 Our
keynote speaker on Monday, May 19, is Anna
Deavere Smith, with her performance entitled The Art of Listening.
Combining
the journalistic technique of interviewing subjects from all walks
of life with the art of recreating their words in performance,
Smith transforms herself onstage into an astonishing number of
characters (up to 46 in one show), expressing their own points
of view on controversial issues.
Leading
the lineup on Tuesday, May 20, is Dr.
Gene Cohen and his presentation, Creativity and Psychological
Growth with Aging: Positive Changes that Occur Because Of Aging,
Not Despite Aging.
Gene D. Cohen, M.D., Ph.D. is the first Director of the Center on Aging, Health & Humanities (established 1994) at George Washington University (GW), where he also holds the positions of Professor of Health Care Sciences and Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Within the GW Center, he has just launched
a new public education program on aging targeting the young; the program is called SEA Change—an acronym for Societal Education about Aging for Change. He also cofounded the Creativity Discovery Corps whose mission is to identify and preserve the creative accomplishments and rich histories of under-recognized talented older adults.
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Annual Senior Picnic and Health Fair - (4-22-08)
Celebrate Older American’s Month on Wednesday, May 14th at Senior Services of Polk County Annual Senior Picnic and Health Fair at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. The event will be held in the Varied Industries Building from 9:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. There is no cost to people 60 and older. The health fair, in the south rooms of the Varied Industries Building, will have various screenings including bone density, memory, depression, cholesterol, blood glucose and pressure screenings. There will also be a room for complimentary therapies that include chair massages and reflexology.
The picnic will have over 50 resource booths with door prizes, bingo, line and ballroom dancing and the picnic lunch. There is no admission fee; however, reservations are requested for the 11:30 a.m. lunch. Reservations should be made before May 2nd at the nearest Polk County senior center. For more information call 515- 286-3679. The Picnic and Health Fair are funded in part by the Older Americans Act, Aging Resources of Central Iowa and Polk County.
ICOST 2008 - (3-20-08)
Announcing the 6th International Conference On Smart homes and health Telematics being held on June 28-July 2, 2008 at Iowa State University. The conference theme is Gerontechnology: Enhancing the Quality of Life for Rural Elders
For more information visit the ICOST website::
http://www.icost-conference.org
ICOST 2008 invites gerontological, computer science, and engineering researchers and practitioners, as well as domain experts in health sciences and rehabilitation to present the latest studies, findings, and technical solutions in the area of smart homes, health telematics, and other assistive technologies. Submissions may include technical papers, abstracts and posters, and demonstrations. A complete Call for Papers can be found on the ICOST website.
FOR PROGRAM INFORMATION - Email Professor Sumi Helal, ICOST 2008 Program Co-Chair: helal@cise.ufl.edu or Professor Johnny Wong, ICOST 2008 Program Co-Chair: wong@cs.iastate.edu
FOR MORE INFORMATION - Email Professor Carl Chang, ICOST 2008 General Chair: chang@cs.iastate.edu
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Stimulus
Payments-Rebates: Help Spread the Facts -
(2-27-08)
More than
130 million households will receive economic stimulus payments
under the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, beginning in May. In
most cases taxpayers will not have to do anything extra this year
to get the rebate. All you have to do is file a 2007 tax return
and the IRS will do the rest. You do not need to call or fill
out any other special forms. If you qualify, the IRS will automatically
figure your payment, send you a notice showing the amount, and
send it to you. For more facts and to read some Q&As, visit the Information
on Stimulus Payments Web page on http://www.irs.gov.
Even those
who normally don't file must file to receive a stimulus payment.
This includes:
- Low-income
workers,
- Social
Security beneficiaries,
- Certain
railroad retirees and
- Those
who receive certain benefits from the Department of Veterans
Affairs.
There are special
filing instructions and a sample
Form 1040A (.pdf) that highlights the simple, specific sections
of the return to fill out.
Low- and
moderate-income workers, including veterans, can get free tax
help through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program.
Call 1-800-906-9887 to locate the nearest VITA site.
The Tax Counseling
for the Elderly (TCE) Program provides free tax help to people
age 60 and older. As part of the IRS-sponsored TCE Program, AARP
offers the Tax-Aide counseling program at more than 7,000 sites
nationwide during the filing season. To find an AARP Tax Aide
site, call 1-888-227-7669 or visit the AARP Web site.
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2008
Train the Trainer Certification Sessions - (2-14-08)
These sessions
are only for individuals who utilize the Department of
Elder Affairs curriculum for Mandatory Reporter Training for Dependent
Adults, approval # 19 as their training curriculum. Please see brochure for details. The Department's Administrative Rules mandating certification
became effective May 1, 2006 with a November 1, 2006 compliance
date. A listing of certified
trainers and their certification date are also available for
viewing in case you are unsure of your certification date.
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Profile
of Older Americans: 2007 - (2-4-08)
This annual summary of the latest statistics on the older population covers 16 topical
areas including population, income and poverty, living arrangements,
education, and health.
Of particular
note is the special topic section in this issue based on a forthcoming
report by the Federal Interagency Forum on Aging Related Statistics
entitled, Selected Indicators of Retirement Resources among People
Aged 55-64: 1984, 1994, and 2004. The report was developed by
staff of the Social Security Administration. The more detailed
full report will be available of the Forum web site, http://www.agingstats.gov,
after it is issued during the first quarter of calendar year 2008.
The Profile
has proven to be a very useful statistical summary in a user friendly
format. It is now a web based publication and will be posted shortly
on the AoA web site.
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New
Nursing Home Social Services List Serve - (12-18-07)
A new listserv
is available for nursing home social service and social work staff
members. The purpose of the list serve is to help put social service
staff persons in touch with colleagues to facilitate sharing information,
resources, and “practice wisdom.” The list serve is being sponsored
by the University of Iowa School of Social Work.
To join this
free list serve, please email: Peggy-sharr@uiowa.edu and put "Would like to join list serve" in the subject
line.
The UI is
also building a resource page for nursing home social service
and social work staff: http://www.uiowa.edu/~socialwk/Research/Research_Resource.htm#
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Survey
on Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia- (11-20-07)
For over
65,000 Iowans, Alzheimer's disease is a daily personal reality.
For each individual with the disease, there are countless family
members, friends, or other caregivers who are personally or professionally
committed to providing needed support and compassion.
If your life
has been touched by Alzheimer's disease or related dementias,
the Alzheimer's
Disease Task Force would like to hear from you. The Iowa Legislature
established the Task Force to "assess the current and future impact
of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders on the residents
of the state; examine the existing industries, services, and resources
addressing the needs of persons with Alzheimer's disease or related
disorders, their families, and their caregivers; and develop a
strategy to mobilize a state response to this public health crisis."
The most
critical direction for the Task Force will come from the personal
stories of Iowans who have witnessed first-hand the impact of
Alzheimer's disease or dementia on their lives. Please take a
few minutes to share your experience and any suggestions you have
about how to improve the services and resources in Iowa that are
available to support persons with Alzheimer's disease or related
dementias. Through your responses, you can become part of shaping
the future course of dementia care in Iowa. Thank you!
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Adult
Day Service (ADS) Study Findings - (11-05-07)
ADS has
been identified as a cost-effective service for older adults and
people with disabilities. The expansion of ADS in Iowa has been
slow to occur, evident by the significant decline of service providers
since 2004. To identify the reasons for the lack of expansion
of ADS in Iowa, the Department of Elder Affairs (DEA) contracted
with the University of Iowa, School of Social Work to conduct
an evaluation of the ADS system. Here are the resulting documents:
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Introducing
the Office of Substitute Decision Maker - (10-10-07)
The Department
of Elder Affairs has a new addition. The Office of Substitute
Decision Maker was recently created to assist Iowans who need
help with financial or health related decisions. The Office of
Substitute Decision Maker is designed to assist adults of any
age for whom decision making becomes difficult, whom no longer
have the capacity to make decisions or whom need to conduct future
planning for a family member who does not have decision making
capacity. The Office will assist Iowans by providing information
and resources regarding conservatorships, guardianships, power
of attorney and other less intrusive options for those who need
or may need assistance. In addition to providing information and
resources, the Office of Substitute Decision Maker will make appropriate
referrals and establish a local demonstration site to provide
direct assistance to adults who need help with decisions regarding
health, welfare and finances.
If you have
any questions or concerns regarding the Office of Substitute Decision
Maker please contact the Iowa Department of Elder Affairs by telephone
at1-800-532-3213.
The Office
of Substitute Decision Maker is also currently working on adding
information and resources to the Department of Elder Affairs'
website. When completed, this information can be accessed by clicking
on Elder Advocacy and Assistance in the column on the left and
then clicking on the link to Office of Substitute Decision Maker.
Please stay tuned to the Department of Elder Affairs' website
for further information.
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How
to Improve the Lives of Depressed Older Adults in Your Care -
(10-4-07)
Depression
Training to Promote Nurses as Advocates for Older Adults is being
developed by the University Of Iowa College Of Nursing and the
Iowa Geriatric Education Center for a spring 2008 release.
This evidence-based
training program targets registered nurses (RNs) who are employed
in diverse health care settings, such as home-health, community-based,
long-term, and acute care settings, maximizing their roles as
advocates in the identification and treatment of late life depression.
Lessons will focus on identification of symptoms, application
of screening tools, implementation of supportive nursing interventions
with appropriate referral, and monitoring of treatment outcomes.
It will be delivered via CD-ROM, and approved for 4 hours of nurse
continuing education. Additionally, the CD may be used by nurses
to help train ancillary staff.
Thanks to
funding from the Wellmark Foundation, the CD will be offered statewide
at no cost. However, only 800 copies will be available for distribution
on a first come-first served basis, so it is important that we
receive your response by November 1st. In return, we ask that
interested facilities or agencies provide us feedback to evaluate
the effectiveness of this training.
If you are
interested in reserving your free copy of the CD, please email
us at geriatric-education@uiowa.edu with your name and business address and phone number. On the subject
line of this email please enter the type of your facility, i.e.
nursing home, assisted living, home health, hospital, or hospice.
If you have any questions, please let us know. This training program
has the potential to immediately affect the care for, and quality
of life of, older adults.
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The
Switch to Digital Television (DTV) is Coming - (9-21-07)
On February
17, 2009, television stations across America will switch to digital
broadcasting. Is your TV ready for the switch? For more information
about the DTV Transition click the link above and visit: http://www.DTVAnswers.com
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Food
Safety for Assisted Living Programs - (9-18-07)
Older
Adults are more vulnerable to food borne illnesses. Iowa State
University and the Department of Elder Affairs have developed
tools to help evaluate assisted living facilities in their role
for protecting food safety and the health of their tenants. Check
out: "Looking
at Assisted Living Facilities: Think about Food Safety"
and "Food
Safety Considerations when Choosing Assisted Living Facilities"
for more information.
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Consumer
Advisory: Prevent Health Fraud - (07-25-07)
This Consumer
Advisory from Attorney General Tom MIller provides tips to
consumers about how to avoid health fraud -- one of the oldest
frauds preys upon people's desire for good health. We appreciate
your cooperation in keeping people informed.
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Gerontology
Specialist Certificate - (7-23-07)
Des Moines
Area Community College (DMACC) is pleased to announce a new program,
the Gerontology
Specialist Certificate. This is a short program designed to
increase understanding and knowledge of the aging process, the
growing elderly population and it’s impact on society. For more
information see this letter from the Program Coordinator.
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Learn
How to...Successully Live with Chronic Conditions - (3-5-07)
Older Iowans
in the counties of Black Hawk, Linn, Polk and Marion Counties,
can now participate in Iowa Healthy Links, a series of specialized
workshops to help better manage chronic symptoms such as fatigue,
frustration, stress, and breathing problems. It also helps you
communicate better with your doctor, nurse, or dietitian. These
symptoms may be caused by chronic conditions such as arthritis,
stroke, heart disease, asthma, lung disease, diabetes, osteoporosis,
or Parkinson's. Presented by leaders who also have chronic conditions,
the six (6) week workshops show you how to feel better. For more
information contact the Hawkeye Valley AAA, Heritage AAA, or Aging
Resources AAA. You can link to their contact information: http://www.state.ia.us/elderaffairs/aaa/aaacontact.html.
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