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Ithaca College Gerontology
Institute
While long-term care affects an estimated seven million older adults and their families, and costs several hundred billion dollars a year, our nation's approach to it is scattershot at best. Public dollars are used largely for nursing home care for low-income elders, even though this setting is the least preferred option for receiving care. Relatively little funding goes to programs that pay for home care, assist family members with the challenges of providing home care, or help disabled elders live independently in the community. Information on appropriate and effective alternative approaches to providing long-term care has not been well disseminated, either to health and social service providers or to informal caregivers, and many practitioners lack adequate training in working with older adults. The Ithaca College Gerontology Institute has attempted to assist in
disseminating information and providing training, through programs that
link us with a variety of organizations, practitioners, and informal
care providers working and living in central New York. I hope you enjoy
reading about some of these activities. As always, thank you for your
interest in and contributions to ICGI. FACULTY
SPOTLIGHT: A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, DePalma received a Ph.D. in psychology from Cornell University. She then taught for a year at Cornell before joining the faculty of Ithaca College in 1990 as an assistant professor. DePalma has been a member of the ICGI faculty advisory group since 1994. She has served on an ICGI small grant review committee and as a member of the curriculum subcommittee that helped develop the new gerontology major. In 1997 she joined the Pathways to Life Quality project as faculty associate. "Pathways has been an exciting affiliation for me," says DePalma. "It has allowed me to ask and evaluate a series of questions about the aging process." In particular, she has analyzed beliefs about aging, as compared to the real consequences of aging, and incorporated her findings into classroom learning. "Having the opportunity to work with an applied population and the ability to involve my undergraduate students in research is a win-win situation," she adds. Recognizing that false beliefs about aging can affect a person's quality of life, her students are looking at ways to change those misconceptions. DePalma and her husband, Bernie, who works at Cornell, have two children,
Taylor, age six, and Turner, age three. Return
Visit by Susan Perlstein Propels Local Arts Collaboration As a featured presenter at the ICGI annual spring conference in May 2001 on "Aging and Creativity: Enhancing Life Quality through the Arts," Perlstein had noted, "the National Center for Creative Aging is dedicated to fostering an understanding of the vital relationship between creative expression and healthy aging and to developing programs that build on this understanding." Exploring this opportunity, the Ithaca College Gerontology Institute and the Community Arts Partnership of Tompkins County collaborated for several months to identify art programs that involve older adults. On March 15, Perlstein was back in town for a half-day invitational workshop outlining the roles and responsibilities of artists and program administrators and demonstrating how to create a successful, high-quality program. She discussed design, training, orientation, implementation, and evaluation of programs for older adults who are well, programs for frail elders, and concepts for intergenerational groups. The Community School of Music and Arts in downtown Ithaca hosted and participated in the intensive training workshop. Returning to the IC campus during her stay, Perlstein presented an overview of "Creativity and Aging across America" in the Emerson Suites on March 18 to an intergenerational audience of students, artists, and community members. Additional information about arts collaborations for older adults is available through ICGI; call 607-274-1967. Long-Term
Care System Course Assistant professor Patty Lynott of the Gerontology Institute began teaching the course during the spring 2002 semester. Students examine a variety of long-term care services available in the United States and other countries, including home health care, family caregiving, assisted living, continuing care retirement communities, and innovations in nursing home care. Discussions have been lively, says Lynott, on issues such as consumer-directed care and the pay scale for certified nursing assistants. Among the guest speakers who have given presentations to the class are Heidi Holmes, also of the Gerontology Institute, who spoke about major findings from the Pathways to Life Quality research project; Janice Elich Monroe, of the College's Department of Therapeutic Recreation and Leisure Services, on interdisciplinary teamwork among allied health workers; representatives from the Social Security Administration, who explained the latest changes in Medicare; and advocates for elders in nursing homes. Later in the semester, the class will travel as a group to visit an Eden Alternative facility.
FLGEC:
Training for Better Frontline Worker Retention In recent years FLGEC has offered an extensive series of spring workshops for frontline workers in Ithaca and the surrounding areas. Organized and sponsored by ICGI and held at several adult care residences in Ithaca, the programs have drawn sizable audiences to learn more about depression, breast cancer, hearing loss, urinary incontinence, environmental modifications to help older adults, and helping clients and residents plan leisure activities. The workshops enable frontline workers to get to know peers from other long-term care residences and agencies, while improving their understanding of important issues of caregiving. With the help of agencies in Cayuga and Cortland Counties, FLGEC offered its latest workshops during March at Cortland Memorial and Auburn Memorial Hospitals. Fred Marshall, M.D., an assistant professor of neurology at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, presented "Understanding Dementia Diagnoses" for certified nurse assistants, home health aides, and personal care assistants. Combining a lecture with group discussion, Marshall addressed the definition of dementia, its epidemi-ology, Alzheimer's disease versus normal aging, various dementia diagnoses, treatment considerations and practical strategies for working with people with dementia, and concerns regarding quality of life. For more information on frontline worker training and other programs
offered by FLGEC, contact Elaine Gebell, project coordinator, at 607-274-1609
or egebell@ithaca.edu. Patient
Advocacy Spurs Change in Nursing Home Culture Nursing home culture change seeks to give more control to the resident, create a socially and biologically diverse habitat, develop a community where staff and residents know and care about each other, and foster an environment where residents experience a sense of normalcy and meaning in their daily lives. This philosophy departs from the acute care model reflected in most nursing homes today. In this structure, the precepts of medicine and nursing tend to be the controlling factors in daily life, with schedules based on the staff's need to accomplish tasks. With improvements seen in the physical care of nursing home residents in recent years, innovators are now recognizing the importance of mental and spiritual well-being. While upholding a high standard of physical care, pioneers in nursing home culture change are taking steps to individualize care, restore residents' control of their daily lives, increase diversity and a sense of home, and build community. Terms referring to these innovative approaches include the Eden Alternative, the regenerative community, resident-directed care, and the individualized care approach. The Pioneer Network, an advocacy organization based in Rochester, New York, incorporates concepts from all of these trends. This year's annual ICGI spring conference on May 29 will offer details on the culture change phenomenon. Rose Marie Fagan and Julie Berndt of the Pioneer Network will present a talk on "Building Community Networks for Culture Change in Long-Term Care." A conference registration form is included in this newsletter. CONGRATULATIONS To deliver optimal care, practitioners in these disciplines must function as a team. Toward this goal, the Allied Health Geriatric Interdisciplinary Team Training Project is in its third year of providing a range of learning opportunities for students and professionals through classes, workshops, in-service presentations, and Web-based training. Among the current offerings: In-Service
Training Online Training
Interactive
Case Study For information on the AHGITT program, contact Christine Decker, project manager, at 607-274-7007.
Longview
Offers Supportive Residential Environment The chief goals of long-term care are to facilitate function and maintain independence for individuals with some degree of functional impairment. Long-term care can encompass a wide range of services, including a supportive living environment such as the residential community. This arrangement can relieve older adults of home upkeep while providing greater social activity, a more accessible environment, assistive services, and proximity to-or independence from-the family. The residential complex of Longview, an Ithacare community located near Ithaca College, offers both independent apartment living and an adult home providing personal care services. Its attractive architectural design emphasizes accessibility and security. An exercise room, pool, craft room, wood shop, greenhouse, and chapel are available for residents' use, and a variety of recreational activities are scheduled, both on- and off-site. An innovative partnership with Ithaca College (see story below) further enhances the range of activities for Longview residents. They can audit IC courses (six residents are taking classes during the spring 2002 semester), attend music and theater performances, visit the College's library and art gallery, and take part in activities and faculty presentations offered by IC at Longview itself. Residents can meet students over lunch, work with them on interview projects, and enjoy student-sponsored dances and other special events at Longview and on the IC campus. A supportive physical and social environment, together with a stimulating
intergenerational learning component, creates an attractive, multidimensional
approach to addressing both the needs and the interests of older adults
at Longview. Volunteer
Drivers and Escorts Needed Long-Term
Care Service Delivery: Policy and Practice in Challenging Times Take advantage of convenient online registration for this year's ICGI conference. Go to www.ithaca.edu/agingconference for an easy-to-use online registration form, along with complete information on the conference schedule and presenters. Experts will present a spectrum of topics covering the most pressing issues in long-term care: Keynote address: "Charting the Course for Long-Term Care: The Issues-the Challenges" by Robyn I. Stone, executive director, Institute for Policy Research, American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, Washington, D.C. "State and Local Principles for Rebalancing Long-Term Care" by Neal Lane, executive deputy director, New York State Office for the Aging, Albany, New York "Medicaid Waiver Services and Low-Income Housing: Assisted Living for Low-Income Elders?" by Susan Peerless, special assistant to the commissioner for long-term care, New York State Department of Health, Albany, New York "Practical Approaches to the Staff Shortage Problem: Models from Onondaga County" by Paula Freedman, director of planning and policy, Onondaga County Department of Long-Term Care, Syracuse, New York "Early Lessons from the Cash and Counseling Demonstration Project" by Kevin J. Mahoney, national project director, Cash and Counseling Demonstration and Evaluation, Boston, Massachusetts "Building Community Networks for Culture Change in Long-Term Care" by Rose Marie Fagan, culture change project director, Lifespan, Rochester, New York and Julie Berndt, neighborhood administrator, Fairport Baptist Homes, Rochester, New York FYI: Long-Term
Care Resources on the Web www.independentchoices.org www.aahsa.org www.nyahsa.org www.ncoa.org/nadsa/ADS_factsheet.htm
www.health.state.ny.us/index.htm
www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/alra/main.htm Assisted Living Study, New York State Department of Health www.edc.org/lastacts
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ŠAll right reserved by Ithaca College Gerontology Institute. |
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Mary
Turner DePalma
