New Book Expands Dementia Care

The American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc. published this month, Occupational Therapy and Dementia Care, The Home Environmental Skill-Building Program For Individuals and Families which offers a “bridge to academic and clinical acumen to advance the quality of life of families and individuals with dementia.” The intent of the book is “to provide the empirical support and foundation by which occupational therapy and other health professionals can make a real-world difference in dementia care.” It is written by the director of the Center for Applied Research on Aging and Health, Thomas Jefferson University, Dr. Laura N. Gitlin and Dr. Mary A. Corcoran, professor in the Department of Health Care Sciences at George Washington University.

This book presents the Home Environmental Skill-Building Program approach which is designed to help the occupational therapist and practitioners at the intermediate and advance levels. The book also allows graduate students in occupational therapy and health and human service professional understand the role and impact of the physical and social environment of dementia care. Gitlin and Corcoran teach several strategies that can minimize environmental stressors in the home, and the unique role of occupational therapists in management of the disease and caregiver concerns. According to Gitlin, the book is focused for “the families and the individuals with this terrible disease for whom we must ultimately thank for opening up their homes and revealing their lives to us. We hope, in turn, to have made at least a small positive difference in their daily struggles.”

About 1.5% of the population have dementia by age 65, and about 30% develop it by age 80. Today, about 4 million people in the United States have dementia and as the Baby Boomers reach retirement age this number is expected to increase to 13 million people. Those who research dementia or have family or friends with dementia know that it is “a long journey …gripped by the devastation of the disease as well as by the strength, sprit, creativity, innovation, grace, and dignity of families.”

Gitlin is a research sociologist in the areas of psychosocial consequences of physical frailty, environmental modification, and developing and testing behavioral interventions to enhance the well-being of people with dementia and family caregivers.

Corcoran has degrees in occupational therapy, social gerontology, and health planning for the elderly population. She has served as both principal investigator and co-principal investigator on several projects funded by the National Institute on Aging.

For more information about the book, go to http://store.aota.org/aotastore/product.asp?pf%5Fid=1232

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AoA Teams with Department of Transportation to Release United We Ride

The Administration on Aging partnered with the Department of Transportation on May 24 to announce the release of United We Ride White House Report on Human Services Transportation Coordination, which was mandated in February 2004 by President Bush’s Executive Order on Human Services Transportation and Mobility.

The report outlines recommendations to improve existing transportation services to be more cost-effective, available and be accountable and responsive to the needs of senior citizens. The report was developed by the Federal Interagency Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility.

Several communities such as, Allegheny County, PA and Harrisburg, IL, have already created transportation systems that enable the most vulnerable people to get to a place.
Various techniques were used to ensure a success with the report. For example, the Framework for Action which provides mechanisms for states and local communities was used to help develop coordination plans.

The report is part of President Bush’s New Freedom Initiative encourages all sections of government to assist people of any age to live in a place with empowerment, autonomy and independence.

Source: http://www.aoa.gov/prof/transportation/media/united.asp

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Senior Housing on the Rise

CENTRAL VIRGINIA – Housing for older adults has become a growing market due to the idea that senior citizens help increase the tax bases for the county without adding children to school systems.

Many neighborhoods, such as Ruckersville’s age-restricted Four Seasons neighborhood welcome a senior citizen community because the volunteer in the local community which improves the economy of the city.

The 55 plus population grows as Baby Boomers reach the retirement age. According the Census, in 1997 there were 55.9 million Americans who were 55 years of age or older and in 2010 there will be over 74.7 million Americans who are 55 and older. It is predicted that, as a result, 45 percent of Baby Boomers will move into other homes prior to retirement.

According to the U.S. Census, in Orange , 17.1 percent, or 4,425 residents, were 65 or older in 2000 while Greene has a younger population, with only 9.7 percent, or 1,478 people, over 65.

Source: As senior housing increases, fears rise ( Monday, June 20, 2005 ).

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Sarbanes Gives Keynote Address to VOA

WASHINGTON - Senator Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) gave the keynote address to the Policy Summit convened by Volunteers of America to inform the 2005 White House Conference on Aging on Wed., June 22 where the summit discussed the issue of improving the coordination of housing, health care and supportive services for seniors.

During his speech, Sarbanes called for better collaboration between housing programs and services to relieve the burden from senior citizens and their families. He thanked VOA for assembling the summit in order to bestow attention to this problem. Sarbanes recently introduced legislation to create an Interagency Council on Meeting the Housing and Service Needs of Seniors, which will encourage the collaboration among the Federal departments and agencies in order to meet and improve the needs of senior citizens. The legislation is similar to the themes of the Policy Summit because they both work on improving the collaboration of housing, health care and support services.

The half-day summit discussed various techniques to solve the legislative and financial situations in order to meet the challenges of the Baby Boom retirees. Five resolutions were also given, such as the need expand housing production, rental assistance and supportive housing models and connect services and senior housing to promote Aging-in-Place

Other speakers present at the summit were Gerard Holder, the former executive director of the Commission on Affordable Housing and Health Facility Needs for seniors in the 21 st Century, representatives from the policy committee of the 2005 White House Conference on Again and senior housing and long-term care facility operators.

The recommendations given by the Summit will be sent to the Policy Committee of the 2005 White House Conference on Aging.

The White House Conference on Aging occurs once every ten years to help the public and private sectors to promote the importance of health, independence and economic security of senior citizens. This conference will be held in Washington on Dec. 11-14.

Source: “ Volunteers of America Hosts Policy Summit to Address Housing, Health Care for Seniors” PRNewswire (June 22, 2005).

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Partnerships For Aging In Place – An Independent Aging Agenda Event / Morton Kesten Summit ( June 6-7, 2005)

“Partnerships for Aging in Place: A Morton Kesten Summit” held recently in Washington, D.C. was successful in shaping several resolutions that could potentially improve the lives of older Americans. Jon Pynoos, Ph.D., a professor at the  University of Southern California's Andrus Gerontology Center and the Director of the National Resoruce Center on Supportive Housing and Home Modifications will be a delegate at the 2005 White House Conference on Aging to be held in December.  According to Pynoos, the resolutions that took shape at the Morton Kesten Summit strongly support the idea of aging in place in liveable communities. “I was pleased to see that there was so much interest in this topic and potential for coalition building among representatives from such areas as housing, transportation, home care and so many other industries and organizations,” Pynoos said.

June 6

Leon Harper, President of the National Home Modification Action Coalition (NHMAC), delivered the opening address. He thanked the participants for their commitment to aging in place, and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) for hosting the event. Harper gratefully acknowledged the following for sponsoring the two-day Independent Aging Agenda Event / Morton Kesten Summit: AARP, NAHB, Rebuilding Together, the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA) – Aging in Place Council, and the University of Southern California – National Resource Center on Supportive Housing and Home Modification.

The first workshop “Aging in Place 2015” was led by the following: Jon Pynoos ( University of Southern California); Moya Thompson (2005 White House Conference on Aging); Edward Steinfeld (Univeristy at Buffalo); Louis Tenenbaum (Independent Living Strategist); Andy Kochera (AARP); and, Elinor Ginzler (AARP). Pynoos began with an overview of the nature of the White House Conference on Aging, and the important work of the two-day event in appropriately crafting resolutions that would be adopted at the coming main conference later in the year. Thomspson reiterated to all present their significant role in helping delegates focus on issues relevant to older adults. Steinfeld then reviewed recommendations from the first NHMAC Independent Aging Agenda Event that was held in Philadelphia, March 2005. Tenenbaum, Kochera and Ginzler proceeded to describe the beneficiaries of aging in place, and programs and policies that contribute to a livable community.

Participants were encouraged to ask questions immediately after each presentation. Many took advantage of the opportunity to clarify points that had been made, and to highlight issues important to them.

The second workshop of the day “Defining Today’s Aging in Place Challenges and Solutions” was led by: Mark Olshan (B’nai B’rith Center for Senior Services); Patricia Adkins (Home Safety Council); Peter Bell (NRMLA); Richard Duncan (Center for Universal Design); Rhonda Dahlman (AARP); and, Arthur Okner (Co-Housing Association for the Elderly). Members of this panel talked about existing affordable and accessible housing available to the elderly, and the need to modify those that were not senior-friendly. Panel members also presented on universal design concepts and a possible aging in place option called of co-housing. As before, participants asked questions right after the panel speakers had concluded their respective presentations.

At the end of the day, a keynote session was presented by Robert McNulty of Partners for Livable Communities. McNulty’s talk, entitled “Aging In Place: A Vision For The Future,” focused on innovative ways of viewing aging in place. In this way, a great many diverse constituents could be brought on board, even those not considered “aging” related.

June 7

Day Two began with a presentation by Val Halamandaris of the National Association of Home Care. Halamandaris focused on the important role of caregivers in providing care to help older adults age in place. This was followed by another presenter, Jean Roesser, who talked about the state of aging in place in the State of Maryland.

In the later part of the morning, participants divided themselves into small ‘café-like” groups to process what they have heard until then. Over lunch and into the afternoon, participants worked in small groups to arrive at a short list of topics to be crafted into resolutions.

This Mini-WHoCA is a follow-up of the 2005 Joint Conference of the American Society on Aging and the National Conference on the Aging in Philadelphia held on March 11. The first meeting featured several workshops that focused upon funding, researching, servicing, increasing housing options, and consumer education.

WHoCA occurs once every ten years in Washington. The White House Conference on Aging Act was signed by President Eisenhower which stated that a “nationwide forum to focus public attention on problems and potentials of older Americans.” Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus took part in developing the idea of WHCOA and the first conference was in 1961.

Click here to view the preliminary resolutions and other information from the conference.

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