Lifespan is broadly understood as the number of years a person lives, while healthspan generally reflects the number of years a person lives free from chronic disease or significant disability.
In his article about a program starting in California to support whole-person health, Dr. Scott Neeley, the president and CEO of Dignity Health Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital, touches upon the difference between lifespan and healthspan. The distinction is among the topics discussed in this issue of Health Progress, which explores questions related to health at different ages, life transitions and how to support longevity and quality of life. It also considers the importance of relationships when providing care to those who cope with disability or chronic illness.
Authors from AARP describe their latest findings related to caregiving across the United States, and make suggestions for what that may mean in terms of policy and societal change to support families and the workforce. Other articles in this issue report on how people want to age and technological advances that can assist both them and their care providers, whether at home or in a long-term care environment. Additionally, readers hear from the Center to Advance Palliative Care about strategies to ensure that palliative care equitably reaches patients with serious illnesses and their families.
As we consider longevity, a thematic thread running through this issue is certainly that when it comes to care, the vision of the Catholic Church remains steadfast. Bruce Compton, CHA’s senior director of global health, details in his column how CHA and the organization’s Global Health Advisory Council have been in dialogue with leaders around the world, and points to how this moment provides a renewed reason to unify with those who are vulnerable to forge “new pathways of solidarity and service.” Lives depend on attention to our brothers and sisters most in need.
An article from Msgr. David LiPuma, the pastor and rector of Our Lady of Victory National Shrine & Basilica in Lackawanna, New York, recounts the life of Venerable Nelson Baker and how his example and legacy continue to be remembered in Western New York almost a century after his death. Staffers at Catholic Health in the region pay tribute to his legacy of caring. The basilica he championed still draws visitors from far and wide, and his example of recognizing that responding to social needs is foundational to the overall health of an individual and a community still sparks inspiration today.
I visited Elizabeth Seton Children's campuses in Yonkers and White Plains, New York, where the organization is building a new center for young adults with complex conditions, a project that organizers have pursued for years. Thanks to everyone there, the staff and families, for letting me spend time with your beautiful children and young adults.
As we turn to the new year, and the call of the work, I turn to 1 Corinthians as a touchstone for the importance of love in how we care for one another:
“Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, is not pompous, it is not inflated,
it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,
it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails. …" (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)