Posted 5/19/2008

Cary, NC Senior Center Is Doing Good Things for Immigrant Elders

“Retirement” and “immigration”: those are both two very big words, in terms of life change. Combine them, and the result of the equation can be depression and disability.

Retirement for some people means nestling in the comfort of one’s own community without the bother of having to work a 40-hour week — volunteering, taking leisurely walks on familiar streets, having tea with dear friends, being at home — at home. But for those who have immigrated to the United States in their later years, there are no...
Read full article with photos taken by CGEC staff at the Cary Senior Center, spring 2008.

familiar streets, and language barriers may bar the way to cultural and social integration. The aging immigrant cannot retire, but must struggle with some of the most difficult worries and fears of his or her life: learning a new language and a new way of doing things; being consciously unaware of societal customs and mores that may put one at risk; learning new transportation and government systems.

A professor of nursing at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois, Dr. Y.-M Lee, talked about some specific “stressors” of aging immigrants in a 2007 article in the Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing. The most important concerns of immigrant elders are, he says: language barriers; isolation and loneliness; fear of dependence upon their children; fear of being a burden; financial problems; transportation problems; discrimination; and fear of death.

Some of these fearsome items are those all elders experience. But can you imagine, at age 70 or 80, sitting at your apartment eight thousand miles from home dependent upon a Chinese phrase book to make yourself understood to your grocer or pharmacist?

Civic centers and parks and recreation departments all over the U.S. are seeing an opportunity to serve these immigrant seniors so that the transition and the ongoing experience of living in a foreign country are eased.

Cary, North Carolina, is typical of many U.S. towns that have recently begun to pay attention to immigrant seniors. The Cary Senior Center is looking at ways they can make life easier for these seniors, and one of its first efforts is lending the center’s facilities to immigrant senior citizen clubs for meetings and social gatherings. East Indian, Japanese, and Chinese immigrants currently use the 17,000 square foot space for activities.

Of course, the senior center hosts many local senior citizen groups, and activities and exercise classes are held daily. Staff from Resources for Seniors, Inc., an information and referral service, work there, and the center hosts SeniorNet, a national computer learning program, which provides computer resources and training to seniors. The center offers approximately 2200 programs each year with over 20,000 participants.

For more information on the Cary Senior Center and its programs go to http://www.townofcary.org/depts/prdept/facilities/cschome.htm. Or contact Jody Jameson, Senior Center Supervisor, at jody.jameson@townofcary.org, or call (919) 469-4081.

Posted 4/9/2008.

As Elder Falls Bill Passes Congress, the CGEC Co-Sponsors New North Carolina Falls Prevention Coalition

Falls Bill Heads to Congress

Safety of Seniors Act Will Expand Research, Programs for #1 Cause of Fatal and Nonfatal Injuries for 65+ Americans

WASHINGTON , DC – A broad-based coalition of nonprofit organizations dedicated to improving the safety and health of older adults applauds today’s House passage of S. 845, the Safety of Seniors (SOS) Act, clearing it for the President. This bill comes at a critical point: each year, one in three older Americans (65 and older) falls and about 30% of those falls require medical treatment that, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), costs more than $19 billion.

Introduced earlier this year by Senators Mike Enzi (R-WY) and Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) in the Senate and Representatives Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Ralph Hall (R-TX) in the House, this bi-partisan legislation will develop effective public and professional education strategies to raise awareness about elder falls, encourage research to identify at-risk populations, and support demonstration projects aimed at preventing falls among older Americans.

“This bill begins to address the gaps in our efforts to understand and remedy the growing issue of elder falls and its consequences,” said William O'Connell, Executive Director of Government Affairs at the National Safety Council (NSC). “The Coalition members thank Senators Enzi and Mikulski and Representatives Pallone and Hall for their exemplary leadership and efforts to keep thousands of older Americans safe from falls-related injuries.”

The Falls Free Coalition Advocacy Work Group, led by the National Council on Aging, the National Safety Council, the Home Safety Council, AARP, the American Occupational Therapy Association, and the American Physical Therapy Association, worked closely with the offices of Senators Enzi and Mikulski and Representatives Pallone and Hall during the last months to ensure the effectiveness of the legislation.

James Firman, president and CEO of the National Council on Aging (NCOA), welcomes the bill’s support of demonstration projects, adding that “many pilot projects, including models developed by the NCOA, continue to demonstrate cost-effective interventions and methods to decrease falls among older Americans.”

Additional Funding Needed

According to Patricia Adkins, Chief Operating Officer of the Home Safety Council, the passage of the Safety of Seniors Act of 2007 is an important first step that should be followed by appropriating additional funding for the CDC’s falls prevention budget.

Based on CDC figures, more than $19 billion annually is spent on treating the elderly for the adverse effects of falls: $12 billion for hospitalization, $4 billion for emergency department visits, and $3 billion for outpatient care. Most of these expenses are paid for by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services through Medicare. It is projected that direct treatment costs from elder falls will escalate to $43.8 billion annually by 2020.

"If we are to make a meaningful difference for older adults, we must communicate to Congress and the White House that more resources are needed to adopt programs that are working," said Adkins, "Trying to solve a $19 billion problem with a $1 million budget does not make sense. Our older Americans deserve better."

Earlier this year, the Falls Free Coalition Advocacy Work Group and 25 other organizations called on Congress to add $20.7 million in Fiscal Year 2009 for the CDC to address the growing, large-scale problem of falls among older Americans.

“Among the greatest financial challenges facing the U.S. Government, its citizens and their employers is stemming the rising cost of healthcare services," said AARP Senior Vice President David Sloane. “Our 31 organizations, representing millions of older Americans want to ensure sufficient funding for the CDC so that significant progress can be made to reduce the frequency and severity of falls among older Americans."

Contacts for Additional Information :

Patricia Adkins, Home Safety Council, 202-330-4905
patricia.adkins@homesafetycouncil.org

Howard Bedlin, National Council on Aging, 202-479-6865
howard.bedlin@ncoa.org

Jordan McNemey, AARP, 202-434-2560
jmcnerney@aarp.org

Carolina Geriatric Education Center Funded to Address Critical Aging Issues

Effective September 1, 2007, new three-year funding from the Bureau of Health Professions will enable the Carolina Geriatric Education Center (CGEC) to address critical issues relative to the health of North Carolina’s older adults. Seven topics will receive particular attention: falls prevention and intervention, disaster preparedness; brain health; health literacy; mental health; needs of immigrant elders; and oral health and long-term care. With leadership from the School of Medicine’s Center for Aging and Health, CGEC is a collaborative effort of the health professions schools at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, regional AHEC partners (Wake, Mountain, Charlotte, Northwest, Eastern, and Greensboro), the UNC Institute on Aging, and Piedmont Health Services, Inc, as well as other vital organizations, such as AARP. Jan Busby-Whitehead, MD, Center for Aging and Health, UNC School of Medicine, is the Program Director.

For the past eight years, CGEC has worked with North Carolina’s health and human service providers to develop more effective approaches to the care of older people in their communities. Key topics of emerging importance are researched and curricula planned to include not only core knowledge, but also principles of practice and program development. Consortium members provide continuing education across a broad spectrum of aging issues to health and human services professionals. They also collaborate with exemplary practice settings to prepare students for their future roles as clinicians, program planners, and leaders in geriatrics. The new project includes a part-time Interdisciplinary Faculty Development Program in Health Literacy to foster increased integration of health literacy principles into practice statewide.

The national Geriatric Education Centers Program was founded by the Health Services and Resources Administration in 1983 to expand interdisciplinary training of health professional faculty, students and practitioners in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, disability, and other health problems of older adults. There is a nationwide network of Centers with most states having access to GEC resources.

For information about CGEC, contact Rebecca Hunter, M.Ed., Associate Director for Program Development, rhh@med.unc.edu

Health professionals need excellent education and training in order to provide the highest quality health care to their patients and clients. The Carolina Geriatric Education Center has been working with North Carolina universities, exemplary clinical settings, and Area Health Education Centers (AHECs) across North Carolina for many years to design and provide education to health professionals of all levels and fields of study.