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Point of View – Generational Competence: A Conceptual Framework for Aging in America
Two major demographic trends will unfold in America during the first half of the 21st century. Minorities will grow from 29% to 47% of the American population, and older adults (65+) will increase from 13% to 20%, becoming roughly as large as the population of children and adolescents under 18 for...
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Planning Ahead for Difficult Health Care Decisions
During recent debates over healthcare legislation the term “death panels” was thrown around at a regular interval, conjuring up ideas of bureaucrats meeting in secret to decide who would live and who would die. Despite the ominous title and political imagery it provoked, “death panels”...
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Aging with Optimism in FEGS Behavioral Health Residential Programs
Growing old in America today carries a different connotation than it did in the past. The elderly are no longer settling for aging gracefully, rocking chairs, and permitting family members to decide how they will spend the remainder of their lives. Instead, striving for a youthful appearance and...
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Geriatric Mental Health in New York State: A Reflection on Progress and Future Directions
The first wave of the baby boom generation turns 65 this year. In New York State, the number of older adults will grow 50% over the next twenty years from 2.7 million in 2011 to 3.9 million in 2030. 20% of these individuals have diagnosable mental and/or substance use disorders. As a result of this...
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Senior Peers Provide Companionship to Homebound: New York City Program Addresses Social Isolation in Older Adults
Individuals of any age group benefit from being socially connected: having friends, outside activities and people to talk to. Older adults, especially those with a mental illness, potentially have more difficulty remaining connected because it is easier for them to gradually lose their social...
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Study Ties Blood Protein to Alzheimer’s Brain Abnormalities
Scientists are seeking ways to detect the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s disease, since harmful changes may be taking place in the brain years before symptoms appear. Now, researchers report that a blood test detecting a specific protein in blood samples from cognitively normal older people may...
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The Medical Care and Psychosocial Needs of Older Adults
More than half of the older adults who receive behavioral health care receive it from their primary care physician. There has been much recent interest in the medical or health home model that provides comprehensive care, and in which a primary care physician (PCP) leads a team, which may include...
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The Growing Problem of Drug and Alcohol Use in Older Adults
I recall when I was doing a field placement in a geriatric care facility in Joliet, Illinois, I encountered a resident who kept a flask of whiskey in his robe pocket and seemed to always have a ready replacement when one was empty. Often the patient was in a stupor and had several incidents in...
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The Emotional Needs of Older Adults from the Former Soviet Union
Many people from the former Soviet Union seek and receive culturally sensitive services from the FEGS Brooklyn Resource Center on Kings Highway in Brooklyn. This outpatient OMH licensed clinic provides psychiatric and counseling services to many Russian speaking individuals of whom a majority are...
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Support for Older Adult Peers
The Baltic Street, Advocacy, Employment, and Housing, Inc, Geriatric Peer Advocacy Program may be the only peer to peer program in New York City that offers services to seniors that have psychiatric disabilities. The program has been in existence since 1998 and although it is a small program, over...
