John and Nancy Erickson founded the Erickson Foundation in 1998 as a private, operating foundation. The Foundation’s Research and Development program is focused primarily on projects designed to contribute to current best practices in active aging and aging with choices. In the long term, the Foundation’s research may improve wellness programs and health care for older adults everywhere.

The Foundation’s strategic priorities are:

• Understanding the strengths, capacities and preferences, as well as needs, of adults who seek an active lifestyle;
• Encouraging healthy choice-making by older adults and their families;
• Preserving, possibly enhancing, the wellness of mature adults;
• Delaying onset and/or exacerbation of disease and disability among older adults —perhaps enabling them to extend their health span.

The Foundation’s activities are currently in these important areas:

• Balance, Exercise, Strength Today! (BEST)
• Osteoporosis Screening, Education and Referral
• Walking Studies
• Erickson Resident Profile Projects
• Erickson Life Study
• Ergonomics in Long-Term Care
• Living Actively and Independently
• Healthy Body, Healthy Minds Studies I, II, III and IV
• Sensory Aspects of Balance Control
• VIVA! Circumplex for Wellness Screenings
• Benefits of Restorative Care Nursing
• Mind-Body Approach to Memory Enhancement
• Prompted Self-Positioning To Prevent Skin Lesions
• Development/Pilot Testing of Online End-of-Life Curriculum
• AHA-Funded Life Study
• Late Life Learning Demonstration Project
• Back Pain and Its Correlates in Mature Adults
• Correlates of Lung Function
• Active Living By Design
• Behavioral, Social and Psychological Consequences of Falls

The Viva Initiative

One example of the Erickson Foundation’s work is the Viva Initiative. When fully implemented, Viva will offer volunteers the chance to participate in health and wellness screenings of:

• Organ systems, such as bone and lungs
• Physical function, such as walking speed and balance
• Physical characteristics, such as body mass index
• Psychosocial and cognitive function
• Learned skills (such as driving).

The screenings will be done using advanced technologies which do not require operation by a physician or nurse. From the information developed in the screenings, Viva researchers will develop new types of wellness and care regimens designed to maintain or enhance adult independence and quality of life.

Memory and aging

Another research study conducted and funded by the Foundation involved more than 100 people living at Charlestown, a community built and managed by Erickson in Catonsville, Maryland. Called “Healthy Body, Healthy Mind,” the study compared physical activity level to mental activity level and depression. It was conducted by Bradley D. Hatfield, Ph.D., associate professor of sports psychology at University of Maryland, College Park.

Volunteers were screened for health conditions and then asked to complete a number of written self-report tests to determine their physical activity level and mental function. They then attended a separate testing session to measure the amount of electrical activity in their brains.

The purpose of the study was to explore the link between daily physical activity (such as walking, playing bridge, cooking, playing with grandchildren, etc.) and wellness, which was defined as “optimism, emotional well-being, clear thoughts and a focused mind.”

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