6 The Hampton Roads Messenger Your Opinion Matters


White House Aging Conference: New Directions--Big Challenges


BY BRUCE CHERNOF, MD WASHINGTON, D.C.--The


White House held its sixth Conference on Aging, earlier this month, and this once-a-decade program took an entirely


discussion of what it means to age in America.


Since the first conference in 1961, the United States has changed in


dramatic ways, and this year’s


conference challenged participants to think more broadly about aging, to reimagine today’s longer lives in ways that better represent the experiences and needs of Americans.


Three Successes


For me, this year’s conference succeeded in three important ways.


First, President Obama attended and spoke forcefully on the issues at hand, acknowledging America as an aging and vibrant nation.


His remarks are critical given that aging as a personal, family, community and societal issue gets scant attention compared to other domestic matters. Bringing the presidential bully pulpit to bear on broader questions of how we wish to age; what we want the support system to look like; and how one’s dignity, respect


and choice Our Faith


Teaching, Learning, and Praying Acts 17:1-12


By Rev. Dr. Gregory Headen, Pastor Today, I write


to prayer.


involves tering


encourage Prayer cen-


oneself


or ourselves to speak with and hear


from God.


Our God is one with whom we can talk, and the conversation


in- volves being heard and listening.


Think of being a parent with seven children. One comes to you with a sincere request that you have the means to grant. This child has been respectful of you and demonstrated his/her appreciation and love for you constantly.


In the granting of the


request, you have some parameters that you need to set for your child. You need for your child to hear your concerns for his/her wellbeing be- fore you grant the request. Nothing makes you happier than to grant your child’s request with the assurance that it will enrich the child’s life and not destroy it. This is an example of personal prayer at the human level. Now imagine that all seven of your children came to you at once with a request that concerned all of them, a collective desire. Before they make the request they praised you for being such a good parent. They thanked you for all you had done for them in their own way. Think of how warm your


heart would be to hear such praise and gratitude from all your children. Think of how much it would mean to you that the seven of them reached agreement on something meaningful that they wanted to do, and it did not violate your character or compromise their safety. Even if only three or four of them came, it would warm your heart greatly. You may have some things to say to them first, but nothing would make you happier than to say yes. This is an example of corporate prayer. God is our heavenly parent. God appreciates the one child that speaks and offers praise and grati- tude. But think of how it must make God feel when many of his children come before the throne to speak with their Heavenly Parent. This is what our Fourth Sunday Prayer time, in- tercessory prayer on other Sundays, and Noon prayer during the week is all about. We pray as individuals, and that is good. Yet, we also need to find those opportunities to join our broth- ers and sisters as we go to our Father together in agreement that He is good and in agreement on what we need from Him. In prayer, we are seeking the Kingdom of God first, and God will add the others things. Right after Jesus says this in Luke, he says “Fear not, little flock: for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the king- dom” (Luke 12:32 KJV). God wants us to have the Kingdom. So, let us pray.


different approach to the


should be honored when having –-


as most


appropriate vital role.


leadership


needs of


us will –- is the White


House’s and


Second, the conference theme


provided on


setting a vision to transform how Americans talk


unproductive can respectably about vulnerable


aging and the need for daily supports. Speakers broke from well-worn,


narratives of aging


(aging = being sick, poor, and alone; caregiving = burden; aging policy = safety net programs). These themes have tended to frame issues of vulnerable aging as someone else’s problem -- not concerns in which all American have a stake -- therefore excluding them from serious public discourse.


Instead, the conference reshaped what it means to age with needs in creative ways. How can we learn from the sharing economy to support the needs of older adults living in the


community and their caregivers? How can the banking industry play a role in identifying older customers’ early cognitive


impairment and protect


them against elder abuse by spotting suspicious activity in their accounts?


How can technology enable safer, more connected


environments so


older adults can live as they choose? These discussions are relevant for all economic strata.


Third, the conference moved


beyond Washington, D.C.’s insider debates among policy aficionados by engaging local communities from grassroots to


Conference leaders and cabinet secretaries facilitated


grass-tops champions. listening


sessions across the country, starting in Sacramento last September at The SCAN Foundation’s Long-Term Services and Supports Summit and continuing throughout 2015.


Conference staff developed four


public policy briefing papers [http:// tinyurl.com/qdce69a] to inform those tuning into the day’s program around the country in order to spark public comment


onsite and online. Live


streaming and an active social media presence connected 700 community watch parties to the conference, with the hashtag #WHCOA reaching #3 on Twitter’s trending list that day.


What Was Missing? So what was missing? With all the


talk about building retirement security, there was no mention of the largest and most unpredictable factor that erodes it: the cost of long-term care (LTC).


A federal report released after the conference shows that half of Americans who reach age 65 will have severe functional needs in their life with an average cost of $138,000 overall. Families have few tools to plan for this economic shock due to the broken LTC insurance market. This is a profoundly important issue for racial and ethnic communities.


As the country ages, older adults will be more diverse, have fewer resources and likely fewer children in their families available to provide the necessary care.


We need to build a set of forward- looking solutions that account for these realities. This includes strengthening and modernizing both Medicare and Medicaid


celebrated for their 50th anniversaries -- to better


the needs of


-- programs now being meet


vulnerable people to live successfully in the communities of their choice.


It The also means seeing White LTC


needs as part of a larger picture of well-being as we age, which requires new thinking about economic security.


House conference


made a point to highlight the role that the private sector might play in bringing new innovation to


aging


services. This is a very important question for ethnic


communities. Technology can be an incredibly


effective tool in overcoming language barriers and increasing connectivity, but it needs to be planned for and built intentionally.


Furthermore, we need to move beyond a usual “digital


divide”


discussion and start thinking about the next wave of technology in our lives –- the internet of things.


home appliance or device will be able


connect and


In the next decade, almost every to


communicate


through the Internet. Pillboxes will know someone is out of medications and automatically


order them.


Refrigerators will know if the milk has expired or if its door hasn’t opened in the last 24 hours, possibly prompting a call to see if a senior is all right.


The examples are myriad. The question is will everyone have access to this kind of technologic support in their homes?


Furthering the Dialogue Beyond the conference,


administration should further


the the


dialogue on aging across people and systems.


Although direction and resources


originate from federal efforts, services are delivered locally with much that states and localities can do to better the lives of older adults and families. The private sector’s key role continues to be creating innovation for wider adoption; this must include ethnic and immigrant communities.


America is changing through


population aging. We are reshaping family, work, retirement and societal engagement, fundamentally


alter the


which will landscape


starting with Boomers and then Gen Xers, Millennials--and those beyond.


We will be a far more diverse country over the next few decades and America is just beginning to embrace this new reality. It is time that social and economic structures evolve to better meet the needs of vulnerable elders in every community.


and racial


Volume 9 Number 12


August 2015


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16