 April brings not only showers but also four new learning opportunities: Grief and loss, disaster planning, rural aging, and improving end-of-life care for older veterans. And, in May, the FLGEC will offer culturally competent care for LGBT older adults in Ithaca, and improving Alzheimer's diagnosis and care in Rochester --what a menu to choose from! We hope you can take advantage of one or more of these workshops, some of which are grant-supported and available at no cost to you.
Best wishes,
Rhoda Meador, Director
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Don't Delay! Register for April Workshops
Grief and Loss When Working with Older People
Wed., April 10, 2:00-4:30 p.m.
Presenter: Kay Viggiani, M.S., RN, CS
This workshop will help the professional understand and develop coping skills essential for the health and well-being of both the professional and their workplace.
Disaster Planning for Older Adults
Wed., April 17, 2:00-4:30 p.m.
Presenters: 
Beth Harrington, Assistant Director for EMS, Tompkins County Department of Emergency Response
Frank Kruppa, Public Health Director, Tompkins County
Lisa Schuhle, Program Manager, Broome County Office for the Aging
This workshop will build the capacity of the aging services network and other community organizations to support older people and their caregivers in the event of a disaster.
Rural Aging in 21st-Century America
Wednesday, April 24, 2:00-4:30 p.m.
Presenters:
Nina Glasgow, Senior Research Associate, Department of Development Sociology, Cornell University
David L. Brown, Chair, Department of Development Sociology, Cornell University
Douglas T. Gurak, Professor, Department of Development Sociology, Cornell University
This workshop will examine the sociological, demographic, and geographic aspects of aging in rural and nonmetropolitan areas of the United States, with a special emphasis on upstate New York.
All three workshops will be held at the Country Inn and Suites, on Route 96B just up from the College. To register, click here.
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 Adding Silver to the Rainbow: Providing Culturally Competent Care to the
LGBT Older Adult
Friday, May 3, 8:30 am-4:00 pm
Tompkins Cortland Community College
Presenter: Cecilia Hardacker, RN, Director of Geriatric Education, Howard Brown Health Center This educational opportunity for professional nursing staff focuses on caring for the older LGBT adult. The full-day cultural competency curriculum, named Nurses' HEALE (Healthcare Education About LGBT Elders), is offered without charge but advance registration is required. (Lunch and handouts are included.) Please register early, as participation is limited to the first 60 registrants. The Howard Brown Health Center developed this six-module, peer-reviewed training program in 2009, and has trained over 500 professionals in Academic and Community Based Health Centers since 2011. The entire six-hour program will be offered on May 3. For more information about the Howard Brown Center, and the HEALE program, visit the website. If you have questions, contact Chris Decker at decker@ithaca.edu or (607) 274-1604. This training opportunity has been made available for professionals and students through the following organizations: - Finger Lakes Geriatric Education Center
- Ithaca College Gerontology Institute
- Tompkins Cortland Community College Diversity Equity Action Council
- Tompkins Cortland Community College Department of Nursing
- Tompkins County Office for the Aging
- Decker School of Nursing at SUNY Binghamton
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Educational Videoconference: "Improving Care for Veterans Facing Illness and Death"
Monday, April 29, 11:45 am-4:00 pm
Borg Warner Room, Tompkins County Library
 Hospicare and the Ithaca College Gerontology Institute are co-sponsoring a local presentation of the Hospice Foundation of America's Annual Living with Grief Spring Program: "Improving Care for Veterans Facing Illness and Death." This free educational oppor-tunity assists end-of-life care provider organizations and health and human service professionals in enhancing their sensitivities and understanding of veterans and provides professionals new interventions to better serve dying veterans and their families. The program also looks organizationally at military benefits and intersections with VA systems. Continuing education credits are available for a small cost. Participants should register online with Hospicare and Palliative Services of Tompkins County or by calling 607-272-0212 before April 29th. |
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CareFamily.com Helps Find Caregivers Long Distance for Loved Ones
 What do you do when you're hundreds of miles away, and now your 89-year-old father has his driving privileges revoked? How will he get to the doctor, the grocery store, and everything else? This problem and its solution are profiled in an interesting article. The solution was CareFamily.com, a new website incorporating many of the features of dating service Match.com, but a site that allows people to go online and find a "match" of a caregiver with a parent or other person. Tom Knox, founder of CareFamily, says he does background checks on each caregiver, provides a list to families, and the family then interviews people and makes a choice. Families employ the individual rather than contracting with an agency that selects caregivers. But CareFamily deals with withholding tax and other paperwork, which means rates can be lower, and more money goes to the caregiver.
Disclaimer: This article is for information only, and does not and should not imply an endorsement by the Ithaca College Gerontology Institute. |
IC/Longview Intergenerational Choir to Perform in Hockett Family Recital Hall
Sunday, April 28, at 3 pm
 People of all ages will enjoy this free choral concert given by Ithaca College students and residents of Longview, the nearby retirement facility. The choir is led by Assistant Professor Emily Mason. For more information, or for accommodations, please e-mail Erik Kibelsbeck or call 607.274.3717. |
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New Members Inducted into Ithaca College Chapter of Sigma Phi Omega (SPO)
 | (From left) Breelan Nash, Tania Sequeira, and
Lydia Nitchman
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Three IC students and one community member were inducted recently into Sigma Phi Omega (SPO), the national academic honor and professional society in gerontology.
Aging studies students Lydia G. Nitchman, Samantha C. Olewnik, and Tania A. Sequeira were recognized for excellence in their studies, while Breelan Nash was honored for her outstanding service on behalf of older persons. Nash is recreation and volunteer coordinator at Longview, the retirement community, and is also liaison to the Ithaca College/Longview parternership.
"Working for and alongside the aging population (and I do mean alongside, as I'm constantly learning from the residents), is extremely rewarding," Nash told the audience. "I'm able to increase the quality of life, independence and leisure functioning of those I work with." Her closing words, however, are a real takeaway for all of us:
"Now more than ever we need people who love and care for the aging population to continue their service to the field--to strive to increase quality of life, independence and self-esteem for each individual we work with. Utilize your past, adapt to change and never be afraid to try something new."
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Our Mission
The Ithaca College Gerontology Institute provides high quality education to students and professionals, empowering them to positively impact the lives of older people. |
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