Successful Aging: It’s Everybody’s Business
The “Successful Aging: It’s Everybody’s Business” conference held on Thursday and Friday, June 26 and 27, 2014 at the Westchester Marriott Hotel in Tarrytown was an enormous success.
More than 350 Aging Network members, professionals, corporate people, educators, religious leaders, family caregivers and seniors took part in the two-day event, which provided a variety of stimulating and often entertaining talks and workshops.
Westchester County continues to lead the way in developing best practices that help seniors age successfully in their homes and communities. We are excited to present this conference as a way to share knowledge, highlight how technology is benefiting seniors, and tackle some of the most pressing issues in today’s rapidly aging society.
Westchester County’s innovative Telehealth Intervention for Seniors Program (TIPS) made its national debut at the conference on Thursday, and is already in the forefront of such initiatives.
Being healthy, of course, is part of successful aging, but Friday’s program expanded successful aging to other areas as well.
Ken Dychtwald, Ph.D., president and CEO of Age Wave and one of the nation’s foremost visionaries on the “longevity revolution,” made a rare New York appearance to deliver the keynote address Friday on “How the Age Wave Will Transform our Lives.”
Dychtwald’s keynote address was educational and entertaining as he discussed changes the “longevity revolution” is creating in areas such as marketing, healthcare, the workforce and lifestyles.
Dychtwald is president and chief executive of the California-based company Age Wave, which he founded in 1986 to guide Fortune 500 companies and government leaders on how to develop products and services for baby boomers and seniors.
He says organizations will be challenged to transform their strategies over the next decade in areas such as branding, distribution and product development as well as marketing to benefit from the trends an aging population creates.
Dychtwald is also president-elect of the American Society on Aging.
The “Successful Aging” conference was sponsored by the county’s Department of Senior Programs and Services (DSPS) and the Livable Communities Collaborative of the Westchester Public/Private Partnership for Aging Services.
Conference co-chairs were William M. Mooney, Jr., CEO of the Westchester County Association, and Dr. Marsha Gordon, president and CEO of The Business Council of Westchester.
“This important conference is a ‘must go’ for anyone over the age of 60, as well as for health care providers, business owners and nonprofit leaders who serve seniors,” Mooney said. “We all need to be educated about these subjects. The highly acclaimed speakers and workshops are a testament to Westchester County’s commitment to seniors.”
Gordon said that Westchester is in the forefront in offering programs and services that enable senior citizens to live in the very communities where they’ve invested so much time and energy over the years.
“When programs such as this conference are coupled with our top-notch medical care, effective transportation system and innovative services for seniors, it’s clear that Westchester is a national leader in taking care of its elderly population,” Gordon said. “That’s good for our seniors and our economy.”
The featured speaker Friday afternoon was Joe Baker, Esq., president of the Medicare Rights Center, who delivered a comprehensive talk on Medicare and the Affordable Care Act.
Friday’s program also included workshops on issues that impact mature adults. Topics included:
- I’m Too Young to Have Alzheimer’s Disease
- Nuts and Bolts of Estate Planning
- Make Sure You Save Enough Money to Last through Retirement
- How to Recognize and Prevent Fraud and Abuse
- Take Control: Lifestyle Tips for Healthy Aging
- Peer-to-Peer Leadership Can Reduce Health Care Disparities in Communities of Color
- Your Toolbox for Successful Aging: Palliative Care is Essential
- Reimagining Aging Through Community Partnerships, Collaborations and Support
- Optimizing Cognitive and Mental Health in Later Life
- Not Enough Retirement Savings? Ways to Make Up the Shortfall
- Are you being Taxed out of Westchester? Students Offer Solutions
- How to Keep a Roof Over Your Head Through the Different Stages of Life
- Care Circles – A Step Forward in Giving Back
- Communicating Through Cultural Differences: A Discussion around Healthcare and Culture
- Building Better Relationships Through Intergenerational Engagement
MAP: My Aging Plan
All conference attendees received a copy of “MAP: My Aging Plan.” MAP was written by the conference sponsors, and provides specific things people can do to age successfully – starting in their 20’s.
Details about the two-day conference and the speakers are available in the conference program.
Mae Carpenter, DSPS’ award-winning commissioner, is nationally recognized for her innovative and practical initiatives for seniors and caregivers. She said a key aim of the conference is to inspire seniors and their families to improve their financial security and lives through thoughtful planning.
“Knowledge is power,” Carpenter said. “We have to empower each generation to plan ahead for its successful aging. This program will help motivate them to understand what they must do at different stages of their lives. You don’t want to wait, for example, until you realize that your retirement savings will not cover all your expenses when you no longer work. Families must see themselves as teams and think about possible scenarios and ‘what if’s’ ahead of time.”
Photo 1: Ken Dychtwald, Ph.D., President and CEO of Age Wave, delivered the keynote address at the Successful Aging conference.
Photo 2: Joe Baker, Esq., President of the Medicare Rights Center, spoke about Medicare and the Affordable Care Act.