July 09, 2007 - Vol 1, Issue 18
OMH Hearings
As you know, OMH is hosting a series of briefings and hearings on the 2007 Update and Interim Report to the 2006-2011 5.07 Plan. Here is the link to the schedule. We hope you will attend.
Stakeholders are being asked to address three areas:
- Mental Health services for children and families
- Housing Priorities
- Coordinated Care
Clearly stable, accessible housing, coordination of mental health, health, and aging services, and family support are key issues for older adults with mental disorders.
We have put together draft talking points that address these areas and others that we will gladly send to you for you to use in your testimony. Email: Kim Steinhagen at steinhagenk@mhaofnyc.org, and she will send them to you.
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6-Month Alliance Update
Over the past six months, The Alliance has been active at advocating for and sponsoring educational activities regarding improved mental health services and policies for older adults. The June 2007 Update Report covers our progress since January.
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Geriatric Mental Health Broadcast
On June 21st, Michael presented on geriatric mental health during a public health broadcast series sponsored by The University at Albany, School of Public Health, Continuing Education, NYS Department of Health, NYS Association of County Health Officials, NYS Nurses Association, and the NYS Community Health Partnership. The session is available for viewing online. It must be played with Real Player. You can download Real Player for free here.
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Upcoming Events
July 11, 2007 - Stress Affects Wellness: Let's Do Something About It! The NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, Office of Consumer Affairs, presents the second of four workshops on Health, Wellness and Recovery. The workshop will take place from 5 to 7 PM at Fountain House, 425 West 47th St. (between 9th and 10th Avenues). Please see flyer for more info.
July 19 - Third Thursday Breakfast: Alzheimer's Disease A broadcast series on public health issues sponsored by the above listed organizations. The session will feature Mary Mittelman of the NYU School of Medicine and Earl Zimmerman of the Albany Medical Center Neurology Group. The session will occur from 9:00-10:00am. It will be available via satellite downlink, via a live webcast, and available as an archived online webstream two weeks after each broadcast. Please see flyer for more information.
September 18, 2007- Mental Illness and the Older Client: A Challenge for Geriatric Care Managers sponsored by the Greater New York Chapter NAPGCM. Dr. Mark Nathanson is the opening keynote speaker and Michael Friedman is the luncheon keynote. The conference will be from 8:00am-4:15pm at the New York Academy of Medicine. Please view the save the date card for more information.
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Action Alert: Help Improve Access to Benefits for Older Adults
The Medicare Rights Center's Professional Hotline
The National Council on Aging is urging Congress to improve access to Medicare Part D Low-Income Subsidy (LIS) and Medicare Savings Programs (MSP), both of which provide financial assistance to eligible Medicare beneficiaries. Needed improvements include increasing the asset eligibility levels for people with low incomes; simplifying the application process; and providing support to local organizations in their outreach and enrollment efforts. Click here and send a letter to your Congressmember about these needed improvements.
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Action Alert: Support Care Coordination Legislation for Older Adults
The American Geriatrics Society is calling on Congress to support The Geriatric Assessment and Chronic Care Coordination Act which will provide chronically ill Medicare beneficiaries with the high-quality and cost-effective geriatric assessment and chronic care coordination services they need and deserve.
Click here to send a letter to your Congressmember on this very important legislation.
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In the News
USA Today last week published several articles on issues related to elder care as part of a five- day series. Headlines and summaries from the Kaiser Daily Health Report are below.
- "Becoming 'Parent of Your Parent' an Emotionally Wrenching Process": "Caring for elderly parents ... can threaten the emotional health," as well as the physical health, of caregivers and their families, USA Today reports (Fetterman [1], USA Today, 6/25).
- "Elder Care Shifting Away From Nursing Homes": A "shift away from institutionalized care is growing" among adult children who care for their elderly parents because of "the growth of less-restrictive types of care," such as assisted-living facilities and supervised adult day care, USA Today reports (Block, USA Today, 6/25).
- "Growing Up Meant Becoming a Caregiver": The article profiles Ray Payton, a Virginia woman who cares for both of her grandparents in their home and works two jobs to pay for their expenses (Fetterman [2], USA Today, 6/25).
- "Many Worry About Being Able To Care for Relatives in the Future": Almost half of the 59% of baby boomers who do not offer personal or financial help or both to their elderly parents have concerns about their ability to offer such help in the future, according to a USA Today/ABC News/Gallup poll, USA Today reports (Fetterman [3], USA Today, 6/25).
- "Proposed Legislation Would Help Caregivers With Financial, Day Care Aid": Lawmakers have proposed several bills that seek to reduce costs for family caregivers -- some of which would provide caregivers with tax credits of as much as $3,000 annually -- but Congress "hasn't passed any of the proposals in final form," USA Today reports (Fetterman [4], USA Today, 6/25).
- "Juggling Work, Care for Aging Parent: Some Companies Help Their Workers": As the "ranks of employed caregivers swell, a small but growing number of employers are beginning to establish novel programs to provide help and scheduling flexibility," such as access to elder care referral services, emergency elder care help and subsidies for the cost of elder care, USA Today reports (Armour, USA Today, 6/26).
- "Caregivers Cope With Stress, Mixed Emotions About Aging Parents": Elder caregivers "struggle with a range of emotions," including ambivalence, anger, resentment and "plenty of guilt," according to experts, USA Today reports (Jayson, USA Today, 6/26).
- "Navigating Sibling Relationships When Caring for a Parent Can Be Difficult" "deep pain and bitter disappointment" can result when siblings disagree about care for their elderly parents, when "siblings join together, the most wrenching decisions and heaviest tasks are somehow lightened by mutual effort and goodwill," USA Today reports (Grossman, USA Today, 6/27)
- "Caregivers Struggle With Denial, Disintegration": Alzheimer's disease "often forces caregivers to step in and make decisions for a relative who's showing signs of impairment," but such action can cause caregivers "who don't get any relief" to develop anxiety and depression, as well as physical illnesses, USA Today reports (Fackelmann, USA Today, 6/28).
- "Long-Term Care Insurance May Not Be for Everyone": "For millions, long-term care insurance ... is a savior," but, "for other people, delays, premium increases and denials of payment make the enormous investment" in such coverage "all but worthless," USA Today reports (Waggoner [1], USA Today, 6/28). In related news, USA Today on Thursday offered advice on the selection of long-term care insurance policies (Waggoner [2], USA Today, 6/28).
- "Prepare Yourself Now To Help Care for Parents Later": Adult children who currently do not care for an elderly parent should "consider some specific actions now to prepare" financially in the event that they have to care for an elderly parent in the future, USA Today reports (Fetterman, USA Today, 6/29).
- "Investing: Order's Important When Tapping Into Assets": "How to make ... assets last as long as possible" is a "particularly urgent question" when adult children use the assets of an elderly parent "to help pay for their care," USA Today reports (Waggoner, USA Today, 6/29).
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Job Announcement: Part-Time Geriatric Mental Health Training Center Director
The Geriatric Mental Health Alliance has an opening for a part-time Training Center Director whose responsibility will be to plan for the development of a Geriatric Mental Health Training and Technical Assistance Center. Please see job description for more information. Feel free to circulate to those who might be interested. If you have questions you may contact Kim at 212-614-5751 or steinhagenk@mhaofnyc.org
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