Healthier Thanks To Companies Like J&J

I’m a Baby Boomer. I’m at the late end of the era, but I’m there. Just a few more months and I’ll be eligible for AARP membership. I used to think of 50 as old but now it just seems like another year. I don’t feel as old as I perceived my mom to be at 50. Is that all perception? Or has 50 really changed over the years?

I’m sure perception plays a part but I also believe that the buying power of the Baby Boomer generation has influenced companies to develop products that appeal to our quest for a long and healthy life. There are new companies popping up every day but the tried and true companies that served my parents and grandparents so well are still in the game, making amazing advances.

I was looking around the Johnson & Johnson website, expecting to find those familiar items like Q-tips, baby shampoo, and Band-Aids. I found those but I also discovered that my favorite sweetner, Splenda, is a J&J product. In fact, I never even realized that my contact lenses come from J&J. No doubt Johnson & Johnson has been at the forefront of healthcare innovation over these past decades.

As with any successful company, J&J has focused on quality products and customer satisfaction. Caring about their community of employees and consumers means different things to each of us. I was especially moved by the personal stories of those whose lives have been improved by J&J products. I know about this first hand. As I type this post, I’m in my mom’s home caring for her as she recovers from knee replacement surgery. When I watched the video of Mark who was bicycling again after hip replacement, I fought back tears. It is this kind of innovation that is giving my mother another chance to live a pain-free life.

I know that the healthcare industry in general gets a lot of criticism in the US; I know it’s a hot topic during this election season. Nevertheless, no one can deny the great strides that private companies like Johnson & Johnson have made in providing treatments and products that improve our quality of life so much that 50 today is more like 30 was in the 1950s. I can’t wait to see and chronicle the advances that are yet to come.