Ursel J. McElroy

And I think we can do that in small ways and large ways.

I think what you will see within my department is that we are very intentional about being inclusive.

We are very intentional in the ways in which we provide opportunities, harness the different viewpoints, utilize the experiences of others to help us not only support our business, but to also support those individuals who rely upon our business.

And so each and every day, we work really hard to be certain that we've put in place those opportunities for those individuals to thrive.

And I think it's one that most people should be very interested in because that is one thing that we all have in common, and that is we will all age.

And the reality is that the landscape of long-term care or healthy aging is ever evolving.

And it has been accelerated by COVID-19.

And I believe it is more important than ever to be certain that we have long term care providers, that we have families, that we have individuals that are agile enough to adapt to the diverse needs and preferences of older Ohioans and older individuals across this world, no matter the setting.

The emphasis on healthy aging must not stop at the front door of a provider of a facility.

Rather, our strategies have to contemplate so many things.

Critical care transitions, appreciating what the desires are of individuals to live healthy.

understanding that this will require us to be very intentional up front and often.

When I think about healthy aging, I think it's really important to note that almost everything is possible if you maintain health into older age.

But if you don't, many of your opportunities will be limited and the potential cost for all of us will be considerably higher.

Healthy aging requires us to think about how we age across the lifespan.

Healthy aging requires us to think about how do we incorporate strategies and policies broadly and apply them often.

Healthy aging requires us to think about those factors that impact how we age throughout the lifespan.

I think that old age cannot be seen as a burden or a drain, because if we view it that way, we will have a natural tendency to focus on things that are limited to cost containment, to focus on those things that do not necessarily allow us to be very bold and very innovative.

But if you think of old age as an opportunity for all of us to have a dignified life as long as we live, then we are going to invest in those services for older individuals.

We fully understand those things that impact how we age throughout the lifespan.