Aging Gracefully

>> MORTALITY CAN BE A DIFFICULT SUBJECT TO TALK ABOUT. EVEN AS OUR LIFE SPANS ARE GROWING LONGER. BUT THE QUESTION REMAINS, HOW DO WE KEEP OUR QUALITY OF LIFE AS WE GROW OLDER GIVE US SOME PERSPECTIVE ON THAT. SEAN FELTON, THE DEAN OF THEM ARE OF THE COLLEGE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES AT FGCU JOINS US NOW. THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US. MIKE. THANKS FOR HAVING ME HERE. YOU WROTE AN OP-ED PIECE RECENTLY SAYING THE AGING POPULATION IN SOUTHWEST FLORIDA IS NOT A CRISIS. YOU CALLED IT AN OPPORTUNITY OR DO YOU MEAN BY THE ALL? ABSOLUTELY. I WANT TO FIRST ALSO PRESIDENT AMBER FOR WRITING THAT OP-ED WITH US AS WELL. >> BUT THE OPPORTUNITY IS THAT IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS, ONE IN 4 PEOPLE WILL BE NORTH OF 65 YEARS YEARS OF AGE. AND PEOPLE COME HERE TO LIVE AND THRIVE IN SOUTHWEST FLORIDA. AND SO I THINK WITH THAT POPULATION, WE HAVE A HUGE OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY DRIVE FORWARD WHAT WE'RE FOCUSING ON IS IS HEALTH SPAN. AND I KNOW WE'LL GET INTO THAT HERE IN JUST A MOMENT. YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, YOU THE COLLEGE RECENTLY COLLABORATED WITH ARTHREX. >> AND YOU'RE LAUNCHED A MOVEMENT CALLED 3.18 >> MEANING MARCH 18TH AND IN A COMMON PURPOSE. K CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THIS PARTNERSHIP AND WHAT IT'S SUPPOSED TO DO? ALL? ABSOLUTELY. AND THE 3.18, AS YOU ALLUDED TO WAS ON MARCH 18TH, BUT IT WAS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THAT, THAT IT WAS 318 OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL INDIVIDUALS HERE IN SOUTHWEST FLORIDA TO COME TOGETHER. 2 REALLY MOVE ARE INITIATIVE ON ON HEALTH SPAN. IT WAS TRULY A HISTORICAL LAUNCH MOMENT. YOU ISSUE IS THE BACKBONE OF THIS THROUGH OUR SHADY REST INSTITUTE ON POSITIVE AGING. BUT WE CAN'T DO ALL THE WORK ITSELF AND IT'S NOT JUST A HEALTH CARE PERSPECTIVE. THIS IS TALKING ABOUT PARTNERS WITHIN EDUCATION PARTNERS IN HOUSING PARTNERS IN ALL SECTORS OF THE AREA HERE IN SOUTHWEST FLORIDA AS WE WERE VERY EXCITED TO HAVE THIS LAUNCH NO BETTER PLACE THAN ARTHREX WITH. THEY JUST BREEDS INNOVATION. BUT IT WAS A PHENOMENAL EVENT. BUT THE REAL WORK REALLY BEGINS NOW. SO WE WERE ABLE TO BRING FORWARD. I'M THE CEO AND FOUNDER OF AGE DR. KEN DYE CALLED HE'S A LEADING EXPERT NATIONAL INTERNATIONAL RENOWN AS SPEAKER IN THIS SPACE AND REALLY PUT IN PERSPECTIVE OF THE OPPORTUNITY THAT WE HAVE HERE, NOT JUST IN SOUTHWEST FLORIDA, BUT ACROSS FLORIDA AS A WHOLE HOUSE, JUST GO INTO EFFECT INDIVIDUALS. I MEAN, LET'S TAKE IT DOWN TO THE THE PEOPLE LEVEL. >> ABSOLUTELY. IT IS IT GOING TO BE PROGRAMS ARE GOING TO BE INDIVIDUAL HELP. WE'RE JUST ALL THE ABOVE. REALLY. I THINK WHAT WE SEE HERE IS, YOU KNOW, WE LET ME JUST PUT IT IN WHAT IS LIFE SPAN VERSUS HEALTH SPAN? SO, YOU KNOW, THE NATIONAL AVERAGE OF LIFE SPAN. >> SO IT'S JUST A LITTLE BIT, YOU KNOW, POST-COVID TO ABOUT 78 AND A HALF YEARS. AND THEN YOU HAVE THE HEALTH SPAN WHERE YOU'RE FREE OF CHRONIC DISEASE ISSUES TO ABOUT 66.2 YEARS. SO YOU HAVE ABOUT OF 12 AND A HALF YEAR DECLINE OF YOUR HEALTH SPAN TO YOUR TO YOUR LIFE SPAN. SO WHAT WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH IS TO SHRINK THAT GAP. OBVIOUSLY, WE WANT TO MAKE REMAIN LIFESPAN. ACTUALLY LIFESPAN IN SOUTHWEST FLORIDA IS ACTUALLY A LITTLE BIT THAN THE NATIONAL AVERAGE AND IN FLORIDA TO ABOUT 80 ALMOST 82 YEARS OF AGE. AND SO TO YOUR POINT IS A PROGRAMMING. YES, IS IT, YOU KNOW, JUST LIFESTYLE MODIFICATIONS? ABSOLUTELY. BUT I DO WANT TO REMISS MONEY AND THE DECISIONS THAT WE MAKE EARLY ON. IT'S THE EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT, THE ABILITY TO SEEK HEALTH CARE TO HAVE OPPORTUNITIES IS REALLY CRUCIAL. SO IT'S REALLY A LIFESPAN MODEL THAT WE'RE WORKING ON. AND IT'S GOING TO TAKE ALL OF OUR PARTNERS HERE, SOUTHWEST FLORIDA, BE ON LOCATION WHERE EXTEND THEY LIFESPANS. WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS? ONE OF THE TAKEAWAYS THAT THAT YOU OBSERVE FROM? ABSOLUTELY THE FIRST PIECES. OBVIOUSLY PEOPLE WANT TO LIVE AND THRIVE AND WE RECOGNIZE THAT OPPORTUNITY THAT YOU DON'T WANT THAT SLOW IN TERMS OF YOUR LIFE SPAN. BUT SECONDLY, IT'S A REDUCTION OF OF COST IN TERMS OF OUR HEALTH SYSTEM. YOU KNOW, NATIONALLY, THE UNITED STATES SPENDS MORE DOLLARS PER CAPITA, BUT HAS SOME OF THE WORST HEALTH OUTCOMES. SO BY FOCUSING ON THE HEALTH SPAN, WE WILL BE ABLE TO HOPEFULLY REDUCE SOME OF THOSE HEALTH CARE COSTS. LONG-TERM, CHRONIC ISSUES AND HAVE PEOPLE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ENJOY THEIR ENTIRE LIFE WHILE WHILE HERE YET. >> NO, WHAT WOULD IT MEAN TO YOU? DEAN FELTON IN YOUR YARD. IF YOU SUCCEED WITH THIS PROGRAM AND I'M WOULD BECOME A LEADER IN SUSTAINING QUALITY OF LIFE HERE. WELL, AS I THINK THE BIG PART IS, I THINK WE HAVE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO BE A NORTH STAR ON THIS. >> WE HAVE A BOLD, BOLD GOAL TO ENHANCE THE HEALTH SPAN BY 7 YEARS BY 2040. >> SO CURRENTLY THERE'S ABOUT IN THE 13 YEAR GAP HERE IN SOUTHWEST FLORIDA. SO IF WE CAN ALMOST OVER BY REDUCE THAT BY MORE THAN HALF, THAT WOULD BE SUCCESS. IT'S GONNA TAKE ALL OF OUR PARTNERS. YOU KNOW, I'M ONE SMALL PIECE OF THIS AFTER ISSUES. ONE PIECE OF THIS, BUT IT'S REALLY A MOVEMENT WITHIN THE AREA TO BECOME AN EXAMPLE OR WHEN WHEN INDIVIDUALS OUTSIDE OF SOUTHWEST FLORIDA SEES US AND I'M SOUTHWEST FOR THE BEST COMMUNITY AND REALLY SEE HOW WE ARE. AND WHAT WE'RE DOING FOR HEALTH SPAN WILL BE WILL BE A WIN FOR ALL OF US. >> IT'S FANTASTIC. GOOD LUCK TO YOU. AND THANK YOU SO MUCH LIKE THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME. APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU SO