Why the focus on healthy aging?
Because life expectancy for Americans has risen from about age 50 in 1900 (men and women combined) to almost 80 in 2000, with many Americans living to over 100. Because in Washington state, 11.2% of the population is over age 65, a 15% increase from the prior decade. And because “just living longer means nothing if you are not healthy enough to enjoy it,” according to Dean Emeritus Rheba de Tornyay, in whose honor the Center is named, and who is pictured on our cover. As the world’s older adult population steadily increases, the de Tornyay Center on Healthy Aging is poised to achieve international prominence in gerontological nursing with a cadre of faculty researchers working on issues relating to aging. Improving our understanding of sleep in older age; advancing geriatric care for people with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia and their caregivers; supporting studies relating to midlife and aging women; and increasing nursing competence in providing end-of-life care are some of the st
