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August 2003
Volume 1, Issue 3
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From
the Director,
Jon Pynoos
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Newsletter Highlights:
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We
are very happy to report that the first session of "Promoting
C.A.R.E.S.: Tools for Success," our online training and
technical assistance course for the aging network, is in full
swing. The ten-week program presents eight "tools"
that will prepare professionals to implement effective environmental
coping strategies for caregiving. (There is more information
about project CARES in this newsletter.) The Resource Center
now looks forward to the month of October when the first session
will conclude, followed by the launch of the second session
on October 14.
We have had a great response to both sessions and have had
to open a waiting list. For the second session, the Resource
Center wants to insure that registrants from traditionally
under-represented states will be involved.
The next issue of our newsletter will present the insights
and lessons learned from the first session of "Promoting
C.A.R.E.S."
For more information about the Resource Center, visit our
website at www.homemods.org
where you will find a wealth of information related to supportivehousing
and home modification.
National Aging In Place
Week : November 9-15
The Resource
Center is pleased to participate in organizing the first National
Aging in Place Week. Its purpose is to bring attention to
the role that home modifications play in independent living
for older persons by making homes safer, more comfortable,
and supportive. It is intended to educate older persons and
their relatives, concerned professionals, and policy makers
about home modification measures that promote aging in place.
The week has been initiated by the National Reverse Mortgage
Lenders Association with the assistance of an Advisory Council
including the Resource Center, the Center for Universal Design
at the North Carolina State University, and the IDEA Center
of the State University of New York at Buffalo.
In southern California, we are considering the following events:
organized tours of homes that have successfully undergone
home modifications; educational forums to inform the public
about the benefits of home modifications; and, professional
workshops for practitioners from various professions to discuss
home modifications and other issues related to aging in place.
If you would like to participate in the southern California
events, please contact Maria Henke at (213) 740-1364 or email
mhenke@usc.edu.
Caregiver Adaptations to
Reduce Environmental Stress
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Julie Overton
Program Manager, (Project CARES)
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On July
29, the Center launched the nation's first online training
and technical assistance course for Area Agencies on Aging
(AAAs) and affiliates of the National Family Caregiver Support
Program (NFCSP). "Promoting C.A.R.E.S.: Tools for Success",
a ten-week online course, was made possible by a grant from
the U.S. Administration on Aging. The online modules address
ways to relieve physical and emotional stresses of caregiving
with environmental coping strategies, or ECS (i.e., home modifications
and the use of assistive devices). Some of the topics covered
include: the basics of ECS, assessment, and the identification
of resources for ECS. The course consists of weekly assignments,
cyber-classroom participation, a teleconference with experts
in the field, and guest lectures from mentors and other experts
in caregiving and environmental coping strategies.
The next "Promoting C.A.R.E.S." online course will
begin October 14. If you are a staff member of an AAA or affiliated
to the NFCSP, you may register by going to www.homemods.org
and clicking on "Online Courses", email to cares@usc.edu,
or call Chris Lee at (213) 740-1364 for more information.
Project CARES also successfully convened four focus groups
of family caregivers; one represented a minority population
and the other was from a rural part of southern California.
Characteristics of the 40 caregivers from the four focus groups
included: 1) nearly 50% were spousal caregivers; 30% were
adult children; 2) over three-quarters were over age 70; and,3)
75% lived with their care recipient.
Among other things, the focus groups reported that lifting,
transferring, and bathing were the top three physical caregiving
burdens. Many of the caregivers commented that they did not
know how to locate resources for environmental coping strategies.
There was a major consensus that the bathroom was the most
problematic caregiving area of the house.
(Editor's Note: Ms. Overton and Dr. Phoebe Liebig
authored a report based on Project CARES that was presented
by the latter at the 5th European Congress of Gerontology
on July 3 in Barcelona, Spain.)
Fall Prevention - Special
Program, ASA/NCOA 2004
The
Resource Center is taking the lead in organizing an Archstone
Foundation sponsored program on Fall Prevention at next year's
Joint Conference of the American Society on Aging (ASA) and
the National Council on the Aging (NCOA). The 2004 Joint Conference
will take place from April 14-17 in San Francisco, California.
The special one-day program will feature keynotes, workshops,
and a symposium on issues pertaining to fall prevention in
the community setting and in institutions. The Centers for
Disease Control report the following facts about falls: 1)
More than one-third of adults ages 65 years and older fall
each year; 2) In 2000, 1.6 million seniors were treated in
emergency departments for fall-related injuries and 353,000
were hospitalized; and, 3) Among older adults, falls are the
leading cause of injury deaths. To register for this Special
Program, visit ASA's website www.agingconference.org/jc04/
later this year.
National Summit on Creating
Caring Communities
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Dory Sabata, OTD
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Resource
Center staff, Dory Sabata, OTD, will be presenting in a workshop
("Technology At The Fingertips of Caregivers") at
the coming National Summit on Creating Caring Communities,
September 21-23, in Orlando, Florida.
Organized by the U.S. Administration on Aging,
the Summit is designed for state and local professionals and
advocates who play an important role in reshaping the current
health and long term care delivery system.
The goals of the Summit are to bring about changes at all
levels that would: 1) promote policies and programs that would
make the long-term care system more balanced and more responsive
to the needs and preferences of older people and their family
caregivers; 2) develop and operate innovative programs that
will help older people to remain at home ad support family
caregivers; and, 3) promote strategies and tools to prevent
chronic diseases and eliminate the risk factors that cause
them. For more information, click on www.hsrnet.net/AoASummit/
or send an email to fsturla@hsrnet.com.
Online Executive Certificate
Program in Home Modification
The Resource
Center commenced the third module of its online Executive
Certificate Program in Home Modification on July 29. "Home
Modification: How To Get It Done" is being taught by
Mr. Jon A. Sanford, a guest lecturer who holds a Masters of
Architecture from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta,
and is currently a Research Architect at the Atlanta VA Medical
Center. This module teaches students how to identify qualified
contractors and negotiate for services, where to locate products,
and how to evaluate a project upon completion.
For more information, contact Maria Henke at (213)740-1364
or email mhenke@usc.edu.
California Centers for Independent
Living and Home Modifications
The Resource
Center is pleased to announce that its study on the home modification
activity of California Centers for Independent Living (CILs)
has been completed. The study looked at the menu of services
provided by California CILs and their collaboration efforts
with respect to home modification. We also compared rural
and urban CILs, looking at home modification service provision
and funding. A major finding was that 91% of California CILs
offered some kind of home modification service. However, only
20% had access to funding to have the home modifications installed.
For the online version of the report click
here or our website at: http://www.usc.edu/dept/gero/nrcshhm/index.htm
Click on "California Centers for Independent Living and
Home Modifications (Executive Summary)" in the 'Research'
section of the home page.Please contact us if you would like
a copy of the entire report at 213-740-1364.
From The Editorial Team
This summer
issue of the Home Modification News includes an insert about
the International Conference on Aging, Disability and Independence.
The Resource Center is proud to co-sponsor this important
event that will take place in Washington, D.C. from December
4-6, 2003. Resource Center staff will be participating in
a symposium entitled "Common Ground: What do we mean
by 'home modification'?" and taking part in a poster
session entitled "Assessing Elder-Friendly Community
Characteristics."
For more information, visit the conference website at http://www.asaging.org/icadi/
or contact Gwendolyn P. Mann at (352) 273-6451 or email gjpmann@hp.ufl.edu.
About the Resource Center
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Maria Henke
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The National
Resource Center on Supportive Housing and Home Modification
is headquartered at the University of Southern California
Andrus Gerontology Center. The Resource Center is a project
supported by The California Endowment and the Archstone Foundation.
The Resource Center sponsors the National Home Modification
Action Coalition, an informal nation-wide network ofprofessionals
and researchers interested in promoting aging in place and
accessibility in the home. In addition to these efforts, we
are currently developing a national initiative to help older
adults maintain their independence and age in place.
For more information about the Resource Center
or any of the above, please contact us via email at homemods@usc.edu
or call (213) 740-1364. You can also visit us on the web at
www.homemods.org.
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