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The ABC’s of Aging
Dr. Donna Benton discusses the best ways to provide care for elders

“If I’d have known I was going to live this long I would have taken better care of myself.” –Dean Martin

Prophetic words from one of America’s most prominent 20th Century icons, who in spite of a magnetic voice and an even more impressive frock of curly, dark hair, succumbed to emphysema at the relatively young age of 78.  What if Martin hadn’t boozed the way he did?  He’d be 88 years-old this year, and according to Dr. Donna Benton, professor of gerontology at the USC Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center, still young.

“In the next twenty to twenty-five years, people will start to live into their hundreds and beyond with far more frequency,” said Dr. Benton, in her presentation Aging Parents 101: The ABC’s of Aging, held at USC’s Andrus Gerontology Center Auditorium on Thursday, April 14, 2006.  Her lecture was part of a free monthly discussion sponsored by the Los Angeles Caregiver Resource Center (LACRC) entitled Take Care Series.

About 60 people attended the discussion, from community members of all ages to USC faculty and staff, mostly curious to learn about available resources to help provide care for aging family members and friends.  “It gives participants a starting point to take care of their loved ones,” said Patricia Rivera, LACRC program specialist.

Uncle Dino was a member of what Dr. Benton called, the greatest generation, those born between the years of 1911 to 1924.  Short of crooning All of Me, Dr. Benton compared some of the behaviors of this group, named after Tom Brokaw’s 1998 book The Greatest Generation, to those of the baby boomer generation, those people born between the years of 1946 to 1964.  According to her research, the greatest generation traditionally saves money and prioritizes the passing along of assets, while the boomers are juggling financial responsibilities such as dependent children, and are far more concerned with personal possessions of emotional value than assets.  This phenomenon illustrates the evolving attitudes that need to be taken into consideration when caring for baby boomers versus the greatest generation.   According to Dr. Benton, there absolutely needs to be an effective infrastructure in place to help care for the boomers because there are 76 million of them, the eldest of which are turning 60 this year.  Boomers make up 25 percent of America’s population.

The United States has come a long way since 1900, when people were only expected to live to be about 50 years old.  Even since 1935, when the Roosevelt Administration established Social Security, the age was set at 65 because people would be lucky to live ten years once they started collecting checks.   With the coming of age of the boomers, a generation of centenarians-to-be, there will be fewer younger adults responsible for a more substantial elderly population.  Dr. Benton described six services that should be prioritized when establishing an effective care plan: medical, not only healthcare but the readily available advice of a good pharmacist, financial, making long term plans that ensure security, social, resources that will promote healthy behaviors, housing, home modifications that will allow the elderly to “age in place,” transportation, safe and accessible means for elders to commute and counseling, in order to promote both spiritual and mental well-being.

Dr. Benton concluded her presentation by discussing several other resources that individuals seeking more information can use.  The first is the Los Angeles City Network of Care (www.lacitynetworkofcare.org), a resource for local residents to improve long term care for local elderly and people with disabilities.  Second, is the telephone number 2-1-1, which Dr. Benton described as, “the 4-1-1 of social services.”  Third, her own organization, the Los Angeles Caregiver Resource Center, a part of the Andrus Center, which offers resources, information, support groups, family consultations and more for caregivers who are caring for an adult with a brain impairment at home, available online at www.losangelescrc.org.   Fourth, Benefits Checkup is a service provided by the National Council on Aging that helps connect people to government programs, which can help them pay for prescription drugs, health care, utilities and other needs, available online at www.benefitscheckup.org.

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“In the next twenty to twenty-five years, people will start to live into their hundreds and beyond with far more frequency,” said Dr. Benton 

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