|
your path: Home > News >
December 2008 Edition
New Resources From the AGS Foundation for Health in Aging
Other News
New Resources From the AGS Foundation for Health in Aging
FHA Releases New Tip Sheets For Older Adults
The American Geriatrics Society's (AGS) Foundation for Health in Aging (FHA) recently released two new easy-to-read educational "tip sheets" for older people and their caregivers.
The first, "Tips for Beating the Holiday Blues", offers older people expert advice on coping with feelings of sadness and depression associated with the holidays. Among other things, it encourages older adults to ask for additional assistance if they need help traveling to or preparing for holiday events, and to talk about their feelings with their loved ones and healthcare providers. In addition, the tip sheet offers advice to relatives and friends of older adults who seem to be experiencing the holiday blues.
The second tip sheet, "Safe (and Enjoyable!) Sex for Seniors", offers older adults information concerning their risks of acquiring sexually transmitted diseases, and explains how to protect against these. Studies find both that most older people are sexually active and that growing numbers of older adults are being diagnosed with sexually transmitted diseases. The tip sheet also offers advice on treating common sexual problems such as erectile dysfunction and vaginal dryness.
The FHA's health tip sheets for older people are posted on the Foundation's comprehensive public education Web site. Other FHA tip sheets cover such topics as cognitive vitality, geriatrics syndromes, falls prevention, winter safety, and vaccinations. The tip sheets can be printed and distributed at no cost.
back to top
FHA's Lifetime of Caring Gala Benefit Slated for January
The AGS Foundation for Health in Aging will celebrate a year of extraordinary individual and collective efforts on behalf of older adults and their caregivers during its 9th annual Lifetime of Caring Gala, January 28, at the famed Plaza Hotel in New York City.
The Gala will honor Robert Butler, MD -- the founding director of the National Institute on Aging and the President and CEO of the International Longevity Center. The Gala will also recognize other individuals and institutions whose work has contributed to the health and well-being of older people. And it will celebrate the many accomplishments of the FHA. The foundation advocates on behalf of public policy aimed at ensuring older adults access to high quality healthcare; supports elder health research; and provides public education programs for older people and their caregivers. All proceeds from the Gala help support the FHA's important work. As the population of older Americans continues to grow, this work becomes ever more critical.
Hugh Downs, former anchor of 20/20 and past host of The Today Show and other programs, will host the Gala. In addition to an exciting program, guests will enjoy drinks, dinner, and a performance arranged by Bargemusic, New York City's celebrated "floating concert hall."
To find out more about the Gala, to purchase tickets or to make a contribution, please email Li-Chia Ong, at long@americangeriatrics.org, or 212-308-1414.
back to top
Help Older Adults Get High Quality Healthcare
The Foundation for Health in Aging (FHA) works to improve the health and wellbeing of older adults -- not only by empowering older people and their caregivers with trustworthy health information, but also by supporting healthcare research and the training of the next generation of geriatrics healthcare professionals. By making a contribution to the FHA, you can help promote the health and wellness of older adults in each of these ways. No gift is too large or too small. Gifts can be made on the FHA Web site Donations page.
The AGS Foundation for Health in Aging is registered in New York as a non-profit corporation. The Foundation for Health in Aging is a public charity exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
We appreciate and thank you for your support.
back to top
Other News
Changes in Washington Look Promising for Healthcare Reform
A changing political and economic landscape will present president-elect Barack Obama -- who takes the Oath of Office January 20 -- with both obstacles and opportunities to effect promised healthcare reform.
Democrats solidified their majorities in both the Senate and House in the November 4 election, better positioning the Obama Administration to pursue its agenda. But how the new balance of power in Washington, coming amid global economic turmoil -- a floundering world economy, a record federal deficit, a $700 billion Wall Street bailout, and the likely need for further bailouts and stimulus efforts -- will affect the particulars of reform remains to be seen.
According to some, the Obama Administration will have to limit or postpone any big new spending programs -- such as those to expand healthcare -- given fiscal uncertainties. According to others, including Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Il), who will serve as the new president's Chief of Staff, the economic crisis will create opportunities for reform. "No crisis should go to waste," he has said.
Shortly after the election, PricewaterhouseCoopers estimated that the healthcare reforms the president-elect's outlined on the campaign trail [see 2008 Presidential Candidates Propose Differing Plans for U.S. Healthcare System in the AGS journal Clinical Geriatrics, for an overview of Mr. Obama's healthcare reform proposal] would total roughly $75 million the fist year. The reforms would, however, cover 95% of Americans, the firm's analysis notes. Roughly 15% of Americans now lack health coverage.
According to a PricewaterhouseCoopers analyst, the current economic crisis could actually "unleash more market forces to drive the (healthcare) system toward more value," trimming waste and ushering in more cost-effective, and effective, system. For these and other reasons, say advocates of speedy reform, tackling healthcare sooner rather than later could strengthen the economy and aid recovery.
There have been other promising signs of late. Giving a boost to reform efforts last month, Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-MT released an comprehensive reform plan aimed at providing quality, cost-effective care for all Americans. AGS has applauded Sen. Baucus' effort to advance healthcare reform and strongly supports several elements of his plan, which are designed to enhance care for older adults. Releasing his report, Sen. Baucus also urged president-elect Obama to effect reform within his first six months in office.
Several other senators -- including Christopher Dodd (D-CT), John D. Rockefeller IV(D-WVA), and Edward Kennedy (D-MA), who plans to unveil his own healthcare reform proposal in January -- have agreed to work together on healthcare legislation. And Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and a bipartisan group of 14 other senators recently called on president-elect Obama to back the Healthy Americans Act. The legislation lays out another reform plan that Sens. Wyden and Bob Bennett (R- UT) proposed earlier this year.
As the Inauguration neared, there were other signs that the opposition healthcare reform efforts faced from the industry during the Clinton Administration may be waning somewhat. Two of the health insurance industry's main trade associations, America's Health Insurance Plans and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, announced last month that they would support guaranteed coverage for those with preexisting medical conditions, if universal coverage were mandated and enforced, as they would under the Baucus plan.
For more information about the Obama healthcare agenda visit the president-elect's Web site.
back to top
New Medicare Primer Now Available Online
A newly updated version of Medicare: A Primer, the Kaiser Family Foundation’s guide to Medicare, is now available online. Among other things, the guide explains what Medicare is, who is eligible for coverage, what Medicare covers, and how much beneficiaries pay for coverage. It also includes sections on the Medicare prescription drug benefit and private Medicare Advantage plans, and statistical information concerning beneficiaries and Medicare expenditures.
back to top
To make a donation to the AGS Foundation for Health in Aging, visit the donation page on our Web site at http://www.healthinaging.org/donate/ or call Li-Chia Ong, at 212-308-1414.
|
