
uncontrollable torrents in 2001.
Her partner of many years
couldn’t deal with her illness,
and their relationship fell apart.
She spent much of her time
crying and began to withdraw.
Even today, the trained nurse
still remembers one of her most
embarrassing incidents. While
she was examining a four-yearold boy, she was overcome
with an urgent need to use the
restroom – and her subsequently
soiled clothes led to some impertinent comments. When she
decided to tackle her problem
head-on in 2003, founding a
self-help group and posting an
ad for it in the newspaper, her
friends and acquaintances were
bemused: she had some nerve to
address such an embarrassing
topic in public! In order to avoid
accidentally outing group members, she chooses the locations
for meetings with her fellow
sufferers very carefully: “There’s
always a chance of running into
acquaintances or family members at restaurants. That’s why
we usually meet at a hospital.”
“IT’S NOT MASCULINE”
According to the Deutsche
Kontinenz Gesellschaft e.V., an
advocacy group for incontinence
sufferers, men and women
generally deal with incontinence
very differently. Would the
society be able to put us in
touch with a man who suffers
from urinary incontinence? No,
they regretted to inform us that
men are rarely willing to talk
about their experiences openly.
However, one man wrote an
entire book on the subject,
aggressively entitled “Paule ist
nicht mehr ganz dicht” (Paul is
no longer potty-trained). It’s an
angry book. Clearly, the fact
that a prostate operation with
25
MAINTAINING DIGNITY
Incontinence care in
facilities
—
HARTMANN took on the Dignity
brand in late 2008 with the purchase of Whitestone Acquisition
Corp., a US manufacturer of
incontinence products. This has
given the name to an approach to
incontinence management in care
facilities that is new in the US –
the Dignity Continence Solutions
program.
The concept’s core idea is quality
instead of quantity, and it has
been applied for years in Europe
with good results. Due to the
fundamentally different cost structures, most American care facilities
tend to rely on very low-priced
products. To make up for the difference in quality, caregivers must
change residents’ incontinence
products more frequently than in
European homes. Since this in turn
means that large quantities are
used, unit price remains the main
driver of product choice.
Training and expert application
advice can help facility managers
and caregivers to realize the
advantages of looking at costs as
a whole. Ultimately, using cheap
products isn’t less expensive,
when the extra effort and followup costs of skin damage are
considered. This can be prevented
through the use of higher-quality
incontinence products. Perhaps
most importantly, the less frequent
need to change incontinence products helps give facility residents
more dignity and thus a better
quality of life. The longer change
intervals also means they do not
need to be disturbed at night, and
incontinence can be managed during the day with fewer changes.
BODY SPIRIT
WHAT WE CARE ABOUT. THE MAGAZINE OF THE HARTMANN GROUP
complications could turn a fine
figure of a man into the picture
of misery rubs author Paul
Boos the wrong way. “A man
never wants to admit something
like that. It’s not masculine.”
Boos writes that he was mainly
annoyed by “comments from
people who were completely
clueless”: useless tips like “You
just have to ignore it,” “It’s all
in your head; just don’t think
about it,” “It will get better,”
or the simple and insulting, “It
could be worse.”
“NOW HE’S BACK TO PLAYING GOLF,
AND HE’S HAPPY”
Dr. Dietmar Betz has seen it at
his practice: these self-conscious
attempts to trivialize the suffering, to make light of it. His
female patients in particular, he
says, often believe that “pulling
themselves together” is the only
way out of their spiral of shame.
His practice, which has been
certified as a counseling center
by the German continence
society, relies on education to
counteract this attitude. He and
his team teach their patients
about the wide range of highly
effective medical treatment options available to them. Depending on the type of incontinence
that patients suffer from, such
methods as physical treatment
with stimulation current, regular
pelvic floor exercises, or special
medications may help relieve
their symptoms. Surgery is a last
resort; for example, doctors can
implant an artificial sphincter
for the bladder. Dr. Betz himself
regularly performs such operations – as a “flying doctor,” he
travels all across Europe to help
patients in need. After gaining
a detailed account of each
patient’s medical history, he and
his colleagues are generally able
to completely and permanently
rid the vast majority of their
patients of their incontinence.
“I remember an 80-year-old
patient who needed to go to the
bathroom 40 times a day. We
treated him with stimulation
current and botulinum toxin in
order to help him gain control
of his overactive bladder. Now
he’s back to playing golf, and
he’s happy. The right therapy
really can dramatically improve
a person’s quality of life.”
PELVIC FLOOR EXERCISES AT THE
STOPLIGHT
And yet, there are still cases
where even the best doctor can
do very little: perhaps because
the patient can’t tolerate medications, or because other illnesses
make an operation impossible.
“In cases like this, whether or
not people can live with their
incontinence all comes down to
their attitude,” says Rosi Gräble.
She accepted long ago that she
will continue to need incontinence aids such as pads, and
she has adjusted her everyday
life accordingly. She gets up at
5:00 a.m. every day so that she
can make sure she’s able to use
the bathroom before she leaves
the house. She does pelvic floor
exercises at every stoplight in
her car and while she’s pushing
her shopping cart through the
supermarket. That helps a little,
but she says she draws more
strength from her commitment
to helping others who are struggling with the same problem.
In cooperation with the local
seniors’ council in Villingen,
Germany, she convinced a number of local restaurants to allow
people in desperate need of a
bathroom to use their facilities
without paying. The campaign
is titled “Die nette Toilette” (the
friendly toilet); similar programs
have been launched in a number
of other cities.
A FLYER FOR A FRIEND
But unlike her own incontinence-related limitations, Rosi
refuses to accept the persistent
taboo surrounding incontinence. That’s why she never gets
tired of distributing informational flyers at exhibitions and
events on the subject. And she
can’t help but smile knowingly
every time an older woman asks
her if she can have a flyer “for
a friend.” Her most touching
experience was when, at an
intersection in Villingen, a
woman leapt out of her car,
flung her arms around Rosi
Gräble’s neck, and profusely
thanked her for founding a
self-help group that allowed
incontinent people to come out
of their shells.
27
Helene Differding, the
cheerful woman from Cologne
in her cozy kitchen, wants to
fight back just as Rosi Gräble
does. She is advocating for the
city of Cologne to publish a
bathroom guide so that people
with bladder issues taking a
stroll through the city won’t
need to panic when they feel the
urge to go. She impressed upon
her daughter the importance of
starting pelvic-floor training exercises as soon as her early 20s
to spare her from suffering the
same condition in her old age.
Her son now enters the kitchen
and grins. Is it strange for him
to hear his mother discussing
her incontinence? “No,” the
young man says. “I’m proud of
her – I think it’s great that she’s
doing interviews like this!”
HANDLING THE
BAD NEWS
HOW DO PEOPLE REACT
WHEN THEIR DOCTOR CONFRONTS THEM WITH THE DIAGNOSIS OF INCONTINENCE?
HARTMANN HAS DEVELOPED
A FIVE-STAGE MODEL ON
THE SUBJECT. THE DURATION
OF EACH STAGE DEPENDS
HIGHLY ON THE INDIVIDUAL.
THE THIRD AND FOURTH
PHASES OFTEN OVERLAP.
1. pre-phase
2. evaluation
3. defense
4. examination
5. acceptance
“It’s nothing serious.
It will get better soon.”
“I am incontinent.
That’s probably not
going to change.”
“I want to live without
incontinence.”
“I am incontinent.
I can’t change it. I will
have to learn to live
with it.”
“Yes, I am incontinent,
but I’ve found tools
and methods to help
me deal with it, and
my quality of life is still
relatively high despite
my incontinence.”
Affected individuals deny their incontinence or
make light of it.
The realization now begins to set in. Depending on the type of incontinence the affected
individuals suffer from and their personalities,
they may view their symptoms as a challenge,
a loss, or even as a threat. “What will happen?
How will I deal with this in the future?” A phase
of insecurity begins.
Although they know the facts, the majority of
affected individuals do not want to accept their
incontinence. Depending on their individual
personalities, they might try to fight their
condition by searching for therapies or doing
intense pelvic floor exercises. Others mourn,
completely retreating from their lives. Their
insecurity increases, causing them additional
stress.
Affected individuals experience a mental turnaround. They have accepted their incontinence.
Many of them now manage the problem with
incontinence aids. Some of them are very open
about their condition and may be comfortable
or even playful when discussing it publicly.
Insecurity yields to increasing confidence.
The affected person has come to terms with his
or her incontinence. He or she is comfortable in
dealing with the condition. Some people prefer
to inform others of their issue; others place
great importance on the people around them
remaining unaware of it.
Author
MYRTO-CHRISTINA
ATHANASSIOU
BODY SPIRIT
29
“I USE EXPENSIVE CREAMS”
ing to publish some of my older works.
But the idea bores me at the moment.
a conversation with psychoanalyst margarete mitscherlich
Growing old isn’t exactly child’s play, but it could be worse – says a woman whose
courage is impressive even at 94 years of age, despite the fact that these days, she’s
reduced to living (in her own words) like a “couch-dwelling cave woman.”
Dr. Mitscherlich, I’m
going to say a word,
and I want you to tell
me what you associate
with it. What comes
to mind when I say
“memory”?
As a psychoanalyst, I immediately think
of my childhood, my youth, my work,
my patients, and how strongly those
patients suppressed their own memories
due to trauma or other experiences.
Essentially, I can associate my entire
career with memories.
a disorder. But in general, even in old
age, we still experience fantasies and
conflicts. When you connect these with
the rational mind, it can lead to new
ideas and insights.
Was there ever a point
when you realized:
Dreams play an
important role in your
profession. What did
you dream about today
during your afternoon
nap?
And how do you feel
when you wake up?
Would you say that
old age has made you
wise?
I can’t remember right now. But at
the moment, I’m very interested in the
dreams we have in our old age. When
you’re over 90, you think differently.
The dreams that I have now signify a
certain closeness to death. I would say
that about 90 percent of the people I see
in my dreams are no longer alive.
“I’m getting old”?
I’ve begun to react less and less emotionally to my dreams. They interest me, so
I like to examine them with a certain
amount of distance. My dreams often
provide me with answers to questions that
are occupying my thoughts at the time.
All in all, they tend to be mild dreams.
Are you still as critical
I would take issue with that term. Wisdom
is an idealized word, without emotion.
The connection between heart and mind
follows very different rules in psychoanalysis. The unconscious mind isn’t
restricted by time and knows no limits.
of yourself as you were
back then?
When do you feel
young?
What do you like
about old age?
You underwent three
courses of psycho-
What does Freud say
about aging?
And is that true?
Not much. He believed that after a
certain age, psychoanalysis wasn’t
worth the effort anymore.
I don’t think so. It varies greatly from
person to person and depends on
an individual’s mental state. Today,
Alzheimer’s disease and dementia are
widespread because we all live to a very
old age. Psychoanalysis is no longer possible when someone is afflicted by such
analysis in your life.
Why?
Off the top of your
head, what do you
associate with the
word “time”?
I always thought I was getting old!
(laughs) At 17, I heard the song “Mit 17
hat man noch Träume” (You still have
dreams at 17), and I thought: “Oh God,
I’ve already reached the high point in
my life!” At 25, I looked in the mirror
and saw a deep line around my mouth.
At that point, I said to myself: “Now
you’ve got wrinkles; you’re officially
getting old.”
Well, I definitely still use expensive
creams, even though I know they’re
usually hogwash.
Never, actually. The closest I come is
when my body gives me some peace and
quiet, when I talk to dear friends, or
when I discover something new during
conversations with myself
There’s a certain nonchalance to it. You
learn to live in the here and now.
I found it inspiring. Where else can you
rid yourself of the ambivalence that you
have about people you actually love?
There are many things you can’t say out
loud. Even things about yourself: for
example, when you’re mean, jealous,
or envious. You experience feelings like
those your whole life, even in old age.
The older I get, the faster time passes
me by. I’m always planning to do one
thing or another. For example, there’s a
publishing company that would be will-
WHAT WE CARE ABOUT. THE MAGAZINE OF THE HARTMANN GROUP
But what about your
interest in dreams
during old age?
And you find that
unsettling?
But when you get older,
aren’t you supposed to
spend your time doing
things that you enjoy
and that inspire you?
Is there anything
about growing old
that surprised you?
How old do you
actually feel?
Do you think about
death?
I’ve already talked to a number of people who are interested in participating
in that project. But I admit, when you’re
old, you also get tired quickly. Days
pass by so fast. And it gets harder to
concentrate.
No. But it aggravates me, and I berate
myself for it. And then I distract myself
from that aggravation by reading.
I still have plenty of books I want to
read. I start reading one or the other,
and it reminds me of another book. So
I pick up the next book, then the next
book, and the next book, until I eventually find my way back to the first one.
The more I learn, the more I realize just
how much I don’t know.
Everything. For example, I never
would’ve thought that one day I
wouldn’t be able to walk or travel,
or that I would become so physically
weak. I’m what you might call a couchdwelling cave woman – I have no desire
to grab my walker to get around. But I
never would’ve guessed that I would
endure it so well or that I’d have to
endure it at all.
MARGARETE MITSCHERLICH
Psychoanalyst and doctor
—
Margarete Mitscherlich-Nielsen
was born in Denmark in 1917. Her
mother was a teacher from Germany, her father a Danish doctor. She
studied literature and medicine
in Munich and Heidelberg, and
completed her doctoral studies
in Tübingen in 1950. In 1947, she
met the psychoanalyst Alexander
Mitscherlich in Switzerland; he
was still married at the time. They
had a son together in 1949, but
she lived with their child and a
friend near Lake Constance until
she and Mitscherlich married in
1955. Together, they revitalized the
field of psychoanalysis in postwar Germany. In 1960, Margarete
Mitscherlich co-founded the
Sigmund-Freud-Institut in Frankfurt. She and her husband
published the groundbreaking
book “The Inability to Mourn” in
1967. Margarete Mitscherlich has
lived in Frankfurt since the death
of her husband in 1982. Her latest
book, “Die Radikalität des Alters”
(the radicalism of old age), was
recently published in paperback
by Fischer Verlag.
I feel like I’m 30, but also like I’m 94.
But I can’t imagine what it would be
like to be 95 or 96. The truth is that
anything you haven’t experienced
yourself is impossible to imagine
emotionally.
My wits are very sharp. I’m aware of
the fact that I won’t live much longer.
But still, I can’t imagine what it would
be like to simply not be alive anymore
– it’s too difficult. Sometimes I say to
myself, “You want to die soon.” But
then there are so many things that I’m
still interested in…
Author
ANETTE FRISCH
BODY SPIRIT
WHAT WE CARE ABOUT. THE MAGAZINE OF THE HARTMANN GROUP
IT’S A LONG WAY
TO JYVÄSKYLÄ
retirees in competitive sports
He’s 72 years old, and he’s aiming for the world title. For six months,
Jean-Louis Esnault of France has been training for the world indoor
athletics championships for seniors. A life timed by a stopwatch.
— RECORD HOLDER
Jean-Louis Esnault has always
been one to keep in shape. He
trains regularly and still makes
very good times. But he no longer
needs to win at all costs; he’s
learned to be realistic about his
abilities.
41 minutes and 56 seconds!
Esnault writes his time for
yesterday’s ten-kilometer run in
his hand-drawn performance
curve, and smiles contentedly. The curve rises steeply
to the top right of the page. It
says there “April 2012,” and
underneath it in neat capitals
“FINLAND.”
There’s not much time left
before he leaves for Jyväskylä,
Finland, to take part in the
WMA Indoor Championships
for seniors. “Seniors” is actu-
ally a relative term here – the
event, put on by the World
Masters Athletics association,
is for athletes 35 and older, and
is divided into age classes of
five years each. At 72, Esnault
is in the 70-plus category, and
knows he’s up against some
tough competition. “I need an
individual training program.
I need to be at my peak at just
the right time,” he explains.
He’ll be competing in five track
disciplines. He already holds
three European records in his
age class, along with the world
record for 1,500 meters with a
time of five minutes and three
seconds. More personal bests
could happen in Jyväskylä.
CUPS ON THE CLOSET
A visit to his modest home in
Maurepas near Paris. Esnault
and his wife recently fixed up
the attic as a guest room, so
that their two children and four
grandchildren have more space
when they visit. Like now, for
example; the Esnault home
is full of hubbub. Daughter
and son-in-law talk of how
things are in China, where they
currently live and work. The
grandchildren run around the
living room and try to impress
the reporter with the German
they’ve learned in school.
Where are all cups and medals
Esnault has won in the course
of his athletic career? Smiling,
he says that they haven’t found
a new place for them yet since
renovating the attic, so they’re
gathering dust on a closet in
a corner of the hall. Esnault
seems to be the opposite of a
narcissistic trophy hunter.
What has fascinated him
all his life is the physical challenge. He loves running, short
or long distances, indoors, in
the stadium, in the woods, on
the street, wherever. “You don’t
need a lot of gear to run. You
don’t need a team, or even a
partner. And since there are
so many different running
disciplines, it places all kinds
of demands on you. Some runs
take power, some take endurance, some take speed. I just
don’t understand how anyone
can think running is boring.”
HAMMER THROWING AT 101
More and more seniors are like
Esnault – they want to stay
active. More than a third of
people over 65 in the European
Union countries regularly do
sports, and that number is rising. About half the runners in
the New York Marathon are
over 40, according to a recent
study by sports scientists at
the University of Burgundy in
France.
Athletic seniors by no
means train just for their health
– 35 percent of them, men and
women, say they are still trying
to improve their performance
and get in better shape. As if to
prove it, the times of the high
age classes in the New York
Marathon continually improve.
The best ten men in the 65
to 69 age class are about 15
minutes faster than the same
age class was in 1980. On the
other hand, the times of the
under-60s have not improved at
all since the 1980s, according
to this study.
The Senior Olympics in
the USA regularly show how
well older athletes can perform
in other disciplines. 15,000
athletes competed in the summer games in Houston, Texas,
in June 2011, the youngest of
them age 50. The oldest was
101-year-old Trent Lane of
Louisiana, who started competitive sports when he was 81.
In Houston he set a new world
record in his age class in hammer throw.
PUSHING LIMITS
Jean-Louis Esnault, on the
other hand, is by no means a
late starter. He’s been competing since he was in school, and
often he was among the first
to cross the finish line. Later,
as a freelance wood construction engineer, he worked on
building projects around the
world, so he didn’t have a lot of
time for championships. When
he was home, he wanted to
spend time with his wife and
children. During those years,
Esnault did sports mostly just
as a way of staying in shape
and dealing with the daily
hustle and bustle. Yes, he says,
he loved his job, was very successful at it, and worked with
interesting clients. And yet,
when he thinks back on all the
traveling he had to do for business, what he remembers most
is the constant hurry and the
lack of exercise.
31
HARTMANN IN FRANCE
Successful expansion
—
As early as the 1880s, Paul
Hartmann began opening offices
in other countries. In 1884, he and
a partner started the subsidiary
HARTMANN und Maass in Paris. At
the end of the Second World War,
HARTMANN lost all of its foreign
production facilities and sales
offices, but in 1972 the company
began to expand internationally
again, acquiring a gauze plant in
Châtenois in Alsace and founding
PAUL HARTMANN S.A. in France.
In the four decades that followed,
HARTMANN France grew quickly
through strategic company acquisitions, plant expansions, and the
establishment of logistics centers.
Today, it is the subsidiary with
the highest revenue and highest
profit in the Group. In addition
to its home market of France, the
company is also responsible for
the HARTMANN subsidiaries in
Morocco and Algeria. With two
production facilities, three logistics
centers, and some 800 employees,
HARTMANN France serves over
20,000 customers in hospitals,
doctor’s offices, retirement homes,
pharmacies, home care services,
and wholesale.
With the 1990 acquisition of
Laboratoires Larochette, an established name in French pharmacies,
HARTMANN also gained that
company’s Confiance brand. Confiance remains the main brand of
HARTMANN incontinence products
sold in French pharmacies. For
retirement homes, the company
offers the international brands
MoliCare and MoliForm. Here,
through consulting and training
services, HARTMANN has successfully introduced an integrated
incontinence management concept
that takes overall costs into account. This approach has proved
its viability in other countries as
well, and is now gaining ground in
the USA (see page 25, Dignity).
BODY SPIRIT
WHAT WE CARE ABOUT. THE MAGAZINE OF THE HARTMANN GROUP
But he never lost his desire
for athletic challenges. After
many years as a casual runner,
when he was 40, Esnault dug
out his stopwatch and ran his
first marathon. In the years that
followed, he concentrated on
building endurance. “Going
beyond what you think you can
do. Pushing the limits of how
much you can take. That’s the
attraction of marathon running.”
“I HAVE THE CHURCH CHOIR,
HE HAS HIS SPORTS”
The phone rings. As so often,
it’s another member of Entente
Athlétique, his club. Located
in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines,
about an hour southwest of
Paris, the club has some 800
members from the region.
Athletes have to be in a club in
order to be admitted to official
competitions at all. The members travel together to events in
France and elsewhere. They put
out a club newsletter and communicate online about what’s
going on.
“The training in a group
is motivating for me,” says
Esnault. “Thanks to the club,
I also stay in touch with a lot
of people. That keeps me mentally fit.” He serves at Entente
Athlétique as vice president
and referee. “It’s like a second
career after retirement. We
measure distances, prepare
meetings, manage the budget –
there’s always something that
needs doing.” But he enjoys the
responsibilities. “Jean-Louis
spends lots of time on club
business,” says his wife Beatrix.
Unlike her husband, who appears calm and collected,
madame has a lively temperament. “I have the church choir,
and Jean has his sports.”
A SIGHT TO SEE ON THE TRACK
Time for training. Jean-Louis
Esnault packs his things and
drives to Elancourt, where
his club has access to a stadium. He’s one of the club’s
oldest members, one of the
“grayheads,” a sight to see
on the track. “Sometimes a
trainer will introduce me to
his charges: ‘That’s a national
champion!’”
Today, an hour and a half
of training are on the agenda.
He hits the tartan track four
times a week. Esnault sets
down his bag on the bleachers,
and digs out his stopwatch
and water bottle. Ready to
go. The 72-year-old warms up
carefully, and does some power
and endurance routines. Knee
lifts, heel lifts, jumps – he goes
through the movements almost
automatically. His muscles
bulge on the powerful jumps.
He pulls his knee up one more
time, and breathes deeply.
“I’M NOT PARTICULARLY
FLEXIBLE”
A short water break. Esnault
puts on spikes for an 800-meter
test run. He sets up at the starting line and focuses on a point
33
at the end of the track. The
starting gun sounds, and he
starts with full concentration.
His movements are even and
energetic. The first lap is done.
The trainer shouts his time. On
the homestretch, Esnault picks
up the pace, and his muscular
legs seem to fly. He only slows
down far after the finish line.
Now you can see the effort
the 72-year-old has expended.
Hands on his thighs, he
breathes deeply. He takes two
more laps to loosen up and run
out. Back at the bleachers, Esnault gets ready for stretching.
“I’m not particularly flexible,”
he says, laughs, and touches
his toes with his fingers. Today
was just a light training session.
For Finland he’ll ramp it up
steadily.
AVOIDING A FORCED PAUSE
He’s careful not to overtax his
body unevenly. A marathon
is a huge strain on the heart
and circulation, while crosscountry runs are rough on the
muscles. Athletes who aren’t
careful to balance their training
run the risk of an injury that
forces them to take a break. So
Jean-Louis Esnault is especially
— CONCENTRATION The most strenuous training is nothing without mental fitness,
says Jean-Louis Esnault. You have to be able to concentrate fully on the race and put
everything in it.
— DISCIPLINE
Esnault trains four times a week.
But first, he always warms up
carefully. Just before the world
championship, he’ll ramp up his
training schedule once more.
careful right before the world
championship.
Like many highly active
athletes, he’s learned to cope
with declining physical potential in old age, and to assess
his performance potential
objectively. The idea is to neither overtrain nor undertrain.
Esnault says, “It can’t just be
about running competitions at
any price. Therefore I try to set
myself realistic goals.”
A MINUTE MORE EVERY YEAR
The numbers speak for themselves. Between the ages of 20
and 70, a person loses 20 to 40
percent of their muscle mass.
Endurance also declines after
age 30 by up to 15 percent
per decade, if you don’t do
anything to stop it. Jean-Louis
Esnault knows what his body
can and cannot do. He ran
his personal best marathon at
age 45, in two hours and 33
minutes. Since then, his average marathon time has gotten
longer by a minute each year.
“25 years after my personal
best, I need almost half an hour
more for the same distance.”
BODY SPIRIT
WHAT WE CARE ABOUT. THE MAGAZINE OF THE HARTMANN GROUP
Yet records are still possible,
because the track-and-field associations group athletes in age
classes.
CAREFUL WITH THAT RIGHT
ACHILLES TENDON
Training is over, and it’s back
to Maurepas. In the car,
Esnault talks about how carefully he plans his training. At
least twice a year he gets a full
medical performance checkup,
including maximum heart rate
and ideal running speed. He
uses that as a guide in training. He’s careful with his right
Achilles tendon – it hurts if he
overstrains it. Since yesterday’s
training he’s worn an elastic
bandage to give it support. His
doctor has suggested shock
wave therapy if he has lasting
pain. Test runs in the coming
week will show whether he
needs it.
What else is he doing to get
ready for Finland? Esnault is
careful about nutrition before
any competition. “Of course
I have a glass of wine once in
a while, and I love good food!
I used to be much more disciplined; I paid attention to my
cholesterol level and my weight.
But enjoying life is as important
as living healthy.” Still, before
the championship he’s rigorous.
For a week he’ll load up on
carbohydrates, with plenty of
noodles and rice.
FROM NEW YORK TO THAILAND
He’s looking forward to
Jyväskylä. International competitions are the high points in
his sporting career. “I always
use the opportunity to get to
know the area too. But during
the race I don’t see much of the
landscape. Then I’m totally
focused on the time,” he says.
35
He especially likes to look
back on the legendary New
York Marathon, and on runs
in Thailand, Mexico, Vietnam
and California. He’s run
marathons 56 times in his life.
56 times 42.195 kilometers –
endured, sweat, toughed it out,
reached down inside himself to
dig out his last reserves.
He knows the day will
come when he’ll have to stop,
but he’s not too worried about
that. He’s set himself a limit
for competing in official events:
his 77th birthday. He won’t
stop doing sports, he’ll just stop
competing officially. But first
there’s the world championship
in Finland to think about. This
time, Esnault plans to enjoy the
international event atmosphere
to the fullest. He often images
himself already in Jyväskylä, on
the track in the Hippos Hall,
where the starting gun will go
off in just a few weeks. Up at
the top right of his hand-drawn
performance curve, Jean-Louis
hopes to stand on the top step
of the winner’s podium.
— HONOR AND GLORY
Normally, the cups and medals
Jean-Louis Esnault has won over
the course of his sporting life just
collect dust on top of a cabinet in
the hall. But every now and then,
he takes a look at them.
Author
ROMY STRASSENBURG
BODY SPIRIT
WHAT WE CARE ABOUT. THE MAGAZINE OF THE HARTMANN GROUP
GRAY MATTER
UNDER REVIEW
tests for the early detection of dementia
Contrary to widely held prejudices, people do not get less
intelligent in old age. Indeed, the opposite is quite often
the case – the crystallized intelligence, which is based
on experience, education, and judgment, might even get
sharper. It’s only the fluid intelligence that often declines.
This means that the older people get, the more slowly
they perceive things. Usually they can’t solve new problems as quickly as young people.
Therefore it’s perfectly normal that a 75-year-old might
take longer to learn how to use his or her new mobile
phone. But people who are worried because a spouse or
parent consistently does things like forgetting to turn
off the stove can turn to tests for the early detection of
serious conditions.
WORDLIST AND SUPERMARKET SELECTION
Want to test a person’s memory? Make a list of
ten words, and read them all loudly and clearly.
Then ask the subject to repeat as many as possible, awarding one point for each right answer.
The order is unimportant, and double mentions
only count once. Repeat the test, and add up the
points. People under 60 should score at least 13,
while older people should get at least 11 right
– if they do, everything’s fine. The supermarket
test is also easy to do. Ask the test person to
name within one minute as many items as they
can that might be found in a supermarket. If
they can think of 30 or more, their memory is
probably still very good.
WHAT DOES THE CLOCK SHOW?
Specialists like to use the clock test to detect the
first signs of dementia. In it, the tester asks the
subject to draw a clock with all the numbers
and hands, and then to write the time the clock
shows in a box underneath it, the way it might
appear in a television or train schedule.
The tester then checks to see if all twelve
numbers are present. If they are, the test person
gets one point, and another two, if the twelve is
correctly placed at the top of the dial. Two more
points are awarded if the clock has two different
hands. If the time in the box is the same as the
time shown on the dial, the tester adds another
two points. If the test person gets less than five
points, more testing is needed.
MINI-MENTAL STATE-EXAMINATION (MMSE)
The MMSE is the test physicians and caregivers
use most often to detect the first signs of Alzheimer’s or another dementia condition.
It was developed in 1975 by American psychiatrist Marshall Folstein. The test takes about
ten minutes. The test person gets one point for
each correct solution or answer. If you want to
test family members or friends, please be aware
that this is just a quick check and does not
replace a thorough diagnosis by a specialist.
The test should be performed in a comfortable, undisturbed setting. If the test person
normally needs glasses or a hearing aid, he or
she should use them for the test. Be friendly and
sympathetic. If the test person is embarrassed or
insecure it can have a negative influence on the
test results.
1. ORIENTATION
What year is it?
What season is it?
What is today’s date?
What month is it?
What state are we in?
What country are we in?
What is the name of the town we’re in right now?
Were exactly are we (address/doctor’s office/home)?
What floor are we on?
11
12
1
10
2
9
3
8
4
7
6
5
13 : 50
2. SHORT-TERM MEMORY
Clearly and slowly name three things, for example “lemon, key, ball,” and ask the test person
to repeat them. For each first mention of the correct word, award a point. Repeat until the patient can repeat all three words, up to a maximum
of five tries. If the respondent cannot repeat all
three words after five tries, their memory is not
at a level that can be tested.
3. ATTENTION AND CALCULATING
Ask the test person to count backwards from 100
by sevens. After five subtractions (93, 86, 79, 72,
65), stop and count the answers the test person
gave in the right order. Then ask them to spell
the word “world” backwards. Give points for the
number of letters they give in the right order (for
example, DLROW = 5, DRLOW = 3). In which
of the two tests did the person make the most
points? Only the higher of the two scores counts.
4. RECALL
Now ask the test person if he or she can remember the words from question two (lemon, key,
ball). For each correct word, award a point.
5. NAMING
Show the test person a watch and ask them what
it is. Repeat with a pencil. Each correct answer
gets one point.
37
6. REPETITION
Ask the test person to repeat after you the
phrase “no ifs, ands, or buts.” If they do it
correctly, they get a point.
7. THREE-PART INSTRUCTIONS
Ask the test person to do the following: “Take
a piece of paper, fold it in the middle, and lay it
on the floor.” Each correct action is worth one
point.
10. COPYING
On a blank sheet of paper, draw two intersecting
pentagons and ask the test person to copy the
shape exactly. Are all ten corners there, and do
two of them overlap? If so, the test subject gets
one point. It doesn’t matter if the lines are shaky
or the shape seems twisted.
8. REACTION
Write the words “Close your eyes” in big letters on
a blank sheet of paper. Ask the test person to read
the text and do what it says. If they can, they get
a point.
PEOPLE
SOCIETY
one on one
9. WRITING
Give the test person a blank sheet of paper and
ask them to write a sentence for you. The only
thing they need to do to get a point is to write
a sentence with a noun and a verb that makes
sense. Correct grammar and punctuation are
unimportant.
A youth lobbyist and a retired
sociologist discuss the
intergenerational contract.
P. 40
a refuge on the bosporus A trip to Istanbul: visiting a home
for the elderly founded by a sultan.
P. 42
a changing planet How demographic changes challenge
healthcare systems.
mini-mental state examination – interpreting the results
Add up all the points to determine which category your test person is in.
9 OR FEWER POINTS
The test person was hardly able to solve any
problems at all; he or she may have severe
dementia. A specialist will be able to say more.
30 TO 27 POINTS
Everything seems to be in order. Most likely,
the test person does not have dementia. Mentally IMPORTANT:
alert older people usually score a mean 28 points. This test gives only a rough indication of cognitive deficits, and is relatively easily skewed by
outside influences. Specialists often use it to
26 TO 18 POINTS
monitor the progress of dementia conditions.
This is an indication that a slight dementia may
However, it is not suitable for distinguishing
be present. Discuss the results with a doctor.
between diseases like Alzheimer’s or vascular
dementia. Conditions like depression can also
17 TO 10 POINTS
severely curtail cognitive functioning. Therefore,
This may indicate moderately severe dementia.
if a person scores very low, further tests are a
Here too, consult a specialist.
must.
P. 48
confident and competent Facts and figures on the social
significance of the elderly.
P. 50
from cinderella to princess
Görlitz is more than a stronghold
of seniors. P. 52
living à la carte
Lifestyle and housing choices
for the elderly. P. 58
PEOPLE SOCIETY
WHAT WE CARE ABOUT. THE MAGAZINE OF THE HARTMANN GROUP
41
ONE ON ONE
the future of the intergenerational contract
Does our society discriminate against seniors – or is it actually
the young who aren’t getting their fair share? Two high-profile
representatives of their generations take stands.
WOLFGANG GRÜNDINGER
BORN 1985
—
“Germany’s star twentysomething”
(Der Spiegel), political scientist
and sociologist Gründinger is
a member of the Club of Rome
Think Tank 30, and spokesperson
of the Foundation for the Rights
of Future Generations. He lives in
Berlin – and online, as he writes
on his website.
not understood, and is appeased
with symbolic actions of no real
substance.
While the past is preserved
at great expense in the form of
pension guarantees, car scrappage incentives, and bank rescue
packages, we young people get
– nothing. Even worse than the
financial national debt is the
ecological national debt. We will
inherit an overheated, plundered
planet, while the people responsible for it are long out of office
and mostly no longer alive.
In my opinion, we can
expect from a wealthy and
numerous older generation that
they give more back to us, the
young. Not just to their own
grandchildren, but to the entire
YOU HOLD POSTERITY IN
younger generation. After all,
YOUR HANDS
those whose grandparents have
In an aging society, the needs
the least need the most help.
of the young fall ever farther
To make the country
behind. Chancellor Merkel proclaims the “education republic,” “grandchildren-friendly” we
younger people need a powerful
while the education budget
trundles along at the level of the ally. Dear old people: You hold
posterity in your hands. We
1990s. Pensions are “sustainably” reformed, but young people need your power – for there are
are threatened with impoverish- a lot of you, and you make the
rules. We need your open ears –
ment in old age. Children and
for you need to know the probyoung people do not figure on
lems we face today. We need
the political agenda, except as
your time – for you have plenty
talented individuals to be given
of it. We need your money – for
elite scholarships, or violent
child care and education require
criminals and binge drinkers
your solidarity.
to be kept in check with the
A study of 14,000 respondfull force of the law. The young
generation is not taken seriously, ents showed that people’s ap-
proval of child subsidies, public
child care, and student aid
declines drastically after age 60.
That concerns me. Still, what
we young people need most is
ourselves. For too long, young
people in Germany have thought
of themselves as lone wolves,
and not felt able to shape society. But many have woken up.
The talk of a generation that
won’t get involved is yesterday’s
myth. We need to regain our
faith in our ability to change
things. That’s why I’m in favor
of allowing young people to
vote before their 18th birthday.
It’s a long-overdue step in the
development of our democracy,
in which one of three generations currently has no voice.
One thing’s for sure: the young
are not fighting against the old,
but for a voice and the right to
a future.
ANYTHING BUT OLD AND
EXPENSIVE
Yes, in turbulent times the generations need to pull together.
And yet, something about the
demographic shift discussion
bothers me. Far too often, the
magazine covers shout that the
old are fleecing the young.
Thanks to the youth cult,
older workers are forced into
retirement prematurely. Old
drivers are thought of as traffic
hazards, yet young speeders
cause vastly more accidents.
Need a bank loan? At many
banks, the managers will just
shake their heads regretfully
and say that for old people,
loans are only available with
certain restrictions. All these
are symptomatic – Germany
has become hostile to seniors.
The problem long since has
taken on a political dimension.
Many people say that the intergenerational contract needs
to be canceled in the name of
fairness.
But what does fairness
mean in this context? Today’s
retirees and their parents rebuilt Germany after the Second
World War. My age group
invested large amounts of their
income for retirement. Unlike
today, back then almost everybody who could work, did –
and created the prosperity from
which today’s youth benefit.
This is evident from the
unbelievable amount of wealth
that today is being passed from
the old to the young in this
country. By 2020, according
to a recent study by the German Institute for Retirement
Provision (DIA), 2.6 trillion
euros will have been inherited
in Germany. Quite a lot of this
will go to people who are childless, and thus themselves partly
responsible for the problematic
age distribution of the coming
years.
Furthermore, the claim
that coming generations will
bear impossible burdens due
solely to retirees is simply false,
in my opinion. Children and
young people also cost money
as long as they haven’t finished
school, vocational training or
university. From an economic
point of view, the financial
burden of a high proportion
of children is partly similar
to that of a high proportion
of old people.
Equating “old” with “
expensive” is also wrong –
more and more people are
remaining healthy into old age,
and more and more of them are
contributing to society after
retirement, for example by
doing volunteer work.
And anyway, who says that
the low birthrate in Germany is
an unchanging law of nature?
There is nothing to be gained
from insulting retirees. The
generation currently in charge
should instead change the
socioeconomic conditions so
that more people have children.
PROF. DR.
FRIEDRICH OSKAR WELTZ
BORN 1927
—
A retired sociologist. In the 1960s,
he published together with Jürgen
Habermas, and later did research
and teaching at Göttingen,
Munich, Harvard, and other
universities. Weltz lives in Icking
near Munich.
PEOPLE SOCIETY
WHAT WE CARE ABOUT. THE MAGAZINE OF THE HARTMANN GROUP
43
A REFUGE ON
THE BOSPORUS
retirement homes in other cultures
The Darülaceze Müessesesi nursing home in Istanbul
is a legendary institution. Here, seniors and orphans,
Muslims, Christians, and Jews live together under one
roof. A visit to a home with 1,001 stories to tell.
Münir Yılmaz concentrates on
the loom in front of him and
runs a finger along the coarse,
whitish-gray wool threads,
which will eventually become
a blanket. Several looms in
the workshop are unattended,
since most of the weavers are at
lunch. But Yılmaz is busy. Big
rolls of wool are piled in a corner, waiting to be woven. “I’m
here every day,” says Yılmaz
during a short break. “Life is
good when you can work.”
Yılmaz has not always been
able to say that his life was
good. Eight years ago, when he
was 60, he made a living repairing televisions and radios, and
lived in his own four walls in
Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city.
“But then I lost my house,” he
says. And goes silent.
He refuses to say exactly
what happened, ashamed of
the hand fate dealt him. At any
rate, one day Yılmaz, with his
60 years and a bundle of his
remaining belongings, stood in
front of the door of his current
home, a walled 30,000-squaremeter complex of old, duncolored stone buildings, where
the weaving workshop is also
located.
Darülaceze Müessesesi is
the name of the unusual institution where Yılmaz now lives.
The somewhat old-fashioned
name is a holdover from Ottoman times and simply means
“nursing home.” The structure
is slightly reminiscent of a
German workers’ apartment
complex of the 19th century,
and is situated on a hill in the
Istanbul district of Şişli on the
European side of the Bosporus.
“Welcome to our home” says a
sign at the entrance. Darülaceze
is a combination retirement
home, nursing home, poorhouse, and orphanage. Over
the years it has offered almost
a hundred thousand people of
different religions a place to
live; people who couldn’t take
care of themselves and had no
one to look after them. A third
of them are children, many
of them babies whose parents
anonymously left them in front
of a mosque or a police station.
Darülaceze has even sheltered
refugee children from Bosnia.
Children stay here until they
reach school age, when they
move to one of Istanbul’s state
children’s homes. Most of the
— IN A GOOD PLACE
Münir Yılmaz is glad to be able to
work in the Darülaceze Müessesesi
workshops. Offering employment
to residents is part of the way
things are done at this venerable
Istanbul institution.
PEOPLE SOCIETY
WHAT WE CARE ABOUT. THE MAGAZINE OF THE HARTMANN GROUP
The home’s doctors do make
sure that no one is admitted
who has an infectious disease
or mental illness that would
make them a danger to others,
but there are no objections to
Alzheimer’s sufferers. Residents stay at Darülaceze free of
charge. “In effect, that means
that we get the poor,” says
Yalçın Bulut, who has been
in charge of the home for two
years now. “Wealthier seniors
prefer other homes,” he adds
with a shrug. It doesn’t seem
to bother him. In Darülaceze,
they’re proud to offer a new life
to the poor.
— WITHOUT FAMILY Those who have no family but need help are welcome at Darülaceze Müessesesi.
elderly stay here until they die.
Currently, the institution is home
to 550 residents.
FOUNDED BY A SULTAN
The history of this unusual
home is rich in fascinating life
stories. Ottoman and Egyptian
princesses spent their last days
in Darülaceze, as did the
daughter of a Russian czar,
Turkish war heroes, actors and
musicians. Darülaceze was
founded by Ottoman Sultan
Abdülhamid II. In the late 19th
century he ordered the home
built to provide a refuge for
the numerous beggars and
homeless children of the city.
It opened its doors in 1896. As
starting capital, Abdülhamid
is said to have contributed property worth 70,000 gold pieces.
At the time, the complex was
far away from Constantinople,
as Istanbul was then called.
Today, Darülaceze Müessesesi
is administered by the City of
Istanbul, and is located in the
middle of this metropolis of
15 million. Freeway traffic
thunders past right outside, and
there is a gas station next to the
historic outer wall.
RETIREMENT HOMES ARE RARE
Darülaceze is about five times
the size of a normal Turkish
retirement home. It has three
caregivers per resident, and
the children are cared for by
specially trained personnel.
With its history and its approach towards care, the home
is an exception in the Turkish
social system, which in some
areas is not as well developed
as other European systems.
Retirement homes in particular
are rare in Turkey, and some
cities are only now starting to
establish them. One reason is
the youthful age structure of
Turkish society – half of all
Turks are under 30. Another
reason is the relatively short life
expectancy in Turkey: 71 years
for men and 75 for women,
which means that many people
don’t reach an age where they
would need care. But most
significantly, family ties are
very important in Turkey, and
many people simply consider it
shameful to put their mother or
father away in a home.
NOTHING AGAINST
ALZHEIMER’S PATIENTS
Most of the new arrivals who
knock on the door at Darülaceze have no relatives left
who could look after them.
The home accepts people who
are from Istanbul or have lived
there for at least five years, and
need a roof over their heads.
Nobody really asks questions
about new arrivals’ financial
circumstances or how they got
into their current situation.
ornamented. On the wall hang
pictures of Sultan Abdülhamid,
founder of Darülaceze, and
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of the Turkish Republic.
Behind Bulut are two Turkish
flags in flagpole stands.
“WE ARE ALL BROTHERS”
Bulut is convinced: “This is
a unique place in Europe and
the entire world.” It’s not just
the way Darülaceze welcomes
the poor with open arms
that makes it special. “Here,
everyone is welcome, regardless
of religion,” explains Bulut.
“We are all brothers; we’re all
descended from Adam.” He
opens the book to the room
MORE A RECEPTION HALL THAN
assignments from 1907. Back
AN OFFICE
then, Constantinople was a
Yalçın Bulut flips through the
pages of an old notebook. He’s multicultural city, with Muslims, Greeks, and Armenians
not just the home’s director,
forming equally large parts of
he’s also the deputy mayor of
Istanbul – a sign of the high es- the population. “Here it is,”
teem in which the home is held says Bulut as his finger goes
down a column of numbers.
in the city. “Here,” says Bulut
“There were four imams plus a
and puts his finger on a row
muezzin for the call to prayer,
of numbers. “The year 1907.
Kaiser Wilhelm ruled Germany, two Greek Orthodox priests,
two Armenians, a Catholic,
and Sultan Abdülhamid ruled
us.” Bulut studies the figures: in and a Jewish rabbi.”
1907 there were 863 residents.
Bulut’s office on the second THE MOSQUE IS STILL IN
floor of the gate building is
GOOD CONDITION
more like a small ceremonial
The tapestry of religions is
reception hall than an office.
today no longer quite as varied.
Heavy brocade curtains decoNumerous waves of emigration
rate the windows, and the wood- and expulsions have drastically
en floor groans under every
reduced the number of Greeks
step. The gilded table, chairs,
and Armenians in Turkey, for
and wall mirror are richly
example. Out of Turkey’s pop-
ulation of 74 million, no more
than 150,000 are non-Muslims.
Until the middle of the 20th
century, over a hundred
thousand Greeks lived in the
former Constantinople; today
there are fewer than 3,000. In
Darülaceze as well, there are
only a few visible signs of the
earlier religious diversity, as a
walk across the elongated main
square with its double row of
sycamore trees makes evident.
One end of the square is framed
by buildings with dormitories,
kitchens, infirmaries, and
workshops. There is also the
mosque, with its small minaret
and gilded dome. At midday,
the muezzin calls the faithful
to prayer. The mosque isn’t
very large, but it’s in good
condition.
FOOD ACCORDING TO RELIGION
At the other end of the long
square, an old man feeds scraps
of bread to some cats. Behind
him is an unadorned building
with two doors. A sign on door
one says “Aya Yorgi Church,”
on the other “Midras Synagogue.” Both doors are locked,
and the keys are kept by the
security guards at the entrance.
The seven Christians and the
sole Jewish resident currently
living at Darülaceze must travel
to another church or synagogue
if they want to attend a service.
For a long time now there
haven’t been Christian or Jewish
clergy at Darülaceze.
45
HARTMANN IN TURKEY
A presence in the large cities
—
Since 2008, HARTMANN has
been operating in Turkey through
its subsidiary PAUL HARTMANN
LTD. STI. Based in Istanbul, the
company initially concentrated on
the pharmacy business and grew
quickly.
Pharmacies selling HARTMANN
products to end users are supplied
indirectly through pharmaceutical
wholesalers. HARTMANN also
targeted other key distribution
channels such as medical supply
and private and state hospitals,
extending its business to large
cities such as Ankara, Izmir, and
Bursa. Outside Istanbul, the
company works with distribution
partners.
With 17 employees, including ten
field representatives, HARTMANN
markets a wide range of products.
Currently, the subsidiary makes
half of its sales with incontinence
products. However, the proportion
of revenues from wound management products is rising.
PEOPLE SOCIETY
WHAT WE CARE ABOUT. THE MAGAZINE OF THE HARTMANN GROUP
Still, the facility takes the
requirements of residents’ different faiths into account. For
example, the kitchen prepares
twelve different meals a day,
covering not just different ages
and health conditions, but also
residents’ religions.
Dominiki Yordanopulos is
one of the home’s Christians.
A Greek, he was born in
Istanbul in 1943 and has lived
in Darülaceze for five years.
When he fell ill, he had no
more relatives left who could
help him. A Greek hospital
turned him away because he’s
not Orthodox, but Catholic.
An Armenian home didn’t
want him either. His borough
mayor finally got him a place
at Darülaceze. “This is a
unique place,” he says. “There
is nothing like it anywhere in
the world.” Nobody asks him
about his religion, and he has
made many friends over the
years.
47
TOO BUSY TO BROOD
The story of “Dominiki Dede”
– “Grandpa Dominiki” – as
he is called here, differs little
from those of his Muslim coresidents. “I’ve been here for
four months,” says another old
man in one of the workshops,
where he makes clay figurines
that will later be painted and
sold. He prefers not to give
his name. When asked what
happened, how he lost his
home and farm, he looks at the
visitor for a moment and then
— THE SPLENDOR OF ANOTHER ERA Home director Yalçın Bulut (left) repurposed a reception hall into an office. Today, Darülaceze’s church and
synagogue are closed.
shakes his head. “He doesn’t
want to talk about it,” says
one of the workshop staffers.
At Darülaceze, the idea is that
people like Dominiki Dede and
the reticent gentleman in the
pottery workshop should not
have a lot of time to brood.
Five days a week, they can
work at looms or in the other
workshops. “People who work
are happier and healthier,” says
Hava Gürak, who directs the
workshop department.
The socks and blankets
made in the workshops are not
a rich source of income for the
home, but fortunately the home
is not financially dependent on
the sale of household goods, explains director Bulut. Darülaceze is financed almost entirely by
donations, and recently those
have been generous. A look at
the accounts after the Islamic
Festival of Sacrifice in November 2011 showed an amazing
result: “Donations were two
to three times higher than the
year before,” says Bulut with a
smile. Asked what that might
be due to, the deputy mayor gestures widely with his arms as
if he wanted to call as a witness
the heavy traffic on the ring
road outside the gate. “Turkey
is booming, business is up. And
when people have more, they
donate more.”
This makes Bulut confident
about the future. “As far as
I’m concerned, it can stay this
way,” he says. A few years ago
he visited a retirement home in
the USA. The residents made
an apathetic impression, which
shocked him deeply. “I could
only stand it there for five
minutes,” he says.
Of course, suffering and
death are part of everyday
life at Darülaceze too. Just
yesterday, he says, four people
died. But what counts for Bulut
is the modest happiness of the
residents during their time at
Darülaceze, and the peace,
acceptance, and quiet they can
find here. “It’s human here. Just
look at the people’s faces.”
Author
THOMAS SEIBERT
PEOPLE SOCIETY
WHAT WE CARE ABOUT. THE MAGAZINE OF THE HARTMANN GROUP
A CHANGING PLANET
a challenge for health systems
The demographic shift is a worldwide phenomenon.
The metamorphosis of society is unstoppable, but it
offers many opportunities too.
Easter Sunday in Heidenheim with the Huber
family. The mild spring sun bathes the patio in
soft light; the smell of freshly made cheesecake is
in the air. Anton Huber, 101, sits at the table
and watches his grandchildren and great-grandchildren play on the lawn. Anton’s eldest son
Friedrich, 69, speaks sadly of his last workday
as managing director of a well-established,
medium-size company. “I just can’t imagine my
life completely without work.” His wife AnneMarie, 15 years his junior, rolls her eyes. “Don’t
worry, I can find plenty for you to do if you get
bored.” She runs a flourishing service company
that handles daily chores and runs errands for
old people.
This is how a typical German family might
well celebrate this Christian holiday in 2107.
Four generations at one table won’t be as unusual as it is today. The Danish Aging Research
Center at the University of Southern Denmark
projects that every second baby born in 2007
in Germany will live to be 102. Those born in
Japan stand a good chance of seeing their 107th
birthday.
Within the next 50 years, society will change
dramatically in many parts of the world. By
2060, around one-third of the German population will be of retirement age, and the number
of people who are older than 85 will have risen
to nine percent. Other European countries will
share a similar fate. Italy and Hungary are
also already suffering the effects of ever fewer
citizens of working age, and China is heading
towards the same scenario. Meanwhile, in countries like India and Brazil, a large proportion of
the population is aged 14 or younger.
LIVING LONGER – BUT NOT EVERYWHERE
The numbers prove it – there is no such thing as
a single demographic shift. On each continent,
and in each country, it has a different face.
Three central factors influence it: birthrate,
life expectancy, and migration. The way these
factors play out differs greatly from country to
country, as do government policies. At one end
of the scale, China implemented its famous onechild policy to stop population growth, while at
the other end, countries like Norway massively
subsidize child care to encourage more people
to start families. In Western Europe, there is no
consensus on what encourages higher birthrates:
Financial aid for young families? Or improving
child care infrastructure, as has worked for
France and the Scandinavian countries?
In the developed countries, life expectancy
rises unabated, and the average citizen of the
EU-27 countries lives about 80 years. But the
sad truth is also that Africans die very young;
in Lesotho on average at age 45. The reasons
for higher life expectancies in Europe are better
medical care and hygiene, healthier nutrition,
and better working conditions.
Migration can partially compensate for an
aging population, and the USA shows how it’s
done, attracting highly qualified workers primarily from India. Sweden, Russia, the UK, and
Ireland also promote immigration of qualified
workers.
RETIRING LATER
In Germany, people will notice the demographic
shift in daily life. Germans are getting older in
general, but many are remaining healthy and
active for longer. For some, working life and retired life will be equally long, but this will strain
the intergenerational contract. Through 2031,
the German government will gradually raise the
retirement age to 67, to keep the system running.
Other European countries like the UK will also
ask their citizens to work longer. However, for
this to function the working conditions for old
people will have to be improved. At present, too
many are forced into early retirement against
their will – many employers consider them “too
old, too inflexible, too expensive.”
And not everyone stays fit into old age. The
number of people requiring care in Germany
increased by 16 percent between 1999 and 2009,
to 2.34 million, according to the BARMER GEK
2011 care report. It is still not clear who is going
to pay for the costs of senior care in the future.
While in the past it was often the daughters
who took care of their parents, nowadays more
and more women work until they retire. What’s
more, the market wants workers to be mobile,
so while the parents might live in Chemnitz, the
son works in Cologne, and can’t just fetch their
groceries on his way back from work, much less
care for his ailing mother at home.
“The concept of care will have to be redefined,” says Raimund Koch, who heads the
PAUL HARTMANN AG health policy department in Berlin. “Often, it’s the little things in
day-to-day life that old people need help with,”
he says. Here he sees an opportunity for innovative services, such as the Visiting Angels home
care service offered in the USA.
49
HOLISTIC THINKING
Will more and older seniors drive health costs
sky-high? Opinions differ. Adherents of the
medicalization theory say that costs per insured
individual rise with increasing age, as illnesses
become more frequent. Adherents of the compression theory say that costs will be the same
despite longer life expectancy – they just come
later. According to this theory, health expenses
jump up only shortly before death. “Regardless
of which theory you believe in, patient care
across sector boundaries is necessary in the
interests of patients and the public budget. GPs,
specialists, hospitals, physiotherapists, and
pharmacists need to work in networks,” according to Raimund Koch. “Care managers” with
access to patient files could help, by coordinating
inpatient treatment, rehab, and medication.
This model is already in use in the Netherlands.
Koch: “The idea is to keep quality of life as high
as possible for as long as possible, while keeping
an eye on health costs.” Perhaps by 2107, people
in Germany will long have been benefiting from
similar care management.
Author
SEPIDEH HONARBACHT
AGE ST RU CT U RE I N GERMA N Y
In thousands
Men 1950
400 200
2000
10 0
90
80
0
Women
2050
10 0
90
80
10 0
90
80
70
70
70
60
60
60
50
50
50
40
40
40
30
30
30
20
20
20
10
10
10
0
0
0
200 400
— s o u r c e Federal Statistical Office of Germany
400 200
0
0
0
200 400
400 200
0
0
200 400
PEOPLE SOCIETY
WHAT WE CARE ABOUT. THE MAGAZINE OF THE HARTMANN GROUP
CONFIDENT AND COMPETENT
facts and figures on the social significance of the elderly
THE SECOND-MOST IMPORTANT PEOPLE ON EARTH
How grandparents help their children’s families.
in %
Our ancestors knew that with age comes wisdom. In earlier times,
old people were shown special respect and honored as advisers, bearers
of traditions, mediators, or healers. But that changed. In the 20th
century, the elderly were subordinated to the youth obsession. They
were no longer thought necessary. Today, seniors are once again more
self-confident. Especially the young seniors between 60 and 70 are
satisfied with their lives and feel accepted by society.
38
MACAU
H O N G KO N G
I TALY
U G AN DA
N I G ER
35
80
RUN
ERRANDS
83 yrs
84
78
82 yrs
JAPAN
SWI TZ E R L A N D
83
63
80 yrs
L UXE M B O U RG
75
46
69 yrs
45
46 yrs
RU S S I A
ZI MBABW E
44
27
44
HELP IN
THE HOME
44 yrs
16
YO U NG MAL I
The classic age pyramid has changed greatly everywhere (status of 2010).
0–14 years
15–64 years
≥65 years
in %
C HI N A* 37
2,857
1,224
— S O U R CE
* Federal Statistical Office of Germany, care statistics for 2001,
2005, 2009
** DRV (German statutory pension insurance scheme);
Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS)
DO THINGS
TOGETHER WITH
GRANDCHILDREN
23
29
under 15 years
20
05
02
72
65
66
64
51
16
EUROPE
19
18
13
31
47
— S OU R C E World Bank, World Development Indicators, September 2011, *Does not total 100 percent due to rounding
INDIA
M AL I
over 64 years
7.0
40–49 yrs
12.9 8 0 .7
6.4
50–59 yrs
7 5 .3
15.6
9.1
60–69 yrs
8 1 .1
14.3
4.6
7 0 + y rs
8 1 .4
13.9
4.8
P OS I TI V E I M AG E O F T H E E L D E R LY
Would you agree that old people are a burden
on society?
in %
I STRONGLY
3 AGREEE
I SOMEWHAT
9 AGREE
4
26
17
GE RM ANY *
11.2
30–39 yrs
7 9 .7
7.0
AFRICA
08
FRA NCE 9.8
20–29 yrs
9.0 7 9 .9
2 5 I SOMEWHAT
DISAGREE
7
ASIA
HELP GRANDCHILDREN
WITH HOMEWORK 9
32
16–19 yrs
4.9 85.4
Socio-Economic Panel 2008
41
TAKE GRANDCHILDREN
ON VACATION
HEA LT H Y S E L F -I M AG E
Four-fifths of Germans over 60 consider themselves middle
class. More very young and very old people consider themselves underprivileged.
in %
lower
middle
upper
— S O UR C E SOEP, TNS Infratest Sozialforschung,
DEMOGRA P HI C C HA N GE –
N OW HERE T HE SA ME
In 2011, almost half the people in Africa were under 15.
in %
20
46
— S O U R CE destatis, press release 2/21/2011
19
NORTH AMERICA
kofi atta annan –
un secretary-general from 1997 to 2006
1.07 million are cared for at home by family members
555,000 are cared for at home by outpatient services
717,000 live full-time in retirement homes
HELP
FINANCIALLY
In Africa, a library
it is said vanishes.
that when
an old
man dies,
2,705
CA RE AT HOME
Most elder care in Germany is provided at people’s own
homes.
Total number of people requiring care: 2.34 million
(Dec. 2009)
AF G H AN I S TA N
— S OU R C E DSW Datenreport 2011
BE THE PERSON
GRANDCHILDREN
CAN TURN TO
31
AF G HA NI STA N AT T H E B OTTO M
The more conflict-ridden the region, the lower the average life expectancy.
men
women
in years
86
2,523
1,111
2005
0. 9
1.0
1999
2009
— S OU R C E CIA – The World Factbook 2011
80
53
unbroken employment and corresponding contributions
(West Germany).**
1,176
TAKE GRANDCHILDREN SO
PARENTS HAVE TIME
FOR THEMSELVES
1.4
6. 7
Costs in euros for a place in a retirement home with care level III*
Statutory pension in Germany in euros, assuming 45 years of
TAKE CARE OF
THE GRANDCHILDREN
WHEN PARENTS
ARE AWAY
AF RI CA I S GR O W IN G B Y L E A P S AND B OUND S
2.1 children per woman is the magic number. At this birth rate, each generation replaces itself and population remains stable.
number of births per woman in 2011
7. 6
U N A FFORDA BLE
In Germany, a place in a retirement home with care level III
is beyond the means of a person with a standard pension.
in euros
NO HELP
13
16
27
6 4 I STRONGLY
DISAGREE
8
WORLD
— S O U R CE
IfD Allensbach, Vorwerk Familienstudie 2009
51
— S O U R CE
DSW (Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevölkerung) Datenreport 2011
— S O UR C E
1 NO
INFORMATION
Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion,
European Commission 2009; respondents: Germans 15 and older
PEOPLE SOCIETY
WHAT WE CARE ABOUT. THE MAGAZINE OF THE HARTMANN GROUP
FROM CINDERELLA
TO PRINCESS
urban concepts for aging cities
Görlitz in Germany has a reputation as a stronghold of seniors.
How do the locals deal with it? A look at a city that is turning
a weakness into a strength.
A COMMON SIGHT
In Görlitz, over a third of the
population is over 60, and that
proportion is rising. Old people
are part of everyday life in this
city steeped in history.
Tinko Fritsche-Treffkorn drums
his fingers on the steering
wheel, as before him a compact
car slowly crawls down the
street. “There’s your demographic shift right in front of
us,” says Fritsche-Treffkorn
with a sigh. And indeed, the
gray-haired gentleman in front
could speed up a little. No
question – Görlitz has a higher
proportion of elderly inhabitants than other cities, and some
of them prefer to take their
time. More than a third of city
residents are over sixty. There
are buildings and entire streets
where only seniors live.
And yet, this small city in
the farthest eastern corner of
Germany is also a good place
to live for young dads like
Fritsche-Treffkorn. An education administrator, he moved
here while still a student. Now
he and his wife have three
small children who spend the
day at a forest daycare center
on the edge of town. All day
long they roam through woods,
over hills, across fields, and
along creeks. Fritsche-Treffkorn
parks the car and steps through
the mud to pick them up.
“Daddyyyyy!” Greta, Merle,
and Tadeusz leap into his arms,
and they all get in the car. The
two girls hop out at the music
school in the historic center.
Tinko and Tadeusz stroll to the
river. On an old granary near
the Altstadtbrücke bridge is the
modernistic relief of an artist.
Underneath flows the river
Neisse. Fritsche-Treffkorn likes
it in Görlitz.
FACADES AND SUBSTANCE
At the downtown open-air
market the merchants have
spread out their wares. You
can get pork chops and Polish
pierogies, combs, cooking
spoons, wax tablecloths. The
gables of the historic city gleam
in the sun. Nowhere else is
historical structural substance
better preserved than here.
Görlitz in Germany’s state
of Saxony is Europe’s largest
cultural heritage area. This
makes the city attractive not
only to the film industry – movies like “Goethe,” “Measuring
“YOU CAN GO THERE FOR
VACATION”
Irmgard and Erich Suchan
have set a lovely table, with
porcelain dishes on embroidery,
cookies, and coffee. Mrs.
Suchan switches on the artificial fireplace and sinks down
into the leather sofa. “We’ve
never had an apartment this
nice and big.” Mr. Suchan
nods. A 39-square-meter living
— BRIDGING COUNTRIES Today, Görlitz and Zgorzelec are linked by three bridges.
the World,” and “The Reader”
were shot here – but also to
seniors. Each year another several hundred of them move to
the city, a phenomenon which
has brought it the nickname
“Pensionopolis.” This is nothing new; a century ago, Görlitz’
beautiful villas attracted rich
Berlin retirees. Today, they
come from everywhere, and
no longer need to be wealthy.
Rents are low, and food is inexpensive. If you need to pinch
pennies you can cross the river
to Zgorzelec and do your shopping in Poland, or have lunch
there for three or four euros.
Later, when their strength fades,
some seniors hire a Polish nurse
for an affordable sum.
room, stucco ornamentation, a
view of the historic city. Not to
mention an elevator, balcony,
and bathroom without thresholds, a big help for 74-year-old
Erich Suchan, who can’t get
around like he used to since
getting cancer.
He remembers well relatives’ derisive reactions to their
2007 move from Wittenberg
to Görlitz: “You’re out of your
minds. You can go there for
vacation!” “Now every day’s
a vacation,” says Mr. Suchan.
He and his wife enjoy the parks
and trees in the city, the short
distances, the architectural
variety – Jugendstil, the German variant of Art Nouveau;
Renaissance; and Gothic
architecture. “For weeks we
53
PEOPLE SOCIETY
WHAT WE CARE ABOUT. THE MAGAZINE OF THE HARTMANN GROUP
advertising. It’s too one-sided
and too hackneyed. Instead, he
wants to promote a dialog between the generations. “That’s
in the natural interest of a city.”
How else is Görlitz to remain
viable in the future?
— WINTER WONDERLAND
The Fritsche-Treffkorns like living
in Görlitz. Tinko came here to
study. Now that he has kids, he’s
gained a heightened appreciation
for the area’s closeness to nature.
15 years ago he accepted a job
as director of the local music
theater. “In 1989, most of the
windows were nailed shut, and
the few people who lived downtown were mockingly called
“old-town rats.” After the
reunification of Germany, the
population of Görlitz shrank
from 80,000 to 55,000. Today,
there are still a good 9,000
empty apartments in the city.
“But now it’s turning around,”
says Wieler.
In other words, things are
getting better again. This city
on the border to Poland got
THINGS ARE GETTING BETTER
some attention two years ago
AGAIN
when it applied for European
Mayor Dr. Michael Wieler is
glad for every resident, whether Capital of Culture status and
elderly new arrivals like the Su- made it to the final round.
chans or young families like the Culturally, it definitely has
a lot to offer, with theaters,
Fritsche-Treffkorns. “We need
opera, concerts, museums, and
a healthy mix of young and
a university. Cinderella has
old,” he says. Himself 47, he
turned into a princess again,
is responsible for Seniors and
and the birthrate is rising. In
Youth in city administration.
2008, for the first time more
He too came here from somewhere else, from the Rhineland. people moved in than moved
had stiff necks from craning
them all the time.” And finally,
after years in Wittenberg and in
Hagen in the west of Germany,
Irmgard and Erich Suchan are
only 280 kilometers from their
old home region of Upper Silesia, now a part of Poland. The
regularly get together in the
Görlitz church with brothers
and sisters from the Catholic
church in Zgorzelec, to pray
and sing German and Polish
songs. “It doesn’t get better
than this.”
out, thanks to the newcomers.
Wieler notes, “We’re more attractive again for everybody.”
MUCH MORE THAN JUST
A RETIREE TOWN
An important reason for this
is that the city has taken steps
to cope with the demographic
shift. It’s experimenting with
new models for living, renovating apartments to be age-appropriate, and advertising free
“test living” for newcomers.
The rich club life of the city
benefits from the seniors, who
have founded a men’s singing
club, a shanty choir, a diving
club, and an amateur filmmaker club. In the Neissegalerie
at Obermarkt, old and new
residents meet to see presentations or enjoy a beer.
Wieler knows well what a
contribution the seniors make.
“They’re involved citizens who
get things done.” Yet, for a
long time now he hasn’t used
the “retiree town” moniker in
MULTIGENERATIONAL HOUSES IN
WILHELMINIAN ARCHITECTURE
For example, there’s the multigenerational housing complex
where the Suchans live. In these
renovated buildings, young and
old live side by side. On the
ground floor is a physiotherapist, a doctor’s office, and a
comfortable reading room.
Next door is a fitness studio,
and a daycare center is coming
soon. A service office organizes
barbecues, outings, visits to
the hairdresser, and children’s
birthday parties. Across the
street, a modern rest home
is being built for people who
can no longer manage without
permanent help. “And it’s all
just two minutes by walker
from the city center,” stresses
architect Wolfgang Kück.
Time will tell whether
the intergenerational idea
catches on the way the planners
intended. The first two multigenerational living projects in
Görlitz were only completed
in 2010. An entire district of
Wilhelminian-style buildings
is planned near the town hall.
At any rate, the older residents
seem motivated to do something for the younger. Last September, for example, a senior
expert team came into being, in
which former trade unionists,
managers, and authors advise
the younger generation with
professional know-how.
DIALOG ON DISPLACEMENT
AND EXPULSION
One of the people in Görlitz
who want to encourage the
dialog between young and old
is Erika Steinert, professor
for social work at the Zittau/
Görlitz University of Applied
Sciences. “We need to use
the resources of the elderly
much more, including across
borders,” she explains. She has
started an association for the
purpose of cross-border social
work networking, “Grenzüberschreitende Vernetzung Sozialer
Arbeit e.V.” or GÜSA for short.
The association organizes a
conversation café, in which
young and old discuss GermanPolish history, ethnic displacement and expulsion, and today
and yesterday. Steinert has also
founded a mentoring program
through the association, in
which educated seniors help
disadvantaged youths with
school and work. “Old people
want to help and continue
learning too,” says Steinert. In
fact, it’s the seniors who stand
in line to attend the lectures of
the cross-border Dreiländerakademie (three-country academy)
at the University.
THE EASTERN EUROPEAN
MARKET ON THE DOORSTEP
Yet it would be wrong to reduce
Görlitz to senior activities and
intercultural dialog projects, if
you ask Heiko Kammler, chairman of the entrepreneurs’ association in Görlitz. “We need
a productive economy so that
money from outside comes in.”
The region’s largest employers
are train builder Bombardier,
Siemens’ turbine division,
— MOVED IN Irmgard and Erich Suchan moved to Görlitz from Wittenberg in 2007. They enjoy living in their apartment, with its stucco
ornamentation and view of the historic center – and they like living close to their childhood homes in Upper Silesia.
55
PEOPLE SOCIETY
WHAT WE CARE ABOUT. THE MAGAZINE OF THE HARTMANN GROUP
WHAT DOES AN AGING CITY
NEED?
The old people themselves are
a major economic factor for
the region. The health sector is
booming, of course, but there
is also demand for innovative service oriented towards
seniors’ needs. One example is
the Salomonstraße multigenerational market, where large
magnifying glasses hang on the
shelves. The aisles are designed
so that wheelchairs, walkers,
and strollers can pass easily.
There are roomy customer
toilets and rest areas with
free water. Shoppers needing
assistance can press one of the
big red service buttons to call
for staff.
Gisela Thiele, professor
of gerontology at the Zittau/
Görlitz University of Applied
Sciences, came up with the idea
ten years ago. She’s convinced
that “we need to finally start
thinking more about what an
aging city needs.” What’s especially important for her is the
future of senior care. “Older
people are much more assertive
and self-assured than they once
were. You can see it in the more
contemporary way they dress,”
says Thiele. “Today’s seniors,
and tomorrow’s even more so,
have entirely different expectations of care and living. They
want to live more independently, even in retirement homes.
Standard nursing training alone
isn’t enough anymore.”
Accordingly, in 2010, her
university was one of the first
in the country to offer a parttime master’s degree program
in social gerontology to train
the old-age specialists of
tomorrow. The program offers
excellent career prospects, and
makes studying in Görlitz even
more attractive.
Tinko Fritsche-Treffkorn,
the young father, is also focusing his education facility on
senior care as a growth industry. To meet the rapidly growing demand, he is developing a
concept for cross-border senior
care training.
group through the streets.
The doors of the music school
fly open. Greta, Merle, and
Tadeusz play tag around the
big tree in front of the entrance.
Tinko Fritsche-Treffkorn
laughs. No, he doesn’t
regret the move to Görlitz.
“Chodźcie,” he calls to his
children. “Come along!” He
likes to sprinkle his speech with
Polish words, and he wants
the kids to be at home in both
languages. Many of his friends
are Polish. You often come into
contact with Poles, at work,
when shopping, at playgrounds.
“German and Polish culture –
I think that’s what makes
Görlitz so attractive, for young
and old.”
LOTS OF POLISH FRIENDS
Darkness falls over Görlitz.
A man dressed up as a medieval
executioner leads a tourist
— OPTIMISTIC
Mayor Dr. Michael Wieler wants
a healthy mix of young and old
in his city. Offerings like the
multigenerational market are
intended to make shopping easy
for older age groups.
and ceramic industry supplier
BMS. Call centers have also
moved in, and Apple’s hotline
is located in the Wilhelminian
part of downtown on Postplatz.
The city also attracts IT entrepreneurs, people like Heiko
Kammler.
Kammler opened his software development company
almost 20 years ago in the old
suitcase factory on Melanchthonstraße. He had returned
to his old home town from
Magdeburg with a couple of
university buddies and a head
full of software ideas. Cheap
rent and the Eastern European
market on the doorstep made
a good case for Görlitz. Today,
at 41, he has 30 employees and
a flourishing business called
Infotech. It’s not easy to get
new talent, says Kammler, even
though the companies have a
lot to offer, with an innovative
and family-friendly company
culture, good training opportunities, and secure jobs.
— LOOKING EAST When you’re in the Steinberg area, Poland is really close by. Back in the early 18th century, Görlitz began laying out boulevards
outside the city walls.
57
HARTMANN IN EASTERN EUROPE
Full geographic coverage
—
HARTMANN made good use of the
fall of the Iron Curtain to expand
into Eastern Europe. In 1991,
the company took its first step
eastward, in the form of a joint
venture with the formerly stateowned RICO in Czechoslovakia,
and immediately benefited from
RICO’s size and high market
recognition. HARTMANN-RICO in
the Czech Republic and Slovakia
was followed in quick succession
by subsidiaries in Hungary and
Poland. Later came subsidiaries
in Slovenia, Croatia, Romania and
Russia, so that now HARTMANN is
represented almost everywhere in
Eastern Europe. Where the
company does not have its own
office, it works with distributors.
Russia is among the regions
with the highest sales growth in
the Group and one of the fastestgrowing individual markets
within Eastern Europe. PAUL
HARTMANN OOO was founded
in Moscow in 1997, and in recent
years has had 30 percent annual
growth. HARTMANN projects
double-digit growth in the coming
years as well, and plans to focus
on building business with incontinence products. In order to be
able to manufacture close to
customers in this interesting
market, ensure reliable supply,
and reduce transportation costs,
HARTMANN is investing in a
production and logistics facility
in Russia.
Author
ANJA DILK
LIVING À LA CARTE
lifestyle and housing choices for the
elderly and frail
HAPPY TOGETHER
Cooking, celebrating, and enjoying life together
– that’s life in multigenerational residences,
where old and young live under one roof. The
old people play with the children, help them
with their homework, or accompany them to the
playground. Children learn to respect others,
and get to know an older generation’s perspective on life. Often, these residences include
doctors, physiotherapists, outpatient services,
and a kindergarten. In some multigenerational
homes, young people are there only during the
day, while the elderly live there day and night.
For example, the Generationenhaus Neubad
in Basel, Switzerland, has 74 seniors, and 50
children aged 0–11 spend the day in the home’s
daycare center. The spheres of life mingle, and
spontaneous encounters are part of the routine.
There are also scheduled joint activities like
cooking, singing, and zoo visits. Nobody is
required to take part, but many do. 1
HAPPY AMONG THEIR OWN
Seniors-only communities are especially common in the USA. Here, people in the same life
phase look for company and a life removed from
noisy kids and stressful work. For example,
the minimum age at the senior community The
Villages in Florida is 50. This gated town has
almost 80,000 residents, some 80 restaurants,
37 golf courses, two cinemas, two theaters, and
1,600 clubs. However, people in need of care
have to leave; the community is intended only
for active elders.
One of the first senior communities in Germany is the Seniorenwohnpark Am Heideweg in
Meppen, in the northwest of the country. The
purpose is not to shut out the outside world,
but to create a quiet, safe neighborhood, and a
barrier-free environment where stores are easy
to reach and help is close by when health starts
to decline. The staffers wear blue shirts that say
“Caregiver,” and, if requested, will take care
of home and yard work, help with shopping, or
assist with officialdom and paperwork. 2
HAPPY AT HOME
Assisted living makes it possible for older people
to remain independent. Age-appropriate
residences are barrier-free and offer facility
management services, emergency care, and
regular visits. Some senior living models focus
on networking in the immediate area and neighborly assistance. People who feel too alone in
a flat of their own can also join a shared living
arrangement, which offers joint use of outpatient
services. However, when health problems reach
a certain point, a comprehensive support network is called for.
Therefore, since 2006, the federal initiative
“Daheim statt Heim,” which is dedicated to
enabling people to live at home instead of in
institutions, has worked to expand the range of
outpatient services, so people needing care can
freely decide where they want to live and what
care services they use. 3
WORK
LIFE
the charming village of forgetfulness
Why people suffering from dementia
live free of fear in Hogewey.
P. 60
jobs with a future
The daily lives of health professionals,
and how they envisage their own
old age.
P. 66
staying active
From granny au-pairs to knitwear
designers: senior citizens are active
participants in voluntary work.
P. 68
a musical double act
Hans-Peter Geisel and his son Michael
talk about changes in working life.
P. 70
motivated and productive
Facts and figures on the lifestyles
of the elderly.
P. 74
walk a mile in my shoes
What does it feel like to be old? A visit
to the inventors of the Age Explorer.
P. 76
Author
ANJA DILK
1
2
3
www. mehrgenerationenhaeuser.de, www.generationenhaus-neubad.ch
www.thevillages.com, www.seniorenwohnpark-am-heideweg.de
www. pluswgs.de, www.bi-daheim.de
a golden oldie on the isle of
amrum
Columnist Helmut Ziegler paints
a poignant picture of his own
100th birthday.
P. 80
WORK LIFE
WHAT WE CARE ABOUT. THE MAGAZINE OF THE HARTMANN GROUP
THE CHARMING VILLAGE
OF FORGETFULNESS
unusual care concepts
People with dementia are housed in functional care facilities that
are the same everywhere. Everywhere? Not quite. In a small village
in the Netherlands, one facility is going its own way. Hogewey looks
like a normal community – but it’s completely different.
— INDIVIDUAL
In Hogewey, the residents decide
what lifestyle best meets their
needs. Residents with roots in
the former Dutch colony Suriname
often prefer an Indian style.
“Today I’m not going to cook,”
says Flor Bosveld. She smiles
at her husband who stands
by her side. “We’re retired,
after all. It’s great to go to the
restaurant sometimes, isn’t
it?” The elderly lady has fine
features and a very elegant
manner. The charm with which
she turned her husband’s head
all those years ago still shines
through. Today, like every day,
they meet for lunch. In the fine
restaurant “Het Restaurant
van De Hogeweyk” everything
seems perfectly normal to Mrs.
Bosveld, but it’s part of the
Hogewey care facility where
the 83-year-old Dutchwoman
lives. She has dementia.
Visitors who expect a soulless medical facility in institutional style can’t believe their
eyes in Hogewey. This care
community near Weesp east of
Amsterdam is set up like a real
village, a place where things are
still as they should be, albeit
one that is closed off from the
outside. The double door at the
entrance provides protection
– protection from not getting
lost out there in the world, and
from the painful realization
that you can’t cope anymore.
Healthy people probably
experience Hogewey as an illusion of freedom, a kind of Truman Show. But for people with
dementia, it’s a peaceful refuge
where they can move and live
freely, almost like in their former lives. So that caregivers can
optimally address their needs,
only people with this special
disease are admitted here. If all
you have are the physical symptoms of advanced age, you’re
not right for Hogewey.
LIVING LIFE AS USUAL
Dementia has become a wide-
spread illness. In aging societies like the Netherlands and
Germany, it is one of the great
challenges of the future. In the
Netherlands, the number of dementia patients will more than
double by 2050, from 240,000
today to 500,000. In Germany,
today some 1.2 million people
live with this incurable disease,
most often in the form of Alzheimer’s. “At first you hardly
notice it. It sneaks into your
brain and causes brain cells to
die off, inexorably. It erases
memories and changes personalities, and with them the patients’ environment,” explains
Isabel van Zuthem, who is
responsible for public relations
at Hogewey. Before becoming
a communication specialist,
she was trained as a nurse, so
she knows what’s important in
treating patients.
They are unable to orient
themselves in time and space.
It’s also difficult for family
members. Out of fear and an
inability to cope with them,
people with dementia are often
marginalized. It’s different at
Hogewey. “Here, we try to
give dementia sufferers the opportunity to live in a world that
resembles their old life as much
as possible,” says van Zuthem.
That goes for their personal
lifestyle as well as the ability
to stay in touch with the world
outside. “We want to bring the
outside world to Hogewey.”
A MINIATURE WORLD
The community is only about
the size of three or four soccer fields. With 152 residents,
Hogewey seems cozy enough.
The red brick houses, the street
signs, benches, and squares
are reminiscent of a movie set.
Behind the front gate lies a
boulevard. Cyclists can leave
their bikes at the square in
front of the theater. The theater
isn’t just the place where bingo
evenings are held regularly,
it’s also a venue for concerts
and performances open to all
of Weesp and the surrounding
area. “With the theater, the art
exhibits, and the restaurant,
we get so-called normal people
to come here, so they can get a
look at the residents’ world and
interact with our dementia sufferers,” explains van Zuthem
the Hogewey system.
FROM FILET OF BEEF TO KOUSEBAND BEANS
On the left and right of the
boulevard are the first of the 23
residential units. Here are the
hairdresser and the “MozartZaal,” where the residents
gather every Thursday to listen
to classical music.
Next door is the travel agency
for the local excursions that
the caregivers undertake with
the residents. At the Vijverpark
there is a little pond, which
is very popular. At the Grote
Plein with its little bridge, the
gentlemen play boule on an
ash court. There is also a giant
chessboard with pieces the size
of garden gnomes. Around the
village square are clustered the
restaurant, a cafe, and a social
room, where residents’ families
are heartily welcome.
In the supermarket next
door, residents can purchase
everything they need. “If a
customer has a special request,
we order it,” says the checkout
lady. For example, kouseband
(snake beans), a specialty from
Suriname in South America,
a former Dutch colony with
many people with Indian roots.
With the large number of im-
61
WHAT RESIDENTS WANT
Good grades for smaller
homes
—
The daily routine in retirement
homes often leaves little time
for systematically measuring the
satisfaction of residents and their
families. What is particularly important for the two groups? What
do they think of “their” home?
HARTMANN helps retirement
homes get solid answers to these
questions, and has offered special
customer satisfaction questionnaires since 2008. These clearly
structured forms are simple to
complete by marking answers on a
scale of one to six. They ask about
first impressions, atmosphere,
information, housekeeping, care,
and general satisfaction.
The research institute RWI
(Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut
für Wirtschaftsforschung) in
Essen evaluated the results of the
HARTMANN Home Customer
Survey in 2009/2010. A total of
6,108 people in 46 care facilities
took part in the survey, including
2,062 residents, 2,311 family
members, and 1,735 employees.
One thing the survey found was
that expensive is not necessarily better – there were no real
differences in the results for
inexpensive and expensive homes.
Smaller homes did considerably
better than large ones. The facilities built or completely renovated
since the year 2000 also got better
ratings. Differences in ownership
was another criterion that mattered – homes that were recently
privatized got worse ratings.
—
s urvey
www.rwi-essen.de/forschung-undberatung/gesundheit/projekte/161/
WORK LIFE
WHAT WE CARE ABOUT. THE MAGAZINE OF THE HARTMANN GROUP
and at ease,” explains Dennis
Groot, social pedagogue and
nurse. He looks after six residents in an “upscale” house.
He feels like the familiarity
of the surroundings can help
reduce or even prevent worry
and fear on the part of the residents. Family members and the
patient together decide on the
style the resident will live in.
GETTING UP ON THEIR OWN
SCHEDULE
“My residents are very concerned with manners, and prefer
to be addressed formally,” says
Groot of the atmosphere in
his house, where he takes care
of five women and one man
between 61 and 94. Before
coming to Hogewey, Groot
spent two years working in
a traditional care facility for
dementia patients. He likes his
new workplace much better
because the people can lead
their own lives, and he enjoys
his work more as well.
Wake them, wash them,
dress them, everything as fast
as possible – that was life in
the home where he used to
work. “I used to have to take
care of many more people.
By 10 a.m. I had managed to
shower one person at most,
and barely gotten the others
dressed. In Hogewey everybody
gets up when they want to, so
there’s time for everybody to
get a shower every day, without
rushing.”
LIVING IN THE MOMENT
Dennis Groot takes his charges
shopping, goes to the village
theater with them, and takes
— FRIENDSHIPS
Six or seven people live in each
residential unit. Often they make
new friends. Pets are encouraged
in Hogewey – they are beneficial
for people with dementia.
migrants from Suriname in the
Netherlands, it’s no surprise
that several Hogewey residents
are also from there, and have
a liking for the long beans.
Residents with other shopping
wishes can take the wheelchair
bus into Weesp for the Tuesday
market, accompanied by caregivers. “Our residents get lots
of fresh air,” says van Zuthem.
Much more than usual in fact,
as she explains: “On average,
dementia sufferers in a traditional Dutch facility spend a
total of one and a half minutes
per day outside.” In Hogewey,
with its squares and gardens,
its flower beds, fruit trees, and
potted plants, residents go out-
side several times a day, even
in the most inclement weather.
Van Zuthem: “Here, they don’t
just see the rain, they can also
feel it. Contact with the forces
of nature keeps them lively.
That makes all of us who work
here in Hogewey very happy.”
SEVEN LIFESTYLES TO
CHOOSE FROM
In daytime and nighttime
shifts, four doctors and 240
staffers take care of residents
– four per apartment. Each
apartment has a front door
with a bell. Generally, each
apartment has two halls with
three bedrooms. On average,
six or seven residents share a
residential unit. A permanently
assigned staff member comes
by each day to get everything
into order.
So that residents can really
feel like they are in their accustomed life, pets are allowed.
But what’s really special is that
Hogewey offers dementia sufferers seven different lifestyles.
They differ not only in the
character of the furnishings,
but also in the culture of the
interactions. The choices are
“urban,” “domestic,” “cultural,” “upscale,” “blue-collar,”
“Christian,” and “Indian,”
for people from Indonesia and
Suriname. “Familiar surroundings help residents feel secure
— SIGNS OF LIFE For each resident, the Hogewey caregivers make a memory scrapbook with biographical photos and text.
63
WORK LIFE
WHAT WE CARE ABOUT. THE MAGAZINE OF THE HARTMANN GROUP
them on excursions. “We laugh
a lot. Of course, once in a while
somebody will realize where
they are and what’s happened
to them. Then they’ll get sad,”
he says. “But then they forget
again. They live in the moment,
and most of those moments
are not unhappy, I’m sure.”
Hogewey, in his opinion, is
the ideal place for people with
dementia. If the disease should
befall him one day, this is the
only facility he would want to
be in.
Like all of the caregivers
in Hogewey, Groot regularly
takes further training courses.
It’s important not just to know
how to treat the residents, but
also how to talk to their families. “Every six months, I have
a so-called life plan discussion
with them. We talk about how
the patient is doing, and if we
need to change anything.” Occasionally, for example, it can
be advisable to move a person
to another residence if there are
conflicts at their current one.
EMPRESS LIZ EATS SOUP
A visit at one of the community’s two “Indian” residences.
Here, everybody calls each
other “Tante” (aunt) or “Oom”
(uncle), the atmosphere is
relaxed. Aunt Berta from
Suriname sits at the dining
table. She’s picky, says her
caregiver Wendy and whistles
inaudibly for emphasis. Next
to Berta, Uncle Rudi and Uncle
Fritz from Indonesia watch TV.
The oldest in the room is Aunt
Daisy, who is over 90. Right
now she’s taking a nap in her
chair. The smell of herbs and
spices wafts from the open-plan
kitchen.
“The cooking is the
most important thing for my
The costs for care are covered
mostly by statutory health
care, which pays 165 euros a
day for each resident. But that
isn’t enough. Residents and
their families make donations,
businesses sponsor the facility,
and there is the foundation
“Vrienden van Hogewey”
(friends of Hogewey). The commitment of the many volunteer
staffers is also indispensable.
Yet the high level of effort
the Hogewey system involves
doesn’t seem to frighten people
away. Public relations director
Isabel van Zuthem can barely
keep up with all the requests
from other countries. Many
municipalities and facility
operators, for example from
Germany, are interested in the
concept. In Switzerland, investors plan to set up a village
FALL IN LOVE AND FORGET
based on the model.
For caregiver Dennis Groot,
The elegant old lady, Flor
Hogewey is a very emotional
place. “Here you can build real Bosveld, has finished luncheon
with her husband. Now she’s
relationships. I’m attached to
the people,” he says. Each resi- back in her apartment. She
hasn’t even noticed yet that
dent has a memory scrapbook
with old photos and text items. Mr. Bosveld has left for home.
He too is an impressive sight, a
“We look at the scrapbooks
refined gentleman of 85, with a
together and talk about them.
full head of gray hair and disMany of our patients have
tinctive features. Bosveld walks
really interesting life stories,
traveled the world, or had excit- slowly, very slowly towards the
double gate. He needs a walker
ing professions.” When one of
and moves with difficulty. His
his patients died some months
face betrays a slight regret. He
ago, it really got to him.
misses living under the same
But death is as much a
roof with his charming wife
part of life at Hogewey as it is
because he can’t stay here in
anywhere else. And so is love.
Having dementia doesn’t mean Hogewey overnight. Unless he
you can’t fall head over heels in too gets dementia one day.
love. For a few moments, at any
rate. But most of the residents
soon forget what all the fuss
was about.
Hogewey works under the
same legal structures as other
care facilities in the Netherlands. But quality has its price.
65
residents,” says Wendy, looking
over at Aunt Liz, an Asian.
She’s eating soup. “That’s Liz
as in Empress Elizabeth,” explains Aunt Liz with a serious
expression, and lifts the spoon
from the bowl. Then she says:
“Soup is good, it gives me a fat
rear end.” Everybody laughs,
the mood is cheerful.
To keep it that way, residents don’t just get food that
appeals to their tastes, but also
plenty of exercise. The other
Indian residence at Hogewey
was purposely placed at the
other end of the village. The
“Indians” are known to be
particularly fond of getting out
and about, and this gives them
a distance to walk when they
want to visit each other.
— SATISFACTION
The residents of the home live in
the moment. They usually forget
what they experience a few minutes later. But they still enjoy life.
Thanks to attentive, affectionate
care, they seldom experience fear,
and easily find their bearings.
Author
MARTIN ROOS
WORK LIFE
WHAT WE CARE ABOUT. THE MAGAZINE OF THE HARTMANN GROUP
67
JOBS WITH A FUTURE
health professionals talk about their work
STEFAN STRÖTGES, 46: THE LISTENER
For nine years I’ve been a specialist caregiver
for gerontopsychiatry at the LVR clinic in
Mönchengladbach, Germany. At our gerontopsychiatric outpatient office I treat 30 to 50
patients a day. I’m also in charge of counseling
services for friends and family of psychiatric
patients, who often suffer from the changed behavior of their loved ones, 80 percent of whom
have dementia.
What motivates me? When a family member
tells me that I’m the first person to really listen
to them. Often it’s little things that make life
as chief consultant. We develop guidelines for
elder care in the city, and are responsible for
assigning private care providers for outpatient
services. We also inspect the quality of care provided by facilities and outpatient services.
I hope that by doing what I do, I can have
a positive effect on eldercare. Last fall, there
were a couple of scandals involving private care
providers, which rekindled the discussion on
adequate senior care. We need an open dialog
on how much responsibility municipalities take,
and to what extent people need to provide for
their own old age.
job descriptions together with managers, and I
work with the executive management to introduce new structures. Of course I also monitor
whether we comply with all standards, so that
for example nurses or patients don’t bring multiresistant germs like MRSA from the hospital
into the home and cause dangerous infections.
I’m always happy when I can see the tangible
benefits of what I do, like when older employees
have an easier time because we brought in lifting
aids. Or when we can reduce risks for residents
so that they get fewer bedsores and have fewer
falls because we’re at the latest medical and care
Right now, I’m working at the ASB Begegnungs- und Pflegezentrum care center in Herne,
helping residents with their daily activities. For
example, I help them get up, wash, dress, and
accompany them to the toilet. Apart from that,
I work on practical assignments for my classes. I
practice changing dressings, positioning patients
properly, and making injections. I enjoy putting
the theory I learn into practice.
The degree program is new, and a few things
could stand to be improved. For example, I wish
the practical instructor in Herne had more time
for me, but there is just an unbelievable amount
easier. For example, I recommend having a
nurse administer medication if the patient has a
tendency to spit out tablets. Or I arrange for a
dementia attendant to look after the patient for
a few hours so the daughter can go into town.
Often people don’t even know that such options
exist. We also do a lot of house calls. This
means that the patients don’t have to leave their
accustomed surroundings, which is much less
stressful for family members.
What I want for the future? Pets paid for by
health insurance. Then a lot of elderly people
wouldn’t be so lonely. Also, children should
be taught in school how to deal properly with
persons who have dementia.
Myself, later on I’d like to move to a huge
farm with a lot of friends, ideally with several
generations, so we could all help each other.
What helps me in my decision-making? I
used to work as a geriatric nurse assistant and
got a degree in sociology. After that, I held management positions in retirement homes for ten
years. This experience is very helpful for what I
do now.
I myself hope to stay in my own four walls
for as long as possible. There are many ways to
get help, like day care. I definitely do not want
my children to take care of me – they should live
their own lives.
standards, for example by lighting living areas
better.
For the future I’d like to see us treat older
people with more respect. I think nursing training urgently needs to be reformed, and should
take place at universities.
For myself, I’d like to use many different services outside of a retirement home, for example
neighborhood help and outpatient care. When
my generation gets old, the homes simply won’t
have the capacity to house the huge number of
elderly.
of work to do in the facility. And sometimes
there are problems with colleagues who don’t
have degrees. Some think it’s great that there is
this degree program now, but others think it’s
unnecessary.
What I’m going to do when I get old? I can’t
say yet, but I definitely hope there will be more
staff in retirement homes so they have more time
for the residents.
MARITA ÅKERSTEN, 49: THE PLANNER
More and more seniors live in Stockholm. The
“Äldrenämnden,” the committee for elder issues,
is responsible for coordinating and improving
senior care. I work in committee administration
BELINDA SCHMITT, 47: THE TEAM PLAYER
As quality manager for the business unit Wohnen & Pflegen (living & care) at the Graf Recke
Foundation in Düsseldorf, I work on improving
and refining organizational structures and work
processes. For me, that’s extremely motivating.
I like to work independently, and I’m good at
motivating others as well.
My job includes a variety of tasks, and I have
a lot of leeway as to how I reach my targets. I
team up with many different people. I work with
caregivers to develop new care standards, I write
LUISA KÜPPER, 21: THE STUDENT
After my Abitur (German qualification for
university admission) I wanted to do something
practical, but also get a degree and be in contact
with people. That’s why I decided to major
in nursing at the Hochschule für Gesundheit
(hsg) university of applied sciences in Bochum,
Germany. The major lets me combine theory and
practice. Only the first and last semesters are
exclusively in the classroom; the rest are divided
into practical and theoretical blocks.
Author
BRIGITTE LOHMANNS
WORK LIFE
WHAT WE CARE ABOUT. THE MAGAZINE OF THE HARTMANN GROUP
69
STAYING ACTIVE
a helping hand from seniors
SILVER DESIGN
Want to work as a freelance designer in your old age? Projects
like the Senior Design Factory
in Zurich, Switzerland, make
it possible. There, two young
designers, Deborah Biffi und
Benjamin Moser, have founded
a creative agency for people
over 75. Together with them,
Biffi and Moser create avantgarde knit fashions, printed
T-shirts, and cookbooks that
preserve traditional recipes for
posterity. They got the idea
from Andy Warhol’s legendary
The cliché of the elderly who either only indulge in their
hobbies alone or need constant care is simply wrong.
Almost everywhere in the world, older people do more
than their share of community work. Let’s take a look
at the many ways seniors help out.
COOPERATIVE PENSIONERS
First give help, then get it from
others – that’s the idea behind
senior cooperatives. Retirees
who are still spry bring frailer
ones meals, help them with
morning grooming, or drive
them to the doctor. In return
they get time credits, which
they can one day redeem for
similar services when they
need them, or a small hourly
wage. In German towns such
as Riedlingen at the foot of
the Swabian Alps or Staufen
in the southern Black Forest,
these cooperatives have been
TALK ABOUT OLD TIMES
Old people have seen a lot –
and a lot of it would be lost forever if they didn’t tell their stories. That’s the idea behind the
international Memoro project.
The Internet portal started by
four Italians acts as a kind of
archive of verbally transmitted
history. It invites anyone born
before 1950 to talk about their
life in audio and video clips.
Old couples reminisce about
that first kiss, world travelers
tell tales of exciting journeys,
war veterans talk about traumatic times, moonshiners laugh
about batches that went wrong.
Celebrities are also represented,
like infamous ex-hippie Rainer
Langhans and author Andrea
in existence for almost 20
years. This organized form
of neighborly assistance helps
old people stay in their own
four walls for as long as possible. Meanwhile, the helpers
get extra income and save up
credits for their own advanced
old age. The model is catching
on in other places, because it’s
cheap and simple to implement.
Now there are more than 50
such senior cooperatives in
Germany.
www.martin-riedlingen.de
Camilleri. Bavarians seem to
have more to say than most,
since they post more entries
than people in any other German state.
www.memoro.org
HELPING ALL OVER EUROPE
For many students, it’s customary to spend a couple of months
doing things like restoring
churches in the south of France,
or taking care of threatened
tortoises in Greece. Less well
known is the fact that many
programs for volunteer work
abroad are also open to seniors.
The international Senior European Volunteer Exchange Network (SeVen), which includes
29 European organizations,
seeks to promote this kind of
project, matching up people
with volunteer spots in refugee
Silver Factory in New York
in the 1970s, but in Zurich,
instead of art and commerce,
it’s old and young that meet
here. Participants get either a
share of the proceeds from sales
or can contribute it to the Factory as a charitable association.
German start-ups like MyOma
(MyGrandma) in Fürth and
Alte Liebe (old flame) in Kassel
have a similar approach, selling
accessories made by seniors
who love to crochet.
www.senior-design.ch, www. myoma.de
camps, retirement homes,
nature protection, and other
worthy projects. Those who
prefer culture can work on volunteer theater projects, or sign
on as museum guides. Most of
the foreign stints are for two to
three weeks. Over 70 percent of
participants are women, and 40
percent of them like it so much
that they go on to do volunteer
work at home too.
www.seven-network.eu
GUARDIAN ANGEL WITH A GOLDEN NOSE
start-ups and SMEs and help
Many a former businessman
them develop new strategies.
isn’t content to spend his
Those who aren’t afraid to put
golden years just gardening
and going on bicycle tours. For some of their money in an uppeople who want to make their and-coming company can also
act as “business angels.” All it
entrepreneurial savvy availtakes is a thorough knowledge
able to the young, work as a
volunteer senior expert is ideal. of the industry, business acuAccomplished businessmen and men, ready cash, and an interest in new ideas. The German
-women advise the CEOs of
Business Angels network recognizes angels with an especially
good nose for business with the
annual Goldene Nase (golden
nose) award.
www.althilftjung.de, www.business-angels.de
Author
MYRTO-CHRISTINA
ATHANASSIOU
WORK LIFE
WHAT WE CARE ABOUT. THE MAGAZINE OF THE HARTMANN GROUP
“JUST WAIT UNTIL
YOU’RE MY AGE”
71
changes in the working world
Two generations of HARTMANN: Hans-Peter Geisel, born 1942,
and his son Michael Geisel, born 1966, talk about specialists and
generalists, children on the telephone and respecting the experience
of the elderly.
we had all of those at home. My father
was on the road quite a lot, meaning
that I often took calls from customers,
even when I was in primary school.
FATHER (grins): Michael was always
a friendly and polite young boy. Sometimes though, he’d hand me a message
that I should call the Glocken-Apotheke,
but written as he spoke, in a thick Swabian accent, so it came out “Gloggen,”
with two Gs. It was also amusing when
some Stadt-Apotheke (City Pharmacy)
left a message with him – and he
couldn’t tell me which city it was.
A January morning at the HARTMANN head office in
Heidenheim, Germany. Father and son are standing at a
bistro table in the corridor, waiting for the interview to start.
There are a few slight delays as employees come past and
wish the two a happy new year. Here a handshake, there a
quick hug – then we can start.
Hans-Peter Geisel,
you may have stopped
working here but it
doesn’t really show …
So how did you end up
at HARTMANN?
FATHER: Well, I was here for 37 years,
first as a sales rep and then finally as
National Sales Director Medical Trade.
And I’m still the choirmaster of the
HARTMANN choir. We rehearse every
two weeks.
FATHER: It was back in 1970. I was
working as a sales rep for a drug manufacturer when I got the offer. The first
thing I did was ask some of the pharmacists I knew. “Go for it,” they all
told me. “It’s a reliable and serious
company.” In addition, the Management Board back then had just started
restructuring the sales force, and I knew
they were planning to open a branch
office in Baden-Württemberg. Later, I
ended up running that. It was a formative phase in my career – I learnt about
selling and negotiating at a number of
different levels.
And later you joined
HARTMANN yourself.
Was that because your
father wanted you to?
Did you not want to
tread in your father’s
How did you experience it, Michael Geisel?
Was there a strong
HARTMANN presence
at home?
SON: I was four years old when my father started working here. I was already
too big for the Strampelpeter nappies
that HARTMANN made back then,
but the products they made for treating
kids’ scrapes and injuries ... of course,
footsteps?
SON: Not at all! Initially, I was planning for a future in tourism, because I
really wanted to work internationally.
But the possibility of starting at HARTMANN and simultaneously studying
at a university of cooperative education
finally swayed me. I had only been there
for three months when, as a part of my
training, I was moved to the foreign
sales department in early 1989. And
there it was international all the way.
Foreign languages were a prerequisite,
and soon I knew: this is the job for me.
SON: No. Him being responsible for
Germany, me being responsible for
business abroad – I found that ideal.
We didn’t even have so many points
of contact while he was still here. And
in private, we don’t talk all that much
about work either – not least to spare
the nerves of the rest of the family!
HANS-PETER GEISEL
69 years old
—
is an institution at HARTMANN.
After completing his commercial
training, he worked in various
positions, including as sales
director for a retail sales company,
before he got interested in the
health industry. In 1970, he joined
HARTMANN as a sales rep. After
stints as a sales and branch office
director, he ended his career with
the company in 2007 as National
Sales Director Medical Trade.
A lover of classical music and
enthusiastic pianist, Geisel still
heads HARTMANN’s mixed choir,
which performs at many company
events.
MICHAEL GEISEL
45 years old
—
is Regional Manager at HARTMANN for Australia, Great Britain,
Scandinavia, South Africa, and
the USA. In 1988, he began a
combined vocational training
und degree program in business
studies, and starting in 1991, he
worked in HARTMANN’s export
department, coordinating foreign
subsidiaries. Starting in 1998,
Geisel spent three-and-a-half years
in Sweden as Marketing Director
Incontinence, where he helped
establish the company’s subsidiary
there. Like his father, Michael
loves music, but as bassist in the
band HARTMANN Five he’s more
into pop than classical.
WORK LIFE
WHAT WE CARE ABOUT. THE MAGAZINE OF THE HARTMANN GROUP
How has HARTMANN
changed over the years
since you both have
known the company?
In what way?
What about the
demands made on
the employees – how
have they changed
over the years?
FATHER: At the beginning of the
seventies, my colleagues and I were still
joking about how old-fashioned the firm
was in some ways. But that changed
quickly. With the expansion came a big
increase in professionalism. Nevertheless, HARTMANN remained very
much like a big family. Dr. Reinhard
Bauer, who was CEO here from 1980 to
2000, was like some kind of überfather,
a patron in the most positive sense of
the word. Don’t you think, Michael?
SON: Yes, HARTMANN has become a
lot more modern. These days, employees
who are perhaps not so high up in the
hierarchy get to see the CEO much more
often. He invites the staff to a regular
breakfast, and every July there is a social event with the HARTMANN choir,
the brass band and the band ‘HARTMANN Five’. They all get together to
make music. But the attitudes of the
employees have changed a lot, too.
SON: The level of identification with
the company is still very strong; people enjoy working here and stay for
many years. But I have noticed among
younger colleagues that they do not assume they are going to stay here forever.
These days, it has become a fact of life
that people change jobs more often.
FATHER: Look at me: over the years,
I have moved three times – even built
three different homes – because of
HARTMANN. Nowadays, people
are not always prepared to do that. I
still get emotional at the long-service
celebrations. At the last one, more than
60 people were honored for their many
years of loyalty to the company. And
this is indeed something special that
not all other companies have. Maybe it
won’t stay quite that way forever, but
the HARTMANN culture will endure.
FATHER: They have increased for sure.
People have to be more mobile, more
flexible and also more assertive. And in
sales in particular it is no longer primarily the good relationship with customers
that is decisive. These days, things are
usually put out to tender, not just by
hospitals. Many of the customers’
contact people are highly specialized
professionals who are experts in their
areas.
SON: You have to keep your knowledge
and your skills up to date. There is
a clear trend toward specialization.
And for many positions, a high-level
academic qualification is a must. The
individual segments in the health sector
are so complex and regulated these days
that generalists don’t stand much of a
chance.
FATHER: It used to be different. We
used to be multifunctional beings. I’d
spend the morning negotiating with a
buyer from a drugstore, for example,
the afternoon with a pharmacist and
then move on to speak with the administration department in some hospital.
Nowadays, that’s just not possible.
There’s a point when the human brain
can’t cope anymore. And anyway, a career like mine just wouldn’t be possible
today for someone without an academic
title.
You just mentioned
staying up to date.
How do you, personally, manage to do
that? And how does
HARTMANN support
its employees in the
process?
FATHER: HARTMANN has always
understood that training is crucial. I
attended quite a number of training
courses, especially on the subject of
care. And, of course, I also made the
most of my networks to keep up to date.
I was and still am active in many committees; I’m a member of the Lions Club
in Ulm, where many healthcare professionals are active. So I always knew
who I had to ask when I wanted to find
out about special subjects.
SON: HARTMANN goes to great
lengths to ensure that its employees can
develop themselves. Our training program covers all facets of competency.
Trainees and apprentices are given the
same amount of attention as managers
who are preparing to move to the next
stage of their careers. When I went
to Sweden in 1998, to help set up our
Scandinavian subsidiary, for instance,
I didn’t have any problem at all getting
private tuition in Swedish in Stockholm.
What made you opt
for Scandinavia?
Now that you are
retired, you could
move there ...
Integrated – what do
you mean by that?
Michael Geisel, what
do you imagine life
will be like for you
when you have reached
your father’s age?
SON: It was a family thing – we used
to always spend our vacations in Denmark. We all ended up developing a
penchant for the Nordic way of life.
FATHER: We enjoy speaking Danish or
Swedish to one another and have friends
in both countries. My wife and I even
considered buying a house on Bornholm
for a while.
FATHER: Oh well, I’m not really all
that retired! I am still a consultant and
facilitator in the health market. That
gives me a lot of energy. I find it strange
that people in our society make such a
sharp distinction between people in employment and people who have retired.
Many people are still fit as a fiddle in
their mid-60s. They just need to be better integrated into working life!
FATHER: I mean, treating experienced
colleagues with respect. That is going
to be crucial when people are going to
have to continue working until they
are 67. Luckily, I have never had any
problems. Nevertheless, I believe that
many companies need to rethink their
philosophies. You might not be as quick
as you were, but your experience makes
you an asset for us – that’s the message that should be going out to older
employees.
SON: HARTMANN does that pretty
well, I think. And the proportion of
older employees is increasing steadily. In
the future, they will probably no longer
be the minority. One thing that is decisive, however, is to ensure that there is a
working transfer of knowledge between
old and young.
73
LOOKING AT LIFE AS A WHOLE
Holistic HR development
—
How can you help parents to
combine job and family life?
How can you help older people
to stay healthy? HARTMANN is
meeting the demographic shift
in-house too, and adapting to the
life stages of its employees. This
holistic approach has three goals:
make the best possible use of
existing potential, open up new
recruiting channels, and increase
employee loyalty.
For example, HARTMANN cooperates with day care centers and
schools to integrate parents of
small children better into professional life. For emergencies the
Heidenheim location has a parentchild room, and parents can work
from home without problems.
To help employees stay healthy,
HARTMANN also invests in
pleasant surroundings, with
new light and space ideas and
ergonomic workplaces. To boost
health awareness among production workers, HARTMANN offers a
so-called “body driver’s license.”
Participants learn how they can
protect their back from injury, and
get tips on healthy nutrition.
HARTMANN is also tackling
the subject of lifelong learning
holistically. For example, in France
there is the Parcours d’Excellence
Professionnelle (PEP). Here,
various departments and HR work
together with experts to define the
requirements for different professional fields in the coming three
to five years. Based on an analysis
of individual strengths and weaknesses, the HR department then
agrees on appropriate education
and training with employees.
SON: I can well imagine looking forward to having my freedom and closing
the door on working life completely ...
FATHER: In my mid-40s, I thought just
the same! Now I am happy that I am
still able to make a contribution. Just
wait until you’re my age!
Author
MYRTO-CHRISTINA
ATHANASSIOU
WORK LIFE
WHAT WE CARE ABOUT. THE MAGAZINE OF THE HARTMANN GROUP
MOTIVATED & PRODUCTIVE
facts and figures on the lifestyles of the elderly
Goethe wrote Faust II when he was 82, and at the age of 91 Picasso
painted his late masterpiece “The Embrace.” 100-year-old Fauja Singh
from India ran his eighth marathon in 2011. These days, elderly people
refuse to let themselves be thrown on the scrap heap. On the contrary.
According to the latest German government report on the elderly, they
are fitter than ever before. Nevertheless, their motivation and willingness to make a contribution are still being ignored by many companies.
At the latest when the baby boomer generation reaches pension age and
the labor shortage becomes acute, the economy will have to think again.
87
NOT IN NEED
OF CARE
62
NO MATERIAL
HARDSHIP
41
H EA LT H I S T H E TO P P R IO R ITY
The over-60s spend their money on the following consumer goods (excluding food products)
in %
GOOD
MEDICAL CARE
52.3
46.3
40. 6
37. 3
30. 4
26. 8
26. 4
26. 2
16. 6
15. 9
10. 0
self-medication
flowers and
plants
full-service
restaurants
lottery and
sweepstakes
stationery
books
travel
music
events
office
fast food
sound
media
6. 2
36
6. 1
cinema video
— S O U R C E GfK Living 2007
ACT I VE I N S W E D E N
Northern Europe is the only area
where the majority of 55- to
64-year-olds are still in work and
take regular training. In countries
with lower levels of training, the
elderly are not so well represented
in terms of lifelong learning.
in %
— S OU R C E
Eurostat, Labour market statistics 2010
und Adult Education Survey 2007
AS P I R AT I O N A N D R E A LITY
When are employees supposed
to retire – and when do they
actually retire? Many countries are
planning to increase the retirement
age or have already done so.
in years
actual retirement age (men)
legal retirement age (men)
actual retirement age (women)
legal retirement age (women)
norway
sweden
proportion of 55- to
64-year-olds who are
still in work
70. 5
italy
germany
68.6
57.7
36.6
hungary
34.4
MOBILITY
AND TRAVEL
poland
31
34.0
ALTERNATIVE
LIFESTYLES
proportion of 55- to
64-year-olds taking
training courses
41.2
60. 7
28.2
11.8
2.5
12
6.8
NEIGHBORS
WHO CARE
70
8
65
FINANCIAL
SUPPORT
60
55
69. 5 64.0 66, 5 62, 0
65. 7 65. 0 62. 9 65. 0
64. 6 65. 8 63. 9 65. 8
62. 1 65. 0 61. 0 65. 0
58. 7 60. 0 59. 5 60. 0
F RANCE
JA PAN — S OU R C E OECD, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 6/17/2010, Statista 2012
SWE DE N U SA G E RM ANY
“Many people seem
to support the idea
that work is something that politicians
should free us from.
But most people
enjoy being active,
even when they’re
old.”
P I P E DREA MS ?
What Germans hope for in their old age
(ages of respondents 14+)
in %
3
— S O U R CE
STAY HEALTHY
AND FIT
70
LIVE IN
OWN HOME
53
RETAIN LIVING
STANDARD
39
VISITS,
SOCIALIZING
16
FAMILY SUPPORT
9
LEISURE
PROGRAMS FOR
THE ELDERLY
3
PRODUCTS FOR
THE ELDERLY
Aufgesang Public Relations, Senicur Altenpflege 2009
– 1 9 – 2 9 –3 9 –4 9 – 5 9 –6 9
11
S I LV ER S U RFERS :
P ROP ORT I ON OF 55- TO 74-YEA R- OLDS
U S I N G T HE I N T ERN ET
in %
SWE
G ER
FRA
ES P
18
33
2
3
7 0 + j
10 24 42
8
— S O UR C E
Europäische Reiseversicherung AG, Deutsche Zentrale für Tourismus
e.V, June 2009
STAYI N G I N D E PE N D E N T
What is important to the elderly in their living environment
in %
GRE
ROU
5
7
45 39
STILL ENJOY
HOBBIES
35
C LI C HÉ , W H AT CL I CH É ?
The proportion of coach passengers rises significantly in the
age groups over 60
in %
ursula staudinger –
researcher into aging and vice president
of jacobs university bremen
EU
75
69
VERY
IMPORTANT
IMPORTANT
Possibility of having help and care
at home
55
44
Accessibility of shops, doctors, public
transport
67
27
Possibility of installing age-appropriate
technologies such as panic buttons
and technical communication with
doctors, carers
47
37
Better access to apartments, e.g. stairs, 5 0
elevators
32
Structural requirements in the apartment, e.g. no stairs, floor-level shower,
raised WC
44
37
Installation of security measures, e.g.
intercom, alarm system
33
39
Leisure activities, common rooms
18
29
— S O U R CE
— S O UR C E
AGE ST RU CT U RE AT HA RT MA N N
S OU GH T-AF T E R S K I L L S
The number of unemployed engineers over the age of 50
is sinking every year.
Eurostat, BITKOM 2009, Statista 2012
TNS Emnid Medien- und Sozialforschung GmbH 2011
PAUL HARTMANN AG, Germany, figures from December 31 each year
2008 2009 2010
0–
2 0 yrs
21–
2 5 yrs
26–
3 0 yrs
31–
3 5 yrs
36–
4 0 yrs
41–
4 5 yrs
46–
5 0 yrs
51–
5 5 yrs
56–
6 0 yrs
61–
6 7 yrs
— S O UR C E
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
1999
4 2 ,3 6 4
2000
3 7 ,0 5 6
2001
2002
2003
3 2 ,9 3 1
3 0 ,2 6 6
2 9 ,4 3 6
2004
2005
2 6 ,0 5 5
2 4 ,5 6 5
2006
1 5 ,9 5 3
2007
1 1 ,1 5 3
2008
8 ,8 9 0
VDI, Ingenieurarbeitsmarkt, 2008/09, survey period 2002-2008,
Germany
WORK LIFE
WHAT WE CARE ABOUT. THE MAGAZINE OF THE HARTMANN GROUP
WALK A
MILE IN
MY SHOES
product development for older people
What will daily life be like when you are older? Which
movements will be particularly troublesome? And what
should be taken into account when designing products
for the elderly? Come on a journey into your own future.
— SELF-TESTING
When your fingers no longer move
so well, operating a small cell
phone can be a big problem
because it is no longer so easy
to press the right button.
( © VELUX )
77
— PIONEERS
Dr. Gundolf and Dr. Hanne MeyerHentschel bring the aging process
to life in an unexpected way.
The two economic scientists have
invented a special suit to research
the problems of old age.
Your arms and legs are heavy;
your environment is bathed in a
monotonous veil of yellow; loud
conversations become muffled
murmurs: when you put on the
Age Explorer® you really get
to experience firsthand some
of the problems of old age. At
the very latest when it is time
to deal with some everyday
task, your helplessness becomes
apparent. A screw top becomes
an insurmountable barrier for
stiff joints and weak fingers.
And in a dead straight corridor
the floor seems to sway because
the pattern on the carpet disturbs your eyes.
IT HAPPENS TO EVERYONE
The causes of these difficulties
are easily pinpointed when
wearing the Age Explorer.
The age simulation suit is constructed in such a manner that
it restricts the movements and
reduces the amount of strength
you can use for your tasks.
Gloves make gripping more difficult, a visor dims your sight,
and mufflers reduce the noise.
“These are changes that come
to all people sooner or later,”
explains Dr. Gundolf MeyerHentschel.
He developed the Age
Explorer together with his wife
Hanne. The two economists
have been running a manage-
ment consultancy specializing
in marketing to the elderly in
Saarbrücken, Germany, since
1985.
Whenever they held a talk
on the subject, the MeyerHentschels noticed one thing
in particular: even though their
audience might have understood what they were talking
about, they were completely
unable to imagine what it felt
like to be an older person and
to understand what an older
person really needs.
ever, that seniors are a simple
target group. On the contrary:
“Older people have a lifetime of
experience as consumers. They
only buy products if they think
they can actually use them,”
says Gundolf Meyer-Hentschel.
Thus he speaks of a coming
“age of details”: companies
can differentiate themselves
from their competition by
concentrating on subtleties of
functionality and quality.
SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE DISTORTS
RESULTS
But it is not always easy to find
EXPERIENCE MAKES YOU MORE
out what the requirements of
DISCRIMINATING
older customers actually are.
In these times of demographic
Over the course of their lives
change, however, it is more
they have learned to use social
important than ever to underintelligence – in other words,
stand the needs of the elderly.
After all, the hitherto pampered treating people politely and
avoiding conflicts. This can be
customer group aged between
a major disadvantage for mar20 and 49 is, according to a
ket researchers. Many elderly
recent study by Roland Berger
strategy consultants, no longer people are not comfortable bea growth group in any product ing excessively critical, Gundolf
Meyer-Hentschel explains.
category.
Added to this, they are often
Already, the over-50s
loath to admit that they have
account for around half of
problems with a product. This
spending for travel, clothing,
often leads to surveys producand foodstuffs. Over a fifth of
ing distorted results. And this
them have savings in excess of
is where the Meyer-Hentschels
50,000 euros. Pensioners go
shopping three times as often as and their Age Explorer come
in.
people under 65 – and tend to
Over the last two decades
be willing to pay higher prices.
the couple have trained around
This does not mean, how-
WORK LIFE
WHAT WE CARE ABOUT. THE MAGAZINE OF THE HARTMANN GROUP
16,000 people with their suit:
geriatric nurses as well as sales
staff, employees at transport
companies, and even big-name
consumer goods manufacturers. For the latter group in particular it is always instructive to
experience how a product will
be received by the older generation: whether a form is difficult
to hold, whether the labels are
hard to read, or whether a lid is
tricky to remove. Gundolf Meyer-Hentschel explains: “When
that is the case, the product
signals: you are incapable. It
cries out: you are old!”
A FUTURE HIT: POLITE PRODUCTS
With that in mind, the MeyerHentschels are demanding the
development of “polite products.” With polite products,
you can do exactly what you
want to – without thinking
twice about it or experimenting. A first step is often the
packaging: the answer to a conventional screw top, for instance,
is a simple two-piece solution.
It consists of an outer ring that
does not have to overcome a
vacuum and is thus easier to
turn. The turning movement
helps to raise the actual lid. Another example is the mustard
tube with a large, easy-to-hold,
clover-leaf shaped screw top.
Or the drinking-chocolate
packet that is so narrow and
angular that it doesn’t slip out
of the hand quite so easily.
The easier everyday objects
are to use, the longer older
people can continue to live
independently. “And that is,
after all, our aim,” says Gundolf Meyer-Hentschel. It gives
everyone a chance to grow old
gracefully.
But functionality is not
where the story ends. Accord-
ing to a 2008 survey by market
research company GfK, more
than 70 percent of Germans
feel around nine years younger
than they actually are.
These self-confident consumers certainly do not want
to use products designed for
senior citizens, not to mention
go into designated shops for the
elderly. The first department
store designed exclusively for
older customers opened in
Brandenburg in 2005. It went
bust just two years later.
Nowadays, “modern” is not
a dirty word to the new elderly.
On the contrary. A tablet computer wins hands down over
consumers in their 40s as well
as fit 60- and 70-year-olds.
The target group itself is
less than enthusiastic about the
term. According to the GfK,
around half of those surveyed
believe that categories such as
this lead only to pigeonholing.
They believe that marketers
should forgo using special
terms for older consumers
completely.
The Meyer-Hentschels, too,
do not want to restrict themselves to a specific term. They
consider it far more important
to sensitize people on how to
talk to older people. “It starts
with the letters that some care
— PRECISION WORK Dentist or electrician: during the course of our working lives, the obstacles
become ever greater. Much that used to be easy is suddenly difficult. (© AgeExplorer.de )
any reading glass: after all, it
is no problem at all to increase
the size of the writing on the
screen. What does this mean
for the future? Certainly, it will
mean that the companies who
can come up with products
with cross-generational appeal
will enjoy greater success.
homes send to their future
residents. They enclose the
house rules with a whole list of
things that are not allowed,”
Dr. Hanne Meyer-Hentschel
reports. So it’s no great surprise
that the recipients have certain
reservations before they even
move in.
MORE THAN WORDS
In terms of communication,
too, there is a need to think
again. The term “senior citizens”, for example, is not very
popular among the elderly.
They associate it with impairment and deficits. The advertising sector in Germany has
therefore come up with the concept of “best agers” – another
term that is designed to include
REEVALUATING SITUATIONS
Misunderstandings play a huge
role in the interplay between
generations. “Many younger
people don’t take the elderly seriously when they react slowly,”
says Hanne Meyer-Hentschel.
However, to assume that slow
reactions are a result of intellectual deficit is totally wrong
– often they are merely down
to the fact that elderly people
79
CONVENIENT BLOOD
PRESSURE MEASUREMENT
D
esign of the new
Tensoval duo control
—
Regular blood pressure measurement is not just important for the
elderly. But especially for seniors
who must regularly check their
blood pressure at home, current
designs are often not really
convenient to use.
Therefore, HARTMANN worked
with hypertension self-help groups
to redesign the Tensoval duo
control upper-arm blood pressure
monitor. It tests in two ways, by
oscillometry – measuring the vibration of the flow of blood in the
arteries – as well as auscultatorily
by means of flow noise.
( © VELUX )
have poor hearing. What is
more, young people often react
hesitantly, too, when they find
themselves in unfamiliar situations.
Workshops with the Age
Explorer help to iron out many
misunderstandings. Geriatric
nurses suddenly realize that
their elderly charges are not
unfriendly or uptight when
they “refuse” to take a cup,
but that it simply is too far
away from them. And young
paramedics finally understand
how unpleasant it can be for
old people to be carried down a
steep staircase. This short-term
aging even helps some people to
understand their own parents
or grandparents better. Hanne
Meyer-Hentschel: “You quickly
recognize the situations in
which you could have reacted
differently or better.”
REMOVING OBSTACLES
But the special suit does not
only highlight human deficits.
It is also good for revealing
architectural problems. What
young people perceive as transparent and airy can change as
we get older in an environment
with too many distracting
noises. Dark colors make orientation a problem; unmarked
steps become stumbling blocks.
“The retail segment has
already systematically implemented a lot of these findings,”
says Hanne Meyer-Hentschel.
Now, she continues, it is time
for care homes and the like to
treat their patients more like
valued customers. Other public
areas, like airports and railway
stations, also need to start
catching up.
The participants in the
Meyer-Hentschels’ workshops
no longer need to be told this.
Most of them start coming up
with ideas for improvements
right away. And they implement them, too – safe in the
knowledge that their own older
self will feel better when the
time comes.
Ergonomic aspects were the main
focus of the redesign, to make
the device easier for older people
to use. The width was reduced,
so that it can now be held in
one hand. Thanks to the wedgeshaped form, light no longer hits
the display frontally, eliminating
glare and making reading easier.
A large, red, grip-friendly plug
makes it much easier to connect
and disconnect the hose to and
from the device. The most frequent
cause of faulty readings, however,
is incorrect application of the
cuff. Its new ergonomic form now
virtually precludes such errors,
since the cuff is cut in such a way
that users intuitively pump it up
in the correct position. To further
improve data legibility, the display
has been made larger and given a
measurement progress bar. It also
shows the measurement method
in use. The device can show the
average morning and evening
values for two persons in accordance with the guidelines of the European Hypertension Society, and
is particularly suitable for patients
with cardiac arrhythmia.
Author
ANNE STOLLE
A GOLDEN OLDIE
ON THE ISLE OF AMRUM
the birthday celebrations of a 100-year-old in the year 2058
alfred ullmann
DI RECTOR MA ST ER DATA MA N AGEMEN T
HELMUT ZIEGLER
born in Hamburg 1958
—
is an author, father and professional youth. He has forgotten
exactly how long he has been
writing for money. But he never
forgets his daily squats, brainteasers, or to kiss his wife.
There is a brisk wind, as there always is. The
waves crash onto the sand, as they always do.
I am standing on the dunes of Amrum, a slightly
bent Caspar David Friedrich figure, staring into
the distance and taking stock of my life.
I don’t need a torchlight parade on my birthday cake, no. I know all the bon mots of the
assisted living facility, from “What? You’re still
buying green bananas?” to “At a 100 you can
still feel like you’re only 90 – for about half an
hour.” I know that I am one year older. That’s
why I have cut off all the data connections. It’s
a day that started just like any other: got up, put
in my AR lenses 1 , changed my incontinence pad,
muesli with fruit, into my freedom chair 2 , reading on the beach and a little aquarobics in the
sea, a light fish snack, changed the incontinence
pad again, then a quick round of minigolf. All so
peaceful that it’s practically magnificent.
One of the advantages of being old: the rest
of the world just passes you by. And even more
so on an island. You are who you are – there is
no other choice available. The worst is behind
you. And then there’s the woman who loves
you and the flock of grandchildren and greatgrandchildren to keep you young.
Since the aliens came and scanned the planet,
mankind seems to have become somewhat more
sensible. There is less growth, but more quality.
I suspect that the extraterrestrials implanted the
history of mankind as a kind of dominant gene
in our DNA when they were doing their scan.
But what do I know? Either way, I’ve seen some
things in my life: the Great Wall of China, before
they built the roof over it. Johnny Cash live. The
inside of a magnetic resonance scanner. Experienced a few things too: working in a pub, living
from the fruits of my own garden, the collapse
of first communism and then turbo-capitalism.
What more could one want? Maybe I even understood a thing or two. That as a white Central
European I have had an immensely privileged life,
for instance. That we simply need to keep breathing and most things turn out not to be so bad after all. And that nothing we do here interests the
billions of Chinese and Indians in the slightest.
I bring the evening to a close in my favorite
spot in the dunes. Where, if you look at it in just
the right way, it looks a little bit like the Moon’s
surface. I enjoy the sunset. Even though the real
thing is not as spectacular as it is in the 3-D
cinema in our high-tech retirement home. I look
down at myself. My training jacket is a luxury
brand from the 2040s; the flat stomach courtesy
of health insurance; the beer still brewed according to purity laws hundreds of years old.
I probably look like some kind of stiff-necked
traditionalist. But I’m not. Just because I can
afford an African cleaning woman, I have no
objections that one of my granddaughters cleans
in São Paulo – that’s simply poetic justice. And
guarantees part of my pension. I don’t need
to hark back to the days when everything was
still new and exciting, to thirty years ago when
swing came back into fashion and the banks
collapsed.
Someone taps on my shoulder. “I knew I’d
find you here.”
“Where did you spring from?”
“From the ferry, muttonhead! You’ve just turned
a hundred, or have you forgotten?” The love
of my life hands me a bottle. The label says:
Golden Oldie.
“That’s grounds for divorce.”
She
. kisses me. I kiss her back.
„Zubrówka, Polish vodka,” she says drily. “I had
to hunt around a flea market to find this bottle.
But it was worth it to see the look on your face!
Say, have you already decided about whether you
want the vitacation 3 ?”
“Don’t get me started.”
There is a brisk wind, as there always is. The
waves crash onto the sand, as they always do.
And we sit wrapped in blankets in the dunes of
Amrum, a kitsch closing scene of a romantic
comedy. We hug, drink, laugh. This probably
means we’ll have to change the old incontipads
one more time, but today we don’t care. Like the
waves; like the wind.
1
AR LENSES: Contact lenses with augmented reality program that display
information – from product recognition to blood pressure levels – directly onto
the retinas of their wearer.
2
F REEDOM CHAIR: Ball-shaped wheelchair whose all-wheel drive system is
powered by a solar motor or a lever system (similar to a rowboat).
With automatic weatherproof cabin, GPS and panic button.
3
V ITACATION: Name of a bio-artificial, i.e. artificially cultivated, organ that
can be implanted as a replacement part in a human body.
Alfred Ullmann is the guardian of a very special treasure: a diary belonging to his grandfather that was written at the front during
the First World War. But it is not merely a
collection of words, rather drawings and
sketches, as his grandfather had no camera
with which to preserve his impressions of the
war. For Alfred Ullman, himself a keen photographer, visualization is an essential part
of life. He believes it is important to “create
an image” of what is going on around you,
to make the impressions more tangible and
pass them on to others – in just the same
way that he will pass on his grandfather’s
hand-drawn diary to his children one day.
gisela grosshable
birgit herm-grimm
P RODU CT I ON EMP LOYEE
HEA D OF REC EP T I ON A N D C EN T R AL S W I T CH B OAR D
Gisela Großhable was around ten years old
when her grandmother, a devout Catholic,
took her on a pilgrimage to Altötting. While
there, the old lady bought her granddaughter a silver amulet containing a picture of the
Madonna, a present for her imminent First
Communion. Although she stopped wearing
it a long time ago, Gisela Großhable has kept
the amulet to this day in her jewelry box.
Every now and again, she gets it out and
looks at it: the classic devotional item reminds her of her childhood and the happy
times she spent with her grandmother.
Birgit Herm-Grimm keeps two, now slightly tarnished, silver goblets in her living room cupboard. They were a gift from her grandparents: grandma and
grandpa were warm-hearted and hospitable people who had
a dedicated dining room and were great believers in the importance of good table manners, tasteful crockery and classy
cutlery. On special occasions, they served sparkling wine in
silver goblets. Considerate behavior and good manners were
thus part of the family tradition. And today, it is important to
Birgit Herm-Grimm that her daughter also learns to espouse
these values.
( 512 ) 0 8 7 2 0 3 / 3
PAUL HARTMANN AG
Paul-Hartmann-Strasse 12
89522 Heidenheim
P.O. Box 1420
89504 Heidenheim
Germany
Phone: +49-7321-36-0
Fax: +49-7321-36-3636
www.hartmann.info
helps healing.