As she prepared for the 2015 White House Conference on Aging — an event that happens only once a decade — conference director Nora Super visited California, her first stop San Francisco to meet Marc Freedman.
Author: Matt Perry
Falling stars are the stuff of Hollywood legend. Early film industry folklore had it that the Pacific coast was littered with the bodies of actors who failed to make the transition from silent movies to sound – victims of suicidal depression. While myth, the story nevertheless suggests that the fine line between success and failure in the City of Angels has always been dangerously thin.
The Accessible Yoga movement is introducing yoga to older adults and others not normally included in this largely young, white, middle-class movement: people with disabilities, ethnic minorities, those with different body types, and underserved communities.
In the heart of Los Angeles, the storytelling capital of the world, Paul Irving is busy changing the narrative of aging. Irving had already spent several years as head of The Milken Institute, a Los Angeles think tank shepherding dialogue on topics ranging from job creation to health and the global economy.
Everything I knew about aging was wrong. That was the first lesson I learned when I plunged headfirst into the world of aging as a reporter five years ago. What did I get so wrong?
Aging services in California are often hamstrung by dysfunction and uninspired leadership. To understand the problem, look no further than Alameda County’s top aging official.
Ron Robinson was ahead of his time. As California struggles to implement the Coordinated Care Initiative to improve the health of some of its most expensive patients – “dual eligibles” who qualify for both Medicare and Medi-Cal — Robinson recalls similar efforts in San Mateo County two decades ago.
The recent annual scientific meeting of the Gerontological Society of America in New Orleans was one part aging celebration, one part madhouse as 450 sessions over five days celebrated the successes and challenges of aging – and there were challenges aplenty.
When the older adult news agency Next Avenue released its 2016 list of top 50 Influencers in Aging last month, it was rife with Californians, yet none so deeply involved in a dizzying array of initiatives than David Lindeman, director of the Oakland-based Center for Technology and Aging.
Community health experts continue to connect with older adults through faith-based communities. The city of Fremont did this several years ago with its Community Ambassadors Program for Seniors. From churches, temples, mosques, and synagogues to community centers and beyond, health officials found faith communities already had deep ties within ethnic communities.