Dr. Bill Thomas, innovative thinker, writer and entrepreneur, wants baby boomers to return to the altruistic, politically active, world-changing ideals of their youth and stage a revolution in the culture of aging in America.
“The baby boom generation has exerted an extraordinarily powerful influence over whatever age it is occupying at the time,” the geriatrician said in a recent phone interview. “As it begins to exit middle age, this generation will exert that influence over the long-term care environment and the process of aging.”
At 56, Thomas sees himself as a catalyst in a national anti-ageism revolution, and on May 20, as part of a national tour sponsored by AARP, he will bring his message to Maine.
Thomas, who lives in Ithaca, New York, is perhaps best known through fellow physician and writer Dr. Atul Gawande, who featured him in his 2014 bestseller, “Being Mortal.” In a chapter titled “A Better Life,” Gawande describes Thomas as a burned-out emergency physician who, in 1991 at the age of 31, accepted position as medical director at an 80-bed nursing home for adults with severe physical and cognitive disabilities.
Shocked by the dreary facility environment, the lack of stimulation and “the despair in every room,” Thomas set about filling the environment with art, music, plants, children and animals — including 100 birds. The resulting pandemonium initially disrupted the nursing staff, but the approach proved its merit, Gawande says, when residents responded with laughter, creativity and general animation.
Thomas went on to develop his Eden Alternative approach into a nonprofit organization aimed at improving and energizing the quality of life for seniors, regardless of their level of independence or their living environments. The caregiving techniques, which include building strong personal relationships, encouraging creativity and empowering seniors to maintain independence, have been incorporated into existing nursing homes and assisted living facilities across the country. Training is also available to family caregivers and others who interact daily with older adults.
The Eden Alternative gave rise to another Bill Thomas innovation, the design and construction of so-called Green Houses, home-like skilled nursing facilities with just 10 bedrooms and private bathrooms, built around a big, country-style kitchen and gathering room.
“We took the Eden Alternative and put it in a brand new building,” Thomas said. “Instead of a nursing home designed for the convenience of the staff, we said, ‘Why not make it like a house, so frail older people don’t have to live in an institution?’”
In Green Houses, residents are encouraged to build friendships with each other and with the staff. Meals are enjoyed family-style. Independence, interaction, creativity and privacy are valued over staff convenience and routines. Thomas said nonprofit Green Houses are reimbursed by Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance policies, similar to mainstream nursing homes, making the model an affordable alternative for middle-income elders. Since 2001, more than 250 Green Houses have been built in more than 30 states. There are currently none in Maine, but Thomas said there is some interest here.
But on May, 20, Thomas himself will be in Maine with a small crew of performers, bringing his latest project, the Age of Disruption Tour, to the the Abramson Center on the University of Southern Maine campus in Portland. The national tour covers 30 cities and is sponsored by AARP. Now in its third year, Age of Disruption aims to expose and challenge the existence of ageism — the pervasive, patronizing and demeaning assumptions that, according to Thomas, underlie “the reasons Americans are willing to tolerate long-term care that routinely falls so far below our expectations and the parallel belief that old age is a sad, sad time and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
The event has two separate components. From 2:30 to 4 p.m., participants will view segments of a new documentary film about aging and dementia and then engage in a discussion and workshop. This program is aimed at people who are living with dementia and their caregivers.
From 7 to 8:30 p.m., a vibrant stage performance for the general public — “a blend of entertainment, education and inspiration,” Thomas said, “like a TED talk on steroids” — will feature original music, dance, storytelling and poetry as mediums for exploring common themes and exploding myths about aging and caregiving.
“For more than 20 years, I’ve poured blood, sweat and tears into changing long-term care and the perception of aging,” Thomas said. “But the industry is still the same. Everyone wants to know why haven’t these ideas really taken off?”
The Age of Disruption Tour, he said, is his effort to engage seniors directly in the process of change. “What baby boomers want, baby boomers get. It’s all about shaping their sense of possibility,” he said. “For the new counterculture, aging will not be a time of decline, but of work, value, dignity and growth.”
Tickets for the Age of Disruption Tour on May 20 are $15 for each event, available at the door or online at https://drbillthomas.org/local/portland-me. For more information, contact AARP Maine at 866-554-5380.
