Nation's Top Aging Official to Meet with Washington, D.C. and Virginia Elders, Family Caregivers Jeanette C. Takamura, Assistant Secretary for Aging in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will tour adult day health facilities and senior service programs in Washington, D.C. and Alexandria, Virginia on Friday, September 17, 1999. Dr. Takamura, who heads the Administration on Aging, will meet with staff and volunteers of the centers to discuss programs they provide to meet the needs of older adults in their communities. She will also meet with family caregivers to hear first-hand of their personal experiences coping with the daily burdens and stresses of caring for their loved ones who are chronically ill or have disabilities. The Assistant Secretary will explain the Administration's proposed National Family Caregiver Support Program and the opportunities it presents for serving family caregivers of older adults.
Families are the major providers of long term care in the United States.
The program represents a first step in the creation of a national long-term care policy and is part of the Administration's proposal to reauthorize the Older Americans Act, currently being considered by Congress. Thousands of older citizens and their families in the D.C. Metropolitan area benefit from supportive home and community-based services created through the Older Americans Act. 1108 S. Jefferson St.