Delos' Paul Scialla and Well Living Lab's Barbara Spurrier Join the International Council on Active Aging (ICAA) Task Force to Lead Senior Living Transformation After COVID-19

May 27, 2020 /3BL Media/ - Paul Scialla, CEO and Founder of Delos and Founder of the International WELL Building Institute, along with Barbara Spurrier, Managing Director of the Well Living Lab, a collaboration of Delos and Mayo Clinic, are joining more than 160 industry thought leaders to provide guidance for senior living communities throughout North America as they prepare to emerge from a period of quarantine and plan for a new post-COVID era.

Participants in the ICAA COVID-19 Senior Living Task Force include representatives of for-profit, not-for-profit, and affordable housing -- organizations providing active-adult and independent living, continuing care retirement communities/life plan, assisted living, long-term care, skilled nursing, and rehabilitation. Participating industry associations include, among others, LeadingAge, American Senior Housing Association (ASHA), Argentum, American Medical Directors Association (AMDA), Pioneer Network, National Council on Aging (NCOA), The National Association Directors of Nursing Administration in Long-Term Care (NADONA), and the American Society on Aging (ASA).

“Delos’ research has been critical in advancing health and well-being through the places where we spend our time – from senior living to community centers and more,” said Scialla. “It is now more important than ever to apply this research at scale and joining the ICAA task force will allow us to collectively share evidence-based insights and guidance to the senior living industry.”

“I am honored to join this esteemed group of industry experts in exploring how we can maximize the quality and safety of indoor environments for our nation’s senior population,” said Spurrier. The Well Living Lab announced in April its initial plan to advance return-to-workplace guidelines in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Buildings have a tremendous impact on our health and well-being, and the role of indoor spaces has now become more important than ever,” Spurrier said. “The Well Living Lab, which brings together building and health sciences expertise and technologies to conduct research and to generate and disseminate discoveries, can help move findings into the field to impact lives, such as those in our senior living community.”

"The health, wellness and quality of life of our residents and staff are paramount as we chart a path forward in the midst of uncertainty," said ICAA founder and CEO Colin Milner, who conceived the initiative. "The Task Force will generate and provide ideas, tactics, strategies and messaging suggestions that organizations can consider as they begin to plan for a new post-COVID era."

Milner will co-chair the task force with Richard H. Carmona, MD, MPH, FACS, 17th US Surgeon General, Chief of Health Innovations, Canyon Ranch, and psychologist/gerontologist Ken Dychtwald, PhD, best-selling author, founder and CEO of Age Wave.

"Organizations need to make their way through the pandemic and have a game plan to come out of it," Milner said. "Importantly, all key stakeholders are coming together as a group to address COVID-19's impact on the industry and help ensure that organizations will continue to be viable and meet residents' expectations and desires while also ensuring their safety now and into the future."

Task force members and panelists at the May 27 and May 28 launch sessions will address fundamental issues such as social distancing and its impact on the built environment, infrastructure needs and engagement.

About the Well Living Lab
The Well Living Lab, a collaboration of Delos and Mayo Clinic, is dedicated to identifying how indoor environments impact human health and well-being. It conducts scientific research with human subjects in a simulated real-world environment and shares practical findings that can be applied to improving indoor spaces where people spent approximately 90 percent of their time. The lab has 5,500 square-feet of sensor rich, reconfigurable space in downtown Rochester, Minnesota. Learn more at welllivinglab.com

About Delos
Delos is a wellness real estate and technology company with a mission to be the world’s leading catalyst for improving the health and well-being of people by improving the indoor environments where they live, work, sleep and play. Informed by more than seven years of research and rigorous analysis of environmental health impacts on people, Delos and its subsidiaries offer an array of evidence-based technology and solutions for the built environment. Delos is the founder of the International WELL Building Institute and the WELL Building Standard, the premier standard for buildings, interior spaces and communities seeking to implement, validate and measure features that support and advance human health and wellness. The International WELL Building Institute administers and continues WELL’s development and drives market adoption. Delos collaborated with the Mayo Clinic to create the Well Living Lab, a scientific research center that uses exclusively human-centered research to understand the interaction between health and well-being and indoor environments. The company’s advisory board is comprised of leading professionals across real estate, healthcare, government policy and sustainability, including the 17th Surgeon General of the United States Richard Carmona, UCLA’s Dr. Jonathan Fielding, renowned wellness luminary Deepak Chopra, and sustainability advocate Leonardo DiCaprio. For more information about Delos, please visit www.delos.com.

About the ICAA COVID-19 Senior Living Industry Task Force
ICAA COVID-19 Senior Living Industry Task Force will generate and provide ideas, tactics, strategies and messaging suggestions that organizations can consider as they begin to emerge from a period of quarantine and plan for a new post-COVID era. This includes, but is not limited to, the impact of the built and virtual environments, social activities and food/beverage services, technology, education and security that impacts the health and well-being of staff and residents; challenges to current and future business models; and approaches to build confidence in living in and visiting senior living properties.

About the International Council on Active Aging (ICAA)
www.icaa.cc
ICAA is a professional association that leads, connects and defines the active-aging industry and supports professionals who aspire to develop wellness cultures for adults over 50. This support includes creating wellness environments, programs and services. The association is focused on active aging-an approach to aging that helps older adults live life as fully as possible within all dimensions of wellness-and provides its members with education, information, resources and tools. As an active-aging educator and advocate, ICAA has advised numerous organizations and governmental bodies.

For more information or questions:
Contact: Colin Milner, CEO, ICAA
Toll-free: 1-866-335-9777 (North America)
Telephone: 604-734-4466; cell: 604-763-4595
colinmilner@icaa.cc