DELAWARE COUNTY NY CONNECTS: CHOICES FOR LONG TERM CARE

To College Professors & Students,

This letter is an introduction to a project sponsored by the Delaware County NY Connects Advisory Board. The Board has been meeting over the last few years to identify gaps in service in Delaware County. One of the gaps identified was services in regards to geriatric mental health. That is why we will be hosting a series of trainings around this subject starting with the first training Tuesday, March 2nd at SUNY Delhi, MacDonald Hall. The speakers will be Dr. Michael Friedman from the Geriatric Mental Health Association and he will do a presentation on Geriatric mental Health 101. We will also have Philip McCallion from the School of Social Welfare at the University at Albany and he will be do a presentation on the Coming of the Elder Boom and the impact it will have on the healthcare system. We welcome your attendance to these events. A brochure is included with this letter. Feel free to make copies. Seating is limited to the first 120 registrants.

Sincerely,

Laura Stewart
Long Term Care Coordinator

Registration Form

Name: __________________________________
Title: ___________________________________
Organization: _____________________________
Street: ___________________________________
City: ______________________ State: _________
Zip: _____________ County: _________________
Phone: _________________ Fax: _____________
Email: ___________________________________
Will you be joining us for lunch? YES NO
Let us know if you require a special diet. Do you have any special accommodation needs?

Fees:
Delaware County Resident $10
Out of County Resident $25
Check enclosed $ _____________
(Payable to Office for the Aging )
Paying at Registration _________

Please mail payments by February 24th to:
Office for the Aging
6 Court St.
Delhi, NY 13753

For additonal information please contact:
Laura Stewart
607-746-6333
or fax registration to 607-746-6227


Speakers Schedule
8:30– 9:00 Registration
9:00 – 9:05 Welcome
9:05 – 11:30 Lack of Readiness to Meet the Challenges of the Elder Boom
Philip McCallion, Ph.D. ACSW
Lisa A. Ferretti, LMSW

This presentation will review the changing profiles of the Nation’s & New York’s aging population and the trends likely to influence aging services in the decades ahead. Differing expectations, experiences with service agencies, desire for community and self-managed care and readiness to advocate among these new or growing populations for aging services will be discussed, as will strategies for agencies and practitioners to successfully meet the challenge.

11:45 – 1:00 Lunch and Exhibits
1:00 – 3:00 Geriatric Mental Health 101
Michael B. Friedman, LMSW

This presentation will provide an overview of the mental health needs of older adults, and will particularly focus on the coming mental health needs of the elder boom generation. Information about common late life mental disorders and their treatment will be provided. Participants will also learn about the importance of creating effective programmatic options for meeting the mental health needs of older adults and will learn how they can become involved in creating sound mental health polices for elders.


Philip McCallion, PhD. ACSW is a professor in the School of Social Welfare at the University at Albany, a Hartford Geriatric Social Work Faculty Scholar and Mentor and is Director of the Institute for Social Services Research and Development. Within the newly formed institute, Dr. McCallion directs the Center for Excellence in Aging Services and the NIDA – funded Child Welfare, Drug Abuse and Intergenerational Risk Research Center.

Lisa A. Ferretti, LMSW is the Director of Operations for the Center of Excellence in Aging Services at the University at Albany School of Social Welfare. Ms. Ferretti develops and conducts trainings for the New York State Office for the Aging and the New York State Office of Children and Family Services as well as local offices for the aging and NY Connects.

Michael B. Friedman is the founder and Chairperson of the Geriatric Mental Health Alliance of New York and Director of The Center for Policy, Advocacy, and Education of The Mental Health Association of New York City. In addition, he teaches courses on health policy and social advocacy at Columbia University School of Social Work as well as a course on mental health policy at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health.


Future Programming

The Delaware County NY Connects Advisory Council identified the need for educating long term care professionals on the needs of the aging population and mental illness. We will have four trainings with both a morning and an afternoon session to be held in Delaware County. These trainings are being partially funded by the Delaware County Rural Health Alliance.

Series as follows:

March 2rd, 2010
Lack of Readiness to Meet the Challenges of the Elder Boom & Geriatric Mental Health 101

May 2010
Therapeutic Techniques of Validation & Understanding the Pain/Depression Dyad Among Older Adults

July 2010
Elder Abuse and Mistreatment & Out of the Shadows: Documenting Elder Abuse Prevalence & Implications for Policy Services

September 2010
Solution Based Treatment Therapy & Stigma, Ageism and Ignorance about Mental Illness and its Treatment

This event was made possible in part by funding from Delaware County Rural Health Alliance.