On Thursday September 18, Touro College Jacob D. Fuschberg Law Center in collaboration with Touro College of Health Sciences and with New York Medical College’s Center for Long Term Care Research and Policy will welcome an array of professionals from the fields of social work, law, government, and academia to participate in the second session of the Touro College and University System Conference on Aging in Place.
Thursday’s conference is a follow up to the inaugural session of the aging in place conference which took place on Friday, June 20. On June 20th, a diverse and attentive audience listened to presentations from a variety of speakers including Carol Levine, Director, Families and Health Care Project, United Hospital Fund, Eric Sokol, Vice President of Public Policy at the Alzheimer’s Foundation, Jean Accius Ph.D., Director, Health & Long-Term Services and Supports, AARP, and Greg Olsen, Executive Deputy Director, New York State Office for the Aging.
Shortly after the inaugural session, the conference organizing committee set about shaping Thursday’s conference. The committee agreed that in order to improve the lives of older individuals, innovative models and proposals for regulatory and policy changes that will promote aging in place are required. To further this goal, the organzing committee established four facilitated workings groups to address specific aspects of aging in place. Each of the four groups (outlined below) will be facilitated by a professor from the Touro Community. The group facilitators drafted the following descriptions of their working groups and each took the time to provide suggested reading materials.
Financing & Long Term Care Policy (Facilitator: Kenneth A. Knapp, PhD, Assistant Professor, Center for Long Term Care Research & Policy SHSP, New York Medical College):
The ability of older adults to satisfy their desire to age in place, whether in their current homes or in non-institutional settings within their current communities, depends on their financial resources as well as their long term care needs. In this context, we seek to identify both the most successful financial and long term care policies as well as those whose adoption would further help promote aging in place. Resources include:
- Commission on Long-Term Care, Report to Congress (2013)
- Aging in Place: A State Survey of Livability Policies and Practices, AARP (2011)
- Genworth’s information on the costs of long term care.
Workforce & Workforce Training Needs (Facilitator: Nathan Boucher, PA-C, MS, MPA, CPHQ, Assistant Professor & Director of Graduate Education, Touro College, School of Health Sciences, Manhattan Physician Assistant Program):
The working group will discuss the current state of professional preparation and areas for training improvement in the aging-related workforce caring for, or otherwise providing services to, our aging populations. We will discuss how Long Island communities can benefit from a multidisciplinary approach to aging-related professionals’ education. We will also discuss how the communities themselves can help shape the preparation of these professionals through collaborative engagement between learning institutions and key community-based organizations and/or knowledgeable informants. Resources include:
- A Reminder from the CDC website: “aging in place” -The ability to live in one’s own home and community safely, independently, and comfortably, regardless of age, income, or ability level.
- “Retooling for an Aging America” Institute of Medicine Report, 2008:
- Recommendation 5-1: States and the federal government should increase minimum training standards for all direct-care workers. Federal requirements for the minimum training of certified nursing assistants (CNAs) and home health aides should be raised to at least 120 hours and should include demonstration of competence in the care of older adults as a criterion for certification. States should also establish minimum training requirements for personal-care aides.
- Recommendation 5-2: State Medicaid programs should increase pay and fringe benefits for direct-care workers through such measures as wage pass-throughs, setting wage floors, establishing minimum percentages of service rates directed to direct-care labor costs, and other means.
- Recommendation 4-3: Public and private payers should provide financial incentives to increase the number of geriatric specialists in all health professions.
Livable Communities & Land Use (Facilitators: Sarah J. Adams-Schoen, Professor & Director, Touro Law Center, Land Use & Sustainable Development Law Institute, and Joan Foley, Professor, Touro Law Center):
The working group will discuss policies and rules on the use of land and on building codes that effect aging in place. We discuss how Long Island communities can use best practices to become more age-friendly by assessing and making improvements to outdoor spaces and structures, housing, transportation, and community services. We will address fostering the use of universal design. Resources include:
- World Health Organization’s Global Age-Friendly Cities: A Guide (2007)
- Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies’ Housing America’s Older Adults – Meeting the Needs of an Aging Population (2014)
- Joanne Kaufman, Elderly New Yorkers, Here for the Duration, New York Times (September 12, 2014)
- Editors Patricia Salkin and Lora Lucero, Diane Cooper, Planning for the Aging Boom: Assessing the Needs of a Diverse Population, ZPLR 37 No. & Zoning and Planning Report 1 (July 2014)
- Shana Siegel & Neil T. Rimsky, Residential Models for Today’s and Tomorrow’s Older Adults, NAELA Journal, at 225 (Fall 2013)
- Israel Doron & Kim Dayton, “Thinking Locally”: Law, Aging, and Municipal Government: Findings from A National Survey, 21 Temp. Pol. & Civ. Rts. L. Rev. 365 (2012)
- AARP Public Policy Institute, Livable Communities: An Evaluation Guide (2005)
- Patricia E. Salkin, Where Will the Baby Boomers Go? Planning and Zoning for an Aging Population, 32 Real Est. L.J. 181 (2003)
Ethics (Facilitator: Marianne Artusio, Professor & Director, Touro Law Center, Aging and Longevity Law Institute):
The working group will discuss the laws and policies in place to ensure professionals have a working knowledge of the important ethical issues facing society’s aging population. We will discuss how Long Island’s professional communities can adopt and utilize different ethical standards across disciplines to ensure a more well-rounded understanding. Further, we will discuss how we can raise community awareness of the age-related ethical obligations facing Long Island’s professionals. Resources include:
- Paul S. Mueller, C. Christopher Hook, and Kevin C. Flemming, Ethical Issues in Geriatrics: A Guide for Clinicians, Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 79, 4; ProQuest Central pg. 554 (2004).
- Fred M. Feinsod and Cathy Wagner, 10 Ethical Principles in Geriatrics and Long-Term Care, Annals of Long-Term Care, Vol. 16, Issue 9 (2008).
- A J Rosin, Y van Dijk, Subtle ethical dilemmas in geriatric management and clinical research, J Med Ethics 31: 355-359 (2005)
- National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys Aspirational Standards for the Practice of Elder Law with Commentaries (2005)
- New York State Rules of Professional Conduct, Part 1200, Rule 1.14
Please click here to access the Conference Agenda.
For additional information about the Conference, please contact the Conference Administrator, Robert Cannon by telephone at (631) 761-7190 or by email at rcannon@tourolaw.edu.
Aging and Longevity Law Institute 