Welcome to the June 2009 issue of HAPpenings!
 

The Healthy Aging Partnership (HAP), a coalition of more than 30 nonprofit and government organizations dedicated to improving the lives of older adults in the Puget Sound region, is pleased to share news, insights and activities with you in this newsletter every four months. To forward news items for future issues, add more recipients to the distribution list, or to unsubscribe, e-mail info@4elders.org. 

HAP Acts to Prevent Falls

New HAP Falls Prevention Coordinator
We are thrilled to welcome Kathy Ryan, who joined HAP in April as its Falls Prevention Coordinator. As a VISTA volunteer with the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), Kathy will work with HAP for 12 months. Kathy brings to HAP a strong background in public service, law, and administration. Her office is located at the University of Washington Health Promotion Research Center. Kathy can be reached by e-mail at KathyHAP@gmail.com or by phone at 206-221-4472. Welcome, Kathy!

Shape Up!
HAP and King County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) are partnering to promote Shape Up!, a public awareness campaign about the benefits of physical activity in preventing falls among older adults. Later this summer and during the fall, four Shape Up! sites around King County will offer exercise activities for older adults. The four sites are Northshore Senior Center, North Bellevue Senior Center, Burien Senior Center, and the City of Seattle's Bitter Lake Community Center.

Shape Up! includes incentives, such as a $10 discount coupon when participants enroll in an exercise class at one of the four sites. Shape Up! organizers are planning early-September kickoff events at the four participating sites.

Active Options
Active Options is a Web-based program to help older adults and their caregivers find local and appropriate physical activity programs. We are near the completion of a collaborative project among HAP, Comprehensive Health Education Foundation (C.H.E.F.), and Seattle Pacific University School of Nursing to promote physical activity and Active Options among older King County residents.

Project accomplishments include a two-minute video geared toward older adults about how to navigate the Active Options Web site and development of print materials promoting Active Options for distribution to physical activity providers and older adults.

Next steps include continuing to encourage local physical activity providers to enter their program information into the free, searchable Web-based Active Options database, and encouraging older adults and their family and professional caregivers to use the Active Options Web site to find nearby activities!

The newly upgraded Active Options site can be found at www.activeoptions.org.

Announcements and Events 
 

PRC-HAN Conference on Promoting Environmental and Policy Change to Support Healthy Aging.
Date: Sept. 15-16, 2009
Location: UNC Conference Center, Chapel Hill, NC. Information: PRC-HAN Conference Web site.
Hosted by CDC's Prevention Research Centers Healthy Aging Research Network, the conference will address challenges amenable to environmental and policy change; evidence that supports specific approaches and their outcomes; and promising strategies for practice. Target audiences include: Practitioners and academicians who work in public health, aging services, and healthcare; professionals in business, planning, engineering, and recreation; and advocates for livable communities.

The National Association of State Units on Aging 25th Annual Home and Community Based Services Conference
Date: September 20-23, 2009
Location: Denver, Colorado
Information: http://www.nasua.org/#servicescon
Target audience: Administrators and planners; federal, state and local government; for-profit, nonprofit, health and long-term care organizations; policymakers, researchers, and educators; community planners, housing, and transportation experts; public health and social service providers who work with older adults, children, and individuals with disabilities of all ages.

American Society on Aging's 2009 Regional Conferences on Aging
Date West Coast Conference: September 8-11, 2009
Location West Coast Conference: Oakland, CA

Date East Coast Conference: September 21-24, 2009
Location East Coast Conference: Philadelphia, PA
The conferences offer cutting-edge programs and continuing education for professionals who work with older adults and their families. They are designed to help you stretch your education and training budget. Since you pay for only the courses you attend, you can select individual courses that match your learning needs, your schedule and your budget. Attend half-day or full-day programs, or create a multi-day program to fit your needs. CEU credits are available.  To learn more or register.

NCOA Healthy Aging Statewide Meeting. Healthier Aging in Washington. Evidence Based Program Strategies, Partnerships & Successes
Date: Oct. 15, 8 am-4 pm
Location: Seattle, WA
Target Audience: Health care and public health professionals working with aging populations and with chronic disease
Information: Candy Goehring, goehrcs@dshs.wa.gov, 360-725-2562
The day offers a keynote address by Nancy Whitelaw from the National Council on Aging, presentations on Enhance Fitness and the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP), and breakout sessions on evidence-based programs for chronic disease self-management, fitness and exercise programs, falls prevention programs, disparate populations, cultural competencies, depression, future innovations and opportunities, and online chronic disease management.

Resources
 
Mental Health Problems Are NOT a Normal Part of Aging.

Several agencies and organizations provide important information regarding older adults and mental health.
 
CDC's Healthy Aging Program has two Mental Health Briefs available to download for free:
"Mental Health and Aging in America, Issue Brief #1" reviews existing data and lays the foundation for understanding key issues related to mental health in adults over 50.
 
"Mental Health and Aging in America, Issue Brief #2" focuses on depression and mentions several evidence-based programs that communities can use to improve the mental health and quality of life of older Americans.
 
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) also fas a few documents available to download for free.
 
"Mentally Healthy Aging: A Report on Overcoming Stigma for Older Americans" addresses stigma and older adults with mental illnesses, existing barriers to eliminating stigma, and strategies to overcome these barriers.
 
"Community Integration for Older Adults with Mental Illnesses: Overcoming Barriers and Seizing Opportunities" discusses existing barriers that prevent successful community integration and suggests promising, evidence-based practices states and communities can implement for older adults with mental illnesses.
 
The Older Women's League lists activity ideas to bring awareness to this issue.

New research application from Google.
A new Google search feature makes it easy to find and compare public data. The first sets available in this search feature are county-level unemployment data published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau's Population Division. Eventually Google aims to expand the feature to include other sources of publicly available data. Try it out at http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/04/adding-search-power-to-public-data.html

Articles
What Are Friends For? A Longer Life
By Tara Parker-Pope, The New York Times, April 20, 2009)
 
Quality of life survey highlights need for holistic approach in elderly residential care
By Annette Whibley, Wiley-Blackwell, May 12, 2009
 
To Keep Your Brain Nimble As You Age, Stretch It
By Linton Weeks, National Public Radio, May 12, 2009

HEALTHY AGING: Improving and Extending Quality of Life Among Older Americans
This CDC Healthy Aging Program At-A-Glance 2009 document addresses critical opportunities to improve older adults' health and quality of life, as well as what CDC is doing to promote healthy aging. A few CDC-funded programs are also highlighted.

Exercise Can Improve Balance for Older Americans
By Patti Neighmond, National Public Radio, April 27, 2009

Caring for Ill, Elderly has Reward - A Longer Life
By Linda Carroll,MSNBC, May 5, 2009
Aiding ailing family may reduce death risk and boost attitude, studies find"

Up to 1 in 6 Older People Living at Home Face Malnutrition Risk
By Annette Whibley, Wiley-Blackwell, May 7, 2009
Overall risk is higher for women and depression increases risk for men"

Senior Citizens Have an Appeal Process When Medicare Drug Plan Fails to Cover Needed Drugs 
SeniorJournal, April 13, 2009
Part D appeals process explained by Medicare Interactive

Aging: Vitamin D Levels Tied to Dementia Risk
By Nicholas Bakalar, The New York Times, February 23, 2009