Retired, but Not Tired Out

Mayo Clinic Nurtures a Community of Former Staffers Eager to Stay Connected

(Robb Long - Ftwp)

ROCHESTER, Minn.

Dinner on the 22nd floor of Charter House is a coat-and-tie affair pretty much every night.

That's where residents, including my parents, gather at the end of the day, often dining with friends whether they plan it in advance or meet by chance. And these are not just any friends, because this is not just any retirement building.

These are often lifelong friends, who once worked together on the staff of the Mayo Clinic. Coats and ties for men and dresses for women were their daily attire as they cared for patients, and they are not about to give them up as a perk of aging.

The view from the 22nd floor takes in the entire Mayo campus, just as the Clinic, as it is called around town, looms large in Rochester and in the life of Charter House's residents. Charter House is also the backdrop for an unusual experiment in aging, where participation in continuing education and other activities among people with a shared history seems to keep residents vital and give their lives an important sense of purpose.

"Charter House is unique because it really illustrates the power of community late in life," says Larry Minnix, president of the American Association for Homes and Services for the Aging, "to say nothing of the availability of quality health care there."

Of course, the world-class medical care at Mayo is a huge draw, but the congenial living situation of being with like-minded friends with a shared life history is no small attraction. Dinner conversations run from the usual politics and grandchildren to recollections of unusual medical cases and breakthroughs that had international implications.

It's proving to be in the Clinic's interest to keep former staff members involved, often as the wise elders of the community. Many Charter House residents attend clinical sessions in their field of study and serve as panelists in orientation programs for new staff.

Many also serve as volunteers, from staffing information desks to holding open elevator doors to working with oncology support groups. Barbara Kermisch, coordinator of volunteers at Rochester Methodist -- one of the Clinic's two hospitals -- says that about 162 retired Clinic employees make up about 16 percent of the volunteer staff.

In these ways, Charter House is a model for its counterparts being developed at many colleges and universities, where senior housing is being built to let people take advantage of their old school connections and their shared sense of community.

My parents, Marjorie and Jesse Edwards, are reaping the benefits. They began married life in Rochester in the '50s when my father was on the Mayo staff as a cardiac pathologist. They left Rochester when my dad changed jobs and moved his laboratory to a hospital in St. Paul, 90 miles to the north, and they returned about two years ago.