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Mental Health Demands of an Aging Population
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In This Issue:
Upcoming Deadlines
Announcements
Research & News
Funding Opportunities
Resources
Policy
Upcoming Deadlines
2012 Aging in America Call for Proposals deadline is June 30, 2011
Hartford Doctoral Fellows Program Applications due Aug. 1st
CSWE Annual Program Meeting early-bird registration rate ends Aug. 31st
GSA Annual Conference early-bird registration rate ends Sept. 13th
HPPAE Journal Generativity Call for Papers & Posters deadline is Oct. 1st
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Announcements
Congratulations to Drs. Marilyn Luptak & Fran Wilby Selected for Spafford Chair
Dr. Marilyn Luptak, Hartford Faculty Scholar (Cohort IX) & Doctoral Fellow (Cohort I) and Dr. Fran Wilby, Hartford Doctoral Fellow (Cohort VI) were both honored by the University of Utah College of Social Work as the next two Belle S. Spafford Endowed Chairs in Social Work. The Belle S. Spafford Endowed Chair in Social Work is a prestigious position dedicated to improving the lives of Utah’s women and their families. The Spafford Chair is the only academic position with such a purpose in a school of social work in the country.
Hartford Faculty Scholar featured in GSA Member spotlight
Michelle Putnam, PhD, Hartford Faculty Scholar (Cohort III), is featured in this month’s GSA Member spotlight. Dr. Putnam explains how she came to find gerontology as a discipline that incorporated her many interests including public policy, disability research, and women’s studies.
Call for Proposals: 2012 Aging in America (Mar. 28-Apr. 1, 2012, Washington, DC)
If you have a best-practice program, area of expertise, research or innovation you wish to share with more than 3,000 professionals in the field of aging, the Aging in America conference, scheduled for March 28-April 1, 2012 in Washington, DC, is the place to do it. To learn more, visit www.asaging.org. For more information and to submit proposal: http://www.asaging.org/aia12/. Proposal deadline: June 30, 2011
NCEA Webcast on Elder Abuse Announced
The National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA) will host a webcast on June 28th at 2 pm (ET) titled “Elder Justice: Stronger Federal Leadership Could Enhance National Response to Elder Abuse”. The webcast will cover how this GAO report came about, provide an overview of the methodology the GAO used, explain the findings about elder abuse in general, and describe the challenges facing state Adult Protective Service Programs. To register for the webcast, click here. An archived recording of the webcast will be available on the NCEA website at www.ncea.aoa.gov.
Older Americans Month Contest Winners Announced
The U.S. Administration on Aging (AoA) has announced the winners of the May Older Americans Month Connecting Generations Video Challenge and the Community Connections Video Game Tournament contests. The Connecting Generations Video Challenge brought together multiple generations to create videos featuring the roles older adults play in connecting us all. The ten finalists selected by a panel of expert judges and the public are posted here.
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Research & News
Preparing for another “boom”: The groundswell of an aging population with mental illness
At it’s May Annual Meeting, the American Psychiatric Association gave voice to an increasing concern of mental health providers, “how do we prepare for the groundswell of aging individuals with dementia and other types of mental illnesses?” Emergency rooms around the country are already seeing an increase in the number of individuals who are admitted for mental health reasons. Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu, where the Annual Meeting was held, documented a 30% increase in the number of elderly patients admitted to the ER for conditions related to mental illness. Recently, the American Psychological Association released a resource kit for family caregivers coping with the many issues that arise in caring for loved ones with mental health needs. To access the resource kit, click here.
Late-Life Depression Similar to Heart Disease
Aol Healthy Living recently featured an article by Dr. Richard Besdine who posed the following question to readers, “Can you solve this medical riddle? What strikes one in five Americans, raises their risk of death and disability, and doubles their health care costs?” The answer, as it turns out, is depression, but it could also be heart disease. Dr. Besdine continues to explore this theme and the many challenges that patient’s encounter in regards to diagnosis, treatment, and curing depression.
Adolescent Study Habits Provide Clues to Maintaining Memory
Researchers suspect that multi-tasking has changed how younger brains store memory, but studies suggest that those over 40 require repitition & time to maintain memories. Ron Davis, chair of the Scripps Florida Research Department of Neuroscience remarks “Most people have to hear something about five times before they really get it — even very smart people, and it helps to have restful sleep in between to remember long term.” He goes on to explain that Boomers grew up being disciplined to turn off the TV and the radio during study, a profoundly different experience from today’s youth who often check smartphones or play video games while studying. This experience during adolescent years appears to set up the platform for how the brain works. Click here to read more.
NCOA Campaign: "One Away" Allows Seniors to Share Stories
As part of the National Council on Aging's focus on elder economic security, it recently launched a campaign called "One Away." The campaign is intended to call greater attention to the fact that 13 million seniors are one event away from economic disaster. Through the interactive website, 836 seniors have posted personal stories about their challenges surviving on fixed incomes while expenses like health care and food increase. The website also features a video of interviews with older adults. To share a story or to see more information, visit http://www.oneaway.org/.
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Funding Opportunities
The following grant & funding opportunities were announced by HHS:
National Institutes of Health
National Cooperative Drug Discovery and Development Groups (NCDDG) for the Treatment of Mental Disorders, Drug or Alcohol Addiction (UM1) Modification 1
National Institutes of Health
National Cooperative Drug Discovery/Development Groups (NCDDG) for the Treatment of Mental Disorders, Drug or Alcohol Addiction (U19) Modification 1
Administration on Aging
Accelerating Integrated, Evidence-Based, and Sustainable Service Systems for Older Adults, Individuals with Disabilities and Family Caregivers Grant
Administration on Aging
Creating Dementia Capable, Sustainable Service Systems For Persons With Dementia And Their Family Caregivers Grant
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Resources
World Elder Abuse Awareness Day Observed June 15th
On Wednesday, June 15th, elder rights advocates and aging services professionals around the world participated in community activities for World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD). There are many ways to observe WEAAD including hosting community educational events, holding an awareness walk, or simply wearing a purple ribbon. To learn more about WEAAD, visit the National Center on Elder Abuse Join Us Campaign website or view the YouTube video titled “Color My World Free From Elder Abuse.”
Under the Radar: New York State Elder Abuse Prevalence Study: Self-Reported Prevalence and Documented Case Surveys
The New York State Elder Abuse Prevalence Study is one of the most ambitious and comprehensive studies to quantify the extent of elder abuse in a discrete jurisdiction ever attempted, and certainly the largest in any single American state. The Final Report outlining in detail the findings of this groundbreaking study is now available on Lifespan’s website. The study was a Lifespan of Greater Rochester, Weill Cornell Medical Center, and New York City Department for the Aging partnership, supported in part by a grant from the William B. Hoyt Memorial Children and Family Trust Fund, a program administered by the New York State Office of Children & Family Services.
HHS unveils new interactive video to prevent health care-associated infections
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health recently released Partnering to Heal: Teaming Up Against Healthcare-Associated Infections, an interactive computer-based video-simulation training program. This training program helps support the goals of the Partnership for Patients, a new public-private partnership aimed at improving the quality, safety and affordability of health care for all Americans.
New Book on Fighting Ageism in America
Margaret Morganroth Gullette, the author of a new book titled AGEWISE: Fighting the New Ageism in America, describes her contention that nearly everything negatively associated with aging has to do with discrimination. She asserts that ageism should be looked upon as strongly as other acts of discrimination such as racism and sexism. Gullette draws upon provocactive stories and illustrates how marketers have utilized ageism and fear to sell illusions of youthful perfection. To read more, click here.
Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) Program – Role of the Aging Network in Assisting Older Mortgagees
Over the past few months, through newsletters, teleconferences and webinars, the Administration on Aging (AoA) has been providing information to Aging Network professionals about the importance of working with US Department of Housing and Urban Development Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) reverse mortgage holders who may be delinquent with property cost payments (insurance, taxes etc.). There are currently 30,000 HECM mortgagees identified as delinquent. Many of these older mortgagees are being referred to the Aging Network for assistance. AoA has created a web page designed to assist individuals in understanding the issue. Resources available on the web page include background information, a summary of the issue, an FAQ that may be used with consumers, and links to additional resources. Click here to access this new web page.
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Policy
Greenlee Testifies Before Congress on May 26th
Assistant Secretary for Aging (ASA) Kathy Greenlee provided testimony at a May 26, 2011 hearing of the US Senate Special Committee on Aging entitled: “Meals, Rides, and Caregivers: What Makes the Older Americans Act so Vital to America's Seniors." Over the past year, the AoA has received reports from more than 60 listening sessions held throughout the country regarding reauthorization of the Older Americans Act (OAA), as well as additional online input from interested organizations, seniors and persons with disabilities and their caregivers. This input represents the interests of thousands of consumers of the OAA’s services. In her remarks, ASA Greenlee provided an overview of the information AoA has received regarding this landmark legislation, which provides the structure for vital home and community-based services to more than 11 million older adults and their caregivers. She also summarized the important themes shared, and highlighted a few of the priority areas the Congress may wish to consider as the reauthorization process for the OAA moves forward. The webcast can be viewed on the Senate Special Committee on Aging website.
Caring for an Aging America Act Reintroduced
On May 26, 2011, U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) along with Senators Herb Kohl (D-WI), Bernie Sanders (D-VT) and Susan Collins (R-ME) reintroduced the Caring for an Aging America Act. This piece of legislation (S. 1095) is aimed at addressing the critical shortages in doctors, nurses, social workers and other skilled health care workers who will be needed to care for a population of seniors that is projected to almost double over the next two decades. The Caring for an Aging America Act is backed by the Eldercare Workforce Alliance, a group of 28 national organizations (including The Gerontological Society of America) who have joined together to address the immediate and future workforce crisis in caring for an aging America. Click here to follow the bill’s progress.
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