**AoA Update**-See also:**Back Issues**

### **Volume 2 Issue 5 - Administration on Aging - June-July 1998**

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Older Americans Month Kicks off with second AnnualCaregivers FairAoA Sets up Governmentwide Committee for International Year of OlderPersonsAoA Hosts Eldertech MeetingCalendar of EventsPresident Calls for Strengthening Social Security in OlderAmericans Month ProclamationDiversity Is Hallmark of 21st Century Older Americans
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**Older Americans Month Kicks off withsecond annual caregivers fair**

Each year's celebration of Older Americans Month, held in May, recognizes theextraordinary contributions of older Americans. This year's theme of "Living Longer,Growing Stronger in America" also highlighted the growing trend among the nation's 34million older persons of living longer, fuller, more satisfying lives and growing strongerin the process. The theme emphasized the need to prepare for our longevity, regardless ofour present age, by making lifestyle changes that will enable us to enjoy our later yearsto the fullest.

While most older Americans now live all their years in relative independence, ourincreasing life span means that the number of elderly who must look to others for, atleast, some assistance continues to grow. At the same time, increasing numbers of informalcaregivers are working full time and may have other caregiving responsibilities as well. 

To assist those with caregiving responsibilities, the Administration on Aging (AoA)opened the national celebration of Older Americans Month with the second annual CaregiversFair for federal employees in the Great Hall of the Department of Health and HumanServices' Humphrey Building. Approximately 45 national organizations and localmetropolitan agencies serving the elderly participated in the event which was attended bysome 400 federal employees. 

The fair featured booths, staffed by experts in the field of aging, who providedone-on-one consultation to federal employees with caregiving responsibilities, many ofwhom are trying to provide assistance to elderly relatives living in other areas of thecountry. Those attending the Caregivers Fair were offered a variety of resource materials,including information on gaining access to services; the kinds of assistance available;health promotion; information relating to specific diseases, including Alzheimer's andheart disease; medication management; and other topical materials on caring for olderrelatives, friends and neighbors. Assistant Secretary for Aging, Jeanette C. Takamura, andMary Beth Donahue, Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna E. Shalala's Chief ofStaff, delivered welcoming remarks during a special noon-day ceremony. 

Employees, including congressional staff, who attended the Caregiver Fair were veryappreciative of the assistance provided. Many said there is a need for similar eventsacross the country. The AoA works with other federal agencies and organizations by makingpresentations at caregiver fairs and similar events and featuring the National EldercareLocator and the National Aging Information Center as resources for assistance. Inaddition, AoA's web site will feature a special section entitled "Because WeCare." This part of the web site will provide new information for caregivers. 

A National Alliance for Caregiving survey, completed in May 1997, notedthat 22.3 million U.S. households, or nearly one in four, are involved in familycaregiving. Seventy-two percent of caregivers are women, 15 percent are caring for afriend or neighbor, and over 30 percent are caring for two or more elderly.
Go Back to Contents Menu**AoA Sets Up Governmentwide Committee forInternational Year of Older Persons
The AoA has established a government-wide committee to develop joint activitiescelebrating the International Year of Older Persons. In addition to planning "kickoff" events for the opening of the Year in October 1998, the committee will plan afederal conference to be held in late Spring 1999. The tentative title of the conferenceis "Longevity and Active Aging." The future-oriented conference will showcasefederal government policies and programs that serve older people and also plan for theaging of the population into the next century.

The AoA expects that nongovernmental and international groups will participate. Thecommittee plans to publish the conference recommendations and proceedings, with adescription of federal programs and policies for older people. It also will develop apamphlet describing the Year, including resources and ideas, for distribution togovernment agencies.
In addition to this federalwide effort, there are a number of    activities underway to celebrate the International Year of Older Persons in individual    agencies. Within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, AoA recently created an    international web page, which includes a major section devoted to the International Year    of Older Persons. The Web Page is located at: http://www.aoa.gov/international/.
    On June 8, the Assistant Secretary for Aging and the Director of the National Institute on    Aging (NIA) testified at a hearing, called by the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging,    to prepare for the International Year of Older Persons. The hearing addressed "The    Graying of Nations" and brought together international experts on aging concerns. 
The NIA also is providing support for a 1999 International Rural Aging Conference atWest Virginia University, with related activities over the next several years. Theconference will examine the needs of aging populations in rural settings around the world.

The NIA collaborates on research with partners in Japan, Italy, Germany, several LatinAmerican nations and with multinational organizations such as the World HealthOrganization, the Pan American Health Organization and the Organization for EconomicCooperation and Development. The NIA will look for ways of incorporating events andactivities related to the International Year of Older Persons as it works with thesepartners. 

The Office on Women's Health, in conjunction with its public and private partners, isplanning a demonstration project in several "average" U.S. communities that willprovide conditioning and resistance/strength training programs geared specifically forfrail elderly women, but also including qualified males. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has formed an agency-wide coordinatingcommittee to plan activities for the International Year of Older Persons and to sustainits contributions to the goals of this international event beyond 1999. The committee willcraft multi-disciplinary, multi-generational and interactive initiatives to reflect itspublic health, science, and consumer protection responsibilities. A number of activitiesare being considered, including a special FDA theme to raise awareness of its impact onthe quality of life for older people, special publications, public service announcements,an Internet page for the Year, and international linkages. 

Among other federal agencies, the U.S. Department of Transportation plans to hold aninternational meeting in the summer of 1999 on "Transportation for an AgingSociety." It will be preceded by a series of town meetings across the U.S. and,possibly, Canada. 

The Population Division of the International Programs Center, U.S. Bureau of the Censusplans to issue a revised volume of the publication "Our Aging World" in 1999. 

The U.S. Department of Labor is planning a national Senior Community Service EmploymentProgram conference September, 1999. The final day of the conference will be October 1--theInternational Day of Older Persons. The conference theme will be the International Year ofthe Older Person. 

For further information about AoA international aging activities, please contact MarlaBush at:

E-mail: [email protected]Telephone: 202-619-3996FAX: 202-619-7586
Go Back to Contents Menu**AoA Hosts Eldertech Meeting

On April 29, the AoA and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policyconvened an "Eldertech" meeting of federal government representatives. Themeeting offered government officials an opportunity to discuss ways in which technologywill help to support and enhance the lives of older persons and their families in the 21stcentury.
Over 50 representatives from various departments and agencies, including    the Departments of Agriculture, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, Defense, and    Justice, as well as the Veterans Administration, the Central Intelligence Agency, the    Corporation for National and Community Service, and staff from the White House and    Executive Offices in the Administration, attended.
Key areas were discussed, including health care, housing, transportation, cyberspace,education, and delivery of services to the nearly 77 million baby boomers anticipated tobegin joining the ranks of older persons in the year 2010. 

Jeanette Takamura and Duncan Moore, Associate Director of the White House Office ofScience and Technology Policy, pledged to continue working together and to reconvene thegroup in the near future to continue laying the groundwork for a comprehensive plan thatwill employ technology in improving the lives and enhancing the independence of tomorrow'solder Americans.

On May 8, Dr. Takamura met with executive staff of Microsoft in Richmond, Washington todiscuss the importance of considering the growing number of aging persons in this nationas we prepare for the 21st century, in particular as it relates to technology. TheAssistant Secretary for Aging also addressed Microsoft employees about the convergence ofaging and technology and what we need to accomplish in anticipation of the cominglongevity revolution.
Go Back to Contents Menu**CALENDAR OF EVENTS
**JULY***********2Southeastern Association of Area Agencies on Aging Annual    Conference, Florida******1-4****National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Programs    Annual Conference, Seattle, WA, (800) 999-626******8-11****National Caucus and Center on Black Aged, Inc. 1998 National    Health Symposium, Washington, DC. NCBA, 1424 K Street, NW #500, Washington, DC 20005, FAX:    347-0895******11-17****National Wellness Association’s 23rd Annual National Wellness    Conference, Stevens Point, WI, (800) 243-8694; E-mail: [email protected];  Web Site:    //www.wellnessnwi.org/******19-22****National Association of Area Agencies on Aging 24th Annual    Conference, Adams Park Hotel, Tulsa, OK, Jean Daniel, (202) 296-8130******25-29****Seventh National Alzheimer's Disease Education Conference,    Indianapolis, IN, (312) 335-5790******AUGUST******10-15****National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging 1998 Summer    Workshop: Using Multiple Datasets in the Study of Aging, University of Michigan, Ann    Arbor, MI, Henry Heitowit, (734) 764-8392******SEPTEMBER***********Central States Coalition on Aging, New Mexico***********New Jersey Division of Senior Affairs, Elder Rights Conference******13-17****National Association of Retired Federal Employees National    Convention, Orlando, FL, (202) 234-0832, E-mail: [email protected]     ******OCTOBER******Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Zeneca, Inc., (302) 886-7713******Crime Prevention Month, National Crime Prevention Council, (800)    NCPC911, E-mail: [email protected] ******"Talk About Prescriptions" Month, National Council on    Patient Information and Education, (202) 347-6711******1-22****American Society on Aging’s China & Aging Seminar and    Tour, Beijing, China. China Advocates, 1635 Irving St., San Francisco, CA 94122, (415)    665-4505, (800) 333-6474, Web Site: http://www.asaging.org/     ******3-4****Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk, (800) 272-3900, E-mail: [email protected] ******3-4****American Heart Walk, American Heart Association, (800) AHA-USA1,    E-mail: [email protected] ******16****National Mammography Day, Zeneca, Inc., (302) 886-7713******18-24****National Consumers Week, U.S. Office of Consumer Affairs, (202)    565-0040******26-29****Georgia Gerontology Society Annual Meeting and Conference,    "Set-Sail for Global Aging," Savannah, GA, Pat Whitmore, (912) 264-7363******NOVEMBER******American Diabetes Month, American Diabetes Association, (800)    342-2383******13****Healthy People 2000 Consortium Meeting******14-18****Southeastern Association of Area Agencies on Aging, "Set Sail    for the Future" Annual Conference, TradeWinds Resort, St. Petersburg, FL, Margaret    Lynn Duggar & Associates, (850) 222-0080, FAX: (850) 222-2575******19-23****Gerontological Society of America Annual Conference, Philadelphia,    PA, (202) 842-1275******Go Back to Contents Menu
**President Calls for Strengthening Social Securityin Older Americans Month Proclamation**

President Clinton’s Older Americans Month Proclamation, signed May 4, sounded acall to strengthen the Social Security program and urged Americans to take increasedresponsibility for their own longevity.

In the Proclamation, the President noted that, "In just over a decade, the firstof America's 77 million baby boomers will celebrate their 65th birthdays. Fortunately,visionary programs like Social Security, Medicare, and the Older Americans Act will helpto make life easier for them as they reach this milestone."

The President emphasized the importance of Older Americans Act programs saying that,"older Americans in need of greater assistance have been able to look to programsunder the Older Americans Act for the critical home and community-based care services thathave enabled millions of elderly men and women to live independently. Together, thesefarsighted measures [Social Security, Medicare, and OAA programs] have played a major rolein dramatically reducing the poverty rate and extending the longevity of older Americans,allowing our citizens to grow old with dignity and peace of mind.

"This year's Older Americans Month celebration centers around the theme‘Living Longer; Growing Stronger in America.’ As we enter a new century andaddress the challenges of an aging America, we must commit ourselves to the health andwelfare of older Americans and to protecting and strengthening Medicare and SocialSecurity."

The President said that one of the most important achievements of the Balanced BudgetAct was its reform of the Medicare program, which extends the life of the Medicare TrustFund for a decade, includes new health plan choices, and adds coverage of preventivebenefits. The legislation also established the National Bipartisan Commission on theFuture of Medicare to review and analyze the financial condition of Medicare "so thatit remains as strong for our children as it has been for our parents."

The President cautioned, however, that, "We must respond with equal resolve to theincreasing strains on the Social Security system." He said that he has called onCongress to reserve the anticipated budget surplus until a comprehensive plan tostrengthen Social Security for the 21st century is in place. The Administration, he said,is holding regional conferences on the future of Social Security to raise awareness aboutthe problem and allow "all Americans to contribute their ideas for a solution."The next regional conference will be held on July 27 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The President will host a bipartisan White House Conference on Social Security atyear’s end to summarize the " lessons we learn from this dialogue and to map outan effective strategy that will enable us to ensure that Social Security will be there forfuture generations of Americans."

President Clinton concluded his Proclamation by calling on all Americans to "paytribute to our older citizens and to follow their example by planning for the future. Asindividuals, we should take care of our health through proper diet, exercise, andappropriate preventive care, and we should plan for our future financial security byparticipating in retirement and savings programs. As families and communities, we can helpolder Americans to remain active and independent members of our communities. And as aNation, we must recognize our obligation to those who will come after us by preserving andstrengthening Medicare and Social Security for the 21st century and beyond."
Go Back to Contents Menu**Diversity Is Hallmark of 21st Century OlderAmericans

In speeches given across the nation, Assistant Secretary for Aging Jeanette C. Takamurahas highlighted several themes which, she says, are central to understanding thechallenges that the aging of America will bring in the 21st century.
**"There are three and, possibly, four generations of older    Americans--each with different interests, needs, and wants" JCT**
Speaking to representatives of State and Area Agencies on Aging and organizationsrepresenting both older Americans and aging professionals, the Assistant Secretary hasemphasized AoA’s commitment to building and maintaining strong partnerships withmembers of the national network on aging, "whose insight and input are invaluable atthe Federal level." 

Dr. Takamura says that, "As we plan for the future, a wholesale shift in theparadigm we use will be necessary. Medicare and Social Security financing must be securedin anticipation of the coming of age of 77 million baby boomers in the next century."

She also notes that in the next century, the older population will not only be muchlarger in number, but far more diverse. This will include not only cultural, ethnic, andrural and urban diversity, but diversity between and within defined generations of olderAmericans.
**"Evidence suggests that the BABY BOOMERS will change the    face of aging" JCT**
"In anticipating the future, it is clear that we cannot presume that the past isprologue.****Simply put, there are at least three and, possibly, four generations ofolder Americans, each with different interests, needs and wants."

Dr. Takamura defined the four generations as : - Those born between 1885 and 1904 who reference World War I as a major    event in their lives. This generation was born with gas light and has lived to see a man    walk on the moon. It was the last generation with a huge infusion of immigrants; the    generation that gave us the New Deal, including Social Security; and it is the generation    that was already 60-80 years old in 1965--the generation for whom the Great Society    legislated Medicare, Medicaid, and the Older Americans Act; 
- The second generation comprised of Americans born between 1905-1924 for    whom the Second World War was the major event in their lives. The World War II cohort was    8-27 years old at the climax of the Great Depression and 17-36 years old at the height of    World War II. Their generation is characterized by strong traditional family and work    values and a strong sense of patriotism;  
- The third generation, born between 1925-44, which is typified by its    optimism and belief in doing well through achievements. Older members of this generation    fought in the Korean War and its younger members in the Vietnam War. Members of this    generation were born before television, antibiotics, contact lenses, frozen foods, credit    cards, ball-point pens, and air conditioners. They, like their predecessors, got married    first and then lived together; 
- The fourth generation--"the generation which you and I are hearing    about on nearly a daily basis; the generation which promises to rock the world as they    become older adults, was born between 1945 and 1964. They are the **BABY BOOMERS.**They    were raised by Dr. Spock, lived through the years of nuclear war threat, and came of age    in the "Greedy" decade of the 80’s.  

"They are the members of my generation--77 million strong, and every shred ofevidence suggests that they will change the face of aging and of what it will be like tobe an older adult. They are an educated lot, for the most part, and the first wave oftheir generation will join the ranks of our not-so- older Americans in 2010.

"These are the four generations of older Americans which we will serve in the nextcentury. And, of course, we must figure in the fact that our population of older personswill be more diverse in race and ethnicity than ever before, giving us the opportunity toexperience new traditions, new flavors, and new and interesting ways to engage with theworld. Because of this, a cookie cutter approach to aging programs and services will notbe viable. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that we must develop a new longevityagenda and an ‘architecture’ for longevity to ensure that we are ready for thefuture. This agenda must not only embrace the different needs of the diverse generations,it must truly add to our societal equation and our mindset." 

Dr. Takamura says that the increased longevity of Americans will have a profound impacton virtually every facet of our lives, including social roles, economic security inretirement, caregiving and caregivers, transportation systems, health and long-term caresystems, as well as the hospitality, restaurant, and travel industries. 

"A longevity agenda also must factor in the reality that our future willincreasingly be global in its focus, but require local implementation and thus localingenuity," Takamura concludes. At the G-8 Summit held in Denver in June 1997, agingwas, for the first time, placed on the agenda for discussion by the leaders of thedeveloped nations of the world.

This year’s G-8 Summit, held in Birmingham, England in May, focused on employmentand the need for government policies that encourage older workers to remain in or re-enterthe labor market. This new emphasis on "active aging," enables older people toremain as contributing members of the workforce, and improves their economic status whilelessening the burden on retiree benefit and pension programs.
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AoA Update

**Jeanette C. Takamura**Assistant Secretary for Aging

**Harry Posman**Director, Executive Secretariat and Policy Coordination

**June B. Faris**Editor

**AoA Update**Administration on AgingU.S. Department of Health & Human ServicesWashington, DC 20201(202) 619-0724TDD: (202) 401-7575 FAX: (202) 260-1012E-mail: [email protected]Internet Web Site: http://WWW.AoA.Gov

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