USC Professor Jon Pynoos to attend White House Conference on Aging

Dr. Jon Pynoos is chosen as one of the twelve gubernatorial delegates to represent California at the 2005 White House Conference on Aging (WHCoA) which will take place on Dec. 11-14 in Washington D.C.

This year’s WHCoA theme is entitled, “The Booming Dynamics of Aging: From Awareness to Action.” Thus, many of the resolutions will not only concern older adults but also the baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964.

In June of this year, Pynoos helped shaped several resolutions that could potentially improve the lives of older Americans at the Partnerships for Aging in Place: A Morton Kesten Summit. Here Pynoos contributed to four potential resolutions they are: the need to reduce health and long term care costs through home modifications, visitability, and universal design; the need to increase housing choices for aging in place by 2010; the need to create livable communities that maintain involvement and insure safety/security throughout the lifespan; and the need to coordinate housing and related programs/services so that senior citizens can age in place and have access to the programs/services. Thus, Pynoos hopes to ensure the passing of aging-in-place and home modification resolutions.

The Gubernatorial delegates will help choose roughly 50 of the 73 resolutions that were passed by the WHCoA Policy Committee that they find most relevant to current and older adults to be passed an be implemented. After the delegates pass the 50 resolutions they will create techniques that will help implement these 50 resolutions.

The final resolutions the WHCoA Policy Committee passed on Nov. 22 include topics such as economic incentives to increase retirement savings; social security programs, home modifications and aging-in-place ideals.

Pynoos is a professor at the University of Southern California’s Andrus Gerontology Center and the Director of the National Resource Center on Supportive Housing and Home Modifications.

Pynoos’ 2005 WHCoA Vision Paper, which he co-authored with USC graduate Christy Nishita, Ph.D., entitled “Affordability and Supportiveness of Housing for Older Americans,” will become part of a book that will help the delegates make a more informed decision at the conference. The “Vision Paper” discusses the issue of affordability and accessibility for older persons living on fixed incomes.

These resolutions were brought about by the public through testimonies and reports that were submitted by approximately 400 Mini-Conferences, Listening Sessions, Solution Forums and Independent Aging Agenda Events. The Policy Committee then chose resolutions that best explicate the emerging issues, interests and concerns older adults have.

The WHCoA held every ten years to make policy recommendations regarding health, independence, and economic security for older adults to Congress and the President. The first conference was held in 1961 but most of the foundation for this conference was laid out in the 1950’s. The 2005 White House Conference on Aging will be the first WHCOA of the 21st century.

For more information of the WHCoA please visit: www.whcoa.gov/

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