Has concern for the physical safety of an aging population hijacked the attention that should be paid to their emotional and spiritual needs? Karen Schoeneman, MPA, the deputy director of the nursing home division of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and Heidi Gil, NHA, the director of continuing care at Planetree, discuss what some advocates for the elderly are calling “surplus safety” and whether it can diminish the sense of dignity and community that is so important to the well-being of the elderly.